Alaska - Cruise Day 5 - Juneau I had to keep blubbering on about whales!

Back on the bus for a 20 minute ride to Auke Bay where we boarded a catamaran for a 3 hour whale watching boat tour. There was a solid deck to walk up to the boat and the staff was on hand to help anyone step on that had mobility issues. There was covered space both on a lower level and upper level on the boat to watch but I had the foresight to grab a seat on the inside in the front row of chairs and the first chair next to the window on the lower level. It gave me a great viewpoint both out the side and front windows and I got to sit comfortably getting great photos even after the masses discovered my prime real estate spot and crowded in front of the window. Too bad I couldn't sell tickets for use of the space and fund my next cruise.

The scenery above the water wasn't too shabby to look at either: 

While you also can book privately with many companies, Harv and Marv is one I hear frequently recommended by cruisers, if you'd rather be on a smaller boat with less people, this ride did not feel super crowded. The crew of this research vessel used for the tour gave great commentary over a microphone so even when they were up top or in the back of the boat, you could easily hear them. They passed around various examples of whale related items like baleen so we could see and feel what they were teaching us about. The boat had a handful of binoculars for use on board but it would also be beneficial to bring your own small pair. They also passed around drinks (non alcoholic) and smoked salmon on crackers. It's always a little cooler on the water so bring along a jacket or rain parka even if it's 80° outside. When it can literally pay to read the fine print: Princess promises that if you don't see any whales on this tour, they will refund you $100. They also add that they have a 100% success record of seeing whales on every tour for the past 15 years.

Bubble feeding:

When you invite your bird friends over for a fish potluck:

Who knew whales could do dolphin impressions:

Such friendly whales always waving at new friends:

Does this count as being mooned by the whale? Or just flipp (ered) off?

Remember when it was the cool thing to do handstands in the pool?

Is this the whale carpool lane?

Who's up for a high five? Or is that high fin?

Even whales like to sunbathe:

Anyone order a whale tail showerhead? It comes with two settings - April Showers and Summer Sprinkles:

Way to stick the landing! The judges give your performance two fins up!

Look, it's a Carnival ship in its native habitat!

A major highlight was being in the right spot to witness a whale surface right next to a man's fishing boat giving him a good splash before diving back down.

We were then blessed with a close up visit by a couple whales who were in the mood to play. This guy was missing a chunk out of his fin.

I'm happy to report two things - 1) I don't think anyone got seasick and 2) Princess got to keep the $100 because we saw multiple sightings of bubble-net feeding (several whales circle a source of food blowing bubbles to trap the fish inside the circle), whales playing, breaching, and whales coming up to the surface for air. I can't say that one whale watching tour in any of the ports is better than the other but this was definitely one to add to your budget.

The highlight of our day in Juneau was spent watching whales play in the water so I ended the day capturing the beauty of the sunset on the water as we left port.

We've seen glaciers, goodtime girls, gold panning, and now whales. What's left for our final port day? Well climbing among the trees with bears of course! Stay tuned for our day in Ketchikan!