Whale Watching at Icy Strait Point - Excursions for Your Alaskan Cruise
You've booked your Disney Cruise to Alaska! Now it's time to decide which excursions you will want to experience while you are at a port of call. If your cruise itinerary includes a visit to Icy Strait Point, don't miss the opportunity to go whale watching in Alaska.
We booked Whale and Marine Mammals Cruise (IS01) directly with Disney Cruise Line. This particular excursion caught my attention as they guaranteed seeing whales or they would refund your money. Since we had never been to Alaska before, I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to include this in our itinerary. Plus if we didn't see whales, we could try again at another port ... I wasn't prepared for the spectacular sights that awaited us!!
Passengers met in Preludes then waited in the Walt Disney Theatre for all guests on this excursion to assemble. We then made our way off the Disney Wonder and took a short walk across the pier and boarded our excursion boat. On our way out to the whale watching area, we spotted bald eagles in the trees and some smaller marine animals in the water, including Steller sea lions and harbor seals. Once we arrived in the area that our captain deemed to be an ideal location, we were allowed outside on the observation areas of the boats.
While it was a beautiful day on the water, you will want to make sure to dress in layers and have a hat for this excursion. My son brought along his own binoculars which were beneficial for some whale sightings in the distance, but were not necessary to enjoy the excursion as we saw plenty of whales just a short distance away from our boat. The goal of this excursion was to see whales and we were NOT disappointed. We witnessed multiple Humpback whales swimming and diving in the water. One humpback whale breached very near our ship! We even saw a a humpback whale and her calf playing and practicing skills. During our 2.5 hour cruise, the onboard naturalists shared their knowledge of marine wildlife, as well as knowledge of the island.
We were thrilled with our excursion at Icy Strait Point. We felt that being on a smaller boat gave us the opportunity to get up close to the whales and allowed for unique experiences that the larger boats didn't have. Experiencing "whale breath" is something none of us will soon forget!
While there are several opportunities to book whale watching excursions through Disney Cruise Line, my family highly recommends whale watching at this port of call, as the number of whales and the beautiful Alaskan scenery was far greater than anything we could have imagined.
