If you’re hoping to increase your chances of seeing bears, whales, eagles, and many of the other wild animals Alaska has, you’ve come to the right place. Here are my tips for wildlife watching on an Alaskan Cruise.

Several seals and a few whales were spotted in this bay.

First of all, be sure to bring binoculars. These are the ones I brought – they were low cost and worked perfect, plus they were small and easy to carry around on board and during excursions.

Bears

Because many of the native tribes worship the bear, they don’t hunt it. And because of this, there are typically more bears than people in Alaska. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see many.

Bears are the trickiest to spot. I was under the impression that they’d be roaming everywhere in plain sight, but that isn’t the case. They’re quite elusive creatures that don’t care for human interaction, so keep your expectations realistic.

When it’s warmer out, your chances are much less likely, as they prefer the cold and tend to stay hidden in the shade. If it happens to be cooler out, your best bet for spotting one is usually earlier in the day at some of the cruise ports. A few people on our ship were able to see bears near waterways during early morning excursions that ventured away from tourist areas – so keep the time of day in mind when booking your excursions.

Though I never saw one at the ports, I was still determined, and finally got to see a few (through binoculars only) while onboard the ship, as we cruised from Ketchikan to Vancouver, Canada. The few I saw were walking along a beach, in the late afternoon, before disappearing into the tree line.

Seals

Seals can often be seen hanging out near the ports, or even in the waterways of Ketchikan, but I saw the most when the ship went through icy inlets. If you’re heading to a glacier, or know that there’s one nearby look out for the icebergs – a lot of the icebergs had seals swimming around them or laying out on top of them soaking in the sun.

Dall Sheep

Dall Sheep were pretty difficult to spot. They blend in very well on the rocky mountain sides. I saw the most before boarding the cruise, but also noticed a few (via binoculars) when going through inlets, and while hiking in Juneau.

Whales, Orcas, and Dolphins

Most of the dolphins were seen while aboard the ship towards the bow, while the whales and orcas often tailed the ship – we saw at least one or two every day of the cruise. Keep your eyes open in the distance for spouts of water, as that is the first indicator of whales – usually followed by a tail slap, and sometimes a breach.

However, all three were heavy in attendance along the coast of Ketchikan. In fact, the most wildlife was in Ketchikan, so make sure to really explore the area if your cruise visits there.

Bald Eagles

You won’t have any issues spotting bald eagles, as they are the most common bird you’ll see – and where there’s one, there are many. At the ports, you’ll see them hanging out on light poles and in trees. They’re everywhere – just look up.

Salmon

During low tide (Alaska has one of the lowest and highest tides in the world) salmon are very easy to spot running up streams. And when salmon are easy to reach, bears are more likely to enter the area. During this time, many people fish for salmon as well; in fact, there’s a great spot in Anchorage to watch people fish for salmon during low tide.