I’ve taken seven Inside Passage cruises to Alaska, all of which have taken place in June. I would like to know what it would be like in May. Are orcas numbers higher? Are humpback sightings abundant?
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The weather in May and September is unpredictable. We reached record highs in Skagway a week before Memorial Day, which was the nicest weather we’ve had. White Pass has seen snow flurries a week after Memorial Day.
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We visited in May 2019. Very few whales and no orcas were seen. It wasn’t raining, but it was cooler than I had anticipated.
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We visited during May’s final week. During a paid whale watching excursion, I saw orcas. During the same paid whale watching excursion, I also spotted humpback whales right adjacent to the cruise ship. There weren’t “plenty of sightings” of either, in my opinion.
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This past May, I visited. From the ship, I saw two orcas and a few whales. However, I believe I was lucky. The entire time, the weather was lovely and sunny.
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@Candy June has been a mixed bag of excursions for me. The finest one we experienced was when we went on the whale watching cruise in Juneau and saw 15 bubble nets and a couple breaches. The weather was perfect the entire time. On the whale watching expedition the following June, we saw two whales. It’s always a crapshoot, I suppose.
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I inquired with my friend/client who completed an Inside Passage on Brilliance of the Seas in May. “I saw zero whales,” she remarked. Plus, the weather was awful. If I went again, I’d go in July or August.”
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Indeed. 2022. cold conditions. gloomy. Not awful, though. Bring a raincoat and layers. I preferred May to July for my first trip. I’m going to try September in '25.
Many humpbacks. A great deal. I saw them as soon as the ship arrived. There is still snow, how lovely. Absent orcas. But there are lots of other creatures.
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This year in early May. Not too exciting out on the ocean. Snow is plentiful in Juneau and Skagway.