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Our first Alaskan port of call on the Carnival Spirit Alaska cruise was Icy Strait Point. Icy Strait Point and its border town of Hoonah, Alaska are among the absolute best spots for whale watching. We booked a small group whale watching tour with Glacier Wind Charters. I highly recommend booking with a small private company like Glacier Wind Charters rather than going with larger tour groups that are more commonly bookable through the cruise line. Shore excursions booked through the cruise line have logistic securities built in (the most notable of which is that the cruise will not leave port without you if the cruise line’s own excursion is running late), but the pros stop there. You want a small group for whale watching, to maximize your freedom of movement about the ship when hunting (not literally hunting…) for those whales! Our boat booked with Glacier Wind Charters only took six people, compared to the 30-40+ people crowded on the decks of many other boats we shared the waters with.

I know what you’re thinking: “A boat dedicated to just 6 people has to be significantly more expensive than a boat that accommodates 40, right?” Surprisingly, no! The local groups we were considering offered smaller boats for quite similar prices to the big box names with large boats. You just have to do your own homework and be comfortable with booking a trip outside of the official cruiseline offerings.

Our 4-hour boat tour started off from Hoonah, Alaska (an easy and scenic walk away from Icy Strait Point). It was, in short, amazing. The wildlife sightings started about 30 minutes in, and I was initially worried we might not see a whale. I was very, very mistaken…in the best way! We ended up viewing harbor seals, sea lions, porpoises, sea otters, salmon leaping out of the water, bald eagles flying above, and…countless humpback whales. We even witnessed a juvenile humpback whale breach 3 times in a row, before proceeding to swim right underneath (and slosh around beside) our very own boat! Motor boats are not allowed to actively drive forward within 100 yards of the known location of a whale, but even when our boat just idled and waited, the whales were absolutely everywhere. Icy Strait Point and Hoonah are at the crossroads of three main outlets from the open oceans, causing churning currents that concentrate the water’s nutrients. These nutrients attract the vast abundance of fish, crustaceans, and plankton that ultimately attract the whales and other predatory sea creatures that we were so excited to see. 

 

If I haven’t already made this clear, I cannot recommend enough that you book a whale watching tour with Glacier Wind Charters if you ever find yourself in Hoonah or Icy Strait Point. Glacier Wind Charters is a small family run operation. We were lucky to chat with Sean to learn that he, his wife Teresa, and their son run the boat tours and even built their own catamaran boats. I encourage you to support local, and enjoy the benefits of a more enriching and private experience.

 After our boat excursion concluded, we had a couple of hours before our ship’s “all aboard” time to wander around Hoonah. The town is tiny. There is a general store, a bank, a few churches, and a school in town but everything was closed after our tour finished at 5:30pm. Nonetheless, it’s a charming little town surrounded by mountains and water and dotted with totem poles. The town of Hoonah is connected to Icy Strait Point by a 1.6 mile paved walk along the scenic waterfront, and I recommend taking the stroll if you have time.

Icy Strait Point is home to a few restaurants and several gift shops, a giant zipline, and a ropes course. However, there isn’t much else to do or explore on your own in this port so I recommend booking an excursion for your time at port in Icy Strait Point.