Our top wildlife experiences on a cruise

Experiencing the natural world up close is a magical experience. Here’s our round-up of amazing sights you can see as part of a cruise.

By Graeme Green

Watching whales and dolphins, from The Azores to Madeira

Mysterious and powerful, whales are some of the biggest creatures on our ‘Blue Planet’. I’ve been lucky enough to see humpbacks ‘breaching’ (leaping high out of the water and flopping onto their sides with an enormous splash) and unlucky enough to be downwind of a minke’s blowhole ‘breath’ (they’re not called ‘Stinky Minke’ for nothing). Whales often share patches of ocean with dolphins, the speedy ‘racing cars’ to the whales’ slow-moving, massive ‘buses’. It’s always exciting to see pods whizzing through the water and playfully leaping out from the waves.

The Azores is one of the best destinations for catching sight of both. The Portuguese archipelago of volcanic islands is now a world leader in marine conservation, recently announcing the creation of the largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the North Atlantic. From Horta in The Azores, travellers can explore open waters in a RIB (rigid inflatable boat). Sperm whale sightings are the most common, but you can also find humpback, minke and pilot whales, as well as common and bottlenose dolphins.

Madeira and Tenerife are also prime locations for pilot and sperm whales, and bottlenose, spotted and common dolphins, with occasional guest appearances from orcas (also known as killer whales) and blue whales. Elsewhere, you can find common, striped and bottlenose dolphins, and pilot whales in Gibraltar, where there are sometimes sightings of orcas, sperm and fin whales, too.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to visit Akureyri, Iceland’s ‘whale capital’, up in the north of the country, where excellent feeding grounds attract more than 20 cetacean species to the nearby fjords, from humpbacks and minke whales to white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises.

Spotting seals and seabirds, from Scilly to Scotland

British wildlife lovers don’t need to travel far to get their fix. The Isles of Scilly are one of several spots around the UK where you can find puffins, the cute birds with brightly coloured beaks also known as ‘sea parrots’ or ‘clowns of the sea’. These are lovely, entertaining creatures to spend time with, watching from boats as they hurtle through the air like torpedoes, cluster together in cosy nests, or waddle along rocky cliff-top promenades. As well as puffins, you can also find Atlantic grey seals sunbathing on rocks or peering at you from the ocean with their dog-like faces, a variety of seabirds (guillemots, razorbills, fulmars…), and perhaps dolphins and basking sharks.

The charming St Peter Port on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, is another departure point for boat trips to hang out with seals, puffins, guillemots and possibly dolphins.

One of my favourite parts of the world for nature and wildlife is the Outer Hebrides off Scotland’s west coast. Travelling down from Stornoway, capital of Lewis and Harris, through moorland, mountains, lochs and villages, you can find (with the help of an expert guide) otters, seals, and golden and white-tailed sea eagles.

Bantry Bay in West Cork, on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Coast, is another ruggedly beautiful location populated by abundant wildlife, with blubbery seals seen plopped on rocks on the ferry crossing from Glengarriff to Garnish island (visit its renowned Ilnacullin gardens) and a variety of seabirds including gulls, black-throated divers and white-tailed sea eagles. Bottlenose dolphins are known to pop into Bantry Bay, too, often seen playing around local boats. Orcas have also been occasionally spotted in the area.

Further afield, Iceland has plenty to offer birdwatchers, including boat trips around the protected Melrakkaey Island, famous for its large colony of nesting Atlantic puffins in the summer months, as well as guillemots, shags and kittiwakes. The Heimaey Caves area has a resident eider duck colony and opportunities to observe puffins, cormorants, and possibly whales, dolphins and seals. The dramatic, mountainous Skálanes Nature Reserve is also renowned as a haven for around 50 different wildlife species, including eider ducks, puffins, kittiwakes, guillemots, Arctic terns, seals, reindeer and Arctic foxes, with whales sometimes glimpsed off the coast.

Reindeer sledding in Norway

Lapland may be world-famous as the home of a certain Mr S. Claus, but around 80,000-100,000 Indigenous Sámi people, known for their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle, also reside in this vast, sprawling region, which sits predominantly within the Arctic Circle, the majority living in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Reindeer are essential to the Sámi culture for food, clothing, money and as a means of transport. A reindeer-sledding experience from the village of Máze in Finnmark, in the far north of Norway, won’t be quickly forgotten. As well as learning about Sámi history and culture from hosts wearing their colourful traditional clothing (called gákti in Sámi), you can ride on an old-fashioned sled pulled along by a small herd of specially trained reindeer. Their hooves trampling the snow is likely to be the only sound in this serene, pristine winter wonderland.

Swimming with rays and turtles in the Caribbean

What could be more relaxing than swimming with turtles in the warm waters of the Caribbean? There’s something incredibly calming about being with these ancient creatures in their natural environment, as they half-float, half-paddle through the ocean, occasionally stopping to feed on seagrasses. In Barbados, it’s possible to swim alongside Hawksbill turtles, known for their distinctive narrow, pointed beak, and to snorkel around magnificent coral reefs that are teeming with hordes of luminous tropical fish.

On most scuba or snorkel expeditions, you’d be lucky to see one or two rays. But there’s really no missing them at Stingray City, a sandbar surrounded by glassy clear waters, off the east coast of Antigua. Here, travellers can get into the shallow water to stand, swim or snorkel among the many stingrays (mainly southern stingrays), to feed and even (under careful supervision) touch the alien-like fish.

A winning combination

Since 2006, Saga has invited experts from the marine wildlife conservation charity ORCA onboard their cruise ships, including wildlife guides and specialists. ORCA team members are usually found on outside decks with a set of binoculars or two, keeping an expert eye out for whales, dolphins, seals and birds.

Image credit ©ORCA

As well as helping guests spot, identify and learn about wildlife at sea and presenting educational on-board talks, each trip is an opportunity for them to collect important scientific data about whale, dolphin, porpoise and other wildlife populations and behaviours in often hard-to-reach (and hard-to-study) ocean locations, which can subsequently feed into conservation efforts to help make sure these wonderful creatures are present for future generations. The partnership’s a big win-win-win for travellers, conservationists and wildlife.

Discover ORCA cruises with Saga, or find out more about our ocean cruises.