Categories: Things To Do

This wild new cruise from BC to Alaska lets you listen in on whales

Image via https://www.victorycruiselines.com/

Here’s a pretty interesting option for a summer vacation! A new collaboration between researchers and a cruise line will give people the opportunity to listen in on whales on a BC to Alaska cruise. That’s right, you could actually help people figure out just what the heck those gentle giants are saying to each other!

The Sound Science Research Collective, led by Dr. Michelle Fournet, has teamed up with American Queen Voyages for their inaugural Alaska cruises. They’ll be using a brand new ship, the Ocean Victory, which is apparently the ultimate vessel for “expedition cruising”.

So, what does this expedition entail? Well, in addition to all the classic cruise amenities, guests will also be able to join researchers on Zodiac boats, where hydrophones will be used to listen in on the sounds made by whales. Alongside this option, there will also be a series of lectures and other expedition activities to enjoy, with a focus on helping researchers collect their data.

There will be three cruises with this option this summer. Two of them run from Vancouver to Sitka, Alaska, with another one coming back. It’s not exactly a budget option, we’ll admit, with prices starting around $4,200 USD for a 12-day cruise.

But yeah, if you’ve got the cash, then you can pretty much take part in graduate student level expeditions and listen in on whales during a BC cruise. We don’t know about you, but we’d be feeling a lot like George Costanza out there, and we’d love every second of it.