Humpback Whale Swims into Sydney Cruise Port, Causes Delays

Cruise guests of Carnival Splendor may have gotten to partake in a surprise whale watching experience in Sydney, Australia, while disembarking from a 9-night sailing and embarking on a new 4-night sailing on July 16, 2025.

At around 8 a.m. local time, a juvenile humpback whale was spotted in Fort Denison in Sydney Harbour, not far from the famed Sydney Opera House.

More likely than not, this whale was migrating south, and had potentially even been in the harbour as early as the night of July 15.

However, the initial sighting came about an hour and a half after cruise tracking data shows that the Carnival cruise ship arrived at the Port of Sydney at approximately 6:30 a.m. that morning.

But rather than making a quick visit, the whale instead went on a grand tour of the harbour and cruise port that lasted for several hours.

Along the way, the whale was supervised by the New South Wales (NSW) National Parks and Wildlife Service for its own safety.

“Most will hang out around Manly and then work out it’s not in the right place and swim away, but this one is having the full harbour experience,” said Dr. Vanessa Pirott, a whale expert who was on one of the boats that shadowed the marine creature throughout its adventure.

Starting in the morning and into the late afternoon, the animal swam by Circular Quay, which is home to the ferry terminal and the Overseas Passenger Cruise Terminal.

It then swam east to the defence base of Garden Island and to Watsons Bay before turning north to explore Balmoral Bay.

By the late afternoon, the young humpback had backtracked to explore Rose Bay in the East.

Ferry operations were temporarily suspended during the morning commute at around 9 a.m., but the ferries were up and running again shortly thereafter.

Meanwhile, it appears that the 3,619-guest Carnival cruise ship was docked during the delays.

She set sail on her next voyage on time at approximately 3:30 p.m. local time on July 16, which was to Moreton Island.

Carnival Splendor has also already visited the cruise port one more time to begin a 12-night sailing to Fiji and the South Pacific on July 20.

Protecting the Whale’s Safety

Humpback whales only recently made it off the endangered species list in Australia in 2022, thanks to significant growth in their population, but it’s still important to keep these animals safe.

An estimated 20,000 whales of various species around the world are killed by ship strikes annually, although it’s unclear how many of these are from cruise ships.

In order to prevent this curious whale from meeting that unfortunate fate, authorities supervised the whale’s movements until it safely left the harbour and returned to the “Humpback Highway” that runs along Australia’s east coast.

“NSW Maritime and NSW National Parks and Wildlife are literally escorting a school bus-sized mammal out of the harbour. It’s so easy for vessels to strike whales,” Dr. Pirott explained.

“They do things when you least expect it – [we’re] making sure it has space and is escorted out of the harbour, because this one is very inquisitive,” she continued.

In addition to temporarily halting ferry traffic while the whale was blocking the route, the experts stayed in a formation around the side and rear of the animal to prevent other vessels from getting too close.

The whale migration season in Australia runs annually from May to November, and while most whales do not make any side quests into the busy port, there have been four other humpback sightings in the busy port this year.

This instance was just especially unique because this whale was much more inquisitive and curious than previous marine visitors.

Catie Kovelman

Catie is an award-winning journalist and researcher. By day, she helps market new movies and TV shows as a senior research manager. But by night, she loves writing cruise news. In addition to Cruise Hive, Catie has contributed to a variety of newspapers, magazines, and other online publications, such as The Plaid Horse, Unwritten, YourTango, Fangirl Nation Magazine, Chapman Magazine, the Orange County Register, and Voice of OC.