My wife and I went on an Alaskan cruise in June of this year. I had just recently purchased my Nikon D200 with an 18 - 200mm VR lens which I used to take these shots.
We were very lucky to not only see what we saw, but to see it from so close. Our guide told us that she only gets to see a whale breeching once a month or so and she goes out twice a day.
I took over 1,000 pics that afternoon. Good thing I had a 16gb card with me. I am also so glad that I had a VR lens because the boat we were on was rocking back and forth with the movement of the water and had I not had a VR lens I doubt that I would've gotten these shots.