Alaska, whale watching excursion worth it?

You have been given very good information. A private excursion on a small boat to me was well worth the price & education.

These photos were taken from a 16 passenger boat out of Icy Strait Point ( Hoonah ) Capt. Dan boat owner in last photo.

Since you asked...

It is often called whale waiting.

& will you be satisfied with dorsal fins & tails at a distance?

They are wild animals & while some people have amazing experiences, others are disappointed - expecting a National Geographic experience on a cruise ship excursion...

Does anyone know if there will still be whale watching in September-

We will be in Icy Strait Point-Sept.16 2017

On Holland America- Thanks-Randi

Just got off Skype with the humpbacks - they confirmed that they'll wait until the last cruise vessel departs before heading south just like every year. A very accommodating bunch.

All facetiousness aside though, the southward migration won't get going until after you leave - it's 100% humpback spotting out of ISP all cruise season, every cruise season.

Thank you for getting back to me-Good to know info

Randi

Does anyone know if there will still be whale watching in September-

We will be in Icy Strait Point-Sept.16 2017

On Holland America- Thanks-Randi

Migration isn't until much later, so humpbacks are seen in Sept.

Thank you Budget Queen-Randi

I sometimes find people asking this question, a costly whale watch may not be for them. Many times, this type of question would never be considered, by someone really intent on seeing them. :)

It is also very unrealistic to expect sightings similar to some of the above reports above as they definitely are NOT typical. Usual "whale watch" tours, involve a great deal of "whale waiting". "Normal", behavior is going to be blows, backs and tails- NOTHING more. An example of the multiple extended bubble net feedings I recently saw on 2 trips out of Hoonah, and 2 out of Seward were very atypical. In my case, I didn't see ANY other bubble netting, for the last year, going out on at least 20 whale watch trips. (which is way more than most travelers).

Just keep it real. :) It's an exciting adventure- IF of interest to you wanting to see more. IF you invest the time, and have a good pair of binoculars- yes, you can also enjoy them for free. Depends on you, what you wish to do/include. But certainly not a "must do" with an added whale watch tour.

For me, a whale watch was a must do. I really wanted to see them and felt this was my best option. We were all very glad we went. We saw 5 whales (fins and tales) and one of them rolled and showed her dorsals. That same one also breached with her whole body. We were very lucky. We also saw sea lions from very close and a few seals.

We spent a bit of time watching from the ship and I think I saw a whale maybe 3-4 times from the ship. We saw lots of sea otters in Glacier Bay and quite a few sea lions and seals. I'm sure plenty of people on the ship didn't see these. You had to know how to look. If I hadn't gone on the whale watching tour, I probably would have missed them from the ship.

Your reply is most appreciated- Thank you for your thoughts. Randi

I'm wondering whether to do 2 whale watch trips. We are signed up for the 7.5 hour Kenai Fjords cruise from Seward with Major Marine expecting glaciers, whales and other wild life).

I'm trying to decide whether to do another whale and wildlife trip in Juneau:

Probably the Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest with Allen Marine.

The drawback is that that tour only has 45 minutes at Mendenhall Glacier. I'm wondering whether it is possible to take a shuttle or bus back to Juneau on our own if we have the cruise first version of the excursion. That seems to be the only complaint in reviews of this excursion.

If we didn't do that, we would probably take the shuttle to Mendenhall, take the trail to the falls and visit the visitor center.

Either way, we would have enough time in port to also do the tram.

I'm still looking at a couple of other options.

Just take whatever Juneau whalecwatch tour you want and call a cab to pick you up and take you to Mendenhall when the whale watch is done. Spend whatever time you want at the Glacier (we spent a couple of hours) and call a cab to pick you up. That's exactly what we did. It was very easy.

I'm wondering whether to do 2 whale watch trips. We are signed up for the 7.5 hour Kenai Fjords cruise from Seward with Major Marine expecting glaciers, whales and other wild life).

 

I'm trying to decide whether to do another whale and wildlife trip in Juneau:

Probably the Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest with Allen Marine.

The drawback is that that tour only has 45 minutes at Mendenhall Glacier. I'm wondering whether it is possible to take a shuttle or bus back to Juneau on our own if we have the cruise first version of the excursion. That seems to be the only complaint in reviews of this excursion.

 

If we didn't do that, we would probably take the shuttle to Mendenhall, take the trail to the falls and visit the visitor center.

 

Either way, we would have enough time in port to also do the tram.

 

I'm still looking at a couple of other options.

For me, with a wildlife priority, I go out on tours most EVERY opportunity. With only "one" trip you can't expect an ideal "National Geographic" trip. The more opportunities you take advantage of, the more you see. Simple math. :)

Kenai Fjords boat tours are not whale watches. They are route trips, with varied wildlife. IF whales are a priority with this tour, then "longer" is going to give you more opportunity.

If you want to SEE whales up close & personal I recommend an excursion in Icy Strait Point with a private vendor in a smaller boat. They can get to where the whales are very quickly.

 

I am not exaggerating when I saw we saw 30-40 whales, one breached and some feeding. Saw many, many tails some two & 3 at a time.

 

One whale actually swam under our boat. We had 16 on board a boat for 18 compared to the cruise excursions 150+ on their boat.

 

We did see a view from the ship but they were far off and you couldn't really make out anything.

 

We are going back next June and that is one excursions I will definitely repeat. It is well worth the expense!

 

 

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ace1zoe2, which port/tour company was this? Juneau?

I think a lot of it has to do with your interest and where you live honestly. I live in CA. I've been on whale tours in Hawaii 2x and in CA a few times where tickets are less than $25 each. I've seen Gray, Blue, and Humpbacks. I'm in Juneau today and really just want to see the glacier and fish hatchery however, if I got some cheap deal at the pier for a no thrills whale tour I would do it.

To me if I had never seen whales in the wild and was going to Alaska, I would definitely take a tour.

ace1zoe2, which port/tour company was this? Juneau?

This was Hoonah. BUT, it's a little misleading. Third week of May had the herring bloom in the Bay which the humpbacks were feeding on. I was there, I also returned the following week and it was OVER, the humpbacks had moved out to Sister's Island, where my whale watch went, and had more bubble netting. This is now over at this time, almost 3 weeks later.

So the claim that this is the "place" with all the action is pure hit and miss. At this time, boat tours are doing longer runs to find humpbacks and don't expect to find bubble netting. I hadn't seen any bubble netting prior to my 4 times this year, over the past year and 25++ whale watches. This year, saw bubble netting out of both Hoonah and Seward. Not out of Juneau- during my visits.

Just take whatever Juneau whalecwatch tour you want and call a cab to pick you up and take you to Mendenhall when the whale watch is done. Spend whatever time you want at the Glacier (we spent a couple of hours) and call a cab to pick you up. That's exactly what we did. It was very easy.

Going July 15th and already booked for a whale watching tour! My favorite excursion! (4th time to Alaska) could you please share information on calling a cab. (Phone number, etc.) Have always used bus, but would much prefer cab to Mendenhall! Thanks!

I highly recommend the experience but whether or not it is worth it depends on your experience and what you place priority on.

We have experienced it in different ways but the one I enjoyed most was being on a small vessel with my family of four, two other people and a captain and his assistant. We were so close to the Whale that for better or worse we could smell their breath.

Keith

We really enjoy whale watches, and have had great experiences with Gastineau Guiding three times.

A little story that may tell you how much we enjoy the whale watches. Recently my wife embarked on a very successful weight loss program, and went from being definitely above the "weight surcharge" level to very definitely below the weight surcharge threshold. She was SUPER excited to go pick a helicopter tour, and yet after viewing the options, nothing grabbed her attention as much as a whale watch, so we're doing another whale watch in September.