Alaska Tours..Who to use?

[mynyddisamrs]

I'm looking for any reviews on some tour companies for our Alaskan Cruise mid. Sept. 2011.

Wow! ...so many to choose from. Who to choose?

From Ketchikan ...We're thinking of doing a Bear Watching/ Float plane trip. Orca enterprises is considered...anyone have any comments?

From Juneau ....Whale watching ...again with Orca Enterprises. Any others we should consider?

Then from Skagway ....we wanted to do the Yukon Experience with the dog cart trip. Several choices ...Orca Enterprises, Frontier Excursions & Adventures or Chilkoot Charter tours. Or....Dyea Dave custom tours for a tour minus the dog experience. would that be better?

 

Here's hoping someone can point us in the right direction!!

 

Cheers everyone!

[Texas Tillie]

????? You have Orca Enterprises listed for all 3 ports. They are a whale watching outfit from Juneau only. I can recommend them for that. Also can recommend Chilkoot Charters for the White Pass Yukon rail excursions out of Skagway.

[mr green]

Dyea Dave is great.

 

john

[frugaltravel]

Orca Enterprises and Harv & Marvs get the most positive feedback on the forum for whale watching in Juneau. Both are booked often by cruisers. Orca's boats hold 20+ passengers, Harv & Marv's 6-12. Larger may seem like an advantage to some, a disadvantage to others.

[Budget Queen]

This poster is listing Orca Enterprises as a booking agent, they are not operating any tours other than their whale watch, of which I have been a long time customer of, over 10 years, and highly recommend them.

 

As for your bear watching, be advised, this may not be available to you. You are going late in the season. You will be able to book this ahead, but be well prepared with back up plans if canceled. Operators, will close this tour, once the sightings are poor.

 

I highly recommend Chilkoot Charters as well, they do an excellent job on their combo Yukon tours.

 

You also are advised to be well prepared for this end of season sailing. Have good rain gear, warm attire. It will be dusk by 7pm, so plan your time well.

[frugaltravel]

This poster is listing Orca Enterprises as a booking agent, they are not operating any tours other than their whale watch

 

As is often recommended on this forum, especially by Budget Queen, it is wisest to book directly with each vendor and not with a booking agent, regardless of whether that booking agent also operates one of the tours you are interested in. This has been mentioned often, for example:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=26003071&postcount=19

They are a booking agent and a useless middle man. Go DIRECT to vendor.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=24985565&postcount=4

About MGT?? They are a well established well run company. BUT, as already noted, they are acting as a booking agent ONLY. They do not run any whale watch tours.

 

Orca is a well-established whale watch tour company (as are Harv & Marvs and Adventures in Alaska, among others) but it would be acting as a booking agent only for anything other than their own whale watch tours. The advice remains the same - book directly with vendors.