Juneau Whale Watching

[Fyrefly]

From a skimming of these boards, it seems like Harv and Marv is heavily favored as an option for whale watching. Just wondering two things:

 

Why do you guys like them so much?

Are there other companies that are also recommended and why?

 

$150pp seems to be about the going rate and I don't think we could do much more than that.

[texasmomoftwo]

Harv and marvs tend to be highly regarded because of the small boat, which means very personal service. Six people per boat. No kids unless you have the entire boat of six in your group.

 

The other highly regarded company is Orca Enterprises. Small operation compared to the Cruiselines, but much larger than Harv and marvs. (35ish people). But bigger boats may be more favorable in terms of seasickness.

 

Hope that helps!

[granny6]

We went with Harv and Marv last June because of the recomendatons on this board. It was awesome for us. We were with 4 other people on our boat. They pick you up at the dock, they had notebooks with pictures for us to look at that told some of the history of Juneau, also our driver, I believe one of the brother in laws gave us a lot of history in our short trip to the boat. On the way back they dropped us off at Mendenhal Glacier, they gave us about an hour to look around or we could stay longer and take the bus back to the dock. We chose for them to take us back after Mendenhal because we had another tour and they got us back for that in plenty of time.

[jasminelee]

How do Adventures in Alaska (Scania) rate? I have only seen a little about them on here.

[happylady]

How do Adventures in Alaska (Scania) rate? I have only seen a little about them on here.

 

This will be our first trip to Alaska. We decided to use Adventures in Alaska after reading a great review on these boards. They are similar to the other tours in that they have a smaller boat and only take 6 people (also, same kid policy). I was sold after seeing that Jeff Corwin of the Discovery Channel used them a few years ago.

 

We had to cancel for May 2010 and when I spoke with Anne-Lise from Adventures, she couldn't have been nicer.

[Sailor_Sally]

I was ready to book Orca but they have had some recent unflattering reviews . Should I be concerned ?

[frugaltravel]

Honestly, I think you will be satisfied with any company. Partly because you don't know what to compare it to, partly because they are all well-run companies.

 

I have been with Harv & Marv multiple times. Their small boats are great - 6 passengers max on three of their boats, 12 passengers max on their "private" boat (one party can book the larger boat at time). Front and back outside viewing areas and comfortably big enough for all to be inside or outside at the same time (usually not everyone is in or out at the same time, but even if so, plenty of room). The captains have lived in Juneau year-round for years and they have an enthusiasm that can hardly be matched. One of their captains (Jay) is also a professional photographer as well. In fact, a world-renown whale photographer from Juneau (Mark Kelley) asked Jay to include many of his photos in the new revision of Mark's Alaska's Watchable Whales book coming out in a couple of months.

 

Orca gets good reviews too. Their boats are larger, but not nearly as large as the boats the ship's tour uses. I think the "unflattering reviews" for Orca are mostly that they are not very responsive to requests in the winter. That is typical of many businesses in Alaska, but most such businesses at least give a hint that they won't reply right away (voice mail message, note on their website, etc). Orca doesn't do this, so people are confused when they repeatedly try to contact Orca and get no response at all for weeks on end.

 

I haven't taken Adventures in Alaska, but I have heard excellent things about Captain Jack.

 

If cost is an issue, last year there was a 2-for-1 coupon in Toursaver for one company. I don't recall the company, and I don't know if they are in the new Toursaver, but someone came back on after the tour and posted a good experience.

 

Honestly, all companies will get you to see whales. No "guarantee" is needed. What I like about Harv & Marv is the experience. It is small enough that they asked pretty much every trip, "What would you like to see?" They could spend more time in one place than another, "Do you want to wait for this or that whale to surface again or maybe go over and see this or that?" They go out of their way to make the tour as personal as possible.

[chipmaster]

We used Orca not a 6 person boat and not a mass market either.

 

They were conveniently located, I was less than impressed with my experience with the higher level management and customer service. We ended up waiting 40' for two other parties to join us for about 12-14 people group. Luck of the draw, every other boat/bus left and we waited and waited and waited. They other parties should have been left at the dock, but its $ I guess. It was doubly a bad taste as I ran like a crazy person from the ship as I had done the Tracy Arm tour and had to get there, and I did get there ON TIME. On the run lost my 2200 dollar camera body as it flew out of my backpack. Than I waited and waited at the office and those bozo's just waited and waited with no feedback to us NOTHING just wait. No feedback just wait wait wait, you can imagine the camera was my business but how long does one wait or sit without getting any information. Felt like I was on a delayed plane or something.

 

The boat guide, crew and time out the water was awesome, as was the bus driver who later took us to Mendenhall.

 

Oh one last bad taste in our mouth, since we ran an hour late, bus driver from Mendenhall ran late as well. We had left a bunch of stuff in the office. You'd think they knew they had one party running late and stay open for us. When we arrived we were treated like garbage like it was our fault we ran late and that they had to stay late to service us. I wouldn't use them again!

 

Love the captain and guide, the company, you can decide!

 

I was ready to book Orca but they have had some recent unflattering reviews . Should I be concerned ?

[chipmaster]

I take objection to the "well-run" in my experince the Orca front office was less than clued in!

 

Honestly, I think you will be satisfied with any company. Partly because you don't know what to compare it to, partly because they are all well-run companies..

[pcl_cruiser]

We are going in June for our first Alaskan cruise and have decided, after much research, to go with Harv and Marv.

[BIG_Steve]

We used Orca in June 2010 and were completely satisfied. The boats are very stable, and there are two viewing platforms. One in the rear, and one on top of the cabin. There were 3 attendants for something like 24 passengers, so we got plenty of personalized service if our shoe laces were untied or something ;) Larry the skipper was right there and was happy to answer any and all questions.

 

The cabin was filled with large windows, so if you stayed in the cabin, you didn't miss anything.

[frugaltravel]

I take objection to the "well-run" in my experince the Orca front office was less than clued in!

 

Tried to be diplomatic :D

[wibeachbum]

I booked Alaska Galore Tours based on a recommendation of a friend whose been out with them. Her son lives in Juneau. Has anyone had any experience with Alaska Galore?

[BIG_Steve]

I booked Alaska Galore Tours based on a recommendation of a friend whose been out with them. Her son lives in Juneau. Has anyone had any experience with Alaska Galore?

 

You may get more input if you start a new thread with that question.

[frugaltravel]

I booked Alaska Galore Tours based on a recommendation of a friend whose been out with them. Her son lives in Juneau. Has anyone had any experience with Alaska Galore?

 

That is the company that was in last year's toursaver. I read one good report, but I am not sure how many others took them.

[kath00]

We took Orka and thought it was fantastic but it was about 5 years ago so who knows how things change.

 

I do remember having to take a bus to a dock to get into their boat. Does anyone know if you need to take a bus to Harv and Marv too? Someone said they pick you up at the dock. Does that mean with the actual boat or a van/bus?

 

Thanks! Trying to minimize all the transfers since I will be with little kid and older mom. ;)

 

Katherine

[BIG_Steve]

We took Orka and thought it was fantastic but it was about 5 years ago so who knows how things change.

 

I do remember having to take a bus to a dock to get into their boat. Does anyone know if you need to take a bus to Harv and Marv too? Someone said they pick you up at the dock. Does that mean with the actual boat or a van/bus?

 

Thanks! Trying to minimize all the transfers since I will be with little kid and older mom. ;)

 

Katherine

 

Boat H&M and Orca take you over in a tour bus. Orca goes from their office, which is right where you get off the shuttle bus from the dock. Don't know about H&M.