Newbie Needs Your Help - Icy Strait Point Whales, Wildlife & Brown Bear Search

[JimAOk1945]

Hi Everyone! I’m a newbie to Cruise Critic. I’ve already enjoyed reading the boards and have already learned so much that is very helpful.

My wife and I have booked an August 2012 southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver on the RC Radiance of the Seas. We are so excited about it and are beginning to plan our shore excursions.

I have a couple of questions about Icy Strait Point excursion Whales, Wildlife & Brown Bear Search - IC24 offered through the cruise line. I’m hoping someone here who has been on this same excursion would be able to share their experience on this excursion.

Do you remember how much time you spent on the water viewing the whales?

When you went on the Brown Bear Search, did you watch for bears from a platform?

Thanks in advance for any information or tips you can provide!

[jletsgo]

You will love this cruise....In Icy Strait we did the whale watch only excursion and it was amazing...saw so many whales in was unbelievable. We did not do the excursion you are talking about but friends of ours did and they said that they felt rushed going from one thing to the other. They wished they would have just done the whale watch by itself. Hope this helps.

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks jletsgo. It's nice to get such a quick response!:)

[jletsgo]

Sure thing.....a little info for you on the whale watch...what we didnt expect and was a nice surprise is that the tour boat supplied everyone on-board with really powerful binoculars so you didn't miss any wildlife. Not sure if you are going to stop in Ketchikan but we did a zip line excursion their that was really good. Beautiful bald eagles flying all around us...was a great experience.

[JimAOk1945]

Our cruise includes Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, as well as Icy Strait Point. When did you cruise on the Radiance?

[mzoscar1]

We did this excursion last year, and it was AMAZING!! We did not feel rushed, had a break between the 2 excursions. We did have some great whale sightings including one that was "sleeping". The naturalist on board was great. The bear segment was The highlight of our cruise! We saw a momma bear and her three cubs fishing in the river. We did view them from platforms, and it was the third and last platform we watched them from. As with any wildlife excursion, it comes down to luck, but the guides were great, and we would have had a nice excursion without seeing the bears, but being able to watch them work their way up the river was truly amazing!! I highly recommend this tour.

[mrell345]

The wife and I just got back from the 18 May Radiance southbound trip. We did the whale watch only tour as well in Icy strait point. Lots of Humpbacks for us as well. We also spotted a few eagles, a group of seals and a few dolphins.

[marci22]

Have you checked the Alaska boards? Tons of information there and lots of helpful posters. See "Ports of Call" then "Alaska".

[JimAOk1945]

A big THANKS for all the great information on this thread.

 

mrell345, mzoscar1, jletsgo, Did you take the ship sponsored whale watch or go with a private company?

 

mrell345, your pictures are amazing. What type of camera did you use?

 

Please keep the information and tips coming! The more, the better. :)

[mrell345]

Booked it through the cruise line. Though we really wanted to be on the one I took a picture of here.

[jletsgo]

A big THANKS for all the great information on this thread.

 

mrell345, mzoscar1, jletsgo, Did you take the ship sponsored whale watch or go with a private company?

 

mrell345, your pictures are amazing. What type of camera did you use?

 

Please keep the information and tips coming! The more, the better. :)

We always go with RCCL's excursions....I know alot of cruisers like to do private tours but I like to relax when on a tour and not worry about getting back on time, etc. We were on the Radiance in July 2010...it was an amazing trip. Land tour weather was mid 70's the whole time...cooler naturally on the ship, especially when cruising past the glacier. We had gloves on while out on our balcony sailing past the glacier.

[mrell345]

as for the camera, i used a canon t3i with my Tamron 70-300 Vi DC lense for those pictures

[songster2]

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2300561832688.2141107.1208441198&type=3&l=1d6fa19160 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2300561832688.2141107.1208441198&type=3&l=1d6fa19160 These are links to my son's photos from our Alaska B2B on the Radiance last year. We did all Ship's tours and had a wonderful time. These addresses look the same so they may be to the same photos. The breaching whales at ISP were incredible. I know you will have an amazing time. :D

[JimAOk1945]

songster2,

 

Thanks for taking the time to post the link to your son's pictures. They are absolutely amazing! I absolutely want to take this excursion now. :)

[JimAOk1945]

marci22, Thanks for the tip. I posted my question on the Alaska board yesterday. So far...only one reply, but it was helpful.

 

It just made sense to post my question on this board since the OP went on the same ship and itinerary that we are sailing in August.

 

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to post all your helpful and enthusiatic replies. :)

[mzoscar1]

A big THANKS for all the great information on this thread.

 

mrell345, mzoscar1, jletsgo, Did you take the ship sponsored whale watch or go with a private company?

 

mrell345, your pictures are amazing. What type of camera did you use?

 

Please keep the information and tips coming! The more, the better. :)

 

Although we like to do independent tours, we usually go with the ship excursions in Alaska. Seems there are a lot of exclusive agreements where you cannot book independently in some ports, and ISP really felt like a "private island" atmosphere to us. Here are some photos of what we saw on the bear watch portion of our tour.

[rae8836]

Did Northbound and Southbound Alaska b2b a couple of years ago. Used F.I.S.H.E.S private whale watching tour at ISP - highly recommend. The ship tours were on large boats with 20-40 people. F.I.S.H.E.S boat had a max of 8 and there were only two couples on our trip. Trip was dynamically altered based on what was found and we couldn't have had any more personal attention. Many favorable mentions of this firm on Alaska boards... check it out.

[Budget Queen]

We always go with RCCL's excursions....I know alot of cruisers like to do private tours but I like to relax when on a tour and not worry about getting back on time, etc. We were on the Radiance in July 2010...it was an amazing trip. QUOTE]

 

This ship tour booking worked out excellent for you. But, for others, this is a completely unfounded issue with independent touring in Alaska, there haven't been ANY reports over many years of anyone not making it back to the ship on time.

 

 

There are many well established long time, excellent, consistant vendors in Alaska, used by 100's of visitors every day. It is simple to book direct, if you choose to, always disclose your ship port times and go with the vendor's scheduling recommentions.

[Budget Queen]

marci22, Thanks for the tip. I posted my question on the Alaska board yesterday. So far...only one reply, but it was helpful.

 

It just made sense to post my question on this board since the OP went on the same ship and itinerary that we are sailing in August.

 

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to post all your helpful and enthusiatic replies. :)

 

I may have replied on the Alaska board?

 

Some factors, that some are not aware of. The cruiseline vendor is Allen Marine- they are a very well run company who does give excellent tours, but, as the ship vendor- their tours are tightly timed and the shortest of the whale watchs available. For whale watching- longer ALWAYS equals more opportunity for viewing. For the Hoonah bear search tours- the cruiseline tours are definately the the better options to consider. They too are tightly times, but worse, it is a FIXED route and location, just going back and forth to platforms. The browns are all over the place in Hoonah and it isn't a zoo. You will have far more opportunity for finding and seeing bears, if you go independent. The highlight for many is seeing brown bears salmon feeding. The ship tour location is mostly meadow.

[NorbertsNiece]

Another thumbs up for F.I.S.H.E.S in ISP. What an amazing experience. They met us at the dock and brought us back. Refreshments on board.

 

Need to remember that the wildlife is responsible only to itself... there is no guarantee of seeing ANYTHING.

 

Full review in my blog in sig below. You will have a blast whatever you decide to do. Wish I were coming with.

[jletsgo]

We always go with RCCL's excursions....I know alot of cruisers like to do private tours but I like to relax when on a tour and not worry about getting back on time, etc. We were on the Radiance in July 2010...it was an amazing trip. QUOTE]

 

This ship tour booking worked out excellent for you. But, for others, this is a completely unfounded issue with independent touring in Alaska, there haven't been ANY reports over many years of anyone not making it back to the ship on time.

 

 

There are many well established long time, excellent, consistant vendors in Alaska, used by 100's of visitors every day. It is simple to book direct, if you choose to, always disclose your ship port times and go with the vendor's scheduling recommentions.

I in no way meant to offend any one that prefers to book tours on their own....for me, I just like the comfort of going with an RCCL excursion. Kudos to any that book private tours...I know they are usually cheaper and more extensvie.

[Budget Queen]

I in no way meant to offend any one that prefers to book tours on their own....for me, I just like the comfort of going with an RCCL excursion. Kudos to any that book private tours...I know they are usually cheaper and more extensvie.

 

I understand your point and it works best for you. :) I was only referring your comment "worrying about getting back on time" which could imply vendor laxness to some readers.