Whale watch in Juneau

[serenade]

Hi: I'm planning a first-time Alaska cruise for my family of 3 plus my two parents. I found this 2-guy outfit (Harv & Marv) at alaskawhalewatch.com and wonder if anyone has any experience with them. They operate two small boats (max 6 people each), which sounds wonderful compared to what the cruiseline offers. On a typical whale watch excursion in late June, do I need to worry about being in rough waters on a small boat? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[gwmilligan]

We just got back from Serenade of the Seas. We went whale watching in Juneau with Captain Larry, http://www.orcaenterprises.com. We had read many wonderful things about this tour on this board and his tour lived up to the wonderful words everyone was saying about him. Boat was not as small as you are looking at, we had about 30 people onboard. This is a lot less than the 100+ that some of the folks we talked to that took the cruiseline tour. They did not have good thinks to say about their tour, but we saw about 8 whales, most of them rather close up. Lots of eagles too. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a whale tour.

[CruiseIsGood]

A small boat like that will be much slower, which will mean more time getting to the whales and less time viewing them. Even Captain Larry had less time viewing the whales than the super-fast catamarans of Allen Marine. Those things zoom. His new boat is probably faster, but we all got to the whales about the same time, but he left about a half hour earlier than we did to get back in time.

 

I really wouldn't recommend a small ship with the slower transit time. Sometimes the whales are very far out and actual viewing time could be cut very short.

[Budget Queen]

I have gone with Orca Enterprises for years and is my top recommended vender. :) But look at scheduling and if you want a "private" tour then this may be a good option for you??

 

However, you are asking a question that can't be answered, so if anyone is prone to sea sickness, take precautions. No guarantess that it will always be "smooth sailing". You are on water. :)

[midwife56]

We used Capt Larry and had a wonderful time. We met a family who used Harv & Marv and raved about it. They liked the idea of a small group.

[Casey2]

We just got back from the Radiance 9/17 sailing. We booked Capt. Larry because of recommendations from Budget Queen and many others. We were not disappointed. There were only 4 us on his new boat. Capt. Scott was there too so they alternated driving and talking. Larry seemed to get to the whales before any of the other boats. We were treated watching 2 humpacks breach for about 2 miniutes maybe 100 feet from the boat. What an incredible experience. We were the only boat there at that time. All the other boats missed it.

[wvufan]

Thanks to recommendations on this board, we went with Captain Larry on the 23rd, and it was fantastic. There were 23 of us on his new boat, and both he and Captain Scott were with us as they only had the one boat out that day. There are large windows inside as well as open viewing areas aft and above. Saw whales almost continuously.

 

I can't conceive of ever going back to Juneau without going out with Captain Larry again.

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[Tarheelbelle]

Ditto to what wvufan says. We were with Captain Larry in late May this year. We were on his old boat. The water was not rough at all. We saw an incredible number of humpbacks, several groups of them in fact. We were more than happy with our choice. It was truly awe-inspiring! The outside viewing areas made for some great photos!

[Divetex]

We went with Capt Larry and Scotty in September, and there were only 8 of us on the new boat. That purple dude really gets up and goes - like about 35 knots! Saw about 20 Humpbacks (By Larry's count), Stellar Sea Lions, lots of eagles, and porpoises. Nice day, and got some killer photos with my 300 mm lens. A truly great day, and the sun shined, too!

[number1cruiser]

My husband and myself went with Capt Larry and Scotty in September. It was

raining and cold, that didn't hamper the wonderful sights we saw. Lots of whales and eagles. I would like to warn you though that Capt Larry did smoke

inside the boat, this bothered me becuse there was a small child on board. I'm

a smoker and I would never smoke in a enclosed area. With that said we did have a great time with Orca Enterprises.

 

Number1cruiser

[kabado]

We too went with Captain Larry and Scotty on 9/22. Either he didn't smoke or I was oblivious and I am VERY sensitive to smoke. We saw loads of whales and eagles. It is true that the other boats just follow Captain Larry. He got several radio calls of other boats asking to pull up behind him. Larry's boat is purple colored and the other tours just look for the purple boat!

[judyjudy56]

Go with Capt. Larry. We were on his tour in June and had the treat of a lifetime. We saw a bunch of Orca's. He had seen them earlier in the day and sped out to get to where he thought they would be. We spent almost a half an hour just watching them.

[randolph]

For those that went with Capt.Larry, what time of the day did you go and what was the weather like. I know the weather changes, but was wondering if the weather got better as the day got older.

[Coral]

For those that went with Capt.Larry, what time of the day did you go and what was the weather like. I know the weather changes, but was wondering if the weather got better as the day got older.

 

Go with the time that best fits your schedule.... Weather is unpredictable in Juneau and no one time is better then another. Whales are unpredictable also - one day it may be better in the morning, the next day, in the afternoon. I have also gone with Capt Larry when it is very sunny and he indicated that the whales often like grayer days..

 

There is no way to predict when it will be better - so just go with your schedule.

[mii]

Like Coral said just go with your schedule. You never know what the weather is like. Just this past June(the 1st part of) it was a light rain in Juneau and we went with Capt. Larry. Saw whales even in the rain. The boats are covered by the way so that is not a problem. Have fun.

 

Marilyn

[Budget Queen]

Whales are in the water eating just about 24/7. :) Go with the timeframe that fits your touring best.