Whales and Medenhall before Tracys Arm at 115 possible???

[RN7997]

Hi there. I am sailing NCL Jewel and we are in port 7-130 then our ship sailed past Sawyers Glacier. I am going to book the small boat add on tour to Tracy's Arm which is scheduled for 115. Can anyone tell me the best way to see whales and also Mendenhall Glacier? I see there is a shuttle to the Glacier? Should I expect to see whales on the tracys arm voyage?

[Nancyquilts]

Hi there. I am sailing NCL Jewel and we are in port 7-130 then our ship sailed past Sawyers Glacier. I am going to book the small boat add on tour to Tracy's Arm which is scheduled for 115. Can anyone tell me the best way to see whales and also Mendenhall Glacier? I see there is a shuttle to the Glacier? Should I expect to see whales on the tracys arm voyage?

 

You're pushing it. I would take a whale tour in Juneau. You should get to Sawyer Glacier in the small boat -our experience is that the big ships often turn around before getting that far. Save Mendenhall for your next Alaska cruise.:D

[bonvoyagie]

Wait - you have 5 hrs to kill in Juneau - do the trip to Mendenhall - or book a whale watch with Harv and Marv or any one of the independent vendors - they will make sure you are back to the ship for the Tracy Arm Explorer - esp if they know about it.

 

You may or may not see whales in route to Tracy Arm - even so, the small boat is on a tight schedule and probably will not go out of their way to find one.

 

The main whale feeding grounds are in Auke Bay which is on the other side of Juneau - over near Mendenhall.

[chipmaster]

Hi there. I am sailing NCL Jewel and we are in port 7-130 then our ship sailed past Sawyers Glacier. I am going to book the small boat add on tour to Tracy's Arm which is scheduled for 115. Can anyone tell me the best way to see whales and also Mendenhall Glacier? I see there is a shuttle to the Glacier? Should I expect to see whales on the tracys arm voyage?

 

Difficult call, every port has tradeoffs to make.

 

Whale watching was a highlight for us thru a private vendor. Most leave from a harbor that is a good drive from the cruise docks. Mendenhall is often an add on stop for some that makes sense either going to or from the whale excursion. IMHO there is also the ship cruise offered tour that will insure arrival back to the ship in time but those are usually big bus and bigger boat affair.

 

If your ship sails Tracy/Sawyer anyways you'll get the same scenic, but not same viewpoint. I've taken the smaller tour, nice and gets closer, but IMHO not as important as the whale and Mendenhall if I had to choose, YMMV.

[RN7997]

Hmmmmm now I am really confused......

[fcupersmith]

Hi there. I am sailing NCL Jewel and we are in port 7-130 then our ship sailed past Sawyers Glacier. I am going to book the small boat add on tour to Tracy's Arm which is scheduled for 115. Can anyone tell me the best way to see whales and also Mendenhall Glacier? I see there is a shuttle to the Glacier? Should I expect to see whales on the tracys arm voyage?

 

We are doing the same thing through Harv and Marv. They said they deal with it all th etime and that it was no problem. I would do it.

[chipmaster]

Hmmmmm now I am really confused......

 

Call the private tour companies and see what they can do. We did ours with Orca and as the other poster mentioned Harv likely does as well. I'm sure the private companies work the maximum tasty tours for the cruise passengers and know the schedule of every ship well.

 

I did such a tour, but it was a reverse one. Tracy Arm / Sawyer sailing very early and arrving in Port a little past noon with sailing at 7:30 pm ( I think ). We didn't leave from the bus ride for whale watching till nearly 2pm, didn't get to Mendehnall till around 5:30, got picked up at 6:15 or so and back to the ship just in time. Was an exhausting day... most of my group chose to stay on the ship for the Tracy Arm sailing. They missed seeing a couple bears and such, but had two nice sit down meals compared to me.. comes down to what you are looking for.

[Budget Queen]

With your port time- you HAVE to book a combo Mendenhall/Whale watch tour- IF available. Are any listed on your shore excursion list?

 

You can TRY and see if any of the vendors have any solutions, but they may not, as assumed by a lot of the above.

 

IF a priority, then, my suggestion would be to book the ship shore excursion combo, OR get yourself off the ship right after it clears, then take a cab to Mendenhall. Have an independent whale watch booked that fits your time for the add on Tracy Arm tour. Arrange ahead or call 45 minutes prior to needing it, a cab for a direct transfer from Mendenhall to your whale watch. You MUST have the precise information of the dock, which the vendor will give you. They may even call the cab for you, if you were to call them first- like an hour ahead.

 

Your whale watch would then drop you back off to the ship.

[rotchill]

Shoretrips does a whale watch/mendenhall glacier tour just for NCL. 4.5 hrs including transit from 8 to 12:30. They do it weekly so you will be back by 12:30.

[Budget Queen]

Shoretrips does a whale watch/mendenhall glacier tour just for NCL. 4.5 hrs including transit from 8 to 12:30. They do it weekly so you will be back by 12:30.

 

"shore trips" doesn't do any tours. This likely is with Allen Marine- whom is also the ship contractor.

 

If the price is cheaper than the ship contracted tour package, then a great option for some savings.

[rotchill]

Shoretrips does tours. We just did a three port excursion package the beginning of the July with them. Very organized and great communication once I booked online via email. If you want to do the whale watch and mendenhall with them it is $152.

[Budget Queen]

Shoretrips does tours. We just did a three port excursion package the beginning of the July with them. Very organized and great communication once I booked online via email. If you want to do the whale watch and mendenhall with them it is $152.

 

No they are not the tour vendor, they are booking agents only.

 

Who was the vendor you went with on the whale watch?

[RN7997]

I would be curious to know the vendor as well. I am waiting on a reply email from Harv and Merv to see if they have space. I know someone on my cruise has a private boat day booked with them....I asked if there was room to join but my roll call is not active so I didn't see a reply yet. After lots of reading and suggestions if I can find a whale vendor I think I might cancel tracys arm and see it from the ship this trip.....at least that way I get both. I just can't see spending $1500 in a day for excursions, so one must prioritize right.

[Budget Queen]

I would be curious to know the vendor as well. I am waiting on a reply email from Harv and Merv to see if they have space. I know someone on my cruise has a private boat day booked with them....I asked if there was room to join but my roll call is not active so I didn't see a reply yet. After lots of reading and suggestions if I can find a whale vendor I think I might cancel tracys arm and see it from the ship this trip.....at least that way I get both. I just can't see spending $1500 in a day for excursions, so one must prioritize right.

 

Allen Marine is one of the whale watch vendors who I already mentioned. Frankly, if there is a "private" boat tour- in my case, I don't open it up to anyone else. I charter for a reason. :) I would make some calls instead of emailing, which takes too much time and more questions always seem to pop up. H&M- also usually only has a 15 minute stop at Mendenhall. If you wanted more- I did mention above, alternatives.

[rotchill]

I booked with Shore Trips via email. Great communication about times and pickup locations for all three tours we took through them. All of the communications and pick up sign said shore trips. We had a full hour at Mendenhall glacier. I think the vendor they source is dolphin jet boats. It was a small group, only 10 and was very organized and well ran.

[Budget Queen]

I booked with Shore Trips via email. Great communication about times and pickup locations for all three tours we took through them. All of the communications and pick up sign said shore trips. We had a full hour at Mendenhall glacier. I think the vendor they source is dolphin jet boats. It was a small group, only 10 and was very organized and well ran.

 

Yes, Dolphin is known to contract with booking agents, so very well could have been the vendor, especially with the use of a small boat.

[illiniwahoo]

People have reported that they saw whales on the tracy arm trip, but we did not (and I was looking very hard!). So if you are set on seeing whales, I wouldn't count on the tracy arm trip filling the bill. We did see seals, sea lions, eagles, and a bear

 

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[RN7997]

Is it at all possible to wing it and book a whale tour with a vendor on arrival? Are there discounts offered last minute for boats with availability? The more I read the more torn I am :(

[Budget Queen]

Is it at all possible to wing it and book a whale tour with a vendor on arrival? Are there discounts offered last minute for boats with availability? The more I read the more torn I am :(

 

Yes you could- BUT- you are going to have to be up and ready to go, at least a half hour prior to the posted time. Downstairs and near the gangway. (not having breakfast or in your room). Immediately head up the ramp, stay to the left and get on a shuttle bus. At the tram parking lot, head to a dock kiosk, and see what is available. You don't have a lot of options with such a short port time, so if you find someone with enough space, you may want to consider them. Alternatively, cross the street and head upstairs to Orca Enterprises- they run a mid size boat (that was designed by this company for whale watching) so can accommodate late bookings better than a 6 pack.