Juneau Whale Watching... tour options

[kazda]

HI

Will be in port at Juneau on Star Princess on 1st June.

 

Wanting to do a Whale Watching tour and I contacted Orca via email in late December and again in early February and am yet to receive a reply. I realise they may not be in their office until closer to 2016 season starts.

 

However, as we don't want to miss out on a tour I thought I would book an excursion through Princess and then cancel before the 30 day cut off IF I hear back from Ocra in time and they have availability for 2.

 

We only want to do whale watching and not combine with Mendenhall Glacier or anything else.

 

I found a Princess excursion 'Animal Planet Exclusive: Discover Alaska's Whales JNU-670.

The description states ' this is a genuine research vessel and we will participate in various science activities'

 

Has anybody that has gone on this tour advise what the science activities are as we only want to watch for whales and not do any 'activities'.

Pretty sure this tour is run by Gastineau Guiding as the description on their website matches the description for Princess excursions.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated, just in case we don't have any availability with Orca.

 

Thanks

Edited February 24, 2016 by kazda
extra

[Potstech]

Never heard back fromHarv and Marv after 3 emails. Went a different way.

[Italy52]

Email service can be hit or miss in Alaska so that is why I always call when I need to make inquiries or reservations --- never had a problem reaching someone.

[RaiderCruiser]

We booked with Harv and Marv last year and skipped the glacier stop since we had other things planned. This was fine with our driver and he took us to our next stop.

[Budget Queen]

Try calling.

 

 

I know, my emails have been spotty.

[kazda]

Thanks for the info.

I didn't mention it but I did try phoning Orca last week, got their answer machine and left a message.

I'll try phoning again today.

 

Would it be possible they attend their office now (feb) or is it still to early being out of season. ?

 

Also, Is Harv / Marv's company called Gastineau Guiding ?? , due to the 2 replies I received re Harv/Marv.

Edited February 24, 2016 by kazda

[prmrolltide]

I booked Harv and Marv a few weeks ago via email and got quick responses from them.

[Italy52]

Thanks for the info.

I didn't mention it but I did try phoning Orca last week, got their answer machine and left a message.

I'll try phoning again today.

 

Would it be possible they attend their office now (feb) or is it still to early being out of season. ?

 

Also, Is Harv / Marv's company called Gastineau Guiding ?? , due to the 2 replies I received re Harv/Marv.

 

Harv/Marv is NOT Gastineau Guiding, it is Harv & Marv's Outback Alaska.

 

Here is the toll free phone number: (866) 909-7288

email: http://www.harvandmarvs.com

 

The above contact information was taken right off my confirmation sheet.

[kazda]

Thanks Italy52

 

My preferred operator is Orca, following that I'll go with Princess excursions which has a max of 20 passengers with the tour we will book as a backup incase Orca are full.

Harv and Marv get good reviews but we prefer a slightly bigger boat.

Edited February 25, 2016 by kazda

[gkacky]

I contacted Harv and Marv several days ago and received a response within several hours. They also replied to my questions within the hour.

[kazda]

I contacted Harv and Marv several days ago and received a response within several hours. They also replied to my questions within the hour.

 

Thanks for your response, but my initial question never mentioned nor was it in relation to Harv and Marv excursions nor their response times

Edited February 26, 2016 by kazda

[mapleleaves]

Wasn't Orca the company where Capt Larry was pulled off the ship during an excursion and arrested for drunk driving ?? and later convicted.

 

I understood he was a knowledgeable person and if he's still on the boat as a naturalist, that's great. But does anyone know if he still captains the boat??

 

Yes, just did a search and it was ORCA.

[peety3]

We have absolutely loved Gastineau Guiding all three times we've used them, and regretted not using them on the only other time we've been in Juneau. We usually do the Photo Safari (JNU-700), but you could get almost the same in JNU-705. Given that JNU-705 is GG, I'd be surprised if JNU-670 was GG also, but I could be wrong.

 

Honestly, I'd just say pick JNU-700. It's usually the same price as JNU-705, but ends up being a smaller crowd (14 vs. 20) on a slightly smaller boat (no aft viewing platform, but with 6 fewer pax it's no big deal). Cam Byrnes was a great guide for us in 2010, and Molly might look young but she's got the chops to equal Cam plus a lot more energy. Captain Jen gets super-giddy if the passengers get giddy, which tends to feed on itself; we've had her twice. (Sadly, I don't remember who our guide was in 2014, he was plenty good but "quietly unmemorable" I guess.)

[Budget Queen]

Wasn't Orca the company where Capt Larry was pulled off the ship during an excursion and arrested for drunk driving ?? and later convicted.

 

I understood he was a knowledgeable person and if he's still on the boat as a naturalist, that's great. But does anyone know if he still captains the boat??

 

Yes, just did a search and it was ORCA.

 

That was in 2014. I'm sure this matter has been taken care of legally and the licence has been thoroughly reviewed and sanctions implemented as per the issuing agency.

 

Unfortunately this isn't an isolated incident, there have also been several drug failures that didn't get the publicity.

[kazda]

Thanks all for the replies

 

I phoned Orca again and this time I got lucky and Larry answered the phone as he was in the office for a short time before going away for a few days.

 

After he became used to my Australian accent :), turns out I had a typo in the email address so he didn't receive any of my emails.

 

Anyway all has worked out and we're in the process of booking with him directly.

Edited February 26, 2016 by kazda