Harv & Marv vs. Kenai Fjords tour

[ljclay0130]

Hi there--

 

Going to Alaska next year!!!

 

I have booked Harv & Marv in Juneau (6 person) and also have been looking at

Kenai Fjords tour in Seward.

 

I don't know what to expect on either but want to make sure that they are different.

 

From what I am gathering- Harv & Marv is whale watching wh iere as Kenai Fjords is more of the wildlife/vista experience.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[gpb11]

We did a Mendenhall & Whale Watching "photo" oriented tour through HAL that was handled by Gastineau Tours in Juneau and had 12 people, so a little bigger than your 6 people. We also did the Kenai Fjords w/ Fox Island Dinner tour in Seward via Kenai Fjord Tours.

 

While there is certainly overlap, the two were substantially different. I'd certainly recommend both if you can do so.

 

Also realize there's a bit of luck of the draw in weather and whale activity. In Juneau it was gray and cloudy, and the humpback whales we saw were not doing a whole lot. Still worth going as we were up close with some stellar sea lions. On the Kenai Fjords tour not only did we have much better weather than either Juneau or Glacier Bay for glacier viewing, but we also encountered a humpback that was breaching over and over and over. For our trip, the Kenai tour resulting in lots more great photos than the Juneau tour, but it could also have easily been the reverse. No way to know until afterward. Knowing what I now know today I would book both of them again.

 

Juneau:

 

Kenai Fjords:

Edited August 16, 2016 by gpb11

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Hi there--

 

Going to Alaska next year!!!

 

I have booked Harv & Marv in Juneau (6 person) and also have been looking at

Kenai Fjords tour in Seward.

 

I don't know what to expect on either but want to make sure that they are different.

 

From what I am gathering- Harv & Marv is whale watching wh iere as Kenai Fjords is more of the wildlife/vista experience.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

I have done both, and you would be correct. They are different experiences. Juneau is located within the Tongass National Forest (the largest national forest in the U.S., comprising most of southeast Alaska), and the Kenai Fjords tour is within Kenai Fjords National Park. The focus in Juneau with Harv and Marv is humpback whales (although you will see other wildlife as well), and the Kenai Fjords offer simply beautiful, spectacular views including huge cliffs with thousands of birds. That's a very basic generalization, and I encourage you to do further research. As you probably know, the research can be almost as much fun as the actual experience. It certainly enhances it!:)

 

http://www.fs.usda.gov/tongass/

 

https://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm

[Old As Dirt Mom]

A photo for you from Juneau, showing humpback whales bubble net feeding:

 

https://twocruisingsisters.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/12-10bubblenetting.jpg

 

A photo of Surprise Glacier on the Kenai Fjords tour:

 

https://twocruisingsisters.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/8-8surpriseglacier.jpg

 

As gpb11 mentioned, weather will be unpredictable.

[rjm11]

I thought I was never going to have a better day than Harv and Marv.... small boat for just our family! Fantastic whale sightings! Sea lions swimming! Sea lions hauled out! Eagles! Scenery! Mendenhall glacier! It was perfect! How could anything BE any better?

 

And then we did the Kenai Fjords trip. Oh. My. God. It was spectacular, and if I could have done just that boat trip for a week straight I would have. And may. Orcas, my God, the Orcas! Three different pods, one near a NOAA vessel that reported that this particular pod had only been photographed one other time. Orcas swimming directly at us then UNDER THE BOAT. Mountain goats. Puffins. Sea otters by the dozens. More humpbacks. MANY sea lions. Seals. An onboard ranger who engaged my kids with a jr ranger program, pelts of furs, and glacier ice drinks. I have nothing but great things to say about both trips- and both were different.... even if they were exactly the same, I'd do them twice, three times, ten times if I could.

Edited August 16, 2016 by rjm11

[dibbitz]

So...In your honest opinions, which would be first choice for whale watching....second, etc. I plan to reserve more than one just in case one is fogged out....any thoughts? We will be going towards the end of September 2016...we will be visiting Juneau, Ketchecan , Sitka and Victoria. thanks.

[barefoot14]

We will be on Celebrity's trip from Vancouver to Seward in July 2017 and I am interested in both of these adventures! Will be watching folks' posts here....

[Chenega]

A photo for you from Juneau, showing humpback whales bubble net feeding:

 

https://twocruisingsisters.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/12-10bubblenetting.jpg

 

A photo of Surprise Glacier on the Kenai Fjords tour:

 

https://twocruisingsisters.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/8-8surpriseglacier.jpg

 

As gpb11 mentioned, weather will be unpredictable.

 

Surprise! Surprise Glacier is seen on the Prince William Sound trips from Whittier, not the Kenai Fjords trips from Seward. Both are excellent excursions. :D

[ljclay0130]

I am definitely booking both!!

 

Thank you all for the clarifications...

 

can't wait for our trip!!!

 

[Budget Queen]

Even going out MULTIPLE times on the SAME tour- is VERY different. (I just did 6 whale trips out of MA)

A lot of people seem to think this common myth of "same". :) :) :) I'm probably hitting close to 100 of these two Alaska tours, and every single one of them was unique, and extremely enjoyable for me. Kenai Fjords are NOT whale watches, I've had my share of these tours, with NO whale sightings- they are ROUTE trips. Juneau whale watches are 100% sightings of humpbacks.

 

It's important to KNOW yourself and what you are looking for? Sure, there is a strong undertone of these being great tours- but there are always going to be some people who feel their money is their priority and will end up resenting the cost. (yes, I've run into a lot of both).

[quack2]

I've lucked out twice in Seward and had great weather for the Kenai Fjords tour. Varied wildlife sighting: whales, puffins, seals, orcas). Plus you get pretty close to the face of a glacier on one of the trip options. I highly recommend this one.

 

I've also done the Harv and Marv whale watching trip on two occasions. The weather has just been okay so the landscape views were nothing special by Alaska standards. However, I did get some fantastic breaching whale photos on one of my trips. I really like Harv and Marv and will use them again.

 

What I won't do again is schedule the cruise ship's whale watching excursion in any port, including Juneau. Waaaay too many people on the boat means you will be lucky to get good photographs.

[onespots]

I cannot speak to Harv & Marv for whale-watching. However I have heard & read very positive reviews about their trips. We did our whale watching boat tour with 10 people out of Icy Strait Point. Excellent experience.

 

We did the longest boat tour for the Kenai Fjords at the time last September. We enjoyed calm seas & clear weather. Trip was about 6 1/2 hours, mostly shoreline, glaciers, nature at it's best, beautiful landscapes, some wildlife, & a Humpback sighting. We very much enjoyed this trip. Happy we took gloves & a warm cap, as we spent most of our time on the bow of the boat taking photos & observing nature. Lunch adequate in volume & taste. We were surprised how quickly the time went by on this trip. We chose the larger boat because we were unsure of sea conditions. Still had no trouble moving around the vessel or hearing all of the announcements & descriptions of things we were observing.

 

 

 

Spotted these Otters just out of the harbor past the jetty

 

 

Enjoyed this from the water

 

 

Glacier Calving

 

 

A free ride

 

Both of your excursions are different & very interesting. Certain you will have nice memories from both trips.

 

Happy Travels, John

[onespots]

Kenai Fjord Boats[/img]

 

I am sorry about the lack of photos, my computer is acting up today. Please excuse this distraction.

Edited August 23, 2016 by onespots

[Budget Queen]

[quote name=onespots;50847622

 

We did the longest boat tour for the Kenai Fjords at the time last September. We enjoyed calm seas & clear weather. Trip was about 6 1/2 hours' date=' mostly shoreline, glaciers, nature at it's best, beautiful landscapes, some wildlife, & a Humpback sighting. We very much enjoyed this trip. Happy we took gloves & a warm cap, as we spent most of our time on

 

 

[/quote]

 

For clarification- this is not the "longest" boat tour, which is Northwestern Fjords -8.5/ 9 hours.

[BeachBlonde217]

THis thread has been very helpful! Related question.....looking at Harv and Marv......and have never been to AK. I did read somewhere in my gads of research something about the fog lifting later in the day.....not sure where that was or even what it was in relation to (specific location, tour, etc) but do you have a better chance of clear weather later in the day? Would it be better to do the 12:30 vs the 9:30am???