Alaska - Going to Juneau in June (the 14th) which whale tour should we take?

[hamlettm]

Hey guys,

 

Were going to Alaska in June and we wanted to know which whale tour is the best? Should we take one of the big ships or do a small private tour on a small boat that fits 10 of us?

 

Suggestions?

[wolfie11]

Most of the small boats are 6-pax, which means the captain is licensed to carry a total of six passengers. You can check around and see if you can find someone to take 10 people together, or you can book a tour through the ship. There are a number of excursions that use Gastineau Guiding and smaller vessels. I personally don't mind the larger Allen Marine boats booked through the ship. There are more crowded but they are also much faster and can get to whales that are further away. I once had a captain take us out an extra 6 miles because he heard there were orca out there. We were the only boat that saw orca that day.

[capriccio]

Harv and Marv may have a 12 passenger boat - at least they did in 2012. Our family group of 8 were on it (with no one else and we were only charged for 8 passengers).

[WisCruiser2]

Harv and Marv now have an 18 passenger boat for their Outback Alaska tour. You can also book private tours with them.

 

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[Crew News]

Once a whale is spotted, a radio call goes out to announce the spotting and other boats converge. From my many whale-watching excursions of the gamut of boats, the issue is a matter of comfort.

 

Larger boats have real restrooms, snack counters with hot beverages and beer, comfortable seats, naturalists aboard, and react less to the waves. Typically, smaller boats have a "head" requiring contorted posture, bottled water, hard seats, student intern naturalists, and react more violently to waves.

 

As previously stated, the smaller boats have much more viewing space per passenger.

[candctroll]

I've been researching the Harv and Marv tours and think I am going to book that. They have great reviews on Trip Advisor and I've seen a lot of people on here recommend them.

[quack2]

The smaller, the better IMO. Less fighting for photo opps.

 

Harv and Marv are great.

[candctroll]

Tried to book Harv and Marv today for July 14th and their private boats were already booked. So if you want to book them might ought to call them soon.