TNCruzer56 Posted June 26, 2018 #1 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Is it Juneau? What company seems to have to best success ? Thanks much in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WisCruiser2 Posted June 26, 2018 #2 Share Posted June 26, 2018 We had a great trip in Juneau with Harv & Marv's, 12 of us on a 34 foot boat (that was very stable). We also had a naturalist on board. We saw sea lions, a pod of orcas, and several humpbacks, including one that came up and flipped its tail about 6 feet from the boat! Bear in mind that no company can "guarantee" sightings, and you most likely will see just the backs and tails (we learned that humpbacks don't breach very much in Alaska). Sent from my SM-G930R6 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT1962 Posted June 26, 2018 #3 Share Posted June 26, 2018 We saw lots of whales and bubble net feeding in Icy Strait Point last May. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmo1 Posted June 26, 2018 #4 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Two weeks ago at Juneau we saw five or six humpback whales on an excursion purchased from Princess Cruise Line. At Ketchikan, we saw a pod of orcas and humpback whales very close to the boat on an excursion through Lighthouse Tours that was not even advertised as a whale watching tour. The boat captain said that it was very unusual, and that we got the tour of a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InternetAgeTraveler Posted June 26, 2018 #5 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Seeing whales happens all of the time. It’s how close are you to the whales and what do you see. If you watch from the ship for the whale to spout, you will see them and possibly them diving. But you may be a long ways away. The whale tours do the same thing but try to get you closer and they exchange info on where they are. We saw bubble feeding right from our balcony while docked in Ketchikan so anything is possible. We also went with Harv&Marv and saw orcas so that can happen too. But both are more rare than the typical tail show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherryf Posted June 26, 2018 #6 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Bear in mind that no company can "guarantee" sightings, and you most likely will see just the backs and tails. Actually, all of the vendors in Juneau do "guarantee" sightings. The boats all communicate and let others know where the whales are. Usually when you get to where the whales are, there are at least a dozen other boats in the vicinity watching the same whales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WisCruiser2 Posted June 26, 2018 #7 Share Posted June 26, 2018 From Harv & Marv's website: "Do you have a whale sighting guarantee? A. No/Yes. After seeing whales on 100% of the trips, we decided not to use this as a means to get customers. We promise to do the best we can to locate whales on each and every trip. If you do not see a whale on your tour, you will receive a 50% refund." Sent from my SM-G930R6 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italy52 Posted June 26, 2018 #8 Share Posted June 26, 2018 We saw lots of whales and bubble net feeding in Icy Strait Point last May. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Same thing happened to us during our May 14th and May 22nd 2018 whale watching excursions with Glacier Wind --- it was insane all the bubble net feeding that was going on --- have taken numerous trips to Alaska and have never seen so much bubble feeding. We were truly blessed as we know this is not typical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRZe787 Posted June 27, 2018 #9 Share Posted June 27, 2018 We did whale and glacier combo in Juneau 2yrs ago. We use shoretrips.com as it was cheaper than cruise line. Now they are about the same or more. Do you own shopping. However, we had fun and saw the whales up and close. The boat used carry about 12 people maybe 16 at most... We are doing ISP next month to change it up Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety3 Posted June 28, 2018 #10 Share Posted June 28, 2018 We've done five tours with Gastineau Guiding, and they offer a $100 cash guarantee if you don't see a whale. They have 9 boats, last I heard, and have been in business 15 years, last I heard. They've never issued a single dollar in guarantee payouts. You'll see whales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J898989 Posted June 30, 2018 #11 Share Posted June 30, 2018 If you spent time outside or watching from somewhere, whales and lots of other wildlife can be seen from the ship We saw tons from ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubofhockey Posted June 30, 2018 #12 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Not sure about Juneau, but for us, I would rate Seward (Kenai Fjords) #1 because of both humpbacks and orcas and Hoonah (Icy Strait Point) #2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italy52 Posted June 30, 2018 #13 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Not sure about Juneau, but for us, I would rate Seward (Kenai Fjords) #1 because of both humpbacks and orcas and Hoonah (Icy Strait Point) #2. Did you get to see a lot of whales and orcas on your Kenai Fjord excursion? We haven't seen much over the last two years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susiesan Posted June 30, 2018 #14 Share Posted June 30, 2018 We've done five tours with Gastineau Guiding, and they offer a $100 cash guarantee if you don't see a whale. They have 9 boats, last I heard, and have been in business 15 years, last I heard. They've never issued a single dollar in guarantee payouts. You'll see whales. Looks like Gastineau Guiding makes you book through the cruise lines. If you have your own group of 20 they will do a private tour. I have emailed them to see about booking myself without going through the cruise ship so as to get a better price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugmadkate Posted July 4, 2018 #15 Share Posted July 4, 2018 We've done five tours with Gastineau Guiding, and they offer a $100 cash guarantee if you don't see a whale. They have 9 boats, last I heard, and have been in business 15 years, last I heard. They've never issued a single dollar in guarantee payouts. You'll see whales. Another vote for Gastineau Guiding. We booked through our cruise line (Holland America.) We saw whales plus the guide and boat driver were wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare vacationlover_mn Posted July 5, 2018 #16 Share Posted July 5, 2018 Our best viewing was in Juneau, on a RCI excursion... lots of orcas and humpbacks Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCruiser Posted July 6, 2018 #17 Share Posted July 6, 2018 Icy Strait Point, definitely! And we were not even on a tour or excursion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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