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Glacier Wind Whale Watching in Icy Strait Point - Need Reviews!


PittsburghNative
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We are currently on the Celebrity Eclipse and noticed that our original whale watching tour in Juneau has a 90% chance of rain that day. The rain, plus low 40s for a high, made us cancel and rebook the tour in ISP with Glacier Wind. Has anyone done their whale watching tour? How does ISP compare to Juneau in regards to which is better to see whales?

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We have gone with Glacier Wind Charters a total of 7 times with another trip booked for 2020.  Shawn and Teresa are the owners and have ALWAYS provided us with a wonderful experience.  If you do a search in the Alaska Board for Glacier Wind or a search in TripAdvisor you will see numerous favorable reports. 

 

To be honest, I don't think our whale experience (Juneau vs. Icy Strait) has been that different.  We have seen whales in both ports and, on a couple of occasions, seen bubble net feeding and breaching in both ports.  Seeing whales on the surface of the water, tails and blows is pretty much standard.  Breaching and bubble net feeding should not be expected (no matter how good anyone's pictures are) but considered a blessing when it happens. 

 

 

 

 

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We have GW Charters booked May 28th. I've had a few phone conversations with Teresa and numerous emails. Couple that with the great reviews here on CC and TripAdvisor makes for some very high points indeed. She has been a delight to converse with. I've read both of her husbands (Shawn) books and was impressed. I'll have to point out that since I've not taken the tour yet, I cannot recommend them on CC. I hear that her salmon dip onboard is to die for. Sorry your weather for Juneau is going to be so nasty. Looks like the rain starts Tuesday night and extends thru most of Wednesday. Take care and enjoy.

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Great company, great people.  I'm going to give their son's boat (Captain Casey) a try in mid-June.  I've had amazing day whale watching with GW in Hoonah.  Humpbacks, orcas, porpoises, etc.  Overall, better than Juneau for me, but that could just be my experience.  You will be happy with Glacier Winds.

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We used Glacier Wind last May and they were excellent.  It is a small, family run business with two boats.  Teresa will pick you up in their 10 passenger van.  She gives you a little tour of the area as you drive to the boat.  There are only 6 passengers on each boat and the Captain, either Shaun or Casey.  The boats are fairly new and very well maintained.  We had Captain Shaun and he was great!  His boat has seats for all and has a little bathroom.  There is a deck that you can walk all the way around the boat.  He has extra binoculars to share and a hydrophone he puts in the water so you can hear the whales.  You can actually hear the chatter change right before they surface.  He works with Casey on the radio and other boats to follow where the whales are and to share information about bear sightings on the shore.  There is hot chocolate, chips and Teresa's salmon dip for all to share.  Teresa picks you up at the end of the tour and brings you back to the excursion hub.

 

We loved our excursion and plan to book with them again in the future.

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2 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

<snip>  You can actually hear the chatter change right before they surface.  He works with Casey on the radio and other boats to follow where the whales are and to share information about bear sightings on the shore.  There is hot chocolate, chips and Teresa's salmon dip for all to share.  Teresa picks you up at the end of the tour and brings you back to the excursion hub.

 

We loved our excursion and plan to book with them again in the future.

That's interesting about the change in the chatter just b4 they surface. I chase bats and they have a very distinct pitch change as they make an attack on an insect from 1 per 1/2 sec to ~30/sec. Very distinct.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have a trip booked with Shawn on September 2nd and can't wait! 

 

This is my first visit to Icy Strait and after reading so much about Glacier Wind Charters I had to book with them :classic_biggrin:  

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One of the best days we ever spent was a combined fishing and whale watching tour with Shawn on the Glacier Wind. We caught Halibut and some other rockfish and saw so many whales. Beautiful, comfortable boat and friendly, knowledgeable captain - it was a perfect excursion. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

We chose Glacier Wind Charters due to the rave reviews on Trip Advisor. We are now adding our voice to the many others who have found this family-owned and operated business to be top notch!

We booked about 8 months in advance of our trip and I recommend that if you are interested, do the same. The people are so nice and helpful in getting reservations made and explaining all you need to know. Upon arrival, we met Teresa and our other traveling companions as we were picked up right at the port and taken to our boat. Glacier Wind Charter boats only take out 6 people at a time, so really have a close group of people to watch with and not an overcrowded excursion. Captain Shawn did a wonderful job getting us out to the areas quickly and was in contact with other captains to ensure we had the best course to improve our whale sightings. GWC provided binoculars for those who didn't bring any and refreshments on the boat. 

Along the way, Shawn was always make course changes to best maximize our chances of viewing and we had at least a dozen or more whale sightings. We also saw otters and sealions along the way. At the very end we were lucky enough to get a front row seat to about 30-40 bald eagles relaxing on the shores near the docks. 

A few tips: Bring warm head and neck clothes and a jacket as the winds can be very cold out on the water, even if in town the temperature was in the 60's or 70's. If you are going to be taking pictures, my suggestion is take videos instead. The boat rocks and getting the perfect picture is tough even with fast shutter speeds. However, having a video going in the area where a whale is expected to surface is a much better option. Just don't forget to watch as well and enjoy your time there.

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Glacier Wind has always been our first choice for whale watching excursions.  Shawn and Teresa are wonderful people and work hard to ensure everyone has a memorable experience on their tour.  Unfortunately, our itinerary this season doesn't allow us a stop to see them.  However, we have already made our reservation for next year and look forward to another wonderful experience with Glacier Wind. 

 

Thanks for sharing your great pictures and review.

Edited by Italy52
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