Pryzeless Posted December 26, 2019 #1 Share Posted December 26, 2019 We are a party of 9 (6 adults and 3 kids the youngest being 3) going in July on RCL and we would like to try whale watching and the Mendenhall Glacier. I have looked into the recommended on this board for private tours but each one seems to have a maximum of 6 people or about 50 people. We were looking for a smaller boat if anyone has a recommendation. I would love to do something more adventurous if anyone has ideas that a 3 year old can do. (Other that flight seeing or dog sledding as we are trying that at another port). Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted December 26, 2019 #2 Share Posted December 26, 2019 Harv and Marv does 18 guests on a boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryzeless Posted December 26, 2019 Author #3 Share Posted December 26, 2019 53 minutes ago, Coral said: Harv and Marv does 18 guests on a boat. thanks. I will check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare martincath Posted December 26, 2019 #4 Share Posted December 26, 2019 Unfortunately H&M only take kids when you book the whole boat - and they don't discount much for a full buyout (IIRC ~10%) or reduce fares for kids, so you'd have to drop a ton of cash to book one of their larger boats. If you can afford to buy out 18 seats though, you'll have plenty of rail space for everyone!!! I'd instead consider doing this through the cruiseline - as Gastineau Guiding work exclusively with cruiselines when there are ships in port, and all their boats are 14 or 22 pax. They usually get sold as a 'photosafari' and you can tell it's their tour because of the boat size. Price is basically the same per person with any tour, cruiseline or private. That said, unless you're certain that your kids would all be comfortable on a small boat, with no bells & whistles, and nothing to do except look at the scenery (hopefully plenty of whales too) I'd definitely consider having one adult take them on an alternative trip (or leaving them in the kids club, if all the adults definitely want to whalewatch). It's not just that it might be no fun for them, but on a small boat any acting out will definitely annoy everyone else aboard as there's nowhere to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted December 26, 2019 #5 Share Posted December 26, 2019 Thanks - forgot about the kid thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryzeless Posted December 26, 2019 Author #6 Share Posted December 26, 2019 2 hours ago, martincath said: Unfortunately H&M only take kids when you book the whole boat - and they don't discount much for a full buyout (IIRC ~10%) or reduce fares for kids, so you'd have to drop a ton of cash to book one of their larger boats. If you can afford to buy out 18 seats though, you'll have plenty of rail space for everyone!!! I'd instead consider doing this through the cruiseline - as Gastineau Guiding work exclusively with cruiselines when there are ships in port, and all their boats are 14 or 22 pax. They usually get sold as a 'photosafari' and you can tell it's their tour because of the boat size. Price is basically the same per person with any tour, cruiseline or private. That said, unless you're certain that your kids would all be comfortable on a small boat, with no bells & whistles, and nothing to do except look at the scenery (hopefully plenty of whales too) I'd definitely consider having one adult take them on an alternative trip (or leaving them in the kids club, if all the adults definitely want to whalewatch). It's not just that it might be no fun for them, but on a small boat any acting out will definitely annoy everyone else aboard as there's nowhere to go! Thank you for your suggestions. My kids are well behaved but I can see the opportunity for boredom. There aren’t that many options for the little one and we thought this could work. Do you have a suggestion on an alternative tour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare martincath Posted December 26, 2019 #7 Share Posted December 26, 2019 19 minutes ago, Pryzeless said: Thank you for your suggestions. My kids are well behaved but I can see the opportunity for boredom. There aren’t that many options for the little one and we thought this could work. Do you have a suggestion on an alternative tour? Sorry, we're child-free ourselves and only tend to vacation with littles when we're doing Disney with friends, so I can't offer any personal experiences in cruise ports. From a theoretical standpoint, would you consider bumping the dog-sledding to Juneau? If the other port has more obviously kid-friendly stuff it might be a better fit to do the dogsled in Juneau. Have you checked out your Roll Call to see if there are any other folks with young kids who could bump the numbers up to make a private whale-watch booking viable financially? There may well be others who are in a similar boat, pardon the pun😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryzeless Posted December 27, 2019 Author #8 Share Posted December 27, 2019 The other port is SKAGWAY and we were looking into a private tour to Emerald Lake etc that has a dog sledding stop included. As for the roll call, not many people have joined yet. I am hoping that increases closer to sail date. Thanks for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted December 27, 2019 #9 Share Posted December 27, 2019 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Pryzeless said: The other port is SKAGWAY and we were looking into a private tour to Emerald Lake etc that has a dog sledding stop included. As for the roll call, not many people have joined yet. I am hoping that increases closer to sail date. Thanks for your advice. Google Dyea Dave. Definitely specify private tour when you contact him. Here is another option: https://chilkootcharters.com Not sure if they will do a private tour but worth asking. Several rent cars (and there are self guides available) but I don't know if that would work for you size of group. Avis is the car rental company and they do have vans but they book quickly. Just not sure if a van is big enough. Edited December 27, 2019 by Coral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryzeless Posted December 28, 2019 Author #10 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Thank you. I will look into those options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapleleaves Posted December 28, 2019 #11 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Every town/port has a web site to help promote tourism and local vendors. Most of those sites include a Visitor Guide you can download. You'll find info on sights, activities, restaurants, and a business directory. pg 36 of Juneau's Visitor Guide provides a listing of whale watch vendors. Given the cost of an individual fare, it makes sense to do a private chartered tour. http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/10785063#/10785063/1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryzeless Posted December 29, 2019 Author #12 Share Posted December 29, 2019 This is perfect! You should see my web browser with all the tabs. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapleleaves Posted December 29, 2019 #13 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Most of the sites are listed here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2639556-2019-resources-for-planning-a-visit-to-alaska/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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