Rare ziggyuk Posted July 19, 2021 #1 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Hi everyone, I am really keen to take a whale watching trip on my October 16th Alaska trip. The cruise line is offering server trips and there is little to see any difference between them from the discretions, some of the private tour ones are out of my budget but even the ones within my price range run from $180 to $280. Is there anything to look out for, in Icy Strait they only have one available and it's the most expensive, in Juneau there are several and most mention Stephens Passage. I was wondering is Icy strait is better than Juneau (justifying the extra $) & if I go from Juneau, is there a better location? is Stephens Passage the normal area? Some of the trips combine the whale watching with glacier tracks or forest nature walk, I think I would rather have more time on the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKStafford Posted July 19, 2021 #2 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Here's the local providers at Icy Strait Point: http://visithoonah.com/experiences/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ziggyuk Posted July 20, 2021 Author #3 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Are there any recommended companies to book direct with from Juneau? Are some of them closed in October, some I have looked at have no availability after the first week of October, Our cruise is 16th October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glaciers Posted July 20, 2021 #4 Share Posted July 20, 2021 It appears both these vendors are open in October, a bit surprising. Have been on both and will go with Juneau Whale Watch again this year. Be prepared for many businesses being closed that late in the season. Harv and Marv https://www.harvandmarvs-juneau-whale-watching.com/ Juneau Whale Watch https://www.juneauwhalewatch.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6NmHBhD2ARIsAI3hrM1Mk3Ukw-bJe2Fffjnv_k8dJQDt_Ad6WWt-EX1B6mWlGxdXHwLLFUAaAoAdEALw_wcB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ziggyuk Posted July 20, 2021 Author #5 Share Posted July 20, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, Glaciers said: It appears both these vendors are open in October, a bit surprising. Have been on both and will go with Juneau Whale Watch again this year. Be prepared for many businesses being closed that late in the season. Harv and Marv https://www.harvandmarvs-juneau-whale-watching.com/ Juneau Whale Watch https://www.juneauwhalewatch.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6NmHBhD2ARIsAI3hrM1Mk3Ukw-bJe2Fffjnv_k8dJQDt_Ad6WWt-EX1B6mWlGxdXHwLLFUAaAoAdEALw_wcB Thanks for that but we don't get to Juneau until the 20th, unfortunatly both appear to be closed by then. I have emailed them both but I might only have a choice of the ships trips. Edited July 20, 2021 by ziggyuk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClevelandCruisin Posted July 21, 2021 #6 Share Posted July 21, 2021 We booked an excursion for early October through the cruise in Juneau! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ziggyuk Posted July 21, 2021 Author #7 Share Posted July 21, 2021 1 hour ago, ClevelandCruisin said: We booked an excursion for early October through the cruise in Juneau! I think I'm going to have to do the same and book through the cruise, they have 4 available with $100 guarantee. Harv&Marv replied with: Unfortunately our whale watching season only runs through the end of September. This is due to a couple of factors. The whales start to head down to Hawaii around mid-October, the weather drastically starts to change, and the daylight hours become shorter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClevelandCruisin Posted July 21, 2021 #8 Share Posted July 21, 2021 We are going tge first week in October, hopefully we'll see a few. The excursion offers $100 credit if we do not see any. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ziggyuk Posted July 21, 2021 Author #9 Share Posted July 21, 2021 15 minutes ago, ClevelandCruisin said: We are going tge first week in October, hopefully we'll see a few. The excursion offers $100 credit if we do not see any. Thanks. Fingers crossed, I have not been able to find a single independent operating as late as 20th October, it's very odd when you consider the ones working for the cruise lines are running and still offering the $100 guarantee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinburgher Posted July 25, 2021 #10 Share Posted July 25, 2021 (edited) We visited both ISP and Juneau (the latter 3 times). We did two trips at Juneau and saw humpbacks and one time, also saw a pod of orca. ISP we just loved. Saw lots more humpbacks and were closer to them and also saw a number of otters swimming alongside. It was the whales and otters which came to our boat, not the operator going to them. We went with F.I.S.H.E.S. at ISP but I believe the owner retired since our visit. At Juneau we just made our way to the spot the tours leave from and took "first available" but they all communicate sightings with each other. It is fair to say that Alaska is expensive no matter what you decide to do, or where you decide to do it and you need to prepare for that.. Folks there have only a short summer window to earn enough to see them through winter and with very few roads, most things there need to arrive by barge, boat or plane, which brings additional costs. Edited July 25, 2021 by edinburgher 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted July 25, 2021 #11 Share Posted July 25, 2021 On 7/21/2021 at 5:06 PM, ClevelandCruisin said: We are going tge first week in October, hopefully we'll see a few. The excursion offers $100 credit if we do not see any. I guarantee that you will see a whale as the company does not like giving away $100 bills. It may be just a whale spouting and it may be 1 mile off but you will see one. And are going to argue w them if they say that there was a whale spouting and you feel that one whale spouting far away doesn't count. That said, even though your sightings may be limited, I have never not enjoyed a whale watching trip and I have done lots of them. DON 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarnCat1 Posted July 25, 2021 #12 Share Posted July 25, 2021 There are 2 excursions listed for whale watching @ ISP during my mid-October cruise, both with 100% guarantee on seeing whales. One is a Whale & Marine Mammal excursion and the other is the same and includes a bear watch along a short boardwalk near the Spasski River. There is no guarantee on bear sightings. I'm hoping they will still be out and about foraging for food before real winter sets in. The excursions can only be booked by the cruise line. I was wondering if they are both done by the same company? They are both over 5-1/2 hours long and it will be dark by the time the excursions are over, or even while still being on them. Definitely dark by the time we all get back to the ship. Whale watch starts at 4:15pm and whale/bear watch at 1:30pm. The sun sets roughly around 6:15pm that time of year. I have already done a few whale watches and they were wonderful, but never this late in the season. Has anyone ever done the Whale & Wildlife Bear Search? Is it worth the extra money, especially in October? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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