Whale watching - which port?

[3CanadianBears]

Just booked an Alaska cruise for end of May on Celebrity, and starting to look at excursions.  I am thinking one whale watching tour would be great, but not sure if there is much of a difference as to where/which port we take the tour.  So far, I am looking at excursions through Celebrity. 

 

Options we are considering for the whale watching are Icy Strait Point and Juneau.    

 

Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks! 

[doktor71]

56 minutes ago, 3CanadianBears said:

Just booked an Alaska cruise for end of May on Celebrity, and starting to look at excursions.  I am thinking one whale watching tour would be great, but not sure if there is much of a difference as to where/which port we take the tour.  So far, I am looking at excursions through Celebrity. 

 

Options we are considering for the whale watching are Icy Strait Point and Juneau.    

 

Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks! 

Saw a Vedio some time ago that said Icy Strait.  Booked a small group tour recommended by this group.

Edited October 21, 2022 by doktor71

[CCJack]

We had just an awesome whale watching experience at ISP.   Juneau is not that far away, i understand whale watching is very good there too, as it is similar waters.   However Juneau has more selection for other things to do than ISP, so ISP worked well to go whale watching.   We did independent.   

Most of the boats from different companies end up close to each other anyway as the captains talk with each other to help locate whales.    Difference is boat size and number of passengers.    

[AKStafford]

Icy Strait Point. Book with Glacier Winds. https://www.g-wind.com/

[Northern Aurora]

I also suggest icy Strait.  We've had phenomenal sightings there.

[3CanadianBears]

Thank you. I’ll look more closely at the Icy Strait excursions. Good point about more to do in Juneau. 

[disneyochem]

Another recommendation for Glacier Winds in ISP.  Great experience---have been on their tours three times.

[Italy52]

My two recommendations:  Juneau - Jayleen's Alaska and ISP - Glacier Wind Charters.  Have gone out with both company multiple times.  Both companies are great.

 

[doktor71]

We book Glacier Winds!  To book they only take deposit. 

[Lazz]

Is early June a good time to spot whales? 

[3CanadianBears]

Thanks again for the replies and recommendations.  Much appreciated! 

[rjm11]

we did whale watches this past year the first week of June in both Juneau and Icy Straight and both were fantastic. All of these things can vary, but the viewing area in Juneau was more crowded with boats, however we also saw orcas. The area in Icy Straight had a lot fewer people (rarely even saw another boat), and the "backdrop" scenery was outstanding. Both were so so good- we were happy that we did both, but whales were a primary interest. We did private tours in both ports (as in we rented the whole charter for the 4 of us)- in Juneau with Harv and Marv, and in Icy Straight with Glacier Winds.