Whale watching options.. Small boat vs lighthouse tour? (Juneau)

[pnw_girl]

Hi there! My boyfriend and I are going on our first cruise to Alaska in a couple weeks (HAL). We initially thought to do a small boat whale watching tour but they were all booked up (we booked our cruise kind of last minute), so I joined their waitlist and instead we booked an excursion through HAL that was the Sentinel Island Lighthouse & Whale Watching Cruise. I just got an email from one of the small boat tours (Jayleen's) that they now had availability for us on a 6 person boat (opposed to ~50ish person boat for the lighthouse tour).
 

I just am curious about your thoughts - have you been on either of these tours/excursions and enjoyed one? I'm not sure if the size of the boat makes a difference or how cool seeing the lighthouse itself is? Any input is helpful ☺️ thank you so much!

[wolfie11]

Absolutely Jayleen's

[Italy52]

We have gone with Jayleen 11 times and will be going again in a couple of weeks and then again in August.  She just got a new boat to add to her fleet so she is accepting more bookings.  Never had a bad experience with Jayleen.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Italy52

[Aquahound]

Do you actually go on Sentinel Island and tour the lighthouse?  If so, it might be worth it, but something tells me you only cruise by it.

 

Jayleen's has an excellent reputation and going on a 6-person boat is the way to go.  

[CCJack]

Is there less time whale watching on the lighthouse + whale tour as opposed to Jayleen's whale watching?    I would not want to short change the time spent whale watching.    Whale watching is, of course, a bit of a chance experience, but our whale watching in Alaska (ISP) was fantastic  - much better than whale watching excursions we have been on elsewhere in the world.   I would emphasize the whale watching and likely go with Jayleen as well.

[quack2]

Don't do the big boat excursions.  You will be fighting off other passengers when a whale surfaces.  As others have said, go with Jayleen or another small boat operator.