Sitka excursion?

[jspirit]

Has anybody done the Carnival excursion called "Sea otter and wildlife quest"? I have read good reviews about Davey's tour with " Puffins and Whales". It seems so much easier to book ahead on the cruise tours, but not if they are too crowded and not so informative and up-close as the private tours.

Anybody had experience with doing the Carnival tours in S. Alaska?

[cruising diva]

I just came home from Alaska last week. My husband and I took a Celebrity Sea Otter and Wildlife cruise which was fantastic. We saw-sea otters, harbor seals, eagles, whales. There was an excellent naturalist on board.There are small islands around Sitka and our boat captain took us around them. The scenery was wonderful. Our boat was large and heated inside with an open deck upstairs. we were served comp. coffee,tea and hot chocolate. I am so glad that we waited until Sitka to take a wildlife cruise. We previously took a whale tour in Juneau in 2001 and this was much better.Have fun!!

[lovetotravel78]

My sister and I did the Sea Otter and wildlife cruise on Carnival Spirit. It was wonderful. Our tour guide was a college professor in biology and was very knowledgeable. be sure to bring your camera as you will be taking lots of pictures

[jspirit]

Good to hear from people who enjoyed the ship tours! Do you remember the price of any of the Carnival tours? Were there any others you would recommend?

Thanks again!

[CraftyDD]

We booked all of our tours thru Carnival except for Juneau. We were with a large group and tried to coordinate different excursions to go on together for it was easier. Some of our group did the Wildlife & Sea Otter tour and really enjoyed it. We did the bike and hike and it was lots of fun. The balance of the day we walked around town.

[cruising diva]

The cost of the Celebrity Sea Otter and Wildlife Cruise was $117.00 per person. All the tours in Alaska are on the expensive side but the cost of this particular excursion was well priced for the type of boat used, 4 in help on the boat and the fantastic scenery.Have fun.

[jspirit]

I know that people have been happy with the Puffins and whales private tour company, but it is only a 6 person small vessel and I am a bit nervous about that. Good to know how much you enjoyed the one from Carnival!

[maggie mac]

My sister doesn't frequent this site so I emailed her for an answer to this. She took the Sea Otter trip in 2001 and the wildlife cruise with Davey at Ester G this August so I asked her to compare the two. This is her answer:

 

The sea otter/wildlife quest tour in Sitka was not too bad actually. I'm trying to remember how many people were on board......say, 25-30, I'm guessing. They seemed to have a set course, or so it seemed from my perspective. Although, they were a little flexible as we did happen upon three humpback whales in the bay and they idled in the bay for a few minutes so we could view them. We did see sea otters and an eagle's nest. It was early in the tourist season when we took the tour so I'm guessing that some of the wildlife that we saw this time had not migrated back to the area yet.

 

The advantage of taking an independent small boat tour was the total flexibility in what we searched for, that we could get in very close to the crags to view the wildlife, and finally that you only had to navigate around 5 people rather than 30 to get good views. It was much more personal being able to converse with the captain and small number of other guests.

 

Even though I enjoyed the sea otter/wildlife tour five years ago, I am now spoiled by the small boat tour and would only take the smaller boat tour.

 

 

Me again: The Ester G is a small boat with no bathroom, hot drinks, etc. However we did have Davey's wife's home-baked cookies, Davey serenading us with oldtime sea shanties, and an unbelievable good time. We did go on a larger boat for a Kenai Fjords tour and it was excellent. But I'm with my sister: if I have a choice, it will always be the small boat (as long as the captain is local and knowledgable).

 

 

Margaret

[jspirit]

Thanks to you and your sister for their input! I can't believe you went out odf your way to get me some information!

When your sister went on the EsterG, did the small boat feel safe?It's good to know from the beginning that there is no washroom!

[maggie mac]

One of the first things that Davey did was give a complete safety briefing to all of us passengers, even going so far as to show us how to use the radio in the case of an emergency.

 

There is a difference between a small boat and a large one and not just in amenities. The motion is felt much more in the small boat but there were 6 passengers on the Ester G that day and we all loved it, loved the feeling of motion and being so close to the water. Some people might not like it so much.

 

3 of us also took a wildlife cruise in Icy Strait on a 6-passenger boat. And we had a terrific time there as well. Even when the pod of whales we were following turned around and came straight at our boat. I have to admit to a moment of primal fear but Floyd wasn't bothered at all. And we all were o.k. when he told us he's never even been bumped. And sure enough the whales veered off and passed us on the side or underwater.

 

The experience in Icy Strait came before Sitka so by then we were all feeling pretty confident about being in a small boat. But as I said, it's probably not for everyone. Just wanted you to have all the information before you make a choice. This site was so helpful to me when I was doing our planning so I like giving a little back.

 

 

Margaret

[Beach4me]

Thanks, maggie mac, you reminded me of why I opted for the ship's tour. I read about the independent tour and the bucket for a toilet. For some, that's not an issue. For me, it is. (TMI! TMI! :eek: ) Okay, I'm back to being settled about my decision. Thanks for posting!!!

[lisaland15]

Thanks to you and your sister for their input! I can't believe you went out odf your way to get me some information!

When your sister went on the EsterG, did the small boat feel safe?It's good to know from the beginning that there is no washroom!

Here are some pics from Davey's tour:

 

Boat:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2947543920061183369uljZqt

 

Harbor Seals:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2682359960061183369zdvifD

 

Eagle:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2469535530061183369RGDeGR

 

Humpback:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2238704490061183369NhjmVe

 

Sea Lion:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2059505900061183369HWNcbi

 

Starfish:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2162776230061183369MPrznC

 

I'm pretty sure Davey did say there was a bathroom, but I don't know what that consists of. :eek:

 

It was a wonderful tour.

[txracefan]

The sea otter and wildlife tour on Carnival Spirit is 119.00

[bunduo]

This is a good excursion. For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the company that runs it. Captain Larry from Orca Enterprises in Juneau even gave them a thumbs up. For some reason, the sea otter excursion came up and he said they run a quality operation. It does sound like they have a set course that they follow. We, too, saw an eagles nest, a humpback, and lots a rascally sea otters.

 

Fun fact: Sea otters have a pocket under one arm that they store a rock in. They use the rock to break open shells. I thought that was kinda cool. The other pocket is for their cell phones. :)

 

-Matt

[jspirit]

Like the cell phone pocket!

Which excursion to you say is a good one... the one from Carnival, or a particular provite one? ( if private... which one?)