Review of excursions 6/22 - 6/29 (long)

[kruisecat]

Well we're finally back :( from our dream vacation and except for each of us getting a rather nasty head cold, it truly was a dream and I can't believe it's already over :mad: I just thought that now that I was a "been there, done that" poster that I would share my thoughts on our excursions.

 

Sorry in advance that this is so long!

 

Sunday, June 24 - Juneau

 

We went whale watching with Orca. I must confess that I was very disappointed by this excursion. Some of which was because I just didn't understand how anti-social humpback whales truly are. I am used to dolphin who are quite social and are likely to play in a boat's wake. So it was a surprise to me that no matter what Capt. Larry did we just couldn't really get near any whales. Some of my disappointment came from Orca. When we arrived at their offices it was utter chaos. Almost like they had never done this before. There were 2 employees there and the phones were going crazy (at one point one woman was answering 2 lines at the same time - one on each ear!), they couldn't find the reservation for some of our party. They seem very disorganzied and really did not give the vibe that they knew what they were doing. And lastly, I was a little disappointed with Capt. Larry himself. I am sure that he is highly educated in the ways of whales, but he did not come across that way on our cruise. We had a full boat (40 people) and it was just him and 2 young girls. No other captain to answer questions, no other naturalists. So we all just ended up sitting there staring at the open water. I can now say that I've been whale watching and truthfully have no desire to do it again.

 

Monday, June 25 - Skagway

 

In the am we went on the Glacier Discovery by Helicopter through X (Temsco was the vendor). First off, WOW, what a difference from our experience with Orca. This is a first rate, well organized company. They truly had their act together and it really set the tone for a fantastic excursion. I've never been in a helicopter before and was a little nervous but it was great! And the glacier (Meade) was, well, beyond words. This is the best excursion I have ever done and I would not hesitate to do it again and again. Well worth every single cent we paid.

 

In the pm we did the 4 hours WPYRR round trip train trip. It was very picturesque, but I'll be honest, WAY TOO LONG. By the end of this trip I think people were contemplating breaking the windows to escape ;) , ok not really but you get my drift. This is another one of those, I'm glad I did it but would probably not ever do it again.

 

Wednesday, June 27 - Ketchikan

 

By this point in our trip I was running a fever, had developed a cough and was quite congested so I'm not sure I'm the best judge of this day :o , but we did the Misty Fjords flightseeing with Island Wings. Michelle is great and this was a very beautiful trip. We saw bears (at least that's what Michelle said they were ;) ) and we landed in a picturesque lake. It was so serene and beautiful. I only wish that I had felt better. I would really recommend this trip to anyone. Oh, and my flying fearful husband said this was so much better than regular flying and he would do it again in a heart beat!!

 

So those are my thoughts on our excursions. Take them for what they're worth. I truly don't regret anything on this trip. Even the excursions that were not as fantastic as I thought they would be offered beautiful scenery and a great time with our family and friends. I hope that the rest of you have as wonderful a time as we did.

[Toyz711]

sorry you didn't enjoy the whales watching. i fear more people, like you, will expect some type of show...like playing in the wake, etc.

humpbacks are not like orcas, you do spend a great deal of time just waiting for the next one to be spotted. they spend a lot of time under water.

whale watching boats, by law, have to keep their distance...the only way to get closer is if the whale comes by the boat. even then the boats captain can't make it happen. that's one of the reasons everyone recommends good binoculars....you will need them.

the other thing i recommend is for anyone planning on a whale watch, who is not UP on humpbacks...do some research to learn what they will be watching

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Humpbackwhale.shtml

http://dkd.net/whales/hbwbehav.html

 

it is exciting to see one of those giant critters jump out of the water..or the net-feeding. but usually you get a few spouts and a tail flip.

 

you are right, when the ships come in the office is busy. everyone calling from the ship to find their office. also, the more ships docking the less

likely to have one of the other captains to help out.

for more of a show...the orca watching (the black/white "killer" whale) can be more exciting.

now, me, i could spend all day for one little peek at a humpback. different strokes...?

glad you enjoyed your other excursions.

[Chat Noir]

How did you like the Mercury? Did you get close to Hubbard? Was Brent Nixon still onboard for your naturalist lectures?

 

I apologize, again, for not getting the dailies to you prior to your departure... my old computer died, with a bit of help from some storms. I was offline for several weeks.

[kruisecat]

How did you like the Mercury? Did you get close to Hubbard? Was Brent Nixon still onboard for your naturalist lectures?

 

I apologize, again, for not getting the dailies to you prior to your departure... my old computer died, with a bit of help from some storms. I was offline for several weeks.

 

 

We loved the Mercury! I'll be doing a more complete review later in the week on the X boards. Nope, we only got within about 2 miles. Serenade of the Seas was right up against it and we were green with envy!! No, Brent is long gone :( and the "naturalist" they had on board for our cruise lectured on the earth's tectonic (sp?) plates! I went to the first lecture titled "Alaska, part 1" and was shocked to find us listening to a lecture on Pangea and how the earth split apart :eek: Not that it wasn't interesting, but it wasn't about Alaska and that's why I was there. I'm not sure a geologist is the appropriate "naturalist" for this type of cruise, but no ones asking my opinion :p

 

No worries about the dailies, I enjoyed the surprise!!

[kruisecat]

sorry you didn't enjoy the whales watching. i fear more people, like you, will expect some type of show...like playing in the wake, etc.

humpbacks are not like orcas, you do spend a great deal of time just waiting for the next one to be spotted. they spend a lot of time under water.

whale watching boats, by law, have to keep their distance...the only way to get closer is if the whale comes by the boat. even then the boats captain can't make it happen. that's one of the reasons everyone recommends good binoculars....you will need them.

the other thing i recommend is for anyone planning on a whale watch, who is not UP on humpbacks...do some research to learn what they will be watching

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Humpbackwhale.shtml

http://dkd.net/whales/hbwbehav.html

 

it is exciting to see one of those giant critters jump out of the water..or the net-feeding. but usually you get a few spouts and a tail flip.

 

you are right, when the ships come in the office is busy. everyone calling from the ship to find their office. also, the more ships docking the less

likely to have one of the other captains to help out.

for more of a show...the orca watching (the black/white "killer" whale) can be more exciting.

now, me, i could spend all day for one little peek at a humpback. different strokes...?

glad you enjoyed your other excursions.

 

 

Cathi - I totally take my responsibility in my lack of knowldege! And I did find out that they were only allowed to get so close by law and all of that is understandable. I don't understand the chaos in the office! Other excursions have just as many phone calls and seemed much more capable of handling what was happening. If you had seen their faces as they were running around not seeming to know what was happening you would understand my feelings. But like I said, I did enjoy the scenery and I DID learn about the humpback. So in the end I have no regrets about taking the excursion!

[stired]

Sunday, June 24 - Juneau

 

We went whale watching with Orca. I must confess that I was very disappointed by this excursion. Some of which was because I just didn't understand how anti-social humpback whales truly are. I am used to dolphin who are quite social and are likely to play in a boat's wake. So it was a surprise to me that no matter what Capt. Larry did we just couldn't really get near any whales. Some of my disappointment came from Orca. When we arrived at their offices it was utter chaos. Almost like they had never done this before. There were 2 employees there and the phones were going crazy (at one point one woman was answering 2 lines at the same time - one on each ear!), they couldn't find the reservation for some of our party. They seem very disorganzied and really did not give the vibe that they knew what they were doing. And lastly, I was a little disappointed with Capt. Larry himself. I am sure that he is highly educated in the ways of whales, but he did not come across that way on our cruise. We had a full boat (40 people) and it was just him and 2 young girls. No other captain to answer questions, no other naturalists. So we all just ended up sitting there staring at the open water. I can now say that I've been whale watching and truthfully have no desire to do it again.

 

 

I'm so sorry you did not have a good experience with Orca and Capt. Larry. It's hard to believe we are talking about the same company. We went with Capt. Larry (and Capt. Sean was also on board with us) on 6/15/07 and we had a wonderful experience. We had no problems with the front office and everything was well organized. Capt. Larry found a whole pod of orcas as well as several humbacks (even a mother and her calf - see our photos at the link below). Of course, whales are not trained seals and cannot be counted on to show themselves at specific times, but Capt. Larry has a great rep. for finding them and everyone on board had a wonderful time.

 

Capt. Sean was very knowledgeable and provided a running narrative about the whales, orcas and their habits.

 

Afterwards, they organized a small bus to take several of us to and from Mendenhall Glacier - they were very helpful.

 

Anyway, just wanted to provide a counterpoint to your review -- sorry again that you did not have a good experience!:(

[emliss]

Your slideshow is fantastic! You really lucked out with beautiful weather. What kind of camera did you use?

[stired]

Your slideshow is fantastic! You really lucked out with beautiful weather. What kind of camera did you use?

 

Don't want kruisecat's thread to get hijacked, but I used the Sony Cybershot, DSC-H1 (DSC-H2 is a more recent model). I also bought a 1.7 telephoto conversion lens. But to tell the truth I wish I had had a better telephoto. For instance, the grizzly bears in Denali were a long ways away and I could have gotten a better shot with a better telephoto.

 

I cannot complain about the camera tho. Even for a relative novice like me, it was really easy to use and did most of the work. And we had such wonderful weather in places like Denali that the mountain just jumped out at me.

[kruisecat]

I'm so sorry you did not have a good experience with Orca and Capt. Larry. It's hard to believe we are talking about the same company. We went with Capt. Larry (and Capt. Sean was also on board with us) on 6/15/07 and we had a wonderful experience. We had no problems with the front office and everything was well organized. Capt. Larry found a whole pod of orcas as well as several humbacks (even a mother and her calf - see our photos at the link below). Of course, whales are not trained seals and cannot be counted on to show themselves at specific times, but Capt. Larry has a great rep. for finding them and everyone on board had a wonderful time.

 

Capt. Sean was very knowledgeable and provided a running narrative about the whales, orcas and their habits.

 

Afterwards, they organized a small bus to take several of us to and from Mendenhall Glacier - they were very helpful.

 

Anyway, just wanted to provide a counterpoint to your review -- sorry again that you did not have a good experience!:(

 

The funny thing (ironic) is that even the young girls that worked for Orca thought the trip was a bust. When asked by another guest what they would rank it on a scale of 1-10 they both said that this particular outing was at best a 3. I have a feeling that when there is another person providing the commentary that the trip might be a little more interesting. Capt. Larry really didn't say a whole lot and when he was talking the volume was so low that with 40 people on board we could barely hear him. I do want to say thought, that I realize that our trip is not what everyone will experience. And in no way do I regret taking the trip. But I did feel that it would be nice for others to know that not every trip is like yours. Believe me, I would have LOVED to have had your experience. But in the end we didn't :( .

 

One last thing, if asked by someone if I would do it over again, I would easily say yes, and I would even recommend Orca to others. But I would make sure that I told them to do some research as to whether or not they want to go humpback whale watching at all ;) In the end this is where I made my critical error! And it was my error all the way.

[Toyz711]

when the whales are there, there aren't there. it does happen.

we only had (maybe) 4 or 5 ...2 that we saw over and over again.

did have 2 full breeches...but way off in the distance. other then that we only got a few tails...as seen in my photo links. but i loved being out just

having the option to see them.

i do fear that there are others that read the reviews and can get disappointed expecting the same excitement.

right before i went, there were reviews after reviews of bubble net-feeding...close encounters and such. didn't get any of that.

a couple of weeks before you went, there were reports of orcas and the exciting reviews of those that got to see them. but they move around a great deal, not always up in the juneau area. someone else had a review of their trip with harv & marv...didn't get much humpback action either.

when they are around, you know it...all the excusions boats are in one area..you can hear the ohs and ahs from the other boats.

i would say that my trip with them was a 8 out of 10, but part of that was just me. if my DH had a choice (and i gave him one) i am sure he would do other things..but he humors me.

[qiangf2]

I guess it is just his personality. but overall, I heard his team seems to be doing a good job there. Well, smaller boats do provide a better service with some personal touch

[CALMOM]

Kruisecat, thank you for your honest opinion on the whale watching excursion. I was trying to decide between Orca Enterprises or Marv & Harv excursion. You made up my mind now. I know there is no guaranteed on seeing whales but I was worrisome about the disoganization in the office. I was also interested in the WPYRR but also concern that I would get bored. Thank you again for your review it was very helpful.

[CALMOM]

Stired, thank you for the wonderful pictures, I just can't wait to experience this beauty.

[Budget Queen]

Whale sightings are the luck of the draw. Beautiful cruise brochures, really enhance what is reality. :)

 

For humpbacks, ALL you can expect to see on whale watches are blows, backs, and tails. Anything else is a gift. AND the more you go, the better the gifts -due to the time and exposure.

 

I am just back from whale watching out of Gloucester. I went on 3 trips, only to stack my odds, which I always do. One trip- saw NO humpbacks, which was a first for me, out of at least 30 trips from here. :) But saw a great show of a fin lunge feeding- think surface skimming with open mouth and huge splashes. :) Also the second largest mammal- about the length of 1 3/4 school buses. Other 2 trips had great humpback sightings, but the "usual" above listed behaviors.

 

I've also gone out on back to back whale watches out of Juneau. Some operators charge 1/2 price for the second, which is a great opportunity for my priorities.

 

My bottom line, the more you go the more you see and experience. Every trip is unique. :)

[NancyIL]

Glad you had a great cruise, kruisecat! I'm sorry you were disappointed with Orca Enterprises. These boards are very helpful, but in some ways they can lead us to expect TOO much when we read others' glowing reviews about their excursions.

 

My favorite excursion was the rail/bus trip to the Yukon with Chilkoot Charters. My least favorite was Misty Fjords with Island Wings - due to too much mist! Whale watching with Alaskan Marine Adventures was in the middle. We had FUN with Case and Chris on our whale watching excursion, but I went on it primarily to see what all the fuss was about! My verdict is - I saw as many whales in Prince William Sound and Kenai Fjords as in Auke Bay, so I am unlikely to go whale watching in Juneau again.

[Cathy8090]

Oh dear, the one excursion I was sure we would love was the Skagway train. I was just getting ready to book it. My dh is unable to walk very long distances and the train seemed a good idea.

 

I don't want to pay $100+ per person to be bored. We saw a documentary on the train on PBS and it looked so great. What do you guys recommend??

[NancyIL]

Oh dear, the one excursion I was sure we would love was the Skagway train. I was just getting ready to book it. My dh is unable to walk very long distances and the train seemed a good idea.

 

I don't want to pay $100+ per person to be bored. We saw a documentary on the train on PBS and it looked so great. What do you guys recommend??

 

Most of the comments I've read from people who said they were bored or fell asleep were on the roundtrip train. You can take the train one-way to Fraser, BC (7 miles farther than the White Pass Summit) and a bus back (or the reverse) - either through your cruiseline or through an independent vendor like Chilkoot Charters: http://www.skagwaysbesttour.com/summitrail.htm Their price for the 3.5-hour rail/bus excursion is $109/pp. You get the advantage of seeing the scenery from the train as well as from the road. You also make several stops on the bus portion of the trip.

[jessinphilly]

Kruisecat-we had the exact same experience with Orca and Capt Larry. They never sent us confirmation of the trip, even after numerous phone calls and emails, they were completely disorganized at the office when we got there, Capt Larry had no personality on the boat and we did have a naturalist, but the boat was so crowded, that you could barely hear him and if he was below and you were on top, or vice versa, you could not hear him, as there was no system in the boat. But I have been on many whale watching trips before, and if you have the opportunity you might try again! Glad your trip was good otherwise, ours was terrific too!