F.I.S.H.E.S in ISP

[coralreef62]

Can anyone tell me of your experiences with F.I.S.H.E.S in ISP? I am considering booking them for a tour. Thanks.

[frugaltravel]

Click on Search this Forum, then advanced search, then search by title and type in FISHES.

 

Lots of threads come up including this one

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=585027&highlight=fishes

[BayStateguppy]

I just went on a whale watch w/ Floyd of FISHES a few weeks ago. It was great!! He knows the area really well having grown up there and is entertaining. We saw a grizzly on shore, a pod of about 15 humpback whales including a baby, sea lions, eagles, salmon.

 

He does book fast so I wouldn't wait too long.

 

Check out my review of my cruise and FISHES and ISP w/ pictures here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1026809

[sandytoes03]

I just went in early July. Highlight of my Alaska trip. Small boat with only 5 passengers. We saw brown bear, seals, many eagels, dolphins, sea lions, and the majestic humpacks. They were spectacular. They breached four times, and were playing almost the entire time we saw them, which meant lots of action for us to see. I talked with someone else who did the whale watching through the cruise company the same day and they said it was terrible, couldn't see a thing. Go with Floyd. He said that in 6 years he's never not seen the whales.

[me00930]

We went with FISHES on July 8th and it was the hi light of our trip. Floyd knows the area so well and if you can get on his boat, I would jump at it. Actually, I wish we would have done a double trip with him. I didn't want to in off his boat. 4 grizzly, eagles all over, deer, whales and more whales, and a swimming moose. If you go with him - remind him of the crew that saw the swimming moose. He said he has seen moose swimming from island to island but he has never had passengers when he saw them.

[PennyAgain]

Since you brought it up, can you do a double trip with FISHES? A back to back booking?

[mountainhouse]

I've heard FISHES does a great job. However, when we were in ISP, we were out quite a bit longer with Glacier Wind. Shawn does a great job also! Boat was nice and roomy. :D Binocs were available; as were snacks. I think both have hydrophones.

 

[gottagoacruzn]

Hi, went with Floyd last year, wasn't overly impressed as not many whales were sighted.

[kidnk9]

Floyd is awesome! We booked with FISHES back in June. It was a fantastic time! Would highly recommend booking with them. As someone already stated, they do book quickly so contact them as soon as possible! Good luck!

Karyn

[me00930]

I dont know if you can book back to back but I would certainly ask. And as stated, I guess there can be days where whales don't feel like playing with the visitors. But we had a great time and I think Floyd was great.

[larry the lobster]

We went with F.I.S.H.E.S the second week of July and I thought he was great. My daughter even left her camera in their van and they returned it. Floyd and his wife Margie are very nice and honest. We would book with him again in a minute. Have fun!!

[kathynorth]

Since you brought it up, can you do a double trip with FISHES? A back to back booking?

 

 

I'm not sure about FISHES, but last year we went out on a back to back (full day) trip with Glacier Wind. The captain only charges a little bit extra for twice the time out on the water. You can even book a 3/4 trip for an extra few dollars!

[ilovefridays]

Just came back from Alaska on the Serenade of the Seas in June 09. Icy Strait Point (ISP) was one of our port of calls and we had a fantastic time whale watching there with F.I.S.H.E.S.

 

Captain Floyd, the owner was knowledgeable and friendly without being over the top. His wife, Marjorie was super efficient with our reservations and went out of her way to make things easier for us since we weren't based in the US.

 

When Captain Floyd and I chatted during our trip, I asked how he dealt with customers' expectations and whether many have been disappointed. He told me that for as long as he's been in ISP, no one has ever left his boat without seeing whales. Answering my question as to which was the better place to go whale watching, ISP or Juneau, he immediately confirmed ISP although he lives in Juneau the rest of the non-tourist season. (A couple we met on our cruise also whale-watched in Skagway. To our surprise, they saw quite a number of whales there too!)

 

Although we stayed a safe distance so not to disturb the whales, we were still awestruck by the number of sightings and one even surfaced 10m away from our boat. It seemed so close that I could have practically swam out and touched the thing (and I'm not even a good swimmer)! Captain Floyd had the hydrophone and I can't even begin to describe the sound that they make underwater. All I can say is that it was a gazillion times better than what you see and hear in National Geographic!!! Of course, there's no guarantee when you're dealing with Mother Nature. Having read all the useful info on Cruise Critic, I scaled back my expectations. I told myself I would be satisfied if I could see just one whale's tale. Turns out that the entire trip exceeded my expectations beyond imagination. We even saw a whale swimming next to our window during dinnertime in the main dining room!

 

Oh. Just to be fair, we met a couple who went with G-Winds at ISP. They had a fantastic time with them too. The two captains were communicating frequently on where the whales were located that day. So I guess it doesn't really matter who you go with, as long as you go! With ISP being a quaint and rustic little town, there's not much else to do whereas there are tons of places to explore at the other ports (i.e. Skagway and Juneau). Just my two cents.

 

Do request to be dropped off at The Office Bar, one of America's best bars as featured by Esquire magazine and try their Dungeness Crab. It was the sweetest, meatiest crab I have ever tasted in my life. Even Tracy's Crab Shack in Juneau couldn't compare (although her king crab legs were great too)!

 

I wanna go back to Alaska!!!!

[coralreef62]

Thanks everybody. I booked with floyd and am looking forward to he tour.

[negc]

Hi, went with Floyd last year, wasn't overly impressed as not many whales were sighted.

I don't think that Floyd or anyone else has control over how many whales you will sight on any given trip or day (it isn't a Disney Animatronic ride where animals appear on cue) so if that was your primary complaint it doesn't IMHO seem justified. If you had other complaints about Floyd or how he runs his excursions, perhaps you might elaborate so that others can gauge how much those complaints would effect their decision.:)