Icy Strait Point - Whale and Marine Mammals Cruise

Has anyone taken Celebrity's Whale and Marine Mammals Cruise excursion in Icy Strait Point? The 2 1/2 hour excursion costs $126 and the brochure description states,

"Cruise through Icy Strait to the Point Adolphus area, one of Alaska's premier whale watching sites. You will be cruising through waters abundant with marine life, however whale sightings are not guaranteed."

Since we have so many things to do in Juneau, we thought we would save the whale watching for Icy Strait. How does whale watching in Icy Strait compare with whale watching in Juneau? (We will be there on August 28th.)

DH and I did a whale watch in Hoonah last summer and enjoyed it. The Point Aldophus area is very plentiful with wildlife and we spotted over a dozen whales while there. From what I understand this is a popular migration spot and along with Juneau, the best area for observing marine life.

Enjoy!

We also took whalewatch thru cruiseline at ISP and it was great.

We also took whalewatch thru cruiseline at ISP and it was great.

How many people were on the boat? Was it intimate and small, or was it a large ship?

When we took it the first season at ISP in Sep 2004, it was a large std boat. It had two decks and inside seating areas in both. We stayed on second level back deck the whole time and it wasn't too crowded. There were probably at least 100 or more on board and some never left their inside seats, since they had windows all around.

The new boat is a large catamaran and the tour is now an hour shorter than it first was, but it gets good reports. This week we are going with Floyd from FISHES, a small boat with only 6 guests.

Thanks for the info.

JohnQ - How many people are on the new boat? Is it still a 100 people or more? Does the catamaran have an enclosed cabin as well as an open deck?

I saw something that looked like that trip when I was in ICP.

To me, I prefer smaller & more intimate. Keith from Tech Outfitters took my group of 4 on a whale watch and we spend a few hours just following a group of whales around. I'll be posting a review on that soon. But, it was amazing. He had 2 decks on his boat (1 area covered with the back exposed and a top deck). We could move around wherever we wanted.

Also, much cheaper than the cruise ship.

If you're interested, Keith's e-mail: teckk@hoonah.net

Did you go on Keith's boat or on one that he booked for you? I booked a wildlife trip with Keith and they also booked a whalewatch for me on FISHES. Costwise, it we found that the small boat was a little more expensive than the ships tour. I will report back after next couple of weeks when we get back.

As far as how many on the ships tours, I think it is probably still over 100 or more capacity and there are fewer options there.

Did you go on Keith's boat or on one that he booked for you? I booked a wildlife trip with Keith and they also booked a whalewatch for me on FISHES. Costwise, it we found that the small boat was a little more expensive than the ships tour. I will report back after next couple of weeks when we get back.

 

As far as how many on the ships tours, I think it is probably still over 100 or more capacity and there are fewer options there.

I went on Keith's boat. I found it to be the same cost, if not cheaper.

I made the same decision about whale watching (RCL Radiance NB 8/24) - too many other things to do in Juneau! After reading many posts, I booked with F.I.S.H.E.S. in ISP - small boats, more personal, etc. Captain Floyd is supposed to be great. It's $150, 3 hour tour. (Why do I suddenly hear the theme to Gilligan's Island in my head? :D) Web site is www.visithoonah.com/fishes

Enjoy!

If you want a great tour, go with FISHES. Floyd only takes 6 passengers, and it was a wonderful tour. He has a boat that is able to go close to the shore line so we were able to see eagles and a bear. Great time, lots of whales

We also did the whale watching In Icy Straight Point last year and loved it.

Just got back on Celebrity Infinity last week. Haven't posted before, so I hope this works. I was on the Celebrity whale and marine trip in Icy Strait. It was wonderful! there were humpback all around us. Now, remember you can only get within 100 ft of these whales for their protection. The naturalist aboard was very helpful. We also had a family of transient orcas on the day I went. The naturalist can tell somehow , and the young orca was only a few days old, he was able to tell this by the color of the white patch. It was a wonderful trip on a three level boat, nice cushioned seats inside. There were binoculars on board, I used my own, but they were there. the boat was only about a third full. Don't expect to see the whales jumping out of the water, we saw sides, tails out, and blowing. I saw about 12 to 15 humpbacks, I don't know why they don't guarantee it. Not sure if it was a lucky day, but it was a great day. Also, Icy Strait was a great stop, they will make jokes that there is not much there, but what is there is beautiful. There is a fun place to eat right at the port, I saw them bringing the fresh fish and crabs into the restaurant. The "cookhouse",Great crab and halibut, nothing fancy. We took the bus into Honah $5 roundtrip, didn't see much there. Walked back, the walk to Honah was wonderful. Beautiful scenery. 1.5 miles, about 25 minutes.

We cruised up and back this past June. Took the bus into Hoonah and met Bob Barton who does Bear tours (Forget me not Outfitters) and also suggested Frank for a whale tour. We chatted while we ate "to die for" halibut pizza in The Gallery, a small food place in Hoonah. We signed up for our cruise back for both tours (about same price as ship (Radiance) within a few dollars).

We went out with Bob in the morning. He met us right past the Icy Strait complex, just as the road goes into town. His van was very comfortable and did he have the information and stories about bears! We headed out to a quiet bay-four sightings along the way. The bears were slightly off the road or right on the road, no little dots on hills!. When we got to the bay,we spotted a young bear who was also curious about us. Outside of the van, Bob on safety watch, we got fantastic photos. Bob was careful not to encourage the bear toward humans for it's own sake. We moved a distance away and our bear resumed his grass munching. What an experience! I do not fly, so was delighted to find Bob and his van. The van seemed less intrusive than a plane into bear habitat.

In the afternoon, we went out with Frank, when he returned from a successful halibit fishing excursion. We spent most of the afternoon near a mother humpback and her calf who were rolling together on top of the water-a couple of tail photos, too. Shortly before there had been a group of orcas, but we did not see them. Frank also took us to puffins and a great eagle nest with the 2 eagles on bare branches.

We were assured we would be back to the ship on time and we were. Bob picked us up, just as he promised, in the morning. He keeps a schedule of each ships arrival and departure.This was our first independent tour and it was terrific. Spending time with the local people is worth every cent.

Just got back from Infinity 8-19-07 Inside Passage cruise.

Our tour with Floyd (FISHES) out of Icy Strait / Hoonah was the highlight of a fantastic cruise. We were lucky enough to see a group of about a dozen humback whales bubble feeding continuously over a span of about two hours. This is something I never thought I would see in person. On two occasions, the whales surfaced very close to the boat and actually dove under it. The rest of the three hour tour was spent getting to the whales and returning to the pier.

The nice thing about the FISHES tour is that Floyd takes a maximum of six people on his boat which allows everyone on board a perfect unobstructed view. Also, he has a hydrophone so that you can hear the whales. The communication between them while they fed was almost as amazing as seeing such a large group up close.

The boat used for the whale watching tour that Celebrity offers is by necessity much larger. I would guess that it holds well over 100 people. The Celebrity tour boat was at the same sight as us and we could see people stacked up three and four deep trying to get a look from the larger boat.

If you like wildlife, I would strongly recomend either tour but feel that the slightly higher price of the FISHES tour is well worth it.

John

I went on this tour in July. It was fantastic. The captain was informative and made sure to move the boat so everyone could see the whales. We saw 7-9 humpbacks, dall's porpoises, harbor seals, and salmon. We spent a little over 3 hours so I got my money's worth. The boat held a lot of people but there was plenty of room. I think on our tour there were less than 100. There is plenty of seating inside and 2 levels of outdoor viewing. I think it is definitely worth it.

Just got back from Infinity 8-19-07 Inside Passage cruise.

 

Our tour with Floyd (FISHES) out of Icy Strait / Hoonah was the highlight of a fantastic cruise. We were lucky enough to see a group of about a dozen humback whales bubble feeding continuously over a span of about two hours. This is something I never thought I would see in person. On two occasions, the whales surfaced very close to the boat and actually dove under it. The rest of the three hour tour was spent getting to the whales and returning to the pier.

 

The nice thing about the FISHES tour is that Floyd takes a maximum of six people on his boat which allows everyone on board a perfect unobstructed view. Also, he has a hydrophone so that you can hear the whales. The communication between them while they fed was almost as amazing as seeing such a large group up close.

 

The boat used for the whale watching tour that Celebrity offers is by necessity much larger. I would guess that it holds well over 100 people. The Celebrity tour boat was at the same sight as us and we could see people stacked up three and four deep trying to get a look from the larger boat.

 

If you like wildlife, I would strongly recomend either tour but feel that the slightly higher price of the FISHES tour is well worth it.

 

John

SO excited to read your tour review.. I leave in 3 days and have FISHES booked next week...:D can't wait

We took the Whale Watching and Marine Mammal excursion last year through HAL and had a great time. About an hour before we docked we noticed a lot of whales in one area, and this is exactly where the tour took us. We saw a lot of grey whales, many juveniles, but no orcas. The fish restaurant at Icy Straight Point is very good, and there's a short nature walk there that is very beautiful.

I saw something that looked like that trip when I was in ICP.

 

To me, I prefer smaller & more intimate. Keith from Tech Outfitters took my group of 4 on a whale watch and we spend a few hours just following a group of whales around. I'll be posting a review on that soon. But, it was amazing. He had 2 decks on his boat (1 area covered with the back exposed and a top deck). We could move around wherever we wanted.

 

Also, much cheaper than the cruise ship.

 

If you're interested, Keith's e-mail: teckk@hoonah.net

I would NOT use Teckk Outfitters again. I was the only one signed up for their whale watching tour (I didn't know that until I arrived) and Keith's cousin was supposed to pilot the boat. He was in an accident the day before but that was NOT the reason my tour was canceled - Keith asked two other operators to take me but none would take just one person. I understand that, but the least Teckk could have done was to notify me a week or so in advance that I was still the only one signed up and the tour might not go on. I could have made other arrangements. If Keith's cousin would have operated the tour with just one person (me), they should have made arrangements with one of the other operators looking for business to do the same. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, that was a big disappointment.

John

We sailed with Floyd from F.I.S.H.E.S. in Icy Strait Point on 8/ 26. GREAT trip!!! He kept following around a pod of 5-6 humpbacks and we had one surface about 25-30 ft. from the boat and another bumped us while swimming UNDER. I enjoyed being on a 6 passenger boat and not running around trying to find a place to stand or sit. He has inside and outside seating available and also has a bathroom on board. I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone! Great lunch at "The Office" in Hoonah also! Fresh Dungeness crab and cold beer - Yum Yummmm!!

:D :D

Just Back hours ago.... can not recommend FISHES enough....