Tracy Arm Catamaran then Whale Watching. Too much?

[anteloat]

I am going to be in Juneau on August 1 and am scheduled to be on a catamaran through Tracy Arm Fjord earlier that morning. Would it be overkill to then do whale watching in Juneau that afternoon? Do people ever see whales on the catamaran through Tracy Arm?

[Bella0714]

I'm guessing you're on the Nieuw Amsterdam. I am, too, and am planning the same thing. Allen Marine says we get back to Juneau at 3:30 p.m. All-aboard time is 9 p.m. since we're tendering. I'm figuring that will give us plenty of time; that's what other people have said in answering the same question earlier on the board.

[peety3]

I am going to be in Juneau on August 1 and am scheduled to be on a catamaran through Tracy Arm Fjord earlier that morning. Would it be overkill to then do whale watching in Juneau that afternoon? Do people ever see whales on the catamaran through Tracy Arm?

The whale sights you get on the catamaran are absolutely pale in comparison to a Juneau whale watch. That said, watch your schedule and pad it carefully. In 2014, we did both on the Grand Princess, with an expected return to the Grand at 2pm and a whale watch scheduled for 3:15. We had time to dash to our room, change clothes (we were dry, but "cold-soaked" and it was so nice to put fresh clothes on), head to the buffet for "lunch" (with our camera gear, to avoid a second detour to the room), then out to our tour, with 5-10 minutes to spare. In 2015, we did both on the Ruby Princess, with an expected return to the Ruby at 1PM and a whale watch at 1:45. Our catamaran was the second of two, but neither got back to the Ruby on time, so we were on the Ruby at 1:45 and off the Ruby on the dock around 1:50. The tour had left without us, but we knew how to "play the game" and they quickly returned for us. That said, we intentionally planned to buy lunch aboard the catamaran, but they ran out of several main "dishes" early, which left my wife with few options.

 

Moral of the story: lie about your schedule if they're running two boats so that you're on the one that'll get back first, pad your schedule comfortably, book through the ship, and eat early if you care about choices.

[Coral]

I would do both!

[illiniwahoo]

We did both in one day. It's a long day, but the experiences are very different. We saw seals, sea lions, and eagles, but no whales on the Tracy Arm trip.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Coral]

On a side note, on both of my Adventure Bound trips to Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm (small boat trips), I saw more whales then I did on my many whale watching trips. Maybe just lucky.

 

I have never done the ship's excursion.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Coral

[grammyprf]

I'm doing the catamaran and then evening whale watch with Celebriy Solstice?:D:eek: join me. Pam

 

 

 

 

 

....

I am going to be in Juneau on August 1 and am scheduled to be on a catamaran through Tracy Arm Fjord earlier that morning. Would it be overkill to then do whale watching in Juneau that afternoon? Do people ever see whales on the catamaran through Tracy Arm?

Edited July 13, 2016 by grammyprf

[xlxo]

I am going to be in Juneau on August 1 and am scheduled to be on a catamaran through Tracy Arm Fjord earlier that morning. Would it be overkill to then do whale watching in Juneau that afternoon? Do people ever see whales on the catamaran through Tracy Arm?

Another vote for doing both if you have time for it.

 

Whale watches operate North West of Juneau in Favourite channel where they feed. Tracy Arm is 50 to 80 miles SOUTH of Juneau. You MAY see some whales on the Tracy Arm ride.