Which whale watch co. has shortest walk from shuttle to boat?

[Tennessee Rose]

First, I don't walk very well and can't walk far. A friend and I plan to do one of the whale watch excursions while in Juneau, and after just reading that one of the companies (H&M) says you need to be able to walk approx. 300 yards from where the courtesy van parks to the dock where you actually board the boat, I am really concerned! That's the length of 3 football fields---might as well be to the moon for me!

Do any of you know if any of the whale excursions have shuttles that get you closer to their boats? Surely, there's at least one good one who can accommodate people with limited walking capacity.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

In Juneau, the whale watches leave from Auke Bay. No matter your choice of whale watch company, you will need to be able to walk from the shuttle bus drop-off down to the docks. The big exception is Allen Marine; they have larger boats and are handicap accessible. It's easy to walk on. My sister, who has a bad hip and knee and walks with a cane, was able to board our Allen Marine boat without any problem. Allen Marine is the company the cruise ships use for their excursions. They are an Alaskan company headquartered in Sitka:

 

http://allenmarinetours.com/

[Glaciers]

I don’t remember the walk being 300 yards on Harv and Marv, more like 100 yards.

 

Allen Marine is a contracted vendor for the cruise lines in Juneau. You can book through your ship’s excursions. The one time I was on their dock the cruise ship bus pulled up and the ship was about 100 feet away. This was several years ago. Someone with more recent experience may chime in here.

[Tennessee Rose]

Old As Dirt Mom and Glaciers---thank you both for such quick responses and good info!

 

So, is this correct---on the ship excursion (that would be on an Allen Marine boat), their shuttle picks you up pretty much right off the ship and takes you to their boats. I'm guessing these are at Auke Bay also--seems like they all start from there. And it sounds like their boats are docked closer to the parking/drop off area than say H&M. Is that the 100 yards to walk? I'm slow, but could probably do that. Guess if I get that far along with this, I WILL walk it!!

 

OADM---About how many people were on your ship excursion? The Carnival link for this says 95 tickets. I'd rather be with fewer people, but it sounds like the logistics are just easier. I was hoping for a smaller group.

 

Thanks again for your help. I can hardly wait until September!

[martincath]

Another factor to consider is that small boats are, well, small! Even at high tide you have a steeper-angled gangway to walk down to get into them (the big Allen cats sit much higher from the water for their boarding level than H&M and other small boats). I have no mobility issues and have spent plenty of time in very small boats, but my small-boat Juneau whalewatch still had me supporting most of my weight on my arms, clinging to both handrails in order to not slide down the gangway when we boarded at low tide - when we came back it was fine, but perhaps you could check tide timetables and choose an excursion time that avoids low tide if you do stick with small boats.

 

I'd also suspect that bathroom access on the big boats is much more likely to be a regular size loo on the main floor or even ADA compliant for wheelchairs - whereas on the wee six-pack boats the head can be very awkward to get into. Apologies if I'm assuming too much, perhaps your general flexibility and balance are fine and you literally only have difficulty with endurance, but I thought it likely if 300 yards is too far for you that it was likely other aspects of small boat tours could be problematic too...

[Tennessee Rose]

Another factor to consider is that small boats are, well, small!

 

Thank you for the additional info! I've also found more info in the last few minutes on both logistics of the ship excursion and the Allen boats. Pretty sure we are going to book the ship excursion. Hey, my friend and I each have a small amount of OBC that we have to use on something! Might as well apply it to this! And let the ship take care of us. :)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Old As Dirt Mom and Glaciers---thank you both for such quick responses and good info!

 

So, is this correct---on the ship excursion (that would be on an Allen Marine boat), their shuttle picks you up pretty much right off the ship and takes you to their boats. I'm guessing these are at Auke Bay also--seems like they all start from there. And it sounds like their boats are docked closer to the parking/drop off area than say H&M. Is that the 100 yards to walk? I'm slow, but could probably do that. Guess if I get that far along with this, I WILL walk it!!

 

OADM---About how many people were on your ship excursion? The Carnival link for this says 95 tickets. I'd rather be with fewer people, but it sounds like the logistics are just easier. I was hoping for a smaller group.

 

Thanks again for your help. I can hardly wait until September!

 

The Allen Marine whale watch tours are NOT what you'd call intimate, small group tours. Allen Marine runs a good operation, with clean ships, amenities such as snacks and drinks, and an on board naturalist. Their whale watch boats are large, and they'll fill them up with both cruise and independent passengers. If you want to do their smaller, more custom tours, you'll have to pay the price difference, if they're even available on your cruise. Here's a link that describes their fleet. The 78 foot catamarans are what they use for the whale watches, and they are the ones that would be the easiest for you to maneuver:

 

http://allenmarinetours.com/charters/fleet/

 

And here's the link which lists their available tours in Juneau:

 

http://allenmarinetours.com/juneau/

 

Now, having said all that, my sister with the limited walking ability was also able to board a small Harv and Marv boat. The captain was very helpful in getting her down the gangway to the dock. She has also been able to do a small boat whale watch tour with Gastineau Guiding, another company the cruise lines use, and which I can also recommend. So many choices!

[Glaciers]

So, is this correct---on the ship excursion (that would be on an Allen Marine boat), their shuttle picks you up pretty much right off the ship and takes you to their boats. I'm guessing these are at Auke Bay also--seems like they all start from there.

 

The Allen Marine docks are about 1.5 miles north of Auke Bay.

[travelbug11]

Harv and Marv have assured me that they will use wheelchairs for us to get down the ramp when we go in May.

[Cruisingthesuitelife]

Harv and Marv have assured me that they will use wheelchairs for us to get down the ramp when we go in May.

I hope they do. When I used them a couple of years ago, they promised the same but there was no wheelchair there. Luckily, the walk wasn't too far but getting back up the ramp after the trip when it was low tide was a bit of a nightmare. Ensure you have it specified in writing exactly what help they will be giving and take that with you.

 

The rest of the trip with them was fantastic though and it wouldn't put me off using them again.

[notentirelynormal]

I have found H&M very easy to work with. I suggest you give them a call and ask them directly. There will be six in our group and since we have small children they don't let us merge with the older folks. Since we have little kids I am having them give us hot chocolate instead of hot coffee. Little things like that. I also would have difficulty walking that far. I've actually looked at my mileage and seen how far that is just to judge the walking.

[CaribbeanIsland]

Book through the ship.