Best Bet on actually seeing Whales???

[TNCruzer56]

Is it Juneau?

What company seems to have to best success ?

Thanks much in advance!

[WisCruiser2]

We had a great trip in Juneau with Harv & Marv's, 12 of us on a 34 foot boat (that was very stable). We also had a naturalist on board. We saw sea lions, a pod of orcas, and several humpbacks, including one that came up and flipped its tail about 6 feet from the boat! Bear in mind that no company can "guarantee" sightings, and you most likely will see just the backs and tails (we learned that humpbacks don't breach very much in Alaska).

 

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[JT1962]

We saw lots of whales and bubble net feeding in Icy Strait Point last May.

 

 

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[jmo1]

Two weeks ago at Juneau we saw five or six humpback whales on an excursion purchased from Princess Cruise Line.

At Ketchikan, we saw a pod of orcas and humpback whales very close to the boat on an excursion through Lighthouse Tours that was not even advertised as a whale watching tour. The boat captain said that it was very unusual, and that we got the tour of a lifetime.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

Seeing whales happens all of the time. It’s how close are you to the whales and what do you see. If you watch from the ship for the whale to spout, you will see them and possibly them diving. But you may be a long ways away. The whale tours do the same thing but try to get you closer and they exchange info on where they are.

We saw bubble feeding right from our balcony while docked in Ketchikan so anything is possible. We also went with Harv&Marv and saw orcas so that can happen too. But both are more rare than the typical tail show.

[sherryf]

Bear in mind that no company can "guarantee" sightings, and you most likely will see just the backs and tails.

 

Actually, all of the vendors in Juneau do "guarantee" sightings. The boats all communicate and let others know where the whales are. Usually when you get to where the whales are, there are at least a dozen other boats in the vicinity watching the same whales.

[WisCruiser2]

From Harv & Marv's website: "Do you have a whale sighting guarantee?

A. No/Yes. After seeing whales on 100% of the trips, we decided not to use this as a means to get customers. We promise to do the best we can to locate whales on each and every trip. If you do not see a whale on your tour, you will receive a 50% refund."

 

 

 

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[Italy52]

We saw lots of whales and bubble net feeding in Icy Strait Point last May.

 

 

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Same thing happened to us during our May 14th and May 22nd 2018 whale watching excursions with Glacier Wind --- it was insane all the bubble net feeding that was going on --- have taken numerous trips to Alaska and have never seen so much bubble feeding. We were truly blessed as we know this is not typical.

[CRZe787]

We did whale and glacier combo in Juneau 2yrs ago.

We use shoretrips.com as it was cheaper than cruise line. Now they are about the same or more. Do you own shopping. However, we had fun and saw the whales up and close. The boat used carry about 12 people maybe 16 at most...

We are doing ISP next month to change it up

 

 

 

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[peety3]

We've done five tours with Gastineau Guiding, and they offer a $100 cash guarantee if you don't see a whale. They have 9 boats, last I heard, and have been in business 15 years, last I heard. They've never issued a single dollar in guarantee payouts. You'll see whales.

[J898989]

If you spent time outside or watching from somewhere, whales and lots of other wildlife can be seen from the ship

 

We saw tons from ship

[hubofhockey]

Not sure about Juneau, but for us, I would rate Seward (Kenai Fjords) #1 because of both humpbacks and orcas and Hoonah (Icy Strait Point) #2.

[Italy52]

Not sure about Juneau, but for us, I would rate Seward (Kenai Fjords) #1 because of both humpbacks and orcas and Hoonah (Icy Strait Point) #2.

 

Did you get to see a lot of whales and orcas on your Kenai Fjord excursion? We haven't seen much over the last two years.

[susiesan]

We've done five tours with Gastineau Guiding, and they offer a $100 cash guarantee if you don't see a whale. They have 9 boats, last I heard, and have been in business 15 years, last I heard. They've never issued a single dollar in guarantee payouts. You'll see whales.

 

Looks like Gastineau Guiding makes you book through the cruise lines. If you have your own group of 20 they will do a private tour. I have emailed them to see about booking myself without going through the cruise ship so as to get a better price.

[pugmadkate]

We've done five tours with Gastineau Guiding, and they offer a $100 cash guarantee if you don't see a whale. They have 9 boats, last I heard, and have been in business 15 years, last I heard. They've never issued a single dollar in guarantee payouts. You'll see whales.

 

Another vote for Gastineau Guiding. We booked through our cruise line (Holland America.) We saw whales plus the guide and boat driver were wonderful.

[vacationlover_mn]

Our best viewing was in Juneau, on a RCI excursion... lots of orcas and humpbacks

 

 

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[ROCruiser]

Icy Strait Point, definitely! And we were not even on a tour or excursion.