Joleen's Whale Watching Reviews?

[Glaciers]

2 minutes ago, ute_fan said:

I haven't personally used this vendor, but there's another former captain for Harv & Marv's who has started his own business.  His website is https://www.alaskahumpbackadventures.com/.  Looking at his pictures, I think he was the captain of our boat the last time we went with Harv & Marv in 2015, but I'm not positive.

I believe that is Steve's business.  We went out with him while he was at Harv & Marv.  It was an exceptional experience, actually better than what we had when we went out with Jayleen.

[ute_fan]

9 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

I believe that is Steve's business.  We went out with him while he was at Harv & Marv.  It was an exceptional experience, actually better than what we had when we went out with Jayleen.

Yes, it's Steve's business.  I debated between him and Jayleen and ended up going with her this time.

 

[angelhelly]

Thank you for all the help guys. Everybody was booked up for our date but Harv and Marv's, so we went with that. 

[Italy52]

1 hour ago, angelhelly said:

Thank you for all the help guys. Everybody was booked up for our date but Harv and Marv's, so we went with that. 

Glad you found a vendor.  H&M will do a good job so you should have no worries there.

[Island.Hopper]

We've booked two tours with Jayleen this June, can't wait 

[lvcrzn]

Thank you! JAYLEEN 2020

[ErLee]

We’re booked with Jayleen next month - can’t wait!!

[Huskydo]

Having read the positive reviews regarding Jayleen’s tours, I have just sent off an email requesting a booking for May 2020. Hoping this is early enough to book:)

This website has been fantastic for research purposes. 

 

We are UK based, not seasoned cruisers therefore not very well informed of all the do’s and dont’s

 

Our plan is to travel to Vancouver, hire a car and explore the Rockies, Canmore, Banff, Jasper etc for about 7 to 10 days, then back to Vancouver for the cruise. We will also spend a few nights in Vancouver on our return from the cruise.

 

I can’t describe how excited I am! 

 

[martincath]

5 hours ago, Huskydo said:

We are UK based, not seasoned cruisers therefore not very well informed of all the do’s and dont’s

Our plan is to travel to Vancouver, hire a car and explore the Rockies, Canmore, Banff, Jasper etc for about 7 to 10 days, then back to Vancouver for the cruise. We will also spend a few nights in Vancouver on our return from the cruise.

Much as I love my home town, most folks coming in from the UK to do Pre- or Post-Cruise driving in the Rockies fly open jaw, with Calgary on one end and Vancouver on the other. One-way car (or RV) rentals between them are as common as muck in tourist season, so the costs don't tend to vary much and you avoid driving the same long stretch of highway twice.

 

So I would suggest pricing up flights to Calgary (which is certainly big enough to spend at least a couple of days exploring - more if you like 'cowboy stuff' and want to spend time kitting yourself out with boots & hats 😉 ). When you pick up the car I'd also suggest a detour eastward into the Badlands (cowboy country!) and the Royal Tyrell Museum before you start heading West - it's spectacular countryside even if you don't want to see the world's best dinosaur museum (and if by any chance you're a Trekkie, you can make a loop east of Calgary to include Vulcan, the Trekkiest town around, and avoid doubling back on your route that day too).

[Huskydo]

3 hours ago, martincath said:

Much as I love my home town, most folks coming in from the UK to do Pre- or Post-Cruise driving in the Rockies fly open jaw, with Calgary on one end and Vancouver on the other. One-way car (or RV) rentals between them are as common as muck in tourist season, so the costs don't tend to vary much and you avoid driving the same long stretch of highway twice.

 

So I would suggest pricing up flights to Calgary (which is certainly big enough to spend at least a couple of days exploring - more if you like 'cowboy stuff' and want to spend time kitting yourself out with boots & hats 😉 ). When you pick up the car I'd also suggest a detour eastward into the Badlands (cowboy country!) and the Royal Tyrell Museum before you start heading West - it's spectacular countryside even if you don't want to see the world's best dinosaur museum (and if by any chance you're a Trekkie, you can make a loop east of Calgary to include Vulcan, the Trekkiest town around, and avoid doubling back on your route that day too).

 

Thank you for that advice it’s appreciated.

 

We did think of flying into Calgary initially, however, when we looked at flights, because we would be flying home from Vancouver, the price doubled for some reason. This is not set in stone yet as flights are not released yet so we have time to decide.

We have visited the area before a few years ago now. My OH had cause to visit Medicine Hat for work purposes which would take a few days. I thought it rude not to go along so I carried his suitcase as they say:)

Medicine Hat was amazing, the folk so friendly and welcoming, we loved it.

 

We then took the opportunity to take some holiday so we drove up to Calgary, Canmore, Banff etc, also visited Lake Louise. I fell in love with the place and vowed to return. 

 

Ive not heard of Badlands so will be sure to look it up.

 

[martincath]

No worries - you've already seen more of Alberta than most then! Assuming you enjoyed Calgary and would visit again, I'd definitely price up the flights (as you say, it's a bit early to have a firm idea of schedules for next May) - it's probably safe to say there will be fewer nonstops to YYC than YVR, but pricing in general shouldn't be twice as much! The Badlands encompasses a bunch of southern Alberta and further down into Montana so there are plenty of parks, historic sites etc. within the area. If you were considering driving much at altitude, I'd also compare flipping the order you're doing things in - Vancouver first, then Cruise, then drive through the Rockies - as depending exactly when in May you arrive it could make quite a difference in lack of snow on high passes. Required Snow Tire season ends April 30th, but that just means that snowfall is irregular rather than frequent in May!

[mac1_131]

Having read the positive reviews regarding Jayleen’s tours, I have just sent off an email requesting a booking for May 2020. Hoping this is early enough to book:)
This website has been fantastic for research purposes. 
 
We are UK based, not seasoned cruisers therefore not very well informed of all the do’s and dont’s
 
Our plan is to travel to Vancouver, hire a car and explore the Rockies, Canmore, Banff, Jasper etc for about 7 to 10 days, then back to Vancouver for the cruise. We will also spend a few nights in Vancouver on our return from the cruise.
 
I can’t describe how excited I am! 
 

We just booked May 2020 with her so yes she is talking reservations for then. It took her a couple days to answer my email but she will get back with you.

[Huskydo]

5 hours ago, martincath said:

No worries - you've already seen more of Alberta than most then! Assuming you enjoyed Calgary and would visit again, I'd definitely price up the flights (as you say, it's a bit early to have a firm idea of schedules for next May) - it's probably safe to say there will be fewer nonstops to YYC than YVR, but pricing in general shouldn't be twice as much! The Badlands encompasses a bunch of southern Alberta and further down into Montana so there are plenty of parks, historic sites etc. within the area. If you were considering driving much at altitude, I'd also compare flipping the order you're doing things in - Vancouver first, then Cruise, then drive through the Rockies - as depending exactly when in May you arrive it could make quite a difference in lack of snow on high passes. Required Snow Tire season ends April 30th, but that just means that snowfall is irregular rather than frequent in May!

 

We will certainly consider this, thank you. I’m hoping for snow. Last visit was early May and was perfect though Lake Louise was still frozen. 

Do you have any recommendations for hotel stay in Vancouver? 

[Huskydo]

2 hours ago, mac1_131 said:

On 5/11/2019 at 3:03 PM, Huskydo said:

Having read the positive reviews regarding Jayleen’s tours, I have just sent off an email requesting a booking for May 2020. Hoping this is early enough to book:)
This website has been fantastic for research purposes. 
 
We are UK based, not seasoned cruisers therefore not very well informed of all the do’s and dont’s
 
Our plan is to travel to Vancouver, hire a car and explore the Rockies, Canmore, Banff, Jasper etc for about 7 to 10 days, then back to Vancouver for the cruise. We will also spend a few nights in Vancouver on our return from the cruise.
 
I can’t describe how excited I am! 
 

We just booked May 2020 with her so yes she is talking reservations for then. It took her a couple days to answer my email but she will get back with you.

 

Yes, I’ve been in touch and received a reply, reserving our places for 21 May:)

 

 

[martincath]

16 minutes ago, Huskydo said:

We will certainly consider this, thank you. I’m hoping for snow. Last visit was early May and was perfect though Lake Louise was still frozen. Do you have any recommendations for hotel stay in Vancouver? 

Since we live downtown we don't have much need for hotels, and our visitors tend to abuse our hospitality rather than spend money 😉  That said, before we moved here we did vacation here, and chose the YWCA Hotel and loved it (back when it was a rather scruffier nook of downtown than it is now, too). They've remained consistently in the top 20 hotels in the city on review sites, and are actually building a large extension this year to cope with demand - not sure how many of the new rooms will be en suites and how many shared bathroom, but since you have a year to plan it should be easy to get a 'regular hotel room' with your own private bath just from the original building stock.

 

We've also had some more recent experience with fancy hotels (wife's colleagues and clients plus an occasional conference where the room's included even for locals) so can recommend L'Hermitage and any Fairmont hotel downtown - you'll just pay an awful lot more than at the Y!

 

[Twintowngirl]

We are booked with Jayleen's tours next month and I can't even begin to describe how excited we are! I researched quite a bit on CC plus Trip Advisor before making the decision to go with Jayleen. We have 2 in our party and have 2 friends who decided to join us. So excited to try and get some good photos of whales and other wildlife. For those that have gone, how rocky is the boat?  I have a bit of trouble with motion sickness but plan on doing my usual medications to lessen the effects.

[Italy52]

We have gone with Jayleen and Harv and Marv in Juneau many times and I will say that we usually encounter some rocking; sometimes more than others, nothing too drastic so far.  We are always prepared with Bonine for motion sickness.  We start taking our Bonine at night a couple of days before the beginning of the cruise and don't stop until we get off the ship.  I am prone to motion sickness and have never had a problem when I follow the routine mentioned. 

[MommyCPA]

We went with Jayleen 2 summers ago and had a great trip!  We saw whales, sea lions, eagles, etc.  She totally knows what she's doing and we loved the experience with a small boat and very small tour where we could really ask questions and talk with them.  We loved it and I would totally go with her again!  She grew up on an island just off Juneau and her dad bought her a skiff when she was 12 so that he wouldn't have to take her to town anymore.  She's been driving a boat for way more than half her life!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I emailed Jayleen yesterday for next July.  We are # 3 & 4 on her 6 passenger boat.  She is getting a good reputation if she is booked this far in advance. 

[ccndfw]

I’m debating between Jayleen’s tour and Steve”s Alaska Humpback Adventure.  Anyone that has been on both that can give a recommendation?  

[Fritz]

After reading all of the posts, i just sent Jayleen an e-mail for June 24th 2020. Hope she still has an opening.

Edited May 19, 2019 by Fritz

[MellyBell]

We want to book thru a private company however there will either be 9 or 11 of us.  Does she have something that would accommodate that size and if not does anyone know a company that does? 

[gagenie]

We just went with Jayleen again on June 5, 2019!!It was great and I highly recommend her!! There was 4 of us so we had our own private tour!!

[ccndfw]

23 minutes ago, MellyBell said:

We want to book thru a private company however there will either be 9 or 11 of us.  Does she have something that would accommodate that size and if not does anyone know a company that does? 

 

You can email her and ask... there’s a link to contact her on her webpage.  If she can’t, you might try Harv and Marv as they do have boats that accommodate more than 6 people.