Hoonah (Icy Strait)Whale Watching - July 18, 2019

[jssabs]

We are looking at a private whale watching tour in Hoonah (Icy Strait) on July 18, 2019.  It is approximately 3 hours long and costs $160 per person with a 10% discount for groups of 4.  They have a minimum requirement of 8 people.  We are a group of 4 and are looking for anyone who would like to join us on this tour.  I am also posting this message on the roll call for the July 12 cruise but there doesn't seem to be much activity on that board.  If interested, please respond and I will provide more details.

 

Jay

Edited June 13, 2019 by jssabs

[IBsaved]

If your cruise ports in Juneau do the whale watching with Juneau Tours - excellent!

[hubofhockey]

If you can't find four others, you might want to contact Glacier Wind.  They are a family business that does outstanding whale watches in Hoonah.  It was one of our best days on our cruise.  They go off with six but you are only responsible for paying for your own group.  If you can't fill their boats, it's on them and not you.  The McConnells runs a first class company.  They have two boats.  One is run by the dad and the other by the son.  Mom handles the business and the pick up at port.  

Edited June 15, 2019 by hubofhockey

[Charlies Aunt]

We had our best whale watching ever from Hoonah. It was so good that the captain of the small boat said as we left " Please don`t tell anyone about what you saw today or everyone will expect that kind of show!"

[jssabs]

Thanks for your responses.  I have looked at the 6 passenger tours but we are concerned about the small size of the boats.  The company I am looking at is rated high on Trip Advisor.  We would rather take the tour out of Hoonah as this seems to be the major attraction there whereas there Juneau offers more activities in addition to whale watching.  If we can't get to the minimum, we will take the ship's whale watching excursion which is a little more expensive.

 

Jay

[hubofhockey]

4 hours ago, jssabs said:

Thanks for your responses.  I have looked at the 6 passenger tours but we are concerned about the small size of the boats.  The company I am looking at is rated high on Trip Advisor.  We would rather take the tour out of Hoonah as this seems to be the major attraction there whereas there Juneau offers more activities in addition to whale watching.  If we can't get to the minimum, we will take the ship's whale watching excursion which is a little more expensive.

 

Jay

 

Our six passenger boat could have accommodated more, but the company limited the number for quality.

 

I agree 100% with your take on Hoonah vs Juneau.  Have a great cruise and great luck on the weather.

[jssabs]

I had checked the company you used early on and noted that they gave excellent tours.  As I previously noted, we were concerned with the small size of the boat in case the waters were rough or the weather bad or the whales showing off too close to the boat.  The tour company we are looking at uses a boat that holds 10-20 passengers which is an ideal size.  The ship excursions use companies that take 50+ which makes for a crowded tour.  Still hoping to get to the minimum of 8 but thanks for your comments.

 

Jay

[cruisinskier]

We had actually booked the Azamara Whales & Bears excursion for the May 25 Quest sailing.  While we didn't see bears (we kinda knew it was too early in the season), we saw lots of whales (mostly Humpbacks) in Hoonah.   And the boat they used was a perfect size with side windows that all swung open and harnessed to the ceiling so everyone had a view.   If you don't find others to join you, it is one of the few cruise tours we have booked and it was well worth it.  Enjoy your cruise!

Edited June 20, 2019 by cruisinskier