Juneau: rent a car or do MENDENHALL GLACIER, WHALE WATCHING AND WILDLIFE QUEST??

[Gregg00ss]

Cruising Royal and will be in town from 1pm - 8 pm in late September.  4 of us traveling and was leaning heavily towards renting a car for the day and heading out to Mendenhall Glacier and exploring more of the area via car.  Started looking around and see we can do a combo tour which will include 2 hours on the water looking for whales, then drop us off at Mendenhall Glacier to do as we wish and then bus us back to the port.  Our other ports include Ketchikan, Sitka, and Victoria so Juneau seems like our best opportunity for whale watching on this cruise.  Whale watching is not a "must do" but a unique opportunity given the area.  For those that have been there done that, curious what your thoughts are.  Still looking but right now leaning towards booking through Juneau Whale Watch if that matters.  

[karatemom2]

We love renting a car in Juneau and have done it a number of times. But, given your itinerary if you are interested in a whale watching trip, Juneau really is your best option. The tour you mention is nice in terms of the fact that it drops you at Mendenhall, but hopefully allows time for you to do the hike to Nugget Falls. It really just depends on your priorities. If you want to explore the area outside Juneau a car is great, but if for this trip seeing whales and Mendenhall Glacier with some time in town at the end of the day is higher on your list, the excursion seems like a better option.

Edited March 15, 2022 by karatemom2

[Ireallyneedavacation]

3 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

We love renting a car in Juneau and have done it a number of times. But, given your itinerary if you are interested in a whale watching trip, Juneau really is your best option. The tour you mention is nice in terms of the fact that it drops you at Mendenhall, but hopefully allows time for you to do the hike to Nugget Falls. It really just depends on your priorities. If you want to explore the area outside Juneau a car is great, but if for this trip seeing whales and Mendenhall Glacier with some time in town at the end of the day is higher on your list, the excursion seems like a better option.

 

 

Would you mind sharing the car rental company you are using? I can’t find one that is located downtown, near the port. 

[karatemom2]

21 minutes ago, Ireallyneedavacation said:

 

Would you mind sharing the car rental company you are using? I can’t find one that is located downtown, near the port. 

Unfortunately the last car rental company that had a location within Juneau no longer has its office there this year. It’s Juneau Car Rentals, but they are now just at the airport as is Avis. We are still renting from them this year as they are providing a shuttle. You can take a taxi to the airport locations as well. It’s about 15 minutes outside of town. Not the most convenient but still doable. 

[pkster]

5 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

Unfortunately the last car rental company that had a location within Juneau no longer has its office there this year. It’s Juneau Car Rentals, but they are now just at the airport as is Avis. We are still renting from them this year as they are providing a shuttle. You can take a taxi to the airport locations as well. It’s about 15 minutes outside of town. Not the most convenient but still doable. 

I currently have a reservation with Juneau Car Rental for my June cruise.  I just received an e-mail from them that they are no longer providing a pick-up location at Dock A, and as stated above, I now need to pick up the car at their Industrial Blvd. office location near the airport.  This is very disappointing, as we don't arrive until 2:00 PM, and while Juneau Car Rental says they provide shuttle service, it only runs every two hours.  So it's possible using the shuttle that I might not get the car until around 5:00 PM and the office closes at 8:00 PM.  There is an option to drop the car off after hours, but then I'd have to pay for my own way back to the port.  I'm thinking I might be better off just cancelling the car reservation.  Does anybody know how much a taxi ride between the airport area and Dock A runs?

[karatemom2]

Because we are in the same boat I checked with Evergreen taxi in Juneau and their web site said about $22 to airport one way. Not ideal but we still want the car. Our port time is 1:30 so we are hoping to catch the 2 pm shuttle. If not we will just taxi it. Disappointing for sure but it sounds like it couldn’t be helped as it appears they lost their kiosk location at Dock AJ. 

[dfilpus]

Avis Alaska https://www.avisalaska.com/locations/juneau-downtown/ still lists its location near AJ Dock. That's where we've rented a car for the day. I walked there from the main docks in about 20 minutes.

Edited March 16, 2022 by dfilpus

[karatemom2]

2 hours ago, dfilpus said:

Avis Alaska https://www.avisalaska.com/locations/juneau-downtown/ still lists its location near AJ Dock. That's where we've rented a car for the day. I walked there from the main docks in about 20 minutes.

 

Although it still shows that location unfortunately Avis will not have it open this summer. In the past they have opened that satellite spot from May - September and we have rented from them before as well. We contacted them last summer, but they informed me they would not be opening that location last year. I checked again this year in the hopes things had changed, and once again they have made the decision not to open that site this year. The only option available with them is at the airport.

 

That is how we ended up going with Juneau Car Rentals last year because they still maintained a kiosk at the dock. But sadly this year, they aren't in town either. It appears all car rental options are at the airport for now.

[dfilpus]

1 hour ago, karatemom2 said:

 

Although it still shows that location unfortunately Avis will not have it open this summer. In the past they have opened that satellite spot from May - September and we have rented from them before as well. We contacted them last summer, but they informed me they would not be opening that location last year. I checked again this year in the hopes things had changed, and once again they have made the decision not to open that site this year. The only option available with them is at the airport.

 

That is how we ended up going with Juneau Car Rentals last year because they still maintained a kiosk at the dock. But sadly this year, they aren't in town either. It appears all car rental options are at the airport for now.

That's unfortunate. It is a haul to the airport from the cruise docks.

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Ok, thanks for confirming my assumption about the car rental. We rented from Avis that was located in a hotel last time we were there. I was looking at Juneau Car Rental for this time but then read about them losing their location at the AJ Dock. We will most likely get a taxi to Mendenhall Glacier to try and beat the tour buses and skip the car rental. Hopefully, Juneau Car Rental can secure a location near the docks for future seasons. 

[PandaBear62]

On 3/16/2022 at 6:13 PM, Ireallyneedavacation said:

Ok, thanks for confirming my assumption about the car rental. We rented from Avis that was located in a hotel last time we were there. I was looking at Juneau Car Rental for this time but then read about them losing their location at the AJ Dock. We will most likely get a taxi to Mendenhall Glacier to try and beat the tour buses and skip the car rental. Hopefully, Juneau Car Rental can secure a location near the docks for future seasons. 

I know I'm late to the party here, but this is what our contract says with Juneau Car Rental:

 

Thank you for your reservation! We are thrilled that the cruise ships will be returning to Juneau  this year. You have chosen a great way to explore Juneau independently. Please follow the  directions below to determine where you will pick up your car. Due to some changes in our  routine, we will not have our satellite office at Dock A open this year. Even so, you will still pick  up and drop off your car at the Dock A location. Please follow the instructions below to pick up  and drop off your car. 

1. Determine which dock your ship will be docking at. There is Dock A through E. You are welcome to contact  our office to verify your docking location. Dock E is the furthest away at just over 1.25 miles to Dock A. 2. If you are not able to walk the sidewalk to our office, you are welcome to call a taxi(numbers below), UBER or LYFT. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you instruct the driver to take you to the AJ dock to get the car, so  they do not bring you to our airport location. The address is 1118 Jacobsen Drive. 

3. When you go down Jacobsen Drive, you will take the first left into the parking lot of Dock A.  4. See the satellite map where there is a red circle along the fence line. 

5. Your car will be parked in one of the spaces along this fence. 

6. Look for a vehicle that has an envelope hanging from the rear-view mirror with your name on it and your  rental agreement will be inside the envelope. 

7. The key will be above the driver’s side sun-visor. 

8. You will return the car to the same parking lot. Please make sure it is full of gas or we do charge $10/gallon  to refill it for you. 

9. Put the key above the driver’s side sun-visor and lock the doors from the inside. We have a spare. 10. If you have any questions regarding this procedure, please call our office prior to your arrival.

 

Thank you for your reservation! We are thrilled that the cruise ships will be returning to Juneau  this year. You have chosen a great way to explore Juneau independently. Please follow the  directions below to determine where you will pick up your car. Due to some changes in our  routine, we will not have our satellite office at Dock A open this year. Even so, you will still pick  up and drop off your car at the Dock A location. Please follow the instructions below to pick up  and drop off your car. 

1. Determine which dock your ship will be docking at. There is Dock A through E. You are welcome to contact  our office to verify your docking location. Dock E is the furthest away at just over 1.25 miles to Dock A. 2. If you are not able to walk the sidewalk to our office, you are welcome to call a taxi(numbers below), UBER or LYFT. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you instruct the driver to take you to the AJ dock to get the car, so  they do not bring you to our airport location. The address is 1118 Jacobsen Drive. 

3. When you go down Jacobsen Drive, you will take the first left into the parking lot of Dock A.  4. See the satellite map where there is a red circle along the fence line. 

5. Your car will be parked in one of the spaces along this fence. 

6. Look for a vehicle that has an envelope hanging from the rear-view mirror with your name on it and your  rental agreement will be inside the envelope. 

7. The key will be above the driver’s side sun-visor. 

8. You will return the car to the same parking lot. Please make sure it is full of gas or we do charge $10/gallon  to refill it for you. 

9. Put the key above the driver’s side sun-visor and lock the doors from the inside. We have a spare. 10. If you have any questions regarding this procedure, please call our office prior to your arrival.

 

So while it's true there is no office, you can still pick up a car at the cruise docks

 

Panda

 

[Ireallyneedavacation]

8 hours ago, PandaBear62 said:

I know I'm late to the party here, but this is what our contract says with Juneau Car Rental:

 

Thank you for your reservation! We are thrilled that the cruise ships will be returning to Juneau  this year. You have chosen a great way to explore Juneau independently. Please follow the  directions below to determine where you will pick up your car. Due to some changes in our  routine, we will not have our satellite office at Dock A open this year. Even so, you will still pick  up and drop off your car at the Dock A location. Please follow the instructions below to pick up  and drop off your car. 

1. Determine which dock your ship will be docking at. There is Dock A through E. You are welcome to contact  our office to verify your docking location. Dock E is the furthest away at just over 1.25 miles to Dock A. 2. If you are not able to walk the sidewalk to our office, you are welcome to call a taxi(numbers below), UBER or LYFT. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you instruct the driver to take you to the AJ dock to get the car, so  they do not bring you to our airport location. The address is 1118 Jacobsen Drive. 

3. When you go down Jacobsen Drive, you will take the first left into the parking lot of Dock A.  4. See the satellite map where there is a red circle along the fence line. 

5. Your car will be parked in one of the spaces along this fence. 

6. Look for a vehicle that has an envelope hanging from the rear-view mirror with your name on it and your  rental agreement will be inside the envelope. 

7. The key will be above the driver’s side sun-visor. 

8. You will return the car to the same parking lot. Please make sure it is full of gas or we do charge $10/gallon  to refill it for you. 

9. Put the key above the driver’s side sun-visor and lock the doors from the inside. We have a spare. 10. If you have any questions regarding this procedure, please call our office prior to your arrival.

 

Thank you for your reservation! We are thrilled that the cruise ships will be returning to Juneau  this year. You have chosen a great way to explore Juneau independently. Please follow the  directions below to determine where you will pick up your car. Due to some changes in our  routine, we will not have our satellite office at Dock A open this year. Even so, you will still pick  up and drop off your car at the Dock A location. Please follow the instructions below to pick up  and drop off your car. 

1. Determine which dock your ship will be docking at. There is Dock A through E. You are welcome to contact  our office to verify your docking location. Dock E is the furthest away at just over 1.25 miles to Dock A. 2. If you are not able to walk the sidewalk to our office, you are welcome to call a taxi(numbers below), UBER or LYFT. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you instruct the driver to take you to the AJ dock to get the car, so  they do not bring you to our airport location. The address is 1118 Jacobsen Drive. 

3. When you go down Jacobsen Drive, you will take the first left into the parking lot of Dock A.  4. See the satellite map where there is a red circle along the fence line. 

5. Your car will be parked in one of the spaces along this fence. 

6. Look for a vehicle that has an envelope hanging from the rear-view mirror with your name on it and your  rental agreement will be inside the envelope. 

7. The key will be above the driver’s side sun-visor. 

8. You will return the car to the same parking lot. Please make sure it is full of gas or we do charge $10/gallon  to refill it for you. 

9. Put the key above the driver’s side sun-visor and lock the doors from the inside. We have a spare. 10. If you have any questions regarding this procedure, please call our office prior to your arrival.

 

So while it's true there is no office, you can still pick up a car at the cruise docks

 

Panda

 

Thanks for the info! That is great news!

[pkster]

9 hours ago, PandaBear62 said:

I know I'm late to the party here, but this is what our contract says with Juneau Car Rental:

 

Thank you for your reservation! We are thrilled that the cruise ships will be returning to Juneau  this year. You have chosen a great way to explore Juneau independently. Please follow the  directions below to determine where you will pick up your car. Due to some changes in our  routine, we will not have our satellite office at Dock A open this year. Even so, you will still pick  up and drop off your car at the Dock A location. Please follow the instructions below to pick up  and drop off your car. 

1. Determine which dock your ship will be docking at. There is Dock A through E. You are welcome to contact  our office to verify your docking location. Dock E is the furthest away at just over 1.25 miles to Dock A. 2. If you are not able to walk the sidewalk to our office, you are welcome to call a taxi(numbers below), UBER or LYFT. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you instruct the driver to take you to the AJ dock to get the car, so  they do not bring you to our airport location. The address is 1118 Jacobsen Drive. 

 

 

How long ago did you receive this contract?  That would be great news if it's the case, but it's not consistent with the e-mail I received in March stating that cars have to be picked at their main office.  I just checked their web site, and it still states that as well:  https://www.juneaurentalcars.com/cruise-ship-reservations

 

From the web site:

Cruise Ship
Rental Reservations

Juneau Car Rental Company has been serving our cruise ship customers for the last nine years by providing a pickup location at Dock A (the AJ dock). Due to unexpected circumstances beyond our control, we will no longer be able to operate our office at that location.

To make it more convenient for our cruise ship customers, we will be providing a shuttle service from the cruise ship docks to our main office that is located about 2 miles from the Mendenhall Glacier.  Once a reservation is made, you will be given instructions in your confirmation email as to where your designated location will be based on where your ship is docking.

Our shuttle will pick up at the designated locations every 2 hours beginning at 8am. 

The return shuttle will operate from our main office on the same 2 hour interval through 8pm. If your disembarking time doesn’t match up with our shuttle pick up times, our recommendation is to take advantage of the downtown Juneau shops and restaurants, the Tram, and multiple museums to occupy the time until the next shuttle.

If you are eager to get your car and you don’t want to wait for the shuttle based on our pick-up and drop off schedule, you are welcome to take a Taxi or one of the other ride-share companies such as UBER and LYFT to bring you out to our office.  You may utilize this option to return to your ship as well if the shuttle won’t work for your schedule.  Taxi phone numbers will be provided in your confirmation email.

Thank you and we look forward to you visiting our beautiful capital city!

Sincerely,

Dwight Efird/OWNER

Juneau Car Rental Company

[PandaBear62]

On 5/4/2022 at 9:31 PM, pkster said:

How long ago did you receive this contract?  That would be great news if it's the case, but it's not consistent with the e-mail I received in March stating that cars have to be picked at their main office.  I just checked their web site, and it still states that as well:  https://www.juneaurentalcars.com/cruise-ship-reservations

 

From the web site:

Cruise Ship
Rental Reservations

Juneau Car Rental Company has been serving our cruise ship customers for the last nine years by providing a pickup location at Dock A (the AJ dock). Due to unexpected circumstances beyond our control, we will no longer be able to operate our office at that location.

To make it more convenient for our cruise ship customers, we will be providing a shuttle service from the cruise ship docks to our main office that is located about 2 miles from the Mendenhall Glacier.  Once a reservation is made, you will be given instructions in your confirmation email as to where your designated location will be based on where your ship is docking.

Our shuttle will pick up at the designated locations every 2 hours beginning at 8am. 

The return shuttle will operate from our main office on the same 2 hour interval through 8pm. If your disembarking time doesn’t match up with our shuttle pick up times, our recommendation is to take advantage of the downtown Juneau shops and restaurants, the Tram, and multiple museums to occupy the time until the next shuttle.

If you are eager to get your car and you don’t want to wait for the shuttle based on our pick-up and drop off schedule, you are welcome to take a Taxi or one of the other ride-share companies such as UBER and LYFT to bring you out to our office.  You may utilize this option to return to your ship as well if the shuttle won’t work for your schedule.  Taxi phone numbers will be provided in your confirmation email.

Thank you and we look forward to you visiting our beautiful capital city!

Sincerely,

Dwight Efird/OWNER

Juneau Car Rental Company

 

Well, that is super frustrating! I booked February 3. We are a group of 7, and honestly, for all the extra effort, I would have just had everyone book a ships tour. 

 

I am so sorry I shared inaccurate information and feeling pretty unhappy with Juneau Car Rental for not bothering to contact their current customers. I had no reason to check the website, as I booked a mid-sized car last fall and called Feb. 3 when more people joined and changed to a van.

 

Panda

[PandaBear62]

On 5/4/2022 at 8:40 PM, Ireallyneedavacation said:

Thanks for the info! That is great news!

Please see posts above. Apparently, since I contacted Juneau car rental February 3 they changed their policy and didn't bother to update their current customers. 

Panda

[pkster]

12 hours ago, PandaBear62 said:

 

Well, that is super frustrating! I booked February 3. We are a group of 7, and honestly, for all the extra effort, I would have just had everyone book a ships tour. 

 

I am so sorry I shared inaccurate information and feeling pretty unhappy with Juneau Car Rental for not bothering to contact their current customers. I had no reason to check the website, as I booked a mid-sized car last fall and called Feb. 3 when more people joined and changed to a van.

 

Panda

I'm surprised you didn't get an e-mail from Juneau Car Rental back in March when they changed the policy.  Perhaps it went to your spam mailbox?  Juneau Car Rental just sent me another e-mail yesterday, inquiring about how many people I have in my party so that they can coordinate shuttle pickup.  Did you get such an e-mail?  If not, maybe it's because you already told them group of 7 back in February, so they already have the information?  At any rate, this is just further confirmation that rental car pickup at the dock is no longer available, and yeah, super frustrating.

 

My big problem is our ship doesn't arrive in Juneau until 2:00 PM.  With them saying that it could take up to two hours for shuttle pickup, it could realistically be 5:00 before we're in the car.  And to compound that, their shuttle only runs until 8:00.  They do offer the option to drop the car off after-hours, but then we'd have to find/pay our own way from their main office back to the ship.  I think I'll end up cancelling my rental reservation with them.

Edited May 8, 2022 by pkster

[PandaBear62]

4 hours ago, pkster said:

I'm surprised you didn't get an e-mail from Juneau Car Rental back in March when they changed the policy.  Perhaps it went to your spam mailbox?  Juneau Car Rental just sent me another e-mail yesterday, inquiring about how many people I have in my party so that they can coordinate shuttle pickup.  Did you get such an e-mail?  If not, maybe it's because you already told them group of 7 back in February, so they already have the information?  At any rate, this is just further confirmation that rental car pickup at the dock is no longer available, and yeah, super frustrating.

 

My big problem is our ship doesn't arrive in Juneau until 2:00 PM.  With them saying that it could take up to two hours for shuttle pickup, it could realistically be 5:00 before we're in the car.  And to compound that, their shuttle only runs until 8:00.  They do offer the option to drop the car off after-hours, but then we'd have to find/pay our own way from their main office back to the ship.  I think I'll end up cancelling my rental reservation with them.

 

Nope, no email in spam anytime since I updated my rental back on Feb. 3. While my email did say call in early March to confirm the dock we were arriving at, when I changed my reservation in Feb., I was told "great, we already know your dock", so I didn't need to call.

 

We are in Juneau from 7am to 9pm, so we do have time, it's more the principal of not being contacted. I am going to have to think how we organize our day, to make sure the timing works. We were actually docking at Dock A, so the reason I went with a car rental is because is was SO convenient. 

 

 

[udamom]

On 5/8/2022 at 11:38 AM, PandaBear62 said:

 

Nope, no email in spam anytime since I updated my rental back on Feb. 3. While my email did say call in early March to confirm the dock we were arriving at, when I changed my reservation in Feb., I was told "great, we already know your dock", so I didn't need to call.

 

We are in Juneau from 7am to 9pm, so we do have time, it's more the principal of not being contacted. I am going to have to think how we organize our day, to make sure the timing works. We were actually docking at Dock A, so the reason I went with a car rental is because is was SO convenient. 

 

 

Panda, I am wondering how this worked out for you and if you ended up using Juneau Car Rentals? I just booked with them for a car in next month and they told me they have been able to drop the car off at the pier all season this year. To call ahead the day before when you are in port and they will verify if it will be at dock A. 

Anyone who has used Juneau car rental this year would like to hear your experience

 

[tetleytea]

I've done both rental car and whale watching on the same Juneau port stop, and you just drive in to Auke Bay and go directly on the ship.   It's not that far from Mendenhall, no waiting for buses and stuff.  Very efficient use of your port time.  And if you shop, you can probably get cheaper whale tours, since all they have to do is wait for you to show up.  

[renroc13]

On 3/15/2022 at 11:57 PM, karatemom2 said:

Because we are in the same boat I checked with Evergreen taxi in Juneau and their web site said about $22 to airport one way. Not ideal but we still want the car. Our port time is 1:30 so we are hoping to catch the 2 pm shuttle. If not we will just taxi it. Disappointing for sure but it sounds like it couldn’t be helped as it appears they lost their kiosk location at Dock AJ. 

We decided to use TURO in Alaska. Most will bring the cars to you. This is the Airbnb for cars. Never used them but great reviews.

Karen B

[karatemom2]

On 8/15/2022 at 12:34 PM, renroc13 said:

We decided to use TURO in Alaska. Most will bring the cars to you. This is the Airbnb for cars. Never used them but great reviews.

Karen B

 

On 8/13/2022 at 12:56 PM, udamom said:

Panda, I am wondering how this worked out for you and if you ended up using Juneau Car Rentals? I just booked with them for a car in next month and they told me they have been able to drop the car off at the pier all season this year. To call ahead the day before when you are in port and they will verify if it will be at dock A. 

Anyone who has used Juneau car rental this year would like to hear your experience

 

 

We were one of the very first ships of the season and Juneau Car Rental kindly delivered our car to port for us and allowed us to leave it there for them to pick up. I understand they have continued to do this throughout the season. So please note that my initial post was based on the information they were communicating with customers prior to the season beginning. Thankfully, they figured out a way to make it more convenient for their customers and we couldn't be happier with their service. It's a great company and clearly willing to go the extra mile. We will always choose Juneau Car Rental for our trips to Juneau as they have more than earned our business. Very happy customer here!

[renroc13]

On 8/16/2022 at 8:19 PM, karatemom2 said:

 

 

We were one of the very first ships of the season and Juneau Car Rental kindly delivered our car to port for us and allowed us to leave it there for them to pick up. I understand they have continued to do this throughout the season. So please note that my initial post was based on the information they were communicating with customers prior to the season beginning. Thankfully, they figured out a way to make it more convenient for their customers and we couldn't be happier with their service. It's a great company and clearly willing to go the extra mile. We will always choose Juneau Car Rental for our trips to Juneau as they have more than earned our business. Very happy customer here!

I believe I tried calling and emailing and never got a response. That is why we went with Turo. Are they still in business?

[MileHighAko]

On 8/28/2022 at 2:37 PM, renroc13 said:

I believe I tried calling and emailing and never got a response. That is why we went with Turo. Are they still in business?

 

I called and booked with Juneau Car Rental today for our cruise in September. They were super friendly and helpful and quickly emailed me instructions how to pick up the car a short walk from the dock, and to drop off also a short walk away. Looks super easy and convenient. 

[manisan]

On 8/14/2022 at 5:16 AM, tetleytea said:

I've done both rental car and whale watching on the same Juneau port stop, and you just drive in to Auke Bay and go directly on the ship.   It's not that far from Mendenhall, no waiting for buses and stuff.  Very efficient use of your port time.  And if you shop, you can probably get cheaper whale tours, since all they have to do is wait for you to show up.  

Hi there,

 

Are there many operators at Auke Bay offering the whale tours directly? And what do they typically cost? Thanks!

[Glaciers]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:32 PM, manisan said:

Are there many operators at Auke Bay offering the whale tours directly? And what do they typically cost? Thanks!

Nearly all of the whale tour operators depart from Auke Bay. Allen Marine has their own dock just north of there. You could book a trip and then meet them at Auke Bay but all of the tours depart from near the tram downtown via bus/shuttle which then takes you to Auke Bay. There is no savings in going to Auke Bay on your own, just convenience if you happen to be out that way.  $145-$185 depending on vendor and time on the water.  Some, like Juneau Whale Watch, will provide a combo tour that also takes you to Mendenhall Glacier before heading back to town where the cruise ships are docked. Not sure you can actually book when at Auke Bay and many of the popular tours will be sold out at that point.