Harv & Marv frustration (need a new recommendation)

[Musigurl]

We are supposed to be in Juneau on Sept. 6 from 12:30-10:00pm -- we just got changed to a 1:30pm arrival. My tour with Harv & Marv was scheduled for 1:15pm, but due to the cruise change, the tour has been changed by more than THREE hours! New departure time is 4:30pm.

 

There was no "do you accept this change or would you like to cancel" option -- I was just told of the switch. The problem is, I have something else planned for the evening, so it's not an option. They (Harv & Marv) have refunded me, but kept a $50 "cancellation fee", claiming it's my fault for cancelling, not theirs, which I will be disputing with my credit card company.

 

I have gone whale watching with them before and have always recommended them to others -- but this now feels like a bait & switch.

 

So.........I need a new recommendation, if anyone has one.

[Musigurl]

UPDATE -- after much back & forth, Harv & Marv have agreed to refund me the additional $50 -- BUT, I'm still looking for a new recommendation.

[carolina_yankee]

I thought most of these excursion vendors refunded fees when a ship misses a port or docking times change. They can’t just assume that you would be available at the new time. 

 

I’m glad they did eventually come around. 

[Glaciers]

Nice you were able to get the 50 bucks back. It does seem they were accommodating your late arrival which was nice. They are one of the top whale watch tour groups in Juneau and have been for years. Look at Jayleen’s or Juneau Tours & Whale Watch. Both are very good as well.  

[McGarrett5oh]

We just returned from Alaska and in Juneau we used “Alaska Tales” for our whale watching excursion.  They are a relatively new company and does not have contracts with the cruise lines.  
 

We saw eight or nine whales, salmon, jumping, and eagles flying. There were three crew members, one was a naturalist, and the captain kept in touch with other whale, watching boats, as they all do, to find where the whales were that day. Check their reviews on Google or TripAdvisor to see what you think. 

[Musigurl]

I have now booked Jayleen's Alaska!

[Coral]

I actually have used Alaska Tales and I would not recommend them. I prefer more time on water such as what Jaylene's has (they had lied about the time on the water. I was mislead by the people at the pier in a variety of ways, plus, due to lack of people on the trip, they delayed our trip by an hour trying to get more people. It was a waste of my time.

 

My original tour had been cancelled in Juneau so this was my first time picking up a tour at the pier. We didn't have a great whale watching trip but it is impossible to predict whales.

[Gsel]

Have gone out with Jayleen's a few times. She is great and her employees are just as good as she is. Highly recommend the company. Have fun!

[peety3]

Gastineau Guiding. https://www.stepintoalaska.com/ Best whale watching boats on the Alaskan waters. The small ones for the photo safari are 14 passenger with a bow viewing platform. The larger ones for the rest of the excursions are 20 passenger with a bow viewing platform and a stern platform. Both sizes have huge flat-glass windows that the crew will swing up and pin to the ceiling so the whole window becomes open-air space for viewing and photos, with cushions that flip out to protect your arms and elbows while holding your cameras. You'll never have to stand 2-3 people deep to see and take pictures. The inflated pontoons on the outside keep these boats more level than the others I've been on.

We've done whale watches with them many times. On one cruise, our cruise line only offered one time slot even though we were in Juneau for a while. We were able to call up GG and make arrangements to do a double tour - they made it easy and we just stayed on the dock in Auke Bay while we waited 15m for another tour boat to return and pick us up.