Harv & Marv's Whale Watch was FANTASTIC!!

[mcbrides]

We just returned from the Spirit late last night (WOW!), and I will being working on a full review in the next day or so. . . BUT I noticed a question on this board about Harv & Marv's and had to make a quick posting on this topic.

 

We absolutely LOVED our whale tour with Harv & Marv's. In fact, everyone in our group (family of 6) agreed it was our #1 rated excursion. (We also did the Mendenhall glacier helicopter landing, Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, Orca's Cove Kayaking, and Misty Fjords Seaplane).

 

Harv & Marv's picked our family of 6 up after our helicopter tour (they were there waiting on us when our helicopter tour returned to the TEMSCO airport area), took us directly to Auke Bay where the "Harvodam" was waiting, stocked with snacks, drinks, binoculars for everyone on board, etc. The boat is very new, very comfortable, heated (which wasn't necessary on our tour b/c the weather was great), and has bathroom etc. "Harv" is really Pete, but everyone refers to him as "Harv". He and "Marv" are both long-time residents of Juneau. Harv was so full of information. We loved how excited he would get when we spotted wildlife. He obviously loves his job, and that enthusiasm is contagious. We saw many, many whales--some very close! We were lucky seeing a large group of Orca, and we followed their activity for almost an hour, watching them sometimes get very close to us! Also many humpbacks, sea lions, harbor seals, bald eagles . . . . It was a great afternoon! Harv communiated with other boat captains in the area when we would see something interesting, and he worked very hard for us. He was so enjoyable to visit with about the marine and other wildlife, as well as about life in Juneau.

 

What I liked best about the tour was the small group and personal attention. I also really liked the idea that we were supporting Juneau residents in the tourism market. The main concern I read about on these boards regarding the smaller whale tours dealt with possible sea sickness due to the smaller boat. I am prone to motion sickness, and had absolutely no problems at all. The waters in Auke Bay are relatively calm--so the concerns with having a smaller boat are, in my opinion, really not necessary.

 

When we return, there is no doubt in my mind who we will use for a whale tour. Harv & Marv's also do even more personalized tours, such as Tracy Arm, which I really hope to do on our return! This intimate tour was top-notch, and I can not imagine any whale tour in Juneau being better than Harv & Marv's. You will not regret booking with this group. They were fantasic!

 

Check out Harv & Marv's at http://www.harvandmarvs.com or http://www.alaskawhalewatch.com

[JohnQ]

Thanks for the review and websites. When are you going to post your whale photos so we can see what us passengers can expect to shoot???

[mcbrides]

I do have lots of photos, but unfortunately, I'm a terrible photographer. I became too busy "ohhing" and "ahhing" and forgetting to snap quick shots! Those whales are hard to capture at the exact right moment! I will see what I can do with some of my better shots and include them in my full review.

 

FYI, we do have incredible video though!

[lindalo5032]

What did you think about the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari? Would you recommend it?

[mcbrides]

Between the 6 of us, we had kind of mixed reviews on the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari. I will post a more complete review of the whys, etc. in my full review.

 

But in a nutshell, I thought the Glacier Point tour was well-run and interesting. We booked this tour on a whim after our pre-planned excursion was cancelled. (We had booked a helicopter/snowshoe/train tour, which I was really bummed about getting cancelled.) The Glacier Point guides were really good, and the up-close experience with Davidson Glacier was really neat.

 

The weather was not really cooperating our day in Skagway, so the helicopter tours were all cancelled, and I was nervous about taking the train based on some recommendations on this board about visibility with all the fog that morning. Some of our group was disappointed in not doing the heli/snowshoe/train (particulary the train portion), and some of the group did not "love" the paddling in Davidson Lake, up to the face of the glacier. Although the canoes do have motors on them, the lake was a little low, which required us to really buck up and paddle hard for a little longer than usual!

 

Personally, I enjoyed the tour. It was really cool to get another perspective of glaciers, and you can actually reach in the water and pull out large chunks of the ice. But if I go back, I'm really double crossing my fingers to do the heli/snowshoe or hike/train tour with Packer Expeditions. It sounds awesome!

[Salamander]

Would you recommend the Misty Fjords Seaplane? I've booked a helicopter and landing out of Juneau and am debating the Misty Fjords seaplane out of Ketchican.

[DEL67]

Thanks for the feedback. How was the Orca's Cove kayaking? We are trying to decide between that and one of the shorter trips.

[mcbrides]

Hello all-

 

Salamander: The Misty Fjords seaplane was great! We all also agreed it was a much better flight experience than the glacier landing. (Although the glacier landing is a totally different, unique experience. If you can swing both, I would definitely recommend it.) Misty Fjords was much more scenic in my opinion, there was more flight time, and I thought the narration, personal attention was far superior. We went with Sea Wind Aviation for the seaplane. This was a combo trip we booked with Orca's Cove, although Sea Wind also books separately. I thought our pilot, Steve, was terrific. He has over 18 years of flight experience, and his father was also a pilot. He landed in the bottom of a fjord right by a little island, and gave us plenty of time to walk around, explore, appreciate the view, etc. As we were leaving Misty Fjords, we saw where all the other planes were landing--in this big area of ocean, where 3-4 planes were landing at a time. Our landing was totally secluded and just beautiful. Steve did not rush us at all, as appeared to be the case with some of the other flight operations. If you are prone to motion sickness, I would definitely sit up near the front of the plane, and probably take some precautions, like Bonine, Ginger tabs, etc. Our day was very clear, but there can be some motion in the smaller planes.

 

Del 67: As for Orca's Cove, I loved the kayaking and the wildlife viewing. I was a little disappointed that our guide did not do much in the way of narration. It kind of felt like we were just floating and paddling around (maybe that was the point??). I really wanted to learn more about what we were looking at, etc. But we did have several encounters with seals, and we observed several humpbacks/blows/tails from afar. The cove area where you paddle is pretty calm, and you basically paddle around this island that is home to many, many bald eagles. This was probably our best bald eagle viewing--close up, taking off, landing, soaring, groups, nests, etc. I'm not really sure what the shorter trips involve. Our trip would have been "spectacular" if we had been provided a little more narration/explanation from the guide.

 

Another point of interest on both of these trips, Steve from Sea Wind Aviation is a local of Ketchikan--born and raised there and living in Ketchikan with his wife and daughters. Also, Greg and Kim--the owners of Kayak Ketchikan have made Ketchikan their home--both have lived there over 10 years and have extensive kayak experience. (Greg was not our kayak guide, but he was with us before and after the kayaking to chat, etc) I think it's great to support the local tour groups if possible, so if you're needing another push to decide who to book with, both of these groups would be top choices.

 

http://www.kayakketchikan.com and http://www.seawindaviation.com

[TamaLee]

Thanks for the brief review of your trip with Harv and Marv. We are scheduled to go with them on our trip in two weeks!

 

Please post your detailed review soon!

[davis0056]

McBrides, Thanks for the recommendation and links. We're not sailing until 07 but I e-mailed them yesterday to find out if our party of 8 would fit on the boat. Within hours we had a response. Instead of one crowded boat he recommended his two boats with 4 in each. What a great idea. I compared prices to Orca and ship's excursion and prices were very similar. I like the idea of not have to jockey for position to get good views. I look forward to your review. Let us know when and where you post it.

Tamalee: please let us know your impressions also!

Dave and Elaine

[mcbrides]

My review is finished, and is very LONG: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=6703830#post6703830

 

It was kind of fun to chronicle the trip so I can print it out for my scrapbook. I'm still working on trying to figure out the whole picture posting thing. I will add to it if I get that figured out!