Orca Enterprises hard to book?

[kehlx2]

Thanks fti & irisheileen...I will ask before we leave from their office--I just didn't want to sound BAD by asking...sounds like others have done it before also--do they just drop you on a beach? Or is there a dock or something there?

[Toyz711]

you need to arrange for orca to drop or pick up at mendenhall BEFORE you go..call them ahead of time to make sure they can do it on that day. they might need to arrange for a 2nd bus to take you up there.

 

you meet at the office, above the t-shirt store across from the tram office. from there they take you to their bus, drive about 20/30 mins to auke bay. there is a small boat harbor, you walk down the dock to their boat. they drop off at the same place. mendenhall is close, but on another road.

call them before your trip to make sure they can arrange it for you.

they do it, but need time to set it up. (example if you don't tell them before hand...someone else may be worrying about getting back to the their cruiseship, driving you to mendenhall may make them late)

[Great Sky Girl]

Sue I am just curious...what was your answer on being dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier? Someone in our group told me perhaps we (DH & I) could also be dropped--but I thought it best to not bother them & just come back to town & take a bus out.

Also--FYI: I had only a bit of trouble contacting them to make reservations--they were in the middle of a snow storm & when I did get someone--she was the only one with 4-wheel drive--so she WAS at work..so I think sometimes perhaps we in the lower 48 forget they might be getting storms--that they then send south & east to us:eek:

 

 

We booked with Orca E. several months ago and had no trouble being contacted. We later had the same question about Mendenhall drop off and called back and spoke with a very nice lady who said we should request the drop off and it would be $12 pp and would include a ticket for the shuttle back to town when we were through at the glacier. You really want to do this to not waste time in transit, but you do need to let Orca know in advance. I think they have been very good in our case concerning communication.:)

[kehlx2]

We booked with Orca E. several months ago and had no trouble being contacted. We later had the same question about Mendenhall drop off and called back and spoke with a very nice lady who said we should request the drop off and it would be $12 pp and would include a ticket for the shuttle back to town when we were through at the glacier. You really want to do this to not waste time in transit, but you do need to let Orca know in advance. I think they have been very good in our case concerning communication.:)

 

KOOL--then I WILL call them next week & make the arrangments..guess I didn't realize the road trip to get there--so they DO make the arrangements..wonder if I can make arrangements for NICE weather also:D

[Tyrkitty]

We're scheduled for May 27th. We check in at 11:15 and are taken to Mendenhall. We then get picked up at the glacier in the afternoon for our whale watching tour with Capt. Larry. The Mendenhall portion was an extra $12 per person. We made our arrangements in Jan and have called a few times since then getting through just fine each time. Everyone has been very helpful. We will then be taken back to the ship. Glad to hear the whales are coming back. I think we will have about 2 hours on our own at the Glacier. As it was explained to me Auke Bay is in the same direction as the glacier (glacier is a little farther inland) so as others have said it makes more sense not to make the complete trip from town twice.

[SeaSiq]

A different point of view. Family took Orca a couple of years ago. Very fast boat, went whizzing from place to place. Saw a whale tale. Spent a lot of time next to buoy with sea lions on it. Went whizzing back to dock. Larry never asked any questions of customers about what they wanted to see.

 

Decided to book with H & M. Eileen answered phone in one ring. Said she could add single to two others off of my cruise ship at exactly the right time. Glad to drop me off at Mendenhall, ship or anywhere downtown, no charge. Very friendly lady.

 

We'll see how the "personalized service" compares to Orca's way of doing things.

 

Just my opinion, folks.

[little miss s]

My DH and I are booked on the 9:30 a.m. Orca Enterprises tour. I like the idea of being dropped off at the Mendenhall Glacier, but then, what do we do about lunch? Any thoughts?

[curleelocks]

I would definitely have Orca drop you off @ Mendenhall. We were able to have a very full day in Juneau by doing that. It only cost us $12pp and then we took the shuttle back(that was part of the RT $12 price) to Juneau for a Helo ride to dog sledding on a Glacier!

So, by planning well, we did Whale watching, Mendenhall(where we saw a bear cub):) and Glacier/dogsledding!

Don't go back into town in between!

Eileen

Can I ask about the timing in doing this. This sounds like a perfect day for me.

What time did you schedule each? Did you do it through your cruise line or on your own? If you did it on your own do you mind sharingthe tour operators you used?

[Toyz711]

ocra may have snacks, smoked salmon and fruit drinks. the did on our tour.

we had some packaged crackers/cheese with us. i had packaged snacks for my FIL (health issues) we just used them for us when we went off the ship. used them for the train ride,also.

we knew about not being able to take food off the ship and that only

store bought items were allowed.

[little miss s]

You can't take food off the ship? Is that just for Alaska, because I remember reading some posts of helpful hints where people suggested bringing your own sandwich bags to pack up a room service meal from the ship. I've never done that, but I did meet some people in Martinique once that did just that. I thought it was a smart move, since I ended up paying $12 for a beach side burger that left a lot to be desired.

[Toyz711]

most foreign countries don't allow it, but some ships are lax on imposing the rules or some cruisers don't understand the reasonings.it's agricultural laws.

they have sign on the ship about "no food taking off ship". they check our purses/bag getting off the ship in a couple of ports.

there was a big dicussion on this a couple of weeks ago. people have had their food taken away.

it's like driving from arizona to californa, they are connected..but don't try taking any veggies, fruits, plants across the border...just won't happen.

you can take "pre-package" food, commerical packaged. but not just off the buffet line.

it's a big NO,NO with the locals they don't want any little bugs destroying the forests.

[heyitsmejudy]

A different point of view. Family took Orca a couple of years ago. Very fast boat, went whizzing from place to place. Saw a whale tale. Spent a lot of time next to buoy with sea lions on it. Went whizzing back to dock. Larry never asked any questions of customers about what they wanted to see.

 

Decided to book with H & M. Eileen answered phone in one ring. Said she could add single to two others off of my cruise ship at exactly the right time. Glad to drop me off at Mendenhall, ship or anywhere downtown, no charge. Very friendly lady.

 

We'll see how the "personalized service" compares to Orca's way of doing things.

 

Just my opinion, folks.

 

Yes, indeed, Sea... Eileen is a SUPER friendly person, very helpful, very personable and very responsive. And I understand her chocolate chip cookies ain't too shabby either!

[kehlx2]

Well I called Orca today to add us to the Mendenhall glacier after Whale Watching..my call was answered on the first ring..she, Becky said that I could make the arrangements now or when we get there as it doesn't get full--I chose now (I want to be able to be told where to go etc.:D ) She told me that after whale watching we pass the road to Mendenhall & they will take us down there on the way back--then we can look for one of their buses or the other buses when ready to leave--they all honor the Orca voucher. The weather TODAY was in the 50's & blue skies with the sun shinning she said:cool: Now......to wait 4 months & a bit more:(

[hog_wild]

WOW... I didn't know that so many had trouble getting a hold of them. I had no trouble getting a hold of them. I emailed on a Sunday afternoon and my email was answered on Monday. Then I got a phone call from them about 20 minutes later. The gal that I spoke to was wonderful and helpful. I am very excited about our trip!!

[qiangf2]

I tried several times last week and haven't been able to get hold of them. But, I still have plenty of time before my cruise.

[gambit57]

Guess I'll throw in my 2 coppers.

 

Just booked with them a little while ago. First attempt ever. Called at 11am their time. Nice lady answered after the 2nd ring (seems like a reasonably short time to me). Booked nice and easy. Happily answered my questions about timing (I'm squeezing them in between other activities) and location and stuff. My cruise is in less than 3 weeks, but it was a super easy process to book. I know they're decently busy cuz the lady remarked that everyone calling today has been from my ship.

 

Maybe I got lucky. Maybe they were super swamped a couple of weeks ago. All I know is, I had a great booking experience. We'll see how the actual tour is but it sounds great from all the reviews.