Larry vs Harv

[wspatton]

Below are my comments from last summer about our experience with Harv & Marv. Also, the Link in my signature will take you to my Photos which includes a bunch from the whale watch.

 

D. Juneau

Three hours after leaving Tracy Arm, we arrived in Juneau. There was apparently a fairly serious mishap as the ship was being tied up, and one of the dock workers was injured. They worked on him on the scene for probably 45 minutes before they transported him to the hospital. We never heard how he was, but hope he was OK.

 

We were delayed in leaving the ship until they could get that situation stabilized, but once off the ship, our tour van was ready to drive us off to what I think was the highlight of our cruise: “Whale Watching with Harv & Marv”. There have been several threads in the Cruise Critic message boards about the various providers of Whale Watching excursions, and a few of these have given glowing reviews of Harv & Marv.

http://www.alaskawhalewatch.com/

 

All I can say is that they were definitely the right choice for us. Besides our Boat Captain Marv (a.k.a. Pete Nelson) there were only four of us on the boat (the other couple was another Cruise Critic couple we had met through our Roll Call thread). We spent about 2.5 hours out near Shelter Island, and saw probably 50 humpbacks. HINT: take a Digital Camera with LOTS of memory, and set the shutter to do continuous shooting. That way you can capture the entire sequence of the whale’s breach.

 

With such a small group, Pete was happy and able to do whatever we wanted, whether it was keep looking for whales, or go find eagles or something else. This small, family run operation aims to please. After the whale watch was over, instead of just running us back to the ship, Sandy (the van driver and father of “Mrs. Harv”) offered to swing by Mendenhall Glacier so we could get out and see that. This was completely unsolicited, and “above and beyond,” if you ask me. Then, he was willing to drop us wherever we wanted in Juneau. I can’t say enough kind things about this great small business.

 

We took Sandy up on his offer, and he dropped us off at the Gold Creek Salmon Bake. Again, a super choice for Great local cuisine and lots of it. These folks were also very friendly and proud of their product. The Salmon was very good, but you should be sure you specify some that is more undercooked than overcooked. The sides were good, and the Alaska Wild Blueberry cake was exceptional.

 

Even after this full itinerary, we still found time to catch the free shuttle back to downtown Juneau and pick up an ornament and grab a whiskey at the Red Dog Saloon. There were quite a few cruisers in the Saloon from each of the four ships in port at the time.

 

Tracy Arm and Juneau made for a most memorable, if long, day in the middle of our cruise. I hope the injured dock worker recovered.

[NancyIL]

Bill -thanks for reposting your review of your whale watching excursion with Harv and Marv. I've only read good things about their company from those who have gone with them.

 

SeaSiq - I agree completely with your last post. I wasn't planning to go whale watching at all, but saw the great price for one of the other vendors and figured - what the heck...it should be fun! Maybe I'll even learn to appreciate whales. ;)

[heyitsmejudy]

Thank you Bill for posting a review on Harv and Marv. They don't get as many reviews as the other guy (I would imagine one reason would be because their boats hold about a third of what the other's hold) and seeing a review from someone who's taken a trip with them vs. someone looking forward to taking one will perhaps calm some of the critics. One can hope.

I undertstand Capt. Larry is well respected. I am KEENLY aware of those of you who patronize him often and let us know often. I don't care whether Harv is Marv and they're traveling under aliases, etc., I didn't book the trip to eat cookies although I'm looking forward to it. They've been super to work with thus far and you can be sure, although I promise not to go to extremes to sing their praises, I'll post a review of H&M when I return in a couple weeks. I've NEVER heard anything negative about them and YES, I've seen other reviews from others who've actually taken a trip with them.

I want to say again, I attempted to book with the other dude. When three weeks passed and I hadn't gotten a response, I went with H&M. If Larry's phone and email woes have been worked out, more power to him. There are plenty of whales for all of us to watch. Let's try to get along.

[ute_fan]

Judy and I will be utilizing Harv & Marv's boat together, so I thought I'd chime in too. I was in the same situation that she was and tried to contact Capt. Larry, who was my first choice, with no success. Given that we were sailing near the first of the season, I wasn't comfortable waiting until April to make my arrangements in case the whale watching tours filled up.

 

By the way -- I still have never had a reply to either of my emails or voice mail, which were sent in the late February/early March time frame. There are a total of 5 ships in Juneau the day we're there, two of which are smaller ships, but even so, I was afraid that all the spots for these smaller independents would fill up, since whale watching seems to be the main option of so many Juneau travelers. If I'd had any sort of response -- even an out-of-the-office automated response, I might have been more willing to wait for Capt. Larry to return from Hawaii and get his office back up and operating, but no response at all made me feel like it was time to move forward with another option.

 

It sounds to me, however, like Harv & Marv will be a good choice for us. I definitely want to see whales. I'm hoping for the opportunity to photograph some whales, but I really don't care that much about a biology lesson on whales. I'll also enjoy seeing anything else -- scenery or other marine/wildlife -- that Harv or Marv thinks is a worthwhile addition to our tour. Maybe next time we're in Alaska I'll be able to get hold of Capt. Larry and try Orca, and then I will be able to provide the comparison that so many people want to see.

 

Happy whale watching -- whomever you decide to use!

[oly133]

I've read good reviews about Orca Enterprises, who has Captain Larry, but my experience with them (the company, not Captain Larry) has been stressful and disheartening.

 

In a nutshell, there's a cancellation fee that is not mentioned in their website, nor over the phone (which is how I booked our tickets.) I cancelled 6 weeks before the tour. I was promised a full refund by their booking agent, but that hasn't happened, and not a single one of my polite phone calls, e-mails or letter has gotten a response- just a wall of silence.

 

Surely there are outfitters with better business practices, and those are the ones that deserve our support.

[Frequent Floater]

My first trip to Alaska with family and friends. I am the one that decides what tours and which companies we will use. I read with great interest about the 2 most talked about on this site.

I sent inquires to both and received timely replies from both but this was during the end of last season for tours this season. I have the luxury of planning in advance that not all do.

Our intent is to use a seasoned company that offers what any of us would expect from this type of tour and guides.

I was asked by Eileen if I wanted additional info on their tours. I received a wonderful brochures from them that included a nice big map of Juneau with lots of great business info and coupons. I read through all the info that told of the 2 families and how this is a true family run business where even the children participate. The daughter designed the brochure. Since my family has run our own business for many many years, it seemed to be the right decision to pay it back to another hard working family until. Simple as that.

I would be happy to share my experience once back in Aug. with anyone wanting a review.

[Coral]

I already asked this a few posts ago. I suggested Sam, contact them directly and inquire how long they have been in official whale watch business. Prior, they were fishing charters that I recall??

 

I take it from people's responses that it hasn't been too long....

[NancyIL]

I take it from people's responses that it hasn't been too long....

 

 

You know - even Capt. Larry had a first year in business!

[fti]

I take it from people's responses that it hasn't been too long....

 

Sounds to me like Harv and Marv must have learned fast, based on the (few) positive reviews they have received.

 

I also now realize why perhaps there haven't been too many reviews of their services, since they haven't been in business as whale watching tours too long.