Juneau whale watching tour - which one?

[Folladori4]

Just returned from a B2B and we went with Capt Larry.. the Highlite of my trip! There were only 10 of us on board and not only did we see many whales and their calves up close one came up right next to us and went under the boat only to resurface on the other side where we could look into the blow hole and hear whale sounds, no microphone needed. Awesome! The people that went with Princess saw whales but not that close. Capt Larry is Great and can even arrange to customize your tour. His office his a very short walk from the pier and right by all the shopping.

[sandygll]

I was on Capt Larry's boat on a cold and rainy 5/24 and we must have experienced one of his "off" days too because we expected much more than what it was. We did see orcas in the distance but he didn't get close enough to them to use the underwater microphone. There was one humpback and her calf but we barely got a glimpse of her as she went under and Capt. Larry didn't wait around for her to resurface. The only animals we got a close view of was the sea lions. There was no naturalist but the young man in his 20's who made some commentary as we started out while Capt. Larry drove the boat. At one point Capt. Larry stopped the boat and answered a few questions but for the most part you could tell no one was overly thrilled by the experience. One young man even fell asleep as we were cruising along. I'm sure each outing is different but for that day we sure didn't get our moneys worth!

[Host Caroline]

These posts are indeed unfortunate.. We did this tour last in 2000 so I can honestly say I haven't personally been on it recently but up until now, there really haven't been many complaints. Hopefully this is just a glitch (which unfortunately you were party to) or an early season thing but defintely appreciate your feedback. It's important because no matter how many times you visit a place, things do change.

Any others been out w/ Larry recently and if so I hope you will post your impressions>>>>

Host Caroline
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[42trvl]

It will be interesting to hear more feedback on the whale watching tours as this year's cruise season kicks into high gear and more cruisers return with their comments. Obviously, things need to be booked ahead of time, but I'd risk losing some money to not knowingly have a bad experience. I'm concerned with how many "off" days a well-established company/capt. can have, especially when we are paying so much for an experience we don't know when we'll get to repeat.

JohnQ and markanderinsmom - how long ago did you do the tour?

[Folladori4]

Sorry to hear that you didnt see many whales, hard to believe someone fell asleep because as I said in a previous post we just went with Capt Larry and it was totaly awesome. This tour was the highlite of my trip, we saw so many whales and Capt Larry even identified their tail markings for us. He was awsome chasing them and we were right next to them. With only ten of us on the boat it was great, in fact he stayed out longer than scheduled because we were enjoying it so much.

[markanderinsmom]

Sandy, sounds exactly like our experience which saddened me because I had read so many good things. Like you, the only thing we saw up close were the sea lions...which everyone sees. Maybe Capt. Larry can't handle the number of outings he does in a day. What time of the day did you do it? We did the 6 pm one. Perhaps 9:30 am to 9:30 pm is way to much for him to handle and that is what is happening...just a thought. We didn't get our money's worth either. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]

[JohnQ]

42 Travl
I was on Capt Larry's tour in June 2002. I have been reading these boards and others for two years and I have only heard two or three people complain about their whalewatching tour. I think it has to do with expectations and keeping perspective about what we can expect to see. Whales do not belong to a union, so what and when they do what they do is beyond perfect prediction. I have been on many whalewatching tours in Maui, Mex Riv, Seward, Juneau and California, am not am expert, and still haven't captured those poster kinds of pictures. While on all of these tours, we saw whales, many of them at close distance, but not engaging in any spectacular activities. We saw lots of backs, a few tails, blow spouts. We also saw bears on the far away beach, seals or sea lions and eagles on capt Larry's favorite buoy!! So I think if you happen to be on a tour with breaching nearby, or bubble feeding or the giant whale tail shot right in front of you, you have to be out there every day like Capt Larry or Juneau-ite.

On our tour with Orca, the naturalist was called out to take the smaller boat out on a last minute booking, but we did have a naturalist from Princess on board who answered any questions and shared his experiences. Take whichever whalewatching tour you feel suits you, but we never felt cheated even at the price of Alaska tours.

[JohnQ]

I meant to say you need to be lucky or be out there every day for the extraordinary behaviors.

[lmmn]

How far in advance would you recommend booking this tour?

Explorer of the Seas ~ 10/02
Majesty of the Seas ~ 1/03
Majesty of the Seas ~ 8/11/03
Navigator of the Seas ~ 10/11/03
Serenade of the Seas ~ 1/31/04
Caribbean Princess ~ 8/14/04
Adventure of the Seas ~ 1/30/05

[JohnQ]

I would book a month or two in advance. Once you know when you will be there and that excursion is what you want, book it. I believe they all have cancellation policies. Your fallback would be booking on the cruise ship as soon as you get on board, and go with Allen Marine or Dolphin, as offered. You will still have a good experience. You may be able to walk off the ship and book but I wouldn't feel comfortable in that kind of planning. Good luck.

[dustyroad]

i strongly suggest that if you have your heart set on capt.larry [B]call today!!![/B]. since he is so popular and only takes 23 passengers or less at a time he books up very early. i and many others book up to 10 months or more early. if he cannot get you on a tour there are many others to choose from and you can always get on a tour from the ship. good luck and i know you will have a great tour. the last few negative tours are a rare occurance and do not happen very often at all.

DUSTY

Carnival Spirit, 9/10/03 Alaska glacier bay

Carvival Spirit, 5/11/05
Alaska glacier bay again

[sbcatcher1]

Went on Capt Larry's last week. We spent twice as long with the Whales as the larger boats. When CL saw spouts, we went right over there, if the whale was not active, we went to another one. All the boats are in the same area. No comparison.

Statendam May 2004
Fantasy Jan 2003
Jubilee Jan 2002 Married on the Jubilee
Sovereign of the Seas Mar 2001

[sandygll]

MarkandErinsMom, we did the 1pm tour so I don't think the time had much to do with it. Maybe our expectations were too high, I don't know, but I was expecting something like Folladori4 experienced, up close encounters! No one on the boat was overly excited, in fact, rather quiet. Maybe the fact that it was raining rather heavily had something to do with everyones spirits. In any case, it was not the highlite of the excursions I took that week. Sbcatcher1 what day last week were you on the tour?

[JohnQ]

Sandgll
At the time we were on Capt Larrys, we were very satisfied with our tour. When we spotted the bears way off on beach, I thought he might go over there, but we were whalewatching. I think we probably saw four or five and a couple pretty close, but no special behaviors. When I look back at our pictures, I am disappointed because it seemed like we saw more than I captured. He or the circumstances may have been off.

[JohnQ]

sbcatcher
I just noticed you were just on the Statendam? How did you like it? We were on that cruise in 2002 and are thinking about it for late August this year, but wondered about condition. I have heard comments both ways.

[sbcatcher1]

We were in Juneau on Wed May 26. In town it was raining but on the Bay it was perfect. The whales were not breeching like they were in Mass. but they were showing their tails.
John Q We loved the Statendam. The beds are new I am pretty sure, very comfortable. The netire ship was very clean. The food & services was the best I can remember out of 6 or so cruises. There was a slight sewage smell but only in the Bathroom. We were very disappointed in the Entertainment. Overall A+.
Carol

Statendam May 2004
Fantasy Jan 2003
Jubilee Jan 2002 Married on the Jubilee
Sovereign of the Seas Mar 2001

[lmcd]

After reading some of these posts, I get the impression that sometimes people believe the Capts can drive their boats up alongside the whales. By law they are required to stop at least a minimum distance from the whales. I believe this minimum distance is 100 yds. After the boat is stopped, how close the whale gets is up to the whale. Sometimes they are very active and will get very close. We went on the tour with Capt Larry and there was a naturalist onboard. We had some get reasonably close and one came up right beside the boat. Sometimes the whale kept their distance so we moved onto another sighting. We wouldn't hesitate to take another tour with Capt. Larry.

Larry

Fantasy 08/99
Ecstacy 05/00
Westerdam 04/01
Legend of the Seas 08/02
Zaandam 04/03
Carnival Spirit 08/03

[markanderinsmom]

I know the Capt can't get too close to the whales for their safety and if they get close it is their doings. My main problem with Capt Larry was he didn't talk at all except for hello when we boarded and to the young guy he was letting drive the boat...so I couldn't figure out what the big deal about him was and my other problem was that there wasn't a naturalist on board as indicated so even if we didn't luck out and get to see anything other than a tail in the distance, if he or a naturalist could have discussed or talked about the whales, it would have been a lot more enjoyable. I am glad others have had better experience!

[Mparis184]

We have done whale watching in Cape Cod and in Cabo, Mexico. I will expect to see more whales in Alaska but you can't control Mother Nature. If they are there I am certain we will see them, if not, what can you do?

We will be there one month from Today and I will book with Captain Larry Today, just keep forgetting to do it!

Thanks for all your comments everyone.

[img]http://www.gifs.net/animate/anim0035.gif[/img]

Queen of Bermuda 6/62
Carnival Paradise 3/99
Renaissance 4 2/01
Summit 11/01
Millennium 2/02
Mercury 11/02
Star Princess 2/03
Zuiderdam 8/03
Century 10/03
Voyager of the Sea 2/04
Regal Princess 7/04

[Capt. Larry]

The captain on your ship does not man the helm. He has mates which do that. I am at the helm almost all of the time on every tour. I take an occaisional break for the bath room or to step onto the back deck for to take advantage of special photo opportunities. Since I am at the helm you may not hear all of my commentary if you are outside. I am always available for questions or coments.

[Mparis184]

We arrive on the Regal at 1PM - wish it were earlier in the day.

Captain Larry's tours are at 9:30AM - Noon and 3:30PM. Just reserved the 3:30PM tour.

Any idea what we can do before or after the tours, doesn't seem like much time to take another tour. Want to do and see as much as possibe in the short time we will be in Juneau.

Your suggestions will be appreciated - first time to Alaska.

[img]http://www.gifs.net/animate/anim0035.gif[/img]

Queen of Bermuda 6/62
Carnival Paradise 3/99
Renaissance 4 2/01
Summit 11/01
Millennium 2/02
Mercury 11/02
Star Princess 2/03
Zuiderdam 8/03
Century 10/03
Voyager of the Sea 2/04
Regal Princess 7/04

[Coral]

Mparis -

I would contact Carol at Captain Larry's office and see if they can coordinate something with you. I know they can drop people off at Mendenhall Glacier after the cruise - maybe they can pick you up at Mendenhall before whale watching?? All I know is that Carol seems to go the extra mile in helping people organize their time in Juneau. Or possibly go out to Mendenhall on your own and take a taxi to where Capt Larry's boat is - I would call Carol and try to work something out.

------------------

I just returned from 2 weeks in Alaska and was very fortunate to spend 2 separate days in Juneau and both of those days whale watching with Captain Larry/Awesome Orca. We had an excellent time both times. The naturalist from our Princess ship also spent both weeks on Captain Larry's boat and raved about the experience. The Princess naturalist was leaving Alaska that week but I heard him say he would see Capt Larry again in August. I have always been impressed with Capt Larry's whale watching (done it 4x now) but it is also good to know that the naturalist Princess hired for our cruise (ecology/biology professor) also was impressed with Capt Larry.

I was also impressed with the naturalist that Captain Larry had with him.

[Budget Queen]

We have done whale watching in Cape Cod and in Cabo, Mexico. I will expect to see more whales in Alaska but you can't control Mother Nature. If they are there I am certain we will see them, if not, what can you do


Actually I have seen a lot more, humpbacks in the South Channel- well over 50/day on the research trips I take.

[margeaux]

Just returned from Alaska and we took the ship's tour of the whale watch in Juneau. It was fantastic. It was operated by Allen Marine. Each passenger was furnished binoculars and the guide was friendly and informative. Very knowledgeable and took the time to answer many questions. We saw eagles and sea lions, but the best was the whales. There were two swimming together. There was blowing and tails, but then they both came up and breeched together. Back in the water they started slapping their flippers at each other. It was a Kodak moment. They were not that far from the boat. Then later, they even came closer to the boat, but, alas, no more breeching. The guides were as excited as the passengers. Never took Capt. Larry's excursion, so I can't compare, but don't think you are getting less of an excursion by booking the ships. Our experience couldn't have been better

[42trvl]

margeaux,

which cruise ship were you on?