NCL whale watching excursion??

[TXRED10]

Has anyone been on the whale watching excursion in Juneau, Alaska?

Just wondering if it is worth the money and if you actually saw some whales? Thanks for any info. you have!

[cheekymole]

I notice there is a $100 refund if you don't see any

 

What other excursions would others recommend for the Alaskan cruise?

[Toyz711]

you will see them...could see only backs and tails. some people get really lucky to see bubble-net feeding and a breach.

with orca enterprises, we got good views..but they weren't that close. on the NCL whale watching, you are on a double deck boat with about 100 people. there are smaller boat vendors..orca has more then one boat, we did the biggest that holds about 30, but we had (maybe) 15..it has a lot of room to move around, uncluding a viewing platform over the cabin.

many like harv and marv, their boats hold 6.

we had people, from our M&G that loved their tour with NCL, we had a great time with ocra..saw the same whales, we just stayed in the area longer..they went to look at other wildlife.

[lovesublime]

you will see them...could see only backs and tails. some people get really lucky to see bubble-net feeding and a breach.

with orca enterprises, we got good views..but they weren't that close. on the NCL whale watching, you are on a double deck boat with about 100 people. there are smaller boat vendors..orca has more then one boat, we did the biggest that holds about 30, but we had (maybe) 15..it has a lot of room to move around, uncluding a viewing platform over the cabin.

many like harv and marv, their boats hold 6.

we had people, from our M&G that loved their tour with NCL, we had a great time with ocra..saw the same whales, we just stayed in the area longer..they went to look at other wildlife.

 

We booked this excursion last May through NCL. We were not on a boat with 100 people. We were on a small boat with less than 20 people. We indeed got close enough to see whales and lots of them. We also saw Stellar sea lions and tons of bald eagles. We loved it and I would recommend this excursion to anyone.

[Toyz711]

for information and ideas of excruisons..check out the alaska boards:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

a lot of great information there. also, check out the websites..gather your interests/information to narrow down the choices. many great local vendors as well as the ship's tours.

http://www.traveljuneau.com/

mendenhall glacier is a short shuttle ride away..no need for tours, unless you want to. whale watching ranges from allen marine, the company the ships use (many size boats, tours)...to ocra enterprises, well known humpback people, works with researchers (3 or more boats, from 15 to 40 passengers) to the smaller independent vendors, 6 passengers. with a local vendor also does fishing, they are limited to 6 passengers for that boat, even if they can hold more. all go the same places and see the same whales....i wanted the whale experts, others loved the smaller boats..something for everyone:D

also, a great area for flightseeing, glacier landing or dog sledding on glaciers

http://www.skagway.com/

train rides or car rentals..the trips through the valley and up the mountains are what people come for. great gold rush history.

http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/

great area for flightseeing over the fjords or just walking around town.

[TXRED10]

Thanks for all the info.

We are only in Juneau till 1:30pm and that is not alot of time to do much else. We have already seen Mendenhall Glacier. The whale watching looks fun. I appreciate your input.

[wolfcel]

Has anyone been on the whale watching excursion in Juneau, Alaska?

Just wondering if it is worth the money and if you actually saw some whales? Thanks for any info. you have!

 

 

We did a Whale Watch tour in Alaska in 2004 but it was not thru NCL (It was thru Princess) and it was great. We did see a bunch of Humpback Whales and it was very exciting. It was a very rainy day and we didi get soaked, but we made the best of it and had a blast...yes, even drenched we were outside on the boat in our poncho's. Below is a picture of the boat we were on. Unfortunally, I don't have any pic's of the whales cause we put the camera away because of the rain.

 

I would do it again in a minute!

 

[andychester]

We went on a whale watching tour with Harv & Marv last august. Lots of whales and very close to the action. Only 5 on the boat and fantastic knowledge for Harv. If you have the opportunity go with harv and marv not NCL for a personal experience. They offer a money back guarantee if you don't see whales. To date they haven't had to pay up! It truely is a once in a lifetime experience whale, eagles, sea lions, porpous, absolutely fantastic.

[TXRED10]

I heard Harv and Marv are great but I contacted them about our date we will be in Juneau and they are doing photo tours then. :(

I then decided going thru the ship might be best b/c of our limited time to get back to the ship before it leaves.

We are not much on going on excursions through the ships but this may be our only option.

Thanks for your opinions!

[Toyz711]

try ocra enterprises, they have been doing whale watching a long time.

they have a office, right at the docks..you leave from there for auke bay.

we had capt larry, he was quiet..but he's a great knowledge on whales..with him, that day, was capt shaun, one of the younger captain. he did naturalist duty. leading the discussion and pointing out whale behavior. i was a wimp, i didn't climb up to the viewing platform, it was raining and i was afraid i would do my normal thing and fall down. the views from up there wouldn't have outstanding.

the purple boat is very nice, wheel-chair accessible...lots of room to walk around and get good views. comfortable seats, clean restroom.

[Rickdabear]

We saw all kinds of whales from the ship. There was no need for a separate excursion. Most places do have a refund policy if you don't see one.

[Ms belp]

Thanks for all the info.

We are only in Juneau till 1:30pm and that is not alot of time to do much else. We have already seen Mendenhall Glacier. The whale watching looks fun. I appreciate your input.

 

This will be our first trip to Alaska and we are booked to see Mendenhall Glacier. Can you tell us about it? Did you enjoy it?

[Rickdabear]

This will be our first trip to Alaska and we are booked to see Mendenhall Glacier. Can you tell us about it? Did you enjoy it?

 

It is great. You sit there all day long and watch the ice calving. The boat spins around so the other side can see it too. We were on the deck and got some great pictures.

[Toyz711]

ah, not at mendenhall.

mendenhall is not on the ocean, it has a lake in front of it. glacier bay, tracy arms and hubbard are the glacier that the ship sails to...you watch the glacier, hope for calving and the ship turns to allow the other side to view.

mendenhall is a glacier out of juneau. very easy to get to on your own. there are tours/shuttles or city bus to get there.

it has a visitor's center...$3.oo charge. no charge to just walk out and view the glacier. there are hiking trails around the area. you do not get right up to the glacier, as you can see from the web cam...you stand on this side of the lake and look. you can catch the shuttle right at the docks, (i think) it's $7 pp each way. no food venues in the area. (plus with bears around, food is not a good idea)

right now the web cam is great, today it was sunny. too bad the whole thing is frozen over:D

http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/mendenhall/

here's some information on the other glaciers

http://www.alaskacruises.com/alaska_glacier_viewing.asp

for glacier bay: the ship paused outside the national park, if you are up early you can watch the park rangers climb the ladder from their boat to the ship. the ship cruises from about 8am to 10am, then the park rangers will start to tell you about the park and the glacier. all views are on the port side...until you get to the actual glaciers, when the ship will turn to allow some viewing for the starboard side. you cruise the park until about 2pm..very slowly, the ship makes very little wake. if you are really lucky, late in the seaon...they allow the boats to go up close to john hopkins glacier. most of the cruise season, it's a pupping area for the seals.

the views are great and make sure you have plenty of batteries and memory card for the photos.

sorry, i can't help if anyone is going to tracy arms/sawyer glaciers...haven't been, yet!