To book or not to book-(whale watching)

[newgirl2201]

We are aparty of 5 - 2 children 10 and 6yrs, my husband and mum. So far for this our first ever cruise I have booked the hatchery cruise in Sitka and the Tracey arm cruise from Juneau. Other posters have mentioned sighting whales on both of these excursions. We want to see whales but I am not sure if I should book whale watching in Icy Straght Point. Our cruise is end of September 2008 so we are expecting rain every day so not sure if i would book another day at sea in a small boat if we have already seen whales on the previous excursions. Would probably look at a bear trip in Icy straight instead. What do you think?? I dont want us to miss seeing either the whales or bears.

[GMoney]

All things being equal, I'd book whale watching at ISP. Bear watching is great, but sightings (if any) can be quick and fleeting, or very stationary if the bears are feeding. Whale watching tends to be more active, and I would think more interesting for kids.

[ellie109]

i read what you said about whale watching, and this being our first trip to alaska also, we want to see whales! i also went to your website to look at your pictures from your 2 weeks in alaska. wow!! can't believe you took those pictures with an i phone. and i was impressed with your helicopter pictures from juneau. we were thinking of going on the helicopter/glacier tour, but i'm......kind of afraid!! but you looked like you were having fun!!! tell me more, please!!

[Balliett]

We charted a small boat from Juneau last week and saw some whales from a distance. Then days later (heading south toward Victoria) I happened out on the balcony and there was a pod of whales just playing around. Lots of tail. It's hit or miss. Most whales we ever saw was from Boston, where the whales hang out all summer, twenty miles out. Close enough to feel the spray from the spouting...

[Budget Queen]

What "hatchery" cruise??? Out of Sitka, you would be FAR better off going with an independent and getting the whole tour, varied wildlife, not time eaten up with dead salmon??? Going end of Sept. isn't just rain, it's cold and short days- dusk by 7pm. Be well prepared.

 

You don't list if you have time interior Alaska?? If not, then you do have the best chance of bears out of Hoonah, but again with an independent, with far more flexability of locations and time.

[newgirl2201]

I had opted for the RCCL excursion to silverbay and hatchery out of sitka as a number of posters had commented on the strategy of being on an early tender if you booked the ship excursion. Also I had emailed the independant twice and got no response so assumed he was already booked. Tracey arm day cruise we are booked on adventure bound and in Icy straight looking at fishes for whales or forget-me-not or teckk for bears. The whale excursion with fishes although looking great is quite expensive ($169 plus tax) when multiplied by 4 as there are no childrens rates. I would not want to spend this sort of money if we have already seen whales.

[Joanandjoe]

We did the Tracy Arm tour, and had beautiful view close to both Sawyer Glaciers. We were the first boat in the Arm thius year. On the way back, we stopped about five times for whale watching. We saw approximately eight whales, just fins, backs, and tails. Very beautiful.

 

Still, if seeing whales is a must, you may want to book a specific whale watching tour.

[scampi]

I had opted for the RCCL excursion to silverbay and hatchery out of sitka as a number of posters had commented on the strategy of being on an early tender if you booked the ship excursion. Also I had emailed the independant twice and got no response so assumed he was already booked. Tracey arm day cruise we are booked on adventure bound and in Icy straight looking at fishes for whales or forget-me-not or teckk for bears. The whale excursion with fishes although looking great is quite expensive ($169 plus tax) when multiplied by 4 as there are no childrens rates. I would not want to spend this sort of money if we have already seen whales.

 

Hi Newgirl2201, It's scampi (Santa) & we are on the same cruise & rollcall as you. For ISP/Hoonah we booked with Forget-me-not. $110 pp & half price for children. A lot of people also like Teckk but I'm not sure about their rates. We booked the 8 a.m. Bear & Wildlife private tour. I really do not believe you have to book an RCCL tour for the purpose of being on an early tender. We're the only ship in most of our ports and I've found that if your whole group is together & you're in line first you're bound to be off in time for any independent tour you take. Forget-me-not got right back to us with e-mails and I have also called & have spoken to both Mr. Barton & his wife. He told me that most people coming ashore arrive by tender in the first hour & he would wait for us regardless. If you needed me to call & ask questions for you I could do that, too. It's not a toll call. As far as whale watches, last year in Juneau when it was pouring rain, our independent Harv & Marv called us on our cell to cancel due to the high winds & other weather conditions. We took the ship's whale watch at the last moment with Allen Tours I believe. It was fabulous! It was late September, pouring rain & we were surrounded by whales. Maybe rainy weather is ideal for whale watching. We had all kinds of sightings that morning including a "baby" whale that came up to our boat followed by Mum & Auntie.

[Budget Queen]

I really do not believe you have to book an RCCL tour for the purpose of being on an early tender. We're the only ship in most of our ports and I've found that if your whole group is together & you're in line first you're bound to be off in time for any independent tour you take. Forget-me-not got right back to us with e-mails and I have also called & have spoken to both Mr. Barton & his wife. He told me that most people coming ashore arrive by tender in the first hour & he would wait for us regardless. If you needed me to call & ask questions for you I could do that, too. It's not a toll call.

 

They are not talking about Hoonah, but Sitka for the tour and the ability for the tender. Unfortunately in Sitka, there are way more early morning tours, that involve priority tenders for ship booked excursions. Especially a big problem is a later morning/afternoon port time. Not as significant with an early morning arrival.

[scampi]

...and in Icy straight looking at fishes for whales or forget-me-not or teckk for bears. The whale excursion with fishes although looking great is quite expensive ($169 plus tax) when multiplied by 4 as there are no childrens rates. I would not want to spend this sort of money if we have already seen whales.

 

Budget Queen,

My post was mainly referring only to the part in her post about Icy Straight/Hoonah....and also I was giving her a choice of another port where they could have a whale excursion. But thank you for clarifying about the tender situation in Sitka.

[karatemom2]

We booked the 8 a.m. Bear & Wildlife private tour. I really do not believe you have to book an RCCL tour for the purpose of being on an early tender. We're the only ship in most of our ports and I've found that if your whole group is together & you're in line first you're bound to be off in time for any independent tour you take. Forget-me-not got right back to us with e-mails and I have also called & have spoken to both Mr. Barton & his wife. He told me that most people coming ashore arrive by tender in the first hour & he would wait for us regardless.

 

I don't post this to deter you from your decision, but just to give you a heads up so you can make absolutely sure that they do wait for you. Last year we also had wonderful communications with Mrs. Barton from Forget-Me-Not Outfitters and had booked a tour for our family of four. I even had a written confirmation from them. We boarded the first tender we could get on that morning only to find they had already left with a party of nine. We were soooo disappointed! Fortunately we were able to find Pat of Chicagoff tours and he jumped in and saved our day. I would hope that the Bartons have learned a lesson and are true to their word that they will wait, but I thought you should be aware of our experience.

[karatemom2]

We are aparty of 5 - 2 children 10 and 6yrs, my husband and mum. So far for this our first ever cruise I have booked the hatchery cruise in Sitka and the Tracey arm cruise from Juneau. Other posters have mentioned sighting whales on both of these excursions. We want to see whales but I am not sure if I should book whale watching in Icy Straght Point. Our cruise is end of September 2008 so we are expecting rain every day so not sure if i would book another day at sea in a small boat if we have already seen whales on the previous excursions. Would probably look at a bear trip in Icy straight instead. What do you think?? I dont want us to miss seeing either the whales or bears.

 

We did the Silver Bay and Salmon Hatchery tour through the ship on our stop in Sitka last year and it was a really enjoyable excursion. They take you on a scenic cruise through Silver Bay and we saw lots of lovely scenery, plenty of eagles and yes, we did see one whale. The operator was wonderful about stopping and making sure we got good views of the whale, but he did point out we were lucky and that it isn't something that happens every trip. I felt fortunate, but was still glad we opted to do a whale watch trip with Orca Enterprises in Juneau for a really superior whale watching experience. If seeing whales is a priority I would really urge you to book a whale watching excursion. That being said, we did have a great time on the Silver Bay and Salmon Hatchery tour and I would definitely recommend it, but just not as a whale watching trip.

[scampi]

I don't post this to deter you from your decision, but just to give you a heads up so you can make absolutely sure that they do wait for you. Last year we also had wonderful communications with Mrs. Barton from Forget-Me-Not Outfitters and had booked a tour for our family of four. I even had a written confirmation from them. We boarded the first tender we could get on that morning only to find they had already left with a party of nine. We were soooo disappointed! Fortunately we were able to find Pat of Chicagoff tours and he jumped in and saved our day. I would hope that the Bartons have learned a lesson and are true to their word that they will wait, but I thought you should be aware of our experience.

 

Thank you Karatemom2 for the heads-up on Forget-me-Not. I sure appreciate your warning. I hope they "forget-me-not." I'm going to remind them about waiting for us in another e-mail. I also will give them a call when we are close to getting on the tender and I'll ask them to call us on our cell phone number in case they do have a change of plans. This worked in Juneau with Harv & Marv when they had to cancel with us because of weather conditions last year.

[jay44]

I've just returned from a cruise on Sahppire Princess, and there were people on the ship who moaned that they never saw any whales. They decided not to go on any organised whale watching trips because they were told they would see whales from the ship. They obviously didn't.

 

I went on two whale watching trips, and it was incredible! I would say, don't leave things to chance and book a whale watching trip.

[Budget Queen]

I've just returned from a cruise on Sahppire Princess, and there were people on the ship who moaned that they never saw any whales. They decided not to go on any organised whale watching trips because they were told they would see whales from the ship. They obviously didn't.

 

I went on two whale watching trips, and it was incredible! I would say, don't leave things to chance and book a whale watching trip.

 

This is EXTREMELY common. People get the idea, it's like those full color, mega zoom lens brochure shots. I will speculate most people see no wildlife. (if you don't count birds :) ) I am always out on deck and get very rewarded with wildlife viewing from a cruise ship. But again, most people just don't want to invest the considerable time. In a week, I get to know the other "intense" viewers. It's ALWAYS less than 20 people, who are out day after day. Being well prepared in your attire is absolutely necessary, many people aren't and run back inside because the get cold, their feet hurt, hair flying etc etc etc. :) Finally, another absolute must is a good pair of WIDE angle binoculars, 1o power is my recommendation. Without them, no matter how long you are out looking, you are not getting your max experience.

[Debbie&Chaz]

On our HAL cruise May 25 - April 8 we booked the whale watching tour in Juneau through HAL. The tour was fantastic. The actual provider was Allen Marine. We saw several whales including a pod of four orcas, which we watched dive in unison for almost 30 minutes. Also say several eagles, sea lions, etc. Allen Marine did an excellent good of conducting/narrating the tour. They also provided binoculars,a tour guide book, coffee, and hot chocolate.

[cruzinluvin]

I really do not believe you have to book an RCCL tour for the purpose of being on an early tender. We're the only ship in most of our ports and I've found that if your whole group is together & you're in line first you're bound to be off in time for any independent tour you take.

 

I just got back fromy my Alaskan cruise with RCCL on Radiance. Icy Straight Point is a sleepy little town and the pier is private - for RCCL only. I tend to think this is their Alaskan version of their private islands of Cococay and Labadee in the Caribbean. RCCL has redone the old Salmon cannery and it is all little shops. The one difference from other towns is there was no Diamonds International. LOL There were a lot of whales around the back of the pier (near the bottom of the zipline). So if you want to see wildlife I would go for it. You may just see whales anyway plus you have already booked whale watching tours in other ports. Some people that did the bear adventure never saw one bear. It boils down to personal preference and luck. This is only my opinion.

[newgirl2201]

Thanks everyone. I have decided to book the bear trip with Forget me not in ISP. Adventure bound from Juneau to Tracey arm say they see whales approx 85% of the time as they travel through stephens passage to Tracey arm. If we dont see whales on our Tracey Arm excursion or previously I will frantically try to book whale watching in the afternoon we are in ISP. All our excursions are booked now and are as follows

Sitka - Silver Bay Salmon Hatchery cruise, afternoon New Archangel Dancers and walk around town.

Hubbard Glacier -

Skagway - Chilkoot Train then bus to emerald lake etc. 7 hour trip. Walk around town.

Juneau - Adventure bound to Tracy Arm then quick trip up the tram when we return weather and time permitting.

ISP - Bear bus trip with Forget me not, potential afternoon whale watch.

Ketchican - Saxman and lumberjack and walk around town

Seattle - Boeing then space needle

San Francisco - Muir Woods and Sausilito, tram and lombard street

LA - Disneyland and Legoland.

We also purchased the Alaska cruise handbook and a number of Alaska childrens books from Amazon which we are finding helpful for learning the history of the state and ports before we come.

Can you tell I am excited about our first cruise!! :D

[newgirl2201]

Thanks Budget Queen for the tips on binoculars. I'll have to check to make sure the ones we have will be adequate.

 

Thank You for all your responses to both my queries and others. I have found your advise to be very helpful in being prepared for our September cruise. (Jackets, layers etc.)

 

We chose September as it coincides with our children's spring school Holidays in Australia.

[Budget Queen]

Have a great trip!!! You will get completely accurate information on this board.