Thoughts on Whale Watching & Glacier

[govgurl]

Greetings CC'ers,
My very first cruise is creeping ever closer (three weeks away now!) and I was looking for some advice.

I had planned to go zip-lining in Juneau with my mother, who I talked into this (despite her insistence that 50-something women do not zipline).

But then she talked to her travel agent and the agent suggested that she strongly do the Whale watching/Mendenhall Glacier/Salmon Bake excursion. Our travel agent has been a close family friend for many years, so I don't think this was anything but a sincere suggestion that whale watching and the glacier would be something my mom would enjoy (my mom loves whale watching. Loves it.) So now my mom wants to go on that excursion, with my grandmother, and my aunts who are attending.

I told her fine, if she wants to go whale watching I could go ziplining alone, but I cautioned that she might want to research what would be the best whale watching excursion before going with HAL's.

So here's my question: What have been people's experiences with the glacier/whale watch/salmon bake excursion HAL offers? Are there other whale watching companies you would suggest, if so what's the advantage of those companies over others?

Keeping in mind with all of this that my grandmother can walk, but she's had hip and knee replacements and cannot walk very far (we rented her a wheelchair for the duration of the cruise). But she should be fine getting on and off boats and walking short distances, she'll have a cane.

[CowPrincess]

It is highly unlikely that you will be able to find ANY independent whale watch tour this close to sailing date. Many sell out 6 months or more in advance. The independents that get the best reviews are Harv & Marv, and Orca Enterprises. You could try contacting them and see if either has enough space for your family, and find out how much walking is required.

There's nothing wrong with the ship's tour, but there are more people on it than would be on an independent. The "up" side is comfy seating, main floor bathroom, and the bus is right at the dock to take your family members to the boat.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I highly recommend whale watching -- Alaska is all about the scenery and wildlife. Ziplinig would not be on my list of thisgs to do in Alaska.

We have done both the ships tour and Orca Enterprises -- both were great. And yes they do sell out quickly.

[Willsot]

I agree. You can zipline almost anywhere, but you don't get too many opportunities to see whales in their natural environment. I've booked the HAL Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest excursion for Juneau.

[Violynne]

Last summer, during August, we went on the exact excursion you mention and it was excellent. Mendenhall is quite beautiful (even the bear!), the whale watching was a special treat as we happened upon a group of whales bubble net feeding, and the salmon bake was delicious at a great rustic lodge. If you can zip line some other time, you should like this excursion quite well.

[bcd2010]

...(despite her insistence that 50-something women do not zipline)...

Ahem... I celebrated my 60th birthday on my cruise in January and went ziplining. But I was a baby compared to the 82 and 84 year old women who went!

(But I'd do the whale watching/glacier in Alaska.)

[govgurl]

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful!

With the Whale Watching on the HAL excursion (for those that have been) is there an outdoor deck that you can stand on during the cruise if you want? I imagine my grandmother will stay inside where it's warm, but my mom and I might like to see the whales minus the glass in between.

[CowPrincess]

Yes there are outdoor spaces, and there's (on the boats I've been on thru HAL) an upper viewing deck that has a reasonable amount of room.

[luvs2travl]

You may want to try Orca Enterprises (google it) and see if you can book with Captain Larry. We have used him every time we were in Juneau and his whale watching excursions are just fantastic, and less expensive than HAL's. There is a toll-free number to call as well - just remember the time difference in Alaska. (We are in the CST zone and Alaska in 4 hours BEHIND us.)

You can pretty much zip-line anyplace. In Alaska, it's all about the whales!

Good luck! :)

[jdsaf]

We just returned from cruise. We were able to booked with Harv & Marv only 3 weeks out. They were great!! It also included a stop a Mendenhall. We also enjoyed the otter quest ex thru the ship in Sitka. I never heard any complaints about the ships shore excursions. I dont think there is a wrong choice. Whales and other critters is what we were most interested in. (We can zipline 2 hours from our house.) If you decide to go it alone, your mother and grandmother should have no problems getting around on either.

[Idahomom4]

We booked the whale watching/Mendenhall Glacier through HAL. It was AMAZING! We saw at least 11 very active whales that really put on a show. The naturalist aboard our boat was flipping out and I swear may have been more excited about seeing all the whales than all the passengers lol! Mendenhall was beautiful. Saw a huge calving. It was much better than I expected and I really recommend it. Now, the salmon bake. We did this and quite frankly it was the one regret of our whole trip. Thought the food wasn't that great and when you can get such great seafood on the ship we're still asking ourselves why we did this. Just my opinion.

My husband did zip-lining in Ketchikan and he loved it! Some in his group even saw bear. Maybe you could do zip-lining in one of the other ports? If your mom doesn't travel much, this may be a good time to do the zip-lining. It's not as if there are zip-lines everywhere you travel and you still get to see some beautiful scenery and wildlife. It doesn't eat up your whole time in port either.

Have a great cruise!:)

[serendipity1499]

Greetings CC'ers,
My very first cruise is creeping ever closer (three weeks away now!) and I was looking for some advice.

I had planned to go zip-lining in Juneau with my mother, who I talked into this (despite her insistence that 50-something women do not zipline).

But then she talked to her travel agent and the agent suggested that she strongly do the Whale watching/Mendenhall Glacier/Salmon Bake excursion. Our travel agent has been a close family friend for many years, so I don't think this was anything but a sincere suggestion that whale watching and the glacier would be something my mom would enjoy (my mom loves whale watching. Loves it.) So now my mom wants to go on that excursion, with my grandmother, and my aunts who are attending.

I told her fine, if she wants to go whale watching I could go ziplining alone, but I cautioned that she might want to research what would be the best whale watching excursion before going with HAL's.

So here's my question: What have been people's experiences with the glacier/whale watch/salmon bake excursion HAL offers? Are there other whale watching companies you would suggest, if so what's the advantage of those companies over others?

Keeping in mind with all of this that my grandmother can walk, but she's had hip and knee replacements and cannot walk very far (we rented her a wheelchair for the duration of the cruise). But she should be fine getting on and off boats and walking short distances, she'll have a cane.

I would love to go zip Lining & am well over 50, but my Dr. advised against it...He claims I could hurt my spinal disks which have been deteriorating & giving me problems due to Osteoperosis..He won't even let me take the parachute rides any more...:( That's a bummer! However even if I was able to zip line, would not do it in Alaska..We went whale watching with Capt. Larry of Orca & loved it, however we missed going to Mendenhall Glacier..

So my advice would be, the same as others even for you..Save your zip lining for the Caribbean & Take HAL's tour which includes whale watching & Mendenhall Glacier in addition to the Salmon Bake..When we go to Alaska again in the near future, that's on my list to do next time...I'm sure you won't regret it..

Cheers.....:)Betty

[ltd]

My group is doing the Whale watching in Skagway and Zip line in Ketchikan. Four of us are early 50s, two mid 20s and my father is 75. Tell your mother unless she has health problems she is not too old and it will be fun, a little scary, and make her feel younger http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon10.gif