Icy Strait Whale Watching recommendations

We are going back to Alaska next May/June 2016 and have read alot of reviews on Trip Advisor for whale watching in Icy Strait. Leaning towards Glacier Winds...but not sure why...lol ALL of the companies seem great. There will be four adults in our group. Most of the boats are smaller and dont want to go with the large ship crowd. My question to all of you good people is who would YOU recommend and why? Thanks so much in advance

We have gone with Glacier Wind and F.I.S.H.E.S. several times and enjoyed our experiences very much. I have posted my reviews on Trip Advisor (Karen D. -- Sacramento).

We are doing a B2B cruise in a few weeks and will be going with Glacier Wind one week and F.I.S.H.E.S. the next.

I used Misty Bay Lodge last week. There were 17 people on our boat.

We had a good time with Hoonah Whale Watch -- We had 16 on board. Really nice boat.

We are going back to Alaska next May/June 2016 and have read alot of reviews on Trip Advisor for whale watching in Icy Strait. Leaning towards Glacier Winds...but not sure why...lol ALL of the companies seem great. There will be four adults in our group. Most of the boats are smaller and dont want to go with the large ship crowd. My question to all of you good people is who would YOU recommend and why? Thanks so much in advance

Decide soon as these private companies book up far in advance.

We went with Misty Bay Lodge and had a great time. There were 6 of us. It was a very misty morning, but we managed to find one very frisky whale who breached many times. Here is a link to some photos of the boat and the whale starting from post #149: http://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/showthread.php?t=2093748&page=8

I highly recommend TECKK Outfitters, they have an awesome cpt. :)

I used Misty Bay Lodge last week. There were 17 people on our boat.

TeeChi, how did you like it? How was their new boat? We're booked with them and had the option of their older 6-person boat or the new 18-person one and we chose the 18-person. Did we make a good decision? Any tips of what to wear, bring, etc? Did they provide any snacks or beverages?

We went with them in 2013. Very experienced and take very good care of guests, delicious salmon dip and Captain Shawn knows his stuff as he grew up there.

Thank you for your comments...keep them coming!

After reading tons of reviews on CruiseCritic and my personal favorite TripAdvisor, we decided to make a reservation with Glacier Wind Charters. g-wind.com

May 2016 was already starting to fill up. Glad we have that covered. On to other excursions now. Will be making plans in Ketchikan for the Bering Sea Crab excursion too. Mendenhall Glacier for Juneau. I LOVE planning these excursions.

Please feel welcome to add more "must do" excursions for: Ketchikan, Juneau, Icy Strait, Anchorage, Homer (the hardest one for me so far), Kodiak, Sitka (will for sure go to Fortress of the Bears) and Victoria

Trip reports are another great resource for you (see STICKY above). There are at least 60 reports from last summer with lots of useful info about excursions, vendors, activities, etc. Many are photojournals ; the photos really provide a great sense of what you will see or experience.

Be mindful of tripadvisor reviews .... many good reviews are staged or solicited and bad ones can be from competitors. I only trust reviews from people with at least 10+.

We went with them in 2013. Very experienced and take very good care of guests, delicious salmon dip and Captain Shawn knows his stuff as he grew up there.

I also went whale watching with Glacier Wind just last week. I agree 100% with your post. There is a max of 7 people on board Captain Shawn's boat, and that's including him. Both Shawn and his wife Teresa treat you like family. We were lucky to be the only boat in our area with 4 active whales for over an hour. I'm already planning my next Alaskan cruise and one requirement I have is Icy Strait Point so that I can go whale watching with Glacier Wind again. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

We are booked with Fishes for August and she was so helpful and nice to deal with. I also had the pleasure of speaking with the woman at Glacier Wind (they were full) but who was so pleasant and not afraid to send me to one of her competitors. That impressed me. Both places seem to get high marks on a trip Advisor.

I'm a big fan of Misty Bay Lodge for both whale watching and bear searches. Have gone with them twice and was not disappointed. Felt like we were with old friends on their 6 passenger boat. Capt. Dan found us the whales and Hope, his wife (and van driver) is a dear. Highly recommend Misty Bay Lodge.

I'm a big fan of Misty Bay Lodge for both whale watching and bear searches. Have gone with them twice and was not disappointed. Felt like we were with old friends on their 6 passenger boat. Capt. Dan found us the whales and Hope, his wife (and van driver) is a dear. Highly recommend Misty Bay Lodge.

^^^^100% echo this opinion! ^^^^

We didn't do a bear watch but they were fantastic for whale watching! Very friendly and accommodating. We were on the 6 person boat which was very comfortable!

I also went whale watching with Glacier Wind just last week. I agree 100% with your post. There is a max of 7 people on board Captain Shawn's boat, and that's including him. Both Shawn and his wife Teresa treat you like family. We were lucky to be the only boat in our area with 4 active whales for over an hour. I'm already planning my next Alaskan cruise and one requirement I have is Icy Strait Point so that I can go whale watching with Glacier Wind again. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

Ditto to this. I had a great time with Glacier Wind.

We highly recommend Misty Bay Lodge.

1) up to Six person on boat. (We had 4)

2) Captain Dan keeps in touch with the other boat captains to find the most action.

3) the boat has an upper deck and an overhang outside in case it rains.

4) warm roomy cabin with restroom.

5) they have a Bear watch tour option to add if wanted.

6) the lodge makes the best Fresh Fish Chowder after whale watch.

Dan and Hope we're Awesome.

What more could you want.

(I heard they have a BOGO in Alaska Tour Saver)

Have fun!

I also recommend Glacier Winds. I have been with 2 different companies in Juneau, but Glacier Winds was my favorite. Loved the stop in Hoonah. The boat is fantastic, as you can walk all the way around the outside of the cabin. Lots of room! Shawn also found some bears on the shoreline that we watched for a while. I'm going back in July of 2016 and have already reserved our spot with them again.

Judy

Fun stop, saw more whales from shore then the whale watching trips..

cruisinbob

Fun stop, saw more whales from shore then the whale watching trips..

cruisinbob

Just out of curiosity, what whale watching trips did you go on?

OP - I am pleased to see you booked with Teresa and Shawn at Glacier Winds. They are incredible and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Teresa really is brilliant during the pre-trip communication. Shawn's knowledge, time and patience are outstanding. Their boat is brilliant and plenty of room for the maximum of 7 people (6 guests and Shawn) who are on each trip.

Teresa puts together snacks for each trip; salmon dip with crackers and hot chocolate! Yum!

After/before the trip Teresa will happily take you around Hoonah and is happy to drop you back at the meeting point near the ship or drop you anywhere along the way.

Just out of curiosity, what whale watching trips did you go on?

Did NOT go on any, just stood on shore, great shots. Then went downtown and sampled the locals, great walking back up close and personal with many bald eagles.

cruisinbob

Just an update. Tried to book the six man boat at Misty Bay Lodge and they have purchased an 18 person boat and will not confirm the 6 man charter unless the 18 man is full first. Just thought I would let you know as it was important to us we did the 6 man boat......if we had not asked we would have assumed we would have been placed on the 6 man boat

We are now looking at Glacier winds........

Just an update. Tried to book the six man boat at Misty Bay Lodge and they have purchased an 18 person boat and will not confirm the 6 man charter unless the 18 man is full first. Just thought I would let you know as it was important to us we did the 6 man boat......if we had not asked we would have assumed we would have been placed on the 6 man boat

We are now looking at Glacier winds........

Wise choice! When we arrived last week, we were told that we had been moved from the six passenger boat to the 18 passenger boat. It was very crowded inside. Thankfully, our day was nice and we spent most of our time outside in the front. We did have a good trip with many whale sightings, but it was not the trip that we were expecting based on what we had booked. When I questioned them about what happened, I received many different answers from different people. It seems that they have expanded their business and things are not the same. I think reviews from previous years are misleading. It is a shame.

Wise choice! When we arrived last week, we were told that we had been moved from the six passenger boat to the 18 passenger boat. It was very crowded inside. Thankfully, our day was nice and we spent most of our time outside in the front. We did have a good trip with many whale sightings, but it was not the trip that we were expecting based on what we had booked. When I questioned them about what happened, I received many different answers from different people. It seems that they have expanded their business and things are not the same. I think reviews from previous years are misleading. It is a shame.

That's really too bad to hear! When we booked, we specifically requested the 18-person boat hoping for more stability on the water and better facilities given the fact that it's brand new. They told me that the boat has lots of room both inside and out for the number of passengers it holds, and essentially that we would have an incredible experience even if sailing full. I'm just hoping to be able to get from side to side during whale sightings for photos, have a good window seat inside if the weather isn't cooperating, etc.

Do you have any pictures of the boat? I would love to see them if you do!