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Juneau Whale Watching on Radiance


lonig
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There are a number of different whale watching excursions in Juneau on Royal Caribbeans Radiance of the Sea - which one is the best? Would appreciate information from those who have been on one of these. Please be as specific as possible which excursion you were on, where did it go, did it include a glacier or something else?

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I've been on a cruise line (Carnival) whale watching excursion and I've done independent, and independent wins hands down! Smaller boats, fewer people, more personalized experience. We went with Orca Enterprises last summer and they were fantastic! We were able to add a one hour Mendenhall stop.

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Ionig, we will be on the Radiance with you. I would recommend checking out weatherpermittingalaska.com I have been whale watching twice in Juneau. Once with Weather Permitting and once with Harv and Marv. I definitely preferred Weather Permitting. The boat was better designed to get around. You will most likely see Mendenhall glacier from the water. We probably saw 3 other glaciers also, just by watching the scenery. My daughter is going out with them in the afternoon. I am going whale watching in Icy Straight.

We also saw sea lions piled on a bouy.

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Ionig, we will be on the Radiance with you. I would recommend checking out weatherpermittingalaska.com I have been whale watching twice in Juneau. Once with Weather Permitting and once with Harv and Marv. I definitely preferred Weather Permitting. The boat was better designed to get around. You will most likely see Mendenhall glacier from the water. We probably saw 3 other glaciers also, just by watching the scenery. My daughter is going out with them in the afternoon. I am going whale watching in Icy Straight.

We also saw sea lions piled on a bouy.

 

Thanks for the positive comments about Weather Permitting --- we are booked with them in June.

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For anyone else looking to book private in Juneau, I wanted to recommend Rumrunner. We took our two daughters on with them last summer (ages 10 and 14). It was an amazing half day. We saw quite a few whales and even had one breach right next to the boat. We also saw sea lions, porpoise and they fed the eagles which was fun to watch. It was just the 4 of us, included drinks and snacks. My kids still talk about it. We got picked up right at the ship and then they arranged for a taxi to take us to Mendenhall. We paid for a taxi to take us back to the ship. It was a really fun day.

 

Most of the private people are on the radios with each other so they are all trying to make sure their customers see whales. The big difference will be the size of the vessel and how many people sail with you, plus how you get to them and how they get you back to the ship.

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I've been on a cruise line (Carnival) whale watching excursion and I've done independent, and independent wins hands down! Smaller boats, fewer people, more personalized experience. We went with Orca Enterprises last summer and they were fantastic! We were able to add a one hour Mendenhall stop.

 

 

Sorry, I am hijacking a bit....

 

Did you feel like the one hour Mendenhall stop was enough?

 

Did Orca offer only after your whale or would they pick you up? Of course I should just contact them for the answer....

 

Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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I've been out with Capt. Larry's ORCA Enterprises several times. They have been in business for many years and have an excellent reputation.

 

Their boats hold a maximum of 40 people with a naturalist onboard.

 

After the whale watch, if you want, they will drop you at Mendenhall Glacier and come back and pick you up an hour later. If you want to stay longer, you can catch the Blue or White bus back to the ship for $8.00pp

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I've been out with Capt. Larry's ORCA Enterprises several times. They have been in business for many years and have an excellent reputation.

 

Their boats hold a maximum of 40 people with a naturalist onboard.

 

After the whale watch, if you want, they will drop you at Mendenhall Glacier and come back and pick you up an hour later. If you want to stay longer, you can catch the Blue or White bus back to the ship for $8.00pp

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Sorry, I am hijacking a bit....

 

Did you feel like the one hour Mendenhall stop was enough?

 

Did Orca offer only after your whale or would they pick you up? Of course I should just contact them for the answer....

 

We met at their office in town and they drove us out to the glacier, then picked us up in time for our whale watch. An hour was enough for us because we had my mother and aunt along (both around 70) so we weren't going to walk out to the falls or anything like that. There was an extra fee for the drop off/pick up at the glacier but it was worth it to us. I didn't want to take the crowded shuttle bus to the glacier with a couple of old ladies. ;)

 

Like a lot of things, it really depends on your circumstances and what works best for you.

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