Best port for whale watching (Juneau, Skag, Ketchikan)

We are taking the Norwegian Jewel on the last sailing in September, never been to Alaska at the only thing the wife wants is to get close to a whale. Any thought on which of those ports might be the best option? As far as time, we have the most available in Skagway. Any help is great....only other cruise was 13 years ago to Mexico....

We are taking the Norwegian Jewel on the last sailing in September, never been to Alaska at the only thing the wife wants is to get close to a whale. Any thought on which of those ports might be the best option? As far as time, we have the most available in Skagway. Any help is great....only other cruise was 13 years ago to Mexico....

Definitely Juneau. Auke Bay is the home for many whales.

Juneau, end of story. 100% chance - or else you get famous as the first boatload ever to be handed $100 for NOT seeing a whale. It would definitely get at least regional coverage in the press!

Don't even think of whalewatching at either of the other two - IIRC there are a handful of 'wildlife' boat cruises out of Ketchikan but you will not get the Whale Warranty in either K or S because in a typical 3 hours excursion the odds of seeing a whale are significantly less than 100%. I can't even give you a ballpark % chance as there are so few tours!

That's the port with the shortest stay so I'll need to look at that. but thank you!

Juneau is great for whale watching and offers several independent vendors that use smaller boats than the cruise lines, therefore less crowding.

Juneau, like everyone said. I would advise looking at cruise line website to see what excursions are available in each port. You can decide what you want to do from there and book independently if you want. Enjoy Alaska!

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Anyone have a particular company they've used in Juneau?

Harv & Marv's in Juneau.

Just booked it in Juneau through the cruise line. Thanks!

Gastineau Guiding. Probably have to book through the cruise line, so look for their signature boats. A lot more stable than the V-hulls of the 6-passenger boats, with much better windows for viewing and photos. To me, it's not about the headcount, it's about the density of heads vs. amount of window/open-air space, and GG wins this hands down.

Ended up changing my whale watching excursion to Icy Strait Point, since there doesn't look to be a lot ELSE to do there. Booked it THROUGH the cruise line but noticed that we arrive at the port at 9am but the excursion starts at 9:30. How do they/we ensure that we can get off the boat first and make it there in time?

Ended up changing my whale watching excursion to Icy Strait Point, since there doesn't look to be a lot ELSE to do there. Booked it THROUGH the cruise line but noticed that we arrive at the port at 9am but the excursion starts at 9:30. How do they/we ensure that we can get off the boat first and make it there in time?

It is about a 1/4-mile walk from the pier along the waterfront to the red-covered dock. Keep an eye out for umbrellas on the pier that you can borrow if it is raining. The ramp down to the excursion boat starts queuing long before the boat actually departs.

ISP is the most active whale-watching port I have experienced in 15 visits to Alaska. Keep your eyes open as the whales breech right near the cruise pier. I saw 14 separate whale breeching episodes during my HAL-sponsored excursion.

Ended up changing my whale watching excursion to Icy Strait Point, since there doesn't look to be a lot ELSE to do there. Booked it THROUGH the cruise line but noticed that we arrive at the port at 9am but the excursion starts at 9:30. How do they/we ensure that we can get off the boat first and make it there in time?[/quote

 

 

ISP has a floating dock, so it is no longer a tender port. Since you have a cruise-line booked excursion their shore excursion staff will ensure that you will be on on time to their excursion. Each cruise line operates slightly differently, but, since you purchased an excursion through your cruise line, you will receive succinct instructions as to where and when to assemble for your excursion. Assuming that you can read instructions, you will have absolutely no issues making the excursion.

 

And, as an Alaskan resident, I actually think that there is quite a number of items of interest in ISP.

Ended up changing my whale watching excursion to Icy Strait Point, since there doesn't look to be a lot ELSE to do there. Booked it THROUGH the cruise line but noticed that we arrive at the port at 9am but the excursion starts at 9:30. How do they/we ensure that we can get off the boat first and make it there in time?

Now if you'd told us back in April that you were also visiting ISP, we'd have given you that as the other 'whales guaranteed' port. Since Juneau has way more things to do, unless you were also wanting to do a land-based bear viewing excursion (only ISP offers these) as well as whale-watching, we'd have had you on the 'book whalewatch in ISP' path for five months!

As noted already, no more tender issues at ISP - and with an early cruiseline excursion they'll almost certainly have you meet somewhere onboard and escort you off among the first folks to disembark.

. . . Icy Strait Point, since there doesn't look to be a lot ELSE to do there. . . .

ISP was one of our favorite ports of call! There are actually quite a few things to do, but it’s also one of those beautiful places where sitting on a bench by the water and taking in the scenery is nice, too! It is an unspoiled location and the locals do a great job of welcoming passengers.

My sweetheart wants to see whales so badly that we booked both Harv & Marv in Juneau AND Glacier Wind Charters in Icy Strait. It's our first cruise to Alaska so we booked heavy on excursions. Most offer a guarantee to get you back to ship on time but our times are not even close. We wanted to do a long Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer out of Juneau but it departs at 8:30 and ship arrives at 9:00 so as part of our pre cruise DIY land tour we booked a long Prince William Sound Surprise Glacier Cruise out of Whittier. I'm guessing we will see whales on that one albeit from a distance. A good reason to book two whale watching tours out of different ports is that if conditions prevent one, then you get another chance.

We were on Princess and did the whale watch in Juneau that had a salmon bake combo. The tour was via Alaska Travel Adventures which has these blue boats powered by jets vs props so they got out to the whales quicker and the props will not hurt any whales. The people were great on there too. We saw six different whales on our trip.

And the salmon bake afterwards was absolutely yummy. Salmon cooked over a fire with that nice smoky flavor. Yum yum!

Salmon, salmon, salmon. I'm okay with salmon, but my Joy will have had enough on our pre cruise land tour by the time we get to Juneau. I'm just happy that the lunch on the Prince William Sound glacier cruise serves prime rib along with salmon!! https://majormarine.com/experience/onboard-feast/