Icy strait whale watching

[xroadrunnerx]

I am considering Glacier Wind whale watching here because they offer a 4 hour tour. F.I.S.H.E.S. is only 3 hours. Can anyone comment on either of these tours.

[Italy52]

I am considering Glacier Wind whale watching here because they offer a 4 hour tour. F.I.S.H.E.S. is only 3 hours. Can anyone comment on either of these tours.

 

I have never gone with Glacier Wind but I can tell you that DH and I went with F.I.S.H.E.S. last May and we had a fantastic time. We were very fortunate and saw lots of whales during our excursion. We really love the small boat experience and will be going back to F.I.S.H.E.S. again on June 1st.

[natvtxn]

We went with Glacier Winds last August. FISHES did go in before we did. We would definitely go on GW again! Shawn and Theresa were great hosts!

[klingoncruiser]

This is one of the best ports along the inside passage to see whales. I think no matter who you go with, you will see a lot. 4 hours would beat 3 in my boat.

[countrygal52]

It also depends how much port time you have that day and what ELSE you would like to have time to do.

 

We did FISHES, had lunch at The Office for fresh crab, took the scenic 1 mile walk back to the pier area, went to the Tlingit Indian dance theater, bought some gifts at the gift shops and watched the zipliners.

 

Then we took the tender back and got ready for 6pm dinner seating.

Yes, I would have liked more time with the whales, actually I could have stayed out there all DAY! But time and money.....you know!:p

 

Anyway, we had a GREAT time and it was a highlite of our trip.

[BayStateguppy]

They pretty much see the same things.

The boats are in constant contact w/ each other as to where the whales and other wildlife are at that moment.

Both get great reviews and I think whale watching is a great activity at Icy Strait.

 

Book early as they do sell out.

 

Here's a link to my review and some pics of our trip w/ FISHES.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1026809

[Tricia724]

We also had a great experience with Shawn and Glacier Wind, although it was several years ago. Besides being a good captain, he is a very interesting person who is native to Hoonah and knows a lot about the history and traditions. He also has some good stories about living in Fairbanks in the winter, which sounds more like a treatment than a treat.

 

We certainly saw a lot of whales that day....they were everywhere, and you would probably have a good experience with any boat trip you took. It's a humpback rich environment, and they're hard to miss.

[dinomac]

When you say "book early"... what does that mean? We are planning a 2011 May/June tour/cruise and would love to have the small boat whale experience. Do you have to book it this year when you book the cruise? Book it a month before trip? Or first day on ship? What is early?

[Yukon]

When you say "book early"... what does that mean? We are planning a 2011 May/June tour/cruise and would love to have the small boat whale experience. Do you have to book it this year when you book the cruise? Book it a month before trip? Or first day on ship? What is early?

 

You'll want to book as early as the operator allows - that usually means October-November.

[BayStateguppy]

I booked w/ FISHES in Oct 2008 for my July 2009 excursion.

After that, there were many in my roll call who were disappointed they couldn't get a spot.

 

FISHES does two tours a day --- six people max each tour.

Not sure what Glacier Wind's capacity is.

 

Figure on a ship w/ 3000+ passengers --- chances are good they will both sell out quickly.

[Italy52]

When you say "book early"... what does that mean? We are planning a 2011 May/June tour/cruise and would love to have the small boat whale experience. Do you have to book it this year when you book the cruise? Book it a month before trip? Or first day on ship? What is early?

 

We are going with F.I.S.H.E.S. on June 1, 2010 -- we booked June 2, 2009 as we wanted to ensure a spot on the boat.

[xroadrunnerx]

I booked with Glacier Winds for our June 11th visit. Thanks all for your responses!

[natvtxn]

Dh took the photo of the whale tail on their website last summer!

[silversalmon]

While it is always a good idea to book as early as possible, there are several small boats that can take six passengers each that operate out of Hoonah to take you to the whales, so it is possible to "walk on" to one of them when you call on Icy Strait on most days.

Selahway,

I booked my whale watch excursion already but thanks for sharing this info here for others and I look forward to reading your thread for

Icy Strait (Hoonah) Daily Whale Activity Report :):):)