Jump to content

NCL Juneau, Alaska Excursions


Heather1972
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi all -

 

I'm trying to nail down what we are doing on our summer Alaska cruise. If I book the Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier photo safari, the excursion is 14 or less people with Gastineau Guiding Company? I'd hate to book this and then find out it's more like 60+ crammed on to a small boat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two years ago we went to Alaska on the Sun. We booked our Juneau whale watching tour with Harv & Marv's. Unbelievable! Best excursion we've been on, bar none. I think we had a total of ten people on the boat. Saw tons of whales and they made a stop at the Mendenhall Glacier on the way back. We decided to stay at the glacier longer, so we took a taxi back ourselves to the port. Look up their reviews on these board or TripAdvisor... Definitely recommended!

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have done both Marv & Harv plus Orca Enterprises with Captain Larry. Mary & Harv is better in the fact that they take less people...but as you say, they have an age limit.

 

Captain Larry does a great job but does carry more passengers although his boat is really fast and actually passed the Marv & Harv boat I was on. When I went with him, they allowed people to go onto the top deck (with railings) for a better view. He also allows younger kids.

 

http://www.orcaenterprises.com/tours-and-rates

Edited by hawgwildterry
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Gastineau Guiding limits its Whale Watching & Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari to 14 people! No big crowds. It books only through cruise ships, but gets rave reviews on the Alaska Port-of-Calls message board. Not a cheap trip, but you get photo guidance, a motion-stabilized boat for 14, padded armrests and big, wide-opening windows for easy photo shooting. Downside (to my mind) is that the trail tour at Mendenhall Glacier is the "Trail of Time" instead of the trail to Nugget Falls. And the price!

 

Two other options I have resarched:

 

Rum Runners: small company, 1-2 boats. Captain Chris returned my e-mails promptly. Takes 6 per boat for 2.5 hour whale watching tour. Will either drop off or pick up at glacier and can help you arrange transportation the other way. We will be able to spend 1.25-1.5 hours at glacier which is more than is possible on the combined tours. Downside: possibility of motion sickness on smaller boat; small chance trip could be cancelled if weather was really bad. Having to take a taxi/car service one way.

 

Orca Enterprises (now run by Dolphin Jet Boat Tours): also highly reviewd on Alaska ports board. Small boats. 2 hours on the water. They have a combined trip to Mendenhall as well (45-60 minutes there, self-guided).

 

HTH.

Edited by lmintzer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We did the whale watching/ Mendenhall excursion through NCL. ( I wanted Harv and Marv but I have family members who are afraid of being left on shore and insisted on going through NCL to ensure we would not be left behind). The boat was great and did not feel crowded- they divided us up into multiple boats and the naturalists were knowledgeable. The Mendenhall visit was rushed- we only had an hour. If you cannot find another option- I would recommend the excursion through NCL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...