Whale watching

[chuckles60]

looking to do the whale watching in Juneau..any recommendations on who to use...and is Juneau the best port to see them in

[llkoolj40]

We love Harv and Marv. Have been on an excursion 3 times and saw whales all 3 times. Here are a few photos from 6/13/19.

 

[luvteaching]

Just back  from Alaska. We did the "Small Group Whale Watching" with 20 people on the trip. We did it through Holland America but Gastineau Guiding were the providers. We had a great time with Abby and Captain Lee. It was $189.95 and was 3.75 hours long with about 2.5 of that on the water. 

 

Karen

[Kevin's girl]

4 hours ago, luvteaching said:

Just back  from Alaska. We did the "Small Group Whale Watching" with 20 people on the trip. We did it through Holland America but Gastineau Guiding were the providers. We had a great time with Abby and Captain Lee. It was $189.95 and was 3.75 hours long with about 2.5 of that on the water. 

 

Karen

We did the same through Celebrity. I did try to book through the Gastineau Guiding website but it took me directly to Celebrity excursions page. It was a great trip.

[Tricia724]

We also did our trip last week with Gastineau, although it was the photo safari, a somewhat pricier option but ideal for the camera enthusiast. There were 10 of us on the photo safari, and several of us (myself included) didn't even have a camera. My other half is the amateur photographer, and he got hundreds of pictures, mostly of a pod of orcas but with a few humpbacks  thrown in. We've done a number of whale watching trips, but the boats that Gastineau uses with the sides that flip up and wide, open windows are great boats for whale watching. I'd use them again. They do have to be booked through the cruise line, though.

[masterdrago]

22 hours ago, chuckles60 said:

looking to do the whale watching in Juneau..any recommendations on who to use...and is Juneau the best port to see them in

We went with Harv & Marv's. See my post #93 in my trip report page 4. There was a sequence I took that looks like an Orca making an attempt to take a Sea Lion running next to a Humpback.  

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by masterdrago

[dhanderson]

We used Harv & Marv in 2017. Great trip on a small boat - 8 people. This time we are going on a 6 passenger boat with Jayleen's Alaska. Jayleen is the daughter of one of the original owners of Harv and Marv, and was a guide for them before starting her own business. I've communicated with her by email and phone and can tell she loves what she does. And from all thre revies I've read, she's very good at it also.  Excited to meet her in person.

[hsk1977]

On 6/30/2019 at 10:48 PM, Tricia724 said:

We also did our trip last week with Gastineau, although it was the photo safari, a somewhat pricier option but ideal for the camera enthusiast. There were 10 of us on the photo safari, and several of us (myself included) didn't even have a camera. My other half is the amateur photographer, and he got hundreds of pictures, mostly of a pod of orcas but with a few humpbacks  thrown in. We've done a number of whale watching trips, but the boats that Gastineau uses with the sides that flip up and wide, open windows are great boats for whale watching. I'd use them again. They do have to be booked through the cruise line, though.

We are booked for this excursion in August, and I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Ptroxx]

2 hours ago, dhanderson said:

We used Harv & Marv in 2017. Great trip on a small boat - 8 people. This time we are going on a 6 passenger boat with Jayleen's Alaska. Jayleen is the daughter of one of the original owners of Harv and Marv, and was a guide for them before starting her own business. I've communicated with her by email and phone and can tell she loves what she does. And from all thre revies I've read, she's very good at it also.  Excited to meet her in person.

I have an upcoming trip on NCL and I’m going to cook with Jayleen as well.  

Ive read that she’s added another boat so now she’s running 2 boats.  

And sorry can’t remember the other captains name but it’s another female captain and I’ve read she is just as good and informative as Jayleen.    

 

 

[peety3]

On 6/30/2019 at 8:48 PM, Tricia724 said:

We also did our trip last week with Gastineau, although it was the photo safari, a somewhat pricier option but ideal for the camera enthusiast. There were 10 of us on the photo safari, and several of us (myself included) didn't even have a camera. My other half is the amateur photographer, and he got hundreds of pictures, mostly of a pod of orcas but with a few humpbacks  thrown in. We've done a number of whale watching trips, but the boats that Gastineau uses with the sides that flip up and wide, open windows are great boats for whale watching. I'd use them again. They do have to be booked through the cruise line, though.

Last I checked, the photo safari (JNU-700 if you're on Princess) is the same price as the non-photo safari that's otherwise rather similar (JNU-705). The cheaper one is JNU-670, "Discovering Alaska's Whales" (or something like that), but that one "forfeits" a little bit of whale time to go do some citizen science reporting. 670 and 705 are on their 20-passenger boats (which have a "bonus" aft viewing platform), while 700 is on their 14-passenger boats.

[ute_fan]

6 hours ago, dhanderson said:

We used Harv & Marv in 2017. Great trip on a small boat - 8 people. This time we are going on a 6 passenger boat with Jayleen's Alaska. Jayleen is the daughter of one of the original owners of Harv and Marv, and was a guide for them before starting her own business. I've communicated with her by email and phone and can tell she loves what she does. And from all thre revies I've read, she's very good at it also.  Excited to meet her in person.

 

We went whale watching with Jayleen on our trip on 6/15!  She was excellent.  She learned how to boat at age 11, and frequently went out with her Dad when he was still involved with Harv & Marv.  We were her only two passengers and had a great time with her.  

[Alaska0799]

Harv and Marv and Jayleen are very good. But over our 12 cruises and numerous whale watch operators, Captain Steve of Alaska Humpback Adventures is unparalleled for small boat whale watching!  Check out reviews on TripAdvisor.  Connect with him at 907.209.7005.

[ute_fan]

1 hour ago, Alaska0799 said:

Harv and Marv and Jayleen are very good. But over our 12 cruises and numerous whale watch operators, Captain Steve of Alaska Humpback Adventures is unparalleled for small boat whale watching!  Check out reviews on TripAdvisor.  Connect with him at 907.209.7005.

We went with Captain Steve when he was working for Harv & Marv.  He is also very good.  Turns out he's related to Jay from Harv & Marv's and is Jayleen's uncle.  

[Ballerina Sweetie Pie]

My sister & I went out with Harv & Marv five years ago. It was amazing- humpback whales were feeding all around us- one even rubbed against our boat. We saw eagles feeding & great views of Mendenhall glacier. Such an incredible experience that my husband & I have booked the same excursion for our trip in two weeks. Can’t wait!!

[JC in CA]

On 7/2/2019 at 5:49 AM, dhanderson said:

This time we are going on a 6 passenger boat with Jayleen's Alaska.

We were on a whale watch with Jayleen last summer. She is fantastic!  Since she grew up on an island there, she really knows the area.  As we left the harbor, the motor snagged on something - pretty scary for a moment or two, but she handled it like the pro she is!  I would definitely book with her again!

 

[Ptroxx]

48 minutes ago, JC in CA said:

We were on a whale watch with Jayleen last summer. She is fantastic!  Since she grew up on an island there, she really knows the area.  As we left the harbor, the motor snagged on something - pretty scary for a moment or two, but she handled it like the pro she is!  I would definitely book with her again!

 

After reading all the reviews I just booked with her about a half an hour ago  for a cruise coming up in a few months.    

And I’ll be honest it’s the reviews and the fact she’s a female boat owner a males world I said I’ll show her support.   

[Herfnerd]

We went with Juneau Whale Watch and did the combo whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour - it was $125 pp and we had a 15% discount code.  Awesome excursion!