Best whale watching in May

[xlxo]

On 5/13/2022 at 6:52 AM, MauraL said:

Does anyone have any experience with Allen Marine or Gastineau Guiding?

I was on Gastineau for their photo tour and no complaints.  Their boats are a bit bigger and have large windows for photo's.  I do recommend something with a good zoom to catch whales in the distance.

 

https://www.stepintoalaska.com/about-us/our-fleet/

[bookbabe]

On 5/13/2022 at 9:52 AM, MauraL said:

I'm on Celebrity and am looking at Whale Watch/Mendenhall Glacier tours run by Allen Marine or Gastineau Guiding. I see a lot of posts about Harv and Marv, but I haven't been able to pin down if Celebrity has one of their tours. Does anyone have any experience with Allen Marine or Gastineau Guiding?

We took the Allen Marine Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest on Tuesday, booked through NCL.  It was okay.  Their double decker "catamaran" looks a lot like your typical cattle car tour boat.  Sit on the lower deck if you know you want to stay inside, especially if it's raining, since the upper deck windows are alternately rain-splashed or blocked by passengers standing outside, limiting your view a lot.  
 

If I was doing another trip early in the season, I would arrange time to do whale watching in Seattle/Vancouver/Victoria, and not Juneau.  Our one spouting but barely visible otherwise counted as "seeing" a whale, and the only other wildlife was a bunch of seals sleeping on a buoy.  Not our best tour ever, but not really Allen Marine's fault, I guess.

[martincath]

On 5/13/2022 at 6:52 AM, MauraL said:

I'm on Celebrity and am looking at Whale Watch/Mendenhall Glacier tours run by Allen Marine or Gastineau Guiding. I see a lot of posts about Harv and Marv, but I haven't been able to pin down if Celebrity has one of their tours. Does anyone have any experience with Allen Marine or Gastineau Guiding?

Gastineau are excellent - and on cruise days do not sell direct. Unlike H&M, all their boats are built specifically for whalewatching, and unlike Allen Marine they are small (IIRC 15-22 pax).

 

The particular tour we did may have a different name on Celebrity vs. Princess who we booked through, but it included Mendenhall, the whale watch, and a 'rain forest safari' - and a professional photographer was with our group, explaining optimal camera settings for each of the different parts of the tour. All this for $10 more at the time than a 150pax Allen catamaran with insufficient deck rail space for all pax and non-opening windows.

 

Unless you have a serious aversion to small boats, I would not hesitate to recommend Gastineau's trip over Allen's!

[martincath]

7 hours ago, bookbabe said:

...If I was doing another trip early in the season, I would arrange time to do whale watching in Seattle/Vancouver/Victoria, and not Juneau.  Our one spouting but barely visible otherwise counted as "seeing" a whale, and the only other wildlife was a bunch of seals sleeping on a buoy.  Not our best tour ever, but not really Allen Marine's fault, I guess.

Unfortunately whale behaviour can't be guaranteed! But early in the season is theoretically best for all the arriving whale species, as they are feeding for the first time in rich waters after fasting down in the warm breeding grounds - so they're just plain hungrier than later on as they need to rebuild fat reserves. 'Backs and Blows' is a good expectation to take on any whalewatch for baleen whales - treat anything more as a bonus and you'll only ever be pleasantly surprised.

 

I do agree that way too many folks discount whalewatching trips down here compared to Juneau etc., as we may fall short of 100% success it's usually 90-95% of trips with all Vic/Van companies across orca season, April through October. While we do seem to have more and more humpbacks and grays hanging out each year as herring stocks recover across the BC coast, why swim further north if you can find enough grub here after all, orca are the 'bread and butter' for local tour companies. Being dolphins, they're a lot more liable to do something exciting than humpies - and with prices usually on paper about 20% lower than AK tours, and Canadian dollar pricing dropping that another ~30% for US tourists, they're a real bargain too.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, martincath said:

Gastineau are excellent - and on cruise days do not sell direct. Unlike H&M, all their boats are built specifically for whalewatching, and unlike Allen Marine they are small (IIRC 15-22 pax).

 

The particular tour we did may have a different name on Celebrity vs. Princess who we booked through, but it included Mendenhall, the whale watch, and a 'rain forest safari' - and a professional photographer was with our group, explaining optimal camera settings for each of the different parts of the tour. All this for $10 more at the time than a 150pax Allen catamaran with insufficient deck rail space for all pax and non-opening windows.

 

Unless you have a serious aversion to small boats, I would not hesitate to recommend Gastineau's trip over Allen's!

 

I agree about the boats. I've seen those jammed double deckers and been so grateful I was on one of Gastneau's smaller boats.

 

I've gone with Gastineau twice and I'm going again this year. Their "photo safari" is a great tour because they keep the group small. The photo expert on the tour I did a few years ago was excellent. Several people had very nice expensive cameras and no clue about the settings. He knew the major brands and was able to give specific instructions. 

[Dreamcruiser2]

Hello all,

Heading to Alaska the last week of August.  While researching excursions, it appears most migrate in May-July.  Anyone have experience with the tours in late August/early September?  TIA

 

[martincath]

2 hours ago, Dreamcruiser2 said:

Hello all,

Heading to Alaska the last week of August.  While researching excursions, it appears most migrate in May-July.  Anyone have experience with the tours in late August/early September?  TIA

 

Not sure who told you that - it's into October before significant movement of whales back southward happens, whether it's the Humpies off to Hawai'i or the Grays heading down to Baja. You'll have no problem finding enough whales before Labour Day - after that of course they disappear to go shopping for blue shirts, it's a real hassle finding a good tailor in Alaska with all the Diamond shops driving business rates up... ;-)

[3rdGenCunarder]

I've done whale watching in Juneau in September and we saw whales. I got some great pictures. (And it was after Labour Day, so they ALL hadn't gone shopping.)

[DaveOKC]

On 5/16/2022 at 6:56 PM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I've done whale watching in Juneau in September and we saw whales. I got some great pictures. (And it was after Labour Day, so they ALL hadn't gone shopping.)

Same here - saw lots of whales in mid-Sept both in Juneau and Icy Point Strait.