Looking for recommendations for dogsledding and whale watching

[drpclarke]

Hello travel friends!

I will be on the Norwegian Encore in June. It's my second trip to Alaska, so the only things I want to do are DOGSLEDDING and WHALE WATCHING. Looking at the price of the shore excursions offered by NCL, I'm hoping some of you can recommend something a bit less expensive!

 

Our ports are Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway.

 

Thanks so much!!

Rachel

[1025cruise]

You won't be saving that much, unfortunately. For dog sledding, they need to fly you out to a glacier with snow. Otherwise it's the dogs pulling a sled on wheels.

[Coral]

You may not save money but you will probably get a better excursion booking privately. For example - there are much smaller boats when you book privately for whale watching. Also - look at the time on water. The longer the better for whale watching as you have more opportunity to see whales.

 

Whale watching will be done in Juneau. Ketchikan and Skagway do not have this as an option.

 

https://jayleensalaska.com/

https://www.harvandmarvs-juneau-whale-watching.com

 

Dog sledding - you can either do a helicopter and land on a glacier or do a sled on wheels. You may want to specify which.

 

Alaska is expensive. Budget for it. It isn't the Caribbean.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Coral

[3rdGenCunarder]

@Coral is right. Alaska is expensive. I haven't done dogsledding, but I've done whale watches in several ports. In Juneau, I've gone with Gastineau guiding two or three times, and loved it. I've heard good things about Harv and Marv, too. Do your research and go with a company that takes small groups on small boats. If the pictures show people on a two- or three-level boat, don't go. The website pictures never show how crowded they really get. 

[Glaciers]

Most certainly look at independent operators. Look at the times for both the whale watch and dog sledding tour and then fit what works. Whale watch operators are more similar than different. They all go to the same places looking at the same whales. Nobody is better than anyone else. Much of it depends on the size of the boat and time on the water. Besides Jayleen’s and Harv n Marv, Juneau Whale Watch is also very good. We’ve had less than 30 passengers on 4 trips with them on their double decker boat with plenty of room for viewing at the rail.  

[Italy52]

Agree with Coral, Glaciers and 3rdGenCunarder with regard to Alaska excursions.  It definitely is important to do your excursion research and see what works best for you. In Juneau you have a lot of options when it comes to whale watching tours.  For us, we have enjoyed our experiences with Jayleen's Alaska. 

[nini]

Agreed that Alaska is expensive. We have loved our whale watching tours out of Juneau. We did one through the ship one time and it was a large crowd and challenging to see but we enjoyed lots of "bubble netting" by the whales. The second time, we booked one of the private companies (may have been Harv & Marv) and it was great. The boat only fit 6 passengers and the Captain.

 

These tours are not cheap, but so worth it.