Harv and Marvs- only 2 months till cruise. Any chance?

[cruisinmom68]

Does anyone know the odds of getting a reservation only 2 months in advance?

 

I emailed Eileen this morning but am so anxious!!!

[NancyIL]

I booked our May 23rd cruise early in January, and Harv and Marv were already full. I'd say your chances are slim, but people do cancel.

[jmps]

They have added a third boat so it could work.

[melkteach]

I tried this earlier this week for May 27th and they were all booked.

[krogerlady]

You didn't say, and I can't remember for sure, but if you are talking about Harv and Marv and its Juneau, try Orca. We almost booked with them, and the folks seem really nice.

http://www.orcaenterprises.com/1-Our%20Tour.htm

[texkan]

I will be in Juneau in late Aug. I have been trying to contact Orca for a tour.

I have sent 2 emails and called but can NOT get anyone at Orca to reply to me.

 

I have called and left message.

[cruisinmom68]

Harv and Marv are all booked up for the year! and even into 2010!

 

What a bummer.

 

I called Orca Enterprises but got an answering machine. Hopefully they will reply soon.

[Toyz711]

remember, when you call ocra...the time difference.

people had trouble with that last year, forgetting how much of a time difference it is for most of us. i had better luck calling them in the early evening, my time.

they do a great tour...have a wonderful boat..whale watching is their life!

[cruisinmom68]

We are all booked with Orca Enterprises.

 

So all is not lost. Its not Harv and Marvs but its definately more of the whale watch experience that I was looking for. I think the cruise whale watch would have been just to large.

[christee52]

I booked with them on 1 Mar for an Aug 28th tour. They had added more boats to their fleet, of course it won't be with Harv and Marv but they assured me that we would still get the great tour that they always stride for. It still will be only 6 people to the boat....the lady I talked with on the phone even asked me if they could book two more folks on our boat...I said of course! It wouldn't hurt to see if you could get a tour even at this late date.

[Assateague Island Princes]

Can't hurt to give Eileen a call or shoot her an email. If they have something open - even if its just to fill up one of their boats, they'll let you reserve. Good luck! Harv and Marvs was one of our very favorite excursions! You will LOVE it!

[cbowler]

I am a bit concerned to hear that they have added more boats. We booked late last summer for this upcoming June. Does anyone know how to ensure that we will be with Harv or Marv? I suppose I can contact Eileen but I know she is busy and not easy to contact off season.

[leahsdad]

Also for those cruising early in the season Harv and Marv are opening earlier that the web site originaly stated---I call Eileen and was able to book for our May 8th Serenade stop in Juneau--she had 4 seats available in the morning and four in the afternoon--so if you read the website earlier in the year check again--you might be surprised

 

Paul

[Tarheels19]

I got an email from Eileen today saying that she had 4 spots available on the day we will be in Juneau. It only took her maybe two or three days to get back with me at the most, and she was very friendly.

[ute_fan]

My DD and her fiancee have decided on an Alaskan cruise for their honeymoon the first part of June. We had such a wonderful time with Harv & Marv two years ago that they were our first choice -- and we just heard tonight that she is able to fit them in! It's always worth trying to see if they have space available.

[CruisinMama7]

I just booked with Eileen last week for June 18th. I couldn't believe there was still an opening left for the two of us!!! I'm looking at it like this was a good omen for our first Alaskan trip. :cool:

 

Cruisin'Mama

[mitmitch]

I just booked Harv and Marv for a tour on May 23. They still had two spaces on that boat.

[santamaria]

It's still not too late. I booked yesterday for late June with Eileen for Steve to take us out. (He is explained in more detail on their website - just updated yesterday and very interesting). Anyway, on our last 2 trips to Juneau I had whimped out of booking this for fear I would get sick (small boat), so I booked a private tour for the 3 of us so that I would have the security of knowing I can call it quits if necessary. They will drop us at Coastal for glacier tour/walk after whale watching.

[cruisin'4ever]

why don't people just book on the cruise ship? ncl lists it for 129.00

[ute_fan]

why don't people just book on the cruise ship? ncl lists it for 129.00

 

It's quite a different experience. The NCL whale watching tours when we went with Harv & Marv were run by Allen Marine -- who does a fine job, but their ships hold about 100-150 people. With Harv & Marv, you're out with only 6 people total on the boat -- plus the captain.

 

We had the luck of going with Capt. Jay, and in addition to seeing whales, we also had the wonderful experience of hearing his stories about growing up in Juneau and raising his family on shelter island. It's a MUCH more personal experience than being on one of the Allen Marine boats. I've been with Allen Marine on two of their other excursions (including the Tracy Arm excursion which was wonderful), but I much prefer whale watching on a smaller boat.

[Coracii]

It's quite a different experience. The NCL whale watching tours when we went with Harv & Marv were run by Allen Marine -- who does a fine job, but their ships hold about 100-150 people. With Harv & Marv, you're out with only 6 people total on the boat -- plus the captain.

 

We had the luck of going with Capt. Jay, and in addition to seeing whales, we also had the wonderful experience of hearing his stories about growing up in Juneau and raising his family on shelter island. It's a MUCH more personal experience than being on one of the Allen Marine boats. I've been with Allen Marine on two of their other excursions (including the Tracy Arm excursion which was wonderful), but I much prefer whale watching on a smaller boat.

 

Exactly why I booked with H & M, when the whale surfaces I don't want to be fighting for a spot with 150 people to see it. I plan on taking a lot of photographs and I'd rather they didn't have the back of peoples' heads in them.

[mbqh]

I just booked with them 2 days ago, my cruise is in June.

[ute_fan]

Exactly why I booked with H & M, when the whale surfaces I don't want to be fighting for a spot with 150 people to see it. I plan on taking a lot of photographs and I'd rather they didn't have the back of peoples' heads in them.

 

Me too! Especially since I'm barely 5 feet tall. On my other excursions booked through NCL, I found it hard to get a clear view of the waterfall, or glacier, or whatever I was trying to take a picture of. There were just too many people in the way.

 

For those of you who are considering Harv & Marv, they're just great. They have a heated cabin where you can hang out if it's raining or cold (it was BEAUTIFUL the day we went), but you can also go out on the aft deck and climb out onto the front of the ship if you need to get just the right shot of the whale that's playing in front of you.

 

This thread really needs a picture or two :D. All three of these were shot while we were out with Harv & Marv.

 

 

 

[cbowler]

Ok so I'm confused. I read the new blurb on the website about Captain Steve as a new captain. It says he's using the M/V Merlin which is also the boat listed for Jay. But it doesn't sound like they have a 3rd boat? Just a 3rd captain? Is Jay not doing it anymore? Anyone know any more info other than what's on the website? Just wondering...

[I Teach]

Ok so I'm confused. I read the new blurb on the website about Captain Steve as a new captain. It says he's using the M/V Merlin which is also the boat listed for Jay. But it doesn't sound like they have a 3rd boat? Just a 3rd captain? Is Jay not doing it anymore? Anyone know any more info other than what's on the website? Just wondering...

 

This is the response I received from Eileen when I emailed her to ask a similar question as I noticed on this thread that someone else had the same date, and we had previosly reserved last April for both boats.

Eileen is so wonderful and got back to me very quickly!! We are so excited about our trip next July with them!!:)

 

You and your party are still reserved for an 8:30 am to 12:30 pm tour and your captains will be Harv and Marv. We will have three boats this year and our brother-in-law, Steve will be operating the one that Marv had last year. In the About Us link on our website, we finally have Steve's information and picture. We will also have another van to help with scheduling and transporation.