Whale Watching with Juneau Adventures (Captain Terry)

[loricfam]

Has anyone ever used Juneau Adventures for whale watching? We're cruising to Alaska this July. I thoroughly read these boards and called about 7 tour companies that were mentioned repeatedly with rave reviews to book a private whale watching for my family of 4, but every one of them was already completely booked with no openings! One of the tour companies suggested I call Juneau Adventures, which is a tour company I had not seen mentioned on these boards.

So, now I'm booked with Juneau Adventures for a private whale watching. I'm very glad I found him and quite excited. But, I'm a little concerned that there is no naturalist on board, so we're going to be missing the great narration and explanation about the whales. How was your experience? Was it on time? Fun? Informative? Comfortable boat? Friendly captain and deck hand? Did you see lots of whales? Other wild life? Was there any narration about the whales at all? Thanks for your help!

 

[Alison-NY]

Hi-
Can you let me know how your experience is with him after you go? We just booked Terry for our August cruise. He got good reviews on trip advisor but a personal review would be very nice. thanks Alison

 

[Shelley Chiarats]

We were originally scheduled with RumRunner but they got overbooked and recommended Terry with Juneau Adventures. We are set to go on the Whale Watching trip with him in August. Like Alison we saw the good reviews on Trip Advisor but would love to hear how your trip goes.

 

[tink too]

I would expect that the deck hand and captain would provide some information on a small private tour (this was what we experienced with Rum Runner back in 2013). Having a naturalist on board also would just bump up the costs IMO. I know that the DCL tour advertised their whale watching excursions as having one present when we cruised Alaska, but their boat was a lot larger (and more crowded).

 

[loricfam]

I'd be happy to provide a review for you once we're back. If you don't see my review by August 1st, please PM and me remind me!

 

[Alison-NY]

I'd be happy to provide a review for you once we're back. If you don't see my review by August 1st, please PM and me remind me!

thanks so much, have a great time

 

[loricfam]

Well, we are back from Alaska! Had a wonderful time! For those who asked, here's my experience with Captain Terry White at Juneau Adventures.

He answered my first email right away and even called me to talk to me personally. I had some follow up questions that I emailed him and again he answered immediately. The day of the excursion he picked us up right where we got off the ship. He was a few minutes late, but not a big deal. We went right to his boat and on the way we talked about Juneau in general. Hi boat was small, but plenty big for my family of 4. We could've fit a few more people comfortably. There was an inside cabin with sofa benches and a table, as well as a very tiny bathroom. Outside you could view the whales at the back of the boat, or off a second story deck on top of the boat. At first we didn't see whales and I was getting nervous, but he has a radio and the other whale boats were all communicating with each other to find the whales. No reason to panic as pretty soon we found where the whales were, and all the other boats arrived too. We were able to get pretty close and even saw a mom and calf. The killer whales (orcas) were in a different area and he offered to take us there, too. At the end he had an eagle surprise for us. He found an eagle, stopped his boat, and threw out some raw fish, and the eagle swooped down right in front of us to grab the food. I think he's the only captain that does that. When we were heading back he saw another but he was driving the boat so he asked my son to throw out the fish, which of course he was happy to do. Again the eagle came down right in front of us. Pretty cool. After that he dropped us off at Mendenhall Glacier like I requested. I asked for advice on how to get back, and he gave us the name of someone to call for a ride. Worked out well. All in all we had a good time and he was about $100-150 less expensive than some of the other known private whale boats that I had called. He quotes the tour being 4 hours from the time he picks you up to the time he drops you off. Ours was a little over that, and he never mentioned anything about it. Since we were outside to see the whales and he was driving the boat we didn't interact with him a ton, but enough to know that he is very friendly. He does not have a deck hand or a naturalist on board, so if you're looking for a narration of the whales and their behaviors, just know you won't get it here. I really have no complaints and think your family will have a great time with him.

 

[Alison-NY]

Thanks SO much for writing with your review of the Whale Watching, we are so excited and counting down the days until we are there. It sounds like you had a really positive experience on the boat which is great to hear. I hope you had a great trip and thanks again so much.