Our 2nd Excursion: June 29th sailing with DGrD11 and DNiece14: Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest booked through
DCL
I specifically decided on taking the larger boat since I felt the girls would be more comfortable with plenty of room to move around on a 3 hour boat trip. For us it was a great choice - the boat seating was extremely comfortable and offered easy access between the levels with great viewing from either level on a drizzly day. At first I felt disappointed as they boarded us into 2 large buses and announced that we would do the whale quest first and then move on to Mendenhall (opposite of what was described). My sister had told me she would have chosen Mendenhall first on her trip because they were so wet and cold after the whale watch that they did not enjoy their hike out to Mendenhall as much. But it ended up not being an issue for us, the rain ended as we boarded our boat, so we were not wet or cold at Mendenhall - a little damp maybe
, but it was a foggy, misty day.
Our bus driver drove us through Juneau and pointed out the buildings and gave a good narrative about the area and what we were seeing, the roads, waterways, etc. on our way to Allen Marine. As I saw the large number of fellow DCL cruisers exiting the buses and filling the boat, I second guessed my choice, thinking this boat was going to be crowded. But again, no worries, once we were all on the boat there was plenty of room to move around between levels and find a spot from which to see and photograph the whales. I stayed outside, up on the top deck for most of the cruise - I only had 3 hours in that amazingly beautiful environment, I didn't want to miss one second of it. My girls, however, were very happy to snack on the free donut holes and enjoy hot chocolate and sit comfortably and talk, enjoying the beautiful scenery through the windows. They came out onto the deck whenever the Captain slowed the boat and pointed out the whales. The Captain did a great job pointing out what was coming up - and asked everyone to call out to him if they saw any whales spouting. Don't miss the smoked salmon on crackers that they serve - it was delicious.
We saw eagles, a few seals, and many humpbacks. We saw 2 groups of mothers and calves, one of them traveling with a 3rd escort whale. I was able to get pics of 2 whales' flukes as they dove - they had a large chart of whale fluke pics from known Juneau whales on the lower level on which you could identify what whale you saw. I never knew their tails (flukes) were so individually marked. At the very end of our cruise our Captain announced he wanted to leave an active group of whales to try and get us to something 'very special'. And he did!! A large male Orca!! By the time we got to him, he was rather elusive, but we got a good sighting of his fin pretty close, and then could see him surface at a further distance. Still thrilling to see an Orca!
Then on to Mendenhall Glacier. We were dropped off at 12:25, right at the visitors building and the beginning of the Nugget Falls Trail and told to be back at the bus by 1:30. If you can, definitely walk the trail up to the falls and glacier - it was a beautiful perspective from ground level of the height and expanse of a glacier. And the falls were gorgeous - many little side spots from which to take amazing pics with both the glacier and the falls in them. Families were gladly trading cameras and taking pics of each other. It took us about 15/20 mins to walk out to the falls, stopping for a few pics along the way. We hung there for about 15 mins and got back to the bus with just enough time to use the rest room located right by our pick up point. Loaded up onto the bus and pulled away. The bus driver offered a stop in town (right by the Mt Roberts tram) for anyone who wanted to get off and take the shuttle back to the ship later. My girls were anxious to get back on the ship and meet up with their friends for lunch, so we stayed on the bus and were back on the Wonder a little after 2. After all of our excursions we were greeted onboard by the DCL staff with cookies and hot chocolate
Another amazing adventure in Alaska!!!
FYI: On all 3 of our excursion days, we filled out and placed a room service card on our door before we went to bed. Bfast was always delivered on time - the fruit plates were beautiful and we always ordered hot tea and croissants - it was an easy way to start our early days - eating while we got ready.
