When we booked our Disney cruise to Alaska, we knew that we were going on a Whale Watching excursion no matter what. Seeing whales in their natural habitat was something we all wanted to do. Humpbacks whales are very common in the water near Juneau, but you only see Orcas (Killer Whales) about 20% of the time. AND seeing an Orca has been something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl!
We booked a private Whale Watching Tour with Harv and Marv’s Outback Alaska. They have seen whales on 100% of their tours since 2004 and guarantees that you will see a whale on their tour or they will refund you 50%. We received excellent customer service during our booking process and they happily answered all of our questions.
The morning that we arrived in Juneau, we disembarked the Disney Wonder and easily found the Harv and Marv’s representative. Once everyone who was being picked up for morning tours was accounted for we were led to a small bus for the ride to the marina. It was about a 25 minute ride and the bus driver told us some history about Juneau along the way.
When we arrived at the marina, we met our guide Jayleen. She fitted S with a child’s life vest before we headed down to the boat. Because we were on a private tour, Jayleen asked us what we were most interested in seeing and tailored the tour to our preferences. She gave us the opportunity to continue following the same whale or venturing off to find another as different whales were spotted.
We were fortunate to see Humpback whales several times from our cruise ship, but that was nothing like seeing them at water level and up close. We got to see 4 different humpback whales over the course of the morning. The excitement level raised every time we saw a plume of spray! Jayleen was able to identify each humpback by their tail and told us each of their names.
While the humpbacks were wonderful and the trip would have been totally worth it with just seeing them. When Jayleen got the call that a pod of Orcas had been spotted, I was ecstatic! Um, we were ecstatic!
Orcas in the wild have their dorsal fin straight up in the air and the male’s dorsal fin can get up to six feet tall! They are amazing, beautiful creatures.
As our time on the boat was coming to an end, the Orcas started putting on a show. Laying on their sides on the surface. Then it was almost as if they disappeared. We headed back inside the boat for the trip back to the marina, when 4-5 Orcas breached off the bow of the boat. I was able to catch one additional smaller Orca breach after the others. It was such an amazing sight! The icing on the cake for a wonderful morning whale watching!
Orca on her side and swimming:
Orca Breach:
Besides the whales we also saw Dall’s Porpoises, seals, sea lions, and bald eagles.
Jayleen was an awesome guide! And I think she was just as excited as us when the Orcas breached! We had an unbelievable experience! An unforgettable trip!
When we booked the trip we had asked for the option of being taken to Mendenhall Glacier. We could spend 15-20 minutes at the glacier and then our Harv and Marv’s bus driver would take us back to our cruise ship or we could opt to stay longer at the glacier and take a public bus or taxi back to the cruise ship.
We took a couple photos and then decided to head back to the cruise ship. We would have stayed longer, but no bears had been spotted that day.
After a quick lunch on the ship, we headed into the town of Juneau via a free shuttle. The shuttle drops you off close to the Mt. Roberts tram. We found this cute little Crepe booth – Alaskan Crepe Escape that had the best Cafe Mocha (the crepes smelled delicious, but we were stuffed!). We found most of the stores near the shuttle drop off were jewelry stores or “tourist traps”. By that point it had started to rain, so we decided to head back to the cruise ship.
We had a wonderful time whale watching and I HIGHLY recommend Harv and Marv’s for a phenomenal experience!
What a wonderful experience! I went on a dolphin cruise before but never a whale tour! I sure would love to go on one of those tours. I would love to go to Alaska too! You’re so lucky Paris!
Thank you Louida! The trip far exceeded our expectations. A dolphin cruise sounds like so much fun!
Oh wow! What an experience that will never be forgotten. I would to visit Alaska! So how was the boat ride? Rough, rocky,, sea sick?
The only time the boat was rough was when we went through another boats wake. I do experience car sickness in cars, but I didn’t on the cruise ship or the whale watching boat.
So breathtaking! Alaska is definitely on my life list.
Alaska is so amazing!
Love these shots! Looks like a great trip 🙂
Thank you Madison
How fabulous! Lovely to see them at the water level. Makes their fins look most impressive, coming towards you. Would love to go on a whale spotting tour. Lovely memories in the making. #CountryKids
What an amazing experience! I love your photos and it must have been amazing to see Orca so close up. I would love to visit Alaska one day.
Wow – how wonderful to see these magnificent mammals in their natural environment, and what stunning views too. Thanks for linking up and sharing your photos and great videos with Country Kids.
OMG how utterly fantastic to see them like that! x
Wow, what an exciting experience! Nothing can quite match seeing a whale up close, and I’m sure you’ll treasure these memories for a lifetime. #CountryKIds
Simply beautiful and I am so jealous, just look at that spray from the blow hole just amazing. Gorgeous pictures and stunning scenery and moments to capture. #countrykids
Wow, that sounds amazing! I bet it was incredible. I have seen humpbacks, which are amazing enough but I would LOVE to see Orcas in the wild! I loved them as a little girl too. Sounds like a really wonderful trip xx #countrykids
Thank you Caroline! We were so in awe of all the wildlife we saw on the trip.
It looks like a wonderful place and experience. We went whale watching in New Zealand, and were fairly limited on what we saw that time.
It’s so awesome to see the whales in person! What type of whales were you out looking for?
Looks like a fun trip! I always wanted to see whales and dolphins too! This place is also postcard perfect, so pretty! #countrykids
Just wondering what boat did you take to see the whale excursion? Did you take a private boat or with the bigger group? Thanks!
We took a private excursion with Harv and Marv on their small boat which hold up to 6. We booked the whole boat for the 5 of us and they picked us up at the cruise pier. I would highly recommend Harv and Marv. The entire experience was seamless, the customer service was amazing and the whale watching was out of this world!