Juneau Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier
 

We have a full day in Juneau and would like to book a combination Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour. We prefer not to book directly through Princess, however, have not found this combination through a tour not affiliated with the cruise line. Does anyone have any suggestions. We have heard that Capt. Larry's Orca Whale watching tour is exceptional.
Thank you for any info you can provide. We leave in 3 weeks.

Harv & Marv Whale Watching tries to include a trip to Mendenhall Glacier (not a tour, just a stop so you can walk around for a while). I would guess at this late date you would not be able to get a spot with them, but it is definitely worth a try. Their trip was honestly a highlight of our Alaska Cruise. The whales on that excursion and the glaciers calving at Glacier Bay are both things I will NEVER forget!

If you decide to do the whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier separately, you can catch a $15 rt shuttle from the ship's port and go on your own to the glacier's visitors center and access hiking trails from there.

After you disembark in Juneau, there will be a dozen vendors in kiosks near the ship willing to sell you this package. The whalewatch is about $100/pp and the glacier as a $6 or so add-on

We didnt prebook with a namebrand, and the whales didnt seem to mind. It was great.

We did whale watching with Capt. Larry and had the option of being dropped off at the glacier on the return to town and then catching the shuttle back to the ship. As the ship sailed at 10 p.m., there was plenty of time for both. Why not call whichever group you decide upon and inquire about that possibility?

We used Harv and Marv, and it was fantastic!! We had a pod of orcas swim up within 15 feet of our boat. They have small 6 person boats which can maneuver more easily than larger boats like Capt. Larry's. Also, there are some poor reviews about Capt. Larry on tripadvisor. Our captain was very knowledgeable. On our way back to Juneau, we stopped at Mendenhall.

For clarification you want a combo trip, not two seperate. I highly recommend Orca Enterprises. You need to arrange a Mendenhall pickup/drop off at the time of your reservation. The shuttle bus for the other direction is $7.

Not sure HOW the above poster knows all about Orca Enterprises boats?? But they also fail to mention that Harv and Marv do NOT have marine mammel friendly boats and use props. Which can be a big negative to some. Orca Enterprises has faster boats than Harv and Marv which can mean longer wildlife viewing.

All I know about Orca Enterprises is what I have read on tripadvisor.com, and there are quite a few unfavorable posts. Not sure what BudgetQueen is talking about regarding props or boats that are not marine mammal friendly boats. We could not have had a better experience with Harv and Marv.

BOOKMARKING

We did a cruise the middle of July with Harv and Marv and were disappointed.

They were very very nice but the whales were active and the Harv and Marv boat driver did not want to get up close. The larger boats got much closer.

The top deck of the larger boats saw the bubbling and everything.