Juneau Whale Watching with Capt. Greg of Weatherpermitting

bonvoyaged · #1 (**permalink**) April 14th, 2009, 10:48 PM

Anyone toured with him? Like the looks of his 5 pass. boat and it is less than Harv and Marv for same amount of time. Anxious to hear and thank you!

Paul Motter · #2 (**permalink**) April 25th, 2009, 01:54 PM

I haven't done that - but Dolphin Tours has whale watching tours you can book in Juneau just walking off the ship. We went and saw whales breaching.

A small tour would probably be better, smaller boats are more facile and can find and follow whales feeding - which is the most interesting thing to see. A small fast boat will get you to whales faster and get you closer.

I would venture saying most whale tours are good - they keep track of where the whales are and will get you there, but you get what you pay for.

Karen16 · #3 (**permalink**) April 30th, 2009, 10:13 AM

You might want to ask how long they have been in the whale watching business. Over the last few years, fishing charters, have crossed over to whale watching.

There can be a LOT said for the long time established whale watch vendors, who have the knowledge and experience of whale watching.

Having a naturalist on board can also greatly enhance your trip.

TIME is important- longer, means more whale viewing opportunities.

Out of Juneau, it's 100% sightings of humpbacks.

CanCanCase · #4 (**permalink**) May 4th, 2009, 01:15 AM

Weather Permitting has never been licensed as a fishing charter. They're a totally new business this year, and are a complete unknown.

If I were to book with them, I would ask a bunch of questions first...
- how long has the operator been in Juneau?
- boating experience?
- class of USCG license?
- is the boat 5-star safety inspected by the USCG?
- ever operated on only one engine? (this is illegal, but a fairly common practice for some boats!)
- amount of experience boating near the humpbacks? This is one of the boats that regularly cut off other tours and cut in front of folks taking photos from 100 yards away.

If you do book with them, be sure to post a review with lots of pictures!

Happy Alaska Travels!
-Case

bonvoyaged · #5 (**permalink**) August 9th, 2009, 10:02 PM

I am going to answer my own post since I see so many have viewed my question. We just got back from 2 1/2 weeks in Alaska and we did the whale watching with Harv and Marv. Captain Steve was our guide and it was one of the most wonderful excursions you could ever imagine. He was professional, caring, knowledgeable and we saw orcas (unusual), bubble netting (also unusual) a breach and a chin slap. He drove us to the Mendenhall Glacier after our whale watching and we saw a bear and 2 cubs crossing the street. Steve was fantastic...and a dedicated Christian. He wanted us to have the best trip and we sure did!