A little bit disappointed...

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AnnW

Guest
On the advice of folks on this (and other cruise boards) I went to the trouble to book a whale-watching trip, independent of the regular Princess cruise excursions...

only to find that, in fact, the trip I booked: 1) is with the same vendor Princess uses; 2) costs only $4 per person less than what Princess is charging; 3) the Princess excursion times are actually better than what I was able to book, leaving more time in Juneau itself than we'll have now.

Next time I'll just book directly through the cruise line.

I'm hoping that perhaps the good news here is that there will be fewer people on our excursion than there sometimes are on the Princess excursions....
 
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PEB

Guest
I'm not sure who you booked through but when I book on my own I use Orca Enterprises and Capt. Larry. He will only take 20 t0 25 people at a time and I know that the people Princess goes with take many more than that.
 
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AnnW

Guest
Well, it was indeed ORCA...and supposedly Captain Larry, that I booked with. Which is what is listed in my Princess book, too.

Oh well. We'll see what happens when I get there. I'm sure I'll have a good time, whichever excursion it really is...
 
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cmitch9999

Guest
Not sure what Princess book you are using..but Orca Enterprises (Capt. Larry) in Juneau only does independent tours not thru the cruiselines... The cruise ship tour company for whale watching is Allen marine for Princess. NCL has a few trips scheduled with Dolphin Tours which do some smaller jet boats in Juneau like Capt. Larry. I have researched this extensively but still have not booked for our Aug cruise..still have a hard time paying $100+ for a 3 hr boat tour.
Chris Mitchell
 
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BarbaraK

Guest
Ok gang I have been in contact with Carol who owns Orca Enterprises. :)
They do not take bookings through the cruise ship.

This is part of her email:
Orca Enterprises and Capt. Larry are not booked with any ship.
Princess uses a very large catamaran and takes approx 180 persons per trip. They added a tour last year that is called Orca Point and it is a boat that takes people over to an island for a salmon bake.
Hope this helps :)

We have been ' whale watching' with them 3 times and we have always had a great trip :)



Post Edited (07-01-03 10:38)
 
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Alaskadreamin

Guest
We just got back from a HAL inside passage cruise. We had booked a whale watching tour with Orca Enterprises and Capt. Larry. It was fantastic and well worth the price. Not only did we see both Orca and humpback whales, but we saw many eagles, some oyster catching birds (?) and some harlequin ducks close up. Capt. Larry really knew where to go and was in touch with other boats to trade information on where whales had been spotted. You also get a good view of Mendenhall glacier from the road on the way to the boat and from the boat near the pier.
 
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April

Guest
Will have to say too that I have also enjoyed Capt Larry and he is an independant and doesnt deal with the cruiselines-- sorry you are disappointed Ann-- but also hope your tour will not be crowed------ thats one of the reason we booked through Capt Larry.
Cheers
April
 
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