Normal
As far as Captain Larry goes I have done his tour in the past and I am booked with him on both directions for our back to back in a couple weeks. Orca Eco Tours, which is who Captain Larry is with, has a schedule of the ships and their times that they get into port so it is pretty easy to coordinate with them. They are also a short walk from the ships when in Juneau. Orca Eco Tours also does other types of tours besides whale watches.You should have an itinerary that tells you the times you are in port and they are usually pretty accurate unless some emergancy has caused the ship to be late to port, which is does happen but not that often.I would suggest seeing you are not sailing for quite a while you may want to wait until this cruise season is over for Alaska or into the 2005 season to see what people say about the current tours being done off the ship. If you are uncomfortable going with independents there is nothing wrong with going on the tours from the ship. After you have cruised than see what your comfort level is for booking off the ship the next time you cruise.The main difference between going with a ships tour and an independent, besides cost, is transportation to and from the tour and making sure you are back on the ship in time. If it is a ships tour and something goes wrong to make the tour late back to the pier they will notify the ship and the ship will wait for you. If you are with an independent you are on your own and may miss the ship if there is a problem.
As far as Captain Larry goes I have done his tour in the past and I am booked with him on both directions for our back to back in a couple weeks. Orca Eco Tours, which is who Captain Larry is with, has a schedule of the ships and their times that they get into port so it is pretty easy to coordinate with them. They are also a short walk from the ships when in Juneau. Orca Eco Tours also does other types of tours besides whale watches.
You should have an itinerary that tells you the times you are in port and they are usually pretty accurate unless some emergancy has caused the ship to be late to port, which is does happen but not that often.
I would suggest seeing you are not sailing for quite a while you may want to wait until this cruise season is over for Alaska or into the 2005 season to see what people say about the current tours being done off the ship. If you are uncomfortable going with independents there is nothing wrong with going on the tours from the ship. After you have cruised than see what your comfort level is for booking off the ship the next time you cruise.
The main difference between going with a ships tour and an independent, besides cost, is transportation to and from the tour and making sure you are back on the ship in time. If it is a ships tour and something goes wrong to make the tour late back to the pier they will notify the ship and the ship will wait for you. If you are with an independent you are on your own and may miss the ship if there is a problem.
