Juneau, Alaska Port Reviews

Whale watching tour was great. Saw so much wildlife ... sea lions, bears, eagles, whales. Whales didn’t show off, but you can’t tell wild animals what to do. 😎

Because we purchased an expensive camera for this cruise, we were very excited for our Juneau excursion. We booked Gastineau's Photo Safari: it includes a whale watching trip and a nature hike to the Mendenhall. Here's the twist, though: our guide was an expert in both whales and photography. Gastineau puts a cap of 14 people per group on this excursion so you get tons of personal help with whatever camera you bring (and Kristin was even very helpful with folks who only had a cell phone camera). Kristin's lessons are entirely responsible for the excellent photos we were able to take from the White Pass Rail and from the cruise ship in Glacier Bay. We were THRILLED with this tour.

Visited: Jul 16, 2017

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We reserved a rental car on our own before the cruise so we could explore at our own pace, The car was waiting at the dock parking lot. We drove to Eagle Beach to see the Bald Eagles, Make sure to use misquote spray, We also saw some Bears on our way. We drove to Mendenhall Glacier which was amazing, the visitor center has alot to offer.. I highly recommend paying $5 for the tour of the Salmon Hatchery right there near the ship. I think we had a great day planned on our own which allowed us to make our own schedule and we saved a lot of money as well.

dog sled trip was beyond belief. Our musher was the grandson of the person who started the ididorod

Visited: May 05, 2018

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Last Chance Tours - The ticket-seller talked me into adding a Juneau city tour to my Mendenhall Glacier shuttle. The “city tour” part never materialized, though. We just went straight to the glacier, and then straight back. We were also captive audience to the very eccentric bus driver’s tales of his personal experiences. Yikes. Naturally, the ticket-seller was long gone by the time we returned. So, no refund for me. Buyer beware. The glacier is a must-see stop, but don’t use Last Chance to get there.

We took the city bus to the Mendenhall Glacier ($3 each/round trip) for the day. It drops you off about a mile or so from the visitor center so I wouldn’t recommend this option unless you are in good walking condition, but it’s a cheaper option than the charter buses if you can handle the walk and the scenery is gorgeous!! It is free to get into the visitor center and to see the glacier. There is also a trail to the waterfall, but it was blocked off due to flooding when we were there. The visitor center offers a lot of information on the history of the Mendenhall Glacier and Alaska in general. We really enjoyed our time at this port, we only wish it was longer!

This whale watching cruise was such a phenomenal experience. I’ve waited all of my life to see whales and these folks knew right where to go to see some beautiful humpbacks. We saw a mom and her baby and some other solitary humpbacks. It’s definitely worth the time. Charge your phone, you won’t stop taking pics!

Pilots choice glacier tour was AMAZING! One of the best excursions I've been on. We landed on 2 separate glaciers and got to walk around and take pictures.

We rented a car (15 min walk south of port, or $8-10 cab ride) for $120 which was cheaper than 5 shuttle tickets to Mendenhall Glacier. Hiked out to Nugget Falls and back. Had a late lunch at Tracy's Crab Shack. Then drove over to Douglas Island to do a Rainforest Hike (nice and easy, definitely not wheelchair accessible though) and saw some whales from far off. Our whale-watching trip had been canceled due to rough seas so the car was useful for us.

Visited: May 19, 2018

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We enjoyed our whale watching cruise and hike at Mendenhall Glacier. We saw 8 humpback whale "bubble netting", which is a very rare and beautiful sight!

Visited: Jul 29, 2017

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