Whale watching tours in Juneau cruise port you must consider!

Hi there!

Of course everyone wants to know if you will actually see a whale during a whale watching tour in Juneau.

While you must understand that wildlife is wild and therefore whale watching experiences can vary, Juneau is one of the best cruise ports to see whales during an Alaska cruise.

There is a very good chance that you will see humpback whales during a whale watching tour in Juneau!

Still, it must be emphasized that there is a small chance that you might not see anything… it really is only a small chance that you won’t see any wildlife though!

Your chances to see humpback whales will be the best during peak whale season (which is in the summer), but it’s possible to see them on any whale watching tour you do during your Alaska cruise.

Generally speaking, the best time for whale watching in Alaska is the summer months.

So if your cruise is in June, July, or August, you are going during prime whale watching season!

If you will be going to Juneau in May or September, you still have a chance for an exciting whale watching tour, but you want to manage your expectations. Just know that all the whales might not be in Alaska.

If you’re wondering if whale watching in April or October is worth it, well, you just even more so need to manage your expectations. It’s quite possible that you will see whales, there is just less of a guarantee. Your one whale sighting might be a whale swimming off in the distance.

In April, most humpback whales have not made their way to Alaska, but there may be some who arrive early.

In October, while most humpback whales have left Alaska, there are likely some who still haven’t left yet.

 

I’ve been on 3 whale watching tours in Juneau during an Alaska cruise.

And yes, I have seen humpback whales every single time, in the middle of May, early September, and even late October! (But again, your experience may vary!)

 

There are partner websites included on this blog. I may earn a commission.

 

 

Below are my picks for Juneau whale watching tours to consider! This includes dedicated whale watching tours, along with whale watching combo tours that include another unique Juneau experience!

Combo tours include the whale watching plus another worthy Juneau activity. Dedicated whale watching only tours do tend to spend more time out on the water which means more chances for you to have more exciting whale encounters.

 

 

These are the Juneau whale watching tours you need to know about! Be sure to read all tour descriptions and reviews carefully so you know what to expect and so there will be no surprises on the tour!

All Juneau whale watching tours are in Auke Bay.

 

 

1. Narrated Whale Watching Cruise with Glacier View Stop

Official info: Public whale watch with JLT
Read the reviews.

 

You’ll get a passionate naturalist onboard your whale watching boat so you can learn lots of things about whales in Alaska while you search seek out. (Which is pretty much true of all whale watching tours!)

For viewing purposes, you’ll have the upper deck and lower deck. You will want to get up and move when a whale is spotted!

The “glacier view” stop is at the Brotherhood Bridge.

 

⏳ How long is the tour? 4 hours 5 minutes
🐳 Naturalist onboard who has a passion for whales? YES!
📍 Meeting point for cruise ship passengers: Cruise ship dock. Look for details in your booking email, or they will be sent out to your 30 days before your tour.

 

 

📆 Select your date: Check availability

 

 

Here is what whale watcher Bobbie had to say about the tour in September:

Saw tons of whales.

It was the highlight of our trip.

Even though the weather was rainy and chilly, captain Mike and naturalist Jessica were awesome.

Would totally recommend and would go again in a heartbeat.

 

Here is what whale watcher Carrie said about the tour she did in September:

Captain Charles and Naturalist Annie were the perfect hosts.

Very knowledgeable.

Whales everywhere.

You could tell that Charles and Annie loved their jobs!

 

Here is what whale watcher Colleen said about the tour she did in August:

This is a must book excursion in Juneau!!

A smaller boat made it easy for our crew to maneuver us as close as possible to a group of humpback whales.

We were able to watch them as they were bubble-net feeding and then as they were breaching.

Unbelievable!!

Better prices than offered by the cruise lines.

Easily got us to and from the cruise ship within the time allotted and even stopped at Brotherhood Bridge so we could see and take pictures of the Mendenhall Glacier.

The crew is extremely knowledgeable and certainly made sure we got our money’s worth.

Highly recommend!!

 

⭐ Read the reviews.

⭐ Official info + price comparison: Public Whale Watch with JLT

 

 

2. Juneau Wildlife Whale Watching & Mendenhall Glacier

Read the reviews.

 

Two of the absolute most popular things to do in Juneau are whale watching and the Mendenhall Glacier!

And you can do a convenient tour that combines them both and maximize your time in Juneau.

 

⏳ How long is the tour? 4.5 hours
🐳 Naturalist onboard who has a passion for whales? YES!
📍 Meeting point for cruise ship passengers: Under the tent on the wooden pier on the water-side of the Mt. Robert’s Tramway Building which is pretty much right at the cruise port (map)

 

 

📆 Select your date: Check availability

 

 

🤓 Be informed: Once you are at the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center, you’ll be given free time to do as you wish.

When doing a whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier combo tour, you’ll want to specifically note how much time you are given at Mendenhall Glacier. The time listed for this tour is 45 minutes. There have been some people who have said they’ve made it to Nugget Falls, but more recent reviews report they did not feel they had enough time to go. So if it’s important to you to see the waterfalls, look for how much time you are given. If you have all day in Juneau, you can do a whale watching only tour in the morning, and then go to Mendenhall Glacier in the afternoon! See more about how to get to Mendenhall Glacier.

If you are okay with skipping the waterfalls, then you will have plenty of time to go to the Mendenhall Glacier lookout at Photo Point and learn things at the visitor center.

The other glacier lookout view will be from the visitor center so you do want to go there.

 

Here is what whale watcher Linda said in September:

Lots and lots of whale sightings!

A must do!!!

Of all the excursions I went on this was the absolute best.

The tour guides were informative, funny, but most importantly dedicated to ensuring you saw multiple whales and saw their tails go up!

They were interactive with everyone on the tour working together to see whales!

The time at Mendenhall Glacier was perfect!

We got enough time to hike to the falls, take pictures of the glaciers and other scenic shots and saw the salmon swimming upstream!

Highly recommend, worth every penny!

 

⭐ Read more reviews.

 

 

🤔 Alternative suggestion to do both the whale watching tour and the Mendenhall Glacier: If you have a 12-hour day in Juneau, consider doing a whale watching only tour in the morning, going back to the cruise ship for lunch, and then doing the Mendenhall Glacier canoe tour (reviews) or Mendenhall Glacier ice adventure (reviews) in the afternoon.

You will get the very best of the 2 most popular things to do in Juneau!

I did the ice adventure tour which is a canoe tour with shore landing to see the glacier, and it was AWESOME!

You will get a much closer view of the Mendenhall Glacier than most people will, because most people will only see it from the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center, which is a glacier view across the lake. See more about the Mendenhall Glacier.

 

 

3. Sentinel Island Juneau Lighthouse and Whale Watching Tour

Official info: Juneau lighthouse tour

Read the reviews.

 

If you are a lighthouse enthusiast, then this is the best lighthouse tour to do during your Alaska cruise!

And with it, you can do the must-do experience in Juneau of whale watching!

You’ll take a boat that will go the same path as all the other whale watching boats, so you won’t be missing out on chances to see whales.

But your destination is a little further, to the lighthouse on Sentinel Island!

You will get to walk around on a small Alaskan island and into the lighthouse.

You can also walk the short trail off to the side to go see the shoreline on the other side of the island.

Ask your tour guide if there are blueberries that you can pick and eat!

 

 

📆 Select your date: Check availability

 

 

⏳ How long is the tour? 4.5 hours
🐳 Naturalist onboard who has a passion for whales? YES!
📍 Meeting point for cruise ship passengers: Cruise ship dock. Look for details in your booking email.

 

Here is what whale watcher said on tripadvisor in August:

If you are looking for a whale-watching tour with an extra special stop along the way, this is it!

You get plenty of time for whale-watching and the lighthouse is truly one of a kind.

The crew is fun, educational, and caring.

The boat is very clean and comfortable.

My friends and I truly had a wonderful time.

 

⭐ Read more reviews.

⭐ Official info + price comparison: Juneau lighthouse tour

 

You can also do a lighthouse tour in Ketchikan, but the one in Ketchikan is just a sail-by of the lighthouse, you won’t actually get to walk inside the lighthouse, or even on land for that matter. You also have a chance to see whales on that tour (I did!) but the Juneau lighthouse tour is definitely overall better both for reasons of the lighthouse and the whales! (I did both lighthouse tours in Juneau and Ketchikan.)

 

 

4. Paddle with Whales Kayak Adventure

Official info: Paddle with Whale Kayak Adventure
Read the reviews.

 

Kayaking with humpback whales in Alaska?!

If you want a truly unique way of seeing whales with a bit of adventure, then kayaking to see whales is the tour that you must consider!

Seeing whales from your kayak will be an epic Alaska experience!

 

⏳ How long is the tour? 6 hours
🐳 Tour guide who has a passion for whales? YES!
💪 How fit do you need to be? You should be able to paddle for 2 hours. You must know how to swim.
📍 Meeting point for cruise ship passengers: Near the cruise ship docks between Mt. Roberts Tramway and the Taku Smokeries building. See your booking email for details

 

 

📆 Select your date: Check availability

 

 

Here is what a whale watcher Linda said about the tour in May:

We had an extremely good time on our tour.

We spent a couple of hours looking for and viewing many humpback whales.

They took us to a small island where we launched the kayaks.

We were very fortunate to have a mother and baby humpback whale come up very close to us while we were kayaking. We then landed on a small beach, boarded the boat for the return trip.

 

⭐ Read more reviews.

⭐ Official info + price comparison: Paddle with Whale Kayak Adventure

 

 

5. Whale watching with beach landing (private tour)

Official info: Whale watching with beach landing
Read the reviews.

 

Not only will you get whale watching, but you’ll get to experience a small piece of Alaskan wilderness!

Step off your small boat and onto the shore of an island for what will feel like a bit of remote Alaska!

 

⏳ How long is the tour? 4 hours
🐳 Naturalist onboard who has a passion for whales? YES!
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Maximum group size: Only people in your group, up to 10 people
📍 Meeting point for cruise ship passengers: Cruise ship dock. Look for details in your booking email.

 

 

📆 Select your date: Check availability

 

 

Here is what a whale watcher said about the tour in the summer:

We had the most amazing experience!

We saw so many whales and were lucky enough to witness feeding and one breach.

This was a day we will FOREVER remember!!!

 

⭐ Read more reviews.

⭐ Official info: Whale watching with beach landing

 

 

6. Luxury whale watching yacht (private tour)

Official info: Private luxury whale watching yacht
Read the reviews.

 

For the most epic and memorable whale watching tour in Juneau, you will want to consider a luxury whale watching tour on what will feel like your own private yacht!

They say that they are the only whale watching YACHT in Juneau!

 

⏳ How long is the tour? 4 hours
🐳 Naturalist onboard who has a passion for whales? YES!
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Maximum group size: Only people in your group, up to 8 people
📍 Meeting point for cruise ship passengers: Cruise ship dock. Look for details in your booking email.

 

 

📆 Select your date: Check availability

 

 

Here is what whale watcher Keith said about the tour in July:

Highlight of our trip!

A great experience my family will never forget.

Our guide Megan, Boat operator Sergio, and our shuttle driver Shannon were all very friendly and knowledgeable.

We loved being the only ones on the boat for a personal experiences.

Most important we saw some beautiful whales and made some great memories.

Would do it again.

 

Here is what whale watcher Shelly had to say about the tour in August:

My family booked Luxury Whale Watching Tours for the day we were scheduled to port in Juneau during our Alaskan Cruise.

We could not have chosen a more amazing company and crew!

It was far more luxurious and enjoyable than we imagined.

They gave suggestions for a dinner in town prior to the excursion and arranged to pick us up from the restaurant giving us more time to enjoy downtown Juneau.

Everyone that was a part of our experience was so kind and knowledgeable answering all our questions and simply filling our time with great conversation.

On the yacht we saw at least five humpback whales breaching and were even fortunate enough to see them bubble net feed.

My family didn’t want the excursion to end and spent the rest of our cruise recalling what an amazing experience it was.

If you’re considering booking this company I highly recommend them.

Our trip would not have been the same if we’d booked through a commercial whale watching tour group.

My family has all agreed that no whale watching experience will ever top what we were fortunate enough to experience.

 

⭐ Read more reviews.

⭐ Official info + price comparison: Private luxury whale watching yacht

 

 

Where do you meet for your Juneau whale watching tour if you’re arriving by cruise ship?

All Juneau whale watching tour companies are very experienced with serving cruise ship passengers, and as such, have a system to make it as easy as possible to meet you!

Tour companies will meet you at the Juneau cruise ship docks in downtown Juneau!

Many tour companies also use the Goldbelt Tram as a meeting spot (under where the tram passes), and this is also basically right in front of the cruise ships. You can’t miss it.

So if you are on Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, or Celebrity, among others, then your meeting point will be a 1 to 10 minute walk as soon as you walk off the cruise ship. Yes, it might be as little as a 1 minute walk from the moment you step off the cruise ship, depending on where your cruise ship is docked and where your meeting spot is!

If you are on a Norwegian cruise ship (NCL), you may be docked at the AJ dock. This is the dock that’s the furthest away from the rest of the cruise ships, and this is about a mile away from the tram. So it is only if you are docked here that you will have a 20 minute walk… or there will be a shuttle so you can minimize your walk. You will want to allow for extra time for this, including wait time for a shuttle. Tour companies may not offer a pick-up at the AJ dock.

You will receive specific meeting instructions when you book, so be sure to read that carefully. Whether your meeting point instructions are for any of the berths, you will walk no more than 10 minutes. Once at the meeting area, you will look for the sign of the tour you are taking. Have access to the contact phone number included in your booking email in case you have trouble locating your tour guide.

If you just really like to know things ahead of time, you can know which berth your cruise ship will dock at by looking at the 2026 Juneau port schedule, although this is subject to change.

Once you figure that out, I have a Juneau cruise port map of where the cruise ship dock.

I have booked a couple of Juneau tours not through the cruise line, and it was easy to meet the tour guide. Just follow the instructions you’re given! Note carefully of the meeting time. Some might be 15 minutes before the official tour start time.

 

What are the chances that you will see a humpback whale during your whale watching tour?

Generally speaking, whale watching season in Alaska is in the summer months. That said, it is possible for you to have an exciting whale sighting on any whale watching tour in Juneau during your Alaska cruise.

One whale watching tour guide said that they saw at least one whale every single day that they did their tour in 2023, which was from mid-April to the end of October! (My cruise ship was the last cruise ship of the season in Juneau, which means I was on the last whale watching tour of the season for this particular tour company! So at that time, he was able to say they saw a tour every day in the 2023 Alaska cruise season that they did whale watching tours!)

My best whale watching experience was in early September. At one point, there were so many whales around that you didn’t know which direction to look!

If your Alaska cruise is late in the season, there may not be as many whales around, as they have started making their way to Hawaii, California, or Mexico! There will still be some whales around, but since they are less in numbers, your chances to see many whales may be less.

Likewise, if your Alaska cruise is early in the season, some whales may have started to arrive, but many more are still making their way from Hawaii, California, or Mexico!

 

What will you see the humpback whales doing?

The most common way to see a humpback whale is seeing it spouting, spraying water up into the air through its blowhole.

You may also see a whale swimming along, which is another common way to see whales.

Seeing a whale tail (aka fluke) is also not unusual, which you can see when the whale is about to do a deep dive. When you see the whale do a deep dive, it usually won’t come back up for another 3-6 minutes. So if you see a whale’s tail, that’s how long you may have to wait until you see it again!

Consider yourself lucky if you see other whale behaviors like lunge feeding (whale with its mouth open), bubble net feeding (a bunch of whales gathering around together with their mouths open, as they work together to catch fish!), and what everyone wants to see… a whale breaching aka jumping up out of the water!

 

Can you see whales from a cruise ship?

You might see humpback whales from a cruise ship. And if you do, just like most wildlife you can see from a cruise ship, you’ll likely need binoculars to get any good view of them.

There is a BIG difference in seeing whales from a cruise ship compared to seeing whales from a dedicated whale watching tour!

I think that only people who have never been on a whale watching tour will tell you that you don’t need a whale watching tour to see whales during an Alaska cruise.

Having been on 6 Alaska cruises, I certainly don’t think it’s a guarantee to see whales from a cruise ship… although it is possible and quite exciting when it does happen!

But even if you do see a whale from a cruise ship, being on a small whale watching boat can make it feel like you’re a lot closer, and therefore it’s a much more memorable experience!

It will feel like you get much closer to the whales when you are on a whale watching tour, and you will likely see whales without feeling like you need binoculars.

 

What to wear on your whale watching tour in Juneau

Dress for the cold and wind! It’s better to be overprepared than underprepared!

For most of the tour, you will be able to sit comfortably indoors in a heated area.

But when the boat stops, it means you’ll want to go outside so you can get a better sighting of the whales!

It can be windy out on the water, so it’s better to be prepared to cover your ears and hands.

But because you’ll also want to be taking pictures, fingerless gloves can be perfect! (This is more of a concern if your Alaska cruise is during a colder weather month.)

 

Is there a bathroom on the whale watching boat?

There is also a toilet on the boat… and it is minimalist boat toilet!

There is a bathroom at the harbor when you arrive by shuttle to Auke Bay where whale watching tours start, so that will be the best place to go to the bathroom before you get on the boat.

 

Happy whale watching in Juneau!