We bought tickets the night before since we weren't sure of dates and that went fine since we were before "official" tour season. They have free parking with a complimentary shuttle to the office, though on a nice day it would be a pleasant walk through shops with one big road crossing. The office staff were quite pleasant.
The weather was drizzly-rain and the waves were quite high. Going out was alright, but the weather turned while we were out and grew quite rough coming back. The captain appeared to alter our course to try and help minimize the open water time. Many people became seasick and the crew handled taking care of them and getting them resettled amazingly. I found if I stood leaning against my seat, I was fine (sitting, I had started to feel nauseous). This led to the best boat roller coaster up/down ride. It was exhilarating!
I crossed many species off my animal bingo list. Despite fighting the waves, I think the captain did a wonderful job balancing the desire of people to see the wildlife with the increasing number of the seasick. We saw lots of bird life including tufted puffins, an orca pod, several humpbacks (one breached for us!), sea lions, and seals. Oh, and there was a glacier and the captain pointed out various interesting historical and natural history points along the way.