1. Background: I'm certainly not an expert in AK wildlife cruises, but I've been in the Kenai Fjord all day cruise, the Tracy Arm all day cruise, as well as whale watching trips in Juneau x 2, Iceland and the Farallon Islands.
2. I specifically chose this cruise in that the website advertised it as being a cruise, focusing on Orcas. I completely understand that you can't force the wildlife to appear but it seemed that this was not the primary focus (or even conscious focus) of the trip; obviously we saw zero Orcas, we saw several humpbacks, but all were from afar and that's... literally about it. The captain / crew were good, but the actual wildlife viewing trip; you know, the trip you paid for, was an absolute bust. Every other cruise mentioned above was way way better than Major Marine.
Perhaps it was the time of year, time of day, but if this is the case, please don't offer such a cruise. You're having paying customers having a certain set of expectations etc... By the way, the last time I went on the Kenai Fjords tour, we actually saw a pod of Orcas, up close. It's definitely a better trip and use of money to just take a fjords tours where you'll get to see the tide water glaciers and likely see whales on the way there; spending money on this type of "wildlife" tour is a probable waste of money.
Odpowiedź od gospodarza
Jun 2019
Dear Harry,
Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns and are sorry to hear that on the day of your cruise, the orcas were elusive. I can assure you that the goal of our Orca Quest cruise is to seek out and find these specific animals, but as you stated, they are wildlife and we cannot guarantee a sighting. That being said, we will also stop for other wildlife and viewing opportunities as we search for the orcas. The Orca Quest tour only operates from mid-May to mid-June when salmon are running in the Kenai Fjords area. Based on our over 20 years of cruising, this is the time of year that orcas are most regularly seen. This tour has now stopped running for the season and we viewed orca whales on 90% of the daily Orca Quest cruises. Again, we appreciate you taking the time to write your review and do apologize for the lack of whales on the day of your tour. We truly hope were able to enjoy the unique landscape and take some memories home with you. We hope to cruise with you again soon.