The boat captain should have knowledge of first, if whales are in the area and second, where they are before taking you out. If there are no whales spotted, part of the ticket fee should be refunded, no one would pay that amount of money for a "boat ride around the bay"
Jessie, the captain, was accommodating. He picked us up at the dock near the Lumberjack show because we rearranged our show time to be able to do the whale watching tour. We were told that they spotted whales the day before so we were pretty excited to see some up close. Unfortunately we rode around in the boat for about 2 hours and saw none. We stopped at a rocky point where there are always seals resting and saw those, but had to use the binoculars to actually "see" them. Then he took us to a place where I guess there are always eagles and we saw one. He stopped the boat and we watched it for a while. Then we returned to a different dock than the one we left from and he had his partner pick us up in their passenger van. He asked if we wanted to add the bear tour and I literally said the words: "what is the chance that we go to see the bears and there are none there, because I don't think I can handle anymore disappointment today." I did not want to pay for another animal tour and not see the animals I'm paying to see. We were assured that a family of bears has been there everyday for the past several weeks and there "for sure" will be bears. I guess I should have been more specific because I was assuming we were going to see brown bears, the driver informed us on the way that they were black bears and you can mostly see them around town eating from garbage cans. We're from Florida, we have common black bears here, I didn't travel to AK to pay to see something I can see a mile from my house. At that point we had already paid Jessie the additional money for the bear tour (He did give us a slight discount on the bear excursion, probably because the Whale excursion was so awful) so we were taken to the "viewing area" which was described as a scenic overlook on the side of a stream with salmon swimming and bears feeding, think about what you picture in your mind. This scenic overlook turned out to be a guard rail at the end of a dirt road that backed up to a fish hatchery that poured water out of industrial waste pipes into a trickle of a stream surrounded by a few shacks that looked like the neighborhood laundromat and beer barn. We saw no salmon and worse yet NO BEARS!! I wish the beer barn was still in business at this point because I could have definitely used a drink. If it didn't cost us close to $1000 it would have almost been comical. We were then dropped off back in town, end of tour. Jessie did not give us any type of tour guide information during the cruise around the bay as some of the previous commenters mentioned, in fact we did not see or hear from him the entire trip until we ended at the dock and he took our payment. He had a friend of his ride along with us and his friend was nice and engaging, but was not a tour guide or expert in any respect. Jessie is a tugboat captain who purchased a boat two years ago and now gives "whale watching" tours and fishing excursions for extra money. This is not a professional tour.
Odpowiedź od gospodarza
Aug 2021
Dear Cathy\Karen Thank you for your feedback. We are glad you were able to take advantage of the complimentary use of binoculars while on board. We also provide complimentary snacks and beverages of which you and your group took advantage of. We do operate on a schedule so that our guests can plan and prearrange their tours. Our hope is that we will be able to have all of our guests up close and personal with our local whales and wildlife, unfortunately they do not keep a schedule being they are wild animals and uncontrollable. That one eagle you saw caught a salmon and landed on the rocks, we were 20 feet away as it began eating it catch. I can guarantee you were out with one of the most decorated Captains in Ketchikan, having been in the maritime industry for over 25 years. We pride ourselves on who we hire and are glad to hear that you enjoyed Steve’s company and found him friendly. Jesse’s responsibility is to operate the vessel and ensure your safety. Steve’s responsibility was to you and our guests and it sounds like he did a good job. I’m sorry the lack of million dollar homes offended you at a Hatchery where they circulate water for the salmon fry that are getting released. You saw the circulating water being released out of the pipes they are not sewage pipes. Again there’s are no guarantees about certain wildlife. We have seen whales on just about every tour, unfortunately your day was an exception. I do see that you must not have noticed the extra hour Jesse spent on the water trying to track down a whale for you at no additional cost and that we offered you the ground tour at half price because we know you were disappointed to not see whales. We would love the opportunity to try again if you should you return to Ketchikan. From our many reviews this summer before and after your tour you can read we do offer a very professional tour. Whales are highly intelligent and some say they can sense negativity which they try to avoid. As do we. Written by Eagle One management.