We traveled on the Whale Watching Adventure & Gold Creek Salmon Bake excursion from our Celebrity Cruise. I'm going to review this in two portions as they have drastically different ratings:
Whale Watching - 2 Stars
This one is truly hard to rate. The guide and captain we had were FANTASTIC. Very knowledgeable and personable and made the trip much better; however, the boat itself was not optimal. They said it was purpose built for whale watching, although why it would be built WITHOUT a wrap around or front viewing deck is beyond me. The only area outside to view was a small viewing platform at the rear of the boat where maybe 5-6 people in a line could stand against the railing. That meant that every time we were allowed outside, because you had to keep coming inside to sit back down when the boat was in motion (which was also a negative), everyone would rush out and only a handful of people could actually see. Every other whale watching tour I have done in Juneau and in other Alaskan cities have walkaround outside decks so everyone can see. For this reason alone, the main reason of the trip, I cannot recommend taking a tour with Alaska Travel Adventures. Our tour was packed with about 46 people, many of whom could not see and were complaining, which is understandable. You pay $200+ for the tour and then just see other peoples heads. The captain also said he would rotate the vessel so everyone on both sides could see, but he never did that even once on our tour. Thankfully we were able to see some awesome whales up close and get some good shots, but we only did this by standing at the back of the boat the entire ride to ensure we were the first out; which (A) takes away the fun of the tour and comfort and (B) truly isn't fair to everyone who doesn't get to see everything.
Gold Creek Salmon Bake: 5 Stars
The Salmon Bake was perfection! It was delicious, fresh, and had great atmosphere! The food was truly delicious and it was nice that you had no time limit. Because they have busses running back to town or back to the ship you could take your time and enjoy the area or you could eat and head back as soon as you wanted. We really enjoyed the bonfires they had going and the marshmallow options available as well. The creek and waterfall were also a nice touch and would be amazing to see the salmon in! HIGHLY recommend visiting here!
All in all, we were able to enjoy the tour, but I would not do it again and would not recommend this boat at all for anyone whale watching in Juneau. If there were 25 people, it would have been OK, but with 46 it was too crowded and not enjoyable for most people.