This excursion was booked directly with the company (not the cruiseline), while on an Alaskan cruise. We were lucky to have an absolutely gorgeous day complete with blue sky and warm temps.
Once on board the boat, Capt. Dan and Naturalist Sam provided an awesome experience full of information and most of all, lots of whale and dall's porpoise sightings. The captains of the various vessels are in contact with each other as to where the whales are. When we arrived at one spot, there were many boats. As we were on our way to another spot, we noticed the whales we were watching were once again visible so we went back and enjoyed watching 2-3 of them frolic for a good 20 minutes. We were the only boat there. The scenery provides a beautiful backdrop for watching the whales.
After disembarking the boat, we were driven to Mendenhall Glacier by Randy who provided us with a few "insider tips". The views of the glacier from the various trails are beautiful. You can't walk to the actual glacier but there are many unobstructed viewing points including the short walk down Photo Point Trail. The Nugget Falls trail takes you right along Mendenhall Lake to the beautiful fall and pretty close to the glacier. It's worth the walk, especially for the photos. The Trail of Time takes a little longer but it offers some spectacular views from higher up.
Be sure not to miss the Boardwalk Trail where you might be lucky enough to see bears. I spent a good 30-40 minutes watching a mother bear foraging for salmon for herself and her 2 cubs. It was a real treat!
Bus driver Dave, was a great tour guide as he drove us back to town giving us pointers on what to see and do for the remainder of our stay.
I specifically booked this tour because it had a flexible shuttle return from the glacier providing me with as much time as I wanted to hike all 5-6 trails and spend time in the Visitor Centre. The shuttles normally run until about 5-6 p.m. and the ship wasn't leaving until 8:30 p.m. so figured I had lots of time. I was extremely disappointed when we were dropped off at about 1:00 and told the last shuttle was at 3:00. Needless to say, I was very rushed and didn't have enough time to hike all the trails or see any of the Visitor Centre.
When I returned to Juneau, the following Sunday (I was on back to back cruises) I went to the offices of Juneau Tours and told them what had happen with the shuttles. To their credit, I was given a complimentary shuttle ticket to return to the glacier. This good will gesture from Tammy and Jin was greatly appreciated. Thank you to all the staff of Juneau Tours who made both my excursions very memorable.