beachlover19762018
Jul 2019
We really wanted a combo tour to experience both things synonymous with Juneau. Whale portion was great; saw LOTS of whales (pretty close to the boat, too!) and the guides on the boat were awesome (very fun and knowledgeable) We also saw a TON of bald eagles where the boats were docked. Mendenhall portion fell flat. Bus driver dropped us off at glacier location at 7pm, and told us we had to be back at 7:20?!! We insisted on getting number to call the manager because according to time duration listed, it should have gone till 8:30. She called back my husband, and tried to blame it on our ship getting into port a little late?!! Ridiculous since the excursion start was 3:30pm (port arrival 2:30-ish) and everyone was on time. She “arranged” for another bus to pick us up at 8pm. “Arranged”, huh? The bus driver, Ross, told us he had already been there, and called her earlier to ask her if she wanted him to just stick around and make sure nobody was left from previous bus. We had more time for pics at photo points and visitor center, but STILL not enough time to hike to Nugget Falls since it’s 45 min round trip, according to rangers. Not enough time to hike ANY of the trails! This was frustrating AND disappointing. Our 8 pm pickup driver, Ross, was great (although we could have explored a little longer because even AFTER getting on at 8pm promptly, he waited around another 10 minutes or so!). He gave us great fun facts, took us to see the Taku sculpture with pics on the way back, AND dropped us off directly at the ship. It was only us on this bus on the way back. We should not have had to call ANYONE, and blaming the ship?!!! That’s a cop out.