Harv and Marv’s Outback Alaska

Had a great time in marginal weather. Captain Alex and Sarah the guide were fun and informative. Saw whales but that was almost secondary to the scenery and efforts of our hosts to make sure we had a good time. Even the shuttle to and from was good! Highly recommend.

We spent the morning on the Rip Tide and we’re so happy we did! It was great fun and I think the captain had as good a time as we did. :) We watched a group of humpback whales for a long time, and we saw sea lions and a bald eagle. Time and money well spent!

Incredible whale watching!
We were told prior to cruising that Harv & Marv’s was the best whale watching company. I was so happy to book with them outside of the cruise line. They certainly did deliver one of the most amazing memories of my life.
You are picked up at the dock and shuttled down to Auke Bay where a small boat awaits. There are only 6 passengers on this boat. I was happy about this so i didn’t have to fight any crowds to see the whales from a big boat. We were able to witness a calf whale playing in the water with a seal. When the whale jumped out of the water, the seal would imitate everything the whale did. It was amazing! We were able to watch that for about 30 minutes straight. Fantastic moment!
Our driver of the boat was Captain Shel. He was absolutely fantastic. So friendly and just as excited to see the whales as we were. He took us out to another place where some seals were out sunny themselves on a rocky beach area. He made our experience simply incredible and it’s something we will never forget.
My only issue was with their shuttle driver and scheduling confusion. Once our whale watching was done, we were to meet up with the driver to go to Mendenhall. There were several lists the drivers were looking through. They didn’t know who was driving who. It wasted much time that could have been spent at the glacier. Also our driver wasn’t the best when it came to pulling up next to a curb. He would scrape the bottom of the shuttle every time. He also almost hit a lady pulling up to the sidewalk. I think maybe a vision test is in order.
Other than the shuttle fiasco, the whale watching was phenomenal!

We visited Juneau as part of an Alaskan cruise. Harv & Marv’s came highly recommended by TripAdvisor, so we decided to give them a go. They far exceeded all our expectations and, since whale watching was what we were most looking forward to, we had a lot of them.
We rode with Captain Alex on the Obi1. He. Was. Awesome! He was so accommodating and went above and beyond to make sure we got the most out of the experience. We were lucky enough to see orcas AND humpbacks and Captain Alex seemed just as excited as we were to see them. He also took the time to visit a place popular with the sea lions, which was also a lot of fun. My 13 year old son was with us, and Capt. Alex went out of his way to include him in everything and make him feel special.
The ship was very comfortable, and we were even offered snacks and drinks. Without a doubt, whale watching with Harv & Marv’s was the highlight of our entire cruise. You won’t regret booking an outing with them — they offer top-​notch service.

We did the 3 hour whale watching tour. Our guide & boat captain, Russel, was friendly & knowledgeable. Having a smaller boat to share with a total of 7 people (including the captain), was great as we were more maneuverable around the whales than some of the BIG boats with 50+ people aboard. Saw 6+ humpback whales over our 3 hour trip. Had gorgeous weather, which always helps. Snacks available on board for free (granola bars, cookies, chips) and soft drinks & water. Office staff was very helpful when we had to reschedule our trip.

This trip far exceeded our expectations! Captain Russell was awesome and knew just the spot to bring us for the show of a life time! 2 humpbacks bubble-​net feeding over and over agin. And at one point the herring almost jumped in the boat and the whales came up right beside us! Definitely plan on doing them again if we ever get to visit Juneau again!

It’s nearly been 2 years since I traveled to Juneau and I miss its beauty and majestic wonder all too often.
I’ve had a handful of whale watching excursions in Monterey Bay, California. I thought they were wonderful… UNTIL ALASKA!!!
There is no place in the world I’d rather go whale watching than in Juneau with Harv and Marv’s Outback company! Captain Steve was amazing. He knew the water ways like the back of his hand. He was personable, compassionate, funny, wise and eager to share parts of his personal life — stories about his family and years worth of adventure spent living in Juneau!
We lucked out with 2 resident pods of orca. They came racing towards our 6 person boat and I regret not putting down my camera to gently touch one of the pod members as they swam alongside us. Talk about an adrenaline rush! My sister and I were shaking with excitement as we stood in the misty rain and splashes from whale flukes.
We were able to view countless humpbacks from a safe distance as well.
My dream summer would be spent in the bays of Juneau on a boat whale watching!
Take me back.

We took a tour in May when we were in Alaska for a cruise. Jaylene was our Captain. She did a great job interacting with all of us and made sure we were able to see wildlife in the area, as well as whales. She was able to tell us about the area since she’s lived there for most of her life. We saw many humpback whales and even had one go under our boat. It was a great morning.

We hired Harv and Marvs Whale watching boat when we were on a cruise to Alaska with our family. We wanted to go Whale watching but through the cruise line it was expensive and there were a lot of us so we took a chance and through Unilocal we found Harv and Marvs. We called the morning we docked and they got us onto a boat that afternoon. That was great but the day got even better! We ended up being the only 7 on the boat. It was so fabulous words cannot describe just how much fun we had. We had Captain Sean and his deckhand Blake. They were so fantastic, knowledgeable, funny, personable AND WE SAW A HUGE POD OF 7 HUMPBACK WHALES RIGHT AWAY FOR 4 HOURS! They were all bubble netting-​swimming to put the fish into a huge «net» then they would all crowd and jump out of the water mouths wide open eating the fish-​IT WAS SO SO SO WONDERFUL WE COULD NOT CONTAIN OUR EXCITEMENT! This lasted for 4 hours and we were about 250ft away. We could see the whales beautiful faces, it was unbelievable. Then they took us on a tour around and back to dock. It was the best day ever. The boat was newer, clean and comfortable. These guys were so great. If you are in Juneau you absolutely have to look up HARV AND MARVS OUTBACK ALASKA and go Whale Watching. Ask for Captain Sean. We love him, and his deck hand Blake who is a student and knew all of the answers to our questions. We will go back again. Dont wait! Hurry right now to HARV AND MARVS OUTBACK ALASKA. You will have the best time.

I was on a Holland America Cruise last week. Heard about Harv and Marv’s on
. I booked online with them 2 months prior to cruise. Cost was approx $ 150. each, about the same as cruise line, but we only had 6 people on our boat. We saw lots of whale. The boat was comfortable. They provided snacks and drinks. Captain Liz made sure we got lots of great pics. She was very knowledgable about whales and Juneau. We were back on time. They dropped us off at the Mendenhall Glacier and we took the public shuttle back to town. You should take the time to walk to the falls. It takes about 20 mins each way to walk there and you might want to see the visitors center there too. It was a great day! Glad I did not book with the cruise ship. If you stay in town there is only touristy shops and too many jewelry stores. Do this tour. You will love it.

I’ve been whale watching in Hawaii and in California but this experience left them completely in the dust (and the Hawaii one was awesome). The boat was small and intimate, I think there were 8 other people with us. We saw so many whales, it was more than you could have ever hoped for. They breached, came right near the boat, they grouped together several times and did this blowing hunting technique where they push the fish up to the top of the water and then all come up with their mouths open to eat them. It was truly incredible. I highly doubt anything will beat this. The staff were awesome too, very helpful and nice to be around. It is a small boat so you do feel the waves — I thought that added to the experience.

We did a private excursion with Harv and Marv, and it was the highlight of our Alaskan cruise! We were met at the dock and quickly ushered to a van that took us to the piers. From there, we met with Captain Shawn and Rhianna who were just fabulous. They were knowledgeable about the whales and clearly passionate about what they do. We were fortunate to be in the first group to spot a large group of whales bubble net feeding, and it was amazing! Shawn and Rhianna were great with our kids, and taught us alot about the marine life in Juneau.
The boat was comfortable, and the weather was beautiful. At the end, we were extremely fortunate to see a mother whale and her calf; it was the perfect end to our excursion. We will definitely use Harv and Marv again if we ever return to Juneau. Totally worth the extra money to do the private tour in my opinion, as we had the captain and the naturalist all to ourselves for the duration.
After the whale watching, we were ushered up the dock to a waiting vehicle. We were driven to Mendenhall Glacier for a few minutes, and then dropped off in town. I cannot say enough about this excursion… it was the experience of a lifetime!

I wish our trip had been better. We have the bad misfortune of coming in on a beautiful sunny day but the wind was high. As such there was swells in the ocean. All the whale watching tour groups had been canceled. To be fair Harv and Marv offered to cancel our trip as well. We asked the young man a ton of questions. Is it safe? What is the chance we are going to see a whale in these conditions? Etc. We are not from the area and do not know anything about whale watching. As a family we decided to go out and give it a go. Heck we aren’t going to see a whale if we don’t try. They wouldn’t take us out if it was going to be that bad right? In hindsight that was a mistake. I wish Harv and Marv had canceled the trip. From the start it was bad. It was extremely rough but thankfully the boat had spring seats so not too bad on the back. We did see one whale breath. No tail and no breaching but we did see it blow mist a few times. That was it. No other wild life. It was just too rough and windy. The captain and the girl on board tried their best. The young lady gave us some facts on whales but honestly we were all trying to hold on and not really listening. Water was coming over the front of the boat to the back of the boat. Thankfully everyone but the young lady employee was inside. That was the moment when I thought what have I put my family through. We got back on shore and one of the owners was there to take us back to down. He let us go to the Glacier for 15 minutes and then took us through town for the parts he could get to. There was a bunch of road construction. He then gave us Tram passes to make up for our bad experience. In hindsight I really do wish they had just canceled the trip and gave us our money back. It happens. They can’t control the weather and I do understand that. Instead I feel like we were mislead on the dock about the conditions and that has left me thinking I was «taken». A $ 450+ trip can’t be made up with $ 95 of Tram passes. It is their business to know what is best as far as conditions and I do not think there should have been a boat out in that weather. Hopefully, one day we will return the area and be able to take up the owners offer to give us another chance at a discount. I doubt it will be any time soon. I am glad they tried to make it up with what they could that day. They do seem to be a good company that made a bad choice on that day.

My family and I went on a whale watching excursion with Harv and Marv on our Alaskan cruise. We booked independently from the cruise line, and I am so thankful we did. The privacy of the tour made the experience that much better.
Our guides were excellent, and even provided us with an education on Alaska wildlife. The boats were clean and the seating was very comfortable. Overall, we were very pleased with our trip. It was one of the highlights of our cruise.

This is the best way to get a view of the sealife in Juneau alaska. Harv & marvs whale trip was excellent & we had a real great time. Our boat was small, with only 6 other people with me & my gf. We were looking to do this on a small boat and thats what we got. Our captain was a husband & wife team who explained & narrated what we were going to see. Any questions and they had the answers. The thing I really liked is there love for whales & it showed.
Another nice thing was being on a small boat, as it could maneuver a lot quicker & faster in the water, than those big gigantic ferries. We saw hump back whales & orcas and a few eagles when we went out. I was really hoping to see some sea lions but we didn’t have enough time as it was getting dark. This is by far the best charter to take for whale watching, you won’t go wrong.

The only missing from our trip was a breaching whale. But I know they can’t order that. :-) We saw plenty of whales, and had a nice small boat with not too many people. We did see another tour where I think they had well over 50 people all crowded onto a boat — not a problem with us. Both my friend and I get severely motion sick, but did not have problems on the boat — there was a moment or two where I got a little worried, but we were ok! The captain/​crew works hard to find you some whales as well as try to position the boat properly so you can try to get some pictures. My shutter speed was just too slow — but I did manage snap a whale tail or two!

This is a fantastic excursion! The small boat size and speed of the boats means lots of time and opportunity to see whales. In Juneau, this is the best company to go with. You will enjoy every minute. Capt. Russell… you did a great job!

You’ll definitely see a lot of wildlife on this trip. We saw multiple whales, sea otters, and eagles. Trip also included a stop at the Mendelhall Glacier on the way back, though I would have preferred a longer stop.
I’m deducting one star for our shuttle driver who decided to pit-​stop at Safeway on the way back for a group of 6. I thought they stopped for a medical emergency /​medical needs, but they just came back with food and snacks. Nice of the driver (and that group) to make the rest of the shuttle wait — without even consulting us!

Can’t review them for actual whale watching trip, but just wanted to say how great this company was. I booked a tour for 12 of us (family reunion) about 10 months in advance. E-​mails are prompt and informative. Even requested certain captain and they would try to accomodate. I get notice from NCLabout a week before our cruise begins (12 days before whale watching tour) to find out due to mechanical repairs, we’d be docked extra day in Seattle and would be skipping the port stop in Juneau. I contacted the company and under this unusual circumstance, they were willing to provide full refund. AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE — I was really impressed.
Although personally it would have been nicer to experience going to Juneau and actually taking the trip with them. I’d definitely go with them in the future but to coordinate the entire family would be quite difficult.

My wife and I had an absolutely phenomenal experience going whale watching with Captain Steve during our stop in Juneau on our recent Alaskan cruise.
I found them on my own and although it’s somewhat of a pricey experience ($ 150 per person), it’s well worth the money. We saw many bald eagles, humpback whales, several sea lions and a pod of orca.
If you’re in Juneau and interested in whale watching, signing up with Harv & Marv is an absolute MUST!
I know this may sound cheesy, but as we were about to head back to the harbor two humpbacks came near the boat and showed their flukes, almost like waving us goodbye! :)