FAQ
Scheduling Questions:
Q. What if I have other tours planned for my day in Juneau?
A. Not a problem! When booking your reservation, please tell us what tour you have scheduled already. If time allows, we can either pick you up from your finished tour or drop you off at their location after our whale watching tour. Knowing your time in Juneau is limited, we are willing to work within your time frame to make the most of your experience.
Q. What if my party is traveling with more than six people?
A. The Alaskan Girl, Island Girl & Salty Girl, are each certified to carry 6 passengers at maximum. If you are traveling with more than 6 passengers half of your party may tour on each boat during your whale watching tour. With the boats touring in tandem this allows for great photographs of each other with Alaskan scenery in the background. Feel free to contact us with any specific questions if you are planning for a large group–we welcome any questions you may have!
Q. What is Square Invoice and why can’t I just call you with my credit card number?
A. Square Invoice is an online payment service that is secure (if you are interested in seeing how it is secured please visit https://squareup.com/security) and reliable. It became available to small businesses in 2019 and is being called the “new” PayPal. Currently, Jayleen is running the office reservations, payments, and captaining full time–this switch to Square Invoice is in an effort to streamline the office details for her. If you would still rather call in a credit card number, you are welcome to do so—however, please allow 24 hours for a response.
Q. Do you ask for a deposit?
A. Yes, we ask for a 20% deposit at the time that you confirm your reservation.
Q. Am I reserved before I pay my deposit
A. No, reservations are on a first come first serve basis, if you fail to pay your deposit in a timely manner you may lose your tour time to other passengers who pay their deposit first. Exceptions are made for international travelers on different time zones that have difficulty calling to US time zones–this exception must be asked for and approved. Until you have received a reservation confirmation email with a confirmation number at the top you have not been fully reserved. Currently, we are receiving reservations a year and a half in advance.
Transportation Questions:
Q. Is transportation included in the price?
A. Yes! If you are arriving on a cruise ship this means we will pick you up at the dock at which your cruise ship arrives, bring you to the harbor for your tour and return you back downtown after the tour. If you traveled to Juneau independent of the cruise ships and are staying in town locally, we can also accommodate picking up and dropping you off wherever you are staying.
A. Where will I meet you for your tour?
Q. Great question! Depending on what cruise ship you are arriving to Juneau on, meeting locations can vary. Below is a link to each individual dock meeting location and photos of exactly where we will be meeting:
https://jayleensalaska.com/meetinglocation/
Q. Does the three hours include transportation time?
A. No, the three hours referenced refers to three hours of time onboard the boat. The land transportation adds another hour to the tour time. For example, if we schedule to meet in downtown Juneau at 0800, you will be dropped off downtown again (after your tour) at 1200.
Tour Questions:
Q. What type of whales can I expect to see?
A. The whales that we have seen on 100% of our tours are the Humpback Whales. There is also a chance of seeing Orca Whales (about 20% of tours see these) and Minke Whales (about 1% of tours see these).
Q. Will we only see whales? Is there other wildlife we can see?
A. Good question! We have the potential to see lots of other wildlife, including Bald Eagles, Steller Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Dalls Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise, and many different types of seabirds.
Q. How long am I actually on the water?
A. You will be on the water for a total of three hours, on our standard tour.
Q. How often do you see whales on tours? Is there a better time of day to see them?
A. We have seen Humpback Whales 100% of the time on all of our tours. With that said we have also taken out tours at all times of the day and the amount of whales seen at a certain time of day varies from day today.
Q. How close can our captain get to the whales?
A. Since Humpback Whales are still endangered, it is a federal law that all vessels must stay 100 yards away. We are also not allowed to cut off their movements to make them move closer to the boat. If these laws are broken then the captain risks thousands of dollars in fines—it is in everyone’s best interest, whales included, if these laws are respected.
Q. Am I allowed to use a drone on my whale-watching tour?
A. Unfortunately, we are unable to use drones on whale-watching tours. There is a permit that is required for any drone use in the Juneau area because the whole area is too close to the Juneau airport and the corresponding flight patterns/paths.
Q. Is there a restroom on the boats?
A. Yes! There is a marine head on both boats—meaning it is very small, but fully functioning.
Q. Are the boats covered?
A. Yes! The boats are fully covered with doors to the front bow and back deck that close for protection from the wind and rain. In contrast on warm days, the windows and back door can be left open to cool the cabin.
Q. Are smoking, alcohol, or drugs allowed on board the boat?
A. No they are not. We are sorry if this proves to be an inconvenience, however, we chose to do this for the general safety of passengers onboard.
Q. What happens if we miss our cruise ship?
A. We are aware of cruise ship port times and will not schedule a tour if the departure is less than an hour from when our tour ends. If for reasons beyond our power, we are not able to get you to your cruise ship on time, we will make sure you make it to your next port whether we have to fly you or take you there by boat ourselves. For the enjoyment of our passengers, we strive to make our tours fun and stress-free. If passengers are too worried that their ship will leave without them then this creates a stressful environment for passengers as well as the captain—so we avoid those feelings as much as possible!
Weather/Cancellation Questions:
Q. What can I expect from Juneau weather?
A. Rain! The area around Juneau is considered a temperate rainforest and chances are high that it will rain.
Q. How often do passengers get sick?
A. We have had three passengers get physically sea sick on our tours over the last 8 years of operating. The waters that surround Juneau are inside passages, which means that we will not be on open waters during the tour at any time. That is not to say that it doesn’t get rough sometimes—if you are prone to seasickness a couple of Dramamine may not be a bad idea. Just in case. ☺
Q. What happens if the water is too rough?
A. If the water gets too rough you will be notified as soon as possible that the tour will be canceled and a 100% refund will be given.
Q. What is your cancellation/refund policy?
A. If you cancel your tour after paying the deposit the following cancellation fees will apply:
-7 days or more before your tour: A cancellation fee of 5% of your total tour cost will apply.
-1 to 7 days before your tour: A cancellation fee of 20% of your total tour cost will apply.
-Within 24 hours of your tour: If you cancel within 24 hours of your tour, or do not show up for your scheduled tour, no refund will be given.
Exceptions to the cancellation policy:
-If your cruise ship or flight does not arrive in Juneau due to cancellation or delay, a full refund will be given (documentation is required).
-If you have to cancel your entire trip due to illness or injury, a full refund will be given (documentation is required).
-If you reschedule your trip for a different date, no cancellation fee will apply.
*reservations booked before May 1st, 2024 – our previous cancelation policy will apply*
Q. What if we honestly just sleep in & miss our tour?
A. If you sleep in or end up at the wrong pick-up location—please contact us as soon as possible. We will do our very best to accommodate the delay and reschedule you if we can. However, if we are not able to reschedule your balance will be forfeited.