The capital of Alaska, Juneau, is for many reasons a cruising destination hot spot.  While Juneau offers a number of local sights, its unique location, situated close to the world famous Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget falls which provide a point of difference to other neighboring towns, but I quickly learn, it is also an ideal spot to get up close and personal with Alaska’s native wildlife.   

Opting for a Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Experience as my pre-booked tour was cancelled due to bad weather; the end result was definitely meant to be and worked out as a treat for anyone on board the vessel that day.

Seeing the Glacier from afar proved even more beautiful as one could really take in the depth and grandeur of the sparkling blue and white icy land mass.  Adding to the picture perfect setting was Nugget Falls’ misty sprinkling from its cold mountainous base in arms reach.

Part two of the port adventure was having guests transferred on to the Whale Watching portion where we were cautiously advised not to expect to see anything more than perhaps one or two humpback whales, which happened to be prevalent in the area and in season.  It was chalked up to dumb luck that over the course of the three hour cruise we were fortunate to encounter pretty much everything on the list of wildlife one could hope to see while in Alaska.

Humpback whales were met with frolicking dolphins, Steller seal lions, bald eagles, killer whales and even, sightings of a personal favourite, a brown bear.  We were defiantly privileged with our experience, as even the Guide admitted killer whales and brown bears are hardly, if at all, ever spotted on the cruise.

With binoculars provided to every guest, a fully equipped cafe and comfortable seating on an inside deck and wide open areas on the upper decks, the cruise comes highly recommended as it operates in most weather conditions, and despite the wildlife, you’ll be sure to come away with a true feel for Alaska’s natural beauty.

For more information, visit www.disneycruises.com