Disappointing and Overpriced Halibut Charter Experience Our…read moreexperience was poor to average. We are a family of four with two girls, ages 11 and 14, and this charter was not a good fit for us this past August, 2025. We were surprised to learn that guides were not allowed to help reel in the fish until they could actually see it at the water line. When fishing for halibut, the line is dropped over 300 feet with a two-pound weight to reach the bottom. Between the weight, the depth, and the rocky waves, it was nearly impossible for our daughters--and admittedly myself--to reel in a fish without assistance. For the price we paid, and after several conversations with the owner before booking, we were disappointed this was never explained upfront. It would have been helpful to know this charter was not ideal for families with kids or teens. We were also frustrated by the lack of basic amenities. The toilet on board was broken, leaving only a bucket with no toilet paper as the option. For almost $2,000, this felt unacceptable. No bottled water or beverages were provided, and the only snack was a single granola bar for a five-hour trip. For a premium charter, this fell far short of expectations. Another disappointment was with the fish processing. We paid the owner in advance for our three fish to be filleted and shipped home, only to be asked again for our credit card later to cover separate shipping charges. This was never made clear and felt misleading. Lastly, we did not catch our limit, and both the guide and captain repeatedly mentioned that a large fishing competition had just taken place in the area over the previous three days. Their exact words were: "It's not good fishing today, it's been way overfished the last few days and it will take about two weeks to get the halibut back to this area." It left us questioning why guests were still being booked at full price when conditions were known to be poor. In the end, we spent a lot of money for what turned out to be an average experience, with limited access to fish and very little in the way of customer service.

Great customer service - Adam and Andrew are true professionals that will guide you in the best…read morepossible direction for fishing and whale watching. Adam is responsive, trustworthy and despite it not being the best time for fishing we came away with a great experience and memories to last a lifetime.

So I booked this trip through Fishbooker.com and went pretty seamlessly easy. My family and I have…read morebeen fishing with charter companies for years and know the game. The Captain Mike was friendly and the young deck hand Talon was very helpful and did his job well. We paid extra to go to the Icey Straights where the big fish were supposed to be and only raised 1 fish of decent size. My family likes to put fish in the freezer for the year. I understand fishing is fishing but I expressed my intent to take fish home and not just here to vacay fish and seemed to be put on a chicken ranch. So we tossed probably 4 or 5 small halibut back due to small size and the Captain says thats it we are done halibut fishing and going Salmon fishing. I didn't like being rushed off the Halibut fishing but ok let's go get some Salmon. This was a mess the rods and trolling gear wasn't set up right. Our trolling speeds were not at the right pace and we were using gear that was supposed to be rigged with bait but wasn't. We only landed one Salmon but it was to small. Now frankly the Captain was a nice guy but I got the impression that he didn't really give two shits about putting us on quality fish and was only interested in our money. So we get back to the dock and the deck hand is told to only gut and dehead our fish because we were going to take it to the processor for packing and freezing stating they like it better this way. Ok sure but whatever lets get it there. We get to the processor snd they are closed! They closed at 5 and we weren't told that they closed at 5 we were under the assumption due to info on the processors website that they closed at 7! I feel like that is something the Captain of the boat could have mentioned or at least should have known. So if you plan to go out with these guys do not spend the extra money going to the Icey Straights and don't expect the Captain to care about putting you on quality fish. I would suggest finding another boat from a local guy who wants to put you on quality fishing.

Took a charter with Hitime in 2010 and the trip was very professional and the fishing was great…read more Took a second charter in 2012 and the trip was for the fish was great but the booking part not so good. We were supposed to go out with Captain Toni but when we arrived to fish, however late in the morning we never saw her or her boat in the dock. We never got a call from her and so we called her on arrival only to find she (Toni) the Captain, had sent her boat out fishing with Nani her helper and other Captain, Ben Olson. Long story short, we were left wondering and waiting for Ben, but he did a great job in salvaging what was about to be a terrible day. For the fishing i give Ben props and Nani did a great job, but the actual booking, timing and arrangement made by Toni was not what we were told. One thing on the phone, another when we got there. She assured me she would take us out on our charter upon booking, then when we arrived (she) was not taking us out. She told me we forgot to fill out a reservation form after taking a $700.00 deposit from us in May 2012 for a charter agreement in July 2012. Call her before you fish with her, even if you gave her a deposit..and don't forget your reservation form as well or you could end up being told you forgot it even if you gave her a 50% deposit....so much for guarantees of charters with deposits!!

We booked Liquid Alaska Tours for our canoe experience as there were very little excursions…read moreavailable since we booked so last minute. We booked through Tripadvisor and the cost for the canoe for each person was about $230 each (pricey, I know). We were pretty bummed when we found out that our tour didn't include getting off the canoe to get up close to the glacier, especially since the price was quite steep. The photos on Tripadvisor and Viator show that the people do in fact get off the boat, but apparently it was incorrect (false advertisement imo). What I will say was the saving grace was the fact the scenery of this canoe ride was epic. There's a lot that can't be seen unless you take a helicopter, seaplane, kayak, or canoe up close to the Mendenhall Glacier. Our tour guide, Dawson was also great. He was full of dad jokes throughout the whole canoe ride. P.S. Don't think you're gonna get off this easy! The canoe ride was an exercise to say the least! My arms were sore the next day!

Matt was incredible. We only had 5 people on our canoe and it was very relaxing and fun…read more Matt's very knowledgeable on everything and is easy to chat with. I wish we had spent a little more time at the glacier and less at the waterfall. Perhaps we had to rush back since we only had 5 people on the canoe so it took us longer than average to canoe out there and back (1 kid, 4 adults). Took about 30 minutes each way and spent probably around 4-5 minutes at the glacier probably 2-3 minute...spent most of the time canoeing. We took breaks at places where there wasn't much of a scene. Romeo the wolf was a great story that was shared and wish that was told to us prior the end of the canoe trip so we could've really taken it in more!

A really long shuttle line had us stressing when we missed our excursion start time, but this group…read morewas extremely accommodating and immediately got us on a different tour starting 10 minutes later. Everyone we interacted with from this group was so kind and informative. And at the end they took us straight to our cruise ship. Definitely worth supporting this small family business! Shout out to Sam, Brendan, Aurora, and cJ!

This is a family owned company and they treat you like family from the minute you get on board. Our…read morecaptain Austin was so personable and knowledgeable and an excellent boat handler. Our naturalist was also very friendly and knowledgeable. The boat is well maintained and the staff is just wonderfully kind. Saw six whales and really enjoyed the scenery. Highly recommend.We

Obtained services via ship…read more Superb hike around Mendenhall Glacier. Laura led superb event on the East Glacier Trail. Kept a solid pace- not too slow or fast. Left ample time to view the glacier from some other vantage points. Made water and light snacks available to the group.

Signed up for a guided whale watching tour and nature walk to Mendenhall Glacier thru our cruise…read moreship. We were excited for the excursion but had no clue what was in store for us. We started the day with our guide- Chloe at the port, then was driven by Lucas to a nearby river where we had views of salmon swimming upstream on a salmon run back to where the salmon were to lay their eggs where they too were born then pass on. We stopped for a few minutes since we had extra time until we were to drive to where our boat was. We arrived at Statter Harbor where public bathrooms were available before we embarked on our adventure on "The Observer" with captain Leslie. There was a boat toilet on board but didn't want to miss any wildlife- so be sure to use the public bathrooms before you board your whale watching cruise! While maneuvering to see Humpback whales we were educated about humpbacks- structure, behaviors, etc.... very interesting tidbits from Chloe. It didn't take long before we spotted spouts of breath erupted from the waters. We were in awe. Next we saw bubble net feeding which is not something seen by most humpbacks- they tend to be solitary creatures so seeing a "pack" of ~12 humpbacks in the water surrounding fish with their bubbles- then stunning them in order to capture and eat them...was amazing. Little did we know that was only the prelude to the actual show! Not long after the first encounter with bubble net feeding did we see more spouts then another bubble net feeding... THEN they started making their way calmly TOWARDS O U R B O A T !!!! Stunned and amazed I just kept repeating "oh my god!!" Eventually they approached SO closely that THREE of the humpbacks dove UNDER OUR BOAT!!! Tears rolled off my face from the sheer delight of being graced by such sentient, graceful beings... it was the most amazing wildlife encounter I've ever had. If we had been positioned inside the boat with the open windows we would have had their blow holes tossing air/snot right at us! One of the passengers said she was hit by these breaths of joy. Experiencing this changes you- you feel more connected to your surroundings and at peace and are more steadfast in helping these creatures live their lives peacefully. It only further emboldened me to help protect wildlife and its habitat. We only had 12 passengers along with Chloe and Leslie on the boat so it was an intimate experience and never felt like we couldn't get a good look at the action. We left the waters after seeing some seals atop of buoy... feeling at peace and amazed. Next we got back on the bus and headed to hike at Mendenhall glacier where Chloe talked about the forest and the receding glacier with historical information. We saw Mendenhall glacier in July 2003- and 22 years later there's so much LESS to see. It's easy to see the impact of warmer climates and Earth's rising temperatures have had on the glaciers. As majestic as it was it was sad to know in less than 25 years these suppliers of food and sustenance to aquatic life will likely be melted thus drastically affecting the wildlife that intentionally seek out these glacial waters seasonally. We were provided a set of two snacks- granola bar and chocolate and nut trail mixture along with cups of water. Gastineau Guiding walks the walk and talks the talk. Chloe mentioned they used thousand of bottles of water for guests every year and needed to make changes. They source the large bottle of water from a local company that presupposes them for every tour and the cups are composted locally. Even better is if you bring a reusable water bottles like our family does daily!! The drive back to the cruise ship had us all feeling grateful and souls at peace. Make sure you take the excursion from this company. They are doing right by Mother Nature by educating visitors about Alaskan aquatic wildlife, whilst providing an experience of a lifetime. We realize we were graced by these whales with an incredible show that most don't experience- and I don't take that for granted. Thanks Chloe and Gastineau Guiding for an experience we will never forget

Dolphin, Sam and Dale were amazing as Captain, and crew! Nicest and most comfortable! We saw 10…read morewhales over the few hours we were out on the water. Dale the Naturalist was so knowledgable and funny! So many pics and videos and such wonderful clear skies! We stopped by one of the bouys that had seals and a quick stop to capture Mendenhall glacier as... well worth it!

We had an incredible time whale watching this morning with Salar!…read more Our group of six had our own boat and I was really really hoping to see Orcas. Salar was up front that only about 10% of tours see Orcas and typically they're just passing through if you do. I know we got lucky but he was able to make happen for us! The boat was clean, as well as the restrooms in the marina beforehand. There were even snacks and drinks on board, as well as some educational resources about the whales living in this area. Overall I cannot recommend enough!

My 3-star is strictly for the on-board food, because this is Yelp. I should say that the ferry was…read moreon-time, well-maintained, and overall a wonderful local Alaskan experience and great way to see some of the inside passage. That said, both the snack bar and dining room had decidedly underwhelming food. At the snack bar, while the grilled cheese had above-average bread and perfectly average American cheese, the clam chowder was pretty sloppy (albeit very Alaskan). At the dining room, the halibut was overseasoned and overcooked, with a dry texture and lacking flavor--hardly a good way to showcase Alaska's signature fish. To their credit, though, the accompanying green beans were fresh.

Everyone working on the ferry (MV Columbia) was so friendly & accommodating. The route was…read moregorgeous! Food was fairly priced, but expect a wait they're the only option so they're busy. I noticed some people get upset over the wait time, but I just enjoyed my view & appreciated my surrounding while waiting. I would not hesitate to ride again next time I come to Sitka from WA.

We had exceptional service from our crew. From the woman with the great smile who sold us our…read moretickets, to Jason our driver, to Gavin/Lena/Dustin, and then to Mike our driver back, we couldn't have asked for a better group. Additionally, the boat was great! It was warm and clean. The windows were awesome. We felt safe the entire time with Dustin expertly navigating the waters. I highly recommend booking with this company.

Wow! What a great day with Captain Ben, Carrie and Gavin!…read moreClean boat and tons of whales!! Great bathrooms on deck Family owned company, they don't contract with cruise ships.

Best tour in Alaska! Airboat ride, which is a very unique and personal tour experience, combined…read morewith the helicopter ride and a glacier landing! Wow! My dad and I went as our special Alaskan adventure. It was my dad's first helicopter ride and the views of the mountain tops and glacier were absolutely amazing. The airboat ride was of course by far the highlight - Captain Brian is a pro driver, making it the most memorable experience ever! Getting that close to such a big glacier is a dream come true! We had an entire hour on the water and saw the face of the glacier from every angle. The length of the tour and the multiple once in a lifetime experiences was well worth the price of this tour. Brian and Julie gave a great safety briefing and fit us with warm life jacket coats and ear muffs. We just showed up and everything needed was provided. Captain Brian is very knowledgeable of the area, he grew up spending time in the Taku River passing by this glacier often.

Once in a lifetime experience! We signed up for an excursion from the Norwegian encore. It was a…read morecombination helicopter/airboat trip to Taku glacier. Our guide knew so much and was a great pilot. The airboat portion was fantastic! Definitely thrilling, breathtaking, informative, and exhilarating! Trying to decide on whether to splurge? This is a must for!

Best whale watching out there! Ask him a question about whales and see if he doesn't know the…read moreanswer! We saw Bubble Netting- (we didnt know what it was until he told us- but I can tell you it is something to make even the biggest National Graphic enthusiast green with envy!) And his wife prepares food for the trip and makes unreal homemade brownies! A once in a lifetime adventure- unless you book it again :) He is amazing - one of the biggest reasons we will miss Alaska! Thank you for teaching us everything we learned about whales today :) we will never forget it.

From the owner: Custom whale-watching tours, Eco-touring, water-taxi service.read more