Add us to those that had an amazing experience with the excursion. We were on the August 2nd cruise and also went to Endicott Arm. Within a few minutes of getting on the excursion boat, we stopped alongside a group of about 5 or 6 whales. One of the whales breached very close to the boat. Then three more swam right next to us (amazing to see and hear them so close). We stopped up right along side a huge chunk of ice to get a close up view of that also. Then we went back into a cove where there is a flat area and there was a bear hanging out there (it was pretty far away for most people to see with just their eyes but those with binoculars and cameras were able to see it).
We kept going back and forth past the ship as we stopped to view things, which gave us tons of opportunities to photograph the ship with that amazing scenery in the background.
We also slowed to see the seals on an piece of ice and came up right next to a waterfall (I have pictures looking straight up the side of the hill).
Then of course the glacier was the highlight. We stayed up close so we could see the glacier calve multiple times. We re-boarded the ship while it was still along side the glacier and were able to get many more picture from onboard the ship (which was nice since I was worried about missing that part of it).
I did appreciate that the did not over crowd the boat also. There was plenty of room to sit inside to get out of the cold when the boat was moving. Then people would come outside for pictures, etc when we stopped for things. There was a third level that was closed when the boat was moving but they would open it and let people go up on top for pictures when they stopped so there was plenty of room for everyone.
Overall, this had to have been my best excursion ever. But of course, I think we were extremely lucky because we had a beautiful sunny day and the cooperation of the wildlife