Saltwater Excursions is one of the longest established names fishing out of Whittier, owned and run by Capt. Kristin Labrecque for about 30 years, and it ranks second in the port. It runs two modern boats from the Whittier Small Boat Harbor, a 31 foot North River and a 26 foot Duckworth, and it does the one thing many Whittier operators do not: it posts a clear per person price on its own site. Trips target Pacific halibut and a multi-species mix of salmon, rockfish, lingcod, Pacific cod, and greenling, with a salmon and rockfish day run on the Tuesdays and Wednesdays when halibut keeping is closed.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.3 Saltwater Excursions is a strong choice and sits just behind the longest running boat in town. Its case is a 30 year owner operator with a clean, positive record across TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google, and FishingBooker, modern and well kept boats with current Garmin electronics and quality tackle, and the clearest pricing in Whittier. It suits an angler or a couple who want a fixed per person price up front, a smaller boat, and a captain who has run this water for three decades. The honest caveats are price and scale. The per person rate of $499 to $525 sits at the top of the Whittier range, higher per head than a seat on one of the bigger inspected boats, and a two boat operation books out early in a short season. For a cheaper per person seat on a larger boat, look at Crazy Ray’s Adventures or Alaska Good Time Charters; for the deepest review record in the port, Whittier Marine Charters is the top pick. The full field is on the Whittier ranking.
The boats
Saltwater Excursions runs a 31 foot North River from 2023 with twin 300 horsepower Mercury engines and a roughly 45 knot cruise, and a 26 foot Offshore Duckworth, the Saltwater Therapy and the Saltwater Addiction. The North River is the newer and faster of the two, which matters on the long Whittier run out to the halibut grounds, since a quicker boat leaves more time to fish. Both carry current Garmin electronics to mark fish and bottom, and the operation is known for keeping its boats and tackle in good condition, with quality rods and reels aboard rather than worn loaners. Each boat has a toilet and an ice box, and the crew fillets your catch. These are small boats by Whittier standards, set up for a tight group rather than a crowd, so the experience is personal but the seats are limited.
The fishing and what you target
The boats fish Prince William Sound for Pacific halibut as the mainstay from May into September, on a roughly 11 hour multi-species day that adds lingcod, rockfish, Pacific cod, and greenling on the bottom and silver salmon when the run is in. Under the 2026 Area 3A charter rules the halibut limit is two a day, one of any size and one no more than 27 inches, with keeping closed every Wednesday and on Tuesdays from June 2 to August 25. Saltwater Excursions works around that closure better than most by running a dedicated salmon and rockfish trip on those Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so a halibut closed day is still a fishing day. Silver salmon are the summer salmon highlight from August into September, and the sheltered water of the sound also makes for steady wildlife and glacier viewing on the run.
Trips and prices
The pricing is the clearest in Whittier, which is a real mark in its favor in a port where several boats only quote on request. Saltwater Excursions posts a per person rate of $499 in the shoulder season from May 1 to June 10 and $525 in high season from June 11 to September 7, plus a fuel surcharge where it applies and tax. Gratuity is not included and runs about 20 percent, the $20 federal halibut stamp is paid to the operator in cash, and the Alaska license is on you. Tackle, rods and reels, filleting, the ice box, and the toilet are included, so unlike the price match boats here you are not renting a rod on top. The honest point is that this per person rate is at the high end of the port, so a group that fills a whole boat elsewhere may pay less per head. Our cost guide puts the rate in national context, and the party boat versus private charter guide weighs a per person seat against booking a boat.
The crew
Kristin Labrecque is the reason the record is as clean as it is. Reviewers describe a captain and crew who know where the halibut hold, work hard through the day, and make a group feel looked after, and the family run feel comes up again and again across platforms. After 30 years on this water the local knowledge is deep, and the boats and gear are kept up to a standard the reviews keep noting. There is no recurring complaint to flag, which is rare, though the body of reviews is smaller than the largest operators in the port, so the record is clean rather than vast. As with any owner operator, the trade for that consistency is that one or two boats can only run so many trips, so the good dates go early.
Booking and what to know
Book direct through the Saltwater Excursions site or by phone, or through its FishingBooker listing, and reserve the summer dates well ahead because the small fleet fills. Trips leave early from the Whittier Small Boat Harbor, so time the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel from Anchorage and plan to clear the early eastbound opening. Bring warm waterproof layers, food and drink, sunscreen, and motion sickness medicine taken before you sail, buy your Alaska license online beforehand, and bring cash for the $20 halibut stamp. The boat covers tackle and filleting, and the crew can point you to a Whittier or Anchorage processor for getting your catch home.
How we scored it
Saltwater Excursions earns its 8.3 on a 30 year owner operator record that is clean across every platform, modern well kept boats with good electronics and tackle included, and the most transparent pricing in Whittier. Value and transparency and captain and crew are its strongest factors. What keeps it a step below the top is scale and price: the review base, while clean, is smaller than the longest running boat in town, and the per person rate is at the high end of the port. See how we scored this boat and the rest of the Whittier charters we rank, including Whittier Marine Charters and Alaskan 4 Star Charters.