Glacier Bay Foggy Did not see Glaciers

A friend of mine returned from an Alaska Cruise and said that Glacier Bay was foggy so she never saw any glaciers.

She left on Aug 9 from Vancouver on HAL Volendam.

I am so shocked that this can happen. Is this a common occurrence?

The whole point of going on an Alaskan cruise is to see the Glaciers.

It is strange that there is not much mention of this problem on the forums.

I plan to go to Alaska in the future and now will try to go May/June since the Glacier Bay website said these are the dryest months.

Thanks in advance for any comments on this issue.

As far as I can tell the weather can be random at any time of year.

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Southeast Alaska is a temperate rainforest. Weather happens, including fog. It can and does happen at any time.

We were there last week. It was cloudy and could not see tops of some mountains but actual glaciers were beautiful.

Don

thanks for replying. I guess you can't plan for weather problems.

A friend of mine returned from an Alaska Cruise and said that Glacier Bay was foggy so she never saw any glaciers.

She left on Aug 9 from Vancouver on HAL Volendam.

I am so shocked that this can happen. Is this a common occurrence?

The whole point of going on an Alaskan cruise is to see the Glaciers.

It is strange that there is not much mention of this problem on the forums.

I plan to go to Alaska in the future and now will try to go May/June since the Glacier Bay website said these are the dryest months.

Thanks in advance for any comments on this issue.

They would have been in Glacier Bay within a day or so of us. We were on Crystal Serenity which left Vancouver August 8. There was fog near the first glaciers in the bay. It lifted just as we were getting to the first glaciers and all the glaciers were clear for us.

They allow 2 large ships in the bay per day. The other one must have gone in ahead of us because when we were at John Hopkins Glacier, we were told that the other ship had reported that they had no visibility at that glacier due to the fog. We were lucky to be there after the fog had cleared.

I don't know if Margerie was foggy for the earlier ship.

We had fog some of the time in the inside passage too. Other than that, we were pretty lucky with weather.

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You say they didn't see ANY glaciers? I understand Glacier Bay was fogged in, but they should still have been able to visit other glaciers such as Mendenhall in Juneau?

I'll be there in 2 weeks and understand the risks of bad weather (especially September) but over the entire cruise/land tour I am hopeful to see some glaciers, pretty scenery, wildlife and even the Northern Lights! Its about the entire 3 weeks holiday, not just the 3 hours inside Glacier Bay.

We have sailed there numerous times. The experience has ranged from picture perfect to very overcast and foggy.

You just never know.

This is part of what makes Alaska; well Alaska.

Keith

We were there in the month of May and the weather was perfect. Your friend must have really felt bad.

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Glacier Bay on that picture perfect day.

A view of the area nine months earlier.

They would have been in Glacier Bay within a day or so of us. We were on Crystal Serenity which left Vancouver August 8. There was fog near the first glaciers in the bay. It lifted just as we were getting to the first glaciers and all the glaciers were clear for us.

 

They allow 2 large ships in the bay per day. The other one must have gone in ahead of us because when we were at John Hopkins Glacier, we were told that the other ship had reported that they had no visibility at that glacier due to the fog. We were lucky to be there after the fog had cleared.

 

I don't know if Margerie was foggy for the earlier ship.

 

We had fog some of the time in the inside passage too. Other than that, we were pretty lucky with weather.

 

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thanks for your information. glad you were able to see the glacier after the fog lifted.

Note to Keith1010. I passed on your pictures of the glaciers to my friend. Thanks!!!

annmasae,

That's great.

Ironically the one from the picture perfect day took place in the month of April. Our ship was the first ship of the Alaskan season by almost three weeks. It was a day I will never forget.

This is an example of how it's great to return to Alaska as each time you can see different things in the ports and also experience Alaska in different weather conditions.

Keith

we went to Hubbard glacier in May and saw NOTHING, literally nothing! there was an ice belt that meant we couldn't get very near and fog so we couldn't see it... that afternoon apparently another ship saw it in perfect conditions!!! I would have been crushed if it was the only glacier on the itinerary but we were on a 14 night with 3 glacier days cruise so got to see others!

we went to Hubbard glacier in May and saw NOTHING, literally nothing! there was an ice belt that meant we couldn't get very near and fog so we couldn't see it... that afternoon apparently another ship saw it in perfect conditions!!! I would have been crushed if it was the only glacier on the itinerary but we were on a 14 night with 3 glacier days cruise so got to see others!

I agree - I always try 2-3 glaciers per trip when my first trip missed Hubbard glacier and I was crushed (and that was the only glacier on the trip). Thus, I always stress to try to book a cruise with 2 glaciers.

I agree - I always try 2-3 glaciers per trip when my first trip missed Hubbard glacier and I was crushed (and that was the only glacier on the trip). Thus, I always stress to try to book a cruise with 2 glaciers.

thanks for the great idea. i am planning a trip to Alaska in 2019 and I will be sure to see Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. My girlfriend was only counting on Glacier Bay and that did not work out. I must say these boards are very informative and I will use it more as my trip becomes closer.

thanks for the great idea. i am planning a trip to Alaska in 2019 and I will be sure to see Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. My girlfriend was only counting on Glacier Bay and that did not work out. I must say these boards are very informative and I will use it more as my trip becomes closer.

I actually don't count Mendenhall in my list (unless you are landing on it). I pick itineraries with Glacier Bay and College Fiords or Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier and try to add Tracy Arm small boat trip in Juneau. After seeing the others, Mendenhall is a let down for me. Though - if you land on it, totally different story!

Sorry you couldn't see GB. That is usually the one people can count on.

I actually don't count Mendenhall in my list (unless you are landing on it). I pick itineraries with Glacier Bay and College Fiords or Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier and try to add Tracy Arm small boat trip in Juneau. After seeing the others, Mendenhall is a let down for me. Though - if you land on it, totally different story!

 

Sorry you couldn't see GB. That is usually the one people can count on.

Mendenhall is smaller where it meets the lake than the fronts of Hubbard or Margarie (the big glacier in Glacier Bay). If you see it from the visitor center you are pretty far from it so it isn't as impressive as Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier from that viewpoint. You can hike out to get closer (Nugget Falls trail - about a mile each way) and at that point you may be at about the distance the cruise ship will be from the tidewater glaciers. You can also get closer taking a canoe or kayak excursion - the former includes visiting an ice cave if safe and walking on to the glacier. Even from the visitor center it is pretty nice to view and the amount of water coming down the falls is impressive - just not as big or close as Margarie or Hubbard.

A really neat thing about visiting Mendenhall when the salmon are running is that it provides a pretty good chance of seeing bears from the boardwalk trail at Steep Creek. We saw 3 bear cubs waiting for mom to return - pretty cute.

Seeing glaciers from a smaller boat which can get closer is different too. We took a Kenai Fjords tour with Major Marine to do that.

thanks for all the info about mendenhall. I plan to book my Alaska Cruise with HAL because of their Denali package. I will have to check the excursions to see if those other glaciers can be seen. The initineries only list Glacier Bay and I know Juneau has excursions to Mendenhall. Also I am not a good sailor so I normally don't take excursions in small boats or canoes. Maybe will make an exception to see Tracy Arm.

thanks for all the info about mendenhall. I plan to book my Alaska Cruise with HAL because of their Denali package. I will have to check the excursions to see if those other glaciers can be seen. The initineries only list Glacier Bay and I know Juneau has excursions to Mendenhall. Also I am not a good sailor so I normally don't take excursions in small boats or canoes. Maybe will make an exception to see Tracy Arm.

Kenai Fjords tour is out of Seward. It is on a good sized catamaran with capacity around 100 people. Part of the trip is in the Gulf of Alaska where the sea can get rougher. When viewing the glaciers, you are in the fjords and it is very calm water. Some of the other glacier boat excursions including Tracy Arm are on the inside passage waters so it is usually very calm. We took a whale watching boat out of Juneau and the water was very calm. Not the least reason to be seasick on a trip like that. Mendenhall flows into a lake not the sea.

I don't know if any of HAL's land packages spend time in Seward. Most go right out of it. We did the land part on our own (DIY) so we could have more freedom. Another option is to do a land package and then add a bit at the end to go from Anchorage to Seward or Whittier where one can take a glacier excursion. The ones out of Whittier stay in Prince William Sound so they are in very protected calm waters.

Kenai Fjords tour is out of Seward. It is on a good sized catamaran with capacity around 100 people. Part of the trip is in the Gulf of Alaska where the sea can get rougher. When viewing the glaciers, you are in the fjords and it is very calm water. Some of the other glacier boat excursions including Tracy Arm are on the inside passage waters so it is usually very calm. We took a whale watching boat out of Juneau and the water was very calm. Not the least reason to be seasick on a trip like that. Mendenhall flows into a lake not the sea.

 

I don't know if any of HAL's land packages spend time in Seward. Most go right out of it. We did the land part on our own (DIY) so we could have more freedom. Another option is to do a land package and then add a bit at the end to go from Anchorage to Seward or Whittier where one can take a glacier excursion. The ones out of Whittier stay in Prince William Sound so they are in very protected calm waters.

thanks so much for the information. now i have so many more options to see glaciers.

Mendenhall is smaller where it meets the lake than the fronts of Hubbard or Margarie (the big glacier in Glacier Bay). If you see it from the visitor center you are pretty far from it so it isn't as impressive as Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier from that viewpoint. You can hike out to get closer (Nugget Falls trail - about a mile each way) and at that point you may be at about the distance the cruise ship will be from the tidewater glaciers.

I have been there several times and done several trails - just not as impressive compared to doing Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm by boat that day.

One of the reasons we chose to cruise Alaska in May of this year was because I had read in several places that May is one of the driest months of the year. During the week we were on the cruise (May 21 - 28), we had a little morning precipitation in Ketchikan (the rainiest city in Alaska) and that...was...it! Our day in Glacier Bay was simply the best weather of all!

Now, the trade-off of going in May is that there is much less wildlife. We saw spouts from a few whales and some seabirds, but that was all. That was OK with me because I was more interested in seeing the scenery (we did a bunch of hiking in the ports) than seeing wildlife. Having great weather for our scenic hikes was wonderful.

A friend of mine returned from an Alaska Cruise and said that Glacier Bay was foggy so she never saw any glaciers.

 

Thanks in advance for any comments on this issue.

Very sad to hear this, these are the GB glaciers. All the best, Tony

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Sorry your friend missed the glaciers. We took the small boat excursion in Tracy Arm and saw both North and South Sawyer Glaciers. We also did the 5 Glacier Floatplane excursion out of Juneau. They were both awesome and the weather was perfect. I want to see Glacier Bay on my next Alaska cruise