Cruise Tracy Arm on ship vs Tracy Fjord excursion

Will be on Navigator this summer. I am trying to figure out the merits of taking the 6 hour Tracy Fjord and Glacier Explorer excursion or just staying on the ship.

If we decide to stay on the Navigator into Juneau, we will take the Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest. This will be unavailable if we go on the Tracy Fjord excursion.

The Tracy Arm Fjord excursion is by far one of the best excursions ever. Way better than mendenhall. They get you right up close to the glacier which is constantly calving. It is fabulous. Don't skip it!

The Tracy Arm Fjord excursion is by far one of the best excursions ever. Way better than mendenhall. They get you right up close to the glacier which is constantly calving. It is fabulous. Don't skip it!

Thanks, RachelG. I'm fine skipping Mendenhall. Is the Fjord excursion THAT much better than the Navigator cruising the Tracy Arm on is way to Juneau?

YES! The excursion gets you up close and personal with the glacier. While the Navigator will go into the fjord, it can't get that close to the glacier because of its size, so you have to be on a small boat to do that. It is really really worth it.

The last time we were in Alaska, Hubbard Glacier was better than Tracy Arm. Lots of calving and the ship got extremely close. This will be a good year to see the glaciers.

The Tracy Arms excursion is incredible and worth every penny. You get very close to the glaciers (which the ship can't do) because you're in a small vessel. The boat picked us up at the ship side and dropped us back there also. It was one of the best Alaska excursions and I highly recommend it.

Have a wonderful cruise. Alaska is beautiful.

We have been able to do both the Tracy Arm excursion and the Mendenhall and whale watching on the same day the last three years so unsure why it is now one or the other. Both are great although Mendenhall portion is a bit boring

We have been able to do both the Tracy Arm excursion and the Mendenhall and whale watching on the same day the last three years so unsure why it is now one or the other. Both are great although Mendenhall portion is a bit boring

The Tracy Arm Fjord excursion leaves at 7:45 AM and arrives at 1:45 in Juneau. The Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest departs at 1:45. Regent requires 90 minutes between excursions.

There is an Evening Mendenhall and Whale trip that is an hour shorter in duration than the daytime trip and isn't included in the all inclusive fare.

I'm guessing that the whale watching portion is shorter. And that is the part of the excursion that i'm most interested in.

We did the evening one. I think you can also look into a private whale watching excursion

The Tracy Arm excursion was fantastic!

I have a photo of the Navigator in the fog as we pulled away from her. I wish I knew how to post a photo because it catches the early morning lighting.

I'm glad that we didn't miss it!

Is your excursion one that starts in the Fjord and meets up with the ship or vice versa.

I've done this one with Princess, it is unique and breathtaking as you do get a different prospective and get low and close to the walls, waterfalls, ice, and if luky wildlife. It makes you feel like you really are out in the wilderness which is hard to do on a 100,000 ton ship :D

It would be a personal interest tradeoff if you are talking about a RT from Juneau versus missing the other Jewels. I would say the Mendenhall hike as well as Whale watching are equally intimate and special.

If my ship was to sail the Fjord and I had to choose, I'd personally skip the Fjord small boat affair. If I could do both, for sure would do both again.

The Tracy Arm Fjord excursion leaves at 7:45 AM and arrives at 1:45 in Juneau. The Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest departs at 1:45. Regent requires 90 minutes between excursions.

 

There is an Evening Mendenhall and Whale trip that is an hour shorter in duration than the daytime trip and isn't included in the all inclusive fare.

 

I'm guessing that the whale watching portion is shorter. And that is the part of the excursion that i'm most interested in.

See about scheduling a private tour, we did one thru Orca that worked out. Though our Fjord tour ran a good hour late as we got lucky and saw two bears and two whale sightings... I had to run from the dock / ship to Orca tours to only wait another 30' as they waited for additional tourers to arrive.

You should be able to make both work.

You do want to do both!

Go to Antarctica BEFORE going to Alaska otherwise Alaska will be underwhelming but still beautiful.

Have been to mendenhall and on multiple whale watching excursions. Tracy arm on the small boat run by Allen marine is way by far the best.

Go to Antarctica BEFORE going to Alaska otherwise Alaska will be underwhelming but still beautiful.

I am not sure whether you prefer Antarctica or Alaska? If you recommend going to Antarctica first, I would have expected you to say that Antarctica would be underwhelming but still beautiful suggesting that Alaska is the most impressive.

Go to Antarctica BEFORE going to Alaska otherwise Alaska will be underwhelming but still beautiful.

It sounds like you are saying that Alaska is underwhelming. unfortunately, my cruise insurance does not allow me to cancel for that reason. LOL. So off to Alaska we shall go on the RSSC Navigator Vancouver-Seward itinerary.

I have been to the fjords of Norway and had an amazing time there. Also had an amazing experience visiting the Canadian Rockies in the Banff/Lake Louise area.

I'm sure Alaska will be wonderful, and hope to be even more impressed on a future trip to the South Pole and Antartica.

We were on Alaska cruise in 2010 & are going again June 2016 People who took this tour actually made it back in time to take the other tour as well but it was close. We are definitely going to do this tour next time

Alaska, Navigator, 2010

Med b2b, Mariner, 2013

Danube, AmaSonata, Sept 2015

Istanbul, Mariner, Sept 2015

Alaska, Mariner, June 2016

I would have said the opposite. Alaska twice, going on three times now and it is wonderful, but Antarctica was WAY more impressive. Also WAY WAY more expensive! But worth it as a Once-in-a-Lifetime experience.

I would have said the opposite. Alaska twice, going on three times now and it is wonderful, but Antarctica was WAY more impressive. Also WAY WAY more expensive! But worth it as a Once-in-a-Lifetime experience.

From what I have heard, Antarctica is amazing (as are the fiords in New Zealand that we have been to), however, IMO, Alaska has some amazing glaciers and sites. While Tracy Arm was our least favorite (much prefer Hubbard Glacier and even Endicott Glacier), it is an interesting area.

Unfortunately, Regent can no longer sail to Antarctica but I feel that most people will love the Alaska experience.