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Tracy Arm -- is it Fjord, Inlet, or just Tracy Arm


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I most frequently see it called Tracy Arm, or Tracy Arm Fjord. Infrequently I see it called Tracy Arm Inlet. I have spent a lot of time over the last couple of months (the problem of OCD reared its head ;) ) trying to find the answer.

 

Can anyone help? Is there an official name? And what is the difference between a fjord and an inlet? Some definitions seem to make no differentiation, while others would indicate Tracy Arm is a fjord because it is long, narrow, and between cliffs while an inlet is similar to a bay....

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It is a fjord since it is long, narrow inlet with steep sides / cliffs carved by a Glacier.

 

By any name, it is a beautiful place and should be visited, if possible. The best option is a small boat tour either directly from your cruise ship or from Juneau.

 

 

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The reason why the inlet is mentioned is because a half dozen cruise ships have one way excursions from the inlet, operated by Allen Marine. The cruise ships don't enter the fjord. Instead, they transfer passengers from the ship to a smaller excursion boat at the inlet and then continue on to Juneau. The excursion boat then tours the fjord. After the excursion, Allen Marine drops the passengers back by the cruise ship, at that point docked in Juneau.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

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I most frequently see it called Tracy Arm, or Tracy Arm Fjord. Infrequently I see it called Tracy Arm Inlet. I have spent a lot of time over the last couple of months (the problem of OCD reared its head ;) ) trying to find the answer.

 

Can anyone help? Is there an official name? And what is the difference between a fjord and an inlet? Some definitions seem to make no differentiation, while others would indicate Tracy Arm is a fjord because it is long, narrow, and between cliffs while an inlet is similar to a bay....

Additional thoughts...

  • This map may help.... https://www.google.ca/maps/@57.8108392,-133.3382327,32970m/data=!3m1!1e3
  • Which ship are you considering? Some cruise ships enter the 31 mile Fjord to see out Sawyer. Others will do a small boat transfer at Hokham Bay.
  • When are you cruising? The Sawyer glacier sheds a lot of ice into the 31 mile Fjord that prevents marine traffic at the start of the cruise season. In 2016... ships did not enter until mid-August. When ships cannot enter.... Endicott Arm to the South is substituted.
  • there's a few time lapses of the 31 mile arm.

  • with Pixie Dust...

  • I prefer Glacier Bay for my glacier experience.

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The reason why the inlet is mentioned is because a half dozen cruise ships have one way excursions from the inlet, operated by Allen Marine. The cruise ships don't enter the fjord. Instead, they transfer passengers from the ship to a smaller excursion boat at the inlet and then continue on to Juneau. The excursion boat then tours the fjord. After the excursion, Allen Marine drops the passengers back by the cruise ship, at that point docked in Juneau.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

 

Only HAL does this. None of the other cruises, at this time do.

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It is a fjord since it is long, narrow inlet with steep sides / cliffs carved by a Glacier.

 

By any name, it is a beautiful place and should be visited, if possible. The best option is a small boat tour either directly from your cruise ship or from Juneau.

 

 

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I agree -- it is a beautiful place. We've done several trips into Tracy Arm, on the cruise ship, not the small boat. Some day, we'll get to the small boat :) The itineraries we have done in Alaska the last few years have had a cruising day in Tracy Arm, not Glacier Bay. We actually prefer Tracy Arm, so that may influence our itinerary choices.

 

 

Tracy Arm is a 30 mile fjord. The "inlet" could be considered the entrance couldn't it? which is near the Sumdum Glacier and entrance to Endicott Arm.

 

I was up late last night doing even more researching :) Apparently the entrance to a fjord is called the "mouth of the fjord" (according to fjordnorway.com, which seems like they'd know about fjords :D )

 

 

From maps that I've been able to find -- the mouth of the fjord is on Holkham Bay. There is no "inlet", as that word is commonly used to describe shoreline features.

 

My conclusion: it is Tracy Arm Fjord and there is no Tracy Arm inlet.

 

 

Thanks everyone. Maybe tonight I will be asleep before midnight :D

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Only HAL does this. None of the other cruises, at this time do.

 

 

 

I thought Princess did as well-it's listed on their basic excursion list - so hoping when our excursions are posted it would be an option. 🤞

 

 

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I thought Princess did as well-it's listed on their basic excursion list - so hoping when our excursions are posted it would be an option. 🤞

 

 

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My reply was specific to the post, who states the cruise ship does NOT enter Tracy Arm at all and is merely a drop off for a purchased Tracy Arm tour at the entrance. . . This has the "service stop" notation on the itinerary.

 

This has nothing to do with the other cruise lines, who take their ships in the fjord, and have the add on Tracy Arm shore excursion.

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My reply was specific to the post, who states the cruise ship does NOT enter Tracy Arm at all and is merely a drop off for a purchased Tracy Arm tour at the entrance. . . This has the "service stop" notation on the itinerary.

 

 

 

This has nothing to do with the other cruise lines, who take their ships in the fjord, and have the add on Tracy Arm shore excursion.

 

 

 

Ahhhh! Thank you!

 

 

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