May cruise - Juneau excursion ?

[gladgirl]

Hi -

First time cruiser and first time to Alaska. :)

I REALLY want to see glaciers - it's our main reason for going. However, because we wanted to go over our anniversary we are booked on Norwegian Pearl for May 19 sailing out of Seattle.

 

Currently, we are booked to do Mendenhall glacier adventure hike because I was told that it might be too early for Tracy Arm cruise.

 

However, I just read that if I want to see glaciers on this trip bc it's early in season, I should book Tracy Arm cruise....

 

Help!

 

Thanks in advance!

[gladgirl]

Well, I just noticed you can't currently book it - it says to do it later or on ship.

 

So, I guess the ? is - if its available when we are on the ship, should I change my excursion?

 

Thanks!

[dustyroad]

i could be wrong but i thought the pearl went too glacier bay on its cruises from seattle? you might want too double check your itinery. if you are going too tracy armthink about taking the ship tour that puts you on a smaller boat. you get up close too sawyer glacier and the waterfalls. you will be much more happy with that tour than paying alot of money for the mendenhall one. when you get too juneau you can always catch the blue bus for $16pp and spend as much time hicking at mendanhall as you want. i hope you get too do all you want and have a great time. alaska is not cheap so plan accoringingly :).

[dustyroad]

i could be wrong but i thought the pearl went too glacier bay on its cruises from seattle not tracy arm? you might want too double check your itinery. if you are going too tracy arm think about taking the ship tour that puts you on a smaller boat if they offer it. you get up close too sawyer glacier and the waterfalls. you will be much more happy with that tour than paying alot of money for the mendenhall one. when you get too juneau you can always catch the blue bus for $16pp and spend as much time hicking at mendanhall as you want. i am booked for sept and i can book tours already. do as much of your online check in as you can. im not sure but that might be holding you up for not being able too book tours yet. i hope you get too do all you want and have a great time. alaska is not cheap so plan accoringingly :).

[dustyroad]

sorry, double post :(

[Aurora2143]

We booked a helicopter tour called the 'Pilot's Choice' directly through Temsco (a little cheaper than through the cruise line). If I'm not mistaken, it will take you ON the Mendenhall glacier to walk around. Our tour will make 2 stops on 2 glaciers. There are other tours they offer, like guided walks on Medenhall and stuff.

 

http://temscoair.com/juneau_tours.php

 

These are for Juneau, but look through the website, they also have a chapter in Skagway.

[Kirasha]

gladgirl - Are you talking about the 7-hour Pearl ship excursion to Tracy Arm that leaves from Juneau? If so, did you notice this in the excursion description?

 

"Due to diminishing daylight and ice conditions, this tour is not available in early May and September."

 

Also, on the off chance they do offer it on your sailing, chances are high that you'll be diverted to Endicott Arm instead of Tracy Arm because there's almost always way too much ice during May. Endicott Arm is less scenic.

[gladgirl]

Hi all!

Yes - we cruise Glacier bay on our cruise and yes, I am referring to the 7 hr Tracy Arm/glacier explorer cruise. I know it says its not available early May but we are there the last full week of May and the excursions person had told me it would prob go...

 

It's still listed under the Juneau excursions for our cruise but says you can't currently book and need to wait until later or do it on ship.

 

I signed us up for Mendenhall hike bc we weren't sure we wanted to spend the entire day on the small boat (if it ends up available) and I thought the glacier hike would be nice.

 

If we get on the ship and find out Tracy arm cruise is available - is it worth it? Or do you see enough glaciers on the day the ship tours glacier bay to be satisfied?

 

Thanks!

[gladgirl]

Also - thank you for heads up regarding possible diversion and the helicopter tour company :)

[Kirasha]

If we get on the ship and find out Tracy arm cruise is available - is it worth it? Or do you see enough glaciers on the day the ship tours glacier bay to be satisfied?

 

Thanks!

 

If you were cruising in June or later, the previous consensus on this forum is "go for it." The small boat Tracy Arm excursion is gorgeous and totally different than Glacier Bay day. However, the May date is problematic. Somebody else had the same conundrum on this thread, take look at how Budget Queen compares Tracy Arm to Endicott Arm. Only you can decide if being diverted will be worth the money:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1816748

 

I am also cruising in May (2014) and ultimately decided that being out for 7 hours freezing my tail off and spending this much money wasn't worth Endicott Arm.

[gladgirl]

Fabulous! Thanks for the link. I'm still having a hard time finding threads that discuss what I want to know about. :)

[bonvoyagie]

While I have not cruised AK in May - I have done three in mid and late June. All have included Tracy Arm in one form or another - the first two were from cruise ship level and we could not get very close to the glacier due to ice - the last was on the very same excursion you are considering. We were there in late June and while there was ice directly in front of the Glacier the main channel was easily passable by the cruise ships. For this excursion RT out of Juneau the biggest issue is time followed by light and lastly ice. Our problem was two fold - first the captain on the small boat that followed the Jewel into the fjord reported that the channel conditions were heavy chop and a storm was moving in - this news came to us as we were leaving the parking lot at the Pearl. We got down to the dock and was informed that we may not be able to reach the glacier and that the waves were going to be in the 4-6' range. We left the dock about 15 - 20 min behind schedule - by then the storm front passed, the water calmed down and we made it to both glaciers and returned to the dock around 9:15 - and yes it was getting dark. Attached is a photo I took of the Pearl as we passed by her on the way back - and one of South Sawyer Glacier.

 

Since NCL has a policy where by any excursion you book ahead of your cruise gets charged to your credit card at the time you make the reservation and getting refunds are not easy. I would wait until you board the ship and talk to the Shore Ex group as they should have a good idea if the tour is running or not. There are way to many variables to this tour to decide about it right now.

 

As always you should have a plan B or C for all excursions that involve flying and/or glaciers as they are very much dependent on the weather.

 

BTW you will see several glaciers in glacier bay - I reemember at least 4 or 5 some are tidewater, some are hanging. GB is fantastic.