anybody done Tracy Arm fjord catamaran expedition?

[BuckeyeMark]

Several in our group are going on the "further up the fjord" expedition where the catamaran takes you off the boat (we're on Celebrity). The catamaran goes up to the glacier and then heads out to meet back up at Juneau.

 

I need to know how it'll work in Juneau because the group on the catamaran needs to meet up with the rest of the folks on the ship so we can then do waht we've planned in Juneau.

 

Anybody done this? How did they handle debarking in Juneau? Did you get back on the boat before it docked in Juneau or did they just put you out in Juneau on the docks close to where the big boat docked?

[kjeanne2001]

We just did this but we were on Holland America. They brought us back to the ship and we entered through the tender doors of the ship.

 

 

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[BuckeyeMark]

We just did this but we were on Holland America. They brought us back to the ship and we entered through the tender doors of the ship.

 

 

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did you get to the boat before it docked?

[kjeanne2001]

No, the ship docked at 1:00 I believe and we got back to the ship around 3:30. If Allen Marine does your excursion look up their site and call them. I talked with them several times before our trip and they answered all my questions. If you get their voice mail, leave a message as they are good to return calls.

 

 

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[Alberta Quilter]

I just did the excursion, round trip from/to Juneau. We started from and were brought back to the Allen Marine dock. We were either bused back to the ship or walked; choice is yours to make. It is within walking distance, depending on where your ship is berthed, and your mobility level.

[BuckeyeMark]

Asked through our TA and am told we're coming back to the boat. I hope so!

[jebjab]

Just wondering how rough the seas are on this excursion? And has anyone with some mobility issues able to do this? Thanks for your imput.

[fleckle]

Several in our group are going on the "further up the fjord" expedition where the catamaran takes you off the boat (we're on Celebrity). The catamaran goes up to the glacier and then heads out to meet back up at Juneau.

 

I need to know how it'll work in Juneau because the group on the catamaran needs to meet up with the rest of the folks on the ship so we can then do waht we've planned in Juneau.

 

Anybody done this? How did they handle debarking in Juneau? Did you get back on the boat before it docked in Juneau or did they just put you out in Juneau on the docks close to where the big boat docked?

We did it from the Solstice, on an Allen Marine boat. We boarded the tour boat at the entrance to Tracy Arm.

Then in Juneau they took us right back to the Solstice, which did not dock in Juneau but anchored there.

 

The Allen Marine ride through Tracy Arm was enjoyable, but not as good as the Adventure Bound trip through Tracy Arm that we took a few years earlier.

There were tradeoffs, with each having pros and cons.

 

The Allen Marine boat was quite a bit larger and it traveled most of Tracy Arm right down the middle of the channel, while the smaller Adventure Bound boat hugged the shoreline, going in and out of the little coves providing better views of the wildlife and getting us right up close to the icebergs.

 

The smaller boat also got us in closer to the North Sawyer Glacier and we spent more time watching the whales and eagles along the way.

 

The Allen Marine boat took us in close to one big waterfall along the shoreline, and then went right back out to the middle of the channel again.

It stopped only briefly for whale watching along the way, needing to keep on schedule.

 

But if we had never taken the trip on the smaller Adventure Bound, I think we would have been quite happy with the Allen Marine trip.

 

For us the biggest advantage of the Allen Marine boat was that we only needed to ride it one way, from Tracy Arm to Juneau. It got up to Juneau in early afternoon, giving passengers time to do other things in Juneau.

 

Our Adventure Bound tour was round trip from Juneau and took the full day as it left from Juneau early in the morning and did not return until evening, which made for a very long day.

 

If it is someone's first time in Juneau, I really think you are better off taking the shorter, one-way Tracy Arm tour and having more time in Juneau to do other things.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Thanks for that good info!

[dateacher]

I just finished reading someone's report in which they said the Amsterdam got far into Tracy Arm. We have booked the one way excursion but I am now wondering if we should just stay on the ship (Volendam) and then do a different excursion out of Juneau. We had given up a helicopter landing because we get back to Juneau too late to do one.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the Volendam and Tracy Arm?

[BuckeyeMark]

Just off the Solstice. Was in TA on June 23. They said it was only the second week they could bring ships in there due to ice. There was plenty of it.

 

I think it's going to be really hard to know about your boat because the fjord changes week to week and day to day. One day a boat may go far up the fjord, and the next ... not so far.

 

I would have been disappointed in TA if I hadn't done the catamaran deal. You could see the glacier from the Solstice but it was far away and in a gap between mountains. Nothing like what you get on the smaller boat - we sailed up close to it and also the other Sawyer glacier. Saw seals everywhere. Much better seeing everything up close instead of from 14 stories up. YMMV.

[dateacher]

Thank you.

[dustyroad]

I loved this tour. we got so close to the waterfalls we could almost touch the water. the wildlife was everywhere for photo shots and we saw the glacier calve. they had binoculars for us too use and hot drinks and snack we could get. the ship missed all the things we saw. I would definitely do this tour again.