Some questions for seasoned Alaska cruisers.

[PacificDisMom]

Which cruise lines go to Glacier Bay OR Tracy Fjord (round trip from seattle)?

Do you know if any of those that go do Tracy Fjord (from seattle) have the small boat excursion of the fjord?

 

Also looking for a line with a good kids club and limited smoking (preferably no smoking on verandahs and most public areas).

 

Would sailing in June affect how close the ship is able to get to the glaciers due to ice and seal birthing season? Are there any issues during June that affect the cruise?

 

Thanks!

[TinCan782]

NCL Pearl does a round trip from Seattle which includes Glacier Bay. We did it July 13-20. Loved it!

[Budget Queen]

Which cruise lines go to Glacier Bay OR Tracy Fjord (round trip from seattle)?

Do you know if any of those that go do Tracy Fjord (from seattle) have the small boat excursion of the fjord?

 

Also looking for a line with a good kids club and limited smoking (preferably no smoking on verandahs and most public areas).

 

Would sailing in June affect how close the ship is able to get to the glaciers due to ice and seal birthing season? Are there any issues during June that affect the cruise?

 

Thanks!

 

Glacier Bay is sailed by NCL, Princess, HAL. Most cruiselines have a Tracy Arm sailing, with most if not all of them having the add on Tracy Arm tour. I do believe, that with the round trip Seattle sailing, they do all have this excursion available.

 

All the cruise lines have kids programs, that kids enjoy.

 

None of the cruiselines allow smoking in most of the public areas, with the exception of the casino. Check the lines you are interested in for their balcony smoking policies.

 

Sorry, there is NO ideal time to go for getting "close" to any glaciers. Do realize, that in Glacier Bay, the distances are pretty fixed and similar no matter who you go with. You will see at least 4 glaciers. Tracy Arm a whole different story. You do get "closer" with the add on boat tour- which is also superior for wildlife, but no guarantee how close. As an example, I sailed Tracy Arm twice this year one week apart. First week, we got all the way up to the South Sawyer glacier for an extended time, then were able to get to the North Sawyer glacier for a look. Second week, packed ice all the way out to the Sawyer Island, from the South Sawyer glacier. The entire time was spent at the North Sawyer glacier and was rewarded with a huge wall of ice fall, which is unusual due to this calving far less frequently. You just never know. :)

 

June, is too early for salmon runs, bear tours and aurora.

[ClaudiaB]

Celebrity has zero smoking inside, even the casino. Zero smoking inside anywhere at any time. Zero on balconies anywhere and only a few small outside areas. That's a deal breaker for me and which is one reason we are reluctant to sail any other mainstream line.

They also sail round trip from Seattle. We've done Tracy Arm Fjord on Infinity and don't remember a small boat tour but there may be one. Itineraries change from year to year.

I've heard only good things about the kids' club and because there might be less kids on Celebrity than Carnival or Royal Caribbean there is more individual attention. Most kids seem to love it. HTH

[Krazy Kruizers]

Which cruise lines go to Glacier Bay OR Tracy Fjord (round trip from seattle)?

Do you know if any of those that go do Tracy Fjord (from seattle) have the small boat excursion of the fjord?

 

Also looking for a line with a good kids club and limited smoking (preferably no smoking on verandahs and most public areas).

 

Would sailing in June affect how close the ship is able to get to the glaciers due to ice and seal birthing season? Are there any issues during June that affect the cruise?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

HAL does have ships that visit Glacier Bay and one ship that does offer the small boat to Tracy Arm.

However -- HAL does permit smoking on all balconies and verandahs.

[peety3]

We just finished our cruise about three weeks ago aboard the Grand Princess, which was a Sunday Seattle RT with Tracy Arm. I can confirm that it had the small boat excursion, though because it was so small it was sold out by the time we embarked, so they never publicized it aboard the ship (in other words, if someone didn't shop excursions online, they didn't know it existed).

 

Having done Glacier Bay + College Fjord twice before, I would personally say that Tracy Arm was the highlight of not only this cruise, but one of the most spectacular sights of all of our cruises. We're almost done editing our pictures, and the TA shots are quite stunning.

 

Someone else on our cruise put a camera on their aft balcony and made a time lapse in/out of TA. You'll see the small boat come up to the cruise ship, as well as some of the ship photographers go buzzing around briefly in a fast rescue boat:

[bonvoyagie]

OK - HAL, Princess, and NCL make regular calls to Glacier Bay. Not sure about HAL and Princess but NCL just recently banned smoking on balconies as well as all the public areas - except the cigar bar and the casino.

 

Allen Marine runs most all of the ship based Tracy Arm small boat excursions they have two boats - a catamaran and a tri-hull. For the NCL Pearl they offer a RT Juneau to Tracy Arm excursion that takes the entire time the ship is in port. - It also follows the Jewel and it's small boat tour - yes they use both boats. I have seen where some cruise lines offer the small boat tour on both the inbound and outbound sections - that way they can offer the small boat experience to more people. Most all of the small boat tours are only offered through the cruise line so that is where you need to look.

 

I know of only one other company that offers small boat tours - Adventure Bound and they leave early in the AM.