Carnival Cruise Alaska

[Arffcruiser]

Which is the better route to cruise? Tracy Arm Fjord or Glacier Bay? And Why?

Thanks.:cool:

[Staceyface1]

I've only done the glacier bay, and it was amazing. I'm not answering you question though.....

 

 

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[xlxo]

If you want to see glaciers..... go to Glacier Bay.

 

If you want to see glacier extinction.... go to Tracy Arm.

• Sawyer is so small from the water
  
• Sawyer has retreated over 31 miles up the Fjord.
  
• Sawyer melts so much.... Tracy Arm is congested that ships cannot safely enter in the first part of the cruise season. Tracy Arm was not accessible until mid-August in 2016.
  

[maui traveler]

Perfect answer xlxo...

 

 

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[bUU]

It is better to do both, which was one of the major reasons we selected the Alaska itinerary we did for 2018.

 

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

[Jdfireman]

SO good I did both

[navybaby1113]

If you do Tracy Arm Fjord, I highly recommend the small boat excursion that picks you up at the ship and takes you closer. We got so much closer than the cruise ship did and saw so many amazing sites. It's pricey, but very much worth it.

 

This picture shows how much further we went than the cruise ship.

 

[xlxo]

I just noticed a typo in my earlier response.... it should say Tracy Arm is ICE congestion in the early part of the season from all the melting. While beautiful.... it means the narrow Fjord cannot be entered safely.... especially with large cruise ships.

 

I'm not familiar with Carnival.... but if there is an opportunity to do both with a mid-ocean transfer like some HAL sailings.... go for it. If the Tracy Arm is round trip Juneau.... I think you would loose too much of your valuable Juneau time for the 160 mile trip via water.

[bakersdozen12]

I just noticed a typo in my earlier response.... it should say Tracy Arm is ICE congestion in the early part of the season from all the melting. While beautiful.... it means the narrow Fjord cannot be entered safely.... especially with large cruise ships.

 

I'm not familiar with Carnival.... but if there is an opportunity to do both with a mid-ocean transfer like some HAL sailings.... go for it. If the Tracy Arm is round trip Juneau.... I think you would loose too much of your valuable Juneau time for the 160 mile trip via water.

 

 

Carnival sails round trip from Seattle. I don't believe they ever sail from Juneau. With that being said, I'm on the first sailing this year, which is Vancouver to Seattle. A repo cruise of sorts. And we are going to both Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay. It was the selling point for me. It was the only one scheduled currently that goes to both. And while we may not make Tracy Arm, we will go to Endicott Arm instead, which I heard is just as beautiful.

 

 

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[BigB0882]

Even though Tracey Arm is retreating and is hard to get into, your cruise ship WILL go to a glacier. At least Celebrity did and I assume Carnival would do the same. They just took us down a little further to a different glacier and it was spectacular.

[xlxo]

Carnival sails round trip from Seattle. I don't believe they ever sail from Juneau. With that being said, I'm on the first sailing this year, which is Vancouver to Seattle. A repo cruise of sorts. And we are going to both Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay. It was the selling point for me. It was the only one scheduled currently that goes to both. And while we may not make Tracy Arm, we will go to Endicott Arm instead, which I heard is just as beautiful.

To clarify.... I'm not saying cruise ships round trip from Juneau.... but some cruise passengers will embark on Tracy Arm day tours round trip from Juneau. These cut into your Juneau port time with the 160 mile water trip.

 

Doing a quick search.... are you on the Carnival Legend on May 30th? I don't see Glacier Bay listed on the itinerary on Expedia....

https://cruise.expedia.ca/Cruise/en-CA/Itinerary?item=762422

 

Looking at the June 27th sailing.... there's Glacier Bay and on Day 3, there's an afternoon Juneau arrival. This can imply there is a Tracy Arm opportunity in the morning.

https://cruise.expedia.ca/Cruise/en-CA/Itinerary?item=936647

Edited March 31, 2017 by xlxo

[bakersdozen12]

To clarify.... I'm not saying cruise ships round trip from Juneau.... but some cruise passengers will embark on Tracy Arm day tours round trip from Juneau. These cut into your Juneau port time with the 160 mile water trip.

 

 

 

Doing a quick search.... are you on the Carnival Legend on May 30th? I don't see Glacier Bay listed on the itinerary on Expedia....

 

https://cruise.expedia.ca/Cruise/en-CA/Itinerary?item=762422

 

 

Ah, ok. Gotcha.

 

And no. I'm sailing on her April 30th. It's an 8-day, Vancouver to Seattle.

 

 

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[xlxo]

Ok... just looked up the April 30th sailing... that's a great itinerary. Have fun.