Tracy Arm Princess small boat tour.

[diverdon48371]

I have search this forum and can not find the answer to what I am looking for. What I am trying to find out is what the tour is really like. What animals/sight do you see? I have read the reviews and they say it is worth the money, but don't give specifics. What to you see from the small boat that you would not see from the cruise ship? would we see any whales or bears?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Don

[portiemom]

The cruise ship can't get close in to the shoreline like a small boat can. It is the close up view vs the distant view. On the small boat we saw lots of beautiful blue chunks of ice floating very close by. We learned that the stronger the color the more recently they broke off from the glaciers at the end of the fjord. There are waterfalls, including one that we drove right into. The crew thinks it's funny, but protect the nice camera you brought along, if you stand outside.:( We got right up next to the face of the glacier, whereas you could barely see Sawyer Glacier in the distance from the ship. We had great views of mountain goats, including a mom and her baby on the hills above the glacier. On the way back to the ship we saw a seal or two on the ice floating along. Of course, from the ship you can still see the stunning scenery, but the people we sat with at dinner were sorry they didn't book the excursion.

[Eaglecw]

We've done the small boat tour in Tracy Arm numerous times. The first time we saw very little wildlife. The second and third times we saw lots of wildlife, bears, goats, puffins up in Tracy Arm. On our way to Juneau we saw numerous whales. So it's kind of a crap shoot if your going to spot any wildlife. The same holds true for the trip up to the Yukon from Skagway, sometimes you see a lot of wildlife and sometimes you don't.

[bUU]

We've done the small boat tour in Tracy Arm numerous times. The first time we saw very little wildlife. The second and third times we saw lots of wildlife, bears, goats, puffins up in Tracy Arm.

Could you please share the months for these three experiences?

[Coral]

I can tell you in May - I have seen bears and orca whales.

 

Here are some pics my friend Doug took:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1283269&highlight=blue+album

 

These were from RT out of Juneau on Adventure Bound Alaska, not the ships tour.

[mapleleaves]

Look at past trip reports for photos and first hand thoughts on the tour. Some people see wildlife (mountain goats, bear, eagles, whales, seals) and some don't (but enjoyed the closeup views of waterfalls, forest, icebergs, glaciers)

 

Check out youtube. Do a search on tracy arm and you'll find dozens of video of this tour. They will give you a good idea of what to expect.

[diverdon48371]

Thank you for your replies, and like I said I have read through previous thread but was not able to find what I was looking for. I also searched you tube, but it seemed like everything I found were the excursions leaving from Juneau. I am looking specifically for the excursions that leave from the ship in Tracy arms, then rejoin the ship in Juneau. If you know of some videos or threads I might have missed, could you please provide a link?

Thanks again.

[mapleleaves]

try a youtube search with ' tracy arm excursion '. That should bring forth more of the excursions that leave from the ship.

Other than that, I don't know.

 

Edited April 8, 2017 by mapleleaves

[mapleleaves]

Try a search on youtube for the vendors .... Adventure Bound or Allen Marine. Along with tracy arm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTL6mkA801I

 

Also, sometimes these tours end up at Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier due to ice on Tracy, so try a search on Endicott .

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Here's a blog post of our June 2013 Tracy Arm small ship excursion, boarding from our ship.(Volendam). You can click on the photos to enlarge:

 

 

https://twocruisingsisters.wordpress.com/2013/06/21/tracy-arm-juneau-glorious/