Solstice - Alaska - Endicott Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer Excursion

[Ariyel]

Hi, firstly if I should only post this in the Alaska board, let me know and I'll delete this.

 

Here's my question - we're taking the Celebrity Solstice RT Seattle cruise departing June 28, 2019.

 

The day we cruise Endicott Arm we are there in the morning and then have port in Juneau from 1:30 to 10 PM the same day.  In reading up on this I was interested in taking the excursion that leaves from the ship (around 7:30 or 8 AM) while you're approaching Endicott Arm and gets you closer to the glaciers in Endicott Arm before rejoining the ship in Juneau (shortly after the regular docking time).  I thought this was the excursion titled "Endicott Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer Excursion", however when I went to sign up for this excursion it showed as starting at 1:30 PM (the same time we dock in Juneau).  I called Celebrity and the rep I spoke to said this excursion does indeed start at 1:30, which would mean it would take almost our whole time in Juneau since it's listed as a 5 hour excursion.

 

Does anyone know for certain, or have personal experience if this particular excursion leaves from the ship in the morning when you're already in Endicott Arm or if you get to Juneau and then this excursion turns around and goes back to Endicott Arm and then back to Juneau?

 

Thanks for any insight!

[keesar]

2 hours ago, Ariyel said:

Hi, firstly if I should only post this in the Alaska board, let me know and I'll delete this.

 

Here's my question - we're taking the Celebrity Solstice RT Seattle cruise departing June 28, 2019.

 

The day we cruise Endicott Arm we are there in the morning and then have port in Juneau from 1:30 to 10 PM the same day.  In reading up on this I was interested in taking the excursion that leaves from the ship (around 7:30 or 8 AM) while you're approaching Endicott Arm and gets you closer to the glaciers in Endicott Arm before rejoining the ship in Juneau (shortly after the regular docking time).  I thought this was the excursion titled "Endicott Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer Excursion", however when I went to sign up for this excursion it showed as starting at 1:30 PM (the same time we dock in Juneau).  I called Celebrity and the rep I spoke to said this excursion does indeed start at 1:30, which would mean it would take almost our whole time in Juneau since it's listed as a 5 hour excursion.

 

Does anyone know for certain, or have personal experience if this particular excursion leaves from the ship in the morning when you're already in Endicott Arm or if you get to Juneau and then this excursion turns around and goes back to Endicott Arm and then back to Juneau?

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

Last summer, a smaller boat came alongside the Solstice early in the morning to pick up cruisers for  this tour.   We were already in Endicott Arm.  The boat  then got really close to the glacier-- and later met up with the ship in Juneau around 1 pm.  That was in August, 2018.

Edited February 25, 2019 by keesar

[Ariyel]

29 minutes ago, keesar said:

 

Last summer, a smaller boat came alongside the Solstice early in the morning to pick up cruisers for  this tour.   We were already in Endicott Arm.  The boat  then got really close to the glacier-- and later met up with the ship in Juneau around 1 pm.  That was in August, 2018.

 

Thank you for the reply!  This is exactly what I was reading about (2018's tours) and I'm hoping this will happen this coming summer, but the Celebrity rep's info and the 1:30 departure time listed on the Celebrity website are making me question it.  I suspect I may have to wait until the 2019 sailings start happening to find out what the story is for this year.  Crossing my fingers this tour still departs early in the morning from the ship!

[dkjretired]

In all our cruise, best excursion we have ever taken however we did it in late August and were able to get real close to the glacier with the Solstice.  Not sure you will be able to do that in June.  We also went to another portion of glacier in the Catmaran.  

[Ariyel]

Found a little more information and I think the confirmation I was looking for!  I found the tour operator for the excursion was Allen Marine so I emailed them directly and got a great, quick reply back:

 

Greetings from Alaska! Thank you for your interest in our tours.

 

Endicott Arm is located 45 miles south of Juneau, the main difference between our one-way and roundtrip tour is travel time. The shorter one-way tour can only be booked through a cruise ship offering it through their shore excursion page. This is due to the fact that our catamaran will pull up right next to the cruise ship near the glacier, load guests directly from the ship, take guests on the up-close tour for great views of ice-bergs, waterfalls, any wildlife we may come across, and of course at least one tide-water glacier. Then our boat will bring you into Juneau.

 

Your research is correct. We do have an Endicott Arm tour scheduled with the Solstice that beings at 8:00am and ends at 1:30pm back at the ship that will be docked in Downtown Juneau. We do not have a 1:30pm to 10:00pm on our schedule. That being said, tour times can change but this one has been reoccurring for a couple seasons and no one from Celebrity has contacted us about any changes.

 

I hope you found this information helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions. We look forward to taking you out to see Endicott Arm this summer!

[keesar]

4 minutes ago, Ariyel said:

Found a little more information and I think the confirmation I was looking for!  I found the tour operator for the excursion was Allen Marine so I emailed them directly and got a great, quick reply back:

 

Greetings from Alaska! Thank you for your interest in our tours.

 

Endicott Arm is located 45 miles south of Juneau, the main difference between our one-way and roundtrip tour is travel time. The shorter one-way tour can only be booked through a cruise ship offering it through their shore excursion page. This is due to the fact that our catamaran will pull up right next to the cruise ship near the glacier, load guests directly from the ship, take guests on the up-close tour for great views of ice-bergs, waterfalls, any wildlife we may come across, and of course at least one tide-water glacier. Then our boat will bring you into Juneau.

 

Your research is correct. We do have an Endicott Arm tour scheduled with the Solstice that beings at 8:00am and ends at 1:30pm back at the ship that will be docked in Downtown Juneau. We do not have a 1:30pm to 10:00pm on our schedule. That being said, tour times can change but this one has been reoccurring for a couple seasons and no one from Celebrity has contacted us about any changes.

 

I hope you found this information helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions. We look forward to taking you out to see Endicott Arm this summer!

 

That is the company that does those tours.  Great research...  The boat does get real close.  REAL close in August...

[Ariyel]

7 minutes ago, keesar said:

 

That is the company that does those tours.  Great research...  The boat does get real close.  REAL close in August...

 

Yay, hopefully we are able to get close in early July too!  I went ahead and booked the excursion.  I'm REALLY looking forward to this one!