NCL Joy Info Wish List

[ute_fan]

4 hours ago, ColoradoCruiser98 said:

We are going to be on the Joy, June 1 for our first cruise to Alaska.  My brother and sister-in-law told me that the only time we will be seeing glaciers is between 4 to 7 on Day 4 when we are cruising Holkham Bay Glacier Fjords and told me to cancel my dinner reservation's at 5:30.  Would LOVE to know if this is correct.  Thank you for any info and hope you are having a GREAT cruise! 

That's the day you'll have the best chance at seeing glaciers as this itinerary doesn't include Glacier Bay.  We've done 4 prior cruises to Alaska.  2 included Glacier Bay and 2 included this itinerary of Holkham Bay -- which they used to call Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glaciers.

Holkham Bay is an area that is outside two fjords -- both of which have glaciers at their ends.  Tracy Arm is the narrower of the two, and has two glaciers (North and South Sawyer).  Depending on ice flow and other conditions, if the ship can't make it up Tracy Arm it goes up Endicott Arm -- which has Dawson Glacier at the end.  The scenery going up isn't as spectacular as the fjord isn't as narrow, but it's still a nice glacier sighting.  There's an excursion called Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer that we did the first time we went to Alaska.   It's a smaller boat excursion that leaves from Juneau before the ship does.  The time we went we were able to get up near to both North Sawyer and South Sawyer, while the passengers who didn't take the excursion only saw South Sawyer and didn't get as close as we did.  You then board the cruise ship from the excursion boat while it's near the glacier, and resume the cruise.  That excursion says it's 5 hours long, so I'd expect that you'd still be having your closest glacier viewing until at little after 6.  

There are other glaciers you can see.  Depending on what excursion you're doing in Juneau you may be able to see Mendenhall Glacier.  As you're sailing from Skagway you can see Davidson Glacier, assuming it's still light enough, but it's an up close viewing.  We've seen a couple of other glaciers in the distance, but if you're really interested in the glaciers I would postpone your dinner a little.

We've doing the Joy mid-June.  I'm curious to see where these first sailings end up going.  I have trouble visualizing a ship the size of the Joy in Tracy Arm, but I think if there wasn't any chance they'd just be advertising it as an Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier itinerary.

 

[ColoradoCruiser98]

Thank you Ute_fan!  I went to change my reservation, but the agent told me that Cagney's is on the waterfront?!?  She said this will probably be one of the best spots for glacier viewing.  She thought it would provide good photo ops without the crowds?  We have a balcony, so I am guessing that would give us the same views?

 

Thank you very much for the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer excursion info.  It wasn't clear that this occurred after leaving Juneau.  The start time of excursion is 1:15.  We leave Juneau at 1:30 :-)  I think some of us may be going on that excursion.

[ute_fan]

1 hour ago, ColoradoCruiser98 said:

Thank you Ute_fan!  I went to change my reservation, but the agent told me that Cagney's is on the waterfront?!?  She said this will probably be one of the best spots for glacier viewing.  She thought it would provide good photo ops without the crowds?  We have a balcony, so I am guessing that would give us the same views?

 

Thank you very much for the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer excursion info.  It wasn't clear that this occurred after leaving Juneau.  The start time of excursion is 1:15.  We leave Juneau at 1:30 🙂 I think some of us may be going on that excursion.

You're welcome!  I haven't been on the Joy yet, but it sounds like that waterfront Cagney's would be fine.  

We loved the excursion when we did it.  We were able to see seals on the icebergs right in front of the glacier, and actually saw one give birth.  The downside is that if you don't go up Tracy Arm, you get closer to the glacier, but Endicott Arm is wide enough that I heard people complaining about it.  The problem is you won't know in advance which way you're going.


This picture is of the icebergs that were blocking Tracy Arm so that the bigger ship (the Sun in our case) couldn't get up to North Sawyer.  Those little brown spots on the ice are the seals 🙂