Alaska shore escursions/ tracy arm or juneau..

[Action Dave]

We will be on the Norwegian Joy beginning August 31 to November 7 sailing from Seattle.

We would enjoy whale watching and glacier experience. Is there an alternative to Norwegian escursions either

at Juneau ( Only there from 7 to 130) which may or may not be enough time.  Icy Strait we are there from 7 to 5 which seems

like a better option.  Are there any independent excursions from either of these ports. Norwegian tours seem pricy but get the ship will wait

 if we run late.  looking for other possibilities?  If anyone has any ideas i would appreciate your input.

[ColeThornton]

Dave, while you are waiting for responses here, check out the Alaska ports of call section. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

[Sauer-kraut]

I booked a private whale watching boat for Icy Strait for the end of the month.  The boat will take 6 passengers only,  I hope we have a good day for whales!!

[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, Action Dave said:

We will be on the Norwegian Joy beginning August 31 to November 7 sailing from Seattle.

We would enjoy whale watching and glacier experience. Is there an alternative to Norwegian escursions either

at Juneau ( Only there from 7 to 130) which may or may not be enough time.  Icy Strait we are there from 7 to 5 which seems

like a better option.  Are there any independent excursions from either of these ports. Norwegian tours seem pricy but get the ship will wait

 if we run late.  looking for other possibilities?  If anyone has any ideas i would appreciate your input.

The absolute best shore excursion is the Glacier Explorer. It leaves at 1:15 (just before the ship leaves the port) and gets right up to the glacier and returns you to the ship at 6:30. You get up close and personal with the glacier while the ship hangs back several miles. On the link below, starting at post #243 are photos from this excursion. It is offered on the Joy cruises. 

 

The excursion boat will also stop for whales and bears while the big ship sails on by. 

 

Btw, we would love a 3-month cruise. 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by BirdTravels

[bonvoyagie]

You have time to do one excursion in Juneau and there is lots to see there - Mendenhall Glacier, Whale Watching, Sled Dogs, Gold Mines and more. One thing I would do is book the small boat tour of Tracy Arm - I believe NCL calls it the Tracy Arm Explorer - it leaves just ahead of the Joy and you take a small boat that goes into the fjord and gets you up close and personal with the glacier - you board the ship as it meets you in the fjord. This tour is limited to about 25 people so act fast.

[Budget Queen]

1 hour ago, bonvoyagie said:

 One thing I would do is book the small boat tour of Tracy Arm - I believe NCL calls it the Tracy Arm Explorer - it leaves just ahead of the Joy and you take a small boat that goes into the fjord and gets you up close and personal with the glacier - you board the ship as it meets you in the fjord. This tour is limited to about 25 people so act fast.

No it is not limited to 25  people.    The tour vendor is Allen Marine and  space is for over 200.    Which,  isn't a lot for this size ship.  

[Seawoff]

not to exciting but a ton of fun and inexpensive is the Mt Roberts Tram.  costs about $35 each  the tram is right at the pier and you can stay on the mountain as short a time as you wish  the tram comes and goes about every 5 or 10 min.

 

We did it and found it to be an adventure but we are not to into things like Zip lining or level three activities.

 

It is perfect time wise especially if you have a short time in port.  The price is about the same if you buy it on the ship or at the 

tram.  The view is terrific.

 

[don't-use-real-name]

Buy the Mt. Roberts Tram as a NCL shore excursion the rate will drop to about $25 pp.

Plan to be at the top for more than an hour - Information center - gift shop - theatre -

and several hiking trails are available. The views are OUTSTANDING !

If NCL berths at the two piers adjacent to the Tram you have about a half hour more time

to enjoy this excursion - if using the remote pier with shuttle service watch your time.

 

While riding this tram a few minutes into the lift look down for eagles nesting in the trees

and the remains of an old gold mine.

 

As one car goes up another starts down counter-balanced.

[rmurray847]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:16 AM, Action Dave said:

We will be on the Norwegian Joy beginning August 31 to November 7 sailing from Seattle.

We would enjoy whale watching and glacier experience. Is there an alternative to Norwegian escursions either

at Juneau

I'm not an Alaska expert, because we're taking our first cruise there on the Bliss May 19.  But I will tell you that Google is amazing for helping you find tours.  In your case, try searching "shore excursions Juneau" and you'll find a startling number of options...all below NCL prices.   I know people often say they just pick something when they walk off the ship...we've never done that, because while not obsessive, we do like to plan ahead more than that.  But we've used the Google method all over the world, and never been disappointed.  Always save money or sprung for a truly private excursion with just my wife and I.  Never even been close to getting back to the ship late...the operators are way too paranoid about bad reviews.

[bonvoyagie]

On ‎5‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 9:40 PM, Budget Queen said:

No it is not limited to 25  people.    The tour vendor is Allen Marine and  space is for over 200.    Which,  isn't a lot for this size ship.  

I know that Allen Marine does the excursion - when we did it in 2016 the boat we were on was just recently re-certified for way fewer pax than it had been previously - in the past they could have people on both decks, afterwards they could only fill the bottom seats. I know that we were on the Pearl which is a RT tour from Juneau - we also saw the boat they used for the Jewel and it was not much larger than ours. We have also been on one of the mega boats they use for the whale watching those do seem to be able to hold close to 100 people.