Endicott arm & Tracy Fjord excursion

[TMLAalum]

1 hour ago, KAE27 said:

 

Thanks again!  Wonderfully helpful.  We are on the August 27 sailing.  How about you?

2 weeks after you (9/10) so please post about your experiences!

[KAE27]

35 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

2 weeks after you (9/10) so please post about your experiences!

 

I would be happy to!  Thanks again for your help.

[CruiseMGM]

On 7/6/2021 at 5:14 PM, TMLAalum said:

Looking at the timing of Celebrity’s Tracy Arm excursion I am thinking we board off the Millenium but end in Juneau. Anyone ever done this with Celebrity?

 

We did this with a HAL ship several years back, got off our ship and onto a small boat IN the fjord, then the ship continued on to Juneau and we took our time in Tracy Arm before meeting back up with the ship in Juneau. It was a beautiful trip and we really enjoyed it. It was interesting getting back on the ship in Juneau, we boarded our ship from the ocean side, rang in with our ship cards and then walked through the ship and off the other side to another excursion we had planned for Juneau. 

 

We're on an August HAL cruise (can finally say "next month!") and we're returning to TAF, albeit with a ship tour r/t from Juneau this time. Long day but we're expecting it will be wonderful regardless.

 

Best wishes!

[CruiseMGM]

Sorry, double post!

Edited July 10, 2021 by CruiseMGM
.

[cruisegus]

So for anyone that has done one of these Tracy Fjord small boat tours in Juneau and also a helicopter to Mendenhall and then a Glacier trek/walk before flying back.  If you could only do one, money is not an issue, which would you choose?

[JayFank]

19 hours ago, cruisegus said:

So for anyone that has done one of these Tracy Fjord small boat tours in Juneau and also a helicopter to Mendenhall and then a Glacier trek/walk before flying back.  If you could only do one, money is not an issue, which would you choose?

Really wanting to know this, as well. I'll be sailing via Royal Caribbean next May and am unsure whether Royal will offer a Tracy Arm excursion, and if not if it will be possible to go through a private charter (Alaska bound or Allen Marine).

[Dancing Shoes]

I have only done the Tracy Arm excursion.  The later in the season you travel the better chance of going up Tracy instead of Endicott.  I have been on a helicopter in Hawaii, and that was a blast.  As far as walking on a glacier, does not excite me.  I am a snow skier and have had my share of experiencing icy conditions.

The two are so different.  The boat tour you will see huge ice burgs, floating too.  Waterfalls and pretty scenery.  Decisions decisions.  Good luck.

[Crew News]

On 7/10/2021 at 5:47 PM, cruisegus said:

So for anyone that has done one of these Tracy Fjord small boat tours in Juneau and also a helicopter to Mendenhall and then a Glacier trek/walk before flying back.  If you could only do one, money is not an issue, which would you choose?

The HAL Tracy Arm excursion has 1.5 hours of travel time from Juneau and back with a tasty box lunch.  The last time I was on this excursion I saw humpback whales, harbor seals, sea lions, two glaciers, and lots of ice flows.

 

The glacier walk was really fun.  The glacier is covered with about 1/4-inch of flowing water making it impossible to walk without the provided crampons and trek poles.  The deep blue color of the deep crevices was inspiring as was the helicopter ride over the glacier ice field.  If you choose this excursion, you will have time for a whale watching tour, too.

 

There is too much to see in one visit to Alaska.  Flip a coin to choose and plan on returning on another cruise to see more.

 

Bigger than a house:

 

 

Hundreds of feet deep on Mendenhall Glacier:

[TMLAalum]

Likely to sell out?

Thanks to Celebrity's generous policy of giving OBC for price reductions after final payment we have $200 on our account. However, this OBC is truly OnBoard as we cannot use it to pre-purchase excursions, dining, etc. There is also a possibility we can accrue even more OBC if prices drop further.

 

Should we wait to book this excursion aboard to save $$ or should we bite the bullet and book it now in case it is fully subscribed by the day we board?

[Italy52]

42 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

Likely to sell out?

Thanks to Celebrity's generous policy of giving OBC for price reductions after final payment we have $200 on our account. However, this OBC is truly OnBoard as we cannot use it to pre-purchase excursions, dining, etc. There is also a possibility we can accrue even more OBC if prices drop further.

 

Should we wait to book this excursion aboard to save $$ or should we bite the bullet and book it now in case it is fully subscribed by the day we board?

While we have never taken the excursion from Celebrity, we have taken it on other lines.  Your question is a tough one to answer as it is more a matter of personal choice.  For us, we really enjoy the excursion and don't want to take a chance of it selling out so we always book ahead.  Our ships have always been full at time of sailing.  Whatever you decide, I am sure you will enjoy your excursion.

 

Is there a possibility that you could cancel the excursion once on board the ship and then rebook with OBC?  Haven't sailed with Celebrity for a few years so don't know what their current policy is on cancelling excursions.

[TMLAalum]

Thanks, Italy!

I decided to book now after looking at the Allen Marine photos of the boat used for this excursion- it seems to hold @ 50 people. We can find other excursions to spend that OBC that we will book on the Millennium. 

[spotte]

For those that have previously taken this tour, I am very prone to motion sickness. I take meclizine daily on a cruise. Is this excursion likely to make me seasick?

Edited July 20, 2021 by spotte

[Italy52]

1 minute ago, spotte said:

For those that have previously taken this tour, I am very prone to motion sickness. I take meclazine daily on a cruise. Is this excursion likely to make me seasick?

There is always that possibility with any ship that you take.  We have taken this excursion multiple times and never had a problem.  But, we do take Bonine the night prior to our cruise and don't stop until the cruise is over --- never had a problem with seasickness.

[Dancing Shoes]

The water is pretty calm going up Tracy Arm.  Don't remember the part from there to Juneau. 

[KAE27]

On 7/9/2021 at 12:34 PM, TMLAalum said:

On 7/9/2021 at 10:33 AM, KAE27 said:

 

Thanks again!  Wonderfully helpful.  We are on the August 27 sailing.  How about you?

2 weeks after you (9/10) so please post about your experiences!

 

I wanted to come back and report that...we weren't able to do the tour.  Unfortunately we were on the sailing where the ship did not make it up the fjord to get anywhere near the glacier, and the tour was canceled.  Every other aspect of our cruise was terrific, though!

[Elaine5715]

I did take this tour off the Carnival Miracle Aug 10 sailing.  It was incredible, even with the rain for the first part.  Did wear good rain gear including rain pants.  That allowed us to stay outside the entire time.  I am prone to motion sickness but had no issues.  Water was calm.  Highly recommend

[don't-use-real-name]

On 7/20/2021 at 9:43 PM, Dancing Shoes said:

The water is pretty calm going up Tracy Arm.  Don't remember the part from there to Juneau. 

 

Google Maps

 

Zoom the Map for more detail 

Departing Juneau - the Gastineau Channel is calm
The channel widens out into the Stephens Passage
of the Inside Passage and the waters can be more
weather affected but certainly not like the open Pacific Ocean.
Reaching the point of Holkham Bay the channel to
the left is the Tracy Arm - to the right is Endicott

Map image:
Top left is Juneau
Mid centered is the Holkham Bay entrance to the arms
It is roughly a 2 hour one-way trip from Juneau to this point
The trip up the arms to Tracy (Sawyer glacier) and 
Endicott (Dawes glacier) is around 40 minutes +/-
dodging around ice flows etc.