Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Excursion

[debnrick]

Anyone that’s taken this Alaskan excursion have any comments? It’s pricey so would want to ensure it’s worth it. And it looks as if you exit the ship as it’s cruising the Fjord and then the smaller boat goes to the glacier then catches up back up with the ship. Is this correct? Not sure I like the idea of watching the ship sailing away without me. 

Edited March 5, 2022 by debnrick

[JT1962]

Definitely book it quickly since it usually sells out.  It gets you much closer to the glacier(s) than the ship. it’s basically like watching a concert from the front row instead of the top of the arena. I already booked for my May cruise.
 

Do a search on YouTube for some good videos that show how close the small boat gets vs the ship. The ship stays a couple of miles from the glacier and sometimes further due to ice conditions.

Edited March 5, 2022 by JT1962

[mondello]

It is awesome, definitely one of the highlights of an Alaska cruise. We went in mid-July 2016 and the wind picked up as the small boat cruised down the fjord. We put on every layer we had. A good raincoat also serves as a windbreaker. Be prepared for the wind because it can be downright cold. Tracy Arm was inaccessible due to ice; we went to another fjord that was also great. Got up close to a glacier between 150-200 feet high and watched it calve.

 

We met the morning of the excursion and one group got the bad news they were cancelled due to mechanical problems with one of the boats. Those that booked last were cancelled.

 

Yes, it is pricy but, the round-trip boat ride through the fjord was really very scenic. Definitely adds value to the excursion. 

Edited March 5, 2022 by mondello
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[LadyMac72]

We loved it!  My favorite excursion in Alaska.  This is the view of the glacier from the balcony of the ship.  We got much closer.  It was awesome.

 

[Anyislandwilldo]

Yup!  Listen to the others.......it is so worth it!!  Going back next year and planning on booking it again.  

[tallnthensome]

I also booked this excursion last week from the Spirit in Alaska for August. Was able to use OBC to help pay for it on the Carnival site which was nice .

[CC Rider 69]

I said it before, Alaskan excursions are expensive. We did this very one last August while on the Miracle. You see views and hear sounds you would never experience from the balcony of a ship 1 to 3 miles away. 

If you really want a memorable adventure, do the helicopter/airboat/glacier excursion when you're in Juneau. Yes, it was stupidly expensive, but it's an adventure you will never regret doing. Just imagine landing on a glacier drinking from a freshwater stream.

[kctwinmommy]

Yep! Add us to the list of people who recommend it. When we did it, there were 2 tours going. So we got on our smaller tour boats farther out, the boat took us to the glacier, then took us back to the ship and picked up another set of tourists. The ship goes near the glacier, but not as close as the small boats. And the glacier was calving the entire time we were there! The one picture shows basically how close the ship got, that's a wide angle view. The other is just one of the many pics I have from right next to it. And yes, it will rock the boat a bit! Plus, you're so much closer to the water, you get better views of the animals!

 

 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by kctwinmommy

[kctwinmommy]

3 minutes ago, CC Rider 69 said:

I said it before, Alaskan excursions are expensive. We did this very one last August while on the Miracle. You see views and hear sounds you would never experience from the balcony of a ship 1 to 3 miles away. 

If you really want a memorable adventure, do the helicopter/airboat/glacier excursion when you're in Juneau. Yes, it was stupidly expensive, but it's an adventure you will never regret doing. Just imagine landing on a glacier drinking from a freshwater stream.

100% agree! When people ask us about doing an Alaskan cruise, and they say they don't want to spend a lot of money, we tell them then really don't go. It's one of those things that most people will only do once. Yes, we know some who have gone more than once, but for a lot of people, it's a once in a lifetime event.

 

We did the chopper in Juneau, and I hate flying, but it was amazing!! I'm so glad we did it!!

 

[CrzRani]

I'm super pumped about this excursion and can't wait, as we booked it.  My question is, that the cruise planner is showing the excursion on our embarkment date, which is confusing to me.  Is this how it is showing up for others?  

 

Our embarkation date from Seattle is 6.29.22 and this shows my excursion at 10:30am on 6.29.22?  Glitch?  Or?

 

[tallnthensome]

4 minutes ago, CrzRani said:

I'm super pumped about this excursion and can't wait, as we booked it.  My question is, that the cruise planner is showing the excursion on our embarkment date, which is confusing to me.  Is this how it is showing up for others?  

 

Our embarkation date from Seattle is 6.29.22 and this shows my excursion at 10:30am on 6.29.22?  Glitch?  Or?

 

Glitch,  it says so right on the Carnival website. 

[CrzRani]

Hah... Carnival's website is loaded with glitches.  I don't see where it says, but I'll take your word for it.  

[kctwinmommy]

So it's been a few years since we did this one, but for some reason, I feel like there was something different about the scheduling of this excursion. I could be totally wrong (and not remembering correctly), but I just felt like there was something about the way they handled this one.

[kctwinmommy]

Oh but it does say this on the page. I was just looking to see if something jogged my memory...

 

"THIS IS IMPORTANT — please read this note before booking this excursion:

This excursion happens on the Tracy Arm Fjord day of your cruise, NOT on the Seattle day — please disregard the incorrect excursion location information on this page."

 

And maybe that's what I was remembering from ours too.

 

[JT1962]

For those that have taken this excursion from the ship, is there any difference between the 2 times that are available (11:00 AM or 1:00 PM)? The excursion says 3 hours. Do they have 2 boats or is the excursion actually only 2 hours? Would the 1:00 PM excursion possibly last longer?

 

I took a similar excursion from Juneau with Adventure Bound, but am a little confused about the timing and length of the excursion from the ship. 

 

 

[LHARTWICK]

A MUST DO for sure!  We did this same one with PCL on our last trip to AK.  One of our top three favorite excursions, if not #1!  We just booked this one for Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier for our RCCL cruise in September.  I would book it ASAP, as it always sells out before sailing.  Yes, it's pricey but so worth it - life is too short not to!  And the staff that handles this excursion are wonderful!  Enjoy!!

[kctwinmommy]

14 hours ago, JT1962 said:

For those that have taken this excursion from the ship, is there any difference between the 2 times that are available (11:00 AM or 1:00 PM)? The excursion says 3 hours. Do they have 2 boats or is the excursion actually only 2 hours? Would the 1:00 PM excursion possibly last longer?

 

I took a similar excursion from Juneau with Adventure Bound, but am a little confused about the timing and length of the excursion from the ship. 

 

 

 

So here's how it happened when we did it. The ship started at the mouth of the fjord. The 2 small boats pulled up along side the ship and we boarded them. We did the 11:00 a.m. excursion. We took the small boats into the fjord, stopping along the way at little inlets and such. So we saw small waterfalls and a little closer to the wildlife. Then we spent time at the actual glacier. I'd say about 30 minutes or so. It was plenty of time there for sure. As we were doing our trip into the fjord, the ship followed, but never got anywhere near as close as we did. So we got to truly experience the glacier and calving, like it was rocking our small boat, really cool! The ship comes partially down the fjord and then we returned to the ship in the middle of the fjord. I honestly thought they just got on the ships after us, but maybe there was another set of ships. Unless the second group is scheduled at 1 p.m. so that they're downstairs ready to get on at 2? There isn't any real benefit to one over the other, they really were paced the same time. Looking at the time stamp from my photos, it was a 3 hour excursion.

 

This is zoomed in on the ship as it followed us down the fjord

 

It was so neat to see these waterfalls along the way, and getting closer.

 

The bears on the shoreline.

Edited March 29, 2022 by kctwinmommy

[Saint Greg]

9 minutes ago, kctwinmommy said:

So here's how it happened when we did it. The ship started at the mouth of the fjord. The 2 small boats pulled up along side the ship and we boarded them. We did the 11:00 a.m. excursion. We took the small boats into the fjord, stopping along the way at little inlets and such. So we saw small waterfalls and a little closer to the wildlife. Then we spent time at the actual glacier. I'd say about 30 minutes or so. It was plenty of time there for sure. As we were doing our trip into the fjord, the ship followed, but never got anywhere near as close as we did. So we got to truly experience the glacier and calving, like it was rocking our small boat, really cool! The ship comes partially down the fjord and then we returned to the ship in the middle of the fjord. I honestly thought they just got on the ships after us, but maybe there was another set of ships. Unless the second group is scheduled at 1 p.m. so that they're downstairs ready to get on at 2? There isn't any real benefit to one over the other, they really were paced the same time. Looking at the time stamp from my photos, it was a 3 hour excursion.

 

This is zoomed in on the ship as it followed us down the fjord

 

It was so neat to see these waterfalls along the way, and getting closer.

 

The bears on the shoreline.

 

What month did you go? I have it booked the last week of May.

[JT1962]

2 hours ago, kctwinmommy said:

So here's how it happened when we did it. The ship started at the mouth of the fjord. The 2 small boats pulled up along side the ship and we boarded them. We did the 11:00 a.m. excursion. We took the small boats into the fjord, stopping along the way at little inlets and such. So we saw small waterfalls and a little closer to the wildlife. Then we spent time at the actual glacier. I'd say about 30 minutes or so. It was plenty of time there for sure. As we were doing our trip into the fjord, the ship followed, but never got anywhere near as close as we did. So we got to truly experience the glacier and calving, like it was rocking our small boat, really cool! The ship comes partially down the fjord and then we returned to the ship in the middle of the fjord. I honestly thought they just got on the ships after us, but maybe there was another set of ships. Unless the second group is scheduled at 1 p.m. so that they're downstairs ready to get on at 2? There isn't any real benefit to one over the other, they really were paced the same time. Looking at the time stamp from my photos, it was a 3 hour excursion.

 

This is zoomed in on the ship as it followed us down the fjord

 

It was so neat to see these waterfalls along the way, and getting closer.

 

The bears on the shoreline.

Thanks. I will keep the 11:00 booking that I currently have. I was just confused about the two times and it saying 3 hours for the excursion, but the 2nd option leaving at 1:00. 

[kctwinmommy]

51 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

Thanks. I will keep the 11:00 booking that I currently have. I was just confused about the two times and it saying 3 hours for the excursion, but the 2nd option leaving at 1:00. 

Yeah I asked my husband if he remembered, but since it was 6 years ago, we're both a little fuzzy on that part. LOL! I really felt that the boats we used came back and picked up the others. I would keep the first one too. I was nice to be back on the ship for a while before dinner, IMO.

[kctwinmommy]

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

What month did you go? I have it booked the last week of May.

We did this in July, 2016.

 

I should add, as I just realized, we did Endicott Arm Fjord, not Tracy Arm. When we were sailing 6 years ago, this was a big point of discussion. For a few years actually, Tracy Arm was too packed with ice floes, so the ships couldn't get into it. If that's the case, you'll do Endicott as well. It was still beautiful and amazing to be that close to it!

 

This is a little montage of the calving we saw. And yes, it will rock the small boat you're on. Nothing crazy, but you will feel it for sure!

[Elaine5715]

18 hours ago, JT1962 said:

For those that have taken this excursion from the ship, is there any difference between the 2 times that are available (11:00 AM or 1:00 PM)? The excursion says 3 hours. Do they have 2 boats or is the excursion actually only 2 hours? Would the 1:00 PM excursion possibly last longer?

 

I took a similar excursion from Juneau with Adventure Bound, but am a little confused about the timing and length of the excursion from the ship. 

 

 

Yes, there are two boats that leave at two different times. 

[heidiatmn1]

19 hours ago, JT1962 said:

For those that have taken this excursion from the ship, is there any difference between the 2 times that are available (11:00 AM or 1:00 PM)? The excursion says 3 hours. Do they have 2 boats or is the excursion actually only 2 hours? Would the 1:00 PM excursion possibly last longer?

 

I took a similar excursion from Juneau with Adventure Bound, but am a little confused about the timing and length of the excursion from the ship. 

 

 

We were told the later one is better as its warmer and there would be more calving so we did the later one. We regretted our decision as we sort of back tracked a lot of the same tracks we'd already done with the cruise ship-only closer. Think of watching an amazing concert from the back row.....front row would be much better but would you really pay to see it again from the front if you already seen it from the back? both were the same amount of time. 

[pe4all]

We also did this excursion with Carnival.  It was truly fantastic.  We also did the helicopter to Mendenhall Glacier and visited a dog-sled camp, and dog-sledded.  Really once-in-a-lifetime excursions.

[arctickitty]

11 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

What month did you go? I have it booked the last week of May.

May is a good time to see waterfalls.