Will we see glaciers from the ship?

[petuniaflower]

Aside from Mendenhall which we have an excursion for, we are not doing any other "see a glacier excursions"..will we see any other glaciers from the ship?  Below is itinerary..

[vswan]

I don't remember which glaciers we went to, but it's been my experience that the ships which do the glacier cruising (Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier) get in close to the glaciers and you have a day of glacier viewing from the ship. On one ship we sat in the middle of the glaciers and did a 360 degree turn to see from all sides.

[Crew News]

Unless you are asleep, you should see Dawes Glacier while in Endicott Arm.

 

[karatemom2]

You may or may not see the glacier on your Endicott Arm scenic cruising day. It all depends on how far your ship can get which depends on the amount of ice. Too much ice in the water will keep the ships further out and if that’s the case you won’t see the glacier. If the ice is minimal you will get some glacier viewing. No way to really predict. We have experienced both situations. 

[vswan]

I may be wrong, but I don't think glacier viewing is easy or even available from your other stops - Sitka, Ketchikan, Icy Point Straight. Doing an excursion at Mendenhall will get you close to the glacier, hopefully your ship can get close at Endicott Arm and you can view from "the other side."

[Heidi13]

On 6/11/2022 at 5:19 PM, petuniaflower said:

Aside from Mendenhall which we have an excursion for, we are not doing any other "see a glacier excursions"..will we see any other glaciers from the ship?  Below is itinerary..

 

This is a poor itinerary for guaranteed glacier viewing from the ship. Endicott is the only option, and it is highly dependent on the ice conditions and whether it is safe for the ship, to proceed up to the glacier.

 

In my experience, Glacier Bay is the only guaranteed glacier viewing from the ship. At every other glacier, we have failed to get in at least once due to ice.

[Coral]

I agree this is a poor itinerary for glacier viewing. And Mendenhall is disappointing unless you actually land on the glacier - and this costs $$$$. Visiting the front of the glacier is disappointing.

[BarbinMich]

21 hours ago, Coral said:

I agree this is a poor itinerary for glacier viewing. And Mendenhall is disappointing unless you actually land on the glacier - and this costs $$$$. Visiting the front of the glacier is disappointing.

I was in Alaska a month ago and didn't bother getting off the ship at Juneau (or maybe we missed it on the Crown).  But I did see it a few years ago and then there was hardly anything to see of the glacier from the Visitors Center.  You can hike to it, but I wonder if it can even be seen doing that.  FWIW, my great aunt traveled to Alaska in the 1920s or 30s and according to her diary the glacier came out to the highway!!

 

I have also been up Endicott Arm and we did see Dawes and this was in Sept., an otherwise terrible time to see the glaciers (e.g. there was basically no snow at the main glacier at Glacier Bay--just bare rock).

Edited June 13, 2022 by BarbinMich

[nini]

On 6/11/2022 at 4:19 PM, petuniaflower said:

Aside from Mendenhall which we have an excursion for, we are not doing any other "see a glacier excursions"..will we see any other glaciers from the ship?  Below is itinerary..

 

What time of year is your cruise? The later it is, the more of a chance for the Captain to make it down to the end of the fjord.

[Coral]

12 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

 

I have also been up Endicott Arm and we did see Dawes and this was in Sept., an otherwise terrible time to see the glaciers (e.g. there was basically no snow at the main glacier at Glacier Bay--just bare rock).

I believe Mendenhall went out to the highway! Scary though how much it has retreated.

 

I probably saw Dawes Glacier from a cruise ship 15 years ago and we got pretty close. Most people didn't hear that we went there instead of Tracy Arm and people were raving about Tracy Arm all day. This was in July.

 

I also was on AdventureBound Alaska one year, many years ago and Tracy Arm was iced out so he took us to Dawes Glacier and it was pretty cool that day. But Capt Steve always makes trip memorable by stopping for bears and he took us to Fords Terror and he timed it right so we could see it fully. This was in May.

 

Glad I saw them when I did. I know they are not the same now.

[Eaglecw]

There's 90% chance you WON'T see Dawes Glacier up in Endicott Arm do to ice in the water. We've been up there many times and the ship will turn around before you reach the glacier. To see the glacier you need to take the small boat tour off the ship, they sell out fast. It's still enjoyable cruising up Endicott Arm.

[rubytue]

On 6/13/2022 at 6:58 PM, BarbinMich said:

I was in Alaska a month ago and didn't bother getting off the ship at Juneau (or maybe we missed it on the Crown).  But I did see it a few years ago and then there was hardly anything to see of the glacier from the Visitors Center.  You can hike to it, but I wonder if it can even be seen doing that.  FWIW, my great aunt traveled to Alaska in the 1920s or 30s and according to her diary the glacier came out to the highway!!

 

I have also been up Endicott Arm and we did see Dawes and this was in Sept., an otherwise terrible time to see the glaciers (e.g. there was basically no snow at the main glacier at Glacier Bay--just bare rock).

We were there in 2009 and did a kayak trip on the lake in front of Mendalhall. We are going back next month, and I have a friend that lives in Juneau now. He is going to be our excursions for the day, but chatting with him last night, he says it’s going to be shocking how much it’s receded just since then. I’m not surprised it was that much larger 100 years ago. 

[donaldsc]

Go to AK and see the glaciers before they disappear.  Check out this NPS site on the changes in Glacier Bay since 1680 - https://www.nps.gov/glba/learn/nature/glacier-bay-s-glacial-history.htm. 

 

With global warming all the glaciers in the world will soon be gone.  Pretty soon they will have to rename Glacier National Park in Montana as Glacierless National Park.  We take our grandkids on an AK cruise when they turn 10 years old because when they become adults and are able to travel on their own many of the glaciers in AK will either be gone or have retreated so far back that you can't see them.  

 

This is what is happening to Mendenhall Glacier - "Since installing a camera at Mendenhall in 2007, Extreme Ice Survey says the glacier has retreated more than 1,830 feet -- about one-third of a mile. "

 

DON