26 Glacier Tour in Whittier (when already viewing Glacier Bay and College Fjord)

[DGeers]

Our TA is telling us not to miss the 26 Glacier Tour.  Will we see enough glaciers on the cruise to skip this five hour tour? I'm thinking I'd like to catch the train to Anchorage and get a rental car. We're staying 3 nights post-cruise. 

 

Thu, 08/18/22	Glacier Bay National Park (scenic Cruising), Alaska Scenic Cruising	6:00am – 3:00pm
Fri, 08/19/22	College Fjord (scenic Cruising), Alaska Scenic Cruising	6:00pm – 8:30pm

[Sarnia 432]

Definitely the best tour we did.

Not just glaciers, lots of wildlife

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by Sarnia 432
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[AKStafford]

You get a lot closer to a glacier than your cruise ship will. It's like watching the football game from the sidelines verse being seated in the top of the stadium.

[DGeers]

31 minutes ago, Sarnia 432 said:

Definitely the best tour we did.

Not just glaciers, lots of wildlife

 

 

 

Thanks. Beautiful pics.  I only have a cellphone to take pics and the zoom isn't too good.  What camera did you use? 

[CruiserBruce]

The 26 Glacier tour is fantastic, and we saw Hubbard Glacier up close on our cruise. We had absolutely perfect weather on our 26 Glacier tour...not a single cloud all trip. Highly recommend it.

[tetleytea]

I agree with not slashing the 26-glacier cruise, not just because it is very good, but because in Whittier it is pretty much the only thing in town.  If you have redundant glacier-viewing opportunities, slash the others and keep 26-glaciers.   Also, try and book a small boat if you can.  The literal "26 Glacier Cruise" company has big boats, and the experience is much better on a small one.    The highlight of both trips I took were the dall's porpoise chasing the ship.  I got nice closeup photos of what you would get if you cross-bred an orca with a dolphin.

 

I sailed both Glacier Bay and Hubbard on the same ships that I took the PWS cruise--you can't exactly just "slash" those, since they are on the big ship's itinerary.  But still, I am not disappointed that I booked the PWS cruise as well.  I'm just glad I didn't book any extra-special excursion for Hubbard/Glacier Bay off the big ship, too.  Now that would have been redundant.

[AKStafford]

Here's our pictures from when we did the 26 Glacier Cruise: http://akstafford.blogspot.com/2021/08/glaciers-7-31-2021.html

[Coral]

I would recommend the tour also.

[Sarnia 432]

On 8/5/2022 at 7:00 PM, DGeers said:

What camera did you use? 

DH used a Nikon D3500 for those photos.

 

I have a point and shoot and took some good ones too, but his get a tad closer.

 

 

[LeeW]

Done this on Princess B2B.  Better than viewing of Marjorie Glacier in Glacier Bay.  Saw a ton of glaciers and wildlife.  Book direct - cheaper and you get priority seating on the boat (although I spent a ton of time on the upper deck).  You go into some fjords off of College and see glaciers you can't see from the ship, as well as go the full length of College Fjord.  Note also that the glaciers tend to be shaded when the ship sails by them in the evening.  Not true on a small boat that leaves at noon.  Food (both fish and chicken) is great, as well.

[tetleytea]

I did it on a Prncess B2B, but I also did it on embarkation today on a Princess, and what was nice about it was that they stowed our luggage for us and we just waltzed right onto the ship.  No lines, no nothing.  Those were all gone earlier in the day.  The excursion usually (always?) makes sure you get back before the big boat departs, because there are others on the same boat.

[LeeW]

Excursion gets back at 5:45 (see Phillips web site for more info).  Most ships depart 8ish.

https://phillipscruises.com/26-glacier-cruise/

 

While we normally have the same table every night in Princess Mytime they were not doing fixed seating on Island that night and everyone just got seated as they arrived.

Edited August 10, 2022 by LeeW
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[CruiseMGM]

We did the 26 Glacier tour years ago while on a land-trip to Alaska and thoroughly enjoyed it. So close to glaciers and wildlife! We enjoyed it so much that we went back on a pre-cruise trip and did another of their tours......the shorter one called "Glacier Quest" that goes into Blackstone Bay.  Fewer glaciers, but both trips were absolutely lovely days on the ocean. Great crew, great trips!

 

Whatever you decide, have fun! 

[LB_NJ]

I loved the 26 Glacier Tour, absolutely excellent.  However, I think it is College Fjord.

 

The 26 Glacier Cruise | Alaska Railroad