NCL Bliss Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Expedition - Does it preclude cruising the Dawes Glacier?

[Carolinabanker]

Hello, I am going on the Bliss departing August 23, does doing the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Expedition shore excursion preclude doing the Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier cruising on the Bliss? We are in the Haven in a forward facing penthouse and have access to the horizon lounge if that makes a difference in the calculus. Is this a worthwhile excursion?

[bonvoyagie]

Yes it is. Being able to get way closer to the glacier is just unbelievable.

[PATRLR]

16 hours ago, Carolinabanker said:

Hello, I am going on the Bliss departing August 23, does doing the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Expedition shore excursion preclude doing the Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier cruising on the Bliss? We are in the Haven in a forward facing penthouse and have access to the horizon lounge if that makes a difference in the calculus. Is this a worthwhile excursion?

It does, but that's OK.  You will get much, much closer to the glacier than Bliss does.  Look for @BirdTravelsLive report from the Bliss in June 2018. I was on that cruise and this excursion as was Bird.   Bird has pictures from this excursion and I'm pretty sure Bird shows how distant Bliss is from the small boat.  

That excursion is my absolute favorite of any cruise ship excursion I've been on.  I urge you to book it ASAP before it sells out (and it will sell out).  

[Carolinabanker]

Thank you! We have booked it, we are first time Alaska cruisers, any other shore excursions that are must do’s? We are doing the Whale and Marine Mammals cruise in Icy Strait Point, but are less sure about Sitka and Ketchikan. Victoria we may not do anything at all, other than walk about onshore.

[BirdTravels]

It is one of the absolute best Shore Excursions. Bird-recommended. We have been on it 3 times. 

 

Last year (2022) we stayed on the ship. There was a lot of ice in the water and this is as close as we got on the ship (that is the glacier about 5 miles ahead in the far distance). The Glacier Explorer got right up to the face of the Glacier that day. 

[bonvoyagie]

OK from the description. this is a RT Juneau excursion that visits Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier and uses all of your time in Juneau. We did this in 2012 on the Pearl and it was great. So to me it sounds like you will visit Dawes Glacier on the ship and then do the small boat when you reach Juneau. In the past there was another small boat excursion that left Juneau ahead of the cruise ship and went down the fjord to the glacier and then you boarded the ship for the trip out. This does not sound like that excursion. I still believe you will enjoy it. Also I could not find a Bliss Cruise departing Seattle on the 23 - the 19 and 26 are the closest to it.