Missed out on Glacier Bay, worth another cruise to try again?

[WetPenguin]

Was on the Sapphire that got half-way up Glacier Bay but then turned back and due to a series of extraordinary circumstances ended up missing out on Glacier Bay entirely 😭, did see College Fjords the next day so not a total lost. 🫤

 

It’s a big let down to be so close and miss out on a “bucket list item”. 💔

 

It was a bit surreal to have the ranger still do his talk and say that he’s sorry we missed out seeing the glaciers but he kept saying the glaciers will still be there in the future while also mentioning the glaciers were actively retreating/receding 🤔.

 

FWIW, they did try to sell up College Fjords as the “hidden gem” of Alaska and a much more beautiful destination.
 

So after seeing College Fjords is Glacier Bay is just more of the same but with bigger glaciers? 🤷‍♂️ In other words didn’t miss out much?

 

QUESTION:

Curious, if you had a choice would you book the same cruise again or book something else and just let it go as one of those things in life that’s “just not meant to be”. 😞

 

Alaska cruise is not cheap. Unfortunately, don’t have infinite budget and infinite time and there’s lots of other places to also to cruise out there.

 

What to do? 🤷‍♂️

[Coral]

Glacier Bay is different and worth it. I would try to go again.

 

BTW - there always is last minute specials in May for $399 or $499 per person. Every year. Other lines have good last minute discounts also. Maybe put it on the list, even if it is not next year.

 

I am curious what circumstances happened that caused you to miss it.

 

Not that this will make you feel better but we were 9 miles from Hubbard on my first cruise. You could barely see it. We had no other glacier on that cruise. Thankfully I did return and did get close! Last month, Hubbard was the only glacier and we were not close at all. Again, that was the only glacier on that trip.

 

I do strongly recommend 2 glaciers in case one is missed. Usually it is not Glacier Bay. This is the reason why!

 

Are you coming from Australia or UK?

 

-----

 

I just read - your ship was on the one that rescued those from Un-Cruise. Yes, definitely unusual. Glacier Bay restricts only 2 ships per day. I wonder if you lost your time slot or used up too much time getting those other passengers on the ship. I am so sorry.

Edited June 12, 2023 by Coral

[wolfie11]

Was this due to the fire on UnCruise?  Glacier Bay is beautiful, but for me the overall scenery and journey up the bay are better than the glacier at the end.  Harvard Glacier in College Fjord is every bit as “nice” as Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay.

[SightCRR]

You can search youtube to see what G/B is like. Several miss it for various reasons (weather etc). Our first trip we stood out in the cold rain. Wouldn't do that now. I wondered about if you could file a claim with UnCruise for one seventh of the cruse cost. That wouldn't help with travel but may help a little. Not sure if the UnCruise got to see G/B before fire but I think that they will get their fare refunded. 

sightcrr. 

[latebuyer]

I’m really sorry you missed it. Maybe wait for a few years and go on holland america that has glacier bay and the small boat excursion to tracy arm. Small boat excursion is really popular. I am going on a cruise with a 3 year gap but i haven’t gone yet so can’t say how i feel. Glacier bay is beautiful and not just for the glaciers.

[latebuyer]

Also to add, what i am doing is different things/excursions at the ports to make it more different.

[david,Mississauga]

13 hours ago, WetPenguin said:

 

...

Alaska cruise is not cheap. Unfortunately, don’t have infinite budget and infinite time and there’s lots of other places to also to cruise out there.

...

 

 

Alaska cruises can be very cheap, even at regular fares. For example, on Holland America a 7-night Alaska cruise from Vancouver usually costs half of a 7-night cruise from Montreal to Boston. This season I have noticed a lot of sales, including the line we have booked on: Cunard. I have been getting e-mails and brochures in the post from other Carnival-owned lines - Holland America and Princess, all offering cheap deals. 

 

After we paid in full for our Queen Elizabeth cruise the fares tumbled for new bookings. An inside cabin could be had for as little as (Can.)$820 for 10 days. A balcony was as low as $1350. Other cruises were similarly reduced. 

 

Because the cruise lines are almost giving them away the cabins are filling up and there are now many sold out cruises on various lines. I suspect there are too many ships this season for the potential passengers. Whether this will be the same next year is anyone's guess. 

[SightCRR]

The hardest part is finding air fare round trip to SEA, or one way to ANC and YVR that is affordable plus cost from airport to ship. 

[DougH]

20+ years ago College Fjord was one of my favorite spots.  Not so now that so many glaciers have retreated and the ships don't seem to get anywhere close to the glaciers any more

[Coral]

I would agree that the beauty of Glacier Bay is not Marjorie glacier at the end. It is the entire sail in day.

[tetleytea]

I would say Alaska is almost always worth another cruise, but not solely for Glacier Bay.

[Amy G]

Yes, Alaska deserves many trips.  We are going on our 5th Alaskan cruise this summer,

[WetPenguin]

Yeah it’s cause another ship Wilderness Explorer caught on fire and we (Sapphire Princess) needed to rescue that ship and on top of that we had a medical emergency on-board which required a helicopter airlift — two exceptionally rare events to happen at once!

 

Yeah cruise can be cheap but flights right now are crazy! We would need to fly into the ports so that’s additional cost.

 

I agree that Glacier Bay is beautiful we got almost all the way up before we had to turn around and then spent the whole day just waiting on the US Coast Guard stuck in Glacier Bay so we did get to “enjoy” the beauty of Glacier Bay just didn’t see any of glaciers at the very end of the route.

 

 

12 hours ago, SightCRR said:

You can search youtube to see what G/B is like. Several miss it for various reasons (weather etc). Our first trip we stood out in the cold rain. Wouldn't do that now. I wondered about if you could file a claim with UnCruise for one seventh of the cruse cost. That wouldn't help with travel but may help a little. Not sure if the UnCruise got to see G/B before fire but I think that they will get their fare refunded. 

sightcrr. 

 

This is an interesting angle on the liability part sure that the passengers on Wilderness Explorer got some comp but wondering by extension they also own Sapphire Princess comp too 🤔. I know there’s nothing on Princess side as they are just doing what they need to do but in the case of causing accidents the usually the driver causing the accident is at fault. Wouldn’t even have a clue where to file grievance. 🤷‍♂️

[WetPenguin]

Oh and to add insult to injury there was another Princess Cruise that arrived later and was able to see all of Glacier Bay and passed us on the way out. 😥

 

I now understand the maritime law but one mistake Princess did was not explain well is why we still had to babysit the boat after all the wilderness passengers came aboard and then transferred to another boat and were on their way but Sapphire had to stay till the tugboat arrived even though US Coast Guard is onsite. Think Princess could have explained / communicated better… doesn’t change anything but helps better understand the situation vs just saying waiting to get released by the US Coast Guard.