NCL giving refunds for Mendenhall Glacier excursions?

[drumming cruisers]

Haven't seen or been notified if refunds will be given for excursions booked through NCL. 

 

Thanks for any info. 

 

[julig22]

If NCL cancels an excursion, they will give you a refund.

Nor have I seen anywhere that future excursions have been cancelled.

Edited August 9, 2023 by julig22

[SoloAlaska]

Is the park closed? According to what I found online it doesn’t have any special notices. From a quick google maps search none of the roads used to get from the ship to the glacier are closed either. It doesn’t like like there’s any reason to cancel tours at this point.

[shof515]

39 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

Is the park closed? According to what I found online it doesn’t have any special notices. From a quick google maps search none of the roads used to get from the ship to the glacier are closed either. It doesn’t like like there’s any reason to cancel tours at this point.

its a capacity issue. here is a few articles about the issues at the park:

https://www.juneauempire.com/news/unprecedented-visitors-at-mendenhall-glacier-rapidly-outpacing-allowed-capacity/

 

https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/top-alaska-tourist-attraction-mendenhall-glacier-to-hit-capacity-for-visitors-by-late-summer/

 

https://www.ktoo.org/2023/07/21/as-mendenhall-glacier-hits-tour-capacity-juneau-visitors-are-opting-for-the-city-bus/

 

some tour operators is canceling tours that goes to the park due to this issue

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, drumming cruisers said:

Haven't seen or been notified if refunds will be given for excursions booked through NCL. 

 

Is there a reason to cancel tours???

[SoloAlaska]

28 minutes ago, shof515 said:

its a capacity issue. here is a few articles about the issues at the park:

https://www.juneauempire.com/news/unprecedented-visitors-at-mendenhall-glacier-rapidly-outpacing-allowed-capacity/

 

https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/top-alaska-tourist-attraction-mendenhall-glacier-to-hit-capacity-for-visitors-by-late-summer/

 

https://www.ktoo.org/2023/07/21/as-mendenhall-glacier-hits-tour-capacity-juneau-visitors-are-opting-for-the-city-bus/

 

some tour operators is canceling tours that goes to the park due to this issue

I assumed OP meant due to the recent historical flooding event. Most tour operators suspended sales due to hitting the cap for the capacity issue. Very disappointing for anyone travelling later in the season. I went last year and planned to return this year but no luck securing tickets.

[azappraiser]

3 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

Is the park closed? According to what I found online it doesn’t have any special notices. From a quick google maps search none of the roads used to get from the ship to the glacier are closed either. It doesn’t like like there’s any reason to cancel tours at this point.

 

Google Maps isn't real-time.

[SoloAlaska]

19 minutes ago, azappraiser said:

 

Google Maps isn't real-time.

Except for traffic delays etc. I just went and checked on the towns website and no road closures were listed in the most recent updates. There was infrastructure damage which impacted waste water and other buildings however.

[zqvol]

19 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Is there a reason to cancel tours???

You haven't seen the news?

[SoloAlaska]

Just now, zqvol said:

You haven't seen the news?

Have you actually looked at what is happening since the hours after the flood happened? The news hasn’t been updated, back to “normal” isn’t news.

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, zqvol said:

You haven't seen the news?

If you refer to the massive flooding, it was mostly the "dam" on the retention pond several miles up on the glacier breaking and causing a large volume of water to enter the river all at once. Yes, there has been a high melt rate, but the flooding with the video of the house falling into the river was a one-off. 

[kitkat343]

On 8/9/2023 at 4:13 PM, drumming cruisers said:

Haven't seen or been notified if refunds will be given for excursions booked through NCL. 

 

Thanks for any info. 

 

Are there any active roll calls here or on Facebook for earlier sailings than yours?  You can ask current cruisers what the status is for the Mendenhall excursion which will give you a better sense of whether it might run (if slots are limited they might be able to run excursions on some sailing dates and not others).  Best of luck to you.

Edited August 11, 2023 by kitkat343

[bstreep]

We were on Spirit last week (arrived Seward 3 days ago).  Did not have an excursion booked, and couldn’t get one when we arrived, due to capacity limits on park service permits. Raft and kayak trips were cancelled.  
 

We are going back late next week on RCCL.  It appears the only way to get to the glacier is be helicopter. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

This whole closed due to capacity thing was news to me, and I live in Anchorage. Juneau is part of our news, but I haven’t seen anything about this outside of Cruise Critic. I can’t imagine booking an Alaska cruise and not having the opportunity to go there, if one so wishes, as that is one of the most common destinations for cruise passengers in Juneau. I do remember locals in Juneau wanting to restrict the number of tourists, though. Maybe that’s when the whole capacity thing started.

[SoloAlaska]

34 minutes ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

This whole closed due to capacity thing was news to me, and I live in Anchorage. Juneau is part of our news, but I haven’t seen anything about this outside of Cruise Critic. I can’t imagine booking an Alaska cruise and not having the opportunity to go there, if one so wishes, as that is one of the most common destinations for cruise passengers in Juneau. I do remember locals in Juneau wanting to restrict the number of tourists, though. Maybe that’s when the whole capacity thing started.

It’s only limiting tourism operators. It’s really a weird way of doing it. Other areas impose limits but usually daily or weekly limit to restrict environmental impacts. 

[Grimix]

We're turo'ing a car to get there. (Just a couple bucks more than doing the excursion with the blue bus for a family of 5, and could have got an even cheaper car...) It's only tour operators that are limited from what I understand.

[jcollin]

FYI, both M&M tours and Juneau tours have run out of permits to take people to the visitors center.  I called was told the best bet is to take a taxi.  They said they may have a few available at the dock but both company ran out of permits in July.  Not sure what a taxi charges.

[SoloAlaska]

16 minutes ago, jcollin said:

FYI, both M&M tours and Juneau tours have run out of permits to take people to the visitors center.  I called was told the best bet is to take a taxi.  They said they may have a few available at the dock but both company ran out of permits in July.  Not sure what a taxi charges.

I contacted a taxi and there was a ton of different parts to what they charge. Pricing was complicated but upfront.

[jcollin]

they charge for more than a ride there?

[SoloAlaska]

38 minutes ago, jcollin said:

they charge for more than a ride there?

Yes because you also pay for the park fees etc. they have to enter the national forest in order to drop you off. 

[The Traveling Man]

34 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

Yes because you also pay for the park fees etc. they have to enter the national forest in order to drop you off. 

Is it a US National Park?  If it is, then anyone with a lifetime park pass should be able to enter without any additional fee.

[SoloAlaska]

I don’t know all the technicalities but it’s a National Forest. A taxi would be a commercial vehicle so it may be subject to additional fees. If your 2 or more people though the taxi price seems equal or less than the tour operators and it’s a more comfortable ride.

[The Traveling Man]

57 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

I don’t know all the technicalities but it’s a National Forest. A taxi would be a commercial vehicle so it may be subject to additional fees. If your 2 or more people though the taxi price seems equal or less than the tour operators and it’s a more comfortable ride.

It has been a couple of years, but I don't recall a park entrance gate prior to reaching the parking lot.  If my memory is correct, those with a National Parks pass should be able to take a taxi to the parking lot which is next to the park office, then enter the park without paying any additional fee.  If that is correct, then the taxi driver would not be assessed any park entry fee, either.

[mapleleaves]

OMG, it's a $5 fee !!  Come on!

But yes, if you have an America  the Beautiful pass, it's free.

 

Info on the park, trails, transportation fees (and what the fees are used for) on the Forest Service web site.   Tongass National Forest - Offices (usda.gov)

 

I took a cab there about 5 yrs ago. $32 each way.  I would imagine it's $45-50 now.  Juneau isn't a huge city with an abundance of taxis, so if you need a ride back, call one ( or more)  of the taxi companies about 1/2 hr before you're ready to leave. 

[cruiseny4life]

Remember, you are entering a National Forest in a commercial vehicle if you enter via taxi/private tour/etc. Each public land manages Commercial Use Authorizations (CUA's) differently. While your pass might get you in, in a private vehicle, it may not get the commercial vehicle into the park. 

 

You can read all about CUA's on the NPS's website here: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/cua/index.htm

 

I'm with @mapleleaves though. Pay the fee and support the park. And, thank you for visiting your public lands (says someone who used to live and work in Yellowstone). I'm also a proud card carrying America the Beautiful Annual pass holder. 🙂