Permit Restrictions- Juneau Excursion

[mbarker10]

Our first time doing NCL and Alaska, and we got this email today. Any ideas what permit restrictions mean in relation to taking the tram? I tried to see if I could just buy tickets online but it says unavailable. 

[shof515]

these restriction is newer and started this year, the national parks is reducing the crowds that go to mendenhall glacier park

[mbarker10]

Just now, shof515 said:

these restriction is newer and started this year, the national parks is reducing the crowds that go to mendenhall glacier park

But we still get to go to the glacier it seems? Or close to it. So I assume we won’t be going to the park itself then. That’s a bummer! I didn’t realize there was a difference. 

[Panhandle Couple]

9 minutes ago, mbarker10 said:

But we still get to go to the glacier it seems? Or close to it. So I assume we won’t be going to the park itself then. That’s a bummer! I didn’t realize there was a difference. 

There is limited parking at the Glacier viewing point.  The tour operator that NCL uses obviously has their slots assigned.  However it may be the TIME of the slots that impacts the ability to return to town and use the Tram.

 

Glacier is ~ 12 mile drive to and from, but time involved could be up to 3 hours round trip from ship.

I read this as you WILL be going to the park, but not the tram.

 

The tram is not owned by the US Park service, it is locally owned and controlled.  There could be 4 other ships in port that day, and the predictability of when the tram is available is complicated.  1 or more other tour company (ship) may have bought up the available slots.  In addition, they keep some slots open for FCFS walk ups.    

 

Also note, rain and fog can make the tram experience not all that great.  Local weather can be unpredictable, rain and fog in the morning, and then clearing and sunny in the afternoon, or vice versa.

 

You might want to look at a combined Glacier and Whale watching tour.  They will do the whale watching even in rainy-foggy weather.  It means less time at the glacier, but whale watching there is OK, especially if you have never seen them.

 

[mbarker10]

1 minute ago, Panhandle Couple said:

There is limited parking at the Glacier viewing point.  The tour operator that NCL uses obviously has their slots assigned.  However it may be the TIME of the slots that impacts the ability to return to town and use the Tram.

 

Glacier is ~ 12 mile drive to and from, but time involved could be up to 3 hours round trip from ship.

I read this as you WILL be going to the park, but not the tram.

 

The tram is not owned by the US Park service, it is locally owned and controlled.  There could be 4 other ships in port that day, and the predictability of when the tram is available is complicated.  1 or more other tour company (ship) may have bought up the available slots.  In addition, they keep some slots open for FCFS walk ups.    

 

Also note, rain and fog can make the tram experience not all that great.  Local weather can be unpredictable, rain and fog in the morning, and then clearing and sunny in the afternoon, or vice versa.

 

You might want to look at a combined Glacier and Whale watching tour.  They will do the whale watching even in rainy-foggy weather.  It means less time at the glacier, but whale watching there is OK, especially if you have never seen them.

 

Thank you so much. Incredibly helpful info!

[Panhandle Couple]

Just now, mbarker10 said:

Thank you so much. Incredibly helpful info!

Best thing to do is look up description for JNU_55 and see if that is what you want to do.  If not, look at other available options.

[SoloAlaska]

It may have been an issue with one vendor being out of passes but they are offering a different tour with another. Have you looked at booking the tram separately? If you have FAS atleast the first person would be free.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, mbarker10 said:

Our first time doing NCL and Alaska, and we got this email today. Any ideas what permit restrictions mean in relation to taking the tram? I tried to see if I could just buy tickets online but it says unavailable. 

 

It essentially says that the tour operator (not NCL) did not get enough special use permits to operate the tour. They have rebooked you on an alternate tour to the park (which does have a permit).

 

The cancellation has nothing to do with the tram. And unless you have a very long port call, doing the glacier and the tram can be challenging (the line for the tram can be 45 min to 1 hour+ going up and down,,, if you try to leave the top too late, you'll watch your ship sail away without while you're stuck on the mountain top). 

 

 

[YVRteacher]

3 hours ago, shof515 said:

these restriction is newer and started this year, the national parks is reducing the crowds that go to mendenhall glacier park

The restrictions were put in place last summer.

[YVRteacher]

3 hours ago, mbarker10 said:

But we still get to go to the glacier it seems? Or close to it. So I assume we won’t be going to the park itself then. That’s a bummer! I didn’t realize there was a difference. 

Hi! I looked up the tour description and you still get the full Mendenhall Glacier experience. The bus will take you to the parking lot closest to the visitor center. From there you can do the very short walk to the viewpoint or do the 30 minute walk to Nugget Falls which puts you right up close to the glacier. The visitor center is also interesting and has exhibits, films, and a gift shop.

 

You will definitely have enough time to do the tram after the glacier. Just book NCL’s Juneau tram excursion. 

 

I have been to Juneau many, many times (in April, May, July, August and September) and have never once seen a long line for the tram. There are two trams that run continuously and each tram has a capacity of 60 people. The ride is 6 minutes. The math on the Goldbelt team website states that in an hour 1050 people can use the tram.

 

You’ll have a great day in Juneau! Be sure to buy some truffles (I love salted caramel and huckleberry) from the Alaska Fudge Company.

Edited January 27 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

57 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

It essentially says that the tour operator (not NCL) did not get enough special use permits to operate the tour. They have rebooked you on an alternate tour to the park (which does have a permit).

 

The cancellation has nothing to do with the tram. And unless you have a very long port call, doing the glacier and the tram can be challenging (the line for the tram can be 45 min to 1 hour+ going up and down,,, if you try to leave the top too late, you'll watch your ship sail away without while you're stuck on the mountain top). 

 

 

Not if you book the tram through NCL shore excursions.

 

[SoloAlaska]

Haven’t waited more than 5 minutes for the tram both times I’ve been. I’m sure it’s often busier than that but they move people through quickly. The nice thing about the tram is it doesn’t take long and you can place it wherever you have free time in your schedule. If the weather isn’t clear it’s not really worth going though.

[mbarker10]

8 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

It may have been an issue with one vendor being out of passes but they are offering a different tour with another. Have you looked at booking the tram separately? If you have FAS atleast the first person would be free.

Yeah, I mentioned in my post that currently buying tickets to the team is unavailable 

[mbarker10]

6 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

It essentially says that the tour operator (not NCL) did not get enough special use permits to operate the tour. They have rebooked you on an alternate tour to the park (which does have a permit).

 

The cancellation has nothing to do with the tram. And unless you have a very long port call, doing the glacier and the tram can be challenging (the line for the tram can be 45 min to 1 hour+ going up and down,,, if you try to leave the top too late, you'll watch your ship sail away without while you're stuck on the mountain top). 

 

 

I assumed it had to do with the team because it’s the only thing now missing from the tour. The description otherwise stayed the same. The tram has been dropped entirely from the excursion list, and has been replaced with this one, which doesn’t mention it in the description at all. So I just figured that was the issue. 

Edited January 27 by mbarker10

[mbarker10]

5 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Hi! I looked up the tour description and you still get the full Mendenhall Glacier experience. The bus will take you to the parking lot closest to the visitor center. From there you can do the very short walk to the viewpoint or do the 30 minute walk to Nugget Falls which puts you right up close to the glacier. The visitor center is also interesting and has exhibits, films, and a gift shop.

 

You will definitely have enough time to do the tram after the glacier. Just book NCL’s Juneau tram excursion. 

 

I have been to Juneau many, many times (in April, May, July, August and September) and have never once seen a long line for the tram. There are two trams that run continuously and each tram has a capacity of 60 people. The ride is 6 minutes. The math on the Goldbelt team website states that in an hour 1050 people can use the tram.

 

You’ll have a great day in Juneau! Be sure to buy some truffles (I love salted caramel and huckleberry) from the Alaska Fudge Company.

The tram excursion is what we booked and what was cancelled. It is now no longer available as an option. It is missing from the description of the new swapped excursion. 

[Asawi]

When is the cruise? I remember reading some time ago that the tram wouldn't open until May this year. Closed for staff education or something like that in April.

[mbarker10]

5 minutes ago, Asawi said:

When is the cruise? I remember reading some time ago that the tram wouldn't open until May this year. Closed for staff education or something like that in April.

Not until June which is one reason I don’t as surprised it was already canceled 

[1025cruise]

As people have previously stated, it's probably a timing issue getting you to do both, so they dropped the tram. Due to the permitting process to go into the park, the vendors are having to limit their trips to stretch them out through the season. Last year, the vendors didn't listen and used up their permits within the first month.

[YVRteacher]

9 hours ago, mbarker10 said:

The tram excursion is what we booked and what was cancelled. It is now no longer available as an option. It is missing from the description of the new swapped excursion. 

Permits are for the Mendenhall glacier for environmental reasons and crowd restrictions. The tram is not under a permit system. Your tour was changed because the operator of the first tour did not have enough permits for the season. You will be able to book the tram separately.

[mbarker10]

36 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Permits are for the Mendenhall glacier for environmental reasons and crowd restrictions. The tram is not under a permit system. Your tour was changed because the operator of the first tour did not have enough permits for the season. You will be able to book the tram separately.

I know. But I’m saying my original excursion included the tram and the tram is the only thing dropped. I’m guessing it is an overlapped timing reason with the permit issue.  I get what everyone is saying about the permit; unfortunately it won’t let me book the tram separately and I am glad to have the advice it might be better to wait and see what the weather is like. Everyone has been helpful!

[Grimix]

There's always Turo for visiting the glacier (no permit issues with that!) That's what we did, and then you get to do it on your own time, and do whatever else you want, all for the same or less than the cost of the ship's excursion. 

[cruiseny4life]

If you're trying to book the tram using NCL's website, you may not be able to as the times might conflict with the tram and with the excursion you have been moved to. You would not be able to view any excursions in the timeframe of your excursion...if not, not sure.