Question: NCL Tracy Arm Sawyer Glacier Catamaran Excursion

[Peter4cruise]

I am sailing on the NCL Spirit and am looking at excursions.

One excursion to Tracy Arm really caught my eye and I have a question regarding the reported start time. It's the "Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer" catamaran excursion [JNU-015]. NCL's excursion order form states that it starts at 1pm. The excursion brochure says it is 5 hours long. We're in Juneau from 7am-2pm, but this starts at 1pm and goes to 6pm. Does this mean it then catches up with the ship, and we board the ship from the catamaran?

 

If so, this would be really cool. That way we could do Juneau and the Mendenhall Glacier during the morning, and get to do the excursion in the afternoon. Basically making our day in "port" that much longer.

 

Has anyone done this excursion? What did you think? Does the catamaran really start sailing in the afternoon and catch up with the ship?

[Coral]

I have no clue.

 

I wish Princess offered that excursions - it sounds wonderful!

[santaharry]

The time to get to the Tracy Arm form Juneau take a min of 5 hours. We did the excursion by booking a local vendor that has the fastest ship and beat the others to the area, also we were able to stay longer and stop more often for whales.

We were on Princess and the got into Juneau at 7 Am and left at 8 Pm - the excursion started at 9 AM and got back at 5 PM and we beat the other boats back.

The vendor wa goldbelt and the ship AukNu. Undoubtly the top excursion I have taken in my 4 trips to Alaska.

I don't see how they can do it in 5 hours and really see anything but the glacier for a very shirt time.

[Coral]

Santaharry - sounds like a wonderful tour! Will have to put that on my list if I return to Alaska next summer. I did find the website describing the tour:

 

Tracy Arm Fjord Cruise

[20YearsBetweenCruises]

From the brochure on the link

it says "the catamaran

will maneuver back into open water to pull alongside

your awaiting cruise ship.

"

 

So it does sound like, instead of returning to Juneau, it just drops you off at the ship that has already left a couple of hours earlier?

 

Here is the complete text:

 

 

This tour is not available for guests on Norwegian Star.

Approximate Duration: 5 hours JNU-015

Join an exclusive opportunity to see the very best of

the Tracy Arm wilderness area and an exciting closeup

view of the majestic Sawyer Glaciers. Relax in the

warm, spacious cabin, surrounded by large windows

on a luxurious, high-speed catamaran as you depart

Juneau Harbor. Enjoy a variety of complimentary

snacks and beverages while watching for gleaming,

blue icebergs, which often mark the shallow-water

entrance to Tracy Arm. Explore the full length of this

ice-carved fjord, tracing the bases of cliffs that rise

4,000-feet above the jade-colored sea, as the

onboard naturalist provides a wealth of information

about the area. There will be frequent stops to view

wildlife. As you feel the mist on your face, your

Captain skillfully guides the vessel almost directly

under a plunging waterfall. The catamaran’s

extraordinary maneuverability will allow you to get

close to North Sawyer Glacier, which cannot be

approached by larger ships. You’ll then cruise slowly

past hundreds of seals resting atop recently carved

icebergs en route to a viewing-stop near the face of

spectacular South Sawyer Glacier. From the topside

observation decks you will be able to fully experience

the “white thunder,†as immense spires of ice break

from the glacier and crash into the sea. Following the

extended drift near the glacier’s face, the catamaran

will maneuver back into open water to pull alongside

your awaiting cruise ship.

Note: To fully enjoy a close encounter with wildlife, we

recommend participants bring a warm, rainproof jacket

for the observation deck.

 

NCL Spirit 6/4/04

Carnival? 9/1984

[juneau-ite]

Peter4cruise - Yes, this tour does actually leave from your cruise ship pier, in downtown Juneau, 30 minutes prior to the cruise ship leaving Juneau.

At the tours conclusion, the passengers will then re-board their cruise ship (directly from the high-speed tour catamaran), just as the cruise ship arrives at it's final destination in Tracy Arm, the South Sawyer Glacier. The catamaran will then return to Juneau, empty.

This tour was tested 7 times, for Norwegian Wind passengers, in 2003.

 

SantaHarry - The entrance to Tracy Arm ("the tracy arm bar") is approx 60 nautical miles, from the cruise ship piers, in downtown Juneau. The catamaran you rode on, traveled at 28-30 nautical miles per hour. From the entrance of Tracy Arm, it is another (approx) 24 nautical miles to the area of the North Sawyer & South Sawyer Glaciers. The speed of the catamaran allows for this area, to be the primary area for its slow and close up exploration.

But, unlike on your tour, passengers do not have to 'go back to Juneau'. They get to get back onboard their cruise ship & continue on their cruise.

 

I was fortunate enough to be asked to work as crew, on 6 of the test tours, in 2003. Tracy Arm & Glacier Bay are two of my most favorite places in Southeast Alaska, ... so I was very happy.

 

Hope this helps ...

[20YearsBetweenCruises]

juneau-ite,

 

Thanks for the info! What did the test passengers think of this excursion?? Sounds like the cruise ship cruises past this glacier, but this excursion lets you get closer to it? What kind of wild life do you sea? I was thinking of doing a whale watching trip, but perhaps we'd see a few whales & a whole lot more on this one. And how exactly do you get back onto the boat?

 

NCL Spirit 6/4/04

Carnival? 9/1984

[juneau-ite]

"What did the test passengers think of this excursion?? Sounds like the cruise ship cruises past this glacier, but this excursion lets you get closer to it? What kind of wild life do you sea? I was thinking of doing a whale watching trip, but perhaps we'd see a few whales & a whole lot more on this one. And how exactly do you get back onto the boat?"

 

It was very well recieved by the passengers mainly because the tour allows you to get closer, and stay longer, at all of the wilderness attractions (Waterfalls, wildlife, glaciers, ice bergs, cliff walls, scenic vistas) than is possible from the larger cruise ship. Because the tour vessel can stay at the glaciers face longer, it also increases the likelyhood of seeing up close glacial calving. And additionally, it also provides an up close view of the North Sawyer Glacier, which is not possible, from the cruise ship.

 

The typical wildlife we viewed on the test trips included Mountain Goats, Bald Eagles, Black Bears, sea birds (pigeon guillamonts, Artic Terns, Kittiwakes, etc) and hundereds of Harbor Seals.

On the test trips and on the many other Tracy Arm trips I have done, there is _not_ a high degree of success with Whale Watching. The area on the way to Tracy Arm is just not a primary area for Humpback Whales to feed in, during June, July, and Aug. It does seem to be an area they do transit through though and I would say I have seen Humpback Whales on only 20%-30% of the many, many trips I have done in that area, over the last decade. Orca or Killer Whales (just like most of Southeast Alaska) are more of a "being in the right place at the right time" and only seen on 10%-20% of the time in that area.

 

Some of the primary Juneau whale watch areas are well to the north of this area and that is where many of the Juneau whale watch & wildlife viewing tours are conducted. Those areas are much better areas for whale watching, as they are primary feeding areas for both Humpbacks & Orca. Humpbacks are seen on 99.9% of the Juneau "Whale watch tours" and Orca are seen on 30%-35% of the tours, in addition to other marine mammal species.

 

So, if Whale watching is your primary emphasis or goal, I would not recommend a trip to Tracy Arm. It does happen, but not with enough regularity for a reputable tour to feel comfortable in telling its passengers to expect it. (in my opinion)

 

You would have a better chance for exceptional whale watching on one of the tours conducted for that purpose, in Juneau. (Tracy Arm does provide for a much better chance at seeing bears though, than the areas around the Juneau whale watch tours)

 

The cruise ships stop further back from the South Sawyer glacier face and the tour catamaran leaves the glacier face to go out to meet the cruise ship. The cruise ship opens their sea door (that they utilise to load & unload their own tender boats, when at anchor in a port) and the catamaran pulls alongside that door and passengers reboard the ship directly from that platform.

 

Hope this helps ...

[Peter4cruise]

Juneau-ite,

Thanks so much for your prompt and completely thorough reply. We are absolutely doing this excursion. I am really looking forward to it. Thanks again,

-- Pete

 

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by juneau-ite:

 

It was very well recieved by the passengers mainly because the tour allows you to get closer, and stay longer, at all of the wilderness attractions (Waterfalls, wildlife, glaciers, ice bergs, cliff walls, scenic vistas) than is possible from the larger cruise ship. Because the tour vessel can stay at the glaciers face longer, it also increases the likelyhood of seeing up close glacial calving. And additionally, it also provides an up close view of the North Sawyer Glacier, which is not possible, from the cruise ship.

 

Hope this helps ...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[ute_fan]

I would appreciate any suggestions to help me decide betweent this tour and the Mendenhall Glacier/Wildlife quest tour. We were planning on going the Glacier/Wildlife tour, but after reading this post I'm wavering.

 

Specifically, I would like information on what kind of wildlife we're likely to see on the wildlife quest. My daughter's main desire is to see a bear. Is the Tracy Arm tour more likely to provide that opportunity?

 

NCL Sun 06/04

NCL Sea 01/04