Misty Fjord Vs Tracy Arm Fjord Excursion

[henren]

I am scheduled to sail out of Seattle on the NCL Star to Alaska on May 30th . The Misty Fjord boat tour is $162 pp and the NCL jetboat tour is $183 pp . I believe both of these tours are by Allen Marine and you can only book them thru' NCL ...Can you even book any Allen Marine tour directly thru' them because their website says to always contact the shore excursion desk of your cruise ship..??

 

Anyway..back to my point..since both these tours are in the price range..I might only take one of them..So which one should I chose?? Due to my itinerary..I think it is a no brainer to go with the Jetboat tour to Tracy arm..so that I can get near the glaciers..but I understand that the chances of getting shut out in Tracy Arm and being redirected to Endicott is also there...Is the Dawes glacier..in Endicott arm also best seen via JetBoat ?From some of the previous posts..the jetboat has an excellent chance of getting up close to the Sawyer glacier in the first week of June..

 

So what do you guys think ?..I have a 2 year old..son who will be coming with us..Does both the tours make any difference??

[kk-l]

I think both excursions are good options, we did both Misty Fiord and Tracy Arm by boat as part of our ships itinerary (as opposed to excursions) and enjoyed them equally.

What the difference will be is...what is the weather like on a given day in each location...AND...what do you and your two-year old feel like doing on a given day? Weather is always part of the equation in Alaska...and a two-year old is, well... :)

I cannot answer for the big ships...I'll leave that to those who have experience...but, we were able to book all excursions the day before on our small ship. In hindsight...that was a valuable and much appreciated option. I was under the impression that excursions should be booked well in advance to avoid disappointment and last minute thrashing. Not the case with us on a small ship. In this difficult economy...I wonder if more flexibility will open up for all excursions given the cost.

[Budget Queen]

Both are LONG rides with an unpredictable 2 year old. Think carefully. I've been on tours where they have been very disruptive and the parents having a terrible time. Neither of these boat tours are on huge boats. And as you have noted, they are costly for everyone. No flames please.

 

I've sailed Misty Fjords when RCI used to route through there, for me, it is far better to fly so to get the scenic expansive views.

 

As for Tracy Arm transit, that won't be determined until conditions are known, if, they go there or not. There likely will be availability on both these boat tours, once on the cruiseship. Key will be find out what they did the week before. There really is no need to book these now.

[kk-l]

After my post I gave it more thought and I too came to the conclusion that the excursions into either Misty Fiord or Tracy Arm would be a very, very long day for a two-year old...even in ideal conditions. And, I'm not sure there would be enough to keep the younger ones engaged and interested.

There are several threads on this board with suggestions for activities for young children. See if you can't pull them up to give you some ideas that might be more enjoyable for the whole family.

As I remember it...a two-year old pretty much calls the shots as to what kind of day everyone will have. :)