Tracy Arm or Glacier Bay?

We're looking at a seven day Alaska cruise for our family in 2013. We've looked at those that leave from Seattle since my son's family moved there a few months ago. We're trying to decide between those that visit Tracy Arm and those that visit Glacier Bay; however, not knowing the difference I thought it best to ask those who know and have done these cruises. Which do you think would be the most interesting and why? :)

Either one is grand, but you are talking about two different experiences.

It's a full day in Glacier Bay, with scenic cruising and time in front of various glaciers. You usually get close to them, spend time, hear and see calving.

The sail up Tracy Arm is also gorgeous, but it's the scenery on the ride, and not the view of glaciers that's the draw. Chances are that you won't get too close to either north or south Sawyer Glacier.

Most people recommend Glacier Bay if that's the choice you have. Go up Tracy Arm on a shore excursion, if that's offered. Otherwise, do that on your next cruise to Alaska.

You really can't go wrong, though.

We haven't sailed yet, but we debated this too while planning our first Alaska cruise. If you book a Glacier Bay cruise out of Seattle, there is a HAL excursion out of Juneau where you can take a jet boat up Tracy Arm. It will get you closer to the glaciers then the cruise ships can and you will see both Sawyer Glaciers where the cruise ships can't get in far enough to see both. You get the best of both :) Their website says the excursions are on Sat, but they do them when the ship pulls in port. Our ship will pull into port at 1pm on a Tuesday and our excursion starts at 1:15. We return around 8:15 pm and the ship sails at 10 pm so we won't have time to explore Juneau. This is the excursion:

http://www.allenmarinetours.com/sightseeing/juneau/tours/glacier-fjord/round-trip.html

We sailed Oosterdam in June and were enthralled as we sailed through Tracy Arm. We were able to see the whole fjord and it is breathtakingly beautiful. It is a day we will long remember.

We have never been to Glacier Bay and from what I have read here, that is also a very beautiful experience.

We absolutely loved our cruise on Oosterdam and I never expected to. ;)

Tracy Arm. It is spectacular.

Gary

We haven't sailed yet, but we debated this too while planning our first Alaska cruise. If you book a Glacier Bay cruise out of Seattle, there is a HAL excursion out of Juneau where you can take a jet boat up Tracy Arm. It will get you closer to the glaciers then the cruise ships can and you will see both Sawyer Glaciers where the cruise ships can't get in far enough to see both. You get the best of both :) Their website says the excursions are on Sat, but they do them when the ship pulls in port. Our ship will pull into port at 1pm on a Tuesday and our excursion starts at 1:15. We return around 8:15 pm and the ship sails at 10 pm so we won't have time to explore Juneau. This is the excursion:

 

http://www.allenmarinetours.com/sightseeing/juneau/tours/glacier-fjord/round-trip.html

No guarentees that you will get to both Sawyer Glaciers by booking the add on excursion. In fact there is no guarentee you will even get to see one of the glaciers. Yes, your chances are increased, but nothing is definite.

We were lucky on our first Alaska cruise to have one that did both Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay. As PP noted, they are different experiences.

We were able to go all the way into Tracy Arm, so did see a bit of the glaciers. But what you're seeing is just a little where it actually meets the water. The views going in and out were grand (it was my first blue ice!).

Glacier bay glaciers are much larger and grander. I cannot begin to tell you how awesome it was.

If you're planning on only one trip to Alaska, I'd vote for Glacier Bay. If there will be more, I'd say do Glacier Bay first and come back for the others.

:)

No guarentees that you will get to both Sawyer Glaciers by booking the add on excursion. In fact there is no guarentee you will even get to see one of the glaciers. Yes, your chances are increased, but nothing is definite.

I realize that, but the odds are better with the small jetboat then on the cruise ship. The entire Tracy Arm tour sounds wonderful whether we see the glaciers or not. If we don't get to see the glaciers in Tracy Arm, then we know we still have Glacier Bay the next day. I've seen too many reports on CC from people who took the Tracy Arm cruise that were disappointed because they never saw the glaciers.

We were lucky on our first Alaska cruise to have one that did both Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay. As PP noted, they are different experiences.

 

We were able to go all the way into Tracy Arm, so did see a bit of the glaciers. But what you're seeing is just a little where it actually meets the water. The views going in and out were grand (it was my first blue ice!).

 

Glacier bay glaciers are much larger and grander. I cannot begin to tell you how awesome it was.

 

If you're planning on only one trip to Alaska, I'd vote for Glacier Bay. If there will be more, I'd say do Glacier Bay first and come back for the others.

 

:)

Our experience was the same. Both are beautiful, but I'd rank Glacier Bay ahead of Tracy Arm.

As mentioned, they are two different experiences, both beautiful!!! If you have your heart set on seeing glaciers, book a Glacier Bay cruise. As mentioned above, there are no guarentees you will get to see the glaciers at the end of Tracy Arm Fjord.

If you can find out the amount of transit time the cruiseship would have in Tracy Arm that can help in making your decision. The longer the transit time, the greater the chance you will get to the end of the fjord to see a glacier. Tracy Arm can get backed up with ice, especially early in the season. If your ship has a limited transit time, they will end up having to travel slowly and then turn around before they get to the end of the fjord since they will run out of time. (You will be told they had to turn around because of the ice, but in reality, it is usually because they ran out of time) However, if they have a longer time alloted in the fjord, they may be able to get to the end.

Last year the Disney ship had 7 hours alloted. They were making it to the end of the fjord regularly. I am not sure if there ever was a week that they did not, but from what I was reading, that ship was having great success getting to the glacier at the end. Other ships had as little as 2.5 hours alloted for the transit. I would say the average alloted time last year was about 4-5 hours. So, the more time the ship has for transit, the better chance you will have of seeing the glaciers at the end.

As already mentioned above, Glacier Bay is a pretty full day of gorgeous scenic cruising. You typically have about 9 hours in the Bay. Glacier Bay does not have the ice problems that Tracy Arm sometimes does. They both can get foggy.

It is hard to make a recommendation because both areas are beautiful. In Tracy Arm you sail through the fjord with high rock walls on each side. There are many waterfalls and if lucky you will see some wildlife. If you take the add-on excursion you will be much closer to the water level and if there is wildlife to be seen, it will be much more up close and personal. If you want to see photos, I can post the ones I have taken.

As mentioned, they are two different experiences, both beautiful!!! If you have your heart set on seeing glaciers, book a Glacier Bay cruise. As mentioned above, there are no guarentees you will get to see the glaciers at the end of Tracy Arm Fjord.

 

If you can find out the amount of transit time the cruiseship would have in Tracy Arm that can help in making your decision. The longer the transit time, the greater the chance you will get to the end of the fjord to see a glacier. Tracy Arm can get backed up with ice, especially early in the season. If your ship has a limited transit time, they will end up having to travel slowly and then turn around before they get to the end of the fjord since they will run out of time. (You will be told they had to turn around because of the ice, but in reality, it is usually because they ran out of time) However, if they have a longer time alloted in the fjord, they may be able to get to the end.

 

Last year the Disney ship had 7 hours alloted. They were making it to the end of the fjord regularly. I am not sure if there ever was a week that they did not, but from what I was reading, that ship was having great success getting to the glacier at the end. Other ships had as little as 2.5 hours alloted for the transit. I would say the average alloted time last year was about 4-5 hours. So, the more time the ship has for transit, the better chance you will have of seeing the glaciers at the end.

 

As already mentioned above, Glacier Bay is a pretty full day of gorgeous scenic cruising. You typically have about 9 hours in the Bay. Glacier Bay does not have the ice problems that Tracy Arm sometimes does. They both can get foggy.

 

It is hard to make a recommendation because both areas are beautiful. In Tracy Arm you sail through the fjord with high rock walls on each side. There are many waterfalls and if lucky you will see some wildlife. If you take the add-on excursion you will be much closer to the water level and if there is wildlife to be seen, it will be much more up close and personal. If you want to see photos, I can post the ones I have taken.

There have been reports lately that the time in Tracy Arm is not always as listed in the itinerary. Also, look closely and make sure that there really is time in Tracy Arm. On some itineraries, Tracy Arm is only a "service call," which means they stop to let people off for tours (the Tracy Arm boat ride), then go on to Juneau.

We have been to Tracy Arm twice and Glacier Bay 3 or 4 times.

Tracy Arm is a very scenic fjord, but have been only barely able to see the south Sawyer glacier due to ice conditions. We were there in June and in September.

IMHO, if you want to see glaciers up close, Glacier Bay is the better choice. Also, IMO, on a sunny day, there is hardly a better place to see glaciers and sparkling mountains than Glacier Bay. We have visited Glacier Bay in May each time.

Either way, I hope that you have a great cruise!

I've posted this before but it bears repeating for anyone trying to decide between Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay.

I know I'm in the minority (maybe even the only one :)) because glaciers aren't a priority for me. If I didn't see one glacier in Alaska it wouldn't bother me in the least. There is sooooo much more to it than giant ice structures. That being said, I did an excursion out of Skagway on a helicopter to Meade Glacier where we got out and walked around and it was awesome. I'll never forget stepping out of the helicopter onto the glacier...all I could utter was "WOW!!"

Have done both, they are both great. You can't go wrong with either one. Here is a picture of the Oosterdam (Sail's you might enjoy this) going up to Sawyer.

I think the Oosterdam looks like the Titanic in this picture.

I much prefer Glacier Bay to Tracy Arm and I have been to both places.

Have done both, they are both great. You can't go wrong with either one. Here is a picture of the Oosterdam (Sail's you might enjoy this) going up to Sawyer.

I think the Oosterdam looks like the Titanic in this picture.

 

What a wonderful photo, Melodie.

Love it. :)

That blue ice is amazing.

We were so fortunate to be so close to the second glacier and spend a good amount of time there. When I read how some 'saw it at a distance', I feel bad they didn't get to really experience the way we were so fortunate to view it. I got a thrill seeing the first glacier but when we saw the second, it was magnificent.

I loved all the floating blue ice but was grateful there wasn't too much as to make it impassable for Oosterdam to safely sail past it. It was such fun seeing the seals with the baby pups floating on the ice. :eek:

Glacier Bay. Do it.

Glacier Bay is awesome!

Be careful about Tracy Arm that it isn't just a SC =Service Call.

Glacier Bay. No contest.

...We're trying to decide between those that visit Tracy Arm and those that visit Glacier Bay; however, not knowing the difference I thought it best to ask those who know and have done these cruises.

Love the picture of the Oosterdam!!!!

We just got back from the Zuiderdam out of Vancouver. On that cruising they offer a trip for Tracy Arm and spend a beautiful day cruising Glacier Bay.

We took the catamaran trip through Tracy Arm and were able to get pretty close to both Sawyer glaciers. Many people we talked to from other cruises said they transited Tracy Arm, but never saw glaciers. As we were heading out we did see "The World" going in and I think that's a small enough ship that it could get close.

The Glacier Bay day was wonderful. Still cannot describe the scenery. Breathtaking doesn't do it justice.

We have cruised to Tracy Arm and also Misty Fjord. Tracy Arm being the most recent.

Both cruises were on Princess and each had a naturalist onboard. The narrative of Tracy Arm was fantastic and we were on the very front of the ship (literally bundled up to keep warm) and was amazed by all that we saw. There were icebergs, snow, wildlife, waterfalls and such beauty. We have no regrets that we choose this cruise.

Next year we are going on HAL (Westerdam) and the one thing we looked for was a cruise to Glacier Bay. Westerdam goes out of Seattle also. We are going in May 2013. Absolutely can't wait.

Whatever cruise you decide will be wonderful. You can't go wrong with a cruise to Alaska.

Have been to Glacier Bay, Tracy Arm and Hubbard Glacier many times.

Hubbard is our favorite as we have seen much more calving there.

Many times we were not able to get close to Tracy Arm.

Glacier Bay is an all day trip with lots of scenery. It is beautiful.

We were on the Zuiderdam last month, which offers an opportunity to see Tracy Arm (you have to do the excursion as it's only a "service call" on the itinerary) and spends a full day in Glacier Bay.

Both places were incredible, but in different ways. It depends on what you want to see. The previous poster who said that Tracy Arm was all about the ride to the glaciers was spot on. It's the scenery - the greenery, the high cliffs that you can get close to, waterfalls. It was beautiful. Being on the small boat, we were able to get close to both North and South Sawyer glaciers. We were lucky in that the weather cooperated. It was overcast the entire time but did not rain.

Glacier Bay on the other hand...words cannot describe how breathtaking it is when the weather cooperates there. The scenery is incredible there, too, but the focus is on the glaciers. All of it is beautiful and I found that the place got inside me far more than Tracy Arm did. Just awesome.

So, if you can only choose one, my choice would be Glacier Bay. No contest. But if it's possible, I say find an itinerary that does both!

I realize that, but the odds are better with the small jetboat then on the cruise ship. The entire Tracy Arm tour sounds wonderful whether we see the glaciers or not. If we don't get to see the glaciers in Tracy Arm, then we know we still have Glacier Bay the next day. I've seen too many reports on CC from people who took the Tracy Arm cruise that were disappointed because they never saw the glaciers.

Yes, Tracy Arm is an amazingly beautiful and majestic transit though stunning scenery, whether you see the glaciers or not. The thing is, many going to Alaska want to see glaciers. If Tracy Arm is the only scenic sailing day on their itinerary and their cruiseship/small boat excursion cannot make it to the glaciers they might be disappointed. I, along with others, have often stated that Tracy Arm is not about glaciers, but rather the scenic transit. Cruisers simply need to figure out their priorities for Alaska and then choose an itinerary that will give them the best opportunity to experience their priorities. For anyone wanting to travel early in the season and glaciers are a priority, I would suggest passing on Tracy Arm as it seems many of those early cruises do not get far into Tracy Arm. Some cruise ships will detour to Endicott Arm in these situations, and reports are that it is also a beautiful transit.

On my first cruise to AK seeing glaciers was definitely my priority. That is why I chose an itinerary that included Glacier Bay. I was lucky it also had enough time to take a small boat excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau. It also included College Fjords. I did not choose an itinerary at that time that just went to Hubbard, because I read too many reports that it can be iced out or fogged out. For a first trip, that was possibly going to be an only trip, I wanted to make sure I increased my chances of seeing glaciers, therefore choosing the Glacier Bay/College Fjords itinerary. If the current Princess itinerary that cruises both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier had been available back in 2008, I definitely would have chosen that one. However, I was very pleased with the itinerary I chose. I did get back to Alaska and did see Hubbard, and I have to say, I was not as impressed as many others have been. I actually prefer Tracy Arm over Hubbard Glacier. However, for anyone who is looking for glaciers, they would feel differently.

To the OP: Good luck with your decision. One factor that sways many people in their choice is that Glacier Bay is a National Park and Preserve. It truly is awesome, especially on a sunny day. ;)