Glacier Bay AND Tracy Arm? Is is possible?

Is there any itinerary that would allow you to do both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier?

We've cruised Alaska twice and done each one. My personal favorite was Sawyer Glacier on the small boat excursion. But, I understand that weather might prevent this excursion.

We are thinking about sailing to Alaska again this summer with family that have never been. My first inclination is to recommend Tracy Arm, but I think it would be very disappointing for all of us if weather prevented this and they didn't get the glacier experience. Is there any itinerary that would allow us to do both?

We usually sail either NCL or Princess, but might be open to another cruise line if it fits where we want to go.

Thanks!

Carnival Legend May 16th 2016, 8-day cruise does both. We'll be on it.

Have you cruised Carnival to Alaska before? My only experience with Carnival was a Caribbean cruise. This will be the first time on a cruise for these family members and they are older. Based on conversations with them, they are looking for a more up-scale relaxing experience. I'll look into it and not totally rule out Carnival, but in my one experience it was a younger crowd with a party atmosphere.

The way to do both is to book a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay, AND that has either

1. a service stop at Glacier Bay, (check the specific detailed itinerary, as this might not be listed on the main list of ports on the initial cruise listing. I have seen ones where it looks like - Tracy Arm: 10.00a.m. - 10:30a.m.

2. an extended all-day port time at Juneau, for the longer day trip from Juneau.

Adventure Bound has run very early departures to Tracy Arm and back.

For later port times in Juneau, Allen Marine has run later departures to Tracy Arm and back.

One can cruise Tracy Arm from Juneau from either of two operators... Allen Marine or Adventure Bound.

Or by boarding the sightseeing boat, from the cruise ship at Tracy Arm (which I understand is Allen Marine, unless there are exceptions.)

You mention more mature travelers, and seem to question Carnival.

Double check itineraries on Princess and HAL. I am not sure, since we selected a Southbound on Princess, but I believe that there might be itineraries, round trip, that might provide the opportunity to see Tracy Arm.

Have you cruised Carnival to Alaska before? My only experience with Carnival was a Caribbean cruise. This will be the first time on a cruise for these family members and they are older. Based on conversations with them, they are looking for a more up-scale relaxing experience. I'll look into it and not totally rule out Carnival, but in my one experience it was a younger crowd with a party atmosphere.

No, this will be our first cruise. It's a good itinerary (long port days and 2 ice days), but I'm not sure how many cabins are left. Also, this leaves from Vancouver and ends in Seattle.

Looks like the Crown Princess, round trip from Seattle, is in Juneau until later at night, and might work with a day trip thru Allen Marine from Juneau. I do not see a service stop at Tracy Arm, so might not be able to board the sightseeing boat there. So, this would make the excursion from Juneau to Tracy Arm and back a long excursion day.

HAL Nieuw Amsterdam, round trip Vancouver, looks like it has the service stop at Tracy Arm, then you would rejoin the cruise ship at dock in Juneau, later that day.

North bound Princess cruises have GB on their schedule and allows time for AdventureBound in Juneau.

The Nieuw Amsterdam and Volendam sail from Vancouver weekly and the itinerary includes Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay :)

Thanks for the information. I am just starting my planning. I'll check out HAL. We've never cruised with them before. We prefer an informal atmosphere and have done most of our cruises on NCL. We've have to do some convincing to get one of these family members to go on a cruise, so I think I've been tempted to stick with what I know because if she doesn't have a good time this will be her one and only.

If my husband can get the time off work, we want to allow a few days before or after for Denali so I'll look at the one way cruises. Not sure if anyone else will be joining us or not for that. That should help me narrow down the choices some.

I still haven't seen any with a service stop in the ones I've looked at so far. Thanks so much for that information though so I will know what it is if I see it. I hate to give up a big chunk of time in Juneau for a Tracy Arm excursion, but that may be the best option. It was so nice when we did it before because we were able to fit in an excursion in Juneau and then the small boat to Sawyer Glacier because we were able to meet back up with the ship in Tracy Arm and not have to go all the way back to Juneau.

Too many decisions and it's all so beautiful!

One thing that is not common about the Carnival Legend cruise on May 16, is the ship goes into Tracy Arm and it cruises along with the small boat excursion. The ship just doesn't go as far into the fjord. The small boat loads in Tracy Arm and unloads back to the ship 3 hours later while still at Tracy Arm. Port day for Juneau is the following day from 7am-10pm. This 8-night special cruise is only offered once per year in the spring.

The Princess Northbound route from Vancouver to Whittier stops in Glacier Bay and has enough time in port in Juneau to allow you to take the Adventure Bound trip to Tracy Arm.

I usually pair with a Southbound trip as there is lots to see in Juneau, and B2B's are twice as much fun :)

I know that if Tracy Arm has too much ice - therefore taking to much time to transit - that most ships divert to Dawes Glacier on an adjacent fjord. Not sure if the small boat excursion also follows the cruise ship or not.

Some of the HAL ships that go to Glacier Bay do offer a service stop at Tracy Arm to transfer pax to the Allen marine boat for the trip to the glacier. The cruise ship goes on to Juneau and the Allen Marine boat ends in Juneau.

On the NCL Pearl, we were able to take all of our port time in Juneau to do the Allen Marine tour RT from Juneau.

Some cruise lines do different itineraries in the early spring and late fall that might include both.

If you do a B2B on the NCL Sun you would see both.

I remember that HAL has a RT 14 day cruise that included lots of different ports

Have you cruised Carnival to Alaska before? My only experience with Carnival was a Caribbean cruise. This will be the first time on a cruise for these family members and they are older. Based on conversations with them, they are looking for a more up-scale relaxing experience. I'll look into it and not totally rule out Carnival, but in my one experience it was a younger crowd with a party atmosphere.

I have cruised on Carnival to Alaska three times. I've also cruised Carnival to the Caribbean. The difference between a CCL cruise to the Caribbean and one to Alaska is significant. For the Alaska cruises the crowd skews older and it doesn't have the "party atmosphere" you may have experienced in the Caribbean. That said, I would hardly call it an up-scale experience. It's still a garishly (my opinion, of course) decorated ship. That's never bothered me, but I know some are put off by it and TBH it does feel a little incongruent on an Alaska cruise. LOL. But, it is a relaxing and enjoyable cruise for sure! If you look in my signature, you'll see I wrote a review of one of our Carnival Alaska cruises and there's a link to it there.

You mentioned not wanting to give up so much time in Juneau to do a TA excursion, but if that's a priority for your travel companions maybe they could to the TA excursion and you could do something based in Juneau. The excursion flatlander described in Tracy Arm on the Carnival sailing where you board the catamaran in TA and then reboard the ship was a highlight of all the Alaska cruises I've gone on. It was remarkable!

Whatever you decided, enjoy!!

TSG,

My sister and I sailed HAL round trip from Vancouver two years ago to be able to visit both GB and Sawyer. Sawyer was offered as an excursion off the ship and listed as a "Service Call" on the published itinerary. They off-loaded us at the mouth of the fjord to a large catamaran which went to the glacier and eventually ended in Juneau. It was a fairly spendy excursion (around $225.00 pp at the time I think), but worth every penny. In typical summer Juneau fashion it poured the whole time, but the catamaran had a large heated indoor seating area, steam free panoramic windows and hot drinks available. We wanted to take pictures so came prepared with full rain suits and other waterproof gear and spent the entire trip outside on the deck. We got some great pictures...eagles on bergs, bear on the beach, whale in a cove, waterfalls and lots of ice. We had a fabulous experience!

TSG,

 

My sister and I sailed HAL round trip from Vancouver two years ago to be able to visit both GB and Sawyer. Sawyer was offered as an excursion off the ship and listed as a "Service Call" on the published itinerary. They off-loaded us at the mouth of the fjord to a large catamaran which went to the glacier and eventually ended in Juneau. It was a fairly spendy excursion (around $225.00 pp at the time I think), but worth every penny. In typical summer Juneau fashion it poured the whole time, but the catamaran had a large heated indoor seating area, steam free panoramic windows and hot drinks available. We wanted to take pictures so came prepared with full rain suits and other waterproof gear and spent the entire trip outside on the deck. We got some great pictures...eagles on bergs, bear on the beach, whale in a cove, waterfalls and lots of ice. We had a fabulous experience!

The small boat excursion to tracy arm is $190 pp for Carnival Legend on the May 16 cruise. We're looking forward to it as a glacier and wildlife viewing excursion.

Lazy K, as a photographer, how smooth was the catamaran during the tracy arm excursion? I know it's not certain to be same conditions, but I have no reference how smooth, or not, it will be. I've simply never taken pictures from a boat before and trying to decide what would be reasonable camera gear to take for it. I'll take plenty of different camera gear for the cruise itself, but unsure about the small boat excursion. Glacier Bay is going to be a hoot if the weather is decent. I'll be out with 2-3 cameras and a pair of binoculars most of the day. :D

Flatlander321,

The catamaran was amazingly steady even when running full out. It was quite large. If we saw wildlife the captain would stop and maneuver around so we (there were several other much more experienced photographers out in the rain with us), could get different angles. When we saw the bear foraging on the beach he stopped and drifted us as close as possible. We were very close to shore. At the waterfall, he nearly backed us into it. I suggest simple gear for this excursion...especially if it is wet. My 100/300 zoom was way too much in most cases. My little 10X Canon point and shoot did amazingly well, as did my sister's, and was easier to keep dry in the rain than my bigger Canon. We had so much fun! Go! Enjoy!

Holland America , Maasdam has a 14 day Great Land Explorer that has Hubbard Glacier and Tracy Arm but they are cruising only days at them . I 'm not sure if this is what you where looking for or not .

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. Due to work schedules, this will have to be a 7 day cruise. We might be able to fit in a few days on land in Alaska before or after, but do not have the time for a back to back or 14 day cruise this time. I probably also should have mentioned that we need to go in late July or August so the cruise itineraries that are only early and late in the season aren't an option.

I think I've narrowed it down to a couple of dates on Princess and Hal that have long enough time in port in Juneau to allow for an excursion to Tracy Arm. Putting together the options today so we can discuss with family this weekend and hopefully make a decision soon.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. Due to work schedules, this will have to be a 7 day cruise. We might be able to fit in a few days on land in Alaska before or after, but do not have the time for a back to back or 14 day cruise this time. I probably also should have mentioned that we need to go in late July or August so the cruise itineraries that are only early and late in the season aren't an option.

 

I think I've narrowed it down to a couple of dates on Princess and Hal that have long enough time in port in Juneau to allow for an excursion to Tracy Arm. Putting together the options today so we can discuss with family this weekend and hopefully make a decision soon.

With only time for a cruise, then the best fit is going to be HAL. I have done this itinerary a few times, and it is excellent. Round trip out of Vancouver. You do have to add into your costs, the add on ship tour for Tracy Arm Don't get caught up in the "myth" of HAL not being "casual", I've sailed them several times in Alaska, and no change in my simple attire from any line sailing up there. Haven't done formal nights in over 10 years either. :)

I have also taken Carnival in Alaska, numerous times. Wrong thinking - if you are comparing to the Caribbean. :)

I know that if Tracy Arm has too much ice - therefore taking to much time to transit - that most ships divert to Dawes Glacier on an adjacent fjord. Not sure if the small boat excursion also follows the cruise ship or not.

 

 

 

This is not accurate. "Most" ships do NOT divert to Endicott Arm. It's been very rare the last few years. Cruise ships have been pretty successful getting up to Sawyer Island, even with ice. IF the cruise ship does go there, so does the add on boat tour. The add on does NOT go to Tracy Arm unless the ship also goes there.

Carnival Legend May 16th 2016, 8-day cruise does both. We'll be on it.

We'll be on this baby too. Hope we're able to get into both.

Is there any itinerary that would allow you to do both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier?

 

Thanks!

We did both on HAL - Volendam

Tracy Arm was a small boat excursion. Glacier Bay was a full day of sailing.

With only time for a cruise, then the best fit is going to be HAL. I have done this itinerary a few times, and it is excellent. Round trip out of Vancouver. You do have to add into your costs, the add on ship tour for Tracy Arm Don't get caught up in the "myth" of HAL not being "casual", I've sailed them several times in Alaska, and no change in my simple attire from any line sailing up there. Haven't done formal nights in over 10 years either. :)

 

I have also taken Carnival in Alaska, numerous times. Wrong thinking - if you are comparing to the Caribbean. :)

Thanks all. We did end up booking the HAL round trip Vancouver. It includes Glacier Bay and the service stop for the excursion to Tracy Arm. Really excited that our travel companions will get to do both - fingers crossed the weather cooperates.