Helicopter Glacier Landing Only or Include Glacier Walk?

My husband and I are planning on a helicopter tour in Juneau. We are torn between simply doing a landing and the 20ish minutes they give you to explore. Or should we do the landing and a one hour walk? The price difference would be an extra $80 total. We just don't know if the walk is worth it in order to get the full glacier experience? Thoughts?

Also, we may book through Princess for this. Are the times pretty accurate? When they say 11:30-2:45 do they stick to that or is there a high likelihood of having to wait an hour or two to get the excursion going? I just don't want to lose a huge chunk of our time in Juneau waiting around.

Thank you!

We did the Glacier Landing with Hike last year and would HIGHLY recommend it! It was by far our favorite excurision on our Alaska cruise! The extra cost of doing the "hike" was worth it to us! Below are a few pictures from our excursion (we booked through Carnival). I have full details of our excursion and more pictures in my photo review (link included in my signature line). Let me know if you have further questions!

WOW what wonderful pictures, makes me soooooo excited. Unfortunately we don't have time in Juneau for the glacier walk, but we've got a trip booked in Skagway. Fingers crossed the weather will be good, I'd be happy to see even a little of what you did.

WOW what wonderful pictures, makes me soooooo excited. Unfortunately we don't have time in Juneau for the glacier walk, but we've got a trip booked in Skagway. Fingers crossed the weather will be good, I'd be happy to see even a little of what you did.

Thank you! Here's a link to my review - I have tons of pictures (starting on page 3 of the review. I posted all pictures at the end). This includes 3 days pre-cruise stay in Seattle. If I recall the total time of the helicopter tour (from the time they transport you to helicopter pad & suit you up, including flight time and one hour glacier walk) only lasted about 2 hours or so. It was relatively short for how much we paid ($399 per person I think). We still had plenty of time afterwards to walk around Juneau and grab a bite to eat at Tracy's Crab Shack. I was also worried about the weather, because you hear so much about the helicopter tours being grounded due to weather conditions. I planned the heli tour for our first stop figuring that if plans fell through for that port, perhaps we could add flightseeing at one of the later ports. Luckily, we had good weather the entire trip.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1929967

OMG Heather I'm even more excited now after seeing your review and pictures. Thank you so much for taking the time to post, and reply.

Thanks for the pics and review, Heather! They're awesome! We may just spring for the glacier walk…for now I have the landing booked but will think on it over the next couple weeks. It's good to know that even with the walk you had time to poke around Juneau and eat, that's what we'd like to do too. We are in port from 11AM-10PM so that's plenty of time. Can't wait for our cruise!

OMG Heather I'm even more excited now after seeing your review and pictures. Thank you so much for taking the time to post, and reply.

Thanks for the pics and review, Heather! They're awesome! We may just spring for the glacier walk…for now I have the landing booked but will think on it over the next couple weeks. It's good to know that even with the walk you had time to poke around Juneau and eat, that's what we'd like to do too. We are in port from 11AM-10PM so that's plenty of time. Can't wait for our cruise!

You're both quite welcome! Yes...we had plenty of time to poke around Juneau after our tour! I think we were in port from 2pm until 11pm & if my memory serves me correctly, we board the ship right as it was getting dark (So we could have spent more time roaming around if we wanted).

Have a great trip!

What time of the year did you take this trip? You guys look pretty bundled up! How cold was it?

Teri

What time of the year did you take this trip? You guys look pretty bundled up! How cold was it?

Teri

We were on the last trip of the season for Carnival this past year (September 10th-17th). The time on the glacier & sailing through Glacier Bay were the only times I was cold all week. We actually had really great weather the whole trip (by Alaska standards). On the glacier tour, they provided the red jackets and windpants (to go over your own) on the tour.

A possibly silly question -- how scary is the helicopter trip there and back?

I've been debating booking this because I would love to hike on a glacier, and would love to see portions of that landscape from the air. While I've been on a helicopter once before I would still classify myself as a complete sissy when it comes to flying in any vehicle. Is the trip pretty fast and smooth, or is it windy and difficult?

Thanks in advance!

Another opinion- the added fees are insignificant in my opinion, if of interest, consider it. However, grossly superior for "experience" are the trekking options, of which I only recommend the level 3. An hour isn't going to get you far, going only as fast as the slowest person.

There are only 4 helicopter operators in Juneau. They do stick to schedules, but your "time" includes transit times of probably an hour of your listing, add weighing/loading/ putting on boots. Overall the flights are pretty short.

A possibly silly question -- how scary is the helicopter trip there and back?

 

I've been debating booking this because I would love to hike on a glacier, and would love to see portions of that landscape from the air. While I've been on a helicopter once before I would still classify myself as a complete sissy when it comes to flying in any vehicle. Is the trip pretty fast and smooth, or is it windy and difficult?

 

Thanks in advance!

IF I've had "smooth" flights, this doesn't have any reference to what future flights are going to be. I've flown numerous times, and have had a wide range of conditions. I take flights like others take buses. I've seen several sick/frightened passengers, who, made big mistakes booking those flights. When talking to them after, it seems pretty frequent that they claimed they've had trouble in the past, and "thought" they'd be "ok" that trip, by some miracle. Of course they weren't. I know time stand still in those cases, and there won't be any way out. Think carefully and don't be influenced by anyone but yourself. :)

Thanks BudgetQueen - that's good advice. If I'm this worried about it now, I should take that as a sign that I'd likely be a nervous wreck the whole time we're in the air. :)

Actually, I am more afraid of walking on the ice than the helicopter to get there. How difficult was it?

Actually, I am more afraid of walking on the ice than the helicopter to get there. How difficult was it?

On the fly in trips, it's like walking on concrete. It really isn't glare smooth ice. You would be given boots by most vendors. On the trekking trips you get crampons.

That's good to know. I had visions of it being an ice rink.

Thank you! Here's a link to my review - I have tons of pictures (starting on page 3 of the review. I posted all pictures at the end). This includes 3 days pre-cruise stay in Seattle. If I recall the total time of the helicopter tour (from the time they transport you to helicopter pad & suit you up, including flight time and one hour glacier walk) only lasted about 2 hours or so. It was relatively short for how much we paid ($399 per person I think). We still had plenty of time afterwards to walk around Juneau and grab a bite to eat at Tracy's Crab Shack. I was also worried about the weather, because you hear so much about the helicopter tours being grounded due to weather conditions. I planned the heli tour for our first stop figuring that if plans fell through for that port, perhaps we could add flightseeing at one of the later ports. Luckily, we had good weather the entire trip.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1929967

Heather, thank you so much for your information and pictures. We are going on the last Carnival cruise this season and can't wait. What was the name of the helicopter company you flew with? Also, what part of Pittsburgh are you from? I am originally from the McKeesport area about 10 minutes south of da Burgh.