Sherme

Has anyone done the Tracy Arm small boat excursion from Koningsdam this season? Tracy Arm was listed as a separate stop on my itinerary on Navigator until recently. It is no longer listed as a stop on Navigator, however, the Tracy Arm excursion is still listed on MY itinerary (it’s now only listed under Juneau - it used to be listed under Tracy Arm and Juneau). I am really hoping that this excursion will happen (I have already had the White Pass train and Yukon expedition canceled). I am concerned that the Tracy Arm stop is no longer listed as a stop on the itinerary. I would love to hear if anyone has done the excursion from a HAL ship.

Thank you all for your input. Per the port schedule, Koningsdam docks at Ore Dock, which looks closest to Yakutania Point. I had originally booked the combo Yukon/White Pass train tour, but after it got canceled, I decided to do the Yukon bus tour with Chilkoot. I booked the earlier (8:30 am) departure, which is supposed to return to Skagway by 3 pm, so that I would still be able to do the 4 pm summit train tour IF I wanted to. Now that I am getting closer to my cruise, I don’t want to commit to another excursion, and since I am more interested in wildlife/nature than shopping, I thought walking to Yakutania Point and possibly on to Smuggler’s Cove would be a great way to spend the rest of my time in Skagway. Should I be worried about bears on those trails?

I will be in Skagway at the end of June. I am doing the Chilkoot Yukon bus tour that day. The tour gets back to Skagway at around 3 pm, and the cruise ship leaves Skagway at 8 pm. I have read that the walk to Yakutania Point is really worthwhile. What is the best way to get to Yakutania Point from the cruise dock and is 3-4 hours enough time?

I heard back from Jayleen’s and they have space on a late afternoon whale watching trip. I decided to cancel the combo Mendenhall glacier and evening whale quest that I had booked through HAL and go with the small boat experience with Jayleen’s. I will lose out on the hour at Mendenhall Glacier, but since I am doing the small boat Tracy Arm excursion from the cruise ship in the morning, I am okay with that. I was worried about being on a whale watching cruise with 100 + people, and Jayleen’s only has 6 passengers on their excursions. Thanks for your advice, I can’t wait to go!

Since it is offered through HAL, I am not 100 % sure who the tour operator is. However, when I google the name of the tour, it points to Allen Marine Tours. I know there is heated inside seating and a topside outdoor observation deck. From the YouTube Video above, it’s definitely not a small boat. I am just wanting to make sure that I will be able to stand on the observation deck without having people all around me that will make it hard for me to have a great view. I have contacted Jayleen’s to see what they have late afternoon. Harv and Marc don’t have anything after 2 pm that day. I would have to give up on Mendenhall if I end up going with Jayleen’s, but I know there will be less people on the boat. Again, I don’t mind more people as long as I can have a good outside view.

Thank you for your responses and Five, thanks for the video. I arrive in Juneau after doing the small boat Tracy Arm excursion directly from the ship, so the main purpose of doing this evening Mendenhall and Whale excursion is to see whales. But since Mendenhall is one of the big attractions in Juneau, I was hoping to see it and to be able to do the walk to Nugget Falls. I have read that the walk to Nugget Falls takes 45 minutes round trip, so I think I will be able to do it in an hour. If anyone has done this tour, did you feel that there were too many people on the boat? I am hoping that it won’t be too crowded. Thanks for any advice.

Has anyone done this excursion through HAL? I would like to know how long you get to spend at Mendenhall Glacier, because I would love to walk to Nugget Falls and back. Also, how big is the boat? Did you feel that it was packed on he boat? I am wanting to do a combo Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching tour later in the afternoon, and this one has availability. I appreciate any input from people that have done this.

I booked the 8 hour White Pass and Yukon expedition (up by bus and return on the train), and now I am so disappointed to hear that the train will only be able to go to the summit this year. This means that I will have to make a choice: either the train to the summit and back or the bus trip into the Yukon with no train. For anyone that has done the combo tour: If you had to choose, which one do you recommend that I do? Why? This is my first trip/cruise to Alaska and I don’t know if I will have the opportunity to go back.