Solstice's Alaska Tracy Arm Fjord Cruise - Itinerary Question

We're taking the June 30 Tracy Arm Fjord Alaska cruise on Solstice and are just beginning to do our (late) planning. A May cruise has absorbed my few available cruise planning hours. :)

I'm trying to understand where we actually stop/dock versus just cruising, and the itinerary is a bit confusing. (We're newbies to an Alaska cruise.)

July 3 says Tracy Arm Fjords & Glacier (6 AM - 10 AM) and then Juneau, Alaska (1:30 PM - 10 PM)

July 4 says Skagway, Alaska (7 AM - 6 PM) and then Alaska Inside Passage (6:30 PM - 10:30 PM)

I'm guessing that the only real docking is Juneau and Skagway, but can someone tell me what happens arriving at the Tracy Arm Fjord portion? Does anyone get off the ship? I assume the Inside Passage part is just cruising, correct?

Finally, there is a short & late 5:30 PM - 11:59 PM stop in Victoria, BC the night before the 6 AM arrival back in Seattle. Do many leave the ship given the short stop and quick turnaround for Seattle?

Thoughts appreciated to jump start my planning.

We're taking the June 30 Tracy Arm Fjord Alaska cruise on Solstice and are just beginning to do our (late) planning. A May cruise has absorbed my few available cruise planning hours. :)

 

I'm trying to understand where we actually stop/dock versus just cruising, and the itinerary is a bit confusing. (We're newbies to an Alaska cruise.)

 

July 3 says Tracy Arm Fjords & Glacier (6 AM - 10 AM) and then Juneau, Alaska (1:30 PM - 10 PM)

July 4 says Skagway, Alaska (7 AM - 6 PM) and then Alaska Inside Passage (6:30 PM - 10:30 PM)

 

I'm guessing that the only real docking is Juneau and Skagway, but can someone tell me what happens arriving at the Tracy Arm Fjord portion? Does anyone get off the ship? I assume the Inside Passage part is just cruising, correct?

 

Finally, there is a short & late 5:30 PM - 11:59 PM stop in Victoria, BC the night before the 6 AM arrival back in Seattle. Do many leave the ship given the short stop and quick turnaround for Seattle?

 

Thoughts appreciated to jump start my planning.

The ship goes up the inside passage to the Glacier in Tracey ARm. That is actually probably the best part of your cruise. The ship does not dock, stays there awhile, turns around and goes back to Juneau. At the Glacier, if you choose you may take a Catamaran excursion off the ship which may or may not take you to another portion of the Glacier that the ship can't get to. This depends on how much ice there is at the time. You return on the Catmaran and meet the ship in Juneau. During this portion we saw lots of wildlife including whales, penguins, etc. One of the best excursions we have ever taken. This excursion is only available through Celebrity since it starts on the ship which is in the middle of nowhere.

During the cruising portion you will be given a running commentary by Brent Nixon the Solstice naturalist, he does a great job and also gives talks each day on various aspects of Alaska. He will give a commentary on the way back down the inside passage. First day at sea and last day at sea you will be cruising in the Pacific Ocean.

AT Victoria, most people did get off the ship and went into town. There were a number of excursion that people went on during the short time in the city. We did not do an excursion, just walked around the city which is quiet beautiful.

You will dock in Ketchikan, Skagway and Victoria. The Juneau stop in the past has alternated weekly between docking and tendering in the past. Do not know if this is still the case.

FWIW the Solstice didn't enter Tracy Arm last year pretty much all season. I watched closely as we were one it in late July. We went into Endicott Arm which was also gorgeous. Being aware of the situation I asked at guest services and no one would acknowledge they weren't sailing Tracy Arm. The morning we were to sail (starting at 6am) about 430am Captain announced the 'sudden' change in itinerary. Most passengers didn't even know when we were looking at it that it wasn't Tracy Arm as most people were asleep when the announcement happened. They still did the get off the ship and go close to the glacier on the catamaran thing.

We tendered in Juneau its one of the worst experiences I had on any ship I've sailed on and we missed out ship booked excursion for whale watching b/c of back ups. And we were not the only ones.

Many people get off in Victoria, you can head into town (shuttles are like $10) and you can shop, dine, see the city a little bit. There used to be water taxis back to the dock but those have been shut down. Before sundown head to the park and check it out, its lovely. The ship will also have some excursions and they seem pretty popular.

The ship goes up the inside passage to the Glacier in Tracey ARm. That is actually probably the best part of your cruise. The ship does not dock, stays there awhile, turns around and goes back to Juneau. At the Glacier, if you choose you may take a Catamaran excursion off the ship which may or may not take you to another portion of the Glacier that the ship can't get to. This depends on how much ice there is at the time. You return on the Catmaran and meet the ship in Juneau. During this portion we saw lots of wildlife including whales, penguins, etc. One of the best excursions we have ever taken. This excursion is only available through Celebrity since it starts on the ship which is in the middle of nowhere.

 

We are taking this in 2018, but I appreciate that early tip. In general, we shy away from ship excursions, but that one is the only game in town and actually looks pretty good, even if not cheap.

We loved Tracey Arms Fjord..we arranged early coffee and croissants for the balcony as we were entering. We were lucky to get very near to the glacier and had one of those amazingly blue, bright Alaskan days....

The ship did two 360' turns before leaving...Cruise before ours was terrible rain and quite poor visibility and the one after we believe had an itinerary change so as a previous post said it doesn't always go according to plan.

We loved Tracey Arms Fjord..we arranged early coffee and croissants for the balcony as we were entering. We were lucky to get very near to the glacier and had one of those amazingly blue, bright Alaskan days....

 

The ship did two 360' turns before leaving...Cruise before ours was terrible rain and quite poor visibility and the one after we believe had an itinerary change so as a previous post said it doesn't always go according to plan.

That was ours also, it was raining but we got very close since we went late August and there was hardly any ice.

We did this sailing end of May 2015. Had 70 degree and sunny most days. We were able to enter Tracy Arm. We did the catamaran excursion. So worth it. In Victoria we walked to fishermans wharf as we had been to Victoria before. Did the Frontier Excursions to the Yukon in Skagway. Would recommend.

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We will be doing this cruise this September and just booked the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer excursion. I am so glad to hear all of the positive comments about it. I have been waiting for two weeks for it to come available for booking. I'm really excited. Also hearing of whale sightings on this excursion is great news. Are the whale sightings frequent or just a lucky thing while in the fjord?

We will be doing this cruise this September and just booked the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer excursion. I am so glad to hear all of the positive comments about it. I have been waiting for two weeks for it to come available for booking. I'm really excited. Also hearing of whale sightings on this excursion is great news. Are the whale sightings frequent or just a lucky thing while in the fjord?

You're going a time when the whales are starting to Migrate back to Hawaii so they will be moving and hopefully you will see them. Also, don't forget that Celebrity has a great naturalist on board in Brent Nixon, we went to every one of his talks which are repeated on the TVs. He gave a talk every day and does a running commentary on the PA system while moving up and down the inside passage.

You're going a time when the whales are starting to Migrate back to Hawaii so they will be moving and hopefully you will see them. Also, don't forget that Celebrity has a great naturalist on board in Brent Nixon, we went to every one of his talks which are repeated on the TVs. He gave a talk every day and does a running commentary on the PA system while moving up and down the inside passage.

Thank you :)

I took this cruise last July. Make sure you go to the naturalist lectures. Very good. Went on whale excursion in Victoria. Saw more whales than in juneau. Naturalist can tell you probability of seeing whales. Glass blowing show on ship was different. We went to Endicott. Quite close. Small boat excursion was cancelled.

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We are on that sailing, as well...I just want to make sure you know that the cruise starts on the 29th, not the 30th. I’d hate to have you miss the ship!

We are on that sailing, as well...I just want to make sure you know that the cruise starts on the 29th, not the 30th. I’d hate to have you miss the ship!

OP started this tread back in March 2017 and the last year cruise was on June 30.

This year's cruise is on June 29 and we will be on the Solstice week before you.:)

How do these old threads keep popping up?