Tracy Arm in HAL 7 day inside passage

[bonvoyagie]

I don't think that size has too much to do with it - the 985' Norweigian Jewel made it all the way to the Sawyer Glacier at the end of June. I think it may have more to do with overall schedule and the maximium crusing speed of the vessels.

[cruiser 101]

I still don't understand the SC status do you get to see Tracy Arm or sleep in? We are on the Zuiderdam for Sept 2013 thinking we were going to both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm but after getting educated from this site I feel short changed, don't know what to expect please educate me more.

[Shmoo here]

I still don't understand the SC status do you get to see Tracy Arm or sleep in? We are on the Zuiderdam for Sept 2013 thinking we were going to both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm but after getting educated from this site I feel short changed, don't know what to expect please educate me more.

 

I don't understand. I thought SC was Scenic Cruising. So when we did Tracy Arm on our Zuiderdam Sep 2009 cruise (noted as SC in our itinerary), we actually cruised all the way into Tracy Arm.

 

But now it means Service Call? Just stopping by to drop off people for excursions?

 

I guess you should actually pose the question directly to the cruiseline.

 

:)

[travelingla]

Sorry, but HAL still has an excellent round trip Vancouver itinerary, with a add on Tracy Arm tour available. they often have superb ship naturalists, and the cpts, overall, do make more of an effort for scenic coastal sailing vs some other lines.

 

We did the RT Vancouver Volendam in May, 2006 and LOVED Tracy Arm - it was so scenic and serene... we booked same trip/ship for July, 2013 and have just learned the 10-10:30 Tracy Arm means 'service call' -- someone had told me it was still a trip thru Tracy Arm without a time for ending as it was determined by the weather/ice etc how long the ship would be there.

 

If it is indeed a service call for the shore excursion into Tracy Arm then I suppose the ones on the ship not doing the excursion see NONE of this area? I am really confused now. :confused:

 

So -- the ship just drops off passengers for the TA excursion ?? What time do those on the excursion make it to Juneau?

 

We had hoped to do a whale watch out of Juneau and thought the morning would be spent 'drifting' up Tracy Arm like in 2006.... so this is not the case?

 

I hope someone who really knows about this can help us out - we have about 30 going and this is a shock.....

 

Thanks

[roquejo]

I don't understand. I thought SC was Scenic Cruising. So when we did Tracy Arm on our Zuiderdam Sep 2009 cruise (noted as SC in our itinerary), we actually cruised all the way into Tracy Arm.

 

But now it means Service Call? Just stopping by to drop off people for excursions?

 

I guess you should actually pose the question directly to the cruiseline.

 

:)

 

It's service call, they printed out what SC means at the right of the table of the IT. It says service call.

[roquejo]

We did the RT Vancouver Volendam in May, 2006 and LOVED Tracy Arm - it was so scenic and serene... we booked same trip/ship for July, 2013 and have just learned the 10-10:30 Tracy Arm means 'service call' -- someone had told me it was still a trip thru Tracy Arm without a time for ending as it was determined by the weather/ice etc how long the ship would be there.

 

If it is indeed a service call for the shore excursion into Tracy Arm then I suppose the ones on the ship not doing the excursion see NONE of this area? I am really confused now. :confused:

 

So -- the ship just drops off passengers for the TA excursion ?? What time do those on the excursion make it to Juneau?

 

We had hoped to do a whale watch out of Juneau and thought the morning would be spent 'drifting' up Tracy Arm like in 2006.... so this is not the case?

 

I hope someone who really knows about this can help us out - we have about 30 going and this is a shock.....

 

Thanks

 

Well..seems lots of people who booked HAL inside passage 2012 cruises like me who haven't taken it yet felt either short changed, or shocked, or confused.

 

I'm also confused right now...

 

In our case, there is no Tracy Arm excursion offered!! As it is already late Sept. So what is the purpose of the SC if there is no people to dropped off in the first place?

 

and if we will arrive at Juneau at 1pm and there are no passengers to drop so no SC, what will the ship do in the morning? Just floating around??

 

Might as well ask the captain to try to enter Tracy Arm or any other alternative Fjord, or the entire morning IT will be wasted.

 

Since many are confused and shocked that the ship is just doing an SC, or will try enter Tracy Arm if weather and ice permitting.. why not lets ask HAL directly or ask anyone who just did this cruise this year whether they actually entered Tracy Arm or not.

[geoherb]

I agree that the promo is misleading, but I think the itinerary is clear that there's just a service call at Tracy Arm. Apparently HAL did not think to update the itinerary for the last cruises of the year when there's not an excursion into Tracy Arm. The 10 to 10:30 time on the itinerary would not give the ship long enough to traverse Tracy Arm. Perhaps if the captain floored it during the night, the ship could get there early enough to go.

[cruiser 101]

Found this reply this morning that's posted from another thread (don't know if thats the correct term)

 

 

#16

Today, 09:00 AM

thecook

Cool Cruiser

 

Join Date: Mar 2008

Location: Florida

Posts: 228

 

I just got back from a week on the Zuiderdam. We did indeed stop in Tracy Arm for only 30 minutes to allow passengers to board a small excursion boat. I was disappointed by the lack of scenic cruising with this itinerary. You are right that we as passengers learn lessons with every vacation that we plan. After this cruise, I learned that I need to ask my PCC a lot of questions before I make a final decision for my vacation.

[NancyIL]

I don't think HAL was getting to the end of the fjord very often on the cruises where they also sailed to Juneau the same day. However, knowing that the Volendam and Zuiderdam used to sail to both Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay - I wouldn't have noticed the difference in 2012 just by the "SC" next to "Tracy Arm."

 

The Disney Wonder has been getting to the glaciers at Tracy Arm just about every week because they allow enough time for the transit. Other ships that don't make it use the excuse that there's too much ice - when in truth they've run out of time.

 

I agree with vbmom87 about HAL watering down their itineraries. HAL used to sail to College Fjords and Glacier Bay on their one-way cruises, but now goes only to Glacier Bay. Princess still goes to Glacier Bay and either College Fjords (northbound) or Hubbard Glacier (southbound) on their one-way cruises.

[roquejo]

 

I agree with vbmom87 about HAL watering down their itineraries. HAL used to sail to College Fjords and Glacier Bay on their one-way cruises, but now goes only to Glacier Bay.

 

Crap.. all I along I thought Gulf of Alaska = sailing through College Fjord.

 

You are correct, this promo video I watched with HA:, that caused me to pick HAL over other cruise lines, because it said both Tracy Arm and Galcial Bay, also mentioned Colleage Fjord for one way cruises... leading me to assume that Gulf of Alaska in the present one way IT = College Fjord.

 

 

I think this video was created in 2009..

 

I thought too I got a jockpot IT, saling both Tracy Arm and Glacial Bay in just a 7 day round trip cruise from vancouver, but I was wrong.

[NancyIL]

Crap.. all I along I thought Gulf of Alaska = sailing through College Fjord.

 

You are correct, this promo video I watched with HA:, that caused me to pick HAL over other cruise lines, because it said both Tracy Arm and Galcial Bay, also mentioned Colleage Fjord for one way cruises... leading me to assume that Gulf of Alaska in the present one way IT = College Fjord.

 

 

I think this video was created in 2009..

 

I thought too I got a jockpot IT, saling both Tracy Arm and Glacial Bay in just a 7 day round trip cruise from vancouver, but I was wrong.

 

HAL's one-ways say "At sea (Gulf of Alaska)" in 2012, and "At sea" in 2013. The one-ways cross the Gulf of Alaska, but they no longer go to College Fjord.

[travelingla]

Crap...

 

I thought too I got a jockpot IT, saling both Tracy Arm and Glacial Bay in just a 7 day round trip cruise from vancouver, but I was wrong.

 

I know..... :mad:

 

Well - I appreciate the comments and explanations of 'sc' -- I am disappointed as the Tracy Arm day was one of my favorites on the 2006 Volendam cruise.

 

But.... having complained and gotten it out of my system now, I'll put on my big-girl-panties and get over it! :p

 

The cruise is more than TA to me and I know our group will have a blast and love the scenery of whatever there is to see! I love the Volendam.

[roquejo]

I know..... :mad:

 

Well - I appreciate the comments and explanations of 'sc' -- I am disappointed as the Tracy Arm day was one of my favorites on the 2006 Volendam cruise.

 

But.... having complained and gotten it out of my system now, I'll put on my big-girl-panties and get over it! :p

 

The cruise is more than TA to me and I know our group will have a blast and love the scenery of whatever there is to see! I love the Volendam.

 

I'm taking the Volendam, but just curious, what's so special about volendam compared to zuiderdam? Besides volendam being smaller ship with 500 less passengers so less competition for shore ex, and besides it sailing on a wed, making the ports less crowded?

 

volendam is also known for their verandas, but are already sold out on our cruise date.. but for the inside staterooms.. is Volendam still better than the other cruise ships or zuiderdam?

[Budget Queen]

Except for the last sailings, HAL has available the add on Tracy Arm excursion, which is excellent. So I do not agree, it's such a "bad" itinerary now.

[travelingla]

Except for the last sailings, HAL has available the add on Tracy Arm excursion, which is excellent. So I do not agree, it's such a "bad" itinerary now.

 

BQ.... I always value your opinion... You steered us right in 2006 :)

 

I would love to do this TA excursion but it is 5 1/2 hrs and we wanted to do the whale watch exc this time in Juneau. We did the heli and glacier trek the last trip which was amazing! Back to whales.... I don't think we could do both... Time wise... Wondering the possibility of seeing whales on the TA excursion compared to the whale watch.

 

And then.... Given a choice of one, which would you prefer?

 

We've been on great whale watches in Hawaii do its not like we've never seen them in 'the wild' before....I am also trying to help the grp going with us to decide which they would prefer, based on someone's 'expert' opinion who knows more than me!

 

Thank you for any insight you can give.

 

Roq... personally I've been only on the Vol do I am not the one to give you a personal comparison of ships ... Hopefully someone else can answer....

 

Disclaimer: plz forgive typos, I am horrid on my phone :(

[NancyIL]

Except for the last sailings, HAL has available the add on Tracy Arm excursion, which is excellent. So I do not agree, it's such a "bad" itinerary now.

 

It's somewhat misleading for HAL to list Tracy Arm on the Volendam/Zuiderdam itineraries, even with the fine print that it is only a service call, when only a limited number of people can go on the excursion at an additional charge. Unless I had read about the Allen Marine boat to Tracy Arm from those ships - I wouldn't have known what a "service call" was!

[Budget Queen]

BQ.... I always value your opinion... You steered us right in 2006 :)

 

I would love to do this TA excursion but it is 5 1/2 hrs and we wanted to do the whale watch exc this time in Juneau. We did the heli and glacier trek the last trip which was amazing! Back to whales.... I don't think we could do both... Time wise... Wondering the possibility of seeing whales on the TA excursion compared to the whale watch.

 

And then.... Given a choice of one, which would you prefer?

 

We've been on great whale watches in Hawaii do its not like we've never seen them in 'the wild' before....I am also trying to help the grp going with us to decide which they would prefer, based on someone's 'expert' opinion who knows more than me!

 

Thank you for any insight you can give.

 

Roq... personally I've been only on the Vol do I am not the one to give you a personal comparison of ships ... Hopefully someone else can answer....

 

Disclaimer: plz forgive typos, I am horrid on my phone :(

 

What is the timing? What is your port time. If Tracy Arm is 5.5 hours, is this from 10 am?

 

It may be possible to also include a whale watch.

 

I am an avid whale watcher. in Hawaii, I saw humpbacks just about every day, over 3 week. I took two whale watchh tours, and had excellent sightings on 3 snorkel trips. That would have been way excessive for some people. End of August, I expect to be out on 4-6 whale watches out of Gloucester. Add two I have booked out of Juneau. :)

 

I have always seen humpbacks on Tracy Arm boat tours. Most were brief single whale views. The sightings are significantly better with a whale watch.

[vbmom87]

BQ.... I always value your opinion... You steered us right in 2006 :)

 

I would love to do this TA excursion but it is 5 1/2 hrs and we wanted to do the whale watch exc this time in Juneau. We did the heli and glacier trek the last trip which was amazing! Back to whales.... I don't think we could do both... Time wise... Wondering the possibility of seeing whales on the TA excursion compared to the whale watch.

 

And then.... Given a choice of one, which would you prefer?

 

We've been on great whale watches in Hawaii do its not like we've never seen them in 'the wild' before....I am also trying to help the grp going with us to decide which they would prefer, based on someone's 'expert' opinion who knows more than me!

 

Thank you for any insight you can give.

 

Roq... personally I've been only on the Vol do I am not the one to give you a personal comparison of ships ... Hopefully someone else can answer....

 

Disclaimer: plz forgive typos, I am horrid on my phone :(

 

 

Not BQ, but before you decide which to do, if you can only choose one, you need to decide if whales are your priority or if scenery is your priority. If it is whales than schedule the whale watch. If it is scenery, then definitely go with Tracy Arm. It is an awesome fjord with or without seeing the glacier at the end. If you have never experienced a fjord with its high rocks, waterfalls, wildlife and ice flows, it is an experience you will never forget. For me, scenery always wins out over wildlife. We are all different in what we like to experience. You will have to think about what you like to do most. BQ definitely loves her whales. I went on an amazing whale watch in Icy Strait, but honestly, if I never go on another whale watch in my life, I am okay with that. However, when it comes to Tracy Arm, I could repeat it over and over again. For me, there is something very soothing about being amidst the beauty of mother nature and Tracy Arm was magnificent in my mind.

 

It sounds like you are helping others with their plans. I hope not everyone will feel they have to do the same thing. Not everyone enjoys the same things and it is usually best if everyone is given the options to choose what they think they will like to do best. There were five us traveliing together on our cruise. In Juneau two of us took an all-day Tracy Arm cruise. The other three did a bus tour in the morning together. In the afternoon two went on a helicopter tour with two glacier landings and the fifth person went on a whale watch. We got what we had hoped for out of Alaska. It made for great dinner conversation as we shared our stories.

[MightyQuinn]

... I would love to do this TA excursion but it is 5 1/2 hrs and we wanted to do the whale watch exc this time in Juneau. We did the heli and glacier trek the last trip which was amazing! Back to whales.... I don't think we could do both... Time wise... Wondering the possibility of seeing whales on the TA excursion compared to the whale watch.

Hi. You also posted about this on the HAL forum, so I'm glad I found you here. Maybe our recent experience on Volendam will help ...

 

We arrived at the drop-off point near Tracy Arm early and boarded the Allen Marine catamaran around 9:45 am. We spent the next 5 hours exploring Tracy Arm. We had dreary weather with low cloud cover but still saw some spectacular scenery and wildlife. This is not billed as a wildlife excursion but we saw harbour seals, eagles and even a few whale spouts as we exited the fjord. All in a very dramatic setting. We arrived back in Juneau about 3:15 pm and disembarked next to the pier where Volendam was docked, with plenty of time to hit Tracy's Crab Shack for a cuppa bisque!

 

You could easily combine the Tracy Arm excursion with an evening whale watch, provided you're in port long enough. Volendam stayed in Juneau until 10:30 pm. The Allan Marine shorex was scheduled to depart at 6:00 pm for 3.5 hours and you could probably do it privately as well. But here's a tip for whales: Be outside when you leave (or enter) Glacier Bay when the ship passes through Icy Strait. We saw an incredible number of whales off the bow of Volendam when leaving Glacier Bay. There were both humpbacks and minkes and they were literally all around us. Our Captain had warned us to be on the look-out and he was very excited when so many appeared. It was way better than some paid whale watch excursions that we've taken! As always, YMMV.

[travelingla]

What is the timing? What is your port time. If Tracy Arm is 5.5 hours, is this from 10 am?

 

It may be possible to also include a whale watch.

 

I am an avid whale watcher. in Hawaii, I saw humpbacks just about every day, over 3 week. I took two whale watchh tours, and had excellent sightings on 3 snorkel trips. That would have been way excessive for some people. End of August, I expect to be out on 4-6 whale watches out of Gloucester. Add two I have booked out of Juneau. :)

 

I have always seen humpbacks on Tracy Arm boat tours. Most were brief single whale views. The sightings are significantly better with a whale watch.

 

It says sc 10-10:30 in Tracy Arm

 

We are scheduled for Juneau 1-10:30 pm..... me thinks you will come back to life as a whale, BQ !!!:p

[travelingla]

Hi. You also posted about this on the HAL forum, so I'm glad I found you here. Maybe our recent experience on Volendam will help ...

 

We arrived at the drop-off point near Tracy Arm early and boarded the Allen Marine catamaran around 9:45 am. We spent the next 5 hours exploring Tracy Arm. We had dreary weather with low cloud cover but still saw some spectacular scenery and wildlife. This is not billed as a wildlife excursion but we saw harbour seals, eagles and even a few whale spouts as we exited the fjord. All in a very dramatic setting. We arrived back in Juneau about 3:15 pm and disembarked next to the pier where Volendam was docked, with plenty of time to hit Tracy's Crab Shack for a cuppa bisque!

 

You could easily combine the Tracy Arm excursion with an evening whale watch, provided you're in port long enough. Volendam stayed in Juneau until 10:30 pm. The Allan Marine shorex was scheduled to depart at 6:00 pm for 3.5 hours and you could probably do it privately as well. But here's a tip for whales: Be outside when you leave (or enter) Glacier Bay when the ship passes through Icy Strait. We saw an incredible number of whales off the bow of Volendam when leaving Glacier Bay. There were both humpbacks and minkes and they were literally all around us. Our Captain had warned us to be on the look-out and he was very excited when so many appeared. It was way better than some paid whale watch excursions that we've taken! As always, YMMV.

 

I was about to go find my posts to you, Mighty Quinn -- thank you for finding ME! ;)

 

We are scheduled for Juneau 1-10:30 pm.

 

THANK you so much for detailing your experience -- that is exactly what I wanted to hear -- someone who's been there done this -- so this is very helpful.

 

We did this exact ship and itinerary in MAY, 2006 but if included the morning of scenic cruising up Tracy Arm - probably did not get far but we did not mind as all the blue ice floating around was glorious -- we staye most of the time on our balcony in awe. IT was my favorite day.... even more so than the calving in Glacier Bay. I recall BQ suggesting to be out at 5am or whatever time it was -- EARLY and try to see whales but we really did not see any... some folks saw a few spouts, I think..... it was early May so maybe there weren't many then in that area? But I know the folks next door saw a bunch on their whale watch out of Juneau.

 

What time of year was your cruise?

 

What else did you do in Juneau that afternoon or evening if you were there till 10:30? When we went the last time in 2006 I do not recall our schedule.... but we were so tired after the 2 hr glacier trek we just napped! :rolleyes:

 

We will have to try this Crab Shack you mentioned. Thank you again for helping!!!

[travelingla]

Not BQ, but before you decide which to do, if you can only choose one, you need to decide if whales are your priority or if scenery is your priority. If it is whales than schedule the whale watch. If it is scenery, then definitely go with Tracy Arm. It is an awesome fjord with or without seeing the glacier at the end. If you have never experienced a fjord with its high rocks, waterfalls, wildlife and ice flows, it is an experience you will never forget. For me, scenery always wins out over wildlife. We are all different in what we like to experience. You will have to think about what you like to do most. BQ definitely loves her whales. I went on an amazing whale watch in Icy Strait, but honestly, if I never go on another whale watch in my life, I am okay with that. However, when it comes to Tracy Arm, I could repeat it over and over again. For me, there is something very soothing about being amidst the beauty of mother nature and Tracy Arm was magnificent in my mind.

 

It sounds like you are helping others with their plans. I hope not everyone will feel they have to do the same thing. Not everyone enjoys the same things and it is usually best if everyone is given the options to choose what they think they will like to do best. There were five us traveliing together on our cruise. In Juneau two of us took an all-day Tracy Arm cruise. The other three did a bus tour in the morning together. In the afternoon two went on a helicopter tour with two glacier landings and the fifth person went on a whale watch. We got what we had hoped for out of Alaska. It made for great dinner conversation as we shared our stories.

 

Thanks for your tips and I TOTALLY agree. I would NEVER try to get anyone to do anything they did not want to do on their vacation - it is THEIR money and their time and trip of a lifetime.;)

 

Some of the couples have been to AK before so we are all chipping in our 'expertise' and experiences to help those who are 'newbies' know the ins and outs.

 

I, like you, am more of an awesome scenery type of person - my husband, on the other hand, is more into the wildlife. I am thinking I will end up doing this TA excursion, esp after having read MQ's review above. My husband may or may not want to do it and may want to just go with others to do the whale watch. IF I can be assured of a later whale watch I might consider going.... will have to think on that.

 

I have experienced Tracy Arm and as I mentioned in my previous post, it was my favorite day - just the serenity of the day was magnificent. That is why I was so disappointed to find out 'sc' meant service call and an extra few hundred bucks to see TA again.:(

 

It IS fun to meet up with friends after a full day and find out all the various experiences of this marvelous state!

[MightyQuinn]

What time of year was your cruise?

Our cruise was late June/early July. We had miserable weather for most of the time, way worse than our Alaska cruise last September when we had glorious weather almost the entire time. So you just never know.

 

What else did you do in Juneau that afternoon or evening if you were there till 10:30? When we went the last time in 2006 I do not recall our schedule.... but we were so tired after the 2 hr glacier trek we just napped!

After a quick bite at Tracy's Crab Shack, we grabbed the shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier and just wandered around taking pictures. We had planned to walk Nugget Falls Trail but really didn't feel up to it. I guess all our dashing in & out of the catamaran at Tracy Arm did us in! LOL. But we still had enough energy to hit the Red Dog Saloon for some Alaska Amber when we got back to Juneau. Cheesy I know, but we enjoyed it!

[cruiser 101]

From what I gather from all the replies, you can get off in Tracy Arm get on an excursion boat and meet up with the ship at the next port all in the same day. Is this correct?

[vbmom87]

From what I gather from all the replies, you can get off in Tracy Arm get on an excursion boat and meet up with the ship at the next port all in the same day. Is this correct?

 

Yes, if your ship offers this excursion.