Glacier Bay VS Hubbard Glacier?

[LoveCoffee]

We are debating between a HAL vs Celebrity Alaska Cruise w/land time on our own. The itinerary is basically the same on the 2 cruises we are looking at - EXCEPT HAL goes to Glacier Bay, while Celebrity goes to Hubbard Glacier. Should we lean to one over the other? And why? Thanks.

[bUU]

We haven't been to either yet but did a lot of research before we chose Holland America and one of the main reasons we chose Holland America was because it went to Glacier Bay instead of Hubbard Bay. Ymmv

 

I haven't read a single review or report from anybody saying that Hubbard Bay was better than Glacier Bay but I have read lots of reviews and reports saying that Glacier Bay is an absolute don't miss.

 

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[Coral]

Hubbard glacier is missed more than Glacier Bay. I would pick GB because of that.

[canuck13]

We are debating between a HAL vs Celebrity Alaska Cruise w/land time on our own. The itinerary is basically the same on the 2 cruises we are looking at - EXCEPT HAL goes to Glacier Bay, while Celebrity goes to Hubbard Glacier. Should we lean to one over the other? And why? Thanks.

 

 

 

Just returned from our Princess cruise that included both Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. They are quite different experiences. Hubbard is very impressive due to its massive size but is a much shorter visit. Glacier Bay is a full day of awesome beauty with viewing of multiple glaciers. We were fortunate to have great viewing conditions both days.

 

The problem with an itinerary that includes Hubbard only is that there is a greater chance of missing it entirely if visibility is poor or ice does not allow the ship to get close. While some have reported poor viewing conditions in Glacier Bay as well, it seems to happen much less often and it is unlikely that the entire day would be a wash out (or fog out). Wildlife sightings are more frequent in GB as well.

 

I prefer to include both but if forced to choose I would lean toward Glacier Bay.

[oaktreerb]

Glacier Bay will have national park rangers come on board for commentary and you will see more than one glacier. It will be an all day event. Hubbard Glacier is very large and impressive but it can be missed altogether if adverse conditions exist. Choose Glacier Bay if you want to be sure to enjoy glacier viewing.

[biojeep]

NCL Jewel northbound from Vancouver to Seward includes both. We did this itinerary on NCL Sun last year & absolutely loved it. We took ACT bus from Seward to Anchorage airport where we picked up our rental & drove to Denali. Fabulous trip!

[Italy52]

We just returned from 3 cruises that each visited Glacier Bay; one of them was also supposed to visit Hubbard Glacier. We are big fans of Hubbard but were disappointed this time around because we didn't get the opportunity to visit Hubbard due to fog --- this hasn't been the case for us in quite a few trips. Although we were sad to have missed Hubbard, we did enjoy every minute of our trips to Glacier Bay. If you look at the links below my signature you will see in my 2017 pictures numerous shots of Glacier Bay. Looking at my 2016 pictures, you will see what we have experienced during our visit to Hubbard in 2016; other visits can be found under other photo years.

[Coral]

Yea - I have missed Hubbard multiple times, never missed Glacier Bay. If this is your only cruise to Alaska I can tell you missing the only glacier is a big deal. I missed Hubbard on my first trip to Alaska.

[rkacruiser]

Your question is a difficult one to definitively answer for me.

 

Hubbard Glacier is absolutely awesome due to its size and beauty. The sail into and from the glacier, regardless of weather, is scenic and memorable, for me.

 

Glacier Bay has the advantage of having NPS Rangers who ought to be aboard to offer narration as the ship sails into the National Park. If the weather is cooperative, one ought to see several glaciers. Are these awesome? Not in my opinion as compared to Hubbard Glacier.

[new_cruiser]

Our cruise had both. The points made by the others above on the differences are pretty accurate.

 

On the way into Glacier Bay, we saw otters swimming near the boat. We were able to see Dall Sheep up in the rocks and bears looking for salmon in the steams. The fog lifted so we viewed the glaciers in partial overcast. John Hopkins and Margerie glaciers both had some calving. John Hopkins had a really large piece drop off that made a big loud splash. Margerie is pretty magnificent.

 

The ranger narrating helped in spotting wildlife and explaining what we were seeing in the glacier. Another ranger was in Palm Court (a forward lounge with large windows) so we could ask questions and there were ranger talks before and after visiting the bay.

 

The next day we went to Hubbard glacier. Since one doesn't have to travel into a deep bay to reach it, the visit isn't as long as a whole but we were at the glacier about as long as we were at Margerie (about an hour). We saw calving there too but it wasn't doing quite as much that day. Visibility was excellent on a partially overcast day where the sun back lit some of the ice spikes sticking up. It was even more magnificent.

 

It would be hard for me to say which is better. From what has been posted here, it seems like Glacier Bay is a bit more reliable for visibility but not 100%. Someone recently posted about fog there and on our cruise we were told that the John Hopkins glacier was obscured by fog for the ship that was there earlier in the morning. If seeing glaciers tidewater is important to your trip, you might also add a excursion that goes to a glacier. E.g. out of Ketchican, Juneau, Seward or Wittier.

[Coral]

Princess does both also (Southbound cruises). I always suggest you have 2 glaciers just in case you miss one due to weather.

[Italy52]

Princess does both also (Southbound cruises). I always suggest you have 2 glaciers just in case you miss one due to weather.

Amen to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Melinda Brasher]

Both are amazing, but Hubbard isn't as common, so if you ever plan on going back to Alaska and you have the opportunity to catch Hubbard this time, I might lean toward Hubbard. For sheer size and activity, Hubbard can't be beat. Other cruisers are right, though: you may not be able to approach Hubbard because of weather or ice conditions. Glacier Bay is a longer experience, and so very beautiful. Either way you'll be happy.

 

Here's a picture of the ice our ship broke through at Hubbard: https://cruisingalaskaonabudget.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/ice-breaking-for-our-friends/

[Ashland]

Have you also taken into consideration the port times for the two options?

[Keith1010]

Before you make your final decision I would followup on the point made by Ashland and that is to look hard at the port times to see if one has more optional times in port (such as the length of time or arrival time) then the other.

 

Keith

[hubofhockey]

We are debating between a HAL vs Celebrity Alaska Cruise w/land time on our own. The itinerary is basically the same on the 2 cruises we are looking at - EXCEPT HAL goes to Glacier Bay, while Celebrity goes to Hubbard Glacier. Should we lean to one over the other? And why? Thanks.

 

We faced a similar question, but with Princess and Celebrity. Princess will actually go to both. We settled on Celebrity Millennium for the following reasons. (1) we wanted two base balcony cabins for the four of us and found a deal on Celebrity which effectively saved us $1400 over, (2) used savings, much of it in OBC to pay for sea plane glacier excursion in Juneau, (3) we really like M Class on Celebrity and yes, the food does matter to us. If the pricing were similar, however, we would be on Coral Princess.

[Herfnerd]

Just returned this past Saturday off the Eurodam and Glacier Bay was AWESOME. Saw calving at the Margarie and John Hopkins Glaciers and we saw something like 6 or 7 glaciers total in GB.