Alaska Glaciers

[stevendom57]

We are going to be on the Joy in September. It is northward from Ketchican to Juneau. The "Scenic Glacier Cruising" is listed as overnight. Will we be at the glaciers in the evening or in the middle of the night?

[Outerdog]

You will experience daytime glacier viewing. I haven't looked at the itinerary, but that "overnight" indicator is just the way NCL lists the itinerary. Glaciers can be viewed at various places along the way from Juneau to areas west, such as Icy Strait Point and Glacier Bay.

 

Middle of the night glacier viewing simply won't work.

 

 

[don't-use-real-name]

Ah Alaska land of the Mid-Night Sun !

 

No Moonlighting around the glaciers - strictly a daylight daytime viewing opportunity !

 

That "Scenic Glacier Cruising" will be a cruise up the Tracy Arm to see the Sawyer Glacier

or alternatively a cruise up the Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier ***.

*** consider a smaller ship shore excursion for getting up close and personal with a glacier

 

Departing Juneau at 1:30pm - entering the Glacier arms about 3-4 pm and returning back

around 7 ish  - early dinner reservations will interrupt glacier viewing and the fjord like terrain

Weather and glacier ice will play a part in which arm the "Scenic Glacier Cruising" is viewed

Edited June 5, 2019 by don't-use-real-name

[stevendom57]

That's great in information. Thanks. 

 

In Juneau we are taking a helicopter tour to walk on the glaciers. That's pretty up close and personal. 🙂

[bonvoyagie]

2 hours ago, stevendom57 said:

That's great in information. Thanks. 

 

In Juneau we are taking a helicopter tour to walk on the glaciers. That's pretty up close and personal. 🙂

Agreed this is indeed up close and personal - however the small boat excursion of the fjords and glaciers is also very up close and personal compared to being on the ship.

 

[stevendom57]

Thanks, I will consider that.

[Sauer-kraut]

Dawes Glacier  and some hitchhikers on one of its icebergs

[alexgtp]

NCL Joy 18th , We did the Endicott Arm with views of Dawes Glacier.

 

Started entry around 3PM -

 

some amazing views of floating icebergs, seals, eagles, majestic landscapes and waterfalls.

 

We stayed out on our balcony most of the passage. 

 

Pic#1 Dawes Glacier

Pic#2& #3  Endicott Arm Passage

[alexgtp]

23 hours ago, Sauer-kraut said:

Dawes Glacier  and some hitchhikers on one of its icebergs

Love this picture!!! Did you see any Eagles just hitching a ride? Those were hilarious. Such majestic birds just being so lazy..LOL

[BirdTravels]

On 6/4/2019 at 8:07 PM, stevendom57 said:

We are going to be on the Joy in September. It is northward from Ketchican to Juneau. The "Scenic Glacier Cruising" is listed as overnight. Will we be at the glaciers in the evening or in the middle of the night?

The ship leaves Juneau at 1:30 and proceeds to glacier watching. They probably get to the glacier around 4:30ish and leave 6:00ish. They stopped naming the glaciers since the ice condition on the day of your visit will dictate which glacier they can get to.

 

The best shore excursion is the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer. As the Joy gets ready to leave Juneau, you board a sightseeing boat that takes you ahead to the glacier. Along the way, the small boat can stop for whales, bears, and other sea life (while the Joy will continue plowing through). The small boat will get you right up to the face of the glacier for unforgettable views. The Joy will eventually get to the glacier and do a 360 degree turn to give everyone onboard a view of the glacier.... but they will be several miles away while the small boat will be a couple of hundred yards from the face of the glacier (not too close where calving ice would cause a problem,,, like a tidal wave). Last year on the Bliss, the ship had to stay about 5 miles back from the glacier due to the heavy ice in the water. The small boat got up and personal,,, picking up glacier ice from the water to turn into drinks on the way back to the ship.