Small boat excursion to Hubbard Glacier

[5waldos]

Wondering if this is a must do? We are taking a small boat excursion from Juneau to see Tracy Arm and unsure if the Hubbard up close and personal is really necessary. I’m sure it’s good, but quite pricey. Will we regret not signing up?

[JT1962]

I have not taken a small boat to Hubbard, but have taken the Tracy Arm trip with Adventure Bound from Juneau, and it is one of the best excursions I have done in 30 years of cruising. Hubbard is much larger than the Sawyer glaciers in Tracy Arm and the ships can usually get relatively close.  
 

If money is not an issue (when isn’t it? Lol), then do the small boat at Hubbard. Otherwise, just find a good spot on the ship (or your balcony) and enjoy Hubbard from the ship.

[5waldos]

Thanks- money, of course, is always an issue. We are booked on the Adventure Bound (it may have been at your recommendation elsewhere) and $300 pp for the Hubbard just seems a lot- half again as much as the AB all day trip for 2 1/2 hours at Hubbard. So unless someone comes up with an awfully good reason why we MUST do the Hubbard- think I may stay onboard, sip a nice glass of something, and enjoy it that way. 

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, 5waldos said:

think I may stay onboard, sip a nice glass of something, and enjoy it that way. 

 

I would recommend that.  I have done no small boat excursions to either of the sites you mentioned, but, I have been quite pleased with what I experienced just by being aboard my ship.  

[Italy52]

We love glaciers and will take every chance we can to see them.  We have done both Hubbard and Tracy Arm by big ship.  We have done quite a few smaller boat excursions to Tracy Arm --- Amazing! and have attempted 2 smaller boat excursions to Hubbard.  Unfortunately for us, our smaller boat excursions to Hubbard were both cancelled --- one due to fog and the other there was a last minute problem with the vendor.  We have reservations for the small boat excursion to Hubbard (third times a charm?) in June and are going to keep our fingers crossed that all goes well. 

 

On a side note, what is the name of your cruise line?  Our Hubbard excursion is only $259.95 per person -- $300 per person sounds high.

 

Tracy Arm will not disappoint.

[5waldos]

 Celebrity- and I could be wrong about the price. 

[Italy52]

Just now, 5waldos said:

 Celebrity- and I could be wrong about the price. 

I had a hunch it was Celebrity.  Our last two attempts were Holland and Princess and both times, Celebrity prices were higher than ours.

[VelvetSkeeter]

On 2/21/2022 at 5:58 PM, Italy52 said:

On a side note, what is the name of your cruise line?  Our Hubbard excursion is only $259.95 per person -- $300 per person sounds high.

 

 

Did you do it in June 2022? Was it worth it? 

I am on Celebrity June 2023 and the price is 340 per person for the Hubbard excursion! I am still thinking about doing it but not sure. Not as concerned with the money but don't want to feel like I wasted it either.  I do have a balcony, but the excursion seems like it could be great or not.

[Italy52]

34 minutes ago, VelvetSkeeter said:

 

Did you do it in June 2022? Was it worth it? 

I am on Celebrity June 2023 and the price is 340 per person for the Hubbard excursion! I am still thinking about doing it but not sure. Not as concerned with the money but don't want to feel like I wasted it either.  I do have a balcony, but the excursion seems like it could be great or not.

Yes, we did this excursion during our 14-day cruise the middle of June 2022.  I posted pictures of what we saw on one of your post about this excursion --- don't know if you remember or not.  My post pictures are #45-51.  As mentioned, there are no guarantees what you will see. If you are not comfortable then don't don't do the excursion.  Only you can decide in the end.

 

Yes, we did feel it was worth it.  In fact, we have purchased the excursion again for our July 2023 cruise. My "Yes" is subjective --- others might feel it was not worth the price.

[VelvetSkeeter]

1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

Yes, we did this excursion during our 14-day cruise the middle of June 2022.  I posted pictures of what we saw on one of your post about this excursion --- don't know if you remember or not.  My post pictures are #45-51.  As mentioned, there are no guarantees what you will see. If you are not comfortable then don't don't do the excursion.  Only you can decide in the end.

 

Yes, we did feel it was worth it.  In fact, we have purchased the excursion again for our July 2023 cruise. My "Yes" is subjective --- others might feel it was not worth the price.

Oh yes, I do remember, sorry.  Yeah - those pictures were awesome! It is a bit of Murphy's Law lol. If I book it then the main ship will get as close as the excursion, if I don't book it then the main ship will be 10 miles away. 🙂 I have onboard credit, so I am not worried about that really, the fact you booked it again is a good sign. I think I will regret it if I don't, and it gets sold out. 

[Sigyn]

For whatever it's worth, I have booked it for our July cruise on Celebrity. I had read reviews by at least two people who highly recommended the small boat tour of Hubbard Glacier. 

[VelvetSkeeter]

I booked it! 

[Ferry_Watcher]

14 minutes ago, VelvetSkeeter said:

I booked it! 

 

Was it listed under excursions?  I have not seen anything like that listed under my early season Alaska cruise.

[Dolphin Doug]

I live in Juneau. Glaciers like whales, are always good to see. And always better to see intimately. It’s not like there’s a good glacier and a bad one, but we all have our favorites.

 

I’d love to see Hubbard Glacier, but I won’t drive my boat out there. Big water.

 

If you book it and they cancel, you won’t care.

 

On the other hand, I’d only do one glacier and one whale excursion per cruise. Too much of a good thing isn’t better.

 

I touch the ice at Mendenhall Glacier once a year. Walk to Nugget falls 4x a year, visit MGVC once a month. I haven’t been to Tracy Arm since covid and I’m missing it, so this year I go. I’m visiting Anchorage this weekend and considering Exit and Matanuska even though hours away. They all have their beauty.

Enjoy.
 

Dolphin Doug

[VelvetSkeeter]

9 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Was it listed under excursions?  I have not seen anything like that listed under my early season Alaska cruise.

It was under Manage Trip>Manage Reservation for my trip =  Eclipse leaving June 4 -  listed as Hubbard Glacier Wilderness Exploration. Now I have every port booked except Ketchikan.  Icy Strait I booked Whale Watching with Glacier Wind Tours ( I liked the 12 people max on the boat!) Juneau I booked Helicopter Dogsledding with Extra Landing through Alaska Shore Tours. 

Edited January 19, 2023 by VelvetSkeeter

[Sigyn]

It was listed under excursions for the day we are cruising past Hubbard Glacier. I'm on Celebrity. Here is the description. 

 

 

[Italy52]

2 hours ago, njsmom said:

It was listed under excursions for the day we are cruising past Hubbard Glacier. I'm on Celebrity. Here is the description. 

 

 

Wow, the regular pricing is so expensive on Celebrity.  We are only paying $299.95 per person on our Princess cruise.

[Coral]

6 hours ago, Italy52 said:

Wow, the regular pricing is so expensive on Celebrity.  We are only paying $299.95 per person on our Princess cruise.

I sailed Celebrity and Princess within a month or two of each other in the Caribbean. The identical excursions offered on both were quite a bit more on Celebrity. It was eye opening.

[Sigyn]

7 hours ago, Italy52 said:

Wow, the regular pricing is so expensive on Celebrity.  We are only paying $299.95 per person on our Princess cruise.

 

28 minutes ago, Coral said:

I sailed Celebrity and Princess within a month or two of each other in the Caribbean. The identical excursions offered on both were quite a bit more on Celebrity. It was eye opening.

I'm not surprised!!

[Italy52]

OOPS -- Just noticed that I somehow entered the wrong excursion amount in post #5 above.  The correct Princess Hubbard excursion cost is $299.95.

[geepmaley]

Are there any third party vendors for Hubbard small boat or do you need t do it through the cruise line?

[Coral]

16 minutes ago, geepmaley said:

Are there any third party vendors for Hubbard small boat or do you need t do it through the cruise line?

You have to book that through the cruise line. I believe Allen Marine is the vendor.

[KansCocoa]

We were on RCI’s Radiance of the Seas in July 2022, and did this excursion - it was worth every single penny! While we hopped on the smaller boat to zip over to the glacier, those left behind on the ship never got close at all - too many icebergs in the area. We were very close, and saw wildlife, calving, etc - it was pretty amazing. We’re going back in 2023 on the Radiance again, this time with two of our adult children - and I managed to snag a Black Friday sale for this excursion at a “mere” $296 per person…but current prices have it at a whopping $364 pp for our sailing. 

[Italy52]

34 minutes ago, KansCocoa said:

We were on RCI’s Radiance of the Seas in July 2022, and did this excursion - it was worth every single penny! While we hopped on the smaller boat to zip over to the glacier, those left behind on the ship never got close at all - too many icebergs in the area. We were very close, and saw wildlife, calving, etc - it was pretty amazing. We’re going back in 2023 on the Radiance again, this time with two of our adult children - and I managed to snag a Black Friday sale for this excursion at a “mere” $296 per person…but current prices have it at a whopping $364 pp for our sailing. 

I didn't realize that the Radiance offered this excursion.  What month are you sailing in 2023?

[Italy52]

For anyone that might be wondering about the timing of the Allen Marine Hubbard Excursion, I reached out to the company with regard to a Princess excursion that I am interested in doing.  Here is the response I received:

 

"Thank you for your interest in our Hubbard Glacier & Wilderness Exploration Tour. Our Hubbard Glacier tour season operates mid-end of May and runs thru mid-September. We also have to be aware of ice conditions that remain that early in the season, which could affect the dates we are able to get the boat out there safely. We do offer this tour thru Princess Cruise lines but on select itineraries. You can check if it is available for your ship when booking on their website."