Discovery Princess and Glacier Bay

[sunluva7]

Someone posted in the Review section (May 2023) that Discovery "does not go near the glacier" and that an optional "$300 up close" excursion was offered to be able to get further to the glacier. The reviewer doesn't mention if it was Glacier Bay, but I've never heard of Princess doing this. Is this the case for all Princess cruises now in Glacier Bay, or was this a one-time thing due ship size, to ice or some other weather factor? I'd love to hear from someone else who may have cruised or will be cruising in Glacier Bay in 2023, as we are looking at Discovery to Glacier Bay in 2024.

 

 

[EDVM96]

5 minutes ago, sunluva7 said:

Someone posted in the Review section (May 2023) that Discovery "does not go near the glacier" and that an optional "$300 up close" excursion was offered to be able to get further to the glacier. The reviewer doesn't mention if it was Glacier Bay, but I've never heard of Princess doing this.

 

That's not Glacier Bay, that is a Princess excursion available at Hubbard Glacier.

https://www.princess.com/ports-excursions/hubbard-glacier-scenic-cruising-alaska-excursions/hubbard-glacier-and-wilderness-exploration

 

[sunluva7]

7 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

That's not Glacier Bay, that is a Princess excursion available at Hubbard Glacier.

https://www.princess.com/ports-excursions/hubbard-glacier-scenic-cruising-alaska-excursions/hubbard-glacier-and-wilderness-exploration

 

Thanks for clearing that up. Is that routine for Hubbard Glacier - an optional excursion? I have not done Alaska with Hubbard. The reviewer posted two photos, one from the Discovery this May and one from a previous cruise, showing a vast difference in how close they got to the glacier. I assumed it was the same glacier in both pics, but now I'm not sure. 

[EDVM96]

17 minutes ago, sunluva7 said:

Thanks for clearing that up. Is that routine for Hubbard Glacier - an optional excursion?

Yes, it's new since a few years.

But even Royal Class ships can go pretty close to Hubbard Glacier - if the ice drift allows it.

[snoozecrooze]

Correct, the ship went to Hubbard on the April 30 cruise between YVR and SEA this year. Important to note as well that any further reviews of Discovery this year will feature Endicott Arm and not Glacier Bay because the ship doesn't visit there this summer.

[Shawn5]

The Discovery Princess, which we're on now, went to the Endicott Arm, which is home to Dawes Glacier. You stop pretty far from it due to the big ice chunks floating everywhere. A couple other smaller tour boats, not affiliated with Princess, got a lot closer. There is a Princess excursion to get close to the glacier where you actually get off the ship onto the tour boat while in Endicott Bay and go to Dawes Glacier, then to Juneau to reunite with the ship. Not sure what it cost.