Mendenhall Glacier Juneau Alaska

[Insomniacs]

Hi, we are first time cruisers and booked an Alaska cruise on Princess for September.  We wanted to visit the Mendenhall Glacier and visitor center.  Our plan was to take a shuttle from the Mt. Roberts Tramway to Mendenhall.  I tried to book a shuttle online but both the Viator Blue bus and the White Glacier shuttle are sold out for our date.  There are some excursion tickets left from Princess but the main reason I did not want to book with the ship is the entire excursion is limited to 3 hours and we thought we may like to walk around and stay longer.  The other shuttle had 30 minute departure times so we can stay as long as we wanted.  They are also about $15 cheaper per ticket too which is an additional bonus.  I know there is an alternative of the city bus but I read the bus ride is about an hour as opposed to 20 minutes by shuttle and the walk to the center can take an additional 30 minutes.  That adds about 3 hours of travel time which I am not sure is worth the savings.  I read there are shuttles that leave from the tramway every 1/2 hour but are these the ones that I mentioned which are sold out or are they from a different  company?  I read taxis and ride shares are an option but was warned there can be long wait times of up to an hour when it is really busy.

[PurpleTraveller]

When I was in Juneau in June, when we got to the dock (we had to tender) we just went to the line of little ticket booths near the Juneau Visitor Center and bought tickets for a shuttle bus to and from Mendenhall Glacier with Juneau Tours. The tickets were USD45 each plus tax. The shuttle bus was quick and easy and dropped us in the carpark (Bear Stop) near the visitor center.

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[Insomniacs]

1 hour ago, PurpleTraveller said:

When I was in Juneau in June, when we got to the dock (we had to tender) we just went to the line of little ticket booths near the Juneau Visitor Center and bought tickets for a shuttle bus to and from Mendenhall Glacier with Juneau Tours. The tickets were USD45 each plus tax. The shuttle bus was quick and easy and dropped us in the carpark (Bear Stop) near the visitor center.

 

Thank you for the info.  Do you remember the name of the bus company or the color of the bus?  I am hoping that it is different than the two I mentioned.  

[PurpleTraveller]

9 hours ago, Insomniacs said:

Thank you for the info.  Do you remember the name of the bus company or the color of the bus?  I am hoping that it is different than the two I mentioned.  

 

The company was Juneau Tours and I think the buses were white and blue. They were clearly marked "Juneau Tours" and the buses were more modern than the "Blue Bus". There were quite a few companies that had the little tour booths and we chose Juneau Tours at random and were very happy with their service. All the companies charged the same amount for the shuttle service to the glacier.

 

[copper6606]

I had a lengthy discussion with the owner of Blue Bus yesterday. I was in shock when she told me that they only get a certain amount of passes for the Glacier and they and other tour companies have exceeded their limit. They have none left at all to sell! She said that she and her partner have been crying for a week because their tourist season/ income is now done! 

They have requested to the gov't for more passes but say it probably won't happen! She said if there are any more for the ship we are on - I had better grab them. I DID just yesterday. 

My thoughts were ...that we will go for the Ship excursion but if we want to stay longer- we will just call a cab to come and get us at the end.

Keep in mind we have light until approx 7:30 at that time of year in Alaska

[Insomniacs]

14 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

The company was Juneau Tours and I think the buses were white and blue. They were clearly marked "Juneau Tours" and the buses were more modern than the "Blue Bus". There were quite a few companies that had the little tour booths and we chose Juneau Tours at random and were very happy with their service. All the companies charged the same amount for the shuttle service to the glacier.

 

 

Thanks again for the info.  That is exactly what I was hoping for.

[Insomniacs]

7 hours ago, copper6606 said:

I had a lengthy discussion with the owner of Blue Bus yesterday. I was in shock when she told me that they only get a certain amount of passes for the Glacier and they and other tour companies have exceeded their limit. They have none left at all to sell! She said that she and her partner have been crying for a week because their tourist season/ income is now done! 

They have requested to the gov't for more passes but say it probably won't happen! She said if there are any more for the ship we are on - I had better grab them. I DID just yesterday. 

My thoughts were ...that we will go for the Ship excursion but if we want to stay longer- we will just call a cab to come and get us at the end.

Keep in mind we have light until approx 7:30 at that time of year in Alaska

 

That explains why the online companies are sold out.  I am hoping that there are other operators by the Tramway with tickets.  I think the worst case scenario is we can take the city bus to the vistor center.    Uber and Lyft may be an option too if the wait times are not too long.

[deelightfull]

The city bus is bound to be VERY  crowded for this exact reason.  If this is a bucket list item for you, pack your patience. If it's not, you may want to choose something else.

 

"According to Alexandra Pierce, the City and Borough of Juneau tourism manager, there is growing concern that as these bus services turn away tourists, an increased number of visitors will begin using the city’s public transportation system, Capital Transit, to travel to the Glacier instead. She said that could have a negative impact on local riders and put a strain on the system which is already facing a driver shortage.

 

“Because of public transit authority, we don’t have the ability to refuse service to anyone who’s a fair paying transit user so that — and we have a driver shortage — is a problematic issue that we’re really watching,” she said. “I think our local operators are working really well and trying their best to handle and manage that.”

 

From this article on the lack of permits:

https://www.juneauempire.com/news/unprecedented-visitors-at-mendenhall-glacier-rapidly-outpacing-allowed-capacity/#:~:text=A service day equates to,do not need a permit.

[wreckem2013]

4 hours ago, deelightfull said:

The city bus is bound to be VERY  crowded for this exact reason.  If this is a bucket list item for you, pack your patience. If it's not, you may want to choose something else.

 

"According to Alexandra Pierce, the City and Borough of Juneau tourism manager, there is growing concern that as these bus services turn away tourists, an increased number of visitors will begin using the city’s public transportation system, Capital Transit, to travel to the Glacier instead. She said that could have a negative impact on local riders and put a strain on the system which is already facing a driver shortage.

 

“Because of public transit authority, we don’t have the ability to refuse service to anyone who’s a fair paying transit user so that — and we have a driver shortage — is a problematic issue that we’re really watching,” she said. “I think our local operators are working really well and trying their best to handle and manage that.”

 

From this article on the lack of permits:

https://www.juneauempire.com/news/unprecedented-visitors-at-mendenhall-glacier-rapidly-outpacing-allowed-capacity/#:~:text=A service day equates to,do not need a permit.

I’ll let everyone know how public transit is tomorrow.

[CLM0928]

DLUX RIDES/EVERGREEN TAXI has service that takes you directly to the visitor center.  Below is his response to my request: 

 

The information provided below is general in nature, we are more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

The cost to go to the Mendenhall Glacier from the Cruise Dock area is approximately $45.00 each way for the taxi.  The rate is metered

 

We are a U.S. Forest Service Special Use Commercial Permit Holder. The US Forest Service has made all U.S. Forest Service Special Use Commercial Permit Holders, a Federal Forest Service Kiosk. The Forest Service Fees to enter the Mendenhall Glacier are $7.00 per person 16 yrs and up and $2.00 for 15 yrs and down.  This will be collected by your Driver.This includes access to the visitor center.  If you have any type of park pass, it would only be a $2.00 per person charge.  These fees are non-negotiable and are federal fees that are charged, not local.  The Company charges a 10.00 per person surcharge on all trips to the Mendenhall Glacier; this is on top of the Federal Forest Service Fees. The total cost per person is 17.00 per person 16 years and up and 12.00 per person 15 years and down.

 

The Travel time to the Mendenhall Glacier and Downtown Juneau, Cruise Terminal is approximately 25 minutes each way.

 

Our Tour rate is 70.00 per hour. 

 

We have vehicles that can accommodate up to 10 people. 

 

We accept all Major Credit Cards, Travelers Checks and Cash.

 

To book your reservation we will need the date your group arrives, the ship name, number of ppl in your group, time you would like to be picked up and a cell number your group is traveling with.

 

Look forward to hearing from you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Shane Williams

DLUX RIDES

Edited July 8, 2023 by CLM0928

[Eldaph]

I booked with M&M in early February and was cancelled last night. Super upset but also feel bad for them as well. I'm going to try to get a car from Turo and hope for the best. This was my bucket list item for this trip so I really hope it all works out. 

[wreckem2013]

On Sunday Radiance got in and allowed people off at 11:20am. Ovation was coming in a bit later. We got on the 12:10 bus at the downtown transit center and headed to Mendenhall. Only six people(including myself and my wife) got on at the start of the line. We picked  up dropped off about 10 locals along the way. Took 40 minutes. The walk took another 20 minutes to get to the trail head for Trail of Time. We took the trail of time trail to the visitor center then did Nugget Falls and Photo Point. We spent a few hours and then caught the 4:25 bus back. The bus back was slightly busier but wasn’t packed.

 

Also in terms of the glacier, the glacier wasn’t very busy this past Sunday.

Edited July 11, 2023 by wreckem2013

[tidygirl]

Was it easy to find the downtown transit center? Are the buses clearly marked saying they are headed to mendenhall Glacier.

Any help on how to do public transit would be appreciated as we aren't familiar with it.

[giddy_up]

11 hours ago, tidygirl said:

Was it easy to find the downtown transit center? Are the buses clearly marked saying they are headed to mendenhall Glacier.

Any help on how to do public transit would be appreciated as we aren't familiar with it.

not familiar at all, but this article on the Juneau public transport website seems to cover it nicely

https://juneaucapitaltransit.org/how-to-ride-to-the-mendenhall-glacier-visitor-center-with-capital-transit/