Glacier Bay Dropped from May Zaandam Cruise

[AryMay]

I am booked on the 7-Day, May 1 HAL Zaandam cruise to Alaska (RT from Vancouver). I just got an email last night stating that the itinerary had been changed and instead of going to Glacier Bay on May 5th we are now going to Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier on the same day instead. I checked the Glacier Bay cruise ship schedule and other than a few visits from NCL there are NO ships going into Glacier Bay in April and early May. 

 

Does anyone know why the change? How many others cruises has this affected?

 

Here is a screen shot of the schedule. I hope this is readable...

 

[SilvertoGold]

Not sure what is happening but the alternative sailing areas are really excellent.  We had never seen either and were massively impressed!  We would be happy to do them again, having seen Glacier Bay many times.

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by SilvertoGold

[Thetideishigh2021]

We’re on the Noordam RT Vancouver May 5-12 ,  same email.  Glad the alternative sounds good.

[electricguy]

We were notified yesterday of the same change on our April 27th cruise on the Koningsdam.

[1025cruise]

Probably too early to safely get in to Glacier Bay.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

NCL just very recently sent out letters stating Glacier Bay is also being pulled from itineraries from the ships that were scheduled there for April, May September and October.

I believe they are cutting back on permits especially in those 4 months but those that do get the permit are most likely paying a Big Premium. My guess is the cruise lines are not willing to pay this.

Here is a link about the cut back click on Cruise Ship Services.

https://www.nps.gov/glba/getinvolved/dobusinesswithus.htm

[Heidi13]

24 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Probably too early to safely get in to Glacier Bay.

 

Negative, Glacier Bay is open year round and while I have only been there during the cruise season, I believe it is navigable year-round. Definitely in April & May.

 

In the low season (April/May/Sept/Oct) they permit less access for cruise ships. The daily maximum is still 2 ships, they just don't permit 2 ships every day. The Park Rangers can also adjust the number of ships they will accept during low season.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Just my opinion that Glacier Bay was still allowing HAL to cruise Glacier Bay but the the big blow out was the cost of the permits. It is speculation on my part but during shoulder season it is possible that those permits were not as high but the cost may have been doubling and the cruise lines were not willing to do that nor pass it on to the passengers. 

I had been hearing for years that Glacier Bay was going to limit the number of ships and at some point would no longer allow any ships except for very small touring ships. I would also not be surprise to see that while cruise ships are no longer allowed to go into Glacier Bay that there will be an Excursions offered that takes you into Glacier Bay.

Allan Marine Tours is probably gearing up with new catamarans to offer these tours for something like $450.00 per person.

[Haljo1935]

Have not received an email re GB being pulled, but notice Westerdam May 12-19 is not on the schedule you sent, so it looks like I will not be going, either.

I see there are still a couple HAL ships listed, so HAL is there very limited. I understand if park rangers are adjusting the schedule, but we have read for a long time, that HAL is given priority in GB...

[cbr663]

Just my opinion.  There seems to be quite the shock currently affecting the cruising industry with more and more ports pushing back against larger ships.  This seems to have caught the cruise lines completely unaware as they appear to be adjusting cruise itineraries on the fly.  Time will tell how these changes will impact bookings.

[AryMay]

It will be interesting to see if skipping Glacier Bay results in a refund of some of the port fees. 

[Low Country Sandlapper]

AryMay, where did you find the Glacier Bay schedule?

[shipmeoff!]

https://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GB-Glacier-Bay-2024.pdf

the Koningsdam sailing I am on is also not going into Glacier Bay on May 1 any more but the Norwegian Bliss is… 

 

I’m fine with Endicott Arm too, been there and it is gorgeous but I’m curious to know why we aren’t going, but the Bliss is as I too thought HAL had priority on the GB permits…

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by shipmeoff!
Afterthoughts…

[Haljo1935]

So glad we went to GB this past May, looks like HAL presence is now very limited. We purposely select itineraries that include GB, but seems that will change, ugh.

[Guest ldtr]

On 10/12/2023 at 4:16 AM, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Just my opinion that Glacier Bay was still allowing HAL to cruise Glacier Bay but the the big blow out was the cost of the permits. It is speculation on my part but during shoulder season it is possible that those permits were not as high but the cost may have been doubling and the cruise lines were not willing to do that nor pass it on to the passengers. 

I had been hearing for years that Glacier Bay was going to limit the number of ships and at some point would no longer allow any ships except for very small touring ships. I would also not be surprise to see that while cruise ships are no longer allowed to go into Glacier Bay that there will be an Excursions offered that takes you into Glacier Bay.

Allan Marine Tours is probably gearing up with new catamarans to offer these tours for something like $450.00 per person.

My understanding is the permit cost is fixed for the length of the contract. There is a competitive contract cycle repeated every 10 years. Princess and HAL gets some slots due to their past presence in Alaska.

 

Doubt it is due to permit cost in the shoulder season. Might be more due to a shortage of park resources to support such visits and a reduction in available ship slots.

 

I expect that permit costs, at least the per passenger charge, if not all of it, get passed directly to passengers as port fees.

Edited October 13, 2023 by ldtr

[pmjnh]

21 hours ago, AryMay said:

It will be interesting to see if skipping Glacier Bay results in a refund of some of the port fees. 

We were lucky to have experienced GB twice on a BTB this July. 

 

In our experience, whenever there has been a port change while on a cruise, there has been adjustments on our statement...this far out, not sure how that works.

Edited October 13, 2023 by pmjnh

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, pmjnh said:

We were lucky to have experienced GB twice on a BTB this July. 

 

In our experience, whenever there has been a port change while on a cruise, there has been adjustments on our statement...this far out, not sure how that works.

 

They might make an adjustment on the final payment. That happened to me with a Cunard cruise. Final payment was bit less than expected. My TA  said taxes and fees went down.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

On 10/11/2023 at 2:53 PM, AryMay said:

I am booked on the 7-Day, May 1 HAL Zaandam cruise to Alaska (RT from Vancouver). I just got an email last night stating that the itinerary had been changed and instead of going to Glacier Bay on May 5th we are now going to Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier on the same day instead. I checked the Glacier Bay cruise ship schedule and other than a few visits from NCL there are NO ships going into Glacier Bay in April and early May. 

 

Does anyone know why the change? How many others cruises has this affected?

 

Here is a screen shot of the schedule. I hope this is readable...

 

 

You had me worried for a minute, so I had to check the Cruise Mapper May 2024 port schedule for Glacier Bay, which appears to be currently loaded with various ships visiting GB in early May. We are currently booked on an Alaska B3B starting April 30 out of Vancouver on the Grand Princess and have scheduled stops in Glacier Bay on May 5, 13, and 17. In fact, on August 30, we got an itinerary change that changed from cruising of Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier to visiting Glacier Bay on May 5, which appears to be the same day the Zaandam was originally scheduled to visit there. Strange? If I might ask, where did you download your graphic from?

 

Glacier Bay (Alaska) cruise port schedule | CruiseMapper

 

[AryMay]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

You had me worried for a minute, so I had to check the Cruise Mapper May 2024 port schedule for Glacier Bay, which appears to be currently loaded with various ships visiting GB in early May. We are currently booked on an Alaska B3B starting April 30 out of Vancouver on the Grand Princess and have scheduled stops in Glacier Bay on May 5, 13, and 17. In fact, on August 30, we got an itinerary change that changed from cruising of Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier to visiting Glacier Bay on May 5, which appears to be the same day the Zaandam was originally scheduled to visit there. Strange? If I might ask, where did you download your graphic from?

 

Glacier Bay (Alaska) cruise port schedule | CruiseMapper

 

 

Here is a link to the 2024 Glacier Bay Cruise Ship Schedule:

 

https://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GB-Glacier-Bay-2024.pdf

 

According to this schedule it looks like the Grand Princess is still on the schedule for May 13 & 17, but not for May 5.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, AryMay said:

 

Here is a link to the 2024 Glacier Bay Cruise Ship Schedule:

 

https://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GB-Glacier-Bay-2024.pdf

 

According to this schedule it looks like the Grand Princess is still on the schedule for May 13 & 17, but not for May 5.

Thanks! Hopefully, our Grand itinerary will either switch back to the Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier (so we can see it as well on our B3B) or this schedule hasn't been updated with the latest change for the Grand as we only recently received the notification of the change.

[AryMay]

Just now, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! Hopefully, our Grand itinerary will either switch back to the Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier (so we can see it as well on our B3B) or this schedule hasn't been updated with the latest change for the Grand as we only recently received the notification of the change.

 

Please report back if you find you actually are going to Glacier Bay on the 5th!

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, AryMay said:

 

Please report back if you find you actually are going to Glacier Bay on the 5th!

Here's what we received from Princess on Aug 31. If it changes again, I'll let you know.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICES Please be advised that in order to enhance the guest experience, Grand Princess will now include scenic cruising of Glacier Bay National Park on Sunday, May 5, 2024 from 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM. To accommodate this change, we will no longer conduct scenic cruising of Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier on Sunday, May 5. As a result, the call to Ketchikan, Alaska will now be from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Monday, May 6 rather than 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM as previously scheduled.

 

Update: As you can see on the map in the attached itinerary description, it originally referenced the Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, but now references Glacier Bay in the itinerary details.

 

Cruise Details - 8-Day Inside Passage (Roundtrip Vancouver) - Princess Cruises 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[RedmondCruiser]

There are time when the Johns Hopkins inlet is off limits due to seals bearing young.   I don't know why they would restrict seeing the Margerie Glacier.  If preservation is the motive then who are they protecting it from ?  large cruise ships are probably the only way for thousands of people to enjoy this national treasure.  

 

Endicott arm and Tracy arm are very beautiful fiords.  You will enjoy them.

 

Back in 1989 the Noordam lowered a life boat that went out and collected a large piece of glacier ice, next to the Margerie Glacier,  and towed in back to the ship.  Then the ships crane hoisted in onto the back deck next to the lido pool. Then you could chip off a piece of glacier ice for  your drink.  You certainly can't do that any more.

[Heidi13]

14 minutes ago, RedmondCruiser said:

There are time when the Johns Hopkins inlet is off limits due to seals bearing young.   I don't know why they would restrict seeing the Margerie Glacier.  If preservation is the motive then who are they protecting it from ?  large cruise ships are probably the only way for thousands of people to enjoy this national treasure.  

 

Endicott arm and Tracy arm are very beautiful fiords.  You will enjoy them.

 

Back in 1989 the Noordam lowered a life boat that went out and collected a large piece of glacier ice, next to the Margerie Glacier,  and towed in back to the ship.  Then the ships crane hoisted in onto the back deck next to the lido pool. Then you could chip off a piece of glacier ice for  your drink.  You certainly can't do that any more.

 

This was common practice back in those days. I have many great memories of lowering and taking away a boat every week and bringing a bergy bit back aboard.

[Caribbean Chris]

Here's a (somewhat battered!) tender from the Royal Viking Sky being lowered in Glacier Bay to bring back ice for drinks. (1987)  Note the faux polar bear.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Caribbean Chris