Day Cruise - Tracy Arm or Misty Fjord??

[deadzone1003]

Our family like to go on one of day cruises to one of the fjords, Tracy Arm from Juneau or Misty Fjord from Ketchikan. Have anyone visited both fjords? Which one did you enjoy the most? Why? We will be on the Sapphire Princess NB July 14-21.

[CanCanCase]

Our family like to go on one of day cruises to one of the fjords, Tracy Arm from Juneau or Misty Fjord from Ketchikan. Have anyone visited both fjords? Which one did you enjoy the most? Why? We will be on the Sapphire Princess NB July 14-21.

The Sapphire will be in Juneau July 17 from 8am to 9pm (according to the CLA schedule), so there's plenty of port time for an Adventure Bound, Goldbelt, Harv & Marv or Alaskan Marine Adventures tour. If you do choose Tracy Arm, you'll then need to decide whether you want to do it in a small, medium or larger boat, and how many folks you want to share your tour with.

 

I'll leave the comparisons between the two to someone else. (They're quite different.) Personally I would do both, but that might not make your budget too happy! :)

 

-Case

[deadzone1003]

There are only 4 of us. For Tracy Arm/Juneau we were expected to go on Goldbelt. Adventure Bound would be probably impossible for us since it leaves at 8am. Goldbelt is our best bet, but that is still very difficult for us, timewise.

That's why we are considering Misty Fjords as an alternative if it appeals to us.

Chartering a small boat is probably too expensive for us and maybe too rough of a ride for the other 3.

[Chat Noir]

I can not make a comparison as I've only taken an Adventure Bound Tracy Arm excursion of the two. What I can say is... the icebergs in Tracy Arm are the most gorgeous I've seen in Alaska. They are more spectacular than what I've seen at other glacial areas, including Glacier Bay, College Fjords, and Aialik Glacier at Kenai Fjords Nat'l Park. The scenery in Tracy Arm is also quite dramatic when viewed from a small boat.

Perhaps you really can't go wrong with either choice. But in my opinion, you certainly can't go wrong with Tracy Arm, if you can make the timing work!

[Chat Noir]

Ho hum... just takin' up space, adding to my post count... NOT!

 

Double post!

[Budget Queen]

I have sailed both areas and by far Tracy Arm is just fantastic via boat. I found I preferred Misty Fjords by air, which showed all the Alpine Lakes and the vastness of the area better than from the ground.

[DougH]

I just booked the Dawn Princess to Alaska and the first thing I looked at in Juneau was the time for Adventure Bound. Did their tour two years ago and even though we never got near the glaciers (even in the small boat) it was fantastic. Owner offered a discount on the next trip because of tha but the Dawn Princess is also scheduled in at 8am and I'll miss them. This is a great tour but its hard to find a ship with port time that can work.

 

Doug

[CanCanCase]

I just booked the Dawn Princess to Alaska and the first thing I looked at in Juneau was the time for Adventure Bound. Did their tour two years ago and even though we never got near the glaciers (even in the small boat) it was fantastic. Owner offered a discount on the next trip because of tha but the Dawn Princess is also scheduled in at 8am and I'll miss them. This is a great tour but its hard to find a ship with port time that can work.

 

Doug

 

It seems to me I've seen Steve and the Adventure Bound at their dock for 9 am departures before. It really depends on the cruise ship schedule for the day you're there. Have you called or eMailed Adventure Bound to see if the day you visit might be a 9am day?

 

Otherwise try one of the smaller charter companies that will have a more flexible schedule... that, and it's just your group, so there's no racing to get back to town to meet someone else's port schedule.

 

-Case