Weather and helicopter/floatplane tours

[Tarheel72]

Looks like the nice weather in Alaska will being ending this week and most of the long range forecast call for cloudy days, cooler temps and showers most of next week, when we will be sailing. How bad does it have to be before they ground the helicopter glacier tours and the float plane excursions into Misty Fjords? Is it dictated by the cloud cover, how heavy the rain is, or a combination of the two? Just wondered what previous cruisers have experienced in reference to these excurisons. Thanks!

[Budget Queen]

It depends on visability and the pilot's call. Rain has nothing to do with canceling, they fly in rain.

[PennyAgain]

You want the pilots to cancel when the weather is bad. This isn't an amusement park ride! Don't worry as you will get a refund.

[oduphd]

It was overcast with off and on showers that day our helicopter trip to the glaciers was scheduled in Juneau. I was concerned that the trip would be a waste of time (and many $$$) because of the weather. To our surprise, however, we found out that we were actually very lucky. The pilot told us that the best views of the glaciers are on overcast days because the sun can provide a great deal of glare on all that ice. It was raining when we took off in Juneau but as soon as we left town, no more rain. There are many micro climates in Alaska so what it is doing in your port may be no indication of what the weather is like at your destination. We were able to land and walk on a glacier -- an experience that is not easily described except to say it was phenomenal. The company's will not fly if conditions do not permit.