Alaska Navigator Tracy Arm Gone?

[Quester2]

We're booked for June 16. In booking excursions, everyone here on the Board said Tracy Arm was the best! And that even though Regent didn't list it on excursions, you could call and book it. I did. Because it's 6 1/2 hours, I cancelled our Mendenhall River Float because we wouldn't be back in time. Our adult kids, cruising with us, booked the Float. Now I see no evidence of the Tracy Arm excursion. If Navigator will not be doing it, I want to rebook the Float. Any advice? (This is our first cruise; I can use all the advice you're willing to offer.)

Thanks.

[bryan72562@aol.com]

I would call Regent directly and ask them where the excursion has gone (or posibbly email destinationservices@rssc.com). A similar thing happened to me with a private yacht tour in Dubrovnik (7+ hours $149 p/p paid in advance). I had this booked for months in advance and one day it was just gone from my confirmed excursion bookings. I figured they cancelled the tour due to weather (I had tried to obtain more information about the excursion multiple times, and no one seemed to know anything about it other than what the website showed as a description). I called Regent and they said it was still booked, and that is was strange that it was not showing on my excursions. I went ahead and booked a different tour in Dubrovnik to be safe, and Regent then said I had both tours booked and would have to deal with it once on the boat since they overlapped (cancel within 36 hrs. etc.) A few weeks before our cruise I saw my AE was credited the $149 x 2 which led me to believe that the Private Yacht tour was in fact cancelled.

 

My husband and I did the Tracy Arm excursion on our Mariner sailing in 2008; it was wonderful and well worth it. On another note, we also did the Otter excursion in Sitka, and at first this was slightly disappointing, however, it became the highlight of our cruise as a pod of Orca’s including a baby, came upon us and we were able to watch them for over an hour. Truly a memorable experience - you just never know what you will encounter in Alaska. I hope they get it figured out for you; regardless I am sure you will enjoy any excursion you do.

Kelly

[RachelG]

The Tracy Arm excursion is probably the best excursion I have taken on any cruise, anywhere. Definitely need to call Regent to find out what is going on. Sometimes they are not able to run it early in the season (too much ice), but I would think by mid-June it would be fine. We went the last week in May and were the first boat in that season.

[Cattravel10]

I am signed up for the Tracy Arm excursion on June 23. Had to call Regent to do this. It does not appear on the booked excursions under My Account. However, it does appear on my invoice that I received from my TA.

 

Barb

[alaskabound2323]

Hi, I am on the same cruise as you. The cruise intinerary says "cruising

Tracy's Arm on the 19th." Is there a different excursion that I am missing? What does it mean when the ship is cruising tracy's arm? Is that really from far away?

 

thanks,

Janet

[DaveFr]

Hi, I am on the same cruise as you. The cruise intinerary says "cruising

Tracy's Arm on the 19th." Is there a different excursion that I am missing? What does it mean when the ship is cruising tracy's arm? Is that really from far away?

 

thanks,

Janet

The ship will cruise Tracy Arm for a couple of hours but can't get close to the glaciers in the fjord. After a couple of hours the Navigator will leave and head for Juneau. The Tracy Arm excursion others are talking about is via a catamaran that will meet the Navigator in Tracy Arm. Being smaller, the catamaran can cruise much more of the fjord. The catamaran then sails to Juneau, arriving about 30 minutes or so after the Navigator arrives there.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Dave

[alaskabound2323]

I guess I will try to call Regent and book this excursion if it still exists? Why is it a "secret excursion?"

 

Is there a fee for this excursion?

 

thanks!

[RachelG]

Don't know if there is a fee now. Our trip was before "all-inclusive", but even if there is a fee, it is worth the extra cost. Actually I suspect it does cost extra because, like the fishing excursions and helicopter rides, it was pretty expensive.

[Cattravel10]

This excursion is now $99.00. Last year was free but yes, well worth the cost!

[alaskabound2323]

Thanks for this advice, I called today and booked 5 of our group of 10. Now... how about this for an 80 year old woman? she just had a knee replacement and is still pretty frail, but we have 8 weeks.

 

Can anyone tell me more about the catamaran? Would she be comfortable? I know she was interested in Fjords.

 

Janet

[marieps]

Thanks to all for the Tracy Arm advice. Just called direct and booked for our August cruise. Never would have known about it without the saavy folks on Cruise Critic. I was a bite surprised it leaves at 7:30 am. Does anyone know how many people they take on the excursion?

[RachelG]

Tracy Arm excursion is accessible to anyone provided they can get on and off the boat. It isn't difficult, but have to be able to walk (a wheelchair would not be accessible). I think an 80 yr old woman would be fine. There is plenty of room to sit. You only have to go out on deck when you want to.

[alaskabound2323]

When I called Regent they said that they are the only ship that has rights to do this excursion.. but I saw this from Carnival on the ports forum.

 

Also, Carnival is charging $149 for adults $99 for kids.

Regent is charging $99 for this FREE excursion. That seems a bit unreasonable. Is this the same excursion on Regent as Carnival? Since it is not online I cannot read the details about the excursion.

 

FROM CARNIVAL:On this excursion you will:

• Board a deluxe, waterjet-powered catamaran that has pulled alongside the Carnival Spirit in the waters of Tracy Arm.
  
• Discover many wonders around each bend of this serpentine, 30-mile fjord. Listen to the onboard Naturalist who will inform you about the area.
  
• Trace the bases of cliffs that rise 4000-feet above the jade-colored sea.
  
• Enjoy an up close view of North Sawyer Glacier, with frequent stops to view wildlife.
  
• Hear the “white thunder” as immense spires of ice break from the South Sawyer Glacier and crash into the sea.
  

[pmckenn1]

After reading this thread, I also call Regents directly and booked the excursion for our June 16th cruise. The cost is $99/person. I am not sure why it is not listed on the website and the agent also did not know why it wasn't listed. Thanks for bringing the excursion to my attention!:)

[RachelG]

I am pretty sure other ships also do this excursion, but the catamaran they take you on should be exclusive to Regent, and they do not pile on more and more people and overcrowd it as some of the other lines do.

[Gmeg]

Thanks for this advice, I called today and booked 5 of our group of 10. Janet

 

Could you let me know when your cruise is going? I have tried to book this excursion through Regent and have been told by the, that it does not exist. I think this could be because we are the first cruise of the season but it could be because the person responding to my email did not check this out well enough. So does anyone have more information.

[alaskabound2323]

My cruise is from Vancouver to Seward beginning June 16. It is my understanding that Tracy's arm might be too frozen to go early. So if you are on an early cruise it might not be opened up yet.

 

I called Regent and asked for the Tracy's arm excursion and gave them my booking number, they looked it up and checked my other excursions and booked me.

 

I really am a newbie so I don't know if I am much help.

 

Janet

[Travelcat2]

Most tour operators begin Tracy Arm excursions on June 1st. Of course, if the winter was extremely harsh, it could be later. If Regent is not offering it, you may want to check the "Ports" section of CruiseCritic to see what companies other members are using for this excursion.

[bryan72562@aol.com]

Alaskabound; I remember a women with limited mobility on our Tracy Arm excursion, if that helps. There are bench type seats indoors and standing area's on outside decks and from what I remember stairs to get to the upper deck. The galley and heads are down some steep, tight stairs, but I believe there is another head on the main deck. It is a long tour, but I think well worth the price (we paid full price and thought it was worth it). We bought a book on board and I looked at the author's website: markkelley.com and there are a few pictures of his book Alaska's Tracy Arm... and one of the boat, although small. I also found thanks to Allen Marine in his book, and I am pretty sure this is the company that Regent used for our trip. Here is a link to their website: http://allenmarinetours.com/sightseeing/juneau/tours/glacier-fjord/index.html

Good luck!

Kelly

[Quester2]

Thanks so much, Kelly, Dave, Barb, and others who've helped me understand this weird Tracy Arm excursion. Talked to Regent Rep yesterday who was very nice, but clueless. She had no idea why she could book Tracy Arm direct but it wasn't on the website, nor did she seem to understand why that made any difference to anyone. I had already booked Tracy Arm ($ showed up on my Mastercard immediately) but I went ahead and booked the Float trip for the afternoon, since my adult kids were already booked on that--they passed on spending so much for Tracy Arm for the 4 of them (they have 2 children). Now I'm booked for both, but I'll cancel one.

Janet, be sure to go to the website Kelly gave--thanks, Kelly--to get a true picture of what the boat is like and what the tour is like. Until I saw their slide show, I didn't really understand it.

You're all so great to help out newbies like us. I truly appreciate you.

Linda

[alaskabound2323]

I asked my mother in law if she was interested in this tour, she stated that she had already seen a fjord.... when I asked her if she would like to do the whale watching with us she said she had already seen a whale.... cracked me up.

 

Bryan thanks for the link, we have booked 8 of our group.

[RachelG]

I asked my mother in law if she was interested in this tour, she stated that she had already seen a fjord.... when I asked her if she would like to do the whale watching with us she said she had already seen a whale.... cracked me up.

 

Bryan thanks for the link, we have booked 8 of our group.

 

I have seen lots of Fjords in Alaska, Norway, and Chile. Trust me, Tracy Arm is by far the most spectacular--you are literally surrounded by constantly calving glaciers.

[Gmeg]

I am still battling with this. Regent knows nothing about the excursion and Allen Marine does not answer theire emails sent to their Juneau. Office. Is this a special excursion where they meet the boat on the way from Ketchikan to Juneau or is just an excursion done while we are in Port at Juneau. Anyone what exaclty did you have to do to book 8 of your Group?

[marieps]

I am still battling with this. Regent knows nothing about the excursion and Allen Marine does not answer theire emails sent to their Juneau. Office. Is this a special excursion where they meet the boat on the way from Ketchikan to Juneau or is just an excursion done while we are in Port at Juneau. Anyone what exaclty did you have to do to book 8 of your Group?

 

Very surprising when you say Regent knows nothing. I called and asked for it and was immediately booked and charged $198 for two. A catamaran meets Navigator at the mouth of the fjord and excursion goers board for a close up look at the glaciers. The cat later meets Nav in Juneau. The excursion begins at 7:30am on the "cruising Tracy Arm" day on the itinerary.

I'd try calling again in hopes of getting another CSR.

[alaskabound2323]

I have seen lots of Fjords in Alaska, Norway, and Chile. Trust me, Tracy Arm is by far the most spectacular--you are literally surrounded by constantly calving glaciers.

 

 

I trust you, I have seen fjords in New Zealand also, and I absolutely love whale watching, but you can't convince some people and I am not going to try. She can stay on the ship. Some people really just want to stay on the ship. In my mind, I have already seen the ship.