If you can't fund what you want, ask...

[nobbync]

I have been booking all my tours for the 14 day Alaska cruise on HAL's Amsterdam on June 15th cruise next year. I have been to Alaska a couple times already and have always wanted to do the small boat tour to Tracy Arm. I had been to Tracy Arm once on a big ship and will be going again on this trip. Since the Amsterdam is in port for 14 hours I thought this is the time to do it. I soon found the one tour departs too early for us as we dock at 8 am. The other tour that is a little shorter they did not have scheduled for that day. This is the company the cruise ships use and unfortunately HAL did not offer it for our cruise either. I wrote them an email asking them if they knew others that did this tour or what charter rates would be if even available. They wrote back telling me they are exclusive for the NCL Pearl that day and it is from 2:15pm to 9:15 pm but they can hold a spot for us if the tour does not sell out on NCL. I told them I can't really wait for the last second to see if we can get in as I want to book other things if I can't do Tracy Arm. They decided to add us since it is only the two of us....

 

So if you don't see what you want, just ask, they might be able to fit you in. I am glad I asked.

 

Nobby

[dickinson]

Wow, that was great of them! You are soo right. If you don't ask then the answer is NO. Enjoy the excursion.

[vbmom87]

That was very nice. Glad you asked. Tracy Arm is pretty amazing.

 

As far as Adventure Bound, did you check if they are running a second tour that day? As the season progresses they usually add a second tour.

 

If you stick with Allen Marine, please post how the tour went. So far we have not been able to get any feedback on their round trip tour from Juneau to Tracy Arm Fjord. I am assuming that just the two of you will be riding out to the Fjord where you will pick up the passengers on the NCL ship. Then they will bring you back to Juneau. Is that correct?

[nobbync]

As far as Adventure Bound, did you check if they are running a second tour that day? As the season progresses they usually add a second tour.

 

If you stick with Allen Marine, please post how the tour went. So far we have not been able to get any feedback on their round trip tour from Juneau to Tracy Arm Fjord. I am assuming that just the two of you will be riding out to the Fjord where you will pick up the passengers on the NCL ship. Then they will bring you back to Juneau. Is that correct?

 

I plan to do a "live from" thread this time as I had a lot of fun doing it for my Hawaii cruise a few years ago so I will post all about it. The Allen Marine Tour is not a pickup from the ship. The NCL Pearl does not go to Tracy Arm so it pulls in from 2 pm to 10 pm that day and the tour starts at 2:15 from the dock and returns at 9:15pm at the dock.

 

I will ask Adventure Bound to see if they have a second trip. See, I should even know to ask... :D

 

Nobby

[vbmom87]

I plan to do a "live from" thread this time as I had a lot of fun doing it for my Hawaii cruise a few years ago so I will post all about it. The Allen Marine Tour is not a pickup from the ship. The NCL Pearl does not go to Tracy Arm so it pulls in from 2 pm to 10 pm that day and the tour starts at 2:15 from the dock and returns at 9:15pm at the dock.

 

I will ask Adventure Bound to see if they have a second trip. See, I should even know to ask... :D

 

Nobby

 

If you think of it, could you post the link to your live thread here? Since I get email notifications on this thread, I won't risk missing your live thread as I am not on the forum as much as I used to be.

[nobbync]

If you think of it, could you post the link to your live thread here? Since I get email notifications on this thread, I won't risk missing your live thread as I am not on the forum as much as I used to be.

 

I will try to remember to post it here or to let you know when it starts. It is 6 months away though and not sure I will remember but I will try... :)

 

I did check with Adventire Bound and actually they are running two boats but both leave too early.

 

Thanks!

Nobby

[vbmom87]

I will try to remember to post it here or to let you know when it starts. It is 6 months away though and not sure I will remember but I will try... :)

 

I did check with Adventire Bound and actually they are running two boats but both leave too early.

 

Thanks!

Nobby

 

I don't know why they keep leaving so early, but I guess they really don't need the cruise ship business. When we went in 2008 they had an 8:00 a.m. and a 9:00 a.m. tour. We were supposed to arrive in Juneau at 7:00 a.m., but we were delayed and didn't dock until 8:15 a.m. I called Adventure Bound from the ship and they were able to accommodate us on the 9:00 a.m. tour. We got lucky!!!! It still remains my favorite excursion!!! What a journey we had!!!

 

I am anxious to hear how your trip works out with Allen Marine. Many others would also like to know as it is a shorter trip and can accommodate cruise ships better.

 

I marked my calendar to make sure I watch for your live report from the Amsterdam. I was on the 14 day Amsterdam in 2011. What a trip it was!!!

[DougH]

I'd call Adventure Bound and ask them. They have waited a very short time for me a couple of times, my ship also docked at 8am. I was on Princess at the farthest dock but HAL docks much closer to where they sail from. The tour is very long and Capt Steve wants as much time as possible to allow for ice conditions and wildlife. I think they rarely run the later tour so it is hard to find a cruise ship schedule that works for this tour.

 

I love this tour and repeat any time my schedule permits.

[nobbync]

I did just talk to Winona from Adventure Bound. She said the website is wrong and they do have a 8:30 am departure. Since we are in Tracy Arm the day before on the Amsterdam I am going to assume we will not be late getting into Juneau. I know Adventure Bound is the longer tour and I would rather do that so I just might be doing AB instead. Also Allen Marine is $240 while AB is $150 and $20 off if pay in full when booking by end of January.

 

I appreciate greatly what Allen Marine did to set us up but I would rather do the longer AB tour. Plus the Allen Marine tour gets back at 9:15 with a 9:30 all aboard that is pushing it close.

 

I am in heaven planning all this... I love the planning almost as much as the trip itself.....almost.... :D

[nobbync]

I marked my calendar to make sure I watch for your live report from the Amsterdam. I was on the 14 day Amsterdam in 2011. What a trip it was!!!

 

I thought you did this recently so I went back and found your review and will have some fun reading it.

 

Nobby

[vbmom87]

I did just talk to Winona from Adventure Bound. She said the website is wrong and they do have a 8:30 am departure. Since we are in Tracy Arm the day before on the Amsterdam I am going to assume we will not be late getting into Juneau. I know Adventure Bound is the longer tour and I would rather do that so I just might be doing AB instead. Also Allen Marine is $240 while AB is $150 and $20 off if pay in full when booking by end of January.

 

I appreciate greatly what Allen Marine did to set us up but I would rather do the longer AB tour. Plus the Allen Marine tour gets back at 9:15 with a 9:30 all aboard that is pushing it close.

 

I am in heaven planning all this... I love the planning almost as much as the trip itself.....almost.... :D

 

Oh my, you are pushing it close with a 9:15 return and 9:30 all aboard. You are braver than I would be.

 

Many of us on this forum have been chatting the past two seasons trying to figure out the difference between the round trip Allen Marine Tour and the Adventure Bound tour. Some say the Allen Marine Boats are faster and that accounts for the time difference. Others say Adventure Bound spends a lot of time at the face of the glacier using up time. Some day I do hope someone will post and give a first hand report on the round trip with Allen Marine. For the price difference though, I would probably not be willing to try it and would stick with Adventure Bound.

 

Assume nothing with the ship being on time. Make sure you can get a refund if your ship is late. In 2008 we arrived in Juneau on time, but we had to wait for another ship to leave before we could pull into its docking spot. In 2011 on the Amsterdam we had a medical emergency the night before Juneau, so instead of anchoring for the night as planned, we were given permission to head to Juneau and dock there for the night. Best I can remember, we were able to get off on time in Juneau. Sometimes you are docked, but you are not cleared for disembarkation by the local authorities. We had several ports on the 14 day last summer where we were late docking or disembarking. Ketchikan was the worst. I think we were about an hour and a half late docking. This really messed up some of the passengers who had planned independent tours. We were told it had to do with tides. I can't be sure though. Although most of the summer the ship was late getting to Sitka, we were actually early. We were also late disembarking in Anchorage. That I do believe was due to tides. Why HAL can't figure out tide schedules before they make their itineraries is beyond me. I hope you get off the ship at the times posted, but do allow for later disembarkations.

[CaribbeanIsland]

I loved my AdventureBound trip. I would highly recommend them. No experience with Allen Marine here.

[nobbync]

I loved my AdventureBound trip. I would highly recommend them. No experience with Allen Marine here.

 

Thanks... We will be going with AB.

[nobbync]

Oh my, you are pushing it close with a 9:15 return and 9:30 all aboard. You are braver than I would be.

 

I wouldn't have even considered it but the NCL Pearl also leaves at 10 pm and talking to the people from Allen they said in the past two years they were late twice on this tour and they would also make sure we were first off the ship and woul ddrive us to the pier. But it all is good in the end as we will be doing the AB one earlier.

 

I also wondered about the time difference but 2 hours is a lot of extra time. I just feel AB probably does stay longer at places but I guess I won't be able to checkin to tell anyone. AB was my first choice anyway so it is all good.

 

And yes, I do understand things can happen. This is my 3rd cruise to Alaska and both times we were late getting into Juneau. Earlier this year I was very thankful we were booked with H/M whale watching and I contacted them before we pulled in that we would be about 2 hours late. They said no problem and said they were already aware of our schedule and just be on the pier when we get there and they will take us. They put us on their 12 man boat with all of us from our ship. The first time we missed out on our tour completely and that sucked. I am hoping since Amsterdam will be in Tracy Arm the day before I am pretty sure we will not be late... At least I hope we are not... And yes, AB will give us a refund if we do not make it because of a ship issue where we are late or can't get on... The only bad thing is if it has to be refunded it makes for setting up a replacement tour a real pain.

 

Nobby

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

I would be very carelful booking this. Since this is a NCL excursion the ship will wait for you. Hal Amsterdam will not. So if for some reason you are late due to ice or something else you might see the Amsterdam saining out of port while you are on this excursion. I LOVED Tracy Arm it was my favorite part of cruise (June 10 cruise on Amsterdam) but there is no way I would take a chance. Even two hours I would be nervious

Have a wonderfel time I LOVED the Amsterdam

 

Mary

[Teacher_91]

<< I am in heaven planning all this... I love the planning almost as much as the trip itself.....almost.... :D >>

 

I'm with you! I LOVE the planning process! :)

[fleckle]

I appreciate greatly what Allen Marine did to set us up but I would rather do the longer AB tour. Plus the Allen Marine tour gets back at 9:15 with a 9:30 all aboard that is pushing it close.

 

I am in heaven planning all this... I love the planning almost as much as the trip itself.....almost.... :D

Please don't let anyone cause you needless worry. The reputable Alaska tour operators are very reliable. If you tell them what time you need to be back on your ship, they will make sure to get you back there on time.

 

By the way, we also took the Adventure Bound trip and enjoyed it very much.

 

Looking at the itinerary for your cruise, your next port the day after Juneau will be Icy Strait Point, which assures that you need have no need for concern in any case.

Even in a worst case scenario, if a problem arose and the tour operator could not get you back to Juneau before your ship departed, Icy Strait Point is very close to Juneau and just about any boat could run you over to rejoin your cruise.

 

Standard advice, should you ever miss the ship, is to check with the port agent who can arrange for you to meet up with your ship.

 

But if a company like Adventure Bound or Allen Marine were ever to cause a cruise passenger to miss the ship, I think they would probably assume that responsibility themselves rather than jeopardize their reputation.

 

Just ask them what would happen if they don't get you back to the ship on time and I think you will get an answer that will be reassuring.

[nobbync]

Please don't let anyone cause you needless worry. The reputable Alaska tour operators are very reliable. If you tell them what time you need to be back on your ship, they will make sure to get you back there on time.

 

Thanks and yes I was not really too worried about it and yes I do know that Icy Straight is the next port and it is close. I already asked them about missing the ship and that is when they told me in the last 2 years they have been late by 10 minutes twice and that is it. They said they would have a shuttle at the boat ready to take us to the ship as soon as we got off so I assumed it would be no issue and was going to do it but....

 

Adveture Bound stepped up though and has a boat leaving 30 minutes after we pull in and if we miss them because the ship was late getting us cleared they'd refund the money 100%. So we are doing that and they said to call them from the ship if we are delayed in getting off. Also I like the longer time on Adventure Bound and the ability to have a flexible schedule on the return. Plus I would rather be on the ship earlier to rest up and watch is sail away as the sun is setting and to be up early for 2 tours on FISHES at Icy Straight Point.

 

Thanks!

Nobby

[vbmom87]

Plus I would rather be on the ship earlier to rest up and watch is sail away as the sun is setting and to be up early for 2 tours on FISHES at Icy Straight Point.

 

Thanks!

Nobby

 

I went with FISHES in August and had a great whale watch. What are the two tours you are going on?