How does the 7 hour Tracy Arm excursion out of Juneau work?

[Sanjuro]

It would be a TRUE roundtrip in 7 hours, I'm thinking. In other words, the cruise ship won't be meeting our smaller boat INSIDE Tracy Arm to save time. I'm going on the Norwegian Pearl, specifically a Glacier Bay cruise roundtrip out of Seattle, so our ship isn't doing Tracy Arm at all. Also, the next stop after Juneau is Skagway, further north. We are in Juneau from 2 PM to 10 PM, and I would love to experience Tracy Arm, but I'm wondering if 7 hours is enough time for a true roundtrip from Juneau.

 

Thanks.

[bonvoyagie]

I did that tour last summer - fantastic. Yes the tour is roundtrip from Juneau and does take the entire time you are docked in Juneau.

 

This tour is one of the very first ones off the ship - they take you out through the crew decks - along with a couple of other long tours.

 

We had already been to both Juneau and Tracy Arm twice before so we decided to do this tour for something a little bit different and we enjoyed every minute of it. We sat in front of the Glacier for at least half an hour or more - got to see it calf several times.

 

The tour is run through Allen Marine and is available only through NCL.

[Sanjuro]

Thanks for the info bonvoyagie! I hope we get as lucky as you with the weather and timing (30 min in front of the glacier, wow). How was the wildlife on that tour?

 

Lastly, if I've never been to Juneau OR Tracy Arm would you recommend Tracy Arm instead of Juneau? Perhaps someday I'll be back up that way, but I'm from Texas so...I doubt I'll get to choose between them again anytime soon.

 

We are doing Glacier Bay on the cruise ship, but I've heard Tracy Arm is just as good in a different way. We are also doing a plane through the Misty Fjords out of Ketchikan. So should Tracy Arm be on my agenda this time?

 

Thanks!

[bonvoyagie]

I guess it depends on your priorities - Juneau is probably best know for the whale population in Auke Bay along with Mendenhall Glacier. You will miss those if you take the Tracy Arm tour. We had already seen whales on our previous visits and living in Oregon near the coast we also have seen the migration. We also have gone out to see the Orca pods in the Pudget Sound -so that was down on our list of priorities.

 

As far as seeing glaciers goes you will be able to see at least 4-5 in Glacier Bay - and you will spent at least an hour doing slow circles around Margeire Glacier and then do at least one spin around Lamplugh Glacier. The whole trip from the inlet to the glaciers and back takes between 8 and 9 hours. The park rangers do an excellent job of pointing out the wildlife they see while explaining the geology around you.

 

As far as wildlife goes we did see some harbor seals and their pups while in Tracy Arm - they rest on the icebergs floating around the glacier.

 

Both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm are fjords - and are both carved out by receeding glaciers - Sawyer Glacier carved Tracy Arm and at one time Glacier Bay was one huge glacier that receeded into several smaller ones.

 

Good Luck on your decision, I hope my input has helped.

[NoobCruise]

Have a back up plan! I was really excited to do the Tracy Arm excursion, but when we arrived in Juneau and went to meet our group, they told us it was cancelled due to weather. Thanks to this board, I knew it might be, so I knew what I wanted to do instead. We hopped on a whale watching and mendenhall glacier instead.

 

Now I'm just going to have to go back so I can do that excursion ;) What ever you end up doing, you'll have an amazing time!

[bonvoyagie]

Well there are several things about this tour (and many others in AK) that can change at the last minute. The problem is that usually the back-up plans are also sold out and tours are so expensive that paying for two and taking only one is just not practical.

 

Just to show you how fast things change - on this tour - just as the bus was backing out of the parking slot a shore ex rep came on and announced that the tour would probably not reach the glacier and that we could get off now and save the trip to town - well nobody left so we went on to town - again the reps from Allen Marine came onboard and also announced that due to a storm front the waters between Juneau and the Fjord were too rough for them to make good time. By the time we got loaded on the boat and out into the water our captain said that all was well and that the storm front had passed and the waters were calm.

 

Yes we did make it to the end and spent lots of time infront of the glacier.

 

There are some fine print associated with this tour including that about weather and ice conditions as well as time of the season that the tour is operated - due to lighting conditions.

 

BTW they are right - even in late June when the daylight is near its peak - it is getting dark by the time you return to dock - between 9:00 and 9:30 PM - and yes we were the last people to board that night.

[ikirumata]

Im not sure about your specific tour, but we did a tour out of Juneau to Tracy Arm (with Adventurebound) and yes, it did take up the entire time...however, I felt I could have spent more time out there. Tracy Arm is just beautiful!

 

As far as wildlife, keep in mind Tracy Arm is about the glacier and the area around it. That being said, we saw a couple whales, tons of eagles, harbor seals, mountain goats, and even a bear (up close, I did see some bears on the way back to Juneau that we didn't have time to stop and look at). You can see the pics using the link in my signature below.

 

Have fun!