Tracy Arm-Adventure Bound Alaska or Allen Marine?

[travelbuds]

Hi,

Wondering if anyone has gone out with both Adventure Bound Alaska and Allen Marine to Tracy Arm. Have heard good things about ABA, but may not be able to make it because of ship schedule. May change ship to take the ABA excursion.

Thanks.

[Italy52]

Hi Bruce. Haven't gone with Allen Marine (mainly because they didn't fit into our itinerary) --- however, we did go with Adventure Bound and really enjoyed our experience. I have attached a link found in this forum that might answer your question --- my comments about AB are also included.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1735618&highlight=adventure+bound

[DougH]

Haven't done the tour with Allen Marine but have sailed three times with Adventure Bound and loved every trip. Next time I'm in Alaska I will do this again as my first choice in Juneau.

Captain Steve and crew were fantastic every time and the glacier incredible for both color and calving. If you do a search I'm sure you will find some of my photos in what I call my "Blue Album" from one of my trips with Adventure Bound

[vbmom87]

Allen Marine does the ship contracted trips where you are dropped off/picked up at Tracy Arm. They have also started doing a round trip out of Juneau, but reports are difficult to find. They do not run the round trip out of Juneau every day. Their round trip out of Juneau is shorter than the AB round trip, but it has been reported part of that is due to Allen Marine having faster boats. I did read one report that stated that Allen Marine seems to spend more time observing wildlife, while AB spends more time at the glacier. Perhaps contacting each company and asking how long it takes them to get the Fjord from Juneau and how much time is spent in the fjord/at the glacier would help you make a more informed decision. I did the AB tour and absolutely loved it, but like others cannot give you a comparison between AB and AM.

[bonvoyagie]

I know that Allen Marine does all of the trips that either drop off or embark passengers in the arm. The trip I was on was through NCL and done just for the Pearl which is in Juneau from 2:00 to 10:00PM. The boat they use for this is a 40 pax V hull - like in the picture below. The captain is up in the top bridge and the lower area has full view seating- the upper deck is mainly for standing. The captain claimed that they were faster than the AB boats - and even faster than the other AM catamaran that does the other tour for the Jewel.