Tracy Arm Boat Tour from Juneau

[master_angler_dave]

We booked the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer with Allen Marine through HAL for Sept 3rd and it was cancelled due to weather. Have a backup plan in case your tour is cancelled. We hopped on the Whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour, also with Allen Marine, and had a great time. We saw lots of humpbacks and Orcas.

 

We do plan to stop by Mendenhall Glacier during one of our stops in Juneau. When we stopped by Mendenhall glacier last year (July) the salmon weren't in the river yet, hence we didn't see any bears. It was a combo whale watch/mendenhall glacier trip through Orca. We had nice weather and saw many active humpbacks. Also plan to do some shore fishing near the DIPAC hatchery in Juneau.

[charliem]

We do plan to stop by Mendenhall Glacier during one of our stops in Juneau. When we stopped by Mendenhall glacier last year (July) the salmon weren't in the river yet, hence we didn't see any bears. It was a combo whale watch/mendenhall glacier trip through Orca. We had nice weather and saw many active humpbacks. Also plan to do some shore fishing near the DIPAC hatchery in Juneau.

 

Hi Dave,

 

Excited we will be cruising with you and Barb again in 2014. I would love to do the Tracey Arm excursion out of Juneau........wish we were on the northbound together. I had looked at it last year but didn't want to do it a alone (Charlie was fishing....surprise, surprise!!).

 

Linda

[master_angler_dave]

Hi Dave,

 

Excited we will be cruising with you and Barb again in 2014. I would love to do the Tracey Arm excursion out of Juneau........wish we were on the northbound together. I had looked at it last year but didn't want to do it a alone (Charlie was fishing....surprise, surprise!!).

 

Linda

 

Linda, one reason I'm trying to get the Tracey Arm tour in on the northbound leg is so that I've got more time to fish DIPAC with Charlie on the southbound...surprise, surprise :) Barb & I are thrilled to be cruising Alaska with you and Charlie next year. Do you plan to go on the Tracy Arm Fjord tour this summer? If you don't, I'll let you know what I find out about reservations for the tour in 2014.

 

Finally, there's one other reason we aren't on the northbound leg with you. The ceo of Celebrity has banned us from being on more than one cruise with you & Charlie. Said something about having a issue with cleaning salmon in the staterooms. He didn't believe it when I objected, saying that all the salmon belonged to you & Charlie, and that I was just helping with the cleaning :)

[charliem]

Linda, one reason I'm trying to get the Tracey Arm tour in on the northbound leg is so that I've got more time to fish DIPAC with Charlie on the southbound...surprise, surprise :) Barb & I are thrilled to be cruising Alaska with you and Charlie next year. Do you plan to go on the Tracy Arm Fjord tour this summer? If you don't, I'll let you know what I find out about reservations for the tour in 2014.

 

Finally, there's one other reason we aren't on the northbound leg with you. The ceo of Celebrity has banned us from being on more than one cruise with you & Charlie. Said something about having a issue with cleaning salmon in the staterooms. He didn't believe it when I objected, saying that all the salmon belonged to you & Charlie, and that I was just helping with the cleaning :)

 

Too funny!!

 

I may look into Tracy Arm for this summer......it is such a long excursion so not sure yet. I do plan to fish DIPAC this summer.......I fished there on the second leg last summer in pouring rain and still had a blast!!

 

Linda

[jpplay]

Assuming that Adventure Bound has a 8:30AM or later departure offered in 2014, would a 8:00AM arrival in Juneau allow one to reach the Adventure Bound? Last year our Celebrity Alaska southbound cruise didn't reach port until 9:00AM and there was no possibility of getting on Adventure Bound's tour.

 

If they don't normally book up, the doing it on a walk-on basis would be the safest way to go.

 

This is on the Adventure Bound website:

 

"Vessels do not wait for late passengers. No refund for late passengers. Check your boarding pass for the time you need to be on board."

Hi all!

 

I spoke to the folks at AB earlier today - before reading this thread.

I will be in Juneau on the NB Princess cruise on July 25 and the ship arrives at 8 AM.

 

The AB rep said they would work with us to get us to their boat.

They suggested a taxi even though it is a 10-15 minute walk because they will be in a rush to leave.

They offered to help arrange for the taxi or even get us if absolutely necessary. They said we should call them when we get close and they will call us if they don't hear from us.

 

They said that if the cruise ship gets in late then they will refund our money but only if something happened that is out of our control. Assuming the cruise ship docks at 8 AM they expect us to be at the front of the line getting off and to hurry over to them.

They also said that they are very lightly booked for that day at this point...

 

I booked the tour but I was a bit worried that this would be stressful or that I could miss the AB boat if Princess got in just a few minutes late... I wondered if this was a crazy idea and something no-one did - so I came to CC to search for threads on AB tour.

 

Sounds like this is a tour really worth doing and that it should work out - so **thanks for the info***!!

 

Question - We will be missing Mendenhall to do this - if anyone thinks that's a big mistake please let me know. I don't think we'll be in Alaska again so assuming it's our only chance for either Tracy Arm or Mendenhall...

 

The only way I figure that we could do both is if the Tram ride lets you see Mendenhall and I haven't seen that mentioned - if any of you have been on the tram and can tell me that would be great!

 

I have a few questions here - so THANKS IN ADVANCE as always - you guys are great!

 

Hopefully the info from AB that I got today helps too.

[jpplay]

I kept searching the boards and found a later thread comparing Mendenhall to Tracy Arm (which won hands down!). I just would ask about the tram then - can anyone let me know if you can see Mendenhall from there? THANKS!

[Coral]

 

Question - We will be missing Mendenhall to do this - if anyone thinks that's a big mistake please let me know. I don't think we'll be in Alaska again so assuming it's our only chance for either Tracy Arm or Mendenhall...

 

The only way I figure that we could do both is if the Tram ride lets you see Mendenhall and I haven't seen that mentioned - if any of you have been on the tram and can tell me that would be great!

 

 

This is so better than Mendenhall! I wouldn't worry about missing Mendenhall. Mendenhall is ok if you don't get to see any glaciers but you will see Glacier Bay and College Fiords plus Sawyer Glacier. If you are talking about the Tram in Juneau, I would skip it.

 

Last year, I planned on being the first off the ship and quickly getting to the boat. I turned on my cell when waiting to get off the ship (as they were getting ready to let passengers off) and they had left voice mail - they had offered to pick me up at the pier. So make sure you turn your cell on as soon as you dock and be in contact with them. I would consider taking a taxi also as the AJ dock (where we docked last year) is the furthest from their dock.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Coral

[jpplay]

Awesome -thanks for the great info!

[DougH]

I just got off a B2B on the Island Princess and sailed with AB on 5/16. I was literally the first one off the ship and had a call from them when I was about halfway to their dock and passing the Mt Roberts Tram. They had staff on the pier looking for me and another couple off another ship. Capt Steve was even anxiously pacing at the top of the pier. We all arrived within seconds of each other at about 8:15 and we immediately took off.

 

I think Steve was in a bit of a rush that day as he had 5 kayaks to drop off in Tacy Arm and this took up a bit of time but was fascinating to watch. We may have had a little shorter stay at South Sawyer than normal but he also took us up to the face of North Sawyer also.As a bonus we encouinterd two different bears along the shoreline and got very close to both.

 

This was my 4 or 5th trip with AB and loved all of them. They are very highly recommended and I'd book again next year if possible.

[jpplay]

awesome! thanks so much - this is such helpful info!!

I'm glad you had a great trip!

[Ginnyfyr]

We just got back from Alaska on the Celebrity Century on Sunday and we did the Tracy Arm trip with Allen Marine (booked thru the ship as the cost was less than a $10 difference). It was such an amazing trip! Totally the highlight of our cruise. We were fortunate to have a sunny and warm day (we actually both came back a little pink in the face from the sun!) and we saw a ton of wildlife - humpback whales, bald eagles, sea lions which were swimming alongside our boat, and hundreds of seals at the south Sawyer glacier. We got up to within a half mile of the glacier and witnessed some calving which was incredible. Definitely recommend this excursion!

[jerseymermaid]

If you had to choose, would you go on the Tracy Arm Fjord Tour or the whale watch tour (ship tour Jewel) out of Juneau? Just trying to get some opinions. We are only going to be in Juneau for 5 hours. Thanks for your input.

[bonvoyagie]

If you had to choose, would you go on the Tracy Arm Fjord Tour or the whale watch tour (ship tour Jewel) out of Juneau? Just trying to get some opinions. We are only going to be in Juneau for 5 hours. Thanks for your input.

 

If you are on the NCL Jewel you should be able to do BOTH. The Jewel offers a Tracy Arm Explorer tour through Allen Marine that leaves Juneau just ahead of the ship (about 1:15 or so). It goes out to the fjord and tours the glacier and meets up with the ship as it reaches the end of it's transit (wherever that might be). You re-board the Jewel and continue on your cruise - next stop Skagway. This option leaves you all 5 hrs in Juneau for other tours - like whale watching - although you might be able to spot some whales on the way to the fjord - it is not the prime objective of that tour.

[frugaltravel]

Plus, I would do the whale watch tour independently and not through the ship. Harv & Marvs is great for their small boats, longer tours and if you have time, free stop at Mendenhall Glacier.

[Coral]

If you had to choose, would you go on the Tracy Arm Fjord Tour or the whale watch tour (ship tour Jewel) out of Juneau? Just trying to get some opinions. We are only going to be in Juneau for 5 hours. Thanks for your input.

 

Tracy Arm....!

[ikirumata]

Tracy Arm....!

 

I don't believe that 5 hours is enough time to go to Tracy Arm. Its a long boat ride up there and there are usually stops along the way there and back to check out interesting things like whales, bears, and eagles sitting on icebergs.

[brunolvr]

In 2009 we were on the NCL Star and took the Tracy Arm excursion offered by NCL. Because Tracy Arm had too much ice in it, our excursion went to the Endicott Arm with a viewing of Dawes Glacier. Since we had been to Tracy Arm on a couple of our previous Alaska cruises, it was no great loss for us. We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery we saw.

 

We boarded our excursion boat about 12:50PM and were on our way by 1:10PM, going by the NCL Pearl making her way to Juneau. We reached Dawes Glacier around 5PM and stayed there viewing, watching some calving, for about an hour until we saw the Star approaching a little after 6PM. She didn't get very close to Dawes Glacier.

 

We would without hesitation do this excursion again!

We did a lot of short stops along the way for viewing of whales, eagles, bears, etc.

[Bucky3]

We are considering this Tracy Arm AB tour, and this thread is very convincing. It looks like it means waiting until we arrive in Juneau and then hoping there is still space available. I think that's what we'll do. That will also allow us to see just what the weather will be on that particular day.

 

Does anyone know what the capacity of the AB boats is?

 

We did Misty Fjords by small boat from Ketchikan a couple of years ago and loved it. I imagine this tour to Tracy Arm will be just as scenic.

[Coral]

We are considering this Tracy Arm AB tour, and this thread is very convincing. It looks like it means waiting until we arrive in Juneau and then hoping there is still space available. I think that's what we'll do. That will also allow us to see just what the weather will be on that particular day.

 

Does anyone know what the capacity of the AB boats is?

 

We did Misty Fjords by small boat from Ketchikan a couple of years ago and loved it. I imagine this tour to Tracy Arm will be just as scenic.

 

Tracy Arm with AB is the best tour I have done in Alaska. Ever.

 

IMO - it is far better than the Misty Fiords boat ride, I did this a few years ago and was underwhelmed.

 

Also realize the weather in Juneau doesn't always represent the weather in Tracy Arm.

 

I believe they have 2 boats with different capacity.

 

I personally would call and reserve it so they know to expect you. Even if the weather is rainy, I would still go. It is that good.

Edited May 30, 2013 by Coral

[Coral]

I don't believe that 5 hours is enough time to go to Tracy Arm. Its a long boat ride up there and there are usually stops along the way there and back to check out interesting things like whales, bears, and eagles sitting on icebergs.

 

If they join the ship, it is different than RT out of Juneau which does require more time:

 

http://reviews.ncl.com/4066/JNU_15/tracy-arm-fjord-glacier-explorer-5-hours-reviews/reviews.htm

[vbmom87]

Tracy Arm with AB is the best tour I have done in Alaska. Ever.

 

IMO - it is far better than the Misty Fiords boat ride, I did this a few years ago and was underwhelmed.

 

Also realize the weather in Juneau doesn't always represent the weather in Tracy Arm.

 

I believe they have 2 boats with different capacity.

 

I personally would call and reserve it so they know to expect you. Even if the weather is rainy, I would still go. It is that good.

 

As you know, I too, loved the Tracy Arm excursion. I believe it was your posts back in 2008 that swayed me to take the tour even though it meant giving up any other tour options in Juneau. We were in total awe the entire trip!!! We love scenery and love being on the water so it was a win, win experience for us. I would do this tour again in a heartbeat!!!

 

Although the Misty Fjords boat tour does not compare to Tracy Arm, I do believe it is a good tour for someone who cannot get to Tracy Arm. It does have those amazing cliffs as well. Just far fewer. I wish I had done the combination tour of boat in one direction and flight in the other. At the time I didn't want to spend the money, but in retrospect, wish I had.

 

Our trip with AB was on a rainy day and I agree, it is still most worthwhile. My second time I was on a cruise ship on a sunny day. Both trips were outstanding!!!

 

I agree to reserve, as long as AB will refund if the cruise ship is late arriving.

Edited May 30, 2013 by vbmom87

[jpplay]

Hi all. I reserved the Tracy Arm tour for 7/25 and AB promised to return our money if the ship gets in late. They sent me a confirmation stating that.

They did say they were not highly booked that day and would be using the smaller boat but I expect that could change in the next 2 months - I would definitely agree that you should make a reservation.

The folks at AB are extremely helpful and they are knowledgeable of the different ships and their schedules so you should discuss this with them so you know in advance if this fits into your timeline.

Enjoy!!

I can't wait!!!!

[Coral]

 

Although the Misty Fjords boat tour does not compare to Tracy Arm, I do believe it is a good tour for someone who cannot get to Tracy Arm. It does have those amazing cliffs as well. Just far fewer. I wish I had done the combination tour of boat in one direction and flight in the other. At the time I didn't want to spend the money, but in retrospect, wish I had.

 

When I booked the Combo Tour, that was the only way to get on the boat as they were not offering RT boat tours back then. We flew out, landed and boarded the boat and then sailed back. I thought the scenery was great in the beginning of the boat ride but then very quickly faded and wasn't any different than what I saw on the ship sailing.

 

I would probably book the boat ride again as I don't seem to have any favorites in Ketchikan but it seemed like just a small window of beauty for me and the rest was just ok.

[Anguillafan]

Hi. We're going to Alaska in July 2014. Our ship does not go to Tracy Arm Fjord, so I'm very interested in the tour from Juneau. I researched Adventure Bound and Allen Marine. If Allen Marine does the excursions from the cruise ships, will they book us independently? I liked that the Allen Marine trip was a little shorter because it gave us a little more time in Juneau, but it appears from this thread that shorter may mean not seeing as much as we could. Given the choice between the two operators, which one would you choose?

[bonvoyagie]

The Allen Marine's boat is faster and can make the trip across the bay to the fjord in better time.

Here is a link to their tour http://www.allenmarinetours.com/sightseeing/juneau/tours/glacier-fjord/round-trip.html

 

All you can do is ask them since they say that departure times vary by date - I know that on Tuesday they do the trip around 2:30 PM as that is the time that the NCL Pearl is in port :) and we did this tour last year.