Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Walking on a Glacier

sjmbruce

By sjmbruce,
in Alaska

Recommended Posts

sjmbruce

sjmbruce

Posted
Posted

My ship will be in Juneau from 8am until 9pm.

 

Thanks to the advice here on CC, I booked the first early morning whale watching trip with Harv and Marv so I would have the rest of the day to explore. I had planned on going to Mendenhall Glacier to hike a little, am considering the tram up Mount Robert. I would also like to just explore in town, but I'm not sure if that's worth it or just way too touristy.

 

I wasn't going to do a helicopter ride, I've done that elsewhere and wanted to try something new in Alaska by riding on a seaplane.

 

However, I really want to walk on a glacier and it looks like a helicopter ride is the best way to do that.

 

Is Juneau the best place to do a helicopter ride to a glacier? I'll also be in Skagway and Ketchikan, but it seems like most of the glacier walks are available in Juneau.

 

Lastly, are there any company suggestions for a glacier walk?

 

Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
paylady

paylady

Posted
Posted
My ship will be in Juneau from 8am until 9pm.

 

Thanks to the advice here on CC, I booked the first early morning whale watching trip with Harv and Marv so I would have the rest of the day to explore. I had planned on going to Mendenhall Glacier to hike a little, am considering the tram up Mount Robert. I would also like to just explore in town, but I'm not sure if that's worth it or just way too touristy.

 

I wasn't going to do a helicopter ride, I've done that elsewhere and wanted to try something new in Alaska by riding on a seaplane.

 

However, I really want to walk on a glacier and it looks like a helicopter ride is the best way to do that.

 

Is Juneau the best place to do a helicopter ride to a glacier? I'll also be in Skagway and Ketchikan, but it seems like most of the glacier walks are available in Juneau.

 

Lastly, are there any company suggestions for a glacier walk?

 

Thank you!

 

There are many good companies for this. We used Coastal. It's a wonderful excursion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MVPinBoynton Great Review Rare

MVPinBoynton

Posted
Posted

If you haven't done it, I would not miss an opportunity to take a helicopter to a glacier. Before I did it, I always thought "What's the big deal, isn't it just like walking on snow?" I was so wrong. It is an amazing experience.

 

We used Coastal and were the only tourists on the helicopter. The flight over the glaciers and beautiful country was just gorgeous. The glacier itself was so fascinating and beautiful. You can see some pics below from our review from when we did it in 2007.

 

ALAS_3415.JPG

 

ALAS_0382.JPG

 

ALAS_0401.JPG

 

ALAS_3471.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sjmbruce

sjmbruce

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thank you both for recommending coastal, and thank you for sharing your pictures! The third one down really sold me.

I couldn't decide between a helicopter ride to a glacier or a trip on a seaplane. But I think I need to do everything I can in order to be able to do both!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MVPinBoynton Great Review Rare

MVPinBoynton

Posted
Posted
Thank you both for recommending coastal, and thank you for sharing your pictures! The third one down really sold me.

I couldn't decide between a helicopter ride to a glacier or a trip on a seaplane. But I think I need to do everything I can in order to be able to do both!

 

That is one of my wife's favorite one's too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sjmbruce

sjmbruce

Posted
  • Author
Posted
If you haven't done it, I would not miss an opportunity to take a helicopter to a glacier. Before I did it, I always thought "What's the big deal, isn't it just like walking on snow?" I was so wrong. It is an amazing experience.

 

We used Coastal and were the only tourists on the helicopter. The flight over the glaciers and beautiful country was just gorgeous. The glacier itself was so fascinating and beautiful. You can see some pics below from our review from when we did it in 2007.

 

ALAS_3415.JPG

 

ALAS_0382.JPG

 

ALAS_0401.JPG

 

ALAS_3471.JPG

 

did you take the icefield excursion or the adventure tour?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sjmbruce

sjmbruce

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Now that was a tough questions. :D I had to go back to my 2007 emails to find it. It was the icefield Excursion. It was awesome. Have a great time.

 

thank you so much :) i'm impressed you were able to find those emails! i'm going to book this tomorrow and am so looking forward to being where you took those pictures. what a beautiful, eerie place. it definitely looks otherworldly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
My335iTT

My335iTT

Posted
Posted
If you haven't done it, I would not miss an opportunity to take a helicopter to a glacier. Before I did it, I always thought "What's the big deal, isn't it just like walking on snow?" I was so wrong. It is an amazing experience.

 

We used Coastal and were the only tourists on the helicopter. The flight over the glaciers and beautiful country was just gorgeous. The glacier itself was so fascinating and beautiful. You can see some pics below from our review from when we did it in 2007.

 

ALAS_3415.JPG

 

ALAS_0382.JPG

 

ALAS_0401.JPG

 

ALAS_3471.JPG

 

 

wow those pics are amazing

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HeatherC430

HeatherC430

Posted
Posted

We just got back from our Alaska cruise last week. We booked the Helicopter Flightseeing & Glacier Walkabout through Carnival ($389.99 per person). This tour was operated by NorthStar Trekking. This was one of the highlights of our trip and totally worth the high price tag.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
laughing husky

laughing husky

Posted
Posted

If you spend money to walk on a glacier, you might as well spend a bit more and walk on a glacier AND do a dog sled ride on a glacier. Coastal does all of that plus more.....and they do NOT go through a ship so it is a bit cheaper than the ones you book through a ship. Check out there web page....It is the experience of a life time...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
frugaltravel

frugaltravel

Posted
Posted
If you spend money to walk on a glacier, you might as well spend a bit more and walk on a glacier AND do a dog sled ride on a glacier. Coastal does all of that plus more.....and they do NOT go through a ship so it is a bit cheaper than the ones you book through a ship. Check out there web page....It is the experience of a life time...

 

If you are going to do that, just go back to Alaska in the winter for the "real" dogsled rides.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Budget Queen

Budget Queen

Posted
Posted

There are some differences that are not being mentioned.

 

So for general information I am going to detail more on these options.

 

For "glacier" access- there are several options. They can be accessed without flights- as mentioned out of Seward to Exit- which is a hike and requires several hours and fitness. Easier is a guided trek of Matanuska- a couple hours northeast of Anchorage. Very reasonable cost, and excellent access quickly.

 

Also a walk on Mendenhall is possible from the west side, guided will take a lot of time and fitness.

 

With helicopters, a trek is available with Northstar- I only recommend their level 3 trek. Several reasons- 3 hours is still a very limited time and TIME is the most important feature. The level 1 barely gets back and forth, add to the mix, anybody and everybody can take this tour- so it's only going to go as fast as the slowest person, add someone with some "problems". (get the idea).

 

There are 3 other helicopter companies that do glacier landings, all are well run and long established. Differences in these flights can be costs, but basically there are two options based on time, and landings. Float planes don't offer glacier access.

 

There is only one helicopter company out of Skagway. The glacier landings are very similar between Skagway and Juneau, so consider either, based on how it fits your overall touring plans best. It doesn't matter for the walkabout flights.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sjmbruce

sjmbruce

Posted
  • Author
Posted
There are some differences that are not being mentioned.

 

So for general information I am going to detail more on these options.

 

For "glacier" access- there are several options. They can be accessed without flights- as mentioned out of Seward to Exit- which is a hike and requires several hours and fitness. Easier is a guided trek of Matanuska- a couple hours northeast of Anchorage. Very reasonable cost, and excellent access quickly.

 

Also a walk on Mendenhall is possible from the west side, guided will take a lot of time and fitness.

 

With helicopters, a trek is available with Northstar- I only recommend their level 3 trek. Several reasons- 3 hours is still a very limited time and TIME is the most important feature. The level 1 barely gets back and forth, add to the mix, anybody and everybody can take this tour- so it's only going to go as fast as the slowest person, add someone with some "problems". (get the idea).

 

There are 3 other helicopter companies that do glacier landings, all are well run and long established. Differences in these flights can be costs, but basically there are two options based on time, and landings. Float planes don't offer glacier access.

 

There is only one helicopter company out of Skagway. The glacier landings are very similar between Skagway and Juneau, so consider either, based on how it fits your overall touring plans best. It doesn't matter for the walkabout flights.

Thanks for the information, but for me, a helicopter is the best way to go. Even with a full day in port, a hike would take up so much time we wouldn't have room for anything else. And with limited time before and after the cruise (2 days in Vancouver, an afternoon in Anchorage) we won't be able to do a lot outside of the ports. I've been in contact with a few companies after receiving recommendations on here, from family and by doing research online. For what we want, Coastal is a good choice and has been the best by far in customer service. Another awesome experience to look forward to in Alaska!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...