Tracy Arm..... We made it.

[Lost_in_BC]

Does anyone have any experience sailing to it in early September? Those who are going this fall, please post your experience and good luck with your viewing!

Edited July 30, 2014 by Lost_in_BC

[KruzeKrazy!]

We did Glacier Bay in early Sept and got lucky with a warm, sunny day and a calving Marjorie Glacier.

 

Our Tracy Arm was in July and we were also lucky and got all the way to Sawyer Glacier.

 

Sorry but no Tracy Arm in Sept experience. Many seem to report it being problematic to get all the way to Sawyer Glacier.

[Hikini]

Beautiful picture! We've made it before too, but mostly have had to see a good glimpse and that's it. There have been 3 times where we even went to a different glacier (Dawes at the end of Endicott Arm) because the conditions were not the best for getting to Sawyer. Tracy Arm is gorgeous though.

[gatorguy56]

We are just back from Tracy Arm on the Grand Princess. The ship got as close as Sawyer Island. We were on the excursion boat and got 1/4 mile from the south glacier. Lots of ice in the water and saw some calving. The north glacier is a totally different experience. Because of the current it doesn't calve as much. We had a really good naturalist on our boat and had explanations for all of our questions. We got close to a couple of waterfalls (Icy Falls and can't remember the name of the other) and got wet from the spray (they warned people so they could either go inside or on the other side of the boat). It was a great trip and I highly recommend it.

[CalifGirl67]

Here are some more photos from this trip.

 

 

 

 

Wow so amazing and beautiful!! We are going July 2015 and from the pics it looks like we will not be sorry for changing from a Hawaii trip to Alaska ;)

 

Whats the weather like in Alaska in July? Do you still wear shorts or do you wear pants/winter clothes,do you use the pools etc? Thanks

[masterty]

We were very lucky. We had short and t-shirt weather each and every port or cruising day. It's tough visiting a rain forest and not expect to get wet. We fished a full day in Juneau and never wore a jacket. July and September are peak inside passage dates. Enjoy your cruise.

[Coral]

 

Whats the weather like in Alaska in July? Do you still wear shorts or do you wear pants/winter clothes,do you use the pools etc? Thanks

 

Expect anything! I have cruised 2x over the 4th of July and drastically different experiences.

 

In 2002, it was downright cold! It felt like sleet coming down at an angle and hitting us in the eye. The fog was always there and when we looked out, all we saw was "gray". Our train ride in Skagway, we didn't see anything but fog. The ship sold out of their jackets and when it wasn't sleeting, it was pouring rain beyond anything I have ever seen before. There was one day where the fog opened up for an hour or so and "I saw Alaska" and realized I needed to come back sometime.

 

I then cruised several times in May/June time frame as my research indicated that it was less likely to rain then. I had many successful cruises.

 

In 2009, I returned to Alaska over the 4th of July again. It was dang hot! I wore jeans one day and had to return to the ship to change into shorts. I got sunburns on several boat rides. The pools were filled with people. Not a gray sky, not one bit of rain. I was actually disappointed as I was hoping for some cool weather after leaving the midwest's summer.

 

So that is my tale of the two 4th of July cruises I had.

Edited August 6, 2014 by Coral

[Budget Queen]

Usually it's ice conditions at Sawyer Glacier. But sometimes weather conditions such as fog or wind prevent ships from even entering Tracy Arm. It's quite narrow in spots. This is how close we got on my cruise. As you can see the OP is quite a bit closer to the glacier than that:

 

Tracy Arm, Alaska by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

Nope, it isn't usually what is claimed above, for not getting closer to the South Sawyer Glacier. Main reason- TIME, ships run on a very tight schedule. Ice does slow a ship down. Some ships also have no intent of going further than Sawyer Island- Carnival is one of them, since they run 2 add on shore excursion tours.

 

The "safety" "too much ice" etc etc stuff all sounds good, but think about it. IF ice were such a risk and unsafe, do you really think any ships would be sailing there? I haven't heard of any ships sinking lately. :)

 

On average- probably only about 25% of the cruise ships get past Sawyer Island.

[CruisinKiki]

Gatorguy56, did you board back on the ship directly from your smaller boat or get off your smaller boat in the port? Did the excursion run on time or late? We will be doing this in two weeks and am hoping we won't be late for our other scheduled excursion in Juneau. Thanks

[Budget Queen]

Gatorguy56, did you board back on the ship directly from your smaller boat or get off your smaller boat in the port? Did the excursion run on time or late? We will be doing this in two weeks and am hoping we won't be late for our other scheduled excursion in Juneau. Thanks

 

I did this twice this year, neither ran on the posted time, with both running late.

[dateacher]

We were also able to get that far on the excursion from our ship the HAL Volendam last week. It was a catamaran that picked us up at the mouth of Tracy Arm and then took us to meet our ship in Juneau.

 

It was a fabulous excursion and one I wouldn't miss.

[ClaudiaB]

Wow, that is an amazing photo and so fortunate to get that far. In 2012 we were on Infinity and I think we got as far as one turn farther away. With the telephoto lens we were able to get similar photos but nothing like being THERE.

We'll be returning next August. I hope to have great weather. It can be so crazy up there. First time in Ketchikan it was rain, fog, just a dreary sloppy day. Next time it was clear blue skies and 65 degrees, not a whisper of wind or cloud, just amazing. We had a kayaking trip and the water was like glass, and it was the most perfect day. Our guides even let us stay out a couple extra hours because they, too, were having such a good time enjoying a rare clear beautiful Ketchikan day.

To answer about Solstice - hm, I don't know if she goes that far. I just wish Solstice did the northbound and southbound instead of r/t. We've done r/t twice and are looking forward to our first northbound next year. We much prefer the S class over M.

[Orygungirl]

Breathtaking. Thanks for sharing.

[Loubelou]

Solstice made it past Sawyer Island and close to the glacier on Monday, August 4. I was on the small boat excursion and we got even closer and stayed much longer than the Solstice did!

 

 

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[cardamon]

Wow!! We go on RC Rhapsody OS- hope we get as close!!