Best time of day for Tracy Arm Fjord Glacier Explorer add-on excursion

[Cruisin4US]

This excursion has a choice of either 11:00 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. departure time from the ship. Is there an advantage of one time over the other as far as being able to see glacier calving, and is it noticeably warmer in the afternoon during mid-July as opposed to the morning?

 

Also, where is the cruise ship in relation to the small boat excursion during the 11 a.m. sailing as opposed to the 2:30 p.m. sailing? Do both excursions spend the same amount of time at the glacier?

 

Thanks!!

[Budget Queen]

This excursion has a choice of either 11:00 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. departure time from the ship. Is there an advantage of one time over the other as far as being able to see glacier calving, and is it noticeably warmer in the afternoon during mid-July as opposed to the morning?

 

Also, where is the cruise ship in relation to the small boat excursion during the 11 a.m. sailing as opposed to the 2:30 p.m. sailing? Do both excursions spend the same amount of time at the glacier?

 

Thanks!!

 

The time makes absolutely no difference on any of your questions.

 

You are going with Carnival? IF you book the first tour, you will load from the cruise ship at the entrance of Tracy Arm and reboard the ship at Sawyer Island. Opposite if you book the later tour. You need to understand that "time" at the glacier is variable, it will depend on the whole timeframe. If you have a bear on the shoreline, you may be stopping there for 20 minutes etc. It also is NOT fixed with the glaciers. As an example, I did this same tour with Carnival last year, twice. First week I did the second tour, and Allen Marine sailed us first to the South Sawyer glacier, loaded with harbor seals and a lot of ice with good glacier viewing and calving, we then sailed up to the North Sawyer glacier. :)

 

Second week, I loaded at the entrance with the early tour. We did have a bear sighting where time was spent watching and the ice pack was out to Sawyer Island. So we did not sail to the South Sawyer glacier and headed to the North Sawyer glacier. Overall, this is a very inactive glacier with no where near the frequency of calving of the South Sawyer. But, as you never know, suddenly there was the "sound", and about 1/3 of the glacier, on the right side, just split off and seemed to fall in slow motion. The waves rocked the boat. It was one of the biggest calvings I have ever experienced (and have had hundreds of sightings)

 

Carnival's add on tour is "cheap" because you only sail Tracy Arm. Most other cruiseline"s Tracy Arm tours have the transit from Juneau involved which also is excellent and something I really enjoy on the small boat.