DIY Tracy Arm excursion?

[bcparker]

This is probably dumb, so forgive me, but I can't seem to nail down this answer. We are booked on the Ruby Princess in May and it is scheduled to go through Tracy Arm. I am very interested in doing the smaller boat excursion, but booking that through the ship is pretty pricey. Is there any way to book it through someone else? I'm guessing not, but I thought I would ask here before I gave up completely.

 

Thanks for your help!

[DougH]

The only other option is the full day excursion from Juneau. With Princess only the Northbound Vancouver to Whittier route has enough time in port to allow it, you need to be in Juneau from at least 8am to 7pm. Cost with Adventure Bound was about $150pp.

 

Personally Princess has never offered the small boat option on the half dozen + cruises I've been on that went thru Tracy Arm.

[bcparker]

I was afraid of that. Thanks for the information, though!

[xlxo]

The only other option is the full day excursion from Juneau.

 

Something else to consider... if you look at Google Earth for measurements....

• it's 30 miles from Sawyer to Harbor Island (the mouth of Tracey Arm)
  
• it's another 50 miles from Juneau to Harbor Island
  
• double the distance means 160 miles from Juneau to meet Sawyer return. That's a lot of distance to cover in a small boat.
  
• http://www.allenmarinetours.com/sightseeing/juneau/tours/glacier-fjord/ 5 hour tour.
  
  
• there's been discussions were the success rate of meeting Sawyer can be dissappointed by ice congestion. Perhaps call the tour operator and ask which month has the greatest chance of meeting Sawyer.
  

Edited February 4, 2015 by xlxo

[peety3]

If your ship is going into Tracy Arm, you have only one option at least during that timeslot: buy the excursion through Princess. That excursion gathers in the Princess Theater to ensure everyone is ready, then heads down to deck 4; the tour boat comes along side and ties up at a tender platform. During the gathering process, you'll need to show your Princess excursion ticket to gain access to the theater, and get a colored dot that allows you out the door.

 

Logistics and price aside, DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! It was the absolute highlight of our cruise, and that's coming from two folks who prefer to photograph whales and other wildlife. Take a look at our photos (https://www.flickr.com/photos/alibear/sets/72157646305661819/page2/) and you can start with our entry into Tracy Arm at photo "BEBA". At "BEBH" we're aboard the small boat, and through at least BEHI are views you'll only get from the small boat tour. BFAA is when we catch up to the ship in Juneau, and BFAB is a shot my wife got from our cabin as the boat departs. Think of it this way: only 4% of the passengers get to do the small boat tour, don't you want to be one of the lucky ones?

[bcparker]

Ohhhhhhh!!!!! You make this sound so wonderful! I really want to do it. Now I just need to somehow convince my sisters to go with me.....

[Tee & Chilli]

If your ship is going into Tracy Arm, you have only one option at least during that timeslot: buy the excursion through Princess. That excursion gathers in the Princess Theater to ensure everyone is ready, then heads down to deck 4; the tour boat comes along side and ties up at a tender platform. During the gathering process, you'll need to show your Princess excursion ticket to gain access to the theater, and get a colored dot that allows you out the door.

 

Logistics and price aside, DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! It was the absolute highlight of our cruise, and that's coming from two folks who prefer to photograph whales and other wildlife. Take a look at our photos (https://www.flickr.com/photos/alibear/sets/72157646305661819/page2/) and you can start with our entry into Tracy Arm at photo "BEBA". At "BEBH" we're aboard the small boat, and through at least BEHI are views you'll only get from the small boat tour. BFAA is when we catch up to the ship in Juneau, and BFAB is a shot my wife got from our cabin as the boat departs. Think of it this way: only 4% of the passengers get to do the small boat tour, don't you want to be one of the lucky ones?

 

Some of the best pictures I've ever seen. Thank you

[peety3]

A couple more comments:

 

Here's a video that someone on our cruise shot from their aft balcony:

At about 1:45, you'll see the small boat catch up to the ship, and around 2:30 you'll see it disappear deeper into the fjord for the extra-special views.

 

Perhaps because of the whales we saw on the return trip, we were back to the Grand right around 2:00. Because they make everyone scan their cruise card AND go through the reboarding security stuff (metal detector, bag scanner), getting back aboard the ship was slow. We originally booked a 2:30 excursion in Juneau, but I heard elsewhere on CC that we could be cutting it too close, so I switched to a 3:15 departure for the same excursion choice. I'm very glad I did. My wife got off the boat relatively early (early enough to get up to our cabin and get that shot), but I stayed on the upper deck of the tour boat for shots of us coming alongside the ship, and ended up as one of the last people off the boat, pretty close to 2:30. Since we were boarding on 4 Starboard and one of the gangways ashore was on 4 Port, the entire forward lift/stairs area was mobbed, and the lifts were endlessly full. I ended up walking up five flights of stairs (with 40 pounds of camera gear), changing into different clothes (just to shake the coldness off), then we went to the buffet for lunch (with all of our camera gear), and directly off the ship for our 3:15. So plan your day carefully!