Alaskan Cruise Excursion Questions

[sharkaymon]

We are planning excursions for our July Alaskan Cruise on Carnival Legend leaving on a Tuesday. Our itinerary shows "Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord on Thursday. Will we see any glaciers? There is a Carnival Excursion the next day called Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer. I'm wondering if we will see enough glaciers on that sea day that I can choose another excursion out of Skagway?

[ikirumata]

The two glaciers are way at the end of the Tracy Arm Fjord. Im not sure if the ship will be able to get all the way to the end (it gets icy closer to the end) enough to see them. If your cruise offers a small boat excursion that takes you in closer, you might want to explore that option.

 

I have never done it (so I wont comment on quality), but looks like there may be an excursion to the Davidson Glacier out of Skagway.

 

http://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/skagway-ak/glacier-point-wilderness-safari-172075

 

Looks fantastic! Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Edited January 22, 2016 by ikirumata

[Wishing on a star]

I am not familiar with your Carnival Cruise, or the second excursion that you have mentioned. But I do believe that the smaller boat excursion at Tracy Arm is thru Allen Marine. If I am right, you will board their vessel right from the Legend. Then they will give you a more up-close-and-personal tour of Sawyer Glacier(s). Then they will travel to Juneau where you will reboard the Legend there at dock. (possible whale and wildlife sightings on the way back?)

 

We have considered taking a similar tour, round trip from Juneau, as our cruise does not tour Tracy Arm.

 

In any case, I have found that this excursion to be highly recommended.

You would get the best of both worlds... navigating the narrow fjord from a higher perspective on a large and more silent ship (except for any speakers, etc if you are listening to narration) and then the smaller vessel which should have the ability to get you more up close and personal.

[Budget Queen]

I have taken Carnival numerous times, again last year.

 

Carnival does NOT have a history of getting past Sawyer Island. Which means, only a distant partial view of the South Sawyer.

 

Cruise ships- the past several years do not sail for viewing of the North Sawyer.

 

In my opinion, the add on tour- is "necessary" if you want better chances of glacier viewing. The small boat is already a way superior transit compared to the cruise ship.

[Budget Queen]

I am not familiar with your Carnival Cruise, or the second excursion that you have mentioned. But I do believe that the smaller boat excursion at Tracy Arm is thru Allen Marine. If I am right, you will board their vessel right from the Legend. Then they will give you a more up-close-and-personal tour of Sawyer Glacier(s). Then they will travel to Juneau where you will reboard the Legend there at dock. (possible whale and wildlife sightings on the way back?)

 

We have considered taking a similar tour, round trip from Juneau, as our cruise does not tour Tracy Arm.

 

In any case, I have found that this excursion to be highly recommended.

You would get the best of both worlds... navigating the narrow fjord from a higher perspective on a large and more silent ship (except for any speakers, etc if you are listening to narration) and then the smaller vessel which should have the ability to get you more up close and personal.

 

Not sure if you have taken this tour, but your information is not correct for Carnival. Carnival schedules Tracy Arm on it's own day. They do NOT go to Juneau. This add on boat tour, is a one way transit of Tracy Arm- 30 miles between the entrance and glaciers, only. They run 2 tours, one in each direction.

 

There is not a lot of narration in Tracy Arm on most ships, due to the solicitude preferred in the area.

[stargate fan]

We are planning excursions for our July Alaskan Cruise on Carnival Legend leaving on a Tuesday. Our itinerary shows "Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord on Thursday. Will we see any glaciers? There is a Carnival Excursion the next day called Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer. I'm wondering if we will see enough glaciers on that sea day that I can choose another excursion out of Skagway?

 

We sailed Legend to Alaska in July 2015. What a cruise!

 

The ship sailed a good way into Tracy Arm Fjord so we had a nice view of Sawyer Glacier from the ship.

 

But, if you want to actually stand on a glacier, and enjoy a picnic lunch overlooking the glacier, I highly recommend Glacier Point Wilderness Safari through Skagway Shore Tours dot com.

 

Now, before anyone says anything about booking a private tour vs. through Carnival, I have a story:

I did a lot of research, for months. There was a Davidson Glacier tour through Carnival but it was pricey. I googled "Glacier Point Wilderness Safari" and found the private tour for less money. The descriptions were practically identical. I booked through Skagway Shore Tours.

 

Fast forward months. Legend arrived in Skagway. We disembarked but didn't see anyone holding up a sign for our tour. Others, yes. We approached a nice lady who sent us to the young lady holding up the Carnival Glacier Point Wilderness Safari. We walked up to her and inquired if she knew anything about the private tour. She grabbed her clipboard, flipped the page, asked our names, checked us off, and sent us to stand with the Carnival passengers who booked at a higher rate than us. We were on the exact same tour with those passengers.

 

This was one of the best excursions we've ever taken. Even though it was pouring rain for travel to the glacier by motorized canoe, and the scenery was gorgeous, Mom Nature closed the spigot as soon as we arrived at Davidson. The clouds parted, the sun shone, and we got to stand on an actual glacier.!

 

By the time we returned to the meadow for the picnic lunch, the temperature was so warm that we all took off our jackets and enjoyed the sunshine.

 

Have fun planning the cruise.

[TheCalicoCat]

We are planning excursions for our July Alaskan Cruise on Carnival Legend leaving on a Tuesday. Our itinerary shows "Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord on Thursday. Will we see any glaciers? There is a Carnival Excursion the next day called Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer. I'm wondering if we will see enough glaciers on that sea day that I can choose another excursion out of Skagway?

 

The excursion is far better! (The boat is smaller & closer to the water) This was my FAVORITE excursion. Ours was off the ship rather than from Juneau. I'm surprised to see this offered out of Skagway instead of Juneau as Skagway appears to be too far from Tracy Arm. (I've been wrong before & I'll be wrong again...) Try googling "Map of Tracy Arm" then pull out & you can see what I mean.

 

You will probably see one of the Sawyer Glaciers from a distance (from the photos that I've seen)

 

I do not have any knowledge of Davidson Glacier... Sorry if my response is confusing because of this lack of knowledge. The original question sounded to me like just the ships tour of Tracy Arm or a small boat excursion to Tracy Arm. After reading the other responses I saw note of Davidson Glacier.

Edited January 23, 2016 by TheCalicoCat