Tracy Arm boat excursion?

[styme123]

Any recommendations for Tracy Arm boat excursions? We (7 of us) will be cruising on the Princess this July. We will be going to Glacier Bay but was wondering if there are any smaller boat tours that you would recommend that we can take out of Juneau I'm guessing. Our other ports are Skagway and Ketchikan.

[DougH]

If you are sailing on a Princess Northbound trip to Whittier you should have enough time in Juneau to consider the Adventure Bound trip to Tracy Arm. Few ships are in port long enough to take this trip as it requires at least a 8am-7pm port stay. It is a very long day but I've done it a half dozen times and consider it my favorite Alaska excursion.

 

For a lot of people it may be a very long day so maybe your group can split up if all are not interested. Also if it's your first time in Juneau there is also lots of other interesting excursion to consider. That said I always take the trip into Tracy Arm if I can. If is IMHO one of the best glacier experiences you can have as far as color and calving.

Here is a link to a thread with some photos from one of my trips.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1283269&highlight=adventure+bound

 

In Juneau the small boat tours are usually whale watching, I've gone with Capt Larry / Orca Enterprises a few times

[Budget Queen]

For Tracy Arm, Adventure Bound is a superb vendor- you ideally need port times of at least 7a-8p. There have been reports of 8a being acceptable, but then the commitment would be for you to run off your ship. :)

[Coral]

For Tracy Arm, Adventure Bound is a superb vendor- you ideally need port times of at least 7a-8p. There have been reports of 8a being acceptable, but then the commitment would be for you to run off your ship. :)

 

If your ship has an 8 am arrival, they will often pick you up at your dock and transport you to their vessel. Just inquire when you call. In my case, I was waiting to get off the ship and turned my phone on and there was a voice mail saying that they would pick me up and would be outside of my ship waiting for me.

[styme123]

We will be in port at Juneau at 11:00am-11:15pm. I'm not too sure how long it even takes you to get off the boat. I didn't think it was that long of an excursion. I don't know if I would forgo seeing everything else to do that. Besides needing all that time my luck we would run late and miss the ship.:eek:

[xlxo]

@styme123: Which ship and departure date are you on?

 

Some Princess ships offer a mid-cruise transfer as it goes by Tracy Arm. This is the preferred option as you don't need hours to retrace 50 miles of water between Tracy Arm and Juneau. After separation.... You rejoin the mother ship in Juneau in the afternoon.

 

Of all excursions, this one is always a sellout because of the convenience as it maximizes your Juneau time. Do book early if you get a chance.

 

With a 11am Juneau dock time... I think your boat offers this early morning excursion....

http://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.do?t=A&exType=S&tourCode=TA1-660

Edited March 10, 2016 by xlxo

[styme123]

:( We are on the Crown Princess July 9. It looks like that one is for the Ruby.

[DougH]

For Tracy Arm, Adventure Bound is a superb vendor- you ideally need port times of at least 7a-8p. There have been reports of 8a being acceptable, but then the commitment would be for you to run off your ship. :)

 

They will work with an 8am arrival but you have to be prepared. Most times I've been 1st off the ship and run down to meet them. Once they were out on the dock looking for me and we met halfway and ran to the boat together. Last year they actually moved the boat down closer to where my ship was docked and picked me up at the dock right below the Twisted Fisk/Taku Cannery. All times as soon as I stepped foot on the boat we took off. ( I was always the last to board) They may be more willing to work with me as I'm a long time customer but just let them know you arrival time and they will tell you if it will be acceptable.

 

Even if you don't get to Tracy Arm Juneau has lots to offer. I'm looking forward to when the state museum re opens after renovations

[styme123]

@DougH yeah the Crown Princess doesn't get into port till 11:00am:( I'm almost surprised it's such a long day. When I looked up the excursion on the Princess for the Ruby cruise it said it was 6 hours long.

[DougH]

@DougH yeah the Crown Princess doesn't get into port till 11:00am:( I'm almost surprised it's such a long day. When I looked up the excursion on the Princess for the Ruby cruise it said it was 6 hours long.

 

The excursions from the cruise ship only sail one way between Tracy Arm and Juneau so the time is quite a bit shorter. Adventure Bound also spends more time at the Glacier itself so it makes for a very long day. I love it though :)

[xlxo]

@DougH yeah the Crown Princess doesn't get into port till 11:00am:( I'm almost surprised it's such a long day. When I looked up the excursion on the Princess for the Ruby cruise it said it was 6 hours long.

From the Ruby excursion link...

http://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.do?tourCode=TA1-660

 

I think it states the 50 mile segment from Tracy Arm to Juneau takes 90 minutes. This is in addition to the 3.75 hours sightseeing Tracy Arm.

 

On my HAL trip.... I remember the Tracy Arm excursion departed during the breakfast hours. The mother ship continued into Juneau around 11am (2 or 3 hours later).

 

If it takes 90 minutes to get to Tracy from Juneau.... this means their Tracy Arm tour does not begin until 1pm (after the 90 minute trip to Tracy Arm). 30 minutes in.... they would be seeing the morning tours exiting and heading to Juneau to maximize their Juneau port time.

 

Can anyone confirm my time "guesstimates"? Or does the Juneau return boats just shorten the Tracy Arm sightseeing times to make up the time difference (they run faster).

Edited March 11, 2016 by xlxo

[Eaglecw]

styme123, you leave Seattle on July 9th, you’re in Juneau on July 11th. I E-mailed Allen Marine this afternoon and Cassandra got back to me right away. They have a tour boat going out to Tracy Arm on July 11th leaving at 1:30pm and returning at 8:30pm. Here’s a link to Allen Marine http://www.allenmarinetours.com/sightseeing/juneau/tours/glacier-fjord/round-trip.html Allen Marine is one of the best operators in Alaska, we’ve been on a number of their boats and they’re all very well maintained, clean and the staff are very well trained.

[chipmaster]

my 2cents is if you have a good glacier sailing like Glacier that you think hard about the other attractions in port; whale watching and Mendenhall were great for us. The Tracy round trip is a crazy long tour, I guess if you have to see the narrow fjords and give the glacier a up close and personal it is great ( I did do it, long even on the one way, fun, saw great sights and wildlife ) If my ship sailed Glacier for me not worth doing again, YMMV.

[styme123]

@eaglecw wow thanks so much for taking the time to contact them for me. I appreciate it:) I took a look at the site and bookmarked it.

[styme123]

@chipmaster so you think it might be overkill since we are sailing to Glacier Bay? I was thinking Tracy Arm's glaciers might look different? In port I probably wouldn't do whale watching. In the summer from NY we sometimes drive up to Boston and have gone a few times and have seen a lot of humpbacks. Now if they had a tour that focused on Orcas that would be cool.:)

[Coral]

@chipmaster so you think it might be overkill since we are sailing to Glacier Bay? I was thinking Tracy Arm's glaciers might look different? In port I probably wouldn't do whale watching. In the summer from NY we sometimes drive up to Boston and have gone a few times and have seen a lot of humpbacks. Now if they had a tour that focused on Orcas that would be cool.:)

 

I am not Chipmaster but I would say no, it is not repeat. He may think that but I don't.

 

And IMO, Mendenhall doesn't even compare.

[luv2travelmm]

Ok, I'm on a Princess Southbound Voyage of the Glaciers and we are in the port of Juneau from 6:30am to 4:00pm. Is that enough time for the Adventure Bound Tracy Arm excursion. I don't see it as an option on my Princess cruise personalizer.

 

Would we be able to do Allen Marine or another operator? I'm guessing I don't have the option of picking up the excursion prior to docking in Juneau?

[styme123]

@luvs2travelmm I went to their website and saw that they had links that you could book through the cruise ships but then it takes you to the main excursions page. So I'm not sure exactly which one it is from there. I was trying to figure it out from the descriptions.

[Cruise_More_Often]

@luvs2travelmm I went to their website and saw that they had links that you could book through the cruise ships but then it takes you to the main excursions page. So I'm not sure exactly which one it is from there. I was trying to figure it out from the descriptions.

Find the excursions for your particular cruise, in the Juneau section. The excursion you're looking for sounds something like "Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer." It may not be available for your cruise since you are visiting Glacier Bay. I noticed that the other ship cruising from Seattle does visit Tracy Arm, so that cruise should have the glacier explorer as one of its excursions.

 

Good luck!

[Coral]

Ok, I'm on a Princess Southbound Voyage of the Glaciers and we are in the port of Juneau from 6:30am to 4:00pm. Is that enough time for the Adventure Bound Tracy Arm excursion. I don't see it as an option on my Princess cruise personalizer.

 

Would we be able to do Allen Marine or another operator? I'm guessing I don't have the option of picking up the excursion prior to docking in Juneau?

 

That doesn't give you enough time for AdventureBound. Princess doesn't do Tracy Arm tours on North and Southbound as you will get 2 glacier days. You will be pleased with your glacier days.

[chipmaster]

Ok, I'm on a Princess Southbound Voyage of the Glaciers and we are in the port of Juneau from 6:30am to 4:00pm. Is that enough time for the Adventure Bound Tracy Arm excursion. I don't see it as an option on my Princess cruise personalizer.

 

Would we be able to do Allen Marine or another operator? I'm guessing I don't have the option of picking up the excursion prior to docking in Juneau?

 

Do whale watching and mendenhall, you'll enjoy those and the other scenic cruising will be spectacular!

[rockdoctor]

If you are going to Tracy Arm, then there is a Princess tour from the ship. If you are going to Juneau, I would skip Tracy Arm. It will probably take 4 hours, round trip to get there from Juneau. There is too much to see in Juneau to waste that amount if time in transit. Timsco has a Glacier landing tour that is very interesting, and Gasteneau Guiding has a number of great whale watching tours. Glacier Bay will give you your fill of glaciers.

[Coral]

If you are going to Tracy Arm, then there is a Princess tour from the ship. If you are going to Juneau, I would skip Tracy Arm. It will probably take 4 hours, round trip to get there from Juneau. There is too much to see in Juneau to waste that amount if time in transit. Timsco has a Glacier landing tour that is very interesting, and Gasteneau Guiding has a number of great whale watching tours. Glacier Bay will give you your fill of glaciers.

 

Though of all of my tours - AdventureBound Alaska to Tracy Arm has been the best tour I have been on. And I have seen more whales on these trips then most of my whale watching trips combined in Juneau. I think this tour far exceeds whale watching and Mendenhall which most people do in Juneau.

 

I have not done the glacier landing that you mentioned - I won't do a helicopter ride.

Edited March 12, 2016 by Coral

[Nhsaltshaker]

If you are going to Tracy Arm, then there is a Princess tour from the ship. If you are going to Juneau, I would skip Tracy Arm. It will probably take 4 hours, round trip to get there from Juneau. There is too much to see in Juneau to waste that amount if time in transit. Timsco has a Glacier landing tour that is very interesting, and Gasteneau Guiding has a number of great whale watching tours. Glacier Bay will give you your fill of glaciers.

 

When you say there is a Princess tour from the ship, do you mean they pull up along side the ship to pick you up? I did something like that in New Zealand. Very neat.

[Eaglecw]

When you say there is a Princess tour from the ship, do you mean they pull up along side the ship to pick you up? I did something like that in New Zealand. Very neat.

 

That is correct. They pull up along side the ship at Sawyer Island to take on passengers. It's a great excursion, we do it every other year. One year we go to Tracy Arm and the next year we go to Glacier Bay.

 

The Adventure Bound tour boat for Tracy Arm leaves at 11:45am

Edited March 12, 2016 by Eaglecw