Help deciding on Tracy Arm excursion - Celebrity Solstice

[BigB0882]

Can anyone help me plan a Tracy Arm excursion on the Celebrity Solstice? I am very confused because I don't know whether to book through the cruise ship or through an independent company. I saw some people talk about Adventure Bound or something but they said you could only do this if your time in port was sufficient? I then read of some others that are done through companies but booked through Celebrity but the descriptions on Celebrity's website don't do a good job at differentiating each excursion.

 

The one I see on their website is titled "Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer - Celebrity Solstice." It is about 5 hours long. Is this a good excursion or do I need to do something independent if time allows? The downside to this excursion seems to be the size, I think one review mentioned 150 people on the ship. I know you get much closer than the cruise ship can go but I don't want to be even more crowded and not be able to see anything or get good pictures.

 

For some reason booking excursions in Alaska is very stressful. They are expensive so I don't want to make a huge mistake and Celebrity's website is really not very user friendly but everyone already seems to know that. lol

 

Also, we really want to go whale watching on our trip. If we do the Tracy Arm excursion that may eliminate the chance to whale watch in Juneau...or will it? Is Whale Watching an option in Ketchikan?

Edited April 27, 2016 by BigB0882

[twins_to_alaska]

We have the Solstice Tracy Arm excursion booked for Aug. Gets back at 1:30 and Celebrity said can book excursion with them in Juneau starting at 2:30 which we did for our whale watching. Figured safer to book with them in case TA return is late. We're tendered our week. Get returned to the ship but then get priority tendering off for the excursion. We actually went for a slightly later 3:15 excursion for a little more breathing room between.

 

Reviews are glowingly positive for the Tracy Arm excursion.

Edited April 27, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[BigB0882]

You booked the same Tracy Arm excursion I mentioned? Have you heard good things? I heard people talk about how amazing Tracy Arm is but I don't know if this excursion is the same or if they are all the same or what. Good to know we can do a later whale watching trip. May have to do the same thing. What whale watching excursion did you book? Do you remember how it was worded on Celebrity's site? We are also tendered.

[twins_to_alaska]

The Tracy Arm excursion is done by Allen Marine through Solstice, JU94. You can find reviews on the web elsewhere and here. Many called it a trip highlight. Get off Solstice in Tracy Arm and meet ship in Juneau. We're doing a Gastineau Guiding tour through Celebrity as I liked the reviews of their whale boats and small group size and includes a hike at Mendenhall but not Nugget Falls if that is important to you. JU63 Alaska's Whales, Glaciers, and Rainforest Trails. GG also does the JU45 tour. There are other whale options including booking independently.

Edited April 27, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[BigB0882]

Thank you!!

 

I think we will do the Tracy Arm and then the Evening Whale Quest. The Evening Whale Quest does not begin until 6pm so it gives us plenty of time to come back from Tracy Arm and eat and maybe take a little nap before going out again.

Edited April 27, 2016 by BigB0882

[twins_to_alaska]

You're welcome! This will be my first cruise so glad my info is helpful. I called Celebrity to find out how long they thought was safe between getting back and heading out for the next excursion. Allen Marine and Gastineau Guiding also responded helpfully to email questions.

 

Allen Marine included this info:

There is a snack bar onboard your Tracy Arm tour vessel. I am not sure they will have regular sandwiches but they have things like hot dogs & hamburgers in addition to typical sweet and savory snacks. A lot of people mistakenly think they can use their cruise card to make purchases onboard the tours in Alaska.....but they cannot. Cash or credit card is required. We take visa, MC, amex, & discover.

[peety3]

Tracy Arm is pretty much a "door A" or "door B" choice, that's totally dependent on your cruise itinerary.

 

Door A: If your ship has a planned visit into (or service stop at the entrance to) Tracy Arm, you can take the small boat tour offered by the cruise line. Yes, it's 150 passengers. No, you can't book it independent. It's possible they'll do two boats, so ~150 per boat. Is it crowded? Yes, if it's rainy, not really if it's sunny. Chances are your itinerary has a relatively shorter visit to Juneau, which more than likely rules out the possibility of a Tracy Arm tour done as a round-trip from Juneau.

 

Door B: If your ship does NOT have a planned stop for Tracy Arm AND you have a long enough day in Juneau, you can book an independent excursion as a round-trip boat ride from Juneau. This adds ~2 hours to the overall excursion time.

 

Allen Marine seems to have a pretty good hold on the "A" option. They do the tour well, and sometimes assign a boat with a third-floor viewing platform that they'll open when the boat is stopped, which helps alleviate crowding a bit better. They offer some tiny nibbles as a free snack, and sell other stuff from their galley if you wish.

 

I find the small-boat tour to be a fantastic upgrade, and unless rainy it'll probably be the best tour you do in Alaska. At least if done via "Door A", do expect a certain amount of hurry-up-and-wait...not much you can do about it. We've done it twice, and did a whale watch in Juneau the same afternoon. First time was easy - TA tour got back to the ship around 2:00, I was one of the last back onto the ship around 2:25, ran up to the cabin, changed clothes, we grabbed all of our camera gear and headed to the buffet for lunch, then were off the ship around 3:05 for a 3:15 excursion. Second time, not so easy - TA tour got back to the ship around 1:35 (plan was 12:45 or 1:00, depending on where you look), dashed across the ship and was out the door and on the dock at 1:45 for a 1:35 'show time' for a 1:45 tour, and they had to call the bus back for us.

[autumncat]

I booked the Tracey Arm tour on Solstice but I was wondering, since we are tendered in Juneau, at the end of the excursion will they llet you off in Juneau or do they take you back to the ship and then you have to ride the tender into Juneau?

[Eaglecw]

You'll love this excursion it's one our favorites. They take you back to the ship and they'll scan your cruise card as you re-board the ship. Then you can catch the tender to Juneau.

[rockdoctor]

It is my understanding that the Solstis does not always tender in Juneau. Check your itinerary.

[peety3]

I booked the Tracey Arm tour on Solstice but I was wondering, since we are tendered in Juneau, at the end of the excursion will they llet you off in Juneau or do they take you back to the ship and then you have to ride the tender into Juneau?

 

My understanding is that the ship has certain immigration and headcount regulations to meet, and you'll need to rejoin your cruise ship before tendering onward to Juneau. (If the crew has to toss all garbage onto the cruise ship for incineration, unlike any other excursions, there's something unique to this sort of in-transit excursion.) I don't have any first-hand experience though to know for sure.

[illiniwahoo]

You are definately taken back to the ship. The problem then is that you weren't onboard when tender tickets were given out. So we were planning for a quick lunch then right into Juneau. In reality we picked up tender tickets as soon as we got back onboard and had to wait over 1.5 hours for our tender # to be called. Luckily we had planned a later whale watch, so we just had very limited time at mendenhall, but made our next excursion on time.

 

The OP also asked about whale watching. We saw no whales on the tracy arm excursion. Tons of seals, eagles, sea lions, a bear, but no whales. We did both in one day and did not find it repetitive.

 

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