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hubbard glacier


salabc
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We've been to Hubbard Glacier 3 times with Celebrity and each time the ship has gotten within a half mile of the glacier.  The captain also turns the ship 360 so everyone gets a good view. The glacier is hugh and I think chances of seeing calving are greater from the ship than from a small boat.  Here's a picture from one of our trips.

ALASKA HUBBARD GLACIER.JPG

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Last year, this excursion was announced but it never happened and reservations were cancelled.  This year, the vendor is offering it again and it appears to be a "go."  We love Hubbard and have reserved the excursion for our June visit.  Once we get back from vacation I plan to post our comments about the experience.  I can't think of any reason why we would not be able to see calving (if it is happening) from a smaller boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

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11 minutes ago, Unibok said:

Silversea is also offering that Hubbard excursion this May -- and I've signed up for it. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

thanks very much looking forwad to your comments

 

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On 1/30/2019 at 8:24 AM, salabc said:

 Princess is offering an excursion when in hubbard glacier  called " HUBBARD GLACIER & WILDERNESS EXPLORATION"

it's the only possible excursion but its cost is very high

anybody-else have done it ? is it really worthy the money? what if we remain on board?

 

 

Haven't taken this excursion, but have viewed glaciers from small boats many times.

 

Back in the 70's/80's, every week we lowered the rescue boat and took it away from the ship in Glacier Bay while the Captain maneuvered the ship close to the glacier. The ships remain further from the glacier these days, but the sight is still spectacular. In a small boat, it provides a different perspective, especially if you get closer and experience a calving close by.

 

The thing I remember is the cool air when you get closer, it is freezing. If you get a calving you will also get the effects from the boat rocking.

 

If you want a different perspective, I think the excursion might be worth the cost.

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On 1/30/2019 at 11:24 AM, CHEZMARYLOU said:

We've been to Hubbard Glacier 3 times with Celebrity and each time the ship has gotten within a half mile of the glacier.  The captain also turns the ship 360 so everyone gets a good view. The glacier is hugh and I think chances of seeing calving are greater from the ship than from a small boat.  Here's a picture from one of our trips.

ALASKA HUBBARD GLACIER.JPG

 

Why would the chances of seeing calving be better from a large ship than from a small boat?  I have done both and in general, the small boats get closer to the glaciers.  A calving event is certainly more up close and personal from a small boat.  If it is a really good calving event, the small boat actually rocks.

 

DON

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If you are stopping in Juneau and have enough time you would like the all day tour to Tracy Arm with Adventure Bound. They get very close to the face of the Sawyer Glacier and the tour cost is around $150pp. A much better value to me

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On 1/30/2019 at 2:53 PM, Italy52 said:

Last year, this excursion was announced but it never happened and reservations were cancelled.  This year, the vendor is offering it again and it appears to be a "go."  We love Hubbard and have reserved the excursion for our June visit.  Once we get back from vacation I plan to post our comments about the experience.  I can't think of any reason why we would not be able to see calving (if it is happening) from a smaller boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

After debating, wife and I decided to book.

Went to my cruise personalizer and it is no longer listed.

Just got off live chat with princess, and was told its not available, scenic cruise only.

For those that had it reserved, did they cancel this trip?

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1 hour ago, blazer58 said:

After debating, wife and I decided to book.

Went to my cruise personalizer and it is no longer listed.

Just got off live chat with princess, and was told its not available, scenic cruise only.

For those that had it reserved, did they cancel this trip?

I just went and checked our Princess reservation for June 30th Hubbard excursion and it is still showing as "reserved."  When are you cruising? 

 

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We have only did one cruise that took in Hubbard Glacier. 28,500 G.T. vessel with 490 guests. If they could have gotten much closer I don't think it would have been wise. 
 
Prior to last cruise season there was extensive discussion regarding the excursion being discussed here. A number booked but the excursion never materialized. It appears that was a first for Allan Marine Tours in Yakutat Bay. The logistics of how they are going to operate is a puzzler for me. But it looks like they are going to give it another go this forthcoming season. Good Luck.
 

2010  Hubbard Glacier #5.jpg

Edited by kennicott
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5 hours ago, Italy52 said:

I just went and checked our Princess reservation for June 30th Hubbard excursion and it is still showing as "reserved."  When are you cruising? 

 

Aug 11 is the day we will be at Hubbard

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It will be interesting to hear from those that have actually taken this new excursion.  Based on the limited information at this time, it sounds as though it not only emphasizes spending time along the face of the glacier but also searches for wildlife along the shore that the large cruise ships don’t do.

 

It sounds as though if someone was just interested in seeing calving, staying on the ship might be the best way to go.  I don’t think seeing calving from a little closer is worth the money and nobody, regardless of vessel size, is getting any closer than ¼ mile from the face. 

 

Another consideration is that the smaller excursion vessel will have the advantage of the ability to access Hubbard when the large ships get iced out.  Of 4 trips to Hubbard, we only got to the face twice. The other 2 times we only got to about 10 miles from it.

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12 hours ago, blazer58 said:

Aug 11 is the day we will be at Hubbard

Yes, the information on Hubbard does show scenic cruising and that is because the cruise ship will be cruising and we will offload from the ship so to me that does not constitute the excursion is cancelled.  As I stated, our reservation is still "a go" until I hear directly from Princess.  I will say that when I booked our reservation it only showed a few slots left for purchasing.  Perhaps the reservation for your date is sold out or it just hasn't appeared as available yet on your excursion listing.  When you talked to Princess I hope you were able to talk with the excursion people and not just a general Princess representative as sometimes they don't know the whole story.  If truly concerned, you could contact Allen Marine directly and inquire about the excursion. 

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2 hours ago, Glaciers said:

 

Another consideration is that the smaller excursion vessel will have the advantage of the ability to access Hubbard when the large ships get iced out.  Of 4 trips to Hubbard, we only got to the face twice. The other 2 times we only got to about 10 miles from it.

 

I actually think it would be worth it to get closer to the glacier. I also had a few 9-10 mile trips from Hubbard and honestly that view is not worth it. I would definitely jump on this excursion if I was going. The one time we got close, I didn't think we got really close.

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1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

Yes, the information on Hubbard does show scenic cruising and that is because the cruise ship will be cruising and we will offload from the ship so to me that does not constitute the excursion is cancelled.  As I stated, our reservation is still "a go" until I hear directly from Princess.  I will say that when I booked our reservation it only showed a few slots left for purchasing.  Perhaps the reservation for your date is sold out or it just hasn't appeared as available yet on your excursion listing.  When you talked to Princess I hope you were able to talk with the excursion people and not just a general Princess representative as sometimes they don't know the whole story.  If truly concerned, you could contact Allen Marine directly and inquire about the excursion. 

No clue who I talked to, it was via princess live chat.

Correct on scenic cursing, but  in the personalizer (excursions) it was showing this as an excursion (leaving from the boat)

It now shows nothing, not even sold out.

The live chat person said there was no excursion leaving from the boat.

will either get ahold of Allen, or just keep watching to see if it reappears 

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14 minutes ago, Coral said:

 

I actually think it would be worth it to get closer to the glacier. I also had a few 9-10 mile trips from Hubbard and honestly that view is not worth it. I would definitely jump on this excursion if I was going. The one time we got close, I didn't think we got really close.

Yeah, if there was a guarantee that they could access the face even though the cruise ship couldn’t, it would certainly sweeten the deal.

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8 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

Yeah, if there was a guarantee that they could access the face even though the cruise ship couldn’t, it would certainly sweeten the deal.

 

I doubt there is a guarantee by any means but my Hubbard glacier trips that did get close didn't get that close. 

Edited by Coral
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14 minutes ago, Coral said:

I doubt there is a guarantee by any means but my Hubbard glacier trips that did get close didn't get that close. 

The two trips that we made it in we were on the glacier side of Haenke Island which was plenty close for the experience. Probably not that close but the glacier is so darn big!  I couldn't commit to the excursion, at that price, if there weren't some guarantee. Kind of like whale watching.  Can you imagine paying that much and then being told they wouldn't be making it to the face?  So sorry, but we'll just be looking for bears on shore, hopefully there will be some...

Edited by Glaciers
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4 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

The two trips that we made it in we were on the glacier side of Haenke Island which was plenty close for the experience. Probably not that close but the glacier is so darn big!  I couldn't commit to the excursion, at that price, if there weren't some guarantee. Kind of like whale watching.  Can you imagine paying that much and then being told they wouldn't be making it to the face?  So sorry, but we'll just be looking for bears on shore, hopefully they'll be some...

I have gone to Tracy Arm with AdventureBound 2x that didn't make it to Sawyer Glaciers and it was still an amazing trip. I guess we need to know more once the trip starts.

 

Though my guess is that the excursion maybe cancelled if they can't get to Hubbard Glacier.

Edited by Coral
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On 2/1/2019 at 8:09 AM, DougH said:

If you are stopping in Juneau and have enough time you would like the all day tour to Tracy Arm with Adventure Bound. They get very close to the face of the Sawyer Glacier and the tour cost is around $150pp. A much better value to me

We are booked on the Adventure Bound trip from Juneau on May 19 (Cruise begins May 13).  Looking forward to it!  Our cruise is also scheduled to go to both Hubbard Glacier and Endicott Arm, so hopefully we will get some good glacier experiences.

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