hubbard glacier

[poidog81]

2 minutes ago, Amber86 said:

Does anyone know how packed the boat feels? I know it takes about 150 people but I don’t know if that means you will be standing several rows behind heads scrambling for a view. We will have a deluxe balcony in 2020 and I’m trying to decide if I would have a better view from our balcony or a small boat. Thanks for any input.

 

The boat is not packed at all, it can hold twice as many people (limited to 150 I’m sure for coast guard reasons). Plenty of room inside and out while underway. When they reach the glacier face they open up an additional top deck. There are also two outdoor viewing decks on either side of the bridge. It was our favorite excursion in all of Alaska, book it you wont regret it. That said it sold out online well in advice of sailing so don’t delay. We got within a 1/4-1/2 mile of the glacier while the ship only got to the point of the end of Haenke island. Well worth the price and a completely different experience on a small vessel near the waterline. 

[zelker]

4 hours ago, poidog81 said:

 

The boat is not packed at all, it can hold twice as many people (limited to 150 I’m sure for coast guard reasons). Plenty of room inside and out while underway. When they reach the glacier face they open up an additional top deck. There are also two outdoor viewing decks on either side of the bridge. It was our favorite excursion in all of Alaska, book it you wont regret it. That said it sold out online well in advice of sailing so don’t delay. We got within a 1/4-1/2 mile of the glacier while the ship only got to the point of the end of Haenke island. Well worth the price and a completely different experience on a small vessel near the waterline. 

 

Thanks for the feedback.  Curious which ship you were on?

 

[poidog81]

45 minutes ago, zelker said:

 

Thanks for the feedback.  Curious which ship you were on?

 

 

Celebrity Eclipse 

[Amber86]

5 hours ago, poidog81 said:

 

The boat is not packed at all, it can hold twice as many people (limited to 150 I’m sure for coast guard reasons). Plenty of room inside and out while underway. When they reach the glacier face they open up an additional top deck. There are also two outdoor viewing decks on either side of the bridge. It was our favorite excursion in all of Alaska, book it you wont regret it. That said it sold out online well in advice of sailing so don’t delay. We got within a 1/4-1/2 mile of the glacier while the ship only got to the point of the end of Haenke island. Well worth the price and a completely different experience on a small vessel near the waterline. 

 

Thanks for the feedback! That is really helpful and was my only concern so I will go ahead and book it.

 

I may have to ask Princess when they expect to release the excursions as when I last logged in you couldn’t book yet for July 2020. Given the limited availability it’s one I wouldn’t want to miss out on booking.

[tnelias]

Yes, thanks for this. How long were you on the boat? Can I ask your age range, and do you think teenagers would enjoy this vs. seeing it from the larger ship?

[poidog81]

1 hour ago, tnelias said:

Yes, thanks for this. How long were you on the boat? Can I ask your age range, and do you think teenagers would enjoy this vs. seeing it from the larger ship?

 

You’re on the boat for the entire time the ship is at the glacier so you won’t be able to see it from both. Yes, I would think teens would like the excursion better. We saw seals popping up and watching us from the ice, the boat is sort of like a mini ice breaker as it moves through the initial ice field. Also gets them off the ship than being stuck on it all day. 

[tnelias]

Thanks. They've increased the price on my ship to $279/pp. So at almost $1200 have to think about that value vs being "stuck on the ship"...

[Italy52]

Just returned after  3 weeks in Alaska.  Our Hubbard Glacier & Wilderness Exploration excursion booked for June 30th DIDN'T happen.  We were on the Royal Princess and the captain had to turn back as the weather going into Hubbard was "pea soup" fog.  Oh well. 

[Coral]

19 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

Just returned after  3 weeks in Alaska.  Our Hubbard Glacier & Wilderness Exploration excursion booked for June 30th DIDN'T happen.  We were on the Royal Princess and the captain had to turn back as the weather going into Hubbard was "pea soup" fog.  Oh well. 

Oh no! I hope Glacier Bay was good.

 

This is why I always like 2 glacier days in case one fails (and it has frequently on me).

Edited July 8, 2019 by Coral

[Italy52]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

Oh no! I hope Glacier Bay was good.

 

This is why I always like 2 glacier days in case one fails (and it has frequently on me).

Yup, a bust.  Needless to say we were disappointed but what are you gonna do.  Our weather was rather strange for us this past trip.  We are now 27 cruises to Alaska and we have never had such an odd combo of weather.  Our itinerary took us to Glacier Bay a total of 3 trips; two clear viewing and one with haze.  We did take the Allen Marine tour to Tracy Arm while sailing Nieuw Amsterdam and were able to get into North and South Sawyer.  In Whittier, we took Phillips 26 Glacier tour and saw some calving.  However, before setting sail, we dealt with smoke from a nearby fire so that wasn't fun. 

 

I hope to get a report done some time in the near future.  After spending 3 weeks in VERY forward cabins I am dealing with really bad rocking sensations as well as the usual cruise congestion crud that goes around---let's just say, I am a mess at the moment.😔

 

 

 

[Coral]

8 hours ago, Italy52 said:

 

 

I hope to get a report done some time in the near future.  After spending 3 weeks in VERY forward cabins I am dealing with really bad rocking sensations as well as the usual cruise congestion crud that goes around---let's just say, I am a mess at the moment.😔

 

Feel better!

 

It is probably better they cancel then go on/pay for an excursion where you couldn't see anything. On my first cruise to Alaska - we had fog the entire time and we could not see anything. Even on the White Pass train - it was pure fog.

[zelker]

14 hours ago, Italy52 said:

Just returned after  3 weeks in Alaska.  Our Hubbard Glacier & Wilderness Exploration excursion booked for June 30th DIDN'T happen.  We were on the Royal Princess and the captain had to turn back as the weather going into Hubbard was "pea soup" fog.  Oh well. 

 

So the Royal Princess actually turned back or just the excursion boat?

 

Sorry you caught the cruise upper respiratory crud … seems to be almost a regular thing with me anymore.  😞  

[Italy52]

39 minutes ago, zelker said:

 

So the Royal Princess actually turned back or just the excursion boat?

 

Sorry you caught the cruise upper respiratory crud … seems to be almost a regular thing with me anymore.  😞  

The fog horn had been sounding off and on multiple times. The captain came on the PA and announced that he had been in contact with another ship that had come out of Hubbard and was told it was like "pea soup."  The captain also was in contact with the tour operator, Allen Marine and it was decided that the excursion was going to be cancelled (money immediately refunded) and that the Royal's transit to Hubbard was going to be cancelled --- we watched the electronic board as it showed the ship turning around and leaving --- safety first --- we understand it.
 

[Glaciers]

I do wonder now if they would also cancel the excursion if the reason was being ice out instead of the fog.

[Italy52]

6 hours ago, Glaciers said:

I do wonder now if they would also cancel the excursion if the reason was being ice out instead of the fog.

I don't know.  Hopefully, as more and more people post experiences we will get answers.  Even though we were cancelled due to fog, we are still going to try again next year.

[Sujormik]

Must be the forest fire smoke into fog I’ve been reading about.  What a shame.

[Italy52]

Happiest Sailor:  Just returned from our 3 weeks in Alaska.  So happy that you were able to enjoy the Hubbard Glacier tour from Allen Marine and saw the great calving --- our tour was cancelled due to fog.  We plan to try again next year.

 

Also, just as happy to hear that you enjoyed your adventure with Shawn and Teresa/Glacier Wind.

 

Karen

[steve1122]

On 7/7/2019 at 4:56 PM, Italy52 said:

Just returned after  3 weeks in Alaska.  Our Hubbard Glacier & Wilderness Exploration excursion booked for June 30th DIDN'T happen.  We were on the Royal Princess and the captain had to turn back as the weather going into Hubbard was "pea soup" fog.  Oh well. 

 

We were booked for the same excursion on Holland America for July 3rd. We were "fogged out" as well. The excursion cost was refunded. Definitely a shame it was canceled, but glad we didn't reenact the Titanic and hit some ice or something.

[Italy52]

12 hours ago, steve1122 said:

 

We were booked for the same excursion on Holland America for July 3rd. We were "fogged out" as well. The excursion cost was refunded. Definitely a shame it was canceled, but glad we didn't reenact the Titanic and hit some ice or something.

Sorry to hear this happened to you as well.  I have made numerous trips to Hubbard and the fog has never been an issue -- I guess our luck ran out on this trip.

 

Definitely agree about the safety comment.

[Paul Bradley]

We were on Mariner three weeks ago and our 'viewing' of Hubbard was from about 3 miles away due to ice in the middle of the channel. We were only able to get to Haenke Island. The glacier itself was almost completely obscured by fog. Very disappointing. 

 

Luckily, I'd taken the 5 glaciers floatplane excursion in Juneau, and we also had spectacular views of glaciers on the climb out of Anchorage airport. 

[zelker]

Just got an email from Holland America that the Up-Close Exploring: Hubbard Glacier & Enchanting Disenchantment Bay shore excursion in Hubbard Glacier, Alaska has been removed from your sailing due to operational considerations.  They’ve apparently already credited it back to our credit card.  We’re on the July 29th Amsterdam sailing and wondering why they’ve canceled this far out.  Anyone else on other cruises coming up have theirs cancelled?  

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, zelker said:

Just got an email from Holland America that the Up-Close Exploring: Hubbard Glacier & Enchanting Disenchantment Bay shore excursion in Hubbard Glacier, Alaska has been removed from your sailing due to operational considerations.  They’ve apparently already credited it back to our credit card.  We’re on the July 29th Amsterdam sailing and wondering why they’ve canceled this far out.  Anyone else on other cruises coming up have theirs cancelled?  

Perhaps the vessel being used has a mechanical issue. Lots of possible reasons the excursion can't go any more. Geessh...people complain they wait too long to notify of changes. But when they notify longer in advance...people question them! Can't win for losing.

[cruises42]

1 hour ago, zelker said:

Just got an email from Holland America that the Up-Close Exploring: Hubbard Glacier & Enchanting Disenchantment Bay shore excursion in Hubbard Glacier, Alaska has been removed from your sailing due to operational considerations.  They’ve apparently already credited it back to our credit card.  We’re on the July 29th Amsterdam sailing and wondering why they’ve canceled this far out.  Anyone else on other cruises coming up have theirs cancelled?  

We cruise on HAL the end of August and just received the e-mail that it was cancelled.

[zelker]

28 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Perhaps the vessel being used has a mechanical issue. Lots of possible reasons the excursion can't go any more. Geessh...people complain they wait too long to notify of changes. But when they notify longer in advance...people question them! Can't win for losing.

 

Geesh yourself.  🙄  Just reporting what happened and wondering why.  Are we not entitled to do that?

[math227]

We are booked on this excursion August 15th, on Princess, it hasn't been canceled yet.