Glacier Bay Alaska or Not?

[Allstater]

Here’s my question.  Deciding between the Bliss or Joy this summer—Both doing Alaska Inside Passage.  Both hit same 4 ports.  Bliss specifically does Glacier Bay.  Joy does not.  Joy saves me money and has reduced airfare.  Bliss with Glacier Bay or Joy with cheaper cruise?  Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

That's a decision only you can make. Glacier Bay is a significant, spectacular place. 

[Coral]

I say yes to Glacier Bay as other glaciers can and sometimes have a very good chance of being missed.

 

Especially for your first cruise to Alaska.

[martincath]

I personally agree with Coral - on our first trip GB was non-negotiable, but we could be flexible on dates and live in a port city so flights were not a factor. But neither Coral not I are you! Only you know your own perceived value of different aspects of the travel experience... so instead of an answer, more questions to ask yourself that will hopefully help narrow it down!

 

Do you actually care about which ship or is it just the price? And could your dates flex? Joy does go to Glacier Bay both early and late in the season from Seattle RT, so you could perhaps change date (and get cheaper price than summer!) to May/Sep and get both the newer ship AND a visit to GB?

 

Otherwise it's hard to say what value Glacier Bay has on any given trip until after the fact; if you are on a 'Not Glacier Bay' trip that fails to get to the anticipated glacier, so you see none from the ship closely, how much would that annoy you? GB has so many glaciers in close proximity and is nice & wide so even if there is a lot of ice ships can still get in - it's as close to a guaranteed glacier experience as you can get... so it's potentially a HUGE value compared to an alternative that sees nothing, whereas if you take an alternative and it's a nice day and you have plenty of glacier time you might be thinking 'Dang, I'm so glad I didn't pay extra for GB!'

 

Then there's the AMOUNT of savings by changing to Joy... Are the savings enough to pay for, say, a helicopter flight to the top of a glacier? Or a small plane overflight of multiple glaciers from the air? Would that sort of experience be good enough or actually better for you? NB: that small aircraft flights are subject to weather conditions on the day so not guaranteed to happen.

 

All-in-all, if a primary goal is to see a glacier from the ship because that's the image that AK cruising brings to mind for you, it's really hard not to go with 'itineraries with GB included are superior' simply because they are virtually certain to make that happen... but if you just want to experience a glacier, especially close up, then spreading the love around a few different excursion options (Skagway even offers flightseeing trips of Glacier Bay...) to maximize the chances might be the best choice for you.

[skrufy]

Spend the extra bucks and go to Glacier Bay you won’t regret it. 

[mskaufman]

Happy to jump on and say both the GB is great but we don't know you and what might be important to you.

[Eaglecw]

We have been on many Alaskan cruises, we go every year. One year we go to Glacier Bay and the next we’ll go to Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm. As a first timer I’d have to recommend Glacier Bay over Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm. Most of the time you only get a glimpse of the glaciers up in Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm, they’ll most of the time over a mile away. If you go up into Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm you almost have to take the small boat tour if it offered to see the glaciers. Glacier Bay is a much more spectacular

to visit to see the Glaciers. Spend the money and go to Glacier Bay, you'll probably only go once.l

[capriccio]

I too recommend Glacier Bay.  We did our 3rd Alaska cruise last summer and had our 3rd visit to Glacier Bay.  It never gets old.

 

If you haven't checked out the National Park Service's website, that might persuade you:  https://www.nps.gov/glba/planyourvisit/enjoying-your-cruise-ship-visit.htm

[xlxo]

For your first visit to Alaska... another vote for Glacier Bay.

[donaldsc]

Glacier Bay is a National Park.  There is usually a good reason for a place to be a National Park.

 

DON

[skrufy]

Glacier Bay!!!!!!  Been there twice and it  was even more spectacular than the first. Looking to go again, hoping for a sunny day. Both times it was rainy or foggy and overcast. 

[dustyroad]

On 3/28/2019 at 1:55 PM, Eaglecw said:

We have been on many Alaskan cruises, we go every year. One year we go to Glacier Bay and the next we’ll go to Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm. As a first timer I’d have to recommend Glacier Bay over Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm. Most of the time you only get a glimpse of the glaciers up in Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm, they’ll most of the time over a mile away. If you go up into Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm you almost have to take the small boat tour if it offered to see the glaciers. Glacier Bay is a much more spectacular

 

to visit to see the Glaciers. Spend the money and go to Glacier Bay, you'll probably only go once.l

 

I have been to both and I agree here on Glacier Bay.  Sawyer Glacier can't compare to Glacier Bay IMO for a first timer.  But like others have said, only you can decide the best choice for you.  

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I was determined to go to Glacier Bay on this, our second trip to Alaska. However, the Ovation of the Seas 11 night itinerary and the ship itself (especially important to DH) won out.  We have two glacier days (Hubbard & Endicott Arm) and to better our chances for a great glacier experience we have booked Adventure Bound out of Juneau to Tracy Arm Fjord, taking advantage of a really long port day.  You have to look at all the factors involved before making your decision, including hours in port.  Good luck!

[Cruise_More_Often]

We didn't get to Glacier Bay until our third Alaska cruise. On our first, we took the small boat tour from the ship to Sawyer Glacier and loved it. Our second cruise took us to Hubbard Glacier, which remains my favorite. And, finally, Glacier Bay. So my question to you is: Will this be your only cruise to Alaska? If not, you'll see it eventually. 😀

[dustyroad]

When I did the small boat tour In the month of  June to get up close to Sawyer Glacier it was very nice  We got very close to the waterfalls and saw seals laying on the ice.  It was well worth the trip.  If I remember correctly they even had binoculars on the boat for us to use. This was on a Carnival Spirit tour though. Have a wonderful time.

Edited April 21, 2019 by dustyroad

[cltcruzer]

Glacier Bay was/is amazing. In my opinion, everyone visiting Alaska should go there if they have the opportunity. 

[TwinMamainMN]

On 4/20/2019 at 10:51 PM, Cruise_More_Often said:

...Hubbard Glacier, which remains my favorite...

 

This is interesting! People always swear by GB, and yet we saw Hubbard last summer on Radiance and really enjoyed it, and it was rainy/misty the whole time we were there. We haven't seen GB so we have nothing to compare it to, but we were not disappointed.

 

Why do you prefer Hubbard?

[Coral]

24 minutes ago, TwinMamainMN said:

 

This is interesting! People always swear by GB, and yet we saw Hubbard last summer on Radiance and really enjoyed it, and it was rainy/misty the whole time we were there. We haven't seen GB so we have nothing to compare it to, but we were not disappointed.

 

Why do you prefer Hubbard?

Not who you are asking - but people often say Glacier Bay because it is pretty much guaranteed and is gorgeous.

 

Hubbard can be blocked for a large portion of the season, the entire season or not at all. Hubbard can easily be missed or only seen by 9 miles distance which really isn't seen. Often Alaska is a once in a lifetime trip for people and I strongly recommend Glacier Bay so that people see a glacier. The first trip I took with my Mom was to Hubbard Glacier and it was blocked the entire season. 

 

Glacier Bay is multiple glaciers and is a whole day of viewing verses Hubbard is one massive glacier and is spectacular if you can get close. Disappointing if you can't get close or miss it entirely. This is why I often advocate for 2 glacier days so if one is missed, hopefully you see the other.

[DebInAntigua]

16 minutes ago, Coral said:

Not who you are asking - but people often say Glacier Bay because it is pretty much guaranteed and is gorgeous.

 

Hubbard can be blocked for a large portion of the season, the entire season or not at all. Hubbard can easily be missed or only seen by 9 miles distance which really isn't seen. Often Alaska is a once in a lifetime trip for people and I strongly recommend Glacier Bay so that people see a glacier. The first trip I took with my Mom was to Hubbard Glacier and it was blocked the entire season. 

 

Glacier Bay is multiple glaciers and is a whole day of viewing verses Hubbard is one massive glacier and is spectacular if you can get close. Disappointing if you can't get close or miss it entirely. This is why I often advocate for 2 glacier days so if one is missed, hopefully you see the other.

We're scheduled (2020) to do a small boat excursion for Hubbard glacier on the scenic cruising day. Do you think those would still be able to go even if the ship was iced out? Or is the ice blockage sometimes total and not even small craft can get through?

[Coral]

12 minutes ago, DebInAntigua said:

We're scheduled (2020) to do a small boat excursion for Hubbard glacier on the scenic cruising day. Do you think those would still be able to go even if the ship was iced out? Or is the ice blockage sometimes total and not even small craft can get through?

This is the first year that this excursion is running. I would definitely do any boat ride to get you closer to a glacier.

 

The first year I went (2002 I think) - no boat, small or large could get through. 

 

I think it is too early to tell how things are going to go with the small boat. I think we have enough history on Tracy Arm and their small boat on how that works but not Hubbard yet.

[Cruise_More_Often]

8 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

 

This is interesting! People always swear by GB, and yet we saw Hubbard last summer on Radiance and really enjoyed it, and it was rainy/misty the whole time we were there. We haven't seen GB so we have nothing to compare it to, but we were not disappointed.

 

Why do you prefer Hubbard?

 

It is just huge! Here's a link to an excellent article about Hubbard Glacier:  https://www.tripsavvy.com/hubbard-glacier-and-yakutat-bay-alaska-4117868. The article mentions that you can see the glacier from a cruise ship more than 30 miles away!

We went to Hubbard in early May 2012 and got very close to the glacier. We will be seeing Hubbard again this June, and I was really excited to see it on the itinerary.

[Coral]

44 minutes ago, Cruise_More_Often said:

 

It is just huge! Here's a link to an excellent article about Hubbard Glacier:  https://www.tripsavvy.com/hubbard-glacier-and-yakutat-bay-alaska-4117868. The article mentions that you can see the glacier from a cruise ship more than 30 miles away!

We went to Hubbard in early May 2012 and got very close to the glacier. We will be seeing Hubbard again this June, and I was really excited to see it on the itinerary.

I was 9 miles away and have a picture and it is barely noticeable. If someone hadn't told me it was Hubbard - I would never have known.

 

I do agree - if you get close, it is spectacular.