Endicott / Dawes Glacier Small Boat Excursion

[cabland]

Hello All,

 

Last year my family and I went on a round trip Alaskan cruise on HAL out of Vancouver.  That particular cruise, on the way to Juneau, "pulls over" and you can hop onto a small boat and take excursion into Tracy Arm and see Sawyer glacier up close (note: the ship, meanwhile, sails on to Juneau).  We did this, loved it and I would definitely recommend it.

 

This year, my wife's family (we are not going) is also doing an Alaskan cruise, but they are headed out of Seattle and will be on Celebrity.  For that cruise, I see they are headed INTO Endicott arm as this is their primary sailing glacier stop (they are not doing Glacier Bay of course).  Anyway, I think there is a similar "hop onto a small boat" excursion they can take right from their ship, but in this case I think that excursion is taken while they are there in Endicott Arm.

 

My question is simple: "Is this small boat excursion 'worth it' given that the ship itself will be in Endicott Arm, and FROM WHAT I HAVE READ it appears to get much closer to Dawes glacier than ships often do in Tracy Arm with Sawyer glacier as the path is shorter, wider, straighter, etc.?"  I'm just not sure if it has the same "must do" factor that the Tracy Arm excursion had.

 

Thanks!

[Coral]

Most ships do get close to Dawes glacier. We got pretty close actually.

 

I can't tell you if it is worth it or not. I took a small boat excursion (Privately through Adventurebound) that was supposed to go to Tracy Arm and couldn't get in either and we did go to Endicott Arm. It was worth it as they stopped at some very scenic places such as Ford's Terror, etc....

Edited June 2, 2019 by Coral

[kctwinmommy]

We loved taking the small boat excursion for sure! On our Carnival cruise, the ship didn't get super close to the glacier, so it was totally worth it. We got to experience the calving of the glaciers, with our boat rocking a bit, see the wildlife on the sides, and a neat little waterfall. Not all these things would be seen from the main ship.

 

 

 

 

This cute guy kept coming up to our boat!

 

 

 

The glacier was calving for the entire time we were there!

 

 

 

This is the view from the ship once we got back onboard.

 

 

Little bear on the side.

Edited June 3, 2019 by kctwinmommy

[Ariyel]

Gorgeous photos, thanks for sharing!  I signed up for the closer up/small boat excursion off Celebrity Solstice into Endicott Arm, but our cruise isn't for a couple weeks yet.  I hope it's worth it!  Pics like those above are what motivated me to sign up.

[kctwinmommy]

18 hours ago, Ariyel said:

Gorgeous photos, thanks for sharing!  I signed up for the closer up/small boat excursion off Celebrity Solstice into Endicott Arm, but our cruise isn't for a couple weeks yet.  I hope it's worth it!  Pics like those above are what motivated me to sign up.

 

It really was worth it, when I saw where our ship got. For some people, they'd rather save their money for other excursions, and I get that. We did this trip as a once in a lifetime thing. We have no intention of going back again. We went, had a great time, saw amazing things, and we're good. There's just so many other things in the world we want to see, and limited time right now. Maybe when we're retired. But with a HS kid in private school right now, that limits some of the funds, as well as time. But he loves to travel too! LOL! We just got back from a week long trip in New Orleans, drove down, walked everywhere (almost 30 miles in the week), saw a lot, did as much as we could. But I'd love to go on another cruise soon, just a Caribbean one. Low key and relaxing!

[quack2]

I'm going the 7 hour RT Tracy Arm excursion out of Juneau on June 16.  Anybody done this one?

 

[peety3]

IMHO the small-boat tour is well worth it! The cruise ship might get close, but the glacier is going to be calving and chunks of ice are going to float away from the face. The smaller boat simply has the ability to get a lot closer as the ice is going to be dispersing the further away it floats.

 

As an example from Glacier Bay, take a look at these three photos. I apologize that it's links only and you've got to click to see them, but here we go:

Here's a fishing boat that came into GBNP to see the glacier we were at.

Our ship has departed the glacier, and you can see the small fishing boat up near the glacier (yes, you're going to have to look closely).

Here's another cruise ship coming in to view the glacier, and yes the fishing boat is still in there.

[LoriPhil]

Holy cow - the fishing boat really provides scale to the size of the glacier! 

[donaldsc]

We have done small boat excursions to several glaciers in AK.  They get much closer to and stay longer than the cruise ships.

 

DON

[Coral]

10 hours ago, quack2 said:

I'm going the 7 hour RT Tracy Arm excursion out of Juneau on June 16.  Anybody done this one?

 

Tracy Arm is more scenic than Endicott Arm. Though - sometimes ships can't go to Tracy Arm and in that case, they will often go to Endicott Arm.

[DougH]

On 6/4/2019 at 8:06 AM, quack2 said:

I'm going the 7 hour RT Tracy Arm excursion out of Juneau on June 16.  Anybody done this one?

 

I've done the Adventure Bound trip out of Juneau a half dozen times but it is more like a 9-10 hour trip. That said I'll do it again given the chance as the trip is spectacular and a real bargain $$ wise for what you get.

[elrohir44]

We went into Endicott Arm on Emerald Princess last August and took this excursion.  It was the highlight of the whole trip.  It's expensive but totally worth it if you can afford it.  The ship did not get very close to the glacier at all.  It stopped 2-3 miles away, did a 360, and left.  We got within about 1/4 mile of the glacier and had amazing views of it.  The boat stayed at the glacier for about 2 hours, then we saw a bunch of waterfalls on the way out of the fjord.  At the opening of the fjord we say a small group of humpbacks feeding so they stopped the boat for about 30 minutes so we could watch.  Then it took us all the way back to Juneau and we disembarked onto our cruise ship.  The only downside is that you are on the small boat for a very long time, and by the end I was getting a little tired of being on there, but it's only a minor complaint.  We still had plenty of time to hike Mount Roberts in Juneau, but this will depend on your ship's schedule.  Here is a link to the YouTube video I made of the experience if it helps you decide if it is for you.

 

 

[Ariyel]

6 hours ago, elrohir44 said:

We went into Endicott Arm on Emerald Princess last August and took this excursion.  It was the highlight of the whole trip.  It's expensive but totally worth it if you can afford it.  The ship did not get very close to the glacier at all.  It stopped 2-3 miles away, did a 360, and left.  We got within about 1/4 mile of the glacier and had amazing views of it.  The boat stayed at the glacier for about 2 hours, then we saw a bunch of waterfalls on the way out of the fjord.  At the opening of the fjord we say a small group of humpbacks feeding so they stopped the boat for about 30 minutes so we could watch.  Then it took us all the way back to Juneau and we disembarked onto our cruise ship.  The only downside is that you are on the small boat for a very long time, and by the end I was getting a little tired of being on there, but it's only a minor complaint.  We still had plenty of time to hike Mount Roberts in Juneau, but this will depend on your ship's schedule.  Here is a link to the YouTube video I made of the experience if it helps you decide if it is for you.

 

 

 

Very cool video of the excursion!  Thanks for posting it!

[sunnyandcalm]

I am going on Celebrity in July and debating when we get to Juneau - is it better to do the seaplane fly over 5 glacier trip or the Tracey Fjord 7 hour up close trip.   I am thinking the tracey Fyord would be better experience but it is cheaper so maybe it is not as great as it sounds....advice from experienced cruisers will be much appreciated because I have never done an alaskan cruise before.

Also looking at Sitka.  weighing up Raptor/Bear Fortress trip versus the catamaran on the river with fin Island Lodge - the latter sounds like more chance of animals in wilderness versus a zoo type experience.

[Budget Queen]

33 minutes ago, sunnyandcalm said:

I am going on Celebrity in July and debating when we get to Juneau - is it better to do the seaplane fly over 5 glacier trip or the Tracey Fjord 7 hour up close trip.   I am thinking the tracey Fyord would be better experience but it is cheaper so maybe it is not as great as it sounds....advice from experienced cruisers will be much appreciated because I have never done an alaskan cruise before.

Also looking at Sitka.  weighing up Raptor/Bear Fortress trip versus the catamaran on the river with fin Island Lodge - the latter sounds like more chance of animals in wilderness versus a zoo type experience.

This is an old thread,  you may also want to start your own.     What is on your itinerary already,   Tracy Arm?    The entrance for Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm are the same.   via Holkham Bay.    To do an independent add on trip of Tracy Arm-  12 hours of port time is needed.    It would be better if you explain further what precisely,  you are looking at.   

 

But,  just my opinion,   there is no "better".   Each tour stands on it's own as excellent.   I'd caution to look at more details and decide which one-  YOU like best.    Especially the claims of "must do",  especially when both tours, haven't been done,  they aren't the best data to rely on perhaps.     

 

I've done both multiple times-  certainly flying Alaska really shows the vastness and beauty extensively.    Boat tours,  allow beautiful viewing,   right on the water.     

[sunnyandcalm]

Thank you.  That is good advice.  I like your no "better" comment.