Holy Cow is Glacier Bay closed NEXT YEAR?

[Himself]

I believe GLACIER BAY is closed until July 1st as is the Port oj Juneau and the port of Vancouver.

[MudderBear]

No, we are talking about 2021

[Janet76]

Route change may be due to scheduling conflict or  CCL scaling back on # of permits to save cost in the coming years. If Glacier Bay is  must, you can cancel and change to different sailing date.  I've heard Tracy Arm is iced out often during early season. 

 

 

[MudderBear]

Well, if Glacier Bay wants to "stay in business", don't you think they would want to keep a line like Holland America as a good customer?  HAL and Princess were the leaders.  Do they think the other lines will be able to come up with the money and replace HAL?  Just a thought.....

[ontheweb]

16 hours ago, MudderBear said:

Truth be told, I guess I never even thought about the cost of permits.  But it's sort of selling Las Vegas without Casinos or New York without Broadway.  Well, I'll wait and see.  Stay safe and healthy everyone!!

 

CRUISE TOUR DETAILS Start Date: May 23, 2021 Ship: Noordam Journey: D6l: 10-Day Double Denali Voyage: N133  From Port: Whittier To Port: Vancouver
 

ITINERARY CHANGE NOTIFICATION: Due to operational reasons, scenic cruising to Glacier Bay has been changed to Tracy Arm and the departure time from Whittier, AK has been changed from 17:00 to 20:00.

Well NY now has Broadway shows closed. (We were supposed to see Ain't Too Proud to Beg in late March). But I don't know why anyone would want to go to New York City at the moment.

Edited April 5, 2020 by ontheweb

[lazey1]

1 hour ago, MudderBear said:

Well, if Glacier Bay wants to "stay in business", don't you think they would want to keep a line like Holland America as a good customer?  HAL and Princess were the leaders.  Do they think the other lines will be able to come up with the money and replace HAL?  Just a thought.....

I am sure that Glacier Bay will "stay in business" as that and Denali are the 2 major points of interest for a lot, perhaps the majority of Alaska cruise/tour visitors.

 

PS. I love your cat, she looks loke my Silkie.

[lazey1]

14 hours ago, RuthC said:

I did not know that! That is very new, then. I've done 9 or so Alaska cruises on HAL, including the 1-, 2-, and 3-week cruises, one way and round trip, since 1993, and never seen both glacier experiences regularly scheduled. One 2-week cruise had Glacier Bay added on when a Princess cruise couldn't use their permit due to being caught in a storm, but that was a fluke. 

Thanks for the info; it makes sense now. I may have to plan another cruise to The Great Land! 

Can I go with please?

 

[Janet76]

Glacier Bay/Denali will stay in business. Its CCL that will probably cut #permits to save money in the future.  CCL will still go, but not as much as before.  Perhaps others who will come out first in the finish line may be dominating national park permits.

[MudderBear]

Well, I'm going to wait and see before I book.  I wanted to take advantage of HALs new promotion (and to give them hope for the future)....but will now research other cruise lines and/or different sailings to ensure that whatever I book, it includes Glacier Bay Stay Heallthy!

[kennystwin]

It's not weather. Anyone who tries to predict Alaska weather a year out is fooling themselves. I was in Glacier Bay last May and the weather was spectacular.

 

And no, Glacier Bay won't go out of business. It is a National Park and has the responsibility to both encourage its use as well as manage and protect it.

 

This is likely just a scheduling challenge by Carnival corporate. They have a fixed number of permits and they are allocating them across their HAL, Princess, Cunard, and Seaborn brands (thankfully, Carnival doesn't do Glacier Bay). Your Noordam cruise just happened to get the short straw. If this is a once in a lifetime cruise, I'd be changing it to make sure you get to Glacier Bay. It IS that special.

[Janet76]

6 hours ago, kennystwin said:

It's not weather. Anyone who tries to predict Alaska weather a year out is fooling themselves. I was in Glacier Bay last May and the weather was spectacular.

 

And no, Glacier Bay won't go out of business. It is a National Park and has the responsibility to both encourage its use as well as manage and protect it.

 

This is likely just a scheduling challenge by Carnival corporate. They have a fixed number of permits and they are allocating them across their HAL, Princess, Cunard, and Seaborn brands (thankfully, Carnival doesn't do Glacier Bay). Your Noordam cruise just happened to get the short straw. If this is a once in a lifetime cruise, I'd be changing it to make sure you get to Glacier Bay. It IS that special.

We are going to see some major changes to cruise line industry.  

[wolfie11]

On 4/4/2020 at 8:00 PM, Janet76 said:

I hope it won't affect Alaska 2021. Its possible Disney Cruise Line may be the future cruise in terms of securing Glacier Bay permits.  

They just gave out new permits for the next 10 years.  Disney didn’t get any so they’ll need to wait in til 2030.  Also there are only two cruise ships allowed in each day.  Your ship was likely booted out so a bigger, newer ship could have the permit.  Also also, you pay for the permit as part of your fare.  The permit cost is a $ per head agreement with the park similar to an entrance fee in any national park.

GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE, Alaska – The National Park Service has selected the businesses which will provide cruise ship services in Glacier Bay National Park starting this fall.

A prospectus soliciting proposals for cruise ship services was issued in May 2018. A panel of technical experts reviewed each proposal package, and new ten-year concession contracts were awarded to seven businesses: Princess Cruise Lines Ltd, Holland America Line Inc., NCL (Bahamas) Ltd, Carnival plc (Cunard Line), Seabourn Cruise Line Limited, Viking Cruises Ltd and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The NPS anticipated the contracts will be effective October 1, 2019. 

“We are excited to welcome seven cruise lines to Glacier Bay. The very competitive process resulted in some of the highest cruise tourism environmental standards and best visitor experience quality seen in the world," said park superintendent Philip Hooge.

Cruise Ships offer a unique way for large groups of visitors to get a personalized experience of Glacier Bay National Park with interpreters on board every ship. In the upcoming month, contracts will be sent to the operators for final signature and execution.

Edited April 6, 2020 by wolfie11

[Aquahound]

9 hours ago, kennystwin said:

(thankfully, Carnival doesn't do Glacier Bay). 

 

That's kind of an odd statement.  What would be wrong with Carnival cruising GB? 

[kennystwin]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

 

That's kind of an odd statement.  What would be wrong with Carnival cruising GB? 

Nothing wrong. I think everyone should be able to enjoy GB. Just more competition for limited slots.

[Janet76]

9 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

They just gave out new permits for the next 10 years.  Disney didn’t get any so they’ll need to wait in til 2030.  Also there are only two cruise ships allowed in each day.  Your ship was likely booted out so a bigger, newer ship could have the permit.  Also also, you pay for the permit as part of your fare.  The permit cost is a $ per head agreement with the park similar to an entrance fee in any national park.

GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE, Alaska – The National Park Service has selected the businesses which will provide cruise ship services in Glacier Bay National Park starting this fall.

A prospectus soliciting proposals for cruise ship services was issued in May 2018. A panel of technical experts reviewed each proposal package, and new ten-year concession contracts were awarded to seven businesses: Princess Cruise Lines Ltd, Holland America Line Inc., NCL (Bahamas) Ltd, Carnival plc (Cunard Line), Seabourn Cruise Line Limited, Viking Cruises Ltd and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The NPS anticipated the contracts will be effective October 1, 2019. 

“We are excited to welcome seven cruise lines to Glacier Bay. The very competitive process resulted in some of the highest cruise tourism environmental standards and best visitor experience quality seen in the world," said park superintendent Philip Hooge.

Cruise Ships offer a unique way for large groups of visitors to get a personalized experience of Glacier Bay National Park with interpreters on board every ship. In the upcoming month, contracts will be sent to the operators for final signature and execution.

If CCL signed NPS contract, CCL will be sustainable for next 10 years.  Media outlets speculating cruise lines may not survive this crisis.  We are still waiting for our refund.  We were told 2 weeks initially.  Now 60 days or longer. 

[Crazy For Cats]

I think the better point to be made is shouldn’t HAL update the itinerary to correctly show the ports on the cruise?  We the customer could make a better informed decision before giving HAL any money.

[Roger88]

I heard the rumors before but could not believe its true. Well, people will think twice next time when booking HAL. I wonder why they dont post this information on their website for people to know. Do they even have a website? People should watch out for such situations to be ready in case of whatever happens. 
Janet, the industry will survive. Dont worry. Its not like the first time they occur massive problems. Well maybe not as massive as right now but still. Its all temporary, believe me

[Himself]

12 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

That's kind of an odd statement.  What would be wrong with Carnival cruising GB? 

I do not think Carnaval ships cruise Glacier Bay.  The only ships I have seen in there are Princess and Holland America.  I have been there on cruises many times sine my first one in 1997.

[catl331]

30 minutes ago, Himself said:

The only ships I have seen in there are Princess and Holland America.

NCL does some. Cunard is scheduled for visits in Jun, Jul, and Aug ...

Edited April 6, 2020 by catl331

[ontheweb]

28 minutes ago, Himself said:

I do not think Carnaval ships cruise Glacier Bay.  The only ships I have seen in there are Princess and Holland America.  I have been there on cruises many times sine my first one in 1997.

And both Princess and Holland America are owned by the Carnival Corporation.

[StLouisCruisers]

I've seen Disney ships in Alaska too.

[seaoma]

34 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

I've seen Disney ships in Alaska too.

 

They do have some Alaska cruises, but none of them go to GB.

[UPNYGuy]

On 4/4/2020 at 8:08 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

This is the reason that I chose to sail on Coral Princess last August.  Both were on her Southbound itinerary.

 

On 4/4/2020 at 9:31 PM, Aquahound said:

 

Maasdam, Oosterdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, and Noordam all advertise cruises that hit both GB and Hubbard in 2021.  

did exactly this on Norwegian Sun on a northbound cruise. 

[Boatdrill]

Sit tight, it's a bit early to worry about GB in 2021. 

Friends were booked on a May 2020,  7 day r/t Seattle that included GB.

In June 2019,  eleven months before sailing, HAL notified them that GB was being replaced by Hubbard Glacier.  

In time, it went back to GB, and in November 2019, Icy Strait was added after GB.     

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Boatdrill

[Aquahound]

7 hours ago, Himself said:

The only ships I have seen in there are Princess and Holland America.  I have been there on cruises many times sine my first one in 1997.

 

7 hours ago, catl331 said:

NCL does some. Cunard is scheduled for visits in Jun, Jul, and Aug ...

 

American Cruise Lines cruises Glacier Bay.  Royal Caribbean is also authorized, but they didn't pull any permits in 2021.