Carnival Tracey Arm Fjord excursion is a must

[tallnthensome]

If you are sailing on Carnival to Alaska please do yourself a favor and book this excursion as soon as it opens. The sights along the routes and Sawyer glacier visits are spectacular and you can't see most of this from the ship if you do not book this excursion. It was rhe best views of the cruise with limited occupancy. I would have kicked myself if we didn't snag this as soon as it opened. We are on the Spirit now and we had perfect although rare viewing weather . Don't delay when it becomes available. Photos taken with my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. 

[bar1068]

I'll second that. We booked a "spur of the moment" cruise to Alaska last month on Splendor. This excursion was one of the first things I learned/read about after booking, and booked it pretty much right after. Well worth it. We had anything BUT perfect viewing weather. Clouds, fog, rain and the coldest temps we had the entire cruise, but this excursion may standout as the highlight of the cruise.  We visited both the North and South glaciers, which we were not expecting, and caught a rather huge calving event at the South glacier, that was incredible to see and hear!! Also saw a view whales along the way as well. I'd do this again in a heartbeat!!

[tallnthensome]

A few more .... all aboard agreed that if you missed this excursion you really limited yourself to some of the best close up views of the fjord and glaciers. 

[thundercrack]

Do you remember how long before your cruise it was offered? I am going next May and have been waiting for this excursion to be listed, but as of today it is not being offered.

[LHARTWICK]

Out of 37 cruises, this - along with the flightseeing in Ketchikan - are our top excursions, hands down!  These photos are gorgeous, but you must see it for yourself!  AK is also our favorite cruise destination.

[tallnthensome]

2 minutes ago, thundercrack said:

Do you remember how long before your cruise it was offered? I am going next May and have been waiting for this excursion to be listed, but as of today it is not being offered.

It opened March 2nd as the first and only excursion for a couple weeks when it was posted on the Carnival site for our August 10th sailing. 

[tallnthensome]

4 minutes ago, LHARTWICK said:

Out of 37 cruises, this - along with the flightseeing in Ketchikan - are our top excursions, hands down!  These photos are gorgeous, but you must see it for yourself!  AK is also our favorite cruise destination.

We agree on both counts. We did the Air Wings private float plane in Ketchikan yesterday as well with a water landing and it too was spectacular with wonderful views.  A bucket list excursion. If you can do both like we both did please try and swing it regardless of cost. 

[bar1068]

3 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

It opened March 2nd as the first and only excursion for a couple weeks when it was posted on the Carnival site for our August 10th sailing. 

I was surprised when we booked the cruise only 4-5 weeks before the sailing date, the excursion was available, I was still available even after we boarded. But the naturalist onboard talked it up, and it then sold out. I'm curious though. For our sailing out of Seattle, it was confusing which day the excursion was. It was listed as Day1 in Seattle, which obviously could not be. Was it that way for the Spirit?

 

[tallnthensome]

4 minutes ago, bar1068 said:

I was surprised when we booked the cruise only 4-5 weeks before the sailing date, the excursion was available, I was still available even after we boarded. But the naturalist onboard talked it up, and it then sold out. I'm curious though. For our sailing out of Seattle, it was confusing which day the excursion was. It was listed as Day1 in Seattle, which obviously could not be. Was it that way for the Spirit?

 

Yes, they still have not fixed that silly glitch in their system where it lists Seattle day one as the fjord excursion day.

Edited August 17, 2022 by tallnthensome

[thundercrack]

I only see this excursion being offered on cruises out of Seattle.  Does anyone know if it will eventually be offered on cruises out of San Francisco?

[Tnlynch81]

10 minutes ago, thundercrack said:

I only see this excursion being offered on cruises out of Seattle.  Does anyone know if it will eventually be offered on cruises out of San Francisco?

We took this excursion when we were on the Miracle in June. It was listed under the San Francisco Port day.

[skrufy]

On 8/17/2022 at 10:58 AM, tallnthensome said:

A few more .... all aboard agreed that if you missed this excursion you really limited yourself to some of the best close up views of the fjord and glaciers. 

Beautiful pictures. Have been to Glacier Bay twice, it's spectacular. Going to Tracy Arm this April can't wait, head so much about it's beauty. Hope the fjord doesn't ice up and keep us out

[Ihearttravel11]

We did this excursion back in August on Splendor.
It was amazing! We got some beautiful photos, and got to see the beauty of Alaska first-hand.
My husband was not sure about the excursion, but afterward said that it was even more amazing than could be explained. He was very happy that I had booked it for our family trip.

We are going back to Alaska in June 2023, but not doing this excursion again. I think one time is plenty - especially with it being so limited for others.

 

[thundercrack]

9 hours ago, Tnlynch81 said:

We took this excursion when we were on the Miracle in June. It was listed under the San Francisco Port day.

Do you recall how long before your cruise it was listed?   I'm on the Miracle next May and it is not listed yet

[mondello]

11 hours ago, skrufy said:

Beautiful pictures. Have been to Glacier Bay twice, it's spectacular. Going to Tracy Arm this April can't wait, head so much about it's beauty. Hope the fjord doesn't ice up and keep us out

We missed Tracey Arm due to unsafe/excess ice; switched to Endicott Arm up to Dawes Glacier. Still was an awesome day, definitely a highlight of the cruise.

[Tnlynch81]

3 hours ago, thundercrack said:

Do you recall how long before your cruise it was listed?   I'm on the Miracle next May and it is not listed yet

It was a few months before. It was sold out originally but I kept checking and eventually it popped up. They may have added another boat because there was a morning trip, and afternoon.

[mondello]

We went several years ago. There were 2 times and more than 1 boat. We were all called to a meeting the morning of the excursion, where they announced 1 boat had mechanical trouble and had to cancel. Guests that booked last were informed they would be refunded; bummer because this could be the trip of a lifetime for some.

[kona_wahine]

It was the highlight of my trip! I went on NCL in May because I wanted to go to Glacier Bay, but I think Tracey was better. And the reason was the small boat excursion. Without it, it would have been very disappointing. (No idea why the last picture is upside down)

Edited November 11, 2022 by kona_wahine

[n6uqqq]

Tracy Arm is a great excursion but has gone up in price a lot since I went in May.