icy strait and glacier bay

[bjtravelnews]

Hello everyone.  I have a cruise booked for July 2025 on the Norwegian Jade.  The cruise is titled as Glacier Bay....  However, when I recently looked at the itinerary, it shows Icy Strait Point and not Glacier Bay.  I did some research and it looks like we may not be going into Glacier Bay, but rather just the opening to the Bay.  Am I correct?  If so, I am a little disappointed in not being able to see Glacier Bay National Park.  Any thoughts on this?   Thanks  so much for all your comments.  Alaska has been on my bucket list for so long (it's the only state in the US I have not visited).  Being on the East Coast, it's likely the only time we will visit here.

[nordicacres]

Is there an option to take an excursion into Glacier Bay NP from ISP? 

[Coral]

17 minutes ago, nordicacres said:

Is there an option to take an excursion into Glacier Bay NP from ISP? 

I doubt it. I have never seen it.

 

There is a flight from Skagway or Haines to fly over Glacier Bay:

 

https://mountainflyingservice.com/glacier-bay-national-park 

Edited March 3 by Coral

[Coral]

Wow - this is incredibly mis-leading:

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruises/7-day-alaska-from-whittier-to-vancouver-hubbard-glacier-skagway-and-juneau-JADE7WQFHGCICYJNUSGYKTNVAN?destinations=4294949410&ships=4294949389&numberOfGuests=4294949461&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=JADE7WQFHGCICYJNUSGYKTNVAN 

[nordicacres]

Wow! Has NCL done away with Glacier Bay then in 2025? Out of curiosity I quickly looked and was only able to find one cruise that actually cruised GB, out of Seattle. Thank goodness we are booked for this summer! Is it an option to move your cruise to summer 2024 instead?

[nordicacres]

https://www.ncl.com/cruises/7-day-alaska-round-trip-seattle-glacier-bay-skagway-and-juneau-ENCORE7SEAJNUSGYKTNVICSEA?destinations=4294949410&sailMonths=4294949390,4294949387,4294949334&numberOfGuests=4294949461&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=ENCORE7SEAJNUSGYKTNVICSEA

[edinburgher]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

 

There is a flight from Skagway or Haines to fly over Glacier Bay:

We did this from Haines.  it was fabulous, and having cruised GB twice, flying above  and looking down on it gave a completely different perspective.

[edinburgher]

4 hours ago, bjtravelnews said:

I am a little disappointed in not being able to see Glacier Bay National Park.

And if Ketchikan is also on your itinerary, are you aware that NCL do not dock or tender into downtown, instead using out-of-town Ward Cove and using shuttle buses between there and Downtown.

 

if you can cancel without penalty, you could consider one of the more experienced cruiselines such as Princess or HAL, as both lines appear to have more permits for GB, although I would still check as it cannot be assumed that each and every one of their Alaskan sailings cruises GB as there may be an occasional one which does not.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, nordicacres said:

Wow! Has NCL done away with Glacier Bay then in 2025? Out of curiosity I quickly looked and was only able to find one cruise that actually cruised GB, out of Seattle. Thank goodness we are booked for this summer! Is it an option to move your cruise to summer 2024 instead?

Between that and Ward Cove makes NCL less desirable as a line.

Edited March 3 by Coral

[bjtravelnews]

On 3/3/2024 at 10:53 AM, edinburgher said:

And if Ketchikan is also on your itinerary, are you aware that NCL do not dock or tender into downtown, instead using out-of-town Ward Cove and using shuttle buses between there and Downtown.

 

if you can cancel without penalty, you could consider one of the more experienced cruiselines such as Princess or HAL, as both lines appear to have more permits for GB, although I would still check as it cannot be assumed that each and every one of their Alaskan sailings cruises GB as there may be an occasional one which does not.

Thanks - I wanted to do Princess, but am traveling with a group and was outvoted. (Everyone likes the free drink package on NCL)

[karatemom2]

On 3/3/2024 at 6:13 AM, Coral said:

Wow - this is incredibly mis-leading:

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruises/7-day-alaska-from-whittier-to-vancouver-hubbard-glacier-skagway-and-juneau-JADE7WQFHGCICYJNUSGYKTNVAN?destinations=4294949410&ships=4294949389&numberOfGuests=4294949461&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=JADE7WQFHGCICYJNUSGYKTNVAN 

 

Wow! Absolutely misleading. I'd say verging on false advertisement. I'm sure many new cruisers in particular who might not have done the research will be very disappointed when they realize they are not actually going into Glacier Bay.

[edinburgher]

2 hours ago, bjtravelnews said:

but am traveling with a group and was outvoted. (Everyone likes the free drink package on NCL)

And once again NCL surprises.  Your group do know that on NCL there is no such thing as a "free" drinks package, because unless there has been a recent change, they will have to pay a 20% service charge pppd  on the full retail value of the "free" drinks package. It is for many an unexpected cost.

 

Maybe next time you visit Alaska, you get to choose the cruiseline!

[bjtravelnews]

3 hours ago, edinburgher said:

And once again NCL surprises.  Your group do know that on NCL there is no such thing as a "free" drinks package, because unless there has been a recent change, they will have to pay a 20% service charge pppd  on the full retail value of the "free" drinks package. It is for many an unexpected cost.

 

Maybe next time you visit Alaska, you get to choose the cruiseline!

They are all fans of NCL and so know the need to pay gratuites.  That cost (a bit more than $150 pp) is still way less than purchasing a drink package outright on other cruiselines.  Believe me - O tried really hard to convince them to book with Princess!  If I ever can afford to cruise Alaska again it definitely will be with Princess.

 

[edinburgher]

14 hours ago, bjtravelnews said:

I tried really hard to convince them to book with Princess!

Most cruise passengers especially on a first Alaska cruise value  the itinerary, number of glaciers and length of time in port  more than they do a drinks package, but in fairness not everyone does and your group made its choice.

 

Giving you a heads up that there have been a number of threads over recent months where NCL pax from last season were complaining about several issues, including poor dock or tender locations compared to more established lines, shorter times in ports, the actual timings of the port calls, lack of Glacier Bay and the Ward Cove issue at Ketchikan. Hoping for you that things will  have improved for this season.

Edited March 6 by edinburgher

[booinla]

As a rule of thumb, the NCL 7-day round trip from Seattle calls at Glacier Bay, and the 7-day northbound/southbound trip calls at Hubbard Glacier. (There are exceptions to the rule, no doubt)

[bjtravelnews]

6 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Most cruise passengers especially on a first Alaska cruise value  the itinerary, number of glaciers and length of time in port  more than they do a drinks package, but in fairness not everyone does and your group made its choice.

 

Giving you a heads up that there have been a number of threads over recent months where NCL pax from last season were complaining about several issues, including poor dock or tender locations compared to more established lines, shorter times in ports, the actual timings of the port calls, lack of Glacier Bay and the Ward Cove issue at Ketchikan. Hoping for you that things will  have improved for this season.

Thank you for your comments.  I agree with those assessments and will make the best of everything.

 

[bjtravelnews]

5 hours ago, booinla said:

As a rule of thumb, the NCL 7-day round trip from Seattle calls at Glacier Bay, and the 7-day northbound/southbound trip calls at Hubbard Glacier. (There are exceptions to the rule, no doubt)

Thank you.  I find it very deceiving on the part of NCL that they called this southbound cruise Glacier Bay!

[Coral]

2 hours ago, bjtravelnews said:

Thank you.  I find it very deceiving on the part of NCL that they called this southbound cruise Glacier Bay!

Have you called them and asked for an explanation or to update their website?