Alaska: Juneau: Endicott Arm - Glacier Explorer excursion. Question

[erisajd]

Question about the above excursion:  

 

leaves the ship 1:15p and lasts for 5 hours.  Are those times firm?  We have a specialty restaurant reservation at 630 and of course don’t want to miss it. Excursions can sometimes take on a life of their own with lazy, disabled or otherwise untimely activity. 
 

I would appreciate if anyone who has done this excursion can give us an idea of the relative timeliness.  Yes of course YMMV and all the usual exculpatory language, not gonna hold you responsible etc etc etc. Just looking for a general idea. 

[1025cruise]

What time does the ship leave? That would be cutting it too close for me.

[YVRteacher]

This is a different type of excursion. A smaller boat from Allen Marine will pull up next to the ship and people will offload right onto the smaller boat.

 

The timing is as indicated. No one gets off the smaller boat during the excursion into Endicott Arm. It is a boat trip to view the gorgeous glaciers up close.

 

You will want time after the excursion to change out of winter clothes and get ready for dinner so my suggestion is to make the dinner reservation for a later time.

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

This is a different type of excursion. A smaller boat from Allen Marine will pull up next to the ship and people will offload right onto the smaller boat.

 

The timing is as indicated. No one gets off the smaller boat during the excursion into Endicott Arm. It is a boat trip to view the gorgeous glaciers up close.

 

You will want time after the excursion to change out of winter clothes and get ready for dinner so my suggestion is to make the dinner reservation for a later time.

I agree with this. You will need multiple layers, hats and gloves for this excursion and will want to change before dinner.  

[BirdTravels]

12 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

What time does the ship leave? That would be cutting it too close for me.

The ship leaves at 1:30 pm. The excursion is scheduled to end at 6:15 pm. 

[BirdTravels]

14 hours ago, erisajd said:

Question about the above excursion:  

 

leaves the ship 1:15p and lasts for 5 hours.  Are those times firm?  We have a specialty restaurant reservation at 630 and of course don’t want to miss it. Excursions can sometimes take on a life of their own with lazy, disabled or otherwise untimely activity. 
 

I would appreciate if anyone who has done this excursion can give us an idea of the relative timeliness.  Yes of course YMMV and all the usual exculpatory language, not gonna hold you responsible etc etc etc. Just looking for a general idea. 

 

First, it is one the absolute best excursions! The small boat's crew is always on the lookout for wildlife and while the ship keeps plowing through, the small boat will stop for whales, bears, eagles, and other wildlife. And while the ship may stop 5 miles away from the glacier, you'll be up front and personal with the ice. We have done the excursion 4 times (probably more). 

 

I would bump your dinner reservations out 60 minutes. The small boat usually meets up with the ship a little early, but it will depend on what the ship is doing (if it is in it's 360 degree turn). 

 

You will need a bit of time to disembark the small boat and make your way up from the tender deck to your stateroom to get ready for dinner. You will have all of your winter coats and gear with you. You want a heavy coat, hat, gloves. The goal would be to be outside on deck on the small boat as much as possible. 

 

Personally, after getting back on the ship, we like to go out either on our balcony or the ship's deck to take some photos from the perspective of seeing the glacier from the ship (versus at water level from the small boat). So, we allow time for that after the excursion ends. 

 

 

Tender door open at back of ship 

 

If you make your dinner reservations too early, you'll be watching the glacier from a restaurant window (if you're lucky)