Has anyone done Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier in Juneau?

[cruisin'sz]

Has anyone done this NCL excursion? If so, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[Tobintemp]

We did this on the May 6-13th sailing and it was well worth it. The lowere level of the catamaran is all seats, the second level is half seats and half open deck that you can go out to at anytime. There is a third deck outside deck they open up once you are stopped at the glacier.

 

On the way to Tracy Arm, we stopped an watched whales, there was even one breaching several times. We were able to get close to North Sawyer and stopped there for a while. We save the glacier calve three times (two small ones and one medium one). There was a naturalist on board and binoculars were supplied. In Tracy Arm we saw a black bear, several mountain goats, seals on the ice, and eagles. South Sawyer was too iced up to get to. After we boarded the ship some people mentioned they were watching the catamaran and thought we were stuck in the ice.

 

I was worried about the motion before hand but it was a very smooth ride. I would do this excursion again if it was offered.

[thawan]

We did this on May 13 - 20. What a difference a week makes. We were not able to bet to the glaciers at all, the captain said two more turns. There was just too much ice in the water. He said it had warmed up and the glaciers where doing alot of caving, but he sure tried.

 

We also saw whales on the way. And we saw them breach 4 or 5 times, and I managed to get 3 great pictures of them doing it.

 

And yes I too would do it again, even tho we didn't see any glaciers.

[Budget Queen]

I think the NCL jet boat tours into Tracy Arm are a must do. Significantly better experience than via the cruise ship. I am booked for July, but have gone independent into Tracy Arm with Auk Nu. Excellent tour.

[kb996]

Absolutly a must do. We've been to Sawyer Glacier twice. The first time did the catamaran trip, second time stayed on the ship. From the ship you could just about see the glacier, in the catamaran we got really close. It's a whole different experience on the small boat, you really get to experience how beautiful Tracy Arm is.

 

Don't think about it any more..... book it!

[Citizengwen]

my husband and i did it and we would do it again. thanks to budget queen's suggestion. it was amazing.

[cruisin'sz]

Thanks for the great feedback. We booked the tour. Any recommendations on how to dress?

[kb996]

It gets very cold the closer you get to the glacier. I had on a tshirt, heavy sweat shirt, fleece jacket, jeans, hat & golves. The good part about the boat is you can be inside where it's warm or out on the deck. They serve snacks and hot chocolate or coffee so you can warm up, there is also a bathroom on board and they had binoculars available for people to use.

 

You'll love it!

[RASHOPPER2]

Does Anyone Know Of A Non Ship Tour That We Can Take For This Trip. Princess Does Not Seem To Offer This Excursion, And It Sounds Wonderful.

[Budget Queen]

Does Anyone Know Of A Non Ship Tour That We Can Take For This Trip. Princess Does Not Seem To Offer This Excursion, And It Sounds Wonderful.

 

You need an all day in port, best by 7am and after 7pm. Unless you want to look at a charter??

 

I've gone with a company that no longer is doing the trip, but Advanture Bound has been raved about on this board- do a search for posts. http://www.adventureboundalaska.com/

[just4now]

I booked this excursion for us right away, I know it's going to be a major highlight of our trip! I am so glad I booked early, I imagine it fills up fast.

[Citizengwen]

if you stay inside, you can be comfortable in a t-shirt. if you want to get up top, it is very cold and it is very windy. earmuffs and gloves at one point.

 

http://www.tribephotos.org/image_uploads/1964p5220437.jpg

 

http://www.tribephotos.org/image_uploads/1052p5220481.jpg

 

by the way we went to endicott arm and dawes glacier as tracy arm was unaccessible during our trip.