Tracy Arm Catamaran trip out of Juneau?

[bobolink]

Is this available to book independently?


How does this trip compare to Kenai Fjords trip in terms of seasickness factor/ wildlife sitings, etc. Each sounds wonderful, but I have read about a fair amount of discomfort for some on the Kenai trip. Although my attitude is good and I've tried everything I've heard of, including patches, ginger, Bonine and Seabands, this is still a big problem for me and those around me.

Thanks

[Yukon]

Cathy and I were on a Tracy Arm cruise 4 days ago, with Adventure Bound out of downtown Juneau. We chose them because of the small boat (56 feet) and the fact that the owner is the captain. The boat handles the seas beautifully - no motion-sickness issues at all on the open water (Stephens Passage), and Tracy Arm itself is so protected that it doesn't generally get rough there. We had fabulous humpback viewing - Steve doesn't do much narration but certainly worked to get us whales (even though it wasn't a "whale-watching" trip). At one point the Four Seasons whale-watching boat that was shadowing us kept on going and we circled back and got the best views of the day. One couple on the boat with us (only 14 of us total) had gone out on a pure whale-watching trip the day before and had seen nothing - not a single whale (!) so they were thrilled. Cathy has been on the trip before and has seen mountain goats right at the water's edge in Tracy Arm, but there was no wildlife this time.

Murray

[bobolink]

thank you, Murray!
Bobolink

[Budget Queen]

For just booking independent Tracy Arm- it takes up a good part of your port day. Some lines offer a Tracy Arm add on that gets closer and have extended views- you then join your cruise ship directly. This makes better use of time- if your ship is already sailing there?? Wildlife is not near the amounts or variety of Kenai Fjords. But much calmer sailing- if you are prone to seasickness- take precautions.

[ute_fan]

I would also recommend the ship excursion that meets the ship at Sawyer Glacier if it's available for your cruise. That was the highlight of our trip! Our catamaran was bigger than the one Yukon was on (probably more in the area of 100 - 150 people), and we also saw whales. They idled the ship to let everybody get a good view (this happened 2 different times on the way to the glacier). There were folks on board who had done a "whale watching tour" that morning, and they said our views were better.

We also saw literally hundreds of harbor seals on the icebergs, with 2 of them giving birth as we watched. The views of the two glaciers were awe inspiring, and it was great to be able to get as close as we did.

My daughter did have a little trouble with seasickness on the cruise, but not a sign of any trouble on the smaller ship. Even though it was cloudy and a little drizzly, the water stayed calm.

[bobolink]

Thanks to all. No, it is not a ship excursion that's offered for us and, as Budget Queen says, it's a very long trip out of Juneau as independent. Directly from the ship, the excursion sounds absolutely wonderful. From my reading, it looks as though this won't be our only trip to Alaska... so next time, maybe.

We have done very successful orca and other whale watching trips in the San Juan Islands of Washington State and out of Maine, so I wanted to do something a little different. I can handle the floatplane and helicopter trips okay, thank goodness.

Looks like Kenai Fjords post-cruise will be the long boat trip.

I was very sick in Maine in waters as calm as the ocean can be, despite patches and seabands, but I still saw the many whales!!!!! My daughter was thoroughly humiliated. I'll come as prepared as possible and if necessary, she can just pretend she's not mine that day.:)

[FlorenceItaly]

Just returned a few weeks ago from Alaska and the Kenai Fjords boat trip post cruise was SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marie

[santaharry]

Use the search engine and go to the Juneau or Tracy Arm web sites. There will be severla listings there. These are not usually open to the cruise lines as the time in Juneau is limited and this is an all day affair (9AM to 5PM).
We did this with Goldelt in 2001 in the second week of May and there wer 35 people on the boat that normally carries 120. This was ahigh speed catamaran that allowed us to watch the wales and get to the glaciers before anyone else. Additionally we stayed longer, stopped to watch bears, goats, and himpback whales on the back to Juneau and still arrived @ 5 PM.

The only ships with this itenerary are the Northbound Princess, Celebrity Summit, and some Northbound Holland America ships. This trip IMHO beats any whale watching and other tours of its kind.

Web links are:
[url]http://www.goldbelttours.com/travel/day_trips/juneau/tracy_arm.html[/url]
[url]http://www.adventureboundalaska.com/tracyarm.htm[/url]

[Budget Queen]

I too have gone with Auk Nu but whales are NOT always sighted and overall the whale watch tours out of Auke Bay are far more consistant with 100% sightings- Tracy Arm is not. Not sure of your "only ships with this itinerary" ?????

[lrn376]

Santaharry or any one else who used or heard of Goldbelt tours. Was just looking at the Goldbelt tours. Am going to Alaska in june 2005. Were you happy with Goldbelt? Many thanks for your info. Lois

[lrn376]

. Was just looking at the Goldbelt tours. Am going to Alaska in june 2005. Has anyone used them? Many thanks for your info. Lois

[Budget Queen]

Auk Nu is Goldbelt. Well run company.

[santaharry]

Prior to posting I checked out 2 cruise web sites and since you have to be at the dock @9AM and don't return until 5 PM those were the only ones I would suggest, Princess Northbound arrives in Juneau @ 7AM and leaves @ 7:30PM, Celebrity & southbound HAL arrive at 8 am and leave at 10. RCCL has one that gets in at 7AM but leaves at 6 PM, thus I did not include several cruises that you could make, but if the tour was late you may miss your ship,

As for Golbelt, We reservations using the internet, boarded the ship and were treated good, note my sister in law is a Native American and the crew was made up of Native Alaskans, they really went out of their way to explain the culture and customs as we traveled. The ship was only at 1/4 capacity and we had the run of it. Coffee, tea, and cocoa were provided, sodas were 75 cents, and lunch was soup and a sandwich. Snacks were also provided.

Enjoy