Glacier excursion in Tracy Arm

[Adrienne Espinosa]

Has anyone done the glacier excursion in Tracy Arm? If so, is it worth it?

 

[Aby]

We did it this past August and felt it was totally worth it - one of the best excursions we've ever done. In our case it was a tour of Endicott Arm instead of Tracy Arm as that fjord was closed all season. We took the 12pm departure - at the entrance of the fjord, the Wonder stopped, and the touring vessel pulled up alongside so that we could board. We took off down the channel and the Wonder followed. We got some amazing shots as we were pulling away from the ship with th beautiful vistas in the background. We travelled along faster than the ship, took a side trip into Ford's Terror to see a waterfall up and close, and then caught back up to and then passed the Wonder as we approached the glacier. The boat got within 1/4 mile of the glacier face, and we were able to witness multiple calvings. We stayed there for quite awhile while the ship caught up to us - again beautiful photo opportunities of the ship amongst the gorgeous scenery. The tour boat had 3 levels, the top was only open at certain times, and you could move freely anywhere you liked. I spent most of my time on the rails nearest the front of the ship for the amazing views and scenery, although it did get a bit nippy and windy at times. When it was time to go back to the ship the boat docked again and then the next group of people were able to board for their 3pm tour.

We have absolutely no regrets about taking the excursion and would even consider a repeat next time we go back to Alaska. You can see my trip report here including a few pictures from that day. https://www.disboards.com/threads/t...-wonder-with-four-adults-august-2016.3560012/

Hope this helps!

Aby

 

[Adrienne Espinosa]

We did it this past August and felt it was totally worth it - one of the best excursions we've ever done. In our case it was a tour of Endicott Arm instead of Tracy Arm as that fjord was closed all season. We took the 12pm departure - at the entrance of the fjord, the Wonder stopped, and the touring vessel pulled up alongside so that we could board. We took off down the channel and the Wonder followed. We got some amazing shots as we were pulling away from the ship with th beautiful vistas in the background. We travelled along faster than the ship, took a side trip into Ford's Terror to see a waterfall up and close, and then caught back up to and then passed the Wonder as we approached the glacier. The boat got within 1/4 mile of the glacier face, and we were able to witness multiple calvings. We stayed there for quite awhile while the ship caught up to us - again beautiful photo opportunities of the ship amongst the gorgeous scenery. The tour boat had 3 levels, the top was only open at certain times, and you could move freely anywhere you liked. I spent most of my time on the rails nearest the front of the ship for the amazing views and scenery, although it did get a bit nippy and windy at times. When it was time to go back to the ship the boat docked again and then the next group of people were able to board for their 3pm tour.

We have absolutely no regrets about taking the excursion and would even consider a repeat next time we go back to Alaska. You can see my trip report here including a few pictures from that day. https://www.disboards.com/threads/t...-wonder-with-four-adults-august-2016.3560012/

Hope this helps!

Aby

This sounds amazing! Thank you for the info. I'm going to talk to my group about it.

 

[anricat]

This is a lengthy thread, but it has some great reviews in it. It's hard to find when you search because the original poster spelled it "Tracey" instead of "Tracy" but you'll find lots of reviews and information from people who did it last year: https://www.disboards.com/threads/tracey-arm-fjord-and-glacier-adventure.3507884/

 

[saxmangeoff]

We took the 12pm departure

Do you have a feel for how the 12pm would stack up against the 3pm? (Aside from the obvious fact that 12pm takes the trip in and 3pm takes the trip out.)

 

[Aby]

I don't have any personal experience with the 3pm departure, but my gut feeling is that it wouldn't have as nice of photo opportunities as the noon departure did. We spent a lot of time within view of the Wonder as we both made our way to the glacier, which led to some great shots. Since it was earlier in the day, the sky was bright and made for a beautiful backdrop - later in the day it was less sunny and a little more drab - of course the weather can't be predicted so it could really go either way! I'm hoping another shutterbug that was on the later departure can comment on their experience!

Some people went with the 3pm departure so that they could take advantage of the BBQ lunch up on deck, or Palo brunch with the gorgeous views, but it didn't factor into my decision. Mostly I knew that the ship wouldn't get to the glacier until later in the afternoon, and I still wanted time to enjoy the glacier itself from the to decks after I was through with the excursion - I did manage to get some great shots of the next excursion boat right up at the face
of the glacier!

Aby

 

[saxmangeoff]

Thanks. That's the sort of thing I was looking for.

On my previous cruise, I noticed that the upper decks are crowded on the way in and empty on the way out, so noon would have the advantage of your trip on the ship is less crowded.

I've also wondered about light conditions, but 12-3 and 3-6 aren't a lot different when the sun goes down at 8:52pm (sunset time on Tracy Arm day of my upcoming August cruise).