Part of an Alaska cruise is looking at Glaciers, and there are several options. In the Gulf of Alaska it is popular to go to Hubbard Glacier, in the Inside Passage it is of course Glacier Bay, which is the most popular, but then there is the 3rd option and that is Tracy Arm. This is an inlet, a fjord located south of Juneau. It is not so wide and deep as Glacier Bay but the mountains are very steep, raise very sharply out of the water and come very close to the where the ships sails. It resembles the Norwegian Fjords very closely.
Where a ship goes to see ice depends on several factors. First for Glacier Bay you need to have a permit; a permit which is issued by the National Park of Glacier Bay. They only issue so many permits a year and also not more than 2 a day for the larger ships. If a cruise company does not get a permit, then the ships are not allowed in. Holland America is the most senior company visiting Glacier Bay and that gives a sort of preference. But also the ships & company are rated every year in how they work with Glacier Bay to offer the best Nature Experience. Running bingo while the ship is in front of the Glacier is not considered to be part of a good Nature experience. Holland America does it’s utmost to give the guests the best experience possible and works closely with the Park Rangers to make it better and better every year. As a result the company always gets sufficient permits.
Then there is the schedule to think of. Sailing from Seattle takes at least 6 hours longer, which is nearly a full port day, going up and going down. Glacier Bay is the most northerly point on an average Alaska cruise and from there the ship has to get back to Seattle on time. If you go to Glacier Bay, while on the Seattle run, it means one port less in a cruise compared with a Vancouver 7-day cruise. Going down to a two port cruise is not much fun and thus for the schedule of the Amsterdam, calling at Tracy Arm works very well. It is on the way to Juneau, which means you do not have to go out of the way to get there, and a apart from calling at Juneau, you can still call at Sitka and Ketchikan. Do 3 ports and still make it on time to Seattle, with an evening call at Victoria thrown in, to comply with the Jones Act.
Other Companies who do not have Glacier Bay permits only have the Hubbard Glacier and the Tracy Arm option. Holland America can offer all three in its brochures. Lately we have not been offering Hubbard Glacier very much, as it is rather un-predictable. The Glaciers there are so wide and they calve off so much ice, that often the ships cannot get close enough to the Glacier wall as the fallen ice is completely packing up the bay. If you can get close, then the spectacle is much more impressive than Glacier Bay………. but you never know. Glacier Bay is a steady performer and we know that the guests will get what they pay for. With Hubbard you might hit the jackpot but not if cannot get in, and you do not want to disappoint guests who have saved all year long for that one cruise to see a glacier.
Tracy Arm, a long bending fjord south of Juneau. At the end is south Sawyer Glacier where the ship stops.
So the Amsterdam calls at Tracy Arm and can still offer 3 Alaska ports during its cruise. The glaciers are normally quite active, so there is calving and you can get close enough to that glacier to be impressed by all its majesty. It does offer one thing which Glacier Bay does not have, very steep mountains on either side and a ship that sails by very close, while still in very deep water. This is an afternoon call, from 1400 hrs. to 20.00 hrs. and while sailing out you get the additional bonus of a setting sun which colors the steep cliffs in a sort of golden hue.
Today was a very good day and the ship could sit near the glacier and see it all happening. By 5 pm we turned around and while it was leaving the basin in front of the glacier the Norwegian Jewel came around the corner. Everything perfectly organized. The sun sets at 21.53 hrs. and even then it stays light, so also for that ship plenty of time for sightseeing with plenty of time left to get outside again. The whole inlet or Arm is full of scattered ice cubes, large and small and thus you need daylight navigation in this area.
We were back in fully open waters by 9 pm. and then aimed for a 0700 arrival tomorrow morning in Juneau.
July 21, 2014 at 3:42 pm
Dear Captain Albert,
Thanks for your informative blogs. We have recently finished our 8th Alaska cruise on HAL. We found the College Fjord experience on the Seward trips to be the most interesting. Do you have any idea why that segment has been discontinued ?
Mike in Seattle
July 23, 2014 at 12:13 am
Good evening,
thank you for reading my blog.
It was partly for scheduling reasons, as it is a very tight run in the schedule, but mainly beause the feedback from the guests in general was not that great. Not that they did not like the Fjord, more that they did not like the time. Always around dinner & packing time when Northbound and early in the morning, when southbound. Just when all the people who boarded in Seward wanted to sleeep in. So it was decided to let it go.
thank you for reading my blog
Capt. Albert
June 8, 2015 at 4:39 pm
I just read your blog and am wondering what I will see in July when the Maasdam stops in Tracy Arm for 30 minutes before continuing to Juneau?
June 12, 2015 at 11:23 am
Good morning,
the call at Tracy Arm is quite a bit longer, it is very scenic getting in and out and then the actual stop is floating off the glacier for 30 minutes,
same as we do at other glaciers. What you will see will depend on the glacier it self. It is a very active one and sometimes so active the ship can not get in at all. But if you go in, be prepared for some breathtaking scenery not unlike the norwegian fjords with the ship going quite close along the mountains.
Enjoy your cruise. mid summer it should be good.
Thank you for reading my blog
Capt. Albert