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You’ll also have the best chance to see the glaciers up close and witness the stunning blue ice. Along the shorelines, keep your eyes peeled for black and brown bears foraging for food. High up on the cliffs by the icefield, the pale-colored mountain goats are easy to spot, testing their agility skills on the vertical landscape. Sea lions sometimes bark up a storm on the rocks, and their noisy chatter echoes off the sheer rock walls.
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Tracy Arm is located 70 miles north of Petersburg on Mitkof Island. Cruise ships generally access the Alaska fjord from Holkham Bay as they sail north through the Stephens Passage. However, those cruising the inside passage can choose from Tracy Arm, Endicott Arm, and College Fjord.
Great Reasons To Tour Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
As it retreats, the narrowing channel makes it difficult for larger cruise ships to maneuver. If you book a cruise in the shoulder season, you can find itineraries that package Tracy Arm with another glacier viewing. I’ve taken two cruises to the fjord, and both sailed to Hubbard Glacier too. Your adventure begins as soon as you board a luxurious, high-speed catamaran , transferring to the vessel directly from your cruise ship. Relax in the warm, spacious cabin, surrounded by large windows as your experienced captain guides you past curious seals resting on floating icebergs. Discover the twin Sawyer Glaciers at the end of Tracy Arm Fjord.
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Because you are booking directly through your ship, your tickets will be ready ahead of time, and often hand-delivered to your stateroom. You are also guaranteed to make it back to your ship before it departs – the ship will stay in port if your shore excursion runs late. If there are any changes to your ship’s schedule, your shore excursions team will ensure that we are contacted on your behalf, and any necessary changes in itinerary will be made. The value you receive by booking through your cruise line is truly outstanding.
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The vessel is equipped with deluxe seating, a galley and a restroom. There will also be frequent stops for you to view and photograph wildlife, such as pigeon guillemots, bald eagles, harbor seals, mountain goats and bears. The most common tour boat and cruise ship access to the fjord system is via Stephens Passage and Holkham Bay. While Tracy Arm is often included as tour destination in larger cruise liners' Alaskan itineraries, Endicott Arm is visited mainly by smaller ships. One of the best ways to explore Tracy Arm Fjord is by taking a glacier explorer tour on a high-speed catamaran.
Nearby, the South Sawyer Glacier is losing more than 300 feet (91 meters) a year. The sheltered bay is an ideal breeding ground to keep their pups safe from hungry Orca in Stephen’s Passage. The cascades vary from torrents of icy white water to gentle strings of angel hair. Some breathtaking examples plummet 1000 feet into the emerald waters below. With deep valleys and snowpack in winter, the landscape produces rushing waterfalls as the snow melts.
Currently, the rate of melt at the face of the glaciers exceeds the rate of their downhill flow, causing glacial retreat. For 10,000 years the icefield has experienced a general retreat with periodic stages of advancement. Travel by deluxe jetboat to explore the best of the Tracy Arm Wilderness Area, including exciting close-up views of the majestic Sawyer Glaciers. In our view, when cruising to Alaska, it’s best to decide on the itinerary you want FIRST and then pick the cruise line.
Best Deals to Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
The fjord is also home to numerous glaciers, including the Sawyer Glacier, one of Alaska’s most impressive sights. If Tracy Arm is on your Alaska cruise itinerary and it's not blocked with ice, you may cruise past its glacier-carved cliffs and icebergs. However, it is a narrow inlet and cruise ships are too large to get close to the Sawyer Glacier faces. John Muir called it "one of the most dramatically stunning fjords of Southeast Alaska." And that’s no exaggeration, the drama is everywhere. Portly seal pups who haul out on the frozen chunks and pose for a barrage of camera snaps. Renowned for its Alaska cruising, Holland America Line provides extensive glacier experiences, including Glacier Day.
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Its towering face has stunning blue hues, and capturing a lousy photo is hard. So, larger ships like the Quantum of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, and Norwegian Bliss must visit Endicott Arm Fjord instead. Both Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm are part of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness.
Since ice often blocks the approach in the early months, choose an itinerary from June onwards to avoid the disappointment of not seeing the twin Sawyer Glaciers. Tracy Arm itineraries are available from Vancouver, Seattle, and San Francisco. Holland America and Windstar allows guest to combine their cruise with a land itinerary.
Dress warmly in layers to fully enjoy the outside observation deck. The vessel is equipped with deluxe seating, a galley and restrooms. To fully enjoy the outside observation decks, we recommend participants bring a warm, rainproof jacket, hat & gloves. The tour will disembark next to the cruise ship in downtown Juneau. Dress warmly in layers with a wind- and waterproof outer layer; bring gloves, a scarf and a warm hat.
Cruise ships enter Holkham Bay to reach both destinations, with Sawyer Glaciers at the end of Tracy Arm and Dawes Glacier in Endicott Arm. It’s best to book through your cruise line early, as the limited-capacity excursion sells out fast. In this section, we’ll explore what makes Tracy Arm Fjord so unique and what to expect on a cruise to this beautiful destination. Tracy Arm Fjord’s glacier-carved landscape is a spectacular destination and is sometimes preferred over the more popular Glacier Bay National Park. Glaciers and fjords have their own ‘micro-climates’ due to the massive volume of ice they are composed of.

A cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord contrasts significantly with an itinerary to Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. To increase your chance of wildlife sightings and see plummeting waterfalls, you need to choose Tracy Arm. With constant melting snow, the sheer granite faces glisten like polished stones from a rock tumbler. The waterfalls are awe-inspiring at the start of the Alaska cruise season, as winter transitions into the warmer seasons.
So, it can be 55F in Juneau and 35F in Tracy Arm on the same day. Since Juneau is a popular port and provides the most activities, having a full day might be preferred. So, consider choosing an itinerary with Juneau and Tracy Arm on different days.
Tracy Arm offered one of the best Alaska cruise itineraries if you prefer a fjord experience. Sawyer Glacier is an active tidewater glacier, which means it “calves” or breaks off. Pieces of ice anywhere from the size of a small car to a cruise ship fall off the face of the glacier and hit the water with a thunderous roar. No matter how many times you visit Sawyer Glacier, it is always a thrill to see a calving event. The skipper will make many detours and stops, allowing you to view and photograph cobalt-blue icebergs, spectacular cliffs, thousand-foot waterfalls and abundant wildlife. Hubbard Glacier and Tracy Arm Fjord are two popular glacier-viewing experiences in Alaska.
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