Tracy Arm Fjord Cruise

One of the most recommended day cruise out of Juneau is a cruise through Tracy Arm Fjords.  I've been wanting to go since last year, but finally was organized enough to book before a weekend when I knew the weather was going to be good.  There are couple of operators that do the cruise, but DeAnna and I went with Adventure Bound.  We took the boat Captain Cook, which sat about 50 folks.  The trip is all day long, departing at 8am and returning at 6pm.  It took about 2 hours to get through Gastineau Channel and Stephen's Passage, and another 2 hours through Tracy Arm Fjord to Sawyer Glacier.  If you think the ride through the channel is pretty, the ride through the fjord is even better.  The scenery is very beautiful and waterfalls are everywhere.  The boat also slows for any wildlife sightings, icebergs, and also gives passengers close up views of some of the larger waterfalls.  The boat also stayed at the Sawyer Glacier a long time waiting for some calving. We saw some small ones but no huge ones.  We had a pretty good views of wildlife on this trip, too.  First we saw a brown bear, then a lot of harbor seals near the glacier, and then some whales on our way back to Juneau.  I highly recommend this trip, but only on good weather days.  It'd be a bit of a shame if you had to sit in the cabin most of the cruise because of poor weather.  You'd also miss out on the beautiful views of the fjord, which is the main purpose of going on this trip. 

Why Take A Cruise?

Majority of the people I know who have visited Alaska came on a cruise.  A popular route is one that takes you through all the towns in the Inside Passage - Ketchikan, Petersburg, Juneau, Haines, etc.  Another route probably takes you all the way up to Anchorage.  What I really don't understand though, is why it is so popular.  I get that Alaska is a hard place to get to, and you can't exactly drive from town to town in the Inside Passage since there aren't roads connecting them.  However, I hear that you only get a few hours to maybe 12 hours max in a port.  How much can you really do in that timeframe? 

In Juneau alone there is so much to do - hiking, kayaking, boat tours, heli tours, glacier tours, wildlife watching, and fishing.  There's no way a 12 hour day lets you explore all the greatness Juneau has to offer.  Why not just fly here and hang out out.  Or, if you really want to port hop, take the ferry.  It won't have all the entertainment you get on a cruise ship, but why do you have to go gambling, dancing, bowling, movie watching, swimming, on a cruise ship?  If you want to gamble or party, go to Las Vegas.  If you want to swim, go to a beach resort.  If you want to watch a movie or bowl, you can do that back home on a weekend. 

Maybe people think they are getting the best of both worlds - entertainment on the boats, and sightseeing in the ports.  What I hope people aren't doing though, is getting on a cruise ship because that's what they hear is the "thing to do".  The cruise ship industry is huge in Alaska, and it creates a lot of job and businesses here.  I can't complain about that, but to be fair to people visiting Alaska, I think they're getting a bum deal. 

For those people planning a trip to Alaska, I suggest skipping the cruise ships and the mad rush of getting on & off the boat at each port.  It might be nice to see all the ports, but to be honest, they're all kind of the same.  You can do just about all the same activity in each one.  So, just stick with Juneau where you have the most choices.  Fly in for about a week, and then spend a few days hiking.  After all, the whole idea of visiting Alaska is to get out in the wild.  Depending on the hike you do, you may even see some wildlife - mountain goats and bears.  Some trails take you by the beach so you may even see whales and seals.  There are many places to go birdwatching, too. 

In addition to hiking, spend a day (or more) fishing.  If you're going to fish anywhere, Alaska, home of America's largest fisheries, is it.  Then spend a day at Mendenhall Glacier.  Then take a day tour of Tracy Arms Fjords.  You can spend another day on a kayak tour, or another day on a glacier trek tour. 

If you have more then a week, you could spend a week getting from Anchorage to Fairbanks, while stopping in Denali along the way.  Or you can visit some of the other near by towns, like Haines or Sitka, on the ferry.  You can also drive from Skagway, which is a 6.5 hours ferry ride from Juneau, up to Whitehorse, YT.  From Juneau, you can also easily get to Glacier Bay National Park for a 2-3 day get away.

Coming to Alaska on a cruise is probably better than not coming at all, but if you haven't planned your Alaska trip yet, skip the party boat and enjoy your time in Alaska.