We're trying to book our cruise. There is a $250 difference per person between 2 ships one says Tracy Arm, one says inside passage. I seem to see most people choosing inside passage, what's the difference.
Thanks all

Hello CJO, and welcome to cruise-chat;

Tracy Arm is not an alternative itinerary to the Inside Passage; it is another place to view glaciers besides Glacier Bay.

There are basically two types of Alaskan itineraries: Inside Passage, which go round trip from Seattle, Vancouver or San Francisco; and those that cross the Bay of Alaska, either Northbound (usually Vancouver to Anchorage) or Southbound (the reverse).

Some visit Tracy Arm; others, Glacier Bay.

So there is some other factor in the price difference.

Prices for Alaska can vary greatly according to date-even on the same ship.

If you could give us some more information, ship, date, itinerary, I'm sure we can help you sort it all out.

Rick

Thanks for your reply Rick. I see you posting a lot here. We were looking at cruising 6/14-21 on either Golden Princess or Norwegian Star with the following itineraries. Thanks for your help.

Chris

ITINERARY

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART
Sat Jun 14 Seattle, WA 4:00pm
Sun Jun 15 At Sea
Mon Jun 16 Juneau, AK Noon 10:00pm
Tue Jun 17 Skagway, AK 6:00am 8:00pm
Wed Jun 18 Tracy Arm (Cruising) 8:00am 1:00pm
Thu Jun 19 Ketchikan, AK 6:00am 12:30pm
Fri Jun 20 Victoria, Canada 7:00pm 11:59pm
Sat Jun 21 Seattle, WA 7:00am

or

ITINERARY

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART
Sat Jun 14 Seattle, WA 4:00pm
Sun Jun 15 Inside Passage (Cruising)
Mon Jun 16 Ketchikan, AK 7:00am 3:00pm
Tue Jun 17 Juneau, AK 7:00am 1:30pm
Tue Jun 17 Sawyer Glacier (Cruising)
Wed Jun 18 Skagway, AK 7:00am 5:00pm
Thu Jun 19 Prince Rupert, Canada 4:00pm 10:00pm
Fri Jun 20 At Sea
Sat Jun 21 Seattle, WA 8:00am

quote:

Golden Princess

Hi CJO and Welcome to Cruise Chat.
The only differences in the Cruise is the Foreign Port. One is Victoria, the other is Prince Rupert.
Sawyer Glacier is in Tracy's Arm.
I have not been to Prince Rupert, but Victoria is beautiful that time of year.
Have fun and enjoy your cruise.

By the Way Hal does a 7 day cruise out of Vancouver. While it does not list Tracy's Arm on the itinernary it goes there and to Glacier Bay. We did that Cruise Last year on the Zaandam. We have also done on from Seattle on the Princess Sun. I think the HAL Cruise was a better deal. You will enjoy either of them.

Tough choice; both great ships and good itineraries. I guess it's no secret here that I'm a Princess fan. But I have a couple of good friends whose judgment I trust tell me they loved Norwegian Star. And it looked very nice from their photos.

I think Victoria is a much better choice than Prince Rupert. And the Princess itinerary gives you more time in Juneau and Skagway. So I would have to say I prefer the Princess itinerary.

I have absolutely nothing against NCL or Noregian Star, but after 30+ years of satisfaction with Princess, I think you know which ship I recommend. My wife was on Golden Princess recently and said everything was as great as it has always been.

So either ship will give you a wonderful cruise, but I see some definite advantages in the Princess itinerary.

Hope this helps a little. Please stay in touch and let us know what you decide; or we're here if you have any more questions.

Rick

quote:

Originally posted by f-mattox:
And the Princess itinerary gives you more time in Juneau and Skagway. So I would have to say I prefer the Princess itinerary.

I agree. Also, because Itinerary #2 leaves most of the Alaskan ports relatively early, you'll need to wake up very early to get the most out of your visits. The only exception is Ketchikan. What are some of your plans for the ports?

And, welcome to cruise-chat.com!

Thanks to you all for the info. It is our 25th anniversary and the same for a couple were going with. It all looks so fun (and expensive) but it might be the only time we get there. We'll definitely do the White Pass Railroad, the rest is up in the air. My wife wants to helicopter and dog sled, I'd like to fish. The zip line and kayaking sound like fun. Of course we'll be taking a million pics, I talked my wife into buying a new Cannon digital camera as the lenses from our 35mm will fit it. Seeing our itinerary if any of you have suggestions that fit in well with port times all info. will be greatly appreciated. BTW after hearing from you I'm sure we'll be doing itinerary 1 on the Golden Princess.
Thanks
Chris

CJO, Tracy Arm Fjord is beautiful, but it is not a glacier, it was about 800 years ago. Here is a picture of it from a year ago:


I highly recommend the helicopter/dogsled tour. It is an amazing tour and worth every penny. As I mentioned in another post in the Alaska thread, we did the ERA helicopter/dogsled tour. Unlike other dogsled tours, this one you actually get to ride on a dogsled for about 45 minutes on top of a glacier. It was the most memorable tour I have ever taken.

quote:

Originally posted by CJO:
Thanks to you all for the info. It is our 25th anniversary and the same for a couple were going with. It all looks so fun (and expensive) but it might be the only time we get there. We'll definitely do the White Pass Railroad, the rest is up in the air. My wife wants to helicopter and dog sled, I'd like to fish. The zip line and kayaking sound like fun. Of course we'll be taking a million pics, I talked my wife into buying a new Cannon digital camera as the lenses from our 35mm will fit it. Seeing our itinerary if any of you have suggestions that fit in well with port times all info. will be greatly appreciated. BTW after hearing from you I'm sure we'll be doing itinerary 1 on the Golden Princess.
Thanks
Chris

Now you are talking, Canon is my camera of choice. I am sure you checked it out but not all 35mm lens will fit digital cameras. You will probably need an "EF" lens. Also you will probably lose a little in focal length. Most digital camera are cropped sensors. In Canon that means 1.6 cropped. That means if you have a 24mm lens it will be a 38-39mm on a cropped sensor.
Take lots of storage and take lots of photos they are cheap.
BTW which Canon did you get?

Been busy here but we bought a Cannon XTI 10.1 megapixel and we did have the EF lenses from the other camera. I'm having trouble convincing myself the helicopter/dogsled tour is worth it, were paying $655 ea. for our cruise and Princess wants $539 ea. for this 1 tour, the numbers aren't adding up. Any advice

quote:

Originally posted by GirlieGirl:
CJO, Tracy Arm Fjord is beautiful, but it is not a glacier, it was about 800 years ago....

Tracy Arm Fjord actually has 3 glaciers visible while cruising. Sumdum Glacier, right at the entrance to Holkam Bay, and the twin halves of Sawyer Glacier at the very head of the fjord. Just past where your picture was taken, the excursion boats take a left turn, then a right, and you're looking at both Sawyer glaciers (if it's not foggy.)

Personally, I don't like cruising Tracy Arm on a large ship... small boat excursions that can get "up close and personal" with the ice (and bears, goats, sea birds, seals, etc.) are always my choice. When my friends and family choose a cruise itinerary, I always try to steer them toward the itinerary that gives at least 10 or 11 hours in Juneau to allow for one of two excursions into Tracy Arm. Heck... the weather is so nice this week, and I'm all excited talking about Tracy Arm, I think I'll go visit right now! (Definitely a "perk" of being local!)

Happy Alaska Travels!
-Case