Alaska Cruises are a main bucket list item for many people who love to cruise. The area’s natural beauty and the vast amount of wildlife you encounter top the list for people if they have been on a cruise or not! During most cruises, there is a day when you visit a Fjord ( a long narrow passageway created by icebergs) to see an iceberg up close. On a recent cruise with Carnival, we went into the Tracy Arm Fjord and were given the opportunity for the one and only excursion on this destination, where you get off the cruise ship onto a smaller boat and head into the fjords. I wanted to share my experience and let you know if this is worth it.
First off, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. When talking to most people, there are 2 main reasons why they said they would never do this excursion. The first reason is the cost. The cost for this was 170 a person for a 3-hour tour. Secondly, they said, “you see the same stuff you see from the boats on this tour”.
Cost: I won’t lie, 170 a person for an excursion you cannot get off the boat in the middle of nowhere seemed kind of steep to me at first until you learn about Alaskan Cruises. Activities in Alaska are more expensive for excursions than any other location I have ever been to for one reason, the short season! The Alaskan Cruise season lasts from the end of April until October, which doesn’t give many chances to get on this once-in-a-lifetime cruise.
Next, let’s talk about the second point. I was on 3 different cruises this year alone to Alaska, and I have now experienced getting off and staying on board for the Tracy Arm Fjord Excursion. I will say that getting off the boat was FAR more enjoyable than staying on the boat! When you get onto these smaller vessels, you have the chance to get closer to nature than staying on a huge cruise ship. We got under waterfalls, followed a pod of Orca Whales, and were able to get right up to the Glacier that the ship couldn’t get near due to icebergs.
The boats we were on gave us some great spaces to see things inside and outside the cabin, had a bar and snacks onboard, and even pulled out chunks of the icebergs floating by for us to hold and even used some to make margaritas! Let’s be real, yes it may be a first-world problem, but how cool is it to have a million-year-old ice chunk chill your tequila?
I treated Alaska as a bucket list item like most do. If you go, wouldn’t you rather enjoy it than regret not doing something later due to the money? The excursion into Tracy Arm Fjord on your cruise is defiantly one of those things I suggest you must do!
Jason Mayhew
My name is Jason Mayhew, and I am the owner of OFF On The Go. When not traveling with the website, I own my own marketing and PR company, J Mayhew Marketing. I have the best job where I get to travel the world and showcase the most amazing and unique experiences!
