Is it possible to get a good view of Tracy Arm from porthole room window?

[nicbic97]

We are going to Alaska in June and have booked a porthole room on deck 2. Can we get a good view of Tracy Arm from there or are we better off going up to deck 4, 9, or 10? Thanks!

 

[midwestpat]

We are going to Alaska in June and have booked a porthole room on deck 2. Can we get a good view of Tracy Arm from there or are we better off going up to deck 4, 9, or 10? Thanks!

I doubt it. We had a veranda last time and I went to the deck when we reached Tracy Arm so I could see the glacier better. Doubt that a porthole would let you see much - but also consider that Tracy Arm is an all day adventure. Would you really stand by the porthole all day?

BTW - the decks were VERY crowded last time, so I presume the view from porthole staterooms was not wonderful.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

We are going to Alaska in June and have booked a porthole room on deck 2. Can we get a good view of Tracy Arm from there or are we better off going up to deck 4, 9, or 10? Thanks!

Sorry IMHO, no, no way it's so massive, you will miss a heck of a lot,

Look at my links below for the photos.

Decks 4 9 10 are good but very very crowded, well they were on my cruise, and people staked out their places rather early in the day.



image by Andrew D Porter, on Flickr




image by Andrew D Porter, on Flickr



image by Andrew D Porter, on Flickr

 

[midwestpat]

Last time we had a room at the rear of deck 7. There is a little deck on the back of 7 (I think?) that I ran to when I wanted to see the glacier. I was not alone, but it was not nearly as crowded as the big decks.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Last time we had a room at the rear of deck 7. There is a little deck on the back of 7 (I think?) that I ran to when I wanted to see the glacier. I was not alone, but it was not nearly as crowded as the big decks.

Alaska Cruise Disney Wonder 2013 285 by Andrew D Porter, on Flickr

Whilst a good view the aft only had a small time at the head of Tracy arm, the best views were port side or forward.

 

[nicbic97]

Would you really stand by the porthole all day?

My point is that I don't want to stand on the deck all day waiting for the glacier. If I was in our room I could lay on the bed or sit on the couch, but it sounds like it is not a good option so I guess I will be standing around on the deck. I am very short (5ft) so I would have to be right near the edge of the deck to get a good view because I won't be able to see over other people's heads.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Would you really stand by the porthole all day?

My point is that I don't want to stand on the deck all day waiting for the glacier. If I was in our room I could lay on the bed or sit on the couch, but it sounds like it is not a good option so I guess I will be standing around on the deck. I am very short (5ft) so I would have to be right near the edge of the deck to get a good view because I won't be able to see over other people's heads.

You should be able to find somewhere, maybe not a prime site but the ship has plenty of places.

Even if people snag a place they will let you in for a quick look or for one photo.

 

[midwestpat]

Yes! That is the little deck I ran to so I could see the glacier better.

The boat turns (slowly) when it gets to the glacier at the end of Tracy Arm. Because of that, there are many good spots to see the glacier. From your porthole though, you would only see a brief view as it passes the porthole. I agree you should have no problem finding a spot along a rail to see the glacier. My daughter and I didn't run out there until we felt the boat beginning it's turn (so we knew we had reached the glacier) and there were plenty of spots open then.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Yes! That is the little deck I ran to so I could see the glacier better.

The boat turns (slowly) when it gets to the glacier at the end of Tracy Arm. Because of that, there are many good spots to see the glacier. From your porthole though, you would only see a brief view as it passes the porthole. I agree you should have no problem finding a spot along a rail to see the glacier. My daughter and I didn't run out there until we felt the boat beginning it's turn (so we knew we had reached the glacier) and there were plenty of spots open then.

They try to give everyone a good view, but forward and port have the longest views.



Holiday 2013 1533 by Andrew D Porter, on Flickr



Holiday 2013 1532 by Andrew D Porter, on Flickr

 

[lbgraves]

Would you really stand by the porthole all day?

My point is that I don't want to stand on the deck all day waiting for the glacier. If I was in our room I could lay on the bed or sit on the couch, but it sounds like it is not a good option so I guess I will be standing around on the deck. I am very short (5ft) so I would have to be right near the edge of the deck to get a good view because I won't be able to see over other people's heads.

That day is not only about THE glacier. We ended up going to Dawes Glacier in Sawyer Arm due to heavy fog at Tracy Arm. The entire journey from the mouth of the passage to the glacier is part of the experience. There are smaller glaciers along the way along with wildlife. We found the entire cruise to be a different experience than a Caribbean cruise since we were so close to land going through the inner passage.

 

[southerngirl528]

We had an Oceanview Stateroom on the Wonder last May, and spent most of the day up on deck. I found myself moving about a bit from Deck 4 to Deck 10,forward to aft, port to starboard, etc. And part of the time indoors. As said before, Tracy Arm day is about a LOT more than just the glacier, and many people saw bears at one point. (Dang! Missed them!)

Our cruise was the first of the season, and there was still a lot of ice along with seals & their pups, so we were not able to get really close to the glacier anyway, but the scenery is spectacular all day! Waterfalls, and someone spotted mountain goats up REALLY high on one of the mountains we were passing. It took me quite a while to spot them between looking through binoculars and trying to eyeball where they were. It looked to be a big family of them, and they were teeny little white specks way up there, but very cool to see with binoculars! Do NOT forget your binoculars and camera!

If you stake out a spot early in either the Outlook Cafe (adults only), or a deck chair early, you would still be able to catch much of the scenery passing by, though you would not be able to look down and spot any wildlife most likely from that vantage point.

 

[MagicMe]

The 360 degree views going up the fjords are spectacular!! You can't get that from your porthole or a verandah or even Deck 4. You will see some beautiful scenery but still make your way to Deck 10 at some point to experience the mountains all around you!

 

[mmouse37]

We spent most of our Tracy Arm day on Deck 4. Could see the mountains with ease and felt no restrictions in viewing from there. They provide blankets and we would sit on the steamer chairs and watch the world go by and then get up go to the railing, then back to the chairs, then off to get hot cocoa, then back to the railing, then through the ship to the other side. It really was a great place for viewing and was NEVER crowded...at least on our cruise. We had tons of space and our whole group had the railing whenever we wanted it without crowds. We had a great day on Deck 4 (we had an OV room but did not want to be in it, we preferred to be on Deck 4).

MJ

 

[jrabbit]

We had a deck 2 porthole room and spent all day up on deck 10 - we were looking at everything on both sides of the ship and forward and aft - so we kept moving. I would not plan on spending the day in my room even if I had a veranda.

 

[gotomu212]

We didn't really think it was that crowded. We sat on deck 9 for most of the day watching us travel up the arm. It would ebb and flow with people. Then we were at the actual glacier over an hour while they turned the ship. On our sailing there was a big rush of people and after 10 minutes folks started peeling off. We had the rail to ourselves for quite awhile. We went to our porthole room after an hour or so at the glacier to get food and we were able to watch out our window (deck 2) without a problem. This was the last sailing of the year and the glacier was calving like crazy.

For us, we moved around a lot and enjoyed the whole day, but I think for a lot of people it was only about the hour we spent next to the glacier.

 

[Weedy]

Another idea is to book Palo brunch for that morning. You will get to see the view and enjoy a great meal.

 

[jrabbit]

Another idea is to book Palo brunch for that morning. You will get to see the view and enjoy a great meal.

Only if DCL ropes off the viewing area back there, otherwise you will have a view of everyone's backsides

And I really don't remember if DCL did that way back then.

 

[amyg1]

Another vote for deck 4. It wasn't crowded at all for us. We got a nice seat while we watched the scenery. Several characters stopped by - so we got photos with the characters with the glacier in the background.

If we go again, I might push for a balcony for Tracy Arm day. But I was pretty happy relaxing on deck 4.

 

[EeyoreIsMyName]

We are going to Alaska in June and have booked a porthole room on deck 2. Can we get a good view of Tracy Arm from there or are we better off going up to deck 4, 9, or 10? Thanks!

We had a large porthole with seating and were able to see Tracy Arm quite well (see my trip report for picture taking tips!): http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3150787

The first time we went to Alaska, we sat on deck all day and FROZE! So we decided to go with the porthole. I ran down to take pictures as we cruised of waterfalls, ice floes and the glacier. I was nice and warm and could see out the porthole when I needed to go out on deck.

 

[Holly4]

We booked a verandah (Deck 8) with Tracy Arm in mind. We sat on the balcony with blankets and hot chocolate enjoying the scenery until we arrived at the glacier. Then we decided to go up to the top deck and the 360 degree view took my breath away. While we enjoyed the balcony that day, we enjoyed the view much more from the top deck. Being able to see both sides of the fjord at the same time, the icebergs, the seals, and the blue sky was amazing. I don't think you can get the full experience of the fjord and glacier from a porthole. Enjoy! I hope to go back someday.