Tracy Arm excursion - with kids?

[AAAG]

Hello,
We are on the Aug 15th Alaskan cruise - DH and I, and our 2 kids aged 4 and 6. Right now we are all booked to go on the Tracy Arm excursion (hoping we actually make it to Tracy Arm!)

Has anyone taken kids this young on this excursion? Or did anyone notice other people's kids around that age on the excursion? Were they interested, or bored? Was it worth the high cost to bring them?

Just trying to decide whether we should all go, or just DH and I. On past cruises we have always done every excursion as a family, and ideally i'd like us all to do it, but if my kids are going to be bored and whining, I'd rather save the money.

Thanks!

 

[AAAG]

Bumping.... Anyone off the Wonder today do The Tracy Arm Glacier Explorer excursion with kids? Or did anyone see any kids on this excursion?
Thanks!

 

[anricat]

Here's a recent thread about the excursion: http://www.disboards.com/threads/tracey-arm-fjord-and-glacier-adventure.3507884/

The search probably didn't catch it for you because the OP spelled "Tracy" incorrectly, which is too bad because there are quite a few little reviews of it in there.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I'm bumping this old thread up because I'm wondering if anyone who went last summer can offer their opinion. Our kids will be 7 and almost 3 on our trip, and I feel like this excursion could be great or it could be a disaster, 3 hours trapped on a small boat with whiny bored kids. My instinct is that it be better to let them hang out in the room/kids club/nursery while we adults just sit on our starboard verandah with coffees enjoying the views, then grab them for lunch and photo ops with the characters. I know I'll feel FOMO when I see the smaller boat getting up closer to the glacier face, but it's probably the smart call not to book it, right? If you took young kids, I would love to hear how it went! (Cost is not a huge factor because we will have some OBC to burn as we're booking most of our port excursions directly with vendors)

 

[Snowwhyt]

I recommend that adults take the cruise. But so many of the children were playing by the snack bar below, on the stairs, and sitting on the ground near their chairs with toys their parents brought or some from the little basket that was provided with books for the children to read.
I recommend that you take the first excursion and give your children all the information that they can tolerate on your return trip from the glacier. You will have plenty of time to pick up the kids to see the glacier as a family once you get back on the ship.
There’s a test parents can give their children to see if they would enjoy the experience, set them in front of any hour long wilderness bird show on National Geographic and see how long they are entertained.
My daughter was 16 and could have done it at age 11. But she also chooses to spend hours at a museum reading all the descriptions from the different exhibits.

 

[jetskigrl]

I'm bumping this old thread up because I'm wondering if anyone who went last summer can offer their opinion. Our kids will be 7 and almost 3 on our trip, and I feel like this excursion could be great or it could be a disaster, 3 hours trapped on a small boat with whiny bored kids. My instinct is that it be better to let them hang out in the room/kids club/nursery while we adults just sit on our starboard verandah with coffees enjoying the views, then grab them for lunch and photo ops with the characters. I know I'll feel FOMO when I see the smaller boat getting up closer to the glacier face, but it's probably the smart call not to book it, right? If you took young kids, I would love to hear how it went! (Cost is not a huge factor because we will have some OBC to burn as we're booking most of our port excursions directly with vendors)

I would think the 7 year old would be fine but the almost 3 year old would make it harder on you. What they did on ours (can't guarantee if the same boats would be used this year though) is most people would stay inside while the boat was moving but then when they would stop, the boat operators would open the top deck and everyone would come outside to see what was happening. So it could be a good amount of time having the keep the younger one busy inside with a lot of other people around or else walking around in the cold outside. Then when you stopped, it would be a rush outside again to find a spot to view from and having to watch the child carefully if you go up to the top deck. I don't see the younger one enjoying it and it may distract you from enjoying it if you have to try to keep the 3 year old entertained.

That said, I went with my DD (19 at the time) and we loved this excursion. We were bundled up so we just stayed outside the whole time. That put us right along the railing when we pulled up next to a group of whales and saw one breech right next to the boat. The excursion operators were great at giving us plenty of time to see things and the other guests were also great, moving around and letting other people get better views, helping with pictures, etc. But some of the best parts were the wildlife sightings that you needed to be paying attention to see. I'm not sure you would get your moneys worth if you miss some of the things while taking care of the younger child.

 

[ironz]

I'm bumping this old thread up because I'm wondering if anyone who went last summer can offer their opinion. Our kids will be 7 and almost 3 on our trip, and I feel like this excursion could be great or it could be a disaster, 3 hours trapped on a small boat with whiny bored kids. My instinct is that it be better to let them hang out in the room/kids club/nursery while we adults just sit on our starboard verandah with coffees enjoying the views, then grab them for lunch and photo ops with the characters. I know I'll feel FOMO when I see the smaller boat getting up closer to the glacier face, but it's probably the smart call not to book it, right? If you took young kids, I would love to hear how it went! (Cost is not a huge factor because we will have some OBC to burn as we're booking most of our port excursions directly with vendors)

I totally understand your FOMO. I had it, too, and yes, we did the excursion and it was very good.
However, I agree with @Snowwhyt (more below)

I recommend that adults take the cruise. But so many of the children were playing by the snack bar below, on the stairs, and sitting on the ground near their chairs with toys their parents brought or some from the little basket that was provided with books for the children to read.
I recommend that you take the first excursion and give your children all the information that they can tolerate on your return trip from the glacier. You will have plenty of time to pick up the kids to see the glacier as a family once you get back on the ship.
There’s a test parents can give their children to see if they would enjoy the experience, set them in front of any hour long wilderness bird show on National Geographic and see how long they are entertained.
My daughter was 16 and could have done it at age 11. But she also chooses to spend hours at a museum reading all the descriptions from the different exhibits.

^^^ Totally agree with this!
The 7 y/o might do ok, but I can't see that the 3 y/o is going to get much, if any out of it. Sure, you might get some different photos than you might on the ship, but for $185 per kid?? yikes.
I wrote a bit about our experience in my trip report: https://www.disboards.com/threads/k...a-cruise-on-the-wonder-complete-7-14.3609815/
Basically, I was happy we did the excursion. I know I would have been pining to be on the small boat seeing it from the Wonder. We got some great photos and some nice views of the glacier. And-- we also had great views of the glacier from back on the Wonder! But we saw some kids (really, not too many little ones, that I recall) who were probably quite bored. Sure, it's fun for a while, but after 3 hours and there is nowhere to go run around, play, get off that boat, I don't think I would fork over nearly $200/kid for it. That's more than a day at WDW!
Now, there were some teens/tweens that I think mostly enjoyed it. I remember one girl who was maybe 10-12, who had a camera and was really out and about getting photos. She looked like she was totally into it.
But, yeah, if your kids can't sit through an hour nature special, they might not love 3 hours on the excursion boat, when the alternative is playing in the kids' club, seeing characters, watching a movie, taking in the glacier views in smaller segments of time...

We're 2 adults, so I didn't have to face your dilemma. I just checked the current prices and it's $260/adult, $185/child. I couldn't stomach paying that to have my kids telling me that they were bored.
I'd probably do like @Snowwhyt said, and book the adults on the excursion and put the kids in the club, then go enjoy the glacier and characters with the kids when you get back on the Wonder-- you'll still have another hour to hour and a half before the ship starts leaving the channel.

​

 

[ironz]

That said, I went with my DD (19 at the time) and we loved this excursion. We were bundled up so we just stayed outside the whole time. That put us right along the railing when we pulled up next to a group of whales and saw one breech right next to the boat. The excursion operators were great at giving us plenty of time to see things and the other guests were also great, moving around and letting other people get better views, helping with pictures, etc. But some of the best parts were the wildlife sightings that you needed to be paying attention to see. I'm not sure you would get your moneys worth if you miss some of the things while taking care of the younger child.

We did the same-- we were outside almost the entire time. It was chilly and windy! No whales for us, though.
And really, it seemed like the glacier itself was more active when we were back on the Wonder. Saw a few calvings from the excursion boat, but seemed like more from the Wonder.

It's a great excursion, and like I said, I'm glad we did it, but if we hadn't, it certainly would not have made our overall fantastic cruise experience any less wonderful!

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

We did this excursion and loved it. We saw a good number of kids on our excursion. I think their enjoyment is based on if the child enjoys nature. Do your kids sit glued to the TV for an hour watching nature documentaries? If so they may enjoy this. We saw kids doing everything from looking out the window, standing up staring at the glacier, to playing on the floor, to reading a book. It's a ton of sight seeing. Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely stunning. We got an inside cabin, and did this, and it was completely worth the cost (way less than a verandah room would have been!). We loved getting up close to the glacier. We did Endicot Arm, and I've heard for this tour, it's even better than Tracy Arm because they can get the boats closer (no idea if thats true, just what I've heard). We did get very close though. If you want to check out our photos you can see them here http://frequentlyaskeddisneyblog.com/disney-cruise-alaska-part-23/ .
As a side note, I don't know if Disney would just let you leave the kids on the ship on the kids club while you bail the ship for an excursion? I would defiantly check into this if this is your plan. If the plan is to leave them on the ship with another friend/family member then maybe. You are gone for several hours and Disney would need to be able to contact you in an emergency which they would not be able to do with you rather far away on a tiny ship!
I would do this Port Adventure again in a heartbeat but not sure about your kids enjoying it.

 

[Travel60]

I have never been on this excursion but having recently taken an excursion where we were enclosed for a significant amount of time, I'd say NO. There were 3-4 small children who made their parents and everyone else miserable. They were bored, I get it. I have grandkids, kids get whiney when they are bored and enclosed. But, the rest of the people also paid for the excursion and it would have been nice to hear what the folks were saying. I'm sure I'll get ranted for these views but they we're shared by many on the excursion.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Thanks for all the replies! I think we'll skip this one and stay on the ship with the kiddos. (Even if they allowed us to go off-ship, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that especially with my little one). We're planning a whale-watching excursion in Juneau on a small boat that someone here recommended, so we'll get to see whales then. I don't want to ruin a pricey excursion for everyone else on the boat, and I don't think my little one will enjoy it. I can see the big one getting really into taking photos since he loves his camera, but he will have just as much fun in the kids club. Since we're paying out the nose for a verandah, might as well use it! And with the OBC we save we can just book a brunch at Palo that day instead maybe!

 

[Shanti]

...having recently taken an excursion where we were enclosed for a significant amount of time, I'd say NO. There were 3-4 small children who made their parents and everyone else miserable. They were bored, I get it...But, the rest of the people also paid for the excursion and it would have been nice to hear what the folks were saying.

Agreed.