UPDATE:  Two travel agencies love to share all my info – since I actually LIVE up in Alaska – and pass it off on their own.   La Promenade Travel of  Bayou Cane, Louisiana and Ahoy Cruises – Tony Palmiotto are the two latest culprits.

Last August, towards the end of our cruise season, we had an earthquake in Southeast Alaska that gave us a bit of a shake in Juneau. Being along the “Ring of Fire”, little rattlers are nothing new to us. But later on in the day, we heard some devastating news: a landslide occurred near the face of the South Sawyer Glacier in Tracy Arm that caused a 50+ foot high tsunami and almost killed a handful of camping kayakers. News was still sparce and the internet, in all its glory, was ablaze with extreme news – and we didn’t know who or what to believe.

Tracy Arm has long been one of our top attractions from Juneau – its about a 3 hour trip by boat into the fjords, with 3,000 foot peaks surrounding you with this calm water that’s home to pup seals, and 2 amazing glaciers at the end. It was a very popular trip for tourists and some cruise lines would even cruise the fjord, up to Sawyer Island and then perform orbits (although in recent years, you couldn’t really see much of the glaciers, however Allen Marine would be hired by the ships to offer an up-close boat ride). The Park Service allows only 2 ships a day to enter Endicott/Tracy Arm and weather would normally dictate which fjord you enter, while Tracy Arm is the prettier and more spectacular, its also the most dangerous since it is also the more narrow of the two.

However, Endicott Arm allows ships to get pretty close to the Dawes Glacier without the need of a tour boat and still give guests a great experience.

In early September, we finally got to see arial photos from the damage caused and most of our hearts sank, realizing that the wave was a LOT larger than we expected.

The US Geological Society posted their findings HERE, along with pictures and some diagrams of the landslide and how it affected the channel.

The wave completely engulfed Sawyer Island and wiped out almost all the nature & wildlife along the fjord for about 15 miles.  

It looks like our beautiful fjord was wiped out.

The above map shows where the cruise ships would stop and orbit in comparison to the glacier.  Allen Marine’s boats would pull alongside the cruise ships and take guests (paid excursion) up close to the face, normally about 500 to 1,000 feet away in hopes of capturing a calving or seeing pup seals.

Last November, we were told by the local authorities that ships wouldn’t be allowed into Tracy Arm and they were still awaiting a decision on True Alaskan Tours / Allen Marine’s operations for day trips from town.   They were also asking local boaters to avoid going too far in until all the assements have been completed.

Sadly, many of the cruise lines have just NOW opted to notify travelers that Tracy Arm is going to be replaced with Dawes Glacier / Endicott Arm.   This also does not require any changes to your ship’s itineraries or times – your ship will still enter Endicott/Tracy Arm at its assigned time & leave, with Juneau typically being the next stop (for morning transitions).   Afternoon cruisers will typically start their day in Juneau and leave at noon, arriving at the entrance around 2:30/3:00PM and cruise the fjord for about 4 hours.

The good news is this means your ship can get closer to the glacier than you would in Tracy Arm, but sadly the journey is not quite as scenic.  Most ships will perform 3 or 4 orbits, or circles, in front of the face of the glacier giving everyone a fantastic view.

Hopefully in 2027 ships will be allowed back in Tracy Arm.

But, there’s one more thing to take note of… because of the closure of Tracy Arm (or inability for larger cruise ships to get up close to Sawyer Island), it seems there is going to be a bit of a traffic jam inside Endicott Arm.   Based on the cruise line scheduling, it won’t be as pristine as expected.   In living in Alaska since 2009, I don’t think I’ve EVER seen this many ships on the calendar for Endicott/Tracy Arm before.

The schedule hasn’t been updated since February, however we’ve all known in Southeast that TA wasn’t going to be available (I even sent notifications to my MSC exec friends in Ft Lauderdale in early November).    Glacier Bay, for instance, has a 2 big-ship limit per day and its rare you see the other ship in there, however Endicott, even though its wider and can accommodate more, means there won’t be as much time spent orbiting in front of Dawes.

But hey, welcome to Alaska, where nothing’s very consistent – including our weather!