JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — For years, a popular part of many Southeast Alaska cruises has been cruising Tracy Arm, a long, narrow fjord marked by steep mountains, glistening waterfalls and calving glaciers.
But this season, major cruise lines are giving it up. A large landslide last summer dropped parts of the glacier into the water, generating a tsunami and pushing waves up the opposite mountain wall. Many companies opted out of safety concerns with the still dangerous slopes.
“Tracy Arm is a majestic princess, you know, she’s the queen of the fjords,” said travel agent Nate Vallier.
The destination cruise and tour companies have chosen as an alternative — nearby Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier — “is still beautiful in any way, but it’s not the same,” he said.
Tracy Arm, southeast of Juneau, is a nearly 30-mile (50-kilometer) fjord with two tidal glaciers – North and South Sawyer – and wildlife including seals and bears.
Early on August 10, 2025, near the head of the fjord, a landslide originating on the upper slopes of South Sawyer’s Foot sent a quarter-mile (more than half a kilometer) slide up the opposite mountain wall and out into Tracy Arm.
No ships were in the fjord, officials said, and no deaths or injuries were reported. But the kayakers camped on an island where the Tracy and Endicott weapons were assembled after much of their gear was washed away by the rushing water.
Southeast Alaska, largely surrounded by temperate rainforest, is no stranger to landslides. And although the fjord network in the Tracy Arm region has long been known to be vulnerable, the failed slope was not identified as an active threat before last summer’s fall, said Gabriel Wolken, manager of the state’s climate and ice risk program.
Scientists are working to understand not only what caused the slope to collapse, but what other threats the fjord may have, he said.
The area remains unstable, said Steven Sobieszczyk, a spokesman for the US Geological Survey. Steep landslide areas continue to change for years after the initial slide, he said via email.
“Continued rock falls and small-scale sliding from exposed landslides are expected and may affect water, potentially causing local tsunamis in the future,” he said.
Major cruise lines, including Holland America, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean, said in response to inquiries from The Associated Press that they are replacing Tracy Arm visits with Endicott Arm. MSC Cruises, Virgin Voyages and regional tour company Allen Marine are also serving Endicott and Dawes Glacier instead. Norwegian Cruise Line said it does not sail the Tracy Arm.
Endicott has already stopped for some ships and alternates when conditions in Tracy Arm, such as excess ice, are unsafe.
Vallier, owner of the Alaska Travel Desk, said he would like cruise companies to give passengers more advance notice of itinerary changes.
After leaving Seattle, the first ships of the season will arrive in Ketchikan on April 21 and in Juneau the following week.
Seeing a glacier — especially a moving, calving glacier — is a bucket-list item for many tourists, and that’s what makes Tracy Arm so popular, he said. While Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier is a major attraction for the capital city and cruise port, many visitors see it from across the Great Lakes, and it has receded or completely receded from view from some hiking overlooks.
Kimberly Lebeda of Wichita, Kansas, was excited when she booked tickets for her family to visit Tracy Arm last year. Lebeda, who researches the areas she visits, said she was sold on the scenery.
But the night before the stop, they were told that because of the ice on Tracy Arm, they would go up Endicott instead. Her family and others who had booked the tour disembarked and boarded a small boat with glass windows, ample seating and snacks. They saw ice flows from the Dawes Glacier, waterfalls and “ice walls” with imprints on the calf, she said.
He called it “an amazing thing to witness”.
“Was it worth it? Yes, because I don’t know if I’ll ever make that trip again,” she said. “Again, I’ve never been to Tracy Arm so I can’t really compare. But for me, was it worth it and was it exciting? Absolutely.”
