One of Alaska's Most Iconic Cruise Stops Is Off-Limits This Season — Here's Why
A massive landslide and glacier-triggered tsunami in August 2025 has made Tracy Arm Fjord too dangerous for cruise ships. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Holland America have all quietly pulled the destination from their 2026 Alaska itineraries.
For decades, Tracy Arm Fjord has been one of the undisputed highlights of any Alaska cruise itinerary. The narrow, 30-mile-long waterway south of Juneau draws ships to within viewing distance of the twin Sawyer Glaciers — walls of ancient blue ice calving directly into the sea, surrounded by sheer granite cliffs that make the passage feel like sailing through another world.
This season, those ships won’t be going in.
As reported by Alaska Public Media, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Holland America Line have all removed Tracy Arm Fjord from their 2026 Alaska sailings entirely. The reason: last August, a massive glacier landslide sent debris crashing into the fjord with enough force to generate a tsunami — one that ranks among the largest recorded events in the region’s history.
What Happened in August 2025
The event occurred in August 2025, when a section of glacial material collapsed into Tracy Arm’s narrow channel. The resulting wave surge was recorded as one of the most significant tsunami events in Southeast Alaska since the infamous 1958 Lituya Bay incident — a disaster that sent a wave 1,720 feet up the opposite mountainside and remains the tallest recorded tsunami in history.
Fortunately, no cruise ships were in Tracy Arm at the time of last year’s landslide, and no deaths or injuries were reported. But the geological scar left behind raised an immediate question that scientists have been wrestling with ever since: is the fjord safe to re-enter?
The answer, at least for this cruise season, is no.
Why the Risk Hasn’t Gone Away
Royal Caribbean stated plainly that “current waterway conditions are not suitable for cruise ship navigation in Tracy Arm Fjord,” citing guest safety as their top priority. But the concern goes beyond whatever happened in August — it’s what could still happen that worries experts.
Alaska state seismologist Mike West put it bluntly: “The earth is getting used to its new arrangement.” The exposed landslide scar on the fjord wall continues to shift, and continued rockfall and small-scale sliding from the unstable face remain likely throughout 2026. In a narrow waterway like Tracy Arm — where sheer walls on both sides leave ships with limited room to maneuver — even a localized rockfall-triggered wave could be catastrophic.
What makes this particularly sobering is the admission that scientists currently lack reliable methods to quantify exactly where and when the next landslide might occur in any specific Southeast Alaska fjord. Tracy Arm is the one they know about. West cautioned that other fjords in the region may face similar, as-yet-unquantified risks — a reminder that the wilderness Alaska cruise passengers come to experience is genuinely, irreducibly wild.
Which Ships and Sailings Are Affected
The 2026 Alaska season is effectively the entire season. Three Carnival ships are impacted across the full range of departures:
- Carnival Miracle: April 27 through September 17, 2026
- Carnival Spirit: April 28 through September 15, 2026
- Carnival Luminosa: Multiple departures from April 27 through September 10, 2026
The Spirit and Miracle operate 7-night sailings from Seattle; the Luminosa runs 11-night voyages from San Francisco. Holland America and Royal Caribbean have made similar fleet-wide adjustments across their Alaska deployments.
All pre-booked Tracy Arm shore excursions will automatically be adjusted to reflect the change.
Where Ships Are Going Instead
The substitute destination is Endicott Arm, a neighboring fjord that shares much of the same dramatic character — towering walls, glacier calving, blue-green waters — without the current safety concerns. Carnival has characterized the swap as “essentially turning right instead of left upon entering the fjords,” noting that Endicott Arm offers “equally breathtaking scenery.” The Dawes Glacier, which anchors the Endicott Arm experience, is legitimately spectacular and gives photographers and first-time visitors much of what they came to Alaska hoping to see.
The broader port lineup remains intact: Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau, Victoria, and Prince Rupert all stay on the itinerary. The change is specific to the scenic fjord cruising component.
What This Means for Alaska Cruise Passengers
For guests who specifically booked their Alaska cruise for a Tracy Arm experience, this is a genuine disappointment — and it’s worth knowing before you sail rather than after you’ve already departed Seattle. The fjord is one of those rare cruise experiences that lives up to its reputation, and its absence from this year’s itineraries is noticeable.
That said, Endicott Arm is not a consolation prize. Passengers who’ve sailed both often describe the two as comparably stunning, and the Dawes Glacier is arguably more active and accessible than the Sawyer Glaciers in a typical Tracy Arm visit.
The deeper story here is about what Alaska cruising actually is: an encounter with a landscape that operates on geological timescales, one where rivers of ice are actively reshaping the terrain beneath them. What happened in Tracy Arm last August wasn’t an anomaly imposed on the wilderness — it was the wilderness, behaving exactly as it always has. The cruise lines made the right call. Getting close to that kind of power is what makes Alaska unforgettable. Getting too close is what makes it dangerous.