Glacier Bay National Park

Our day started early.

This morning, we had guests from the National Park Service on board to share their knowledge about Glacier Bay National Park.

With the emphasis on the Margerie Glacier, different forward levels of the ship were open. We started outside of this area, and then moved inside to the crow’s nest.

We were a part of a large crowd of early risers. Three pieces of information were shared—a short introduction of our guests, the plan for viewing the Margerie Glacier, and tips for spotting wildlife.

From here, we left for breakfast and plotted out glacier viewing strategy.

When we returned to the viewing area, my Commander Supreme opted to join a long line for the pop-up National Park Service Store. The outside air was colder this morning, so I went back to the room to add an extra layer of clothing.

We reconnected on the front edge of one of the forward decks. This was a good viewing spot to see the glacier and to hear the ranger’s commentary.

According to the National Park Service, the Margerie Glacier is twenty-one miles long. That length is traced back into the Fairweather Range where some of the elevations peak out at 9000 feet.

Additionally, the glacier is 0.85 miles wide. Its ice face towers at 200 feet above the water.

The ship’s Captain and his crew are to be credited for positioning the ship for a full viewing experience of the glacier. This included careful navigation through an ice field as the ship moved toward the glacier.

Eventually, we worked our way back to our room. We sat out on the balcony and continued to view the glacier. This included the excitement of large sections of the glacier tumbling into the bay.

The morning morphed into lunch time and a trek into the overly crowded Lido dining room—asparagus soup and a grilled pear and brie cheese sandwich hit the spot.

After lunch, we attended a lecture by the ranger and a local indigenous people representative. Each presenter conveyed their areas of expertise with lots of passion.

From the lecture, Betsy, Dan, and I walked to deck three, the designated walking deck. Here we had the opportunity to interact with the Park Ranger.

To our surprise, we also had multiple opportunities to see whales spouting. The whales were feeding close to shore. This included a few tail flops from whales huddling close to the surface.

The cutest view was when a sea otter on its back came surfing by the ship with an infant resting comfortably on the mother’s stomach. Neither appeared to have a care in the world.

After walking, Betsy and Dan played pickle ball on one of the decks with some likeminded passengers.

For dinner, we had signed up for a special treat—a seafood boil. At $35.00 a piece, we had a blast.

We started with a delicious bowl of clam chowder.

This was followed by each of us receiving our own kettle of seafood.

Inside the kettle in a delicious broth were clams, mussels, shrimp, Dungeness crab legs, salmon, corn, potatoes, and a perfectly seasoned small loaf of crusty bread. The bread was perfect for sopping up the broth.

From the staff, we were given bibs, and small bowls for washing our fingertips. We had lots of fun— that included interacting with and asking questions about the logistics of this meal with the staff.

Not that we had room, but dessert was a berry crumb with vanilla ice cream.

After dinner, we needed air and exercise, so we walked the deck.

We came back inside for an outstanding performance of Broadway songs and more trivia. With the trivia, we finished in a three way tie. In the tie breaker, our answer was off by one year.

Next, we took in a set with the ship’s house band.

By now, sleep was calling us, but we didn’t collapse right away.

Sitting on our balcony, a couple of whales teased us, and we were treated to a colorful sunset.

Saturday would bring another day of travel on the open waters with a final look at glaciers in the College Fjord.

Whittier was our destination, the point where we would leave the ship for the land part of our journey.

In truth, I rarely thought about the Fourth Of July today.

I’m not a huge fan of fireworks, but the reality is that Alaska’s beauty and wonder were our fireworks.

This is a precious place.