Day four of our cruise was cruising Glacier Bay. There is no other word to describe this day than MAGICAL. And it truly was. It was something I have never experienced in my life....a day like no other. The day itself started off with almost a misty fog. It was cold, that's for sure. It's Alaska! We were absolutely prepared for the weather (pretty easy when you come from Idaho). Others were not as prepared - slippers and a light hoodie? I knew this day was going to be difficult from a photography aspect and trying to find the "perfect" spot to see everything we were going to see. Turns out, I was totally wrong! Most of the people were watching from inside the ship - fair-weather fans, I suppose. Their loss. In my opinion, experiencing the views and glaciers as you should experience them should be out in the elements.
We started out in a sheltered area of one of the top decks - in the outside seating section of the American Diner. I know it seems like a strange place to watch, but it was out of the rain and they had these massive sliding windows you could open for a great view of the mountains as we cruised by. We saw several mountain goats (the mist made for terrible pictures) clear up on the side of some very steep terrain. It was that wonderful muted silence you only get when standing out in the snow - the ship slipping silently through the waters as we watched, passing the binoculars back and forth. There were four other people with us, and we all took turns pointing out various things to see.
There were several Park Rangers on the ship for this day of cruising, and they had running commentary over the ship PA system. At one point, they mentioned a glacier off to the opposite side of the ship, so we ventured away from the protected shelter and out into the rain. The views were absolutely stunning. The blue hues of the ice were amazing. We had seen several glaciers in Banff a few years back, so we knew about the coloring and the process of the glaciers. Still, seeing them this close was jaw-dropping. We noticed a few other people one deck above us, where there was almost a tent-canopy roof, so we headed up there to continue watching out of the rain.
As we got closer to some of the bigger glaciers, we knew it was time to head to the premier viewing spot. The bow of the ship on deck 8 was normally reserved for the crew only. However, during this one day of cruising, they opened up the bow for those who wanted to venture out into the truly frigid temps for super close views. And we did, of course. They were handing out hot chocolate in the viewing area, so we took advantage of that, getting some warmth to our bellies before heading out onto the open bow area. The views were staggering. We were so close to the Johns Hopkins Glacier! There were quite a few more people up in this area - we knew it would be somewhat crowded. But still, the majority of the guests on the ship stayed inside. Again, their loss! Why pass up this opportunity?!! As we were standing in the second row, part of the glacier calved into the water. I did not have my phone ready to record, so we stood and watched. The crack of the ice breaking loose sounded like a rifle crack in the mountains. And then the deep rumble as it all hit the water. It silenced the crowd for sure! It was such an amazing thing to experience. And then minutes later, it did it again, though much smaller. That one I got on video (see bottom of this post for two videos). We stood there, utterly in shock of what we were seeing. I didn't think we had a chance of seeing anything like that, but we were pleasantly surprised THREE (!!!) different times!
After being thoroughly drenched by this point, we decided to make our way through the Observation Lounge. It was totally packed with not an empty seat, so we headed back to our room to swap into some warmer, dry clothes. I stepped out onto our balcony to see where our room was in conjunction with the ship. To my surprise, the captain was turning the ship in an entire circle so each side could get views of the glacier. We ended up being even closer to the glacier from our balcony than we were on the bow of the ship! And it calved again while we stood there and watched. This time, I had the big camera ready and grabbed some shots of the ice slamming into the icy waters. What a treat! We stood out on the balcony for another hour or so while the captain spun the ship three times, taking in the enormity of the glacier.
After the ship started cruising out of Glacier Bay, we relaxed for the remainder of the day. It was almost exhausting, all that excitement! Matt headed to the gym and I managed to find an open spot in the Observation Lounge. They brought around complimentary cups of clam chowder and I read while watching the ice-laden water pass by. It was the most perfect day!
Some videos of our adventure!
https://youtu.be/NOmSmBh9nRs
https://youtu.be/C1KMu7quriw
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