"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 4 Scenic Cruising Glacier Bay September 26, 2017 Tuesday Partly cloudy, rain & 50 degrees Part #1 Of 2 68 Pictures

Day four of the cruise found us sailing towards Glacier Bay and the surrounding National Park and Preserve. This area alone consists of 3.2 million acres of forests, inlets, mountain peaks, and glaciers. The bay features seven tidewater glaciers, or frozen rivers of ice that reach the sea. If we're lucky, we could see a range of wildlife such as eagles, otters, seals, and whales. With the help of binoculars, it is possible to spot brown bear, moose, or mountain goat.

A small team of park rangers joined the ship to give narration during our visit today. They were available at 7am in the Crow's Nest , followed by a day of narration as the ship entered Glacier Bay. Most of the transit north into the channel was foggy with a constant drizzle. So it was a good time to catch breakfast, and watch out the window.

And just as promised, there were sightings of those mountain goats. Glad we brought the good binoculars to spot them. They also came in handy when we saw otters and seals in the channels and fjords. The only animals we did not see were bear and moose. What added to the scenery were the many shades of trees turning yellow and orange for the autumn season.

The first glacier we saw was Margerie Glacier, probably the most photographed of tidewater glaciers in Alaska. Our other guess would have been Hubbard Glacier. As cold as it was, we were able to view the sight from the comfort of our veranda. Good thing we brought the heavy duty waterproof down coats with hoods. And the waterproof boots also, or we would have had to stay inside most of the time. The Captain slowly proceeded to the face of the glacier, then turned the ship for all to see. Guess we stayed here for 45 minutes or more. Time enough to be treated to some massive calving of the face of the ice. It can be described like hearing an explosion and cracking of ice, then massive thunder as the ice boulders reach the water below. Fabulous.

Then it was to another inlet, namely Johns Hopkins. Our guide informed us that this leg is only opened after September 1^st for cruise ships to transit, due to the fact that seals come up here to have their pups in the spring and summer. And also there is a lot more ice blocking the opening. So it was a treat for us to view it today, as we were the last of the ships to do this in 2017. This glacier was not as large ,but we did see hundreds of seals on the thin ice at the face. At first, you would think it was logs spread out over the ice, until we got closer to see the seals bathing in the daylight, warming up for the day. Interesting fact we learned from the rangers today: these seals come into this fjord to escape the orcas, their biggest predators. The theory is that the thunderous sound of the ice cracking and calving confuses the orcas, giving the seals the opportunity to give birth to their pups safely. Furthermore, the effervesence from the melting bergie bits imitates the sound of bubbling, creating more of a sound barrier for the orcas. Also swimming among the bergie bits and growlers of ice were sea otters. On top of a large berg, a bald eagle perched to watch the ship go by.

We stayed long enough to see some more calving, then began our ride back down towards Icy Strait to drop the ranger team off at their lodge. They had done a fine job, but the outside speakers were of little use to those of us on our verandas. The sound was echoing and distorted. Our other option was turning to TV to the correct station, and get the narration that way. One little problem, however, was that there was a one second delay, making it difficult to understand clearly. If we kept the door shut, it was fine, but then you missed half of the scenery. Oh well, it worked OK if one stayed outside, and the other listened and interpreted what was said.

Too bad we missed the pea soup that was served on all outside decks at 10:30am. Perhaps we may have to ask for a special order of it during the upcoming cruise to Hawaii. Or wait and see if they will have Dutch Night at dinnertime.

As we were making our way out toward open ocean, the Captain came on the speakers and said due to very strong winds in the Gulf of Alaska, we would be speeding our way towards Sitka to avoid the worst of it. He intended to get us to Sitka at 1am, instead of 7am tomorrow.

We ordered our first room service lunch of a salad, soup, and a shared sandwich. Followed later by a shared pizza. There was only one customer at the counter, and two young couples in the spas back there……in the drizzle. As long as you stayed in the warm water, you'd be all right. Glad it was them and not us.

The Port Shopper was handing out free charms at his desk today, so we went to see what that was about. You had to get them before 6pm, so at 5pm, we joined the line of folks for our freebie. They were the tiny bears usually found at Diamonds International. He promised that if we went to his lecture on Ketchikan, we would receive free whale tails. Se shall see how long that line will be.

Back at our dining room table tonight, we had just finished our delicious roasted ½ chicken entrees, when we had a visit from Jorn, the Food and Beverage Manager onboard. He was the third or fourth officer to find us here to introduce themselves. A very nice young man, we seemed to know a lot of the same staff members. He made us promise to see him if we needed anything. He was more curious to get our take on the differences between the ships. He recommended that we see the entertainment and the bar venues, as some of them are new to the fleet. In good time, we will make the rounds. Just not in 7 days…..it is far too short a time to do it all.

Tomorrow we will be in Sitka, a fun place to explore.

Bill & Mary Ann

Mountains with snow, ice, and fog