The Zuiderdam entered the park around 6am, then picked up national park service rangers, the cultural heritage guide, as well as the Alaska geographic representative. The scenic narration began at 8am, where it could be heard on outside decks and the stateroom TV's on the Bow Channel.
Breakfast was early for us in the Pinnacle Grill. But before we left the room, we turned in the first of the laundry. We shall see how long the turn-around will be. It was a matter of hours later, the laundry was returned. Around 4pm. Great service, there was a thank you included.
Our room steward is Sir Speedy. Our room was in tip top shape when we returned by 9:30am. Although we had missed the beginning of the narration, we could catch up. It not like we haven't been here before. However, today the weather was exceptional with mostly clear and sunny skies. We were informed that on the last cruise, the weather was terrible, so we considered ourselves lucky. We looked forward to the scenic viewing from the comfort of our aft veranda. And we were not disappointed.
Glacier Bay has to be one of the most scenic spots in Alaska. It sure is big enough, consisting of 3,283,168 acres. The elevation goes from sea level to 15,320 feet at Mount Fairweather. Because it was so clear, we were able to see that peak today. The bay itself is 65 miles long and 2 ½ to 10 miles wide. As recently as 200 years ago, this bay was filled with ice 5000 feet thick. It was a far different place then with a verdant valley where the Huna Tlingit tribe lived around 1680. By 1880, the glacier had retreated 45 miles as was recorded by naturalist John Muir, who sparked the interest in tourist travel here.
Passing Gloomy Point, we began seeing wildlife with the help of powerful binoculars. What a surprise we had when a black and a brown bear was sighted on the shoreline. Yes they were far away, but the photos turned out well. When we got closer to the tidewater glaciers, Reid and Lamplugh, we saw bergie bits and brash ice, some with harbor seals floating on them. From here onward, we began to see a large numbers of these plump seals taking in the warmth of the sun. On the granite mountainsides, there were resting mountain goats, another lucky sighting. With their furry white coats, they can be spotted easily. Also seen, were a few tufted puffins, as they floated on the surface.
We are not sure why the ship did not go up as far as Margerie Glacier, but we did take a left turn past Jaw Point into Johns Hopkins Glacier by 10:30am, a true tidewater glacier. The Captain stayed for at least an hour, giving everyone a chance to view the calving ice. It had to be the most spectacular calving we have seen for a long time. Ice towers taller than downtown buildings separated from the pack, and cascaded with a roaring crash into the waters. It occurred at least four separate times, beginning with the thunderous cracking sounds, then almost exploding as the ice tumbled down. The harbor seals floating on the ice bergs seemed oblivious to the movement of the waters, as they rode with the flow. Having the aft veranda, we never left the railing, as we had the best panoramic view. Even when the Captain flipped the ship around, we still had the entire face of the glacier in sight. And to add to the ambience of the sighting, a giant flock of gulls or kittewakes flew back and forth across the face of the glacier, screeching all the way. We have to add here that the cruise ships have not had permission to sail in here recently, due to the harbor seals pupping and nesting birds.
On the way back, we passed both Lamplugh and Reid Glaciers, slowing to take photos. By now, we began seeing more seals and even some sea otters. Sailing past the numerous smaller islets, the otter sightings became so numerous, we lost count. They are just as curious as the harbor seals, and do not try to escape. The seals will dive, but the otters appear to roll, getting air into their coats to stay afloat. Their best posture is floating on their backs while eating shellfish or crabs. Hard to believe they were almost wiped out by the fur traders centuries ago.
The rangers and guides completed their talks and left the ship around 3:30pm. Once we left the bay, we were on the lookout for possible whale sightings. Seeing a few blows of humpbacks, pretty much ended the sightings for the day. What a day it had been. Even though the bow was opened on deck four, we opted to stay in our room instead. From watching the bow camera, the deck looked like wall-to-wall people…..way too crowded for us. We did miss the serving of Dutch pea soup at 10am, but enjoyed another room service lunch instead. For the first time ever, we ordered two burgers from the Dive-In, along with salads. There will be a service charge for the burgers, but we have lots of have-to-spend credit, and that is one way to do it.
Right before we got ready for tonight's "dressy" dinner, there was a beautiful sun setting around 7:30pm. It reminded us of the tropical sunsets of the South Pacific. That will come soon enough. "Dressy" was not formal, so we went to the Canaletto in more comfortable dressy clothes. Since today was Sunday, the special entrée was chicken parmesan, which we ordered with a side of Bolognese spaghetti. Starters were salads and a shared veal meatball appetizer. We saved a bit of room for desserts of gelato and a Nutella tart. Our buddy from the N. Statendam's Grand Dutch Café, Andre, was greeting folks in the Canaletto, and seated us at a nice quiet table for two at the window. We do hope he will be on the world cruise, and so does he. By the way, the "dressy" dress code was widely ignored….most going very casual.
There was a BBC Earth Presents: Alaska in Concert in the Mainstage, but we chose to turn in and try to finish sending reports and photos. Everything was slow today, and we did not want to fall behind too much. These days are flying by all too fast as it is. A reminder of that was the need to fill out the Canadian immigration card today. The rest of the guests had to fill out disembarkation forms. Glad we did not have to at this point.
At the moment, we are sailing on the outside of the passage, and will cut back in during the night. Our arrival time to Ketchikan will be 11am, with time to sleep in a bit later.
Bill & Mary Ann
