Day 5, Friday, June 2, 2023
Ice, Sea Otters, Icebergs, and Glaciers.
This photo was taken at 7:00 a.m. There were clouds in the sky, but we didn’t need sunshine to watch glaciers calve, icebergs float by and sweet-looking sea otters float on their backs. We could watch this from many spots onboard. Glacier Bay Park Rangers joined us onboard at 6:15 a.m. The Deck 4 bow was open for viewing beginning at 7:00. (See the photo of Jas below, standing by the orange lifebuoy. That is on Deck 4.) There were stations where one could get a cup of hot chocolate or coffee to try to stay warm. At 10:00, cups of Dutch Pea Soup were carried around the ship at all the locations where passengers were watching the view. (I missed this, thinking it would be circulated again later or available at lunch. Darn!) The Rangers broadcast their narration on the public address system, and it was also broadcast on our room television sets. There was so reason to miss identifying any glaciers throughout the day.
This link will take you to a detailed map of Glacier Bay, so you can understand what area we were covering.
The main map page, with other links.
And the Glacier Bay home page.
Do explore that website if you’re interested in the wonder that is Glacer Bay. I just discovered this illustration of the typical route the cruise ships take.
Only two cruise ships are allowed into Glacier Bay each day. However, you could take your own boat in. Or you can charter a boat. There’s a “Day Boat” that will transfer campers and their kayaks back to an area where they can disembark. And some smaller ships can go in. But the traffic is tightly monitored, with the objective of protecting the environment of Glacier Bay. Here’s the ship information, if you’re interested in doing this excursion on a smaller ship.
A U.S. Geological Survey page: scroll down to look at the great photos of the sea otters on their backs. We saw these over and over in Glacier Bay.
Another phenomenon we had never seen before was when the glacier runoff, filled with “glacial till” and “glacial flour,” and thus very cloudy, abuts the clear glacier water. Here’s more information about that.
There is so much I don’t remember about these two days—Glacier Bay and College Fjord (see next page). I know somewhere during these last days both Jas and I had massages and I visited the acupuncturist in the spa to try to get some relief for my malfunctioning knee. And of course we ate at various times, and I imagine Jas took a nap or two. But as I look at the photos below, I am again awed by all the natural beauty we experienced.
I had hoped and expected to see more wildlife. There’s one photo below where you can just see two Bald Eagles. And I’ve said repeatedly how smitten I was with the Sea Otters. But I thought I’d see at least one bear, as I had when I took this cruise on the predecessor Noordam in 1998. In 1998 I saw a couple of glaciers calving, but I was not lucky enough on this cruise to witness that spectacle. I’m hoping to take this cruise more times in the future, so maybe I’ll more wildlife and more ice then.
And as I say that, I am aware that global warming is upon us. If you love what I’ve shown you, call your travel agent or Holland America Lines and schedule a cruise to Alaska soon. There is an urgency. And now I’ll get off my soapbox.
Back to our day:
We went to the Main Dining Room for breakfast at 8:00. When we got back to our room, the stewards had delivered our new pins that indicated we had achieved three-star Mariner status. I am a grown-ass adult and a grandma, and I jumped up and down when I saw these pins. 🤭 The rest of the day, we just wandered around the ship or sat on our verandah or watched the bow camera and listened to the narration. I know we ate lunch somewhere, but don’t remember what or where.
And after the excitement of the day was over and we were exiting Glacier Bay to the Gulf of Alaska, we went to the Main Dining Room for Gala night. French Onion Soup and Cracked Pepper Tenderloin for Jas; Grilled Asparagus and Artichoke for my starter and the Club Orange special for my entree—Herb Braised Chicken with apple compote, sweet potatoes, and roasted corn. No record of dessert, but they’re always so good in this dining room, we never want to skip them.
We had bought a scratch-off lottery ticket a couple of nights earlier. When you buy a ticket that’s not a winner, you sign the back of the ticket and give your room number, and throw it in a spinner for three tickets to be drawn in the Casino on Gala Night. While waiting, I noticed the beautiful musical artwork outside the Casino.
Across from the Casino is the Billboard Onboard performance space. At this time of night, there are dueling pianists who were very good. We sat and listened to them for a while and I was very impressed by what beautiful hands and good technique the young man had. When they took a break, I approached him, introduced myself, and told him what great hands he had. My recollection is that he told me he was self-taught. Well, however he got from a childhood, when he first touched a piano key, to where he is today, he did a very good job!
Beautiful photos of the sun setting in the Southern Hemisphere, and we were in bed by 9:30. Tomorrow, we would spend the day watching for calving glaciers again.
Oh, about that drawing for three of the unsuccessful scratch-off tickets? Nah, ours wasn’t chosen for a second chance. But we had a fabulous day!
