The last two days of the cruise portion of our Alaskan Cruisetour were spent at sea. Since both days were absolutely spectacular, I decided on two grand finales. Two very different experiences provided two very different emotional responses to the icy waters of Alaska, its snow-capped mountains, and its remarkable glaciers.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this trip, visit The Trip of Our Lives 2023.
To start at the beginning of the cruise portion of this trip, visit North to Alaska 2023.

Glacier Bay

“Welcome to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. When Captain George Vancouver first set eyes on the small five-mile inlet that was Glacier Bay in 1794, he described a “sheet of ice as far as the eye could distinguish.” By the time naturalist John Muir visited in 1879 with a group of the native Tlingit, who call the bay their ancestral homeland, the ice had retreated enough to begin exposing one of the world’s most majestic wildernesses. His poetic descriptions of the area have been inspiring visitors to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve ever since.” ~ from our Princess literature

We arrived in Bartlett Cove at the Visitor Center at Glacier Bay Lodge around 6:15 a.m. Although we slept through this stop, we picked up several Park Rangers who would be providing commentary and lots of information on our cruise through Glacier Bay. Today our ship canceled all activities, events, announcements, and even the casino was closed until we returned the rangers to the Visitor Center around 3:15 p.m. With fewer distractions, we could enjoy the fabulous views, the Ranger’s commentary and immerse ourselves in our fantastic surroundings.

Too Much Peopling Today!

Since this was today’s only event and the top deck was the place to be, people were out in droves. They were gathered along the railings for pictures and selfies. Whole families were standing in prime spots arranging and rearranging each other for that perfect photo. I tried to find secluded spots where I could revel in what I was looking at here, and ended on a higher deck to get a better vantage point with less chit chat… and people.

John’s Hopkins Glacier

Our Princess literature stated that we would be seeing the Grand Pacific Glacier, but my pictures looked more like John’s Hopkins Glacier from the photos on its website. When I checked out the story behind the Grand Pacific, it became clear.

The Grand Pacific Glacier is the main glacier credited with carving out Glacier Bay, but it has receded so far that it has actually split into three different glaciers. Grand Pacific is now the most northernly glacier, the middle glacier is now called Johns Hopkins, and the smallest most southernly glacier is called the Reid. If it originates in Canada’s St. Elias Mountains and used to extend all the way to Reid Glacier, that thing was HUGE!

“At its largest, Grand Pacific Glacier was 22 miles wide and 4000 ft. deep – imagine a 400-story building made of ice. It sculpted the valley as it grew and then shrank back again, bulldozing the landscape in its path and carving a smooth valley. Traveling up the inlets of Glacier Bay, you can see which peaks were ground down and rounded by the glacier and which soared above it – the peaks over 4000 feet retain the jagged summits formed by tectonic uplift.” ~ READ MORE

Lamplugh Glacier

The Lamplugh Glacier (aka Lamplugh the Blue) descends from the Brady Icefield into Glacier Bay. In 2021 it was almost twenty-miles long, 165 feet high and nearly a mile wide and is receding about 50 to 100 feet per year. For a stunning aerial view, visit the link.

Margerie Glacier

“Margerie Glacier slowly flows from lofty peaks into salty waters, carving mountains as it moves. The glacier is found at the furthest reaches of Glacier Bay waterway, at the northern reach of Tarr Inlet. The glacier is picturesque in setting, carving a steep valley through towering mountain peaks, and ending dramatically at the edge of the sea. Since it reaches all the way to ocean water, Margerie Glacier is referred to as a tidewater glacier, defined as a glacier that interacts with ocean saltwater.

Margerie glacier is about 21 miles long, originating in the Fairweather Mountain Range at elevations exceeding 9000 feet. Due to the abundance of snow in the mountains and the steepness of slope, the ice of Margerie Glacier flows relatively quickly, estimated to flow about 2000 feet per year, or about 6 feet per day. The glacier does not expand out into the fjord since it rests on an underwater ledge, so the ice falls into the ocean in a process called calving, breaking into icebergs. The icebergs become resting spots for harbor seals, sea otters, black-legged kittiwake gulls and other birds.” ~ READ MORE

Watching for a Calve

The crowd was intently spanning and videoing the right side of the glacier where it’s the blackest. They were saying that a chunk of the glacier had just calved off! I’m not sure how many videos I took of the area in hopes of seeing another incident, but I’m just not that lucky 🥲.

I met a man named Christopher shortly after I gave up who was sharing his video (the second one below). I shortened it up as much as I could – and I could have deleted the audio, but then we would miss the thundering boom when the iceberg hits the water. One option is to mute the sound once you hear the boom, so you don’t have to listen to Christopher’s annoying commentary. Annoying or not, it was worth it to see (and hear) the event. I guess I’m pretty luck after all 😀!

Wow, What a Day!

By the end of the day we had seen countless waterfalls, baby bergs, a few bald eagles, an eagle on a baby berg (left), harbor seals, whales, and mountain goats on Gloomy Knob.

After we turned away from Marjorie Glacier and headed out of Glacier Bay, it was time for a break. We ended up having room service and watching a movie in our room to get away from people for a while.

No rush to get up in the morning, since our next round of scenic cruising doesn’t get started until 6 p.m. Ahhh. I love vacations!

College Fjord

“On June 26, 1899, the Elder navigated College Fjord, and the party of scientists (which included John Muir, an Amherst College professor and glacier expert, and Harvard mineralogy instructor Charles Palache) named the Alaskan glaciers there after their Ivy League alma maters and their sister schools. Those names include Amherst, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Harvard, Smith, Vassar, and Yale. The glaciers of the northwest side feature the names of women’s colleges, and the glaciers of the fork and the southeast side sport the names of men’s colleges. What of Princeton? It is said that the men took delight in ignoring it!

No one captured that moment of exploration better than John Burroughs, a nature writer and expedition member aboard the Elder, when he wrote, “The weather was fair, but the sea was cold. Indeed, we were in another great ice chest – glaciers to the right of us, glaciers to the left of us, glaciers in front of us, volleyed and thundered; the mountains were ribbed with them, and the head of the bay was walled with them.” Though some Alaskan glaciers that the Harriman expedition witnessed have retreated, other tidewater glaciers have continued their natural movement cycles, barely touched by man. The glaciers of College Fjord remain as unspoiled as that pristine day in June 1899.” ~ READ MORE

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Although the NPS gave us a fabulous map of Glacier Bay, since College Fjord is not a National Park I was left to fend for myself. I didn’t have much luck, but google provided some perspective as to where we are today (red pinpoint), compared to where we were yesterday in Glacier Bay (bottom right) and where we’ll be next week at this time in Fairbanks (top left).

Today was a very laid back day, although trying to find unoccupied washers and dryers was futile on this last day on the ship. We slept in, got organized and packed, and headed down for an early dinner so we could enjoy our final dose of “scenic cruising” after dinner. I couldn’t imagine it would be any better than yesterday’s views – but you know me, I have to see it all!

Since we opted for the dining room tonight this was going to be a very nice (and lengthy) dinner. It took a while to get seated, get our drinks, and then our salads, and when my beautiful steak and lobster dinner had finally arrived – all I could think about were the views I was missing as we made our way into College Fjord.

I handed off part of my steak to Jim and headed up on deck. Although he was disappointed I had stayed long enough to finish my lobster, he understood completely. And if you know me, I rarely skip dessert so you know I was motivated! Besides, one of my first views of the Fjord was a big powdered donut across the sea.

Views that Took My Breath Away

Although there were a few folks scattered here and there, I pretty much had a clear view from any of the railings. It turns out today people were more interested in the buffet line than (in my humble opinion) the grandest of grand finales. Our ship did at least one very slow 360 so we could take in the breathtaking scenes from every angle. I did several laps around the upper deck so I could stare out into the icy waters and simply be amazed.

As you will notice in the photos below, the clouds opened up to shine a spotlight on this grand, grand finale! From here on out, there will be no more of my annoying commentary. Just the photographic evidence of my presence in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature’s sources never fail.” ~ John Muir

Next up: Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula

Happy trails,
Barb