JillMelancon Travel

9 July 2023

Got up at 5am because we were supposed to be in Glacier Bay by 6.  Not much to see yet, so headed to breakfast and to the ranger presentation at 730.  It was in the Skywalker Lounge which is in the very back of the ship on the top deck—great views, so I’ll be back here later.

I went out on an outdoor deck up top (where I was for sailaway), got a lounger and a couple of blankets, and settled in for a day of scenic cruising through Glacier Bay.  We passed Margerie Glacier after passing a huge raft of otters (some of them on a big piece of ice), an orca, and a few bald eagles, also sometimes riding a piece of ice—the ranger called them “bergy bits” but I call them “baby bergs.” Margerie Glacier is 200 feet tall but hard to gauge its size from the ship.  There is one next to it—Grand Pacific Glacier–that is longer, but it is covered with rock and dust so it would be easy to ignore it because you don’t see the ice.

The day started overcast and cold (hence the blankies), but as the sky cleared, it got very warm!  The boat spent an hour in this area, turning in a circle slowly so that everyone gets a chance to see everything.  While there, we saw a couple of pieces calve off, but nothing big enough to make any noise.  There are over 100,000 glaciers in Alaska; only .1% are tide water glaciers.

We then cruised to Johns Hopkins Inlet to see Lamplugh glacier and make another 360 degree turn.  So beautiful.  The day was getting really warm…only got breeze when the ship moved forward.

Once we started back out, I went to the buffet for lunch, then back to my room before the massage.  The massage was great—a combo of regular and hot stone. She did a great job.  Unfortunately, they use a TON of oil, so I had to head back to my room to wash it all off.  Headed to buffet for dinner, then as I was wandering around, I found a duck!  I set down my drink to do something, and it was in the planter I set my drink on!

Went to the theatre to see Blame it on the Boogie—a show filled with disco music.  Nice to hear the songs, but again, pretty lackluster.

Got back to my room, ordered some cheesecake and hot chocolate, then went to bed early.