Sapphire Princess Alaskan Cruise: Prince William Sound and College Fjord

tonights dinner menu

Eggplant and Basmati Rice Timbale

Grilled Salmon

Grilled Filet of Beef Medallions

Dessert Menu

Warm Citrus Fruit Souffle

Yummy little goodies because we had coffee

Danny and our waiter team, Vasko on the Danny's left and Svetozar on Danny's right

floating ice as we near the glaciers

Yale Glacier?

Bryn Mawr Glacier, Smith Glacier, and the Harvard Glacier

the Harvard Glacier

Smith Glacier

Bryn Mawr Glacier

I think this is the Wellesley Glacier

Vassar Glacier

Danny's Pop Choir Event

The International Cafe...our evening coffee and treat spot

always something yummy in the case and free!

balloons flying at the late crew entertainment show

Today is our last day on the ship. Tomorrow we will leave the ship in Whittier. Danny had planned to get up early and go to the workout room. When he opened his eyes and our bed was rocking to and fro, he changed his mind. Mom had also noticed the ship was rocking in her room and took her Dramamine right away. Thankfully noone got sick on this sea day. We weren’t scheduled to enter Prince William Sound and College Fjord until late in the afternoon. We ate breakfast in the buffet again and went to a cooking demonstration and tour of the kitchen for the main dining room (the International). This was very interesting and we were amazed at all the stainless steel in the kitchen. Everything was clean and shiny and there were people already setting up for lunch and preparing lunch entrees. We went back to our rooms after the tour so we could finish our packing. We had signed up for our bags to be sent on to the airline and be checked in so that we didn’t have to fool with them in Anchorage. We would have to put our bags out in the hall at 8 p.m. so they could be picked up. Because of this, we had brought an extra small bag so we would have something to carry what we needed for the next day. Danny had another Pop Choir rehearsal at lunchtime so I decided to go to the dining room for lunch. Mom and Dad thought they wanted to go to the buffet but changed their mind and ate at the coffee shop. The coffee shop has paninis! Danny ate in the buffet after his rehearsal. We went to the Naturalist lecture at 2:00. I’m not sure we heard a whole lot of what she said, because we were all having trouble staying awake. We really should have just taken naps! We relaxed on our balconies for the afternoon as we moved through Prince William Sound. We watched for whales and saw a few sea otters float by. We were so high up on our balconies that the otters looked really really small. We had dinner at 5:30 so we missed the early part of College Fjord. That is the only disadvantage we saw to having assigned dining. We really enjoyed dining at the same table and the same time every night. We got to know our waiters and they learned our likes and dislikes. We returned to our rooms after dinner so we could see the glaciers in College Fjord and to put our suitcases outside of our doors. The glaciers are all named after the alma maters of the naturalists and scientists that first explored College Fjord. After it was too dark to see anymore, we went to the last evening show. It was a magician and we tried our best to figure out his tricks, but to no avail! We went to the coffee shop as has become our custom, for a late night coffee and treat. While we were there, the Pop Choir that Danny had been practicing with gave their performance. They did a good job for people who didn’t know each other before this cruise. He said it was a fun thing to do. We had one more show to see before bedtime. The staff had a show to put on at 10 p.m. and it started our pretty fun with balloons being batted all around. The show was a variety show starring some of the crew that was very entertaining. We are going to bed tonight completely saturated with Alaska, but not ready for that late night red eye flight home tomorrow from Anchorage.

Sapphire Princess Alaskan Cruise: Glacier Bay

5:30 in the morning to watch for whales

beautiful sunrise which we would have missed if we had not already been up

this happy little guy was slapping his tail over and over again on the Starboard side of the ship

a little puff and he was gone. we enjoyed the show.

cruising toward Glacier Bay National Park

starting to see ice chunks from the calving of the glaciers

a glimpse of glaciers

Lamplugh Glacier...mom, dad and I saw this calve on the Port side of the ship

years and years of layers of ice and dirt

the Johns Hopkins glacier far in the distance

the Johns Hopkins glacier

The Margerie glacier

waiting for the Margerie to calve

close up of the layers of the Margerie

the Margerie calves

lots of little calvings on the "dirty side" of the Glacier

the Grand Pacific glacier...a really dirty looking one that filled the bay

all kinds of animals ride around on the ice blocks/ice bergs that break off of the glaciers

leaving Glacier Bay National Park

our wonderful balcony where we saw the most beautiful scenery every day on this cruise

ready for our last formal dinner

watching the tender boat come alongside and retrieve the park rangers onboard

as we left Glacier Bay National Park we saw a few whales. Most were far away.

tonights menu

Poached Pear and Blue Cheese

Escargot

Roasted Cream of Tomato Soup

a cold Goat Cheese and Apple Soup

Pumpkin, Marscarpone and Walnut Crepes

Short Ribs

Broiled Lobster Tail and Prawns

Beef Wellington

the dessert menu...it was Baked Alaska night and the chefs paraded throughout the dining room.

Today was Glacier Day! Danny and I rolled out of bed at 5:15, threw on some clothes and headed to the upper deck to watch for whales with the Naturalist on board. I think we were hoping that we would see whales like we did on our whale trip. Unfortunately, the few that we saw were miles away so they looked very tiny! We came back to the room about 6:30 and after getting ready for breakfast, sat out on the balcony for awhile. We saw the most amazing thing! A whale that wasn’t too far away was slapping it’s tail on the water over and over and over again. It must have slapped for a good 15 minutes. We also saw more spouts miles away and a couple of sea otters floating on their backs. After breakfast, we were entering Glacier Bay National Park. Our ship “picked up” some park rangers to give us narration during our time in the park. Since we never docked, I was curious as to how they came aboard. A tender boat pulled up alongside our boat and a ladder was dropped down to them so they could climb up into the boat. Sounds a little dangerous to me, but apparently they do it all the time. Mom, Dad, and I spent most of our time on Deck 7 so we could see what was on the Port side of the boat and our balcony on Deck 10 which is on the Starboard side of the boat. Danny preferred his spot up on the top deck where he could see both sides. The glaciers were absolutely beautiful and it was really really cold while we were cruising among them. There were ice chunks floating in the water that had broken off of the glaciers. The first glacier we saw was the Lamplugh glacier. We were so surprised to see it calve (where a chunk of it falls off into the water). Apparently this is a big deal with this glacier as it doesn’t do it very often. We then went to see the Johns Hopkins Glacier. We had to see if from far away. The Margerie Glacier was next and gave us a great show! The ship turned so that it was horizontal with the Margerie and stayed about a half hour on the Port side. It calved a huge chunk off while it was on the Port side. Then it turned and maintained the same position on the Starboard side. There were many many small calvings and one a little bigger on the Starboard side. The park rangers were really surprised that we were able to see so much activity, not to mention that the sun was shining the entire time! We were able to hear the park rangers broadcast commentary while we were out on deck and also in our stateroom. We turned the tv to the onboard channel and turned the volume up all the way so we could hear it on the balcony. The last Glacier we saw was the Grand Pacific. After the Glacier viewing, we headed back out of Glacier Bay. The park rangers left the way they came and mom, dad, and I settled into our balconies to watch for whales and otters on our way out. We saw quite a few whales, but they were pretty far out. The otters swim in open water and float on their backs. They are adorable. Danny went to his pop choir rehearsal while we were watching them. We ate dinner together in the dining room and watched the Entertainment show later in the evening. Mom couldn’t get her safe open because she must have put in a wrong number so we had to go and get someone to open it for her. We went downstairs for coffee and a treat before bed. Danny and I did a little packing tonight to make tomorrow not so rushed. One more day at sea and then we will head home.