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.