Today the ship visited Glacier Bay National Park, a World
Heritage Site. Throughout the day, the
ship slowly made its way up the bay and back out again, providing close views
of the glaciers in the bay. The National
Park Service boarded the ship at 7:00 a.m. and provided commentary throughout
the visit. At 9:30 a.m. we passed the
first of the glaciers, Reid Glacier, and then we came immediately to Lamplugh
Glacier, which the ship passed slowly, but without stopping. Immediately after Lamplugh Glacier, the ship
very slowly crept to the mouth of the Johns Hopkins Inlet to permit passengers
to view the Johns Hopkins Glacier at the end of the inlet. This glacier is the only one that is still
growing; all of the others are slowly retreating. At this point, the captain turned the ship
around to permit passengers on all sides of the ship to view the Johns Hopkins
Glacier and then the ship slowly made its way back out of the inlet. As the ship returned to the Lamplugh Glacier,
the captain paused the ship for very close viewing. The captain slowly spun the ship completely
around to permit all passengers to view the glacier several times. Following the Lamplugh Glacier, the ship made
its way farther into Glacier Bay until it reached the end of the bay, at which
point both the Margerie Glacier and the Grand Pacific Glacier merged into
Glacier Bay. Grand Pacific Glacier is
brown from all the dust it had accumulated over the centuries; however,
Margerie Glacier is truly spectacular, the most magnificent site on the entire
cruise. Margerie Glacier is about 25
stories high and two miles wide at water level, and the captain parked the ship
directly in front of the glacier for a full half-hour. A few small ice-floes broke away from the
glacier as we sat there watching. This
site was by far the highlight of the entire cruise, and one of the greatest sights in the world. After the ship had been stopped for a
half-hour, the captain turned the ship around, providing great views of the
Grand Pacific Glacier, and again the Margerie Glacier before slowly making his
way back out of Glacier Bay. In the
afternoon, a naturalist came aboard to lead a whale-watching time as the ship
made its way back out of Glacier Bay; however, only a few dorsal fins were
spotted. While the weather was very
pleasant, though very cold, for glacier viewing, heavy fog and rain returned in
the afternoon as the ship made its way back out of Glacier Bay.
The evening was formal, and the show was a production show
called, “Piano Man”, which would seem to feature Billy Joel music; however, the
show had music from the 50s to current music.
The production shows are truly great shows, featuring the Princess
singers and dancers, and this show was excellent as well. Dinner was with a man and his wife from Denver;
I had met them on the White Pass Railway, where he had introduced himself and
asked me if I were Jon Voigt. Later on
that tour, I took their photo at the suspension bridge, and as we talked, he
asked if I would join them for dinner tonight.
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