Alaskan Cruise Vacay Day 6: Another day of glacier viewing 070317

Woke up and we were already in glacier national park. They had stopped to be boarded by some park rangers who would be setting up a table with information and speaking over the PA system on the boat about what we were looking at and giving history lessons about the area as we cruise around.

That one to the left seems to be a little older/bigger than the rest. 

There are quite a few of those guys all over the place.

Another monstrous glacier.

Seagull just hanging on the ice. Guess even birds like to get a free ride every now again.

This glacier looks a little bit dirtier than the others but still massive.

Love the sky in this pic.

This guy seems to have strayed from his group on the rock.

Cruising on a little piece of ice.

Beauty is all around us.

There seems to be a glacier in the distance.

Water finding its way home.

I find it amazing that you can have mountains raising out of the water like this. Coming from a place where mountains are land locked with lakes here and there, to have ranges of mountains just along the coast and in the water is kinda cool.

Boat for size comparison of the glacier in the background.

  

Close up of one of the glaciers here in the park.

View of the glacier winding its way down the mountain.

Sun is coming out to play and it picked a nice place to do it.

Views abound in this park.

We get dressed and go out just in time to see some sea lions and seals sitting up on some rocks and then sail towards the main glacier in the park. In the sailing time, we go down and grab some lunch at one of the nice restaurants on board doing free lunch for everyone (normally to eat there you pay for your meals) so we get some fish and chips then get back out there to see the glacier. Wasnt as blue/pretty as the one yesterday but was equally monstrous and impressive. We bounce around to different viewing areas all afternoon listening to the rangers and trying to spot wildlife. We eventually drop the rangers off at their outpost and continue on our way. We then go to the dining room for dinner to have some seafood bisque and red king crab legs. I am sure if I lived on a cruise ship, I would be ~900 lbs and dead at 34 cause the food was sooo delicious you always just want more. Talked a bit with our new table mates before heading out to catch the magic show. Turns out it was full so we plan the next couple days loosely (we start our port of calls tomorrow) and then head up to the buffet room to grab some tea and coffee and set up shop at the outdoor movie screen in the cold/mist to see hidden figures under the stars. This one I do finish as it is a great movie and then we head to bed to make sure we get up in time for our port of call.

Time to brave the elements to watch a movie I have heard was pretty good. It did not disappoint.

Alaskan Cruise Vacay Day 5: Getting our sea legs under us 070217

Wake up to check out the dining room for breakfast as we opted for flexible dining option. Get seated with random people (you are asked if you want a table to yourself or others, we said others all the time as to meet other people on the cruise). We chat with our table people while ordering and have some delicious eggs Benedict before finishing up and heading back to our room to get layered up to try and watch finding dory on the outside deck upstairs. Its cold and a little misty so we dont finish the movie. Instead we go back in to warm up a little bit then walk around a bit before grabbing a small bite to eat before going to check out the art auction.

Look at the colors in the ice. Absolutely stunning.

Arctic serenity.

We are on the top deck of this cruise ship and the glacier still towers over us.

So magnificent. Views like this make this trip a must see for everyone.

Tons of little ice just floating around.

That glacier seems to go on for ever. 

Kinda cool seeing this giant slab of ice and above/behind it, green mountains.

Wish we could get in a small boat and go through that pass and look up close to those striations. 

Look at the hints of blue in the ice.

This panoramic picture doesnt do the glacier justice. I tried :(

Found a boat cruising in the water. Turns out they were trying to pick up ice to bring into the boat (pic below)

While they were gathering the ice, this dude was waving to the boat with a giant hand.

Bald eagle flying over the impressive iceberg. 

The way we came in. Calm water. 

Amazing sight.

Clouds starting to clear out a bit. Not sure if itll last.

That my friends is the birth place of this glacier. It is born up there and has built up mass and moved all this way. Never thought about the origins of a glacier but when you do, they are even more impressive.

We are heading out but this view of the glacier coming down from the mountain is just spectacular. 

Glacier ice they pulled from the water for people to touch/look at.

quick video to try and see all the glacier at once

Glacier calving a little bit

A little more calving

Had some pretty good pieces in it but we left before any auction started to check out the first timers event. This event was useless; it was essentially a giant advertisement about the princess cruise line and how you can get better perks if you cruise more, etc. and to top it all off, there was no free wine/champagne/etc. like all the other welcome events. Missed wide of the mark on that activity. Go to a jewelry demonstration to get some drinks and a chance to win some jewelry (we do not). After that, we go get layered up as we are coming up to the Yakutat Bay Glacier. Notice that the glacier is calving somewhat frequently so we go up to the higher levels to get a better view. We walk around the top to get different views and enjoy the beautiful ice formation in front of us. After we get our fill of the scenery, we head into the buffet area and had a slew of great foods (butter chicken, pork cordon blue, brie cheese, etc.) before heading down to the main staircase to the captain's welcome reception where they had the motown group (Rhapsody) performing and champagne cascade flowing. Have some glasses of champagne and then head down the hall to the indoor movie theater to see the new Beauty and the Beast movie. After that is over, we make our way to the room to get some sleep as tomorrow we spend a bit of time exploring glacier bay national park.

Captain about to give the speech and then we feast.

Alaskan Cruise Vacay Day 4:Lets get this cruise started 070117

Woke up and had our last breakfast with Rock before packing up our bags as today we start our cruise. Go downtown to drop off the car and meet our shuttle to go to the bus. Get there with time to spare so we drop our bags off and then walk around downtown to grab some lunch/beers. Wind up at 49th State brewery to sit on their top patio. Gives us a lovely view north of the city with the lake, mountains, etc. while we enjoy some grub/drinks. We then head over to the shuttle pick up area as it is getting to be closer to that time. Get on our shuttle and head down to Whittier.

Flights at 49th State brewery.

This is the way in/out of Whittier. 

We get to the train track tunnel which is the only way into/out of Whittier by land. Was interesting as cars/trains drove on the same tracks/route. As we are driving down this narrow tunnel, realize there are emergency rooms that were built into the tunnel in case of cave ins I believe. We get to the other side of the tunnel and the city is right in front of us. Small town with a little marina in which our boat is waiting for us. Get off bus and start our way through check in and it is seamless and efficient. Was kinda surprised/impressed at how quick and easy it was. Props Princess! We find our hotel room eventually (it is a hidden hallway that took us a little bit to find) and drop our bags before walking around the boat to check out everything. Go to the top and see the indoor pool which has all these lotus flower and Buddha statues all around it. Go out to the deck and realize there is carpet everywhere which is drenched due to the rain/mist. Not sure how often they have to replace that stuff. Explore a little bit more, trying to get orientated, then have to attend safety training which was way longer/drawn out then needed but then again it is safety so whatever. There are tons of welcome events around which we check out as they are giving out champagne and what not. After those wind down, we go to one of the bar areas which has a motown cover band, from jamaica I believe, playing some great music and happy hour (2nd drink 1$). After taking advantage of happy hour and enjoying the band, we go to the buffet room to grab a little bit of food. Was pretty good. Go grab some wine and walk around the boat (its 11pm or so) and it is a ghost town. I guess it being a sightseeing cruise in alaska, one should expect early nights.

Our room for the next week. Not too shabby.

One of the decks close to our room. This was the outdoor track where people would routinely run/walk laps.

Part of the indoor pool (which we never got into which is kinda surprising in my mind).

The outdoor pool/hot tubs. Apparently these guys just wanted a nice hot bath.

On the boat looking out over the town/marina.

The train that we were considering taking instead of the shuttle. 

Thats what we are sailing into. Ominous yet still gorgeous.

Apparently we were the only ones that got the memo of great music and good drink specials.

Essentially if you are ever hungry, they got you covered. This doesnt even take into count the formal dining rooms.