Last night we decided to order room service for breakfast and requested it to be delivered between 7:00 and 7:30. It arrived at 7:01 and everything was still hot. We watched lots of sea otters in the water, just swimming alongside the ship. Most of the time you could just see their noses.
We did notice that the sun set about 11:00 last night and sunrise was about 3:30 am. After breakfast, we went up to the Sky Deck on level 10 to watch as we entered Glacier Bay. It was one of those things that the further in we went, the more awesome the scenery! We saw a couple small glaciers and then it started getting really crowded out there on the deck and lots of people would squeeze in (even though we were in chairs on the front row) to take pictures or to look and we decided to go back to our room and watch from the balcony. It was much better there and we stayed out there until it was after lunchtime. They broadcasted the ranger's talk on the TV so we just turned on that channel loud and left the balcony door open so we could hear him.
Entering Glacier Bay
The first glacier we saw was Reid Glacier. It is about 3/4 mile wide, 150 feet high, 10-30 feet deep at the waterline and over 10 miles long.
Reid Glacier
Close-up of Reid Glacier
We finally started seeing chunks of ice in the water.
Lamplugh Glacier - See it winding through the mountains?
Our main stop was at Marjerie Glacier. It is about 1 mile wide, with an ice face that is about 250 feet high above the waterline, but with its base about 100 feet below sea level. The glacier is about 21 miles long and extends into snow-fields in the Fairweather Range where elevations exceed 9,000 feet. If you've ever seen the Statue of Liberty, Marjerie Glaceier is taller than the statue! The rocks and dirt ground up by the moving ice mass accounts for the gray/black color on the left side. When ice breaks off and falls in to the water (calving) the blue color is revealed.
We spent 30 minutes sitting in front of the Margerie Glacier and we could hear all the popping sounds coming from inside the glacier. We did see some small pieces fall off (calving) but would love to have seen some really huge chunks come off. I was surprised we could get so close to it. Our ship, the Volendam in the Holland America fleet, is a smaller ship (1,400 passengers) and we could get pretty close. There was a small excursion boat near us that couldn't get as close because of the icebergs. After our 30 minutes were up, the ship rotated around so the people on the other side of the ship could see the glacier up close. We went to eat lunch and sat at a table on the side of the glacier, so, we got to watch it from our table. We did see some bigger chunks of ice fall off while we ate. Just hearing the sounds coming from the glaciers is pretty exciting. It sounds like a rifle shot and then lots of popping sounds. Most of the calving we heard was further back on the glacier. It was so hard to quit looking at it - very mesmerizing! It was so hard to leave our balcony today since we were afraid we'd miss something!
Some of the icebergs floating in front of Margerie Glacier
The glaciers really are blue in color.
The top of Marjerie Glacier
Another picture of the front of Marjerie Glacier. It was a sunny
day and they told us that a cloudy day is the best for viewing glaciers.
The blue color stands out more on a cloudy day.
One more picture of Marjerie Glacier
Glacier Bay
One more glacier picture - easier to see around the mountain.
Some of the mountains leaving Glacier Bay
The southern part of Glacier Bay is filled with beautiful mountains.
Leaving Glacier Bay
Leaving Glacier Bay
Tonight was the formal dinner that we thought about skipping but did it anyway. We ate with Bob and Elsa from Columbus, Ohio and Rick and Linda from Australia. Both were older couples and very nice. There was a lot of conversation. The only time I didn't have my camera with me and we watched a humpback whale swim along the ship and she had her baby swimming along side her. It was so cute watching the mother breach and then the baby did. They were so close to us. For dinner I had the Four Mushroom Cream Soup and Conrad had Lemon Turkey Barley Soup. We both ordered the Filet and Lobster Tail with rice and steamed vegetables. For dessert I chose the Flourless Chocolate Cake and Conrad had the Rhubarb Cobbler. Then our waiter came over and asked if we were the Millers. I said yes and he walked away. Pretty soon he comes back with a small chocolate cake and four other waiters and they sang to us for a belated anniversary. Of all nights to forget my camera! He cut it in to six pieces and we shared it with our table mates. We were stuffed by this time!
The captain had announced earlier that we would be entering some rough water and the seas could possibly be 10 feet. It was just a little rough by the time we went to dinner but by the time we were done eating, I wasn't sure I could get up and walk back to the room! Everyone looked like a drunk trying to walk around! It was crazy trying to get back to our room.
We planned to go to dinner extra early so we could go to the 8:30 performance of "Droom", a love story told through song and dance featuring everything from ballet to aerial acrobatics. The costumes were beautiful. The ride was still pretty rough but by the time the show was over and we headed back to our room, it was much calmer. For myself, going to sleep with the rocking ship was soothing.
The end of the show "Droom"
So, goodnight and we'll catch you in Ketchikan tomorrow!
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