Glacier Bay - natural highlight of our trip. In-bound from Skagway, the weather was cold and rainy with clouds low on the water. Didn't bode well for getting close to the glaciers and seeing nature's magnificence.
Travel Intelligence Tip - At least on NCL Pearl - and probably on NCL's Jewel Class ships - security will open up the deck access door on deck 8 forward (at the bow) about 30 minutes or so before you get to the first glacier. This gives you uncrowded access to the ship's bow and lets you see the view from both sides at the same time -- closer to the water than you will be on any of the higher decks. There were only two other folks out there when we went out - but it was definitely cold and wet. After 30 minutes, we went back to our balcony since we spent most of our time at the glacier with our port side towards the glaciers.
Travel Intelligence Tip - Have an interest in seeing how the ship runs from the bridge? On NCL Pearl, 11 deck, forward on the port (left) side is an open doorway that leads to a glass wall separating you from the ship's bridge. Haven't seen this on other cruise lines - if you want a bridge tour, you have to be a senior traveler on that line or something else. But on Pearl, everyone could see the bridge in action. Additionally, there was a model of the ship and two repeaters -- one for ship's navigation and the other for ship's radar -- in the little sitting area where the glass wall is. Fascinating for those of us who are interested in how a 1000'+ ship runs...
Our weather luck - as it had the entire trip - held once more and the clouds began to lift as we approached the first glacier.
The farther up the channel we sailed, the better the weather got until we stopped about 300 yards from the main glacier.
We sat here for perhaps 30-45 minutes - motionless - as we watched the glacier calve on three separate occasions - each with a rumble, crash, and whoosh as part of the glacier slide into the emerald green water. Then we moved away from this glacier to one we had by-passed earlier switching places with a Princess ship patiently awaiting its turn to watch nature in motion.
The naturalist for the Park Service noted that the glacier pictured above is actually growing - while the other two we had seen were retreating. Nature never stops moving -- here in Glacier Bay, we could actually see her moving.
Just a few more pictures because the scenery is something to behold. After our day at the glaciers, we headed on to Ketchikan...
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