Travel

Postcards from Alaska: Cruising Glacier Bay

Cruising Glacier Bay - Holland America Oosterdam

After 3 amazing port days in Alaska, Eric and I were pretty much in heaven and didn’t think that things could get much better. At this point we’d gone crab fishing and whale-watching, taken a helicopter to go dog-sledding on top of a glacier, eaten the most amazing seafood, and trekked through the Yukon Territory. By anyone’s standards, we’d had an amazing journey. But as it turned out, we hadn’t seen anything yet!

The last leg of our cruise included scenic sailing through Glacier Bay National Park. Believe me when I tell you how absolutely stunning and awe-inspiring it was to sail through this natural wonder. The day was picture perfect, and we got a front row seat as we watched these beautiful glaciers groan, shake, and eventually break off into the water right before our eyes (a process known as calving).

Cruising Glacier Bay - Holland America Oosterdam

Rangers from Glacier Bay boarded our ship that morning to debrief everyone on board about what we were going to see, and they remained with us the entire day to narrate our journey through the park.  It was so much fun to roam around the ship the entire day (in between hot cocoa and soup breaks) to take in the breathtaking views all around us. If you ever take an Alaskan Cruise, definitely make sure you pack the right gear for glacier-cruising days (i.e. a warm jacket, hat, and gloves). It gets COLD out there!

Unfortunately, I saw waaaayyyy too many people who couldn’t take the chill and had to keep running back indoors because they didn’t have on the right gear. You can never predict when glaciers are going to calve, so it’s best to stay outside all day to maximize your chances. We sprung for a room with a balcony (which we thoroughly enjoyed!), but I preferred to walk about the ship while sailing through Glacier Bay to make sure we always had the best view.

Speaking of views… keep scrolling through to soak up the sights we saw that day!

Cruising Glacier Bay - Holland America OosterdamCruising Glacier Bay - Holland America OosterdamCruising Glacier Bay - Holland America OosterdamCruising Glacier Bay - Holland America OosterdamCruising Glacier Bay - Holland America Oosterdam Cruising Glacier Bay - Holland America OosterdamAbsolutely stunning! We couldn’t have asked for a more picture-perfect ending to our cruise. But wait, there’s more…

Stay tuned for the final installment of my Alaska Travel Diary to see what happened after our cruise. Trust me, you won’t wanna miss it!

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  • Lisa September 14, 2015 at 8:03 pm

    I can only imagine how pristine the air quality was.

  • Jungle Naps September 16, 2015 at 6:05 am

    Wow and you saw killer whales in the wild. Oh man. Looks like a dream vacation!