Glacier Bay National Park, AK
My first experience in Alaska did not disappoint. I spent 7 nights cruising northbound from Vancouver to Whittier on Holland America’s Noordam followed by 3 nights at Denali National Park. Here is what I did at one of the many stops along the way:
If you are lucky, one of your cruise port stops will be Glacier Bay National Park. I call it a port stop but you don’t disembark the ship. Glacier Bay National Park is a highlight of Alaska's Inside Passage and part of a 25-million acre World Heritage Site—one of the world’s largest international protected areas.
Early in the morning National Park rangers boarded our ship to spend the day providing narrative of our visit, give informative talks, kid’s activities, and set up an information desk. A smaller boat pulled up along our ship to drop off the park rangers as we were slowly sailing into the park.
Our ship spent the day making its way through the park and then stopping in front of a major tidewater glacier, Margerie Glacier. This was the focal point of our journey. We spent a few hours near the glacier in the hopes of seeing the glacier calving. Glacier calving is the breaking of ice chunks from the edge of a glacier. It is the sudden release and breaking away of a mass of ice from a glacier. Calving of glaciers is often accompanied by a loud cracking or thunder sound. We were fortunate enough to see this in action. It was spectacular. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to get any video of it.
Glacier Bay National Park is a do not miss stop on your Alaska Adventure. Just ask the sea otters I met that day.
