Since leaving Seward, Crystal Serenity has cruised mostly in an easterly direction and then turned more southerly, along the northern end of the Alaskan panhandle. This posting will cover the past two days, April 27 and 28, which were really days at sea, but were exciting as we visited glaciers both days. We know we’re still in Alaska - both days were cold, and it’s been cloudy and rainy. We have had (mostly light) rain every day for the past six straight days.
We had breakfast in the main dining room this morning –
always a nice change of pace from the usual Lido Deck or Bistro, our normal
breakfast spots. Ginny attended two enrichment lectures, while Jim only went to
one -
Retired Marine General Anthony Zinni. We have a lot of respect for this man who
had an extraordinary military career; but more notably right now, he’s an
eloquent speaker and a very intelligent person with an interest in history. He
spoke on the war in the North Pacific during World War II - one
of those “forgotten wars” where thousands of Americans and Canadians lost their
lives. He really brought it alive by way of his reading, research, and
story-telling.
Also this morning, Jim went on a 30-minute “Behind the
Scenes” tour of Crystal Serenity,
which was offered exclusively for Full World Cruise passengers. He was in a
group of five, led by Raphaël Derkson, the ship’s musical director and
orchestra leader. The visit included the engine control room, many of the
hidden offices for accountants, Cruise Director, Hotel Director, crew quarters,
crew mess, crew bistro, crew lounge, officers mess and lounge, laundry room,
supply rooms, tailor shop, and much more. Most of this was on decks 2, 3, and 4;
most passengers never go below deck 5 (except for tender operations on deck 4).
Raphaël and other crewmembers happily answered all questions asked by our
inquisitive passengers (mostly Jim).
After lunch, the ship started our transit to Hubbard Glacier by entering Yakutat
Bay, which is 200 miles NW of Juneau. We then proceeded into the narrower
Disenchantment Bay, named this because, in 1792, an early explorer couldn’t
find an entrance to the Northwest
Passage when discovering that this bay was totally blocked by ice.
Unfortunately, it remained mostly cloudy for our visit today,
with a few lucky breaks in clouds late in the day.
A glacier is called a “tidewater glacier” if it reaches the
sea. Hubbard Glacier is known as the longest tidewater glacier in North
America, extending some 76 miles from Mt. Logan in the Yukon (Canada) to the
sea at Disenchantment Bay. Hubbard is one of the only advancing (growing)
glaciers, and it has been advancing for about the past 100 years.
Vertically, Hubbard glacier is also massive. Its calving face
(the terminus, where it meets the bay) is more than six miles across Disenchantment
Bay’s headwaters and some 300 - 400 feet high, making it not only the longest,
but also the largest, tidewater glacier in Alaska.
As we learned, it takes many hundreds of years for ice to traverse the length of a glacier, meaning the ice at the foot of this glacier may be about 400 years old. As water undermines the face (front terminus) of the glacier, great blocks of ice can break loose and crash into the water creating icebergs. This is called calving, and we understand that Hubbard Glacier does calve a lot. The face is more than 300 feet tall, and icebergs 3 to 4 stories in height calved from the glacier apparently aren’t uncommon. We didn’t see any of that type of extreme activity today. Another thing to know is that where the glacier meets the bay, most of the ice is below the waterline, and newly calved icebergs can shoot up out of the water dramatically. Ships must keep their distance from the edge of a glacier.
After watching the glacier and cruising in front of it for a while, so both sides (port and starboard) had a good look, Captain Vorland reversed course, left the bay, and headed out for tomorrow’s encounter at Glacier Bay National Park.
We went up to the Palm Court for Mozart Tea in late afternoon, which is done once per segment on the World Cruise; and it’s always very popular. The Astoria Strings play Mozart music, there’s a large table of tea-time treats, all the waiters are dressed up in period costumes. There are many types of tea offered, but we both had hot chocolate today.
We went up to the Palm Court for Mozart Tea in late afternoon, which is done once per segment on the World Cruise; and it’s always very popular. The Astoria Strings play Mozart music, there’s a large table of tea-time treats, all the waiters are dressed up in period costumes. There are many types of tea offered, but we both had hot chocolate today.
The two of us then had a romantic dinner-for-two at Tastes this evening, and the food was good - as always. We avoided the “Black Tie Optional” (formal) night in the process.
After dinner, we attended a show in the Galaxy Lounge by Celebrity Entertainer Clint Holmes, who is definitely a highly talented, energetic singer. He normally performs in Las Vegas as an artist-in-residence and has been inducted into the “Casino Legends Hall of Fame.” He brought his own music director and piano player with him. We greatly enjoyed the show.
After dinner, we attended a show in the Galaxy Lounge by Celebrity Entertainer Clint Holmes, who is definitely a highly talented, energetic singer. He normally performs in Las Vegas as an artist-in-residence and has been inducted into the “Casino Legends Hall of Fame.” He brought his own music director and piano player with him. We greatly enjoyed the show.
I don’t think we mentioned that we attended “6/8 Café” again. This is one of the standing performances by the ship’s entertainment team (singers and dancers). Although we’ve seen this show 3 – 4 times, it seemed especially good tonight. Maybe because Tom Lowe, the lead vocalist, is back on the ship.
April 28, 2016: Glacier Bay, Alaska
Yes, Hubbard is the largest tidewater glacier in North America; but in good weather, Glacier Bay National Park is an excellent location to view many different glaciers, not just one. It is an active calving location as well. We were here at Glacier Bay back in 2003 in bright blue sky, and it was magnificent. Glacier Bay is located about 60 miles northwest of Juneau, near the northern edge of the Inside Passage.
Unfortunately, this was not a cloud-free day. In fact, we’d have to say it was a bad weather day - cloudy, cold (37º F), and rainfall ranging from drizzling to heavy during our visit here - much worse than at Hubbard yesterday. For the most part, our views of the glaciers were obscured by clouds and fog. However, Captain Vorland was able to steer us close enough to some of the major glaciers to get some views, despite less than ideal conditions. Here’s what it looked like on the way into Glacier Bay.
Unfortunately, this was not a cloud-free day. In fact, we’d have to say it was a bad weather day - cloudy, cold (37º F), and rainfall ranging from drizzling to heavy during our visit here - much worse than at Hubbard yesterday. For the most part, our views of the glaciers were obscured by clouds and fog. However, Captain Vorland was able to steer us close enough to some of the major glaciers to get some views, despite less than ideal conditions. Here’s what it looked like on the way into Glacier Bay.
Two National Park Service (NPS) rangers had come on board Serenity early this morning, to narrate (over the ship’s loudspeakers) our journey along Glacier Bay. This was a difficult task, because there wasn’t much to see. They also had NPS maps we could use to follow our route along the bay through the park. One interesting thing she did say was that we are the first ship of the season for this year.
The ranger started her dialog (from the bridge) at Gloomy Knob. In fact, it was gloomy today. She told us to look for wild animals on this “knob” as it isn’t icy, and there are plants here for food. Using his binoculars, Jim claims he was able to see a goat (or two) on Gloomy Knob.
One of the rangers explained that glaciers form when more snow falls each winter in the high mountains than melts the following summer. As these mountains receive snowfall year after year, the accumulating weight soon presses it into solid ice. New snow layers create pressure on existing layers of snow and ice. Eventually, gravity sets the ice mass moving downslope. The glacier's terminus is when it falls into deep water or at the point during its descent when the rate of melt equals the rate of accumulation.
She further explained that icebergs (calved off of glaciers) can be seen in different colors. White icebergs hold many trapped air bubbles. Blue icebergs are dense. Greenish or black icebergs calved off of glacier bottoms. Dark- striped brown icebergs carry rubble from the joining of tributary glaciers. icebergs may last a week or more before they melt or break apart.
Glacier Bay is a still-forming body of water which is fed by the runoff of the glaciers and mountains that surround it. Glaciers are retreating in the park. As we cruised up Glacier Bay, we were following the route of the retreat of the glaciers. When we entered the bay (at the south end), this was the location of glacial extent in the year 1750. Today, we must travel 65 miles northbound up the bay (fjord) to see the leading edge of the glaciers. That’s a sixty-five mile retreat of the glaciers in a little more than 250 years.
There are at least eight glaciers feeding into the bay that could have been visible on our route today. The first one to “see” was Reid Glacier, but it was totally obscured by clouds and fog. Jim took a couple of photos, but you can’t see anything on them.
Captain Vorland then steered us up to the extreme northwestern end of the bay on Tarr Inlet, where two of the largest glaciers are located - Margerie Glacier and Grand Pacific Glacier. As luck would have it, the rain stopped as we arrived at these two, and the Captain was able to steer up relatively close to them, so we could get good looks. Note that the head of Tarr Inlet lies at the Alaska-Canada border.
Margerie Glacier is about 21 miles long. The width of the glacier is about 1 mile and the total height at its terminus (where we were located) is about 350 feet including 100 feet that is underwater. The glacial ice appears blue in this glacier, as a result of the absorption of red, orange, yellow and green wavelengths of light and, consequently, pools of water on top of the glacier appear bright blue.
The ranger started her dialog (from the bridge) at Gloomy Knob. In fact, it was gloomy today. She told us to look for wild animals on this “knob” as it isn’t icy, and there are plants here for food. Using his binoculars, Jim claims he was able to see a goat (or two) on Gloomy Knob.
One of the rangers explained that glaciers form when more snow falls each winter in the high mountains than melts the following summer. As these mountains receive snowfall year after year, the accumulating weight soon presses it into solid ice. New snow layers create pressure on existing layers of snow and ice. Eventually, gravity sets the ice mass moving downslope. The glacier's terminus is when it falls into deep water or at the point during its descent when the rate of melt equals the rate of accumulation.
She further explained that icebergs (calved off of glaciers) can be seen in different colors. White icebergs hold many trapped air bubbles. Blue icebergs are dense. Greenish or black icebergs calved off of glacier bottoms. Dark- striped brown icebergs carry rubble from the joining of tributary glaciers. icebergs may last a week or more before they melt or break apart.
Glacier Bay is a still-forming body of water which is fed by the runoff of the glaciers and mountains that surround it. Glaciers are retreating in the park. As we cruised up Glacier Bay, we were following the route of the retreat of the glaciers. When we entered the bay (at the south end), this was the location of glacial extent in the year 1750. Today, we must travel 65 miles northbound up the bay (fjord) to see the leading edge of the glaciers. That’s a sixty-five mile retreat of the glaciers in a little more than 250 years.
There are at least eight glaciers feeding into the bay that could have been visible on our route today. The first one to “see” was Reid Glacier, but it was totally obscured by clouds and fog. Jim took a couple of photos, but you can’t see anything on them.
Captain Vorland then steered us up to the extreme northwestern end of the bay on Tarr Inlet, where two of the largest glaciers are located - Margerie Glacier and Grand Pacific Glacier. As luck would have it, the rain stopped as we arrived at these two, and the Captain was able to steer up relatively close to them, so we could get good looks. Note that the head of Tarr Inlet lies at the Alaska-Canada border.
Margerie Glacier is about 21 miles long. The width of the glacier is about 1 mile and the total height at its terminus (where we were located) is about 350 feet including 100 feet that is underwater. The glacial ice appears blue in this glacier, as a result of the absorption of red, orange, yellow and green wavelengths of light and, consequently, pools of water on top of the glacier appear bright blue.
The sun did cooperate for one picture from our balcony later in the day.
It was obvious that Margerie Glacier is a much cleaner glacier with less debris compared to the adjacent Grand Pacific Glacier.
Grand Pacific Glacier is a 25-mile long glacier that passes through both British Columbia and Alaska before reaching Glacier Bay at Tarr Inlet. The glacier is about 2 miles wide at the terminus, averaging about 150 feet high at the ice face, and up to 60 feet deep at the waterline. This particular glacier is retreating fairly rapidly.
It’s interesting how black this glacier appears to be. We understand that this is caused by rock debris carried along by a glacier and from landslides. The debris seems to cover much of the sides and extends across almost all of the ice face. We were told that in many areas on this glacier the debris is more than 3 feet thick.
Grand Pacific Glacier is a 25-mile long glacier that passes through both British Columbia and Alaska before reaching Glacier Bay at Tarr Inlet. The glacier is about 2 miles wide at the terminus, averaging about 150 feet high at the ice face, and up to 60 feet deep at the waterline. This particular glacier is retreating fairly rapidly.
It’s interesting how black this glacier appears to be. We understand that this is caused by rock debris carried along by a glacier and from landslides. The debris seems to cover much of the sides and extends across almost all of the ice face. We were told that in many areas on this glacier the debris is more than 3 feet thick.
Here are two interesting facts we’ve read that emphasize how important glaciers are: “Glaciers hold about 75% of the planet’s fresh water.” and “Glaciers and polar ice store more water than lakes and rivers, groundwater, and the atmosphere combined.”
Captain Vorland then cruised up the Johns Hopkins Inlet in an attempt to see the Johns Hopkins Glacier, but he had to turn back before getting there, as the weather closed in again.
Despite the “early season” (for Alaska) weather we did see two glaciers briefly today at Glacier Bay, so the day was a success.
On the other hand, we’re getting a little tired of gray, gloomy, rainy weather and are hoping for better conditions for the next three days in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.
Jim & Ginny
Captain Vorland then cruised up the Johns Hopkins Inlet in an attempt to see the Johns Hopkins Glacier, but he had to turn back before getting there, as the weather closed in again.
Despite the “early season” (for Alaska) weather we did see two glaciers briefly today at Glacier Bay, so the day was a success.
On the other hand, we’re getting a little tired of gray, gloomy, rainy weather and are hoping for better conditions for the next three days in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.
Jim & Ginny
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