Woke up around 0800, went to get breakfast in the formal dining room but there was a big queue so went to the buffet. Today was all at sea, visiting Glacier Bay, so called because it was a bay with glaciers. The tv had a gps app that showed where the ship was and we were heading further north.
We sailed past snow covered mountains, close to the shore and soon came to the bay. The main glacier, Marjorie Glacier was at the end. We sailed through turquoise waters with lumps of ice all around, the sky was grey with a light rain but it wasn’t windy or too cold. As we got closer we realised that it was huge – taller than the ship. The captain got pretty close and parked for about an hour. We stood outside (I was wearing my $20 jacket) and were close to where the front of the glacier met the sea, the front was sheer, rugged and there were vertical cracks all along it. It was bluey white with some dark lines where it had ground down the rock. There were occasional sounds like gunshots where the ice was cracking, and a couple of times splashes where bits broke off and fell into the sea. It stopped raining and the sun came out for a while.
We went back to our room and were able to see the entire front of the glacier from our room, an incredible sight. We stood on the balcony for a while then sat in the warm. Truly amazing.
Watched a movie, constantly looking outside at the views, then went for lunch in the dining room. I had chicken to start, Song had a vegetarian thingy, and for main I had Asian style burger, Song had sole. I had a butterscotch sundae for dessert, Song had cheesecake. We certainly weren’t going to lose any weight. We then went for a couple of laps around the deck, I wore my $20 jacket. There were a lot more people on the deck because the sun came out again and the views were yet again stunning. We sailed past mountain ranges on either side. We thought it would be a boring day just being at sea, but we were blown away by the views again.
By now we’d explored most of the ship – the casino and all the restaurants, it was huge. There was a spa with a hydropool and sauna, 2 swimming pools (one indoor and one outdoor), each with hot tubs attached. 2 table tennis tables, a basketball court, 3 or 4 bars, a cafe, a library and several conference rooms.
We sat in the lido again and had a coffee, and I saw another whale.
Song went back to the room, I sat on the deck with a beer (Alaskan ale stout) looking at the mountains, bathed in sunlight, floating by.
Went back to the room, watched tv, and the ship picked up speed. We were heading out into the open sea to go back, and the sea started to get a bit of a swell, about 3 metres, and the boat was moving up and down a fair bit. Later on it got even worse and Song didn’t feel too well so skipped dinner. It takes more than some waves to come between me and food, I had roast lamb followed by ice cream.
Went back to the room, watched another movie as the boat bobbed up and down as well as rolling a bit.
Song wasn’t well.
