Juneau to Glacier Bay, Alaska

It was an interesting voyage to Bartlett Bay in Glacier Bay National Park. Only a few cruise ships, tour boats and private boats get permits to come in daily. The ranger center is here and the ship docked to pick up a ranger who then accompanied us while giving commentary up to the confluence of several glaciers, passing a lot of ‘growlers’ (mini icebergs) along the way with lots of wildlife. Dozens of groups of river otters would languidly float on their backs with slow foot strokes a few dozen feet from the ship (which was running under 8 MPH in those areas). Just beyond that confluence, a landslide in 1958 at the glacier generated the largest tsunami in recorded history, at 1,700 feet high in the fjord (the Empire State Building is 1,450 feet high if you include the antenna).

Constellation then turned a bit south into another arm with another glacier face for the night. Incredible, spectacular pristine scenery all along. We are so glad to see it again.Read more