Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

“Where the glacier meets the sky, the land ceases to be earthly, and the earth becomes one with the heavens; no sorrows live there anymore, and therefore joy is not necessary; beauty alone reigns there, beyond all demands.”

― Halldór Laxness

One of the best experiences on a Holland America Alaskan cruise is a stop in Glacier Bay National Park. Being on a boat or ship is the best way to see the dramatic tidewater glaciers “flowing” into calm, aquamarine waters and surrounded by snow-capped mountains and forests.

Together with Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve and the Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in British Columbia, this 24-million-acre wilderness is a World Heritage Site and the world's largest internationally protected area. As it isn’t accessible by roadways, there’s little human interference. It is a significant place for the Huna Tlingit people, as they inhabited it long before the Europeans reached the Glacier Bay shores.

While in the bay, Park Rangers came on board to discuss the science behind Alaska glaciers, answer questions, and pointed out the named glaciers in the bay as our ship made a 360-degree turn in the water so everyone had access to the best views.

While in Glacier Bay we saw the John Hopkins Glacier, a 12-mile glacier named after the famous university, and the Margerie Glacier, a 21-mile-long glacier with dramatic cliffs, named after a French geologist. In the water we saw lots of smaller bits of ice that had calved off the glaciers, which we learned are called growlers and bergy bits. We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife this time, but sea otters, seals, bears, whales, and mountain goats are often known to make appearances in this area.

The glaciers can be viewed from various spots around the deck of the ship, but we also enjoyed sitting on our balcony snuggled under the woolen blanket which was provided, sipping on hot chocolate and eating croissants as we watched the spectacular scenery around us. How perfect does that sound?!

There are some smaller cruise lines that will take you closer to the glaciers, or even provide kayaks to get closer, but even as far away as we were to the glaciers, we could still hear the “white thunder” the glacier made as it calved, which was something we weren’t expecting and was really exciting to hear!

When choosing which Alaska cruise you’d like to go on, be sure they have a stop in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. It’s an experience that will stay with you long after you return. And don’t worry, the cruise ship captains are very skilled at working their way around potential icebergs (no Titanic reenactments here)! 😉