Anciently creaking and groaning, the cold stillness of Glacier Bay is temporarily disturbed but a vast chunk of ice cracking off one of the glaciers and crashing into the waters below churning up the ocean and shattering more submerged shards of frozen, ragged, jagged diamond. The people on the sedately moving deck of the vast white cruise ship gasp and chatter and grab their photos. Little bugs marveling at the majesty of nature and their potential destruction.

16 glaciers once covered this bay in ice but now 12 or them break an writhe for your viewing pleasure. Behind the glaciers, some clean and white, some with hearts of dark blue and some run through with gravel depending on their heritage and path, are the snow capped mountains, made less huge by the impressive foreground. In the waters amongst the icebergs swim Humpback, Minke and Fin whales and seals and if your cruise takes you ashore you may see Brown, Black or Blue bears, moose or wolverines. Creatures in such a dramatic environment must themselves be quite dramatic.

Ships depart the warmer Seattle ports daily on their journeys into this quiet other worldly domain of larger than life landscape. Journey length varies as does the basics of the route and standard of the accommodation but the main event ages only in painful increments. It’s is archaic to wish you rough weather but that only makes cruising in Glacier Bay even more exciting.

Summer is the best season for Glacier Bay, as well as the less frigid weather there’s more chance of seeing some spectacular glacial action and where the bare rock shows though wildflowers sprout.

Written by  Lesley Harris.

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Weather

trying to determine the weather for the week of 9/13. going on Alaska Cruise on inner passage

 

Question posted 7th September 2009 by LoriJ.

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