20240915 Sunday, September 15, 2024- Glacier Bay
While we lucked out on weather for our Ketchikan and Sitka ports of call, today we were greeted with SE Alaska’s trademark fog and rain as we entered into Glacier Bay National Park. This put a damper on potential wildlife sightings, but we did manage to get a glimpse of a few mountain goats at a distance and some marine mammal swimming through ice flows at a distance too great to be sure if it was an otter or harbor seal. We certainly have an easier time spotting harbor seals on the log booms at our home marina.
The Viking Orion made its way up into the Johns Hopkins Inlet for a distant view of retreating Reid Glacier, and more close up views of Lamplugh Glacier and Johns Hopkins Glacier. We then turned into Tarr Inlet and got a close up view of Margerie Glacier. Margerie or Large Marg, appears to be a typical tidewater glacier with its fractured blue and white ice face at the water’s edge. There appeared to be a big mountain of dirty debris to Margerie’s right, at the head of the Tarr Inlet. This is the Grand Pacific Glacier, which now looks nothing like a glacier because it is covered with dirt and rock debris plowed up ahead of the actual glacier face which melts out of sight short of the waterline.
Even with the rain and wind, we were impressed by how less crowded the whole glacier viewing experience was on the Viking Orion compared with Princess and Norwegian Cruise ship experiences. There was never any issue with finding an open space along the railings to shoot photos, and when the boat did a complete rotation in front of both John’s Hopkins and Margerie Glaciers, we had a beautiful and very comfortable view from our stateroom balcony. On both Princess and Norwegian, there were thick crowds and it was difficult to get to a railing for photos.
The National Park Rangers provided narration over the ship’s PA system with one Ranger sounding very experienced in delivering narration over PA systems because she spoke slowly and clearly. Her narration was also pretty well rehearsed. A different Ranger gave a talk as we cruised out of Glacier Bay, remarking how the glaciers we viewed today were not entirely unlike those that carved the Ohio valley and Cleveland, where he lives, so he now feels a special connection between glaciers and himself. We have seen the same graphical chart of CO2 concentrations over the centuries as recorded in glacial ice cores, and it is remarkable, and startling how high the current spike is. It is truly unprecedented in this planet’s history. We can only hope that the planet’s redundant buffering systems can continue to make it habitable for humans for the coming generations.
Ben hit the fitness center for a run, but on yesterday’s excursion into Sitka, we both managed over 12,000 steps so it is possible to get a reasonable amount of exercise on these cruises.
In the afternoon, there was a lecture on iPhone photography which taught us a lot of new tips and tricks that we didn’t know before. The most shocking one was you can put your iPhone instantly into photo mode from sleep by simply tapping the screen and swiping left. No passcode, Touch ID or FaceID needed. That will help us not miss shots in the future.
That hint came in handy when a small sparrow showed up on our balcony, working its way up and down the ship picking insects and crumbs off the balconies.
Ben has been on a tear when it comes to losing his room card. Yesterday when we were on the shuttle back to the ship, Ben discovered his room card had slipped out of his retractible lanyard somewhere in Sitka. It was easy enough to get back on the ship with a Driver’s License and Passenger services printed up a replacement card in a jiffy. Then today, somehow his retractible lanyard and card, which had been clipped to his belt when we went to the buffet for lunch, was no longer on his belt when we went back to the room. That lead to an embarrassing return to Passenger Services for a second replacement room card in less than 24hrs. The card and lanyard were eventually turned into the Passenger Services Lost and Found, so we got the lanyard back, but we won’t be trusting it any longer and are taping our cards into the lanyard card holders.
We ended up running into fellow Rocky Mountaineer travelers Chris and Christie in the elevator as we were headed to the Restaurant, which is the main sit down dining room. The menu was similar to Princess Cruises where there is a daily menu on one side, and every day items on the other side. The food was comparable in quality and presentation to Princess, but we feel the dining staff are a little more attentive and friendly on Princess.
As the ship transitioned from Glacier Bay towards Hubbard Glacier in Yakutat Bay, we were cruising 10 miles off shore and it got pretty rocky, which gets exaggerated on the upper decks.
There was a Name that Tune through the Generations Trivia with Arianna. We played with Chris and Christie and won a round of mimosas. Chris was very helpful on this music trivia win.
The evening closed with a vocalist Janien Valentine, who is a Las Vegas performer who did a Diva medley. Since our first Viking Ocean cruise on the Viking Star, Viking has increased the staffing and resources for entertainment significantly because there was a professional 4 piece band backing this singer, and they now have a digital back drop for the stage and automated LED lighting and even fog generators.
It still doesn’t approach the Princess stage production values, but it is a huge step up. There is also a dedicated Cruise Director who MC’s for shows and does a Viking Daily show on the TV.
Janien put on an energetic and entertaining show that was spot on in intonation. She is a very talented singer and worth seeing again. We sat for a while after her show waiting for the lines at the elevator to dissipate and we saw her come off the stage wheeling a carry on suit case. We teased her about getting off the ship, and she explained it was all the music that the band uses for her shows. She will be on the ship until Valdez, and will then have to take a train to Anchorage before she can fly back to Las Vegas. This was her first performance on a Viking Cruise ship. She says she does one weekly contract per month because she has children at home. We did enjoy her show.
Tomorrow we sail into Yakutat Bay to see the Hubbard Glacier. We hope the sea conditions for our North Pacific crossing won’t be like footage from the Most Dangerous Catch.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.