Day 5 – Glacier Bay National Park

Thursday was the amazing Glacier Bay National Park. We entered early, stopping at Gustavus around 6AM to pickup 5 park rangers. Then it was a couple of hours cruising the scenic passages towards Marjerie Glacier. We continued to have wet weather, but thankfully the wind seemed to die down the closer we got to the glacier. It was cool and drizzly wet and foggy.

Although I had been on an Alaska Inside Passage cruise before, this was my first time to Glacier Bay. The glaciers are amazing. And while on deck, you hear so many stories and comments about people and their past cruises here and how much the glaciers have decreased in just a few years. Here are some shots I took at Marjerie Glacier:

If you have a cabin with a balcony, and prefer to sit and enjoy from your own balcony instead of going to the upper decks, not to worry. The Captain will position the ship with the port side viewing of the glacier and stay for 30 minutes, he will then rotate the ship so the starboard side has the same view for the same 30 minutes. So equal viewing for each side, so no need to leave your balcony if you don’t want to!

After the hour viewing, it was time to move on.

Our next glacier viewing would be the smaller Lamplugh Glacier. It took a little over an hour I believe to get there. And here are some shots I took there, and I will note, while looking at Lamplugh, if you look just to the right, then up on the top of the hill, you will see a small glacier, which makes the waterfall to the ocean (see last 2 images):

And here are a couple of additional photos that I took of the area surrounding Lamplugh:

You will enjoy the same viewing of Lamplugh as with Marjerie, 30 minutes one side of the ship then 30 minutes on the other side. Then it was time to move on as we were due in Ketchikan the next morning. Once the ship begins to leave Lamplugh, there will be ranger talks in the Theatre in the afternoon.

The remainder of the day for me was spent dining and visiting with friends, attending the show and cocktails. Cheers to Ketchikan tomorrow!

Travel protocol changes

Travel requirements continue to change. If you are planning travel, it is SO important to continually monitor sites for changes. Yesterday Princess announced new mask and testing requirements for the cruise after mine through the CDC Conditional Sail Order date of Oct 31, 2021.

Although I don’t have to worry about pre cruise testing (even if vaccinated, which I am), they’re upping the mask requirements. This is the update I received:

“UPDATED MASK REQUIREMENTS FOR YOUR SAILING

We look forward to welcoming you on board your upcoming cruise. In an abundance of caution and in response to the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant, we have made adjustments to our onboard mask policy.

All guests will be required to wear face masks in elevators, entertainment venues, retail shops, the casino, and other designated areas except while eating and drinking. Guests must also wear face masks prior to being seated in all dining venues and may occasionally be asked to wear a mask in other designated areas. Masks are required during embarkation and debarkation in the terminal, and must be worn during the debarkation process on board.

Our crew will continue to wear masks at all times when in guest areas, except when eating or drinking or outdoors when not interacting with guests. As we work with our medical experts to promote the health and safety of our guests and crew, we appreciate the cooperation of all of our guests”.

I know many would want to cancel,, or be upset or even mad at these changes. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed about the change, but it will still allow me to get back onboard a cruise ship and sail away and that thought makes me happy!

Again, if you’re planning travel, particularly with a cruise line or tour company, I cannot stress enough the importance of staying up to date with the ever evolving rules and regs. Hopefully once the CDC date comes and goes, these changes will not be so frequent. Until then I wish you all safe and happy travels!

One Week To Go

Well just one week from today I will be boarding the Majestic princess in Seattle for a week long cruise to Alaska!

My medallion has arrived which is what I will use to access my cabin, purchase drinks on my account or items from the shops, and it’s my identifier for checking in-and-out of the ship when I go ashore. It is small and circular and I attach it to my Fitbit band (I will post picture next week).

Princess is currently requiring passengers be fully vaccinated, and they must wear face masks when when boarding the ship so when we’re in line at the port, as well as on transfer busses or tour busses. And Alaska has just requested that we also wear masks if we are unable to social distance or if we go indoors while ashore in Alaska. Because of this I purchased some new Princess masks that they had available at the time I ordered my medalion.

My bag is mostly packed but my mind is fully packed (with excitement lol) and ready to go! I’ll see you in a week!!