Our journey by sea back to Vancouver was an amazing experience.

Alaska has an incredibly long coastline (over 1700 miles alone from Anchorage to Vancouver in Canada) and contains a large number of national parks. Travelling by sea is the only way to enjoy the privilege of visiting many of these coastal gems.

We are cruising virgins and would go so far as to say it was not our first choice of transport. However the experience has well exceeded our expectations. Fantastic food, service all round, entertainment and very comfy rooms ( staterooms is the official word)

We spent the first day onboard settling into our quarters and trying to find our way around.

Days 2 and 3 were spent travelling to and enjoying the sights of the Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. Cloud cover restricted our ability to see much of Hubbard Glacier but the experience the next day of Glacier Bay more than compensated. This is a huge national park and the only one that can only be accessed by sea. It stretches 65 miles up a coastal inlet from where the mountains and peaks meet the Pacific Ocean.

Glacier Bay contains over 1000 glaciers and all the sealife that the glacial flow rich in nutrients and minerals supports.

The park rangers that oversee the protection of this vast area joined the ship in the morning and provided an extensive programme of information, discussion and live narrative throughout the visit.

https://www.nps.gov/glba/index.htm

Once again it is not possible for us to convey the magnitude of the peaks, the vast size of the area involved or the peace and tranquility and beauty of nature at its core with photos. It is an experience more than a picture.