jstducky
April 27th, 2004, 04:40 PM
italy52 --- how's the weather down there in chula vista? its HOT HOT HOT up here in West LA!
anyhow, i can't really speak about Hubbard Glacier as i've never seen it for myself. i have seen pictures of the glacier online and i beleive that it is larger than marjerie glacier which is the highlight of HAL's stop at Glacier Bay. from what I understand, RCI can get pretty close to Hubbard Glacier, within 1/8 of a mile or so if the weather is good and ice conditions permit. from pictures it looks gorgeous. i think that if i end up doing an alaskan cruise again next year, i will do it with RCI just for a different experience...
but with HAL, they are one of the few ships that regularly calls to Glacier Bay National Park. the park service only allows a certain number of ships to enter the Park on a daily basis. upon entering the park, a park ranger will board the ship, and throughout the day the park ranger gives on board presentations as to the glacier formations as well as to the wildlife you may be seeing. also the park ranger will get on the ship intercom and narrate at parts during the day. the highlight of glacier bay is a 1-2 hour stop at marjerie glacier, which is one of the most active glaciers at glacier bay. on most days it does a lot of calving, and that is a sight to be hold. marjerie glacier is actually right next to what is known is the grand pacific glacier, which i beleive is one of the biggest glaciers in southeast alaska. however, when you go to glacier bay no body talks about the grand pacific because 1) you can hardly tell its there, it has carried so much dirt and rock down the mountain as it has advanced that it really looks like a dirt covered hill, when in reality it is a HUGE glacier, you just can't see beyond the black dirt/sand, so most people go to glacier bay and admire marjerie glacier and never really realize that the grand pacific is right there, and 2) its not a very active glacier, it hardly calves at all and since marjerie calves all the time, thats the one everyone pays attention too...
also while in glacier bay the boat will take you past john hopkins inlet. i beleive that the john hopkins glacier, which is situated inside an inlet is the most active of the glaciers in glacier bay, however, large cruise ships are prohibited from entering the inlet as it is a protected area for harbor seals to give birth to their pups and raise them there. its gorgeous to look at though, even from a distance, and you can just tell how active it is because the inlet itself is filled with thousands of icebergs. and you can also sometimes see how active it is because you'll be able to see and hear from a distance the calving!
so thats the 411 on glacier bay national park.
also, if you should happen to have the time and are willing to spend the money, you might want to consider a one way trip in alaska rather than a roundtrip. if you have time you should add a land tour through denali national park as part of your vacation. also if you do the one way on HAL and i beleive other cruise lines do this as well, you will most likely pass through college fjord where you'll see a bunch of other glaciers all named after colleges!
ok, so i think i've rambled on enough! i think you can tell that i absolutely LOVE alaska! whatever you and your husbad decide you'll definitely be glad you went and i assure you that you'll both fall in love with alaska. it'll be a great way to spend your anniversary together!
lastly, i am looking forward to the zuiderdam. never done the caribbean before and to boot this cruise was free as i won it through free cruise lottery on the zaandam in alaska last year! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
jstducky!
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