Monday, June 21 - We saw ICE!! - Cruising in Glacier Bay National Park

As I was getting ready this morning, it occured to me that I should take a look out the on the balcony and check out the scenery. I stepped out and saw everyone around me with binoculars and cameras pointed out to the ocean. I looked in the direction they were aiming at and saw a pod of 4 humpback whales cruising by our ship!! They were blowing and diving and showing their tails - put on quite an act for us. At that point we were at the entry to Glacier Bay, where we were told later is where the marine wildlife hang out. At 11am, we went down to the Princess Theater to hear one of the park rangers who had come aboard and she told us all about what we would be seeing and how amazing the area is. The rest of the day was spent in the bay and the highlight was coming along side Margerie Glacier - absolutely stunning with its deep crevices and its length - 16 miles!
The thing to watch for there was the calving - we saw a few small pieces come off and one fairly large piece drop. Also saw several bald eagles sitting on icebergs and many gulls. We left that area around 3pm, passed by Johns Hopkins glacier and by 7pm we were back at the mouth of the bay for some marine wildlife viewing. The park ranger met us out on deck and explained to us what we might see and where we should look.
It took awhile, but finally the humpbacks started appearing. You could hear shouts of "there's a blow" and "there's a tail". We saw several pods and also two sea otters. The ranger had described them as "bookends" in the water, and she was right - all you can see is their head and their back feet sticking out of the water as they float on their backs. We spent about an hour out there and then went up to dinner. Linda and Steve were there (and more talkative), but the other 4 were still MIA. Not sure if we'll ever see them! Dinner was delicious tonight - crab legs, seafood soup, surf and turf (with shrimp) and creme brulee. Then we went to the 10:15 show in the Princess Theater, which featured the comedian from the other night. He was really quite good and we enjoyed the show. Time to get ready for our first stop tomorrow - Skagway.