Glacier Bay

About Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay is a scenic-cruising day rather than a port call — ships enter Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve at dawn, embark two NPS rangers who narrate over the ship's PA, and spend the day nosing up to tidewater glaciers like Margerie, Johns Hopkins, and Lamplugh. The park permits only two large cruise ships per day, so the experience is less crowded than a typical port and requires the line to hold one of the limited concession slots (Princess, Holland America, and Norwegian are the most common holders). Passengers don't go ashore, but they'll see calving ice, harbor seals hauled out on bergs, and frequently humpback whales and mountain goats. Dress warmly — even in July the up-bay temperature near the ice can drop into the 40s °F.

• Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve encompasses over 3.2 million acres in Southeast Alaska and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979 and a Biosphere Reserve since 1986.
• As recently as 1750, the entire bay was buried under a glacier up to 4,000 feet thick; today more than 1,000 glaciers fill the park — one of the most dramatic examples of post-Ice Age glacial retreat on Earth.
• The park is home to tidewater glaciers that calve directly into the sea, producing dramatic ice falls that can be heard from miles away and draw thousands of cruise-ship visitors each season.
• Humpback whales, orcas, harbor seals, Dall's porpoises, brown and black bears, mountain goats, and wolves are all regularly spotted within the park.
• Cruise ship entry into Glacier Bay is capped by the National Park Service at no more than two large vessels per day during the season, preserving the park's tranquility and protecting whale feeding habitat.