DAY 2: GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK & OVERNIGHT
Glacier Bay | UnCruise Adventures | Wilderness Legacy | Day 2 of Itinerary | Sea Lions & Skiffs
FIRST OF 2 DAYS IN GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK
This is not the itinerary we signed up for. Instead of one day in and out of Glacier Bay we will spend 2 more than full days and overnight in fabulous Glacier Bay! WOW. Better than we could have ever hoped for. And we have signed up for some sensational included activities, all of the right here in this amazing park. We could never overnight anchored in the glorious waters of Glacier Bay or experience it on skiffs, kayaks, hike or bushwhack in the park from a large cruise ship. Not in their wildest dreams.
We started our day with a fabulous breakfast of an open face eggs on lettuce and omelets. So the dining process goes like this. The chef enters the dining room and announces the lunch options and your waiter comes around to take your order. You are free to change but this does give the team a good idea of how much of what to prepare so not to be wasteful.
After breakfast we went to a kayak orientation presented very well by Karissa and Moxie. We will be taking advantage of the plethora of kayaks available.
FIRST STOP: SOUTH MARBLE ISLAND FOR SEA LIONS
Thanks to the small size of The Legacy we were able to cruise right along side South Marble Island, a rocky island inhabited solely by Sea Lions. Hundreds of them. Our first peek was passing smaller islands with a handful of Sea Lions. However, before we were beside South Marble Island we could hear the loud squawking of the Sea Lions, quickly followed by a strong order emitting from hundreds of Sea Lions.
This was such a unique experience viewing hundreds of Sea Lions climbing over each other to lounge on the rocks and to enter and return from the waters of Glacier Bay. We encourage you to view our video, just above this to get a real feel for this. We could have never enjoyed this unique experience onboard a typical large cruise ship. Again, with a small ship line like UnCruise you get to "experience" Alaska up very close.
AFTERNOON SKIFF TOUR
After an awesome lunch of a Fish Sandwich and Fish Salad (pictured at the top of the page) we opted for skiff tour. Yeah, it was a rainy 50-minute tour but hey, that's why we bought the rain suite. Felt fine the whole time, warm and covered. Our Adventure Guide, Liz brought Kelp onboard for us to touch and explore. Fascinating for me as I had no idea what kelp looked like. Also ventured to a shore to see mussels up close (both pictured above).
And remember we did all of these unique adventure not only included in our fare, but inside of Glacier Bay where we will anchor and spend tonight. You can not do this on a big cruise line ship!
HAPPY HOUR, EXCURSION TALKS, DINNER & BAR TIME
5:30 pm is Happy Hour every night in The Lounge onboard the UnCruise Legacy. You don't want to miss it. Of course it's on the house. All drinks are. Every night we were presented with a variety of different hot Hors D'oeuvres and Drink of the Day Specials. But order whatever you wish.
Happy Hour is also when the Adventure Team led by Dawn, breaks out the big news for tomorrow's exciting new destination and the activities available. We will spend a very full day and partial evening in Glacier Bay with a load of exciting adventure to choose from. We start bright and early with a phenomenal glacier viewing and incredible adventures. We are signed for some big adventures, Be sure to see our Day 3 Report and this may prove to be the biggest adventures of the week, potentially.
Dinner was excellent again. Really digging the fresh seafood. Of course there are meat and vegetarian as well as every day options available. Spent part of the evening at the bar pretty much alone with bartender Steve, who loves travel and spends much of his off season in Colorado. We have a lot in common. Our first full day onboard the Legacy was fun and adventurous. Good night from inside Glacier Bay.