ALASKA:WHITTIER TO THE HUBBARD GLACIER (CRUISE)

At 8pm (Saturday) our ship the Royal Princess upped anchor and sailed down Prince William Sound and into the Gulf of Alaska.We spent most of that time mesmerised by the astounding scenery all around us. The scale was majestic and difficult to capture in any photo.Hard to drag ourselves away to have dinner!

We had been lured by the queues forming for sit down dinner in Concerto dining room (included in our package) but it was all pre-booked. There was another similar dining room however on another floor so on advice we made for that and got seated right away. As I said previously, food was not good, had to return my fish as barely cooked through. Overly attentive waiters, very formal. Body swerved this type of dining from then on!

Saw our first humpback whales just after that though they were a bit distant.

First two Humpback whales — Humpbacks some distance off

Amazed at how close to shore they were! We saw around 70 humpbacks on the trip, they were everywhere – we were told that a lot of mothers and calves come into these waters in summer from their breeding grounds in Hawaii.We certainly had calm waters and perfect viewing weather plus we were barely away from the outside decks, always scanning the sea; it seems incredible however that many people say they saw little wildlife on similar cruises.

Big Alpine mountains near the coast heading south, Kenai Peninsula

Stayed out on deck as the sun began to go down, casting gorgeous light over the endless chain of snowy mountains.I think these were still part of the Chugach chain though next morning I believe we were seeing the Wrangell St Elias group. There were hundreds of miles of mountains all down the coast – the scenery never let up for a minute.

Great sleep, excellent buffet breakfast, then we headed for the top deck where the walking loop was laid out. Did many, many loops as I get a bit obsessed with daily step count – I think we managed 3 miles all in (7 times round the deck was 1 mile so…it felt a bit One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest though at least we had a calm sea and stunning coastal mountains to gaze at!) Broke this up a bit on future mornings as despite the views, it did do your head in a bit!

Very quiet normally, only a handful of people were as mad as we were – or as I should say, as I was because Chris soon got fed up with this over the week and joined me only occasionally and I can’t blame him.

We were due to arrive in Yakutat Bay and the Hubbard Glacier at 3 pm (Sunday) and the sail there on calm seas was one of the most memorable of the trip. We were now seeing, at a distance, the world’s highest coastal mountains – some going up to over 18,000 feet.

St Elias range Alaska -world's highest coastal mountains — St Elias range

Never seen anything like that and it was awe inspiring. A low cloud hung around their bases for a while, then moved up but always, the summits were mostly clear. Took a million photos, checking out the peaks out through the binoculars, zooming in with the camera…it was a struggle to go in for lunch as we didn’t want to miss anything!

Occasionally there was a blow from a Humpback and a large back flipped over the sea surface sometimes followed by a tail.

Mount St Elias Alaska — Mt St Elias over 18,000 feet out of the sea

Yakutat Bay was outstandingly beautiful. Very green mountains bathed in sunlight and then the ring of broken ice that created a barrier to the inner bay.

And the glacier, huge, calving slowly into the sea. We spent several hours slowly getting closer but only so far in because of the ice. Some people had booked an (incredibly expensive) excursion trip on a small boat, taking them close to the glacier’s face but most people just remained on board as the ship did slow turnarounds. Beautiful calm, sunny weather. A few seals on the ice too.

Honestly we were blown away by Yakutat Bay. The glaciers were never the thing for me on this cruise , despite its alluring name (Voyage of the Glaciers) – it was always the coastal scenery, the big mountain vistas albeit these came with glaciers! I’ve never been hugely taken with glaciers in themselves.A big river of snow and ice.

However, a truly amazing first 24 hrs sail. Didn’t expect so much somehow of Yakutat Bay and the Hubbard Glacier but it was absolutely a trip highlight.