Day 7 - Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier is North America's largest tidewater glacier. Its 1350 sq. miles and one of the most active in Alaska. It is located in eastern Alaska and is part of Yukon,Canada.

The approach to Hubbard Glacier started around 8 am. Despite the cloudy skies the views were breathtaking.

Slowly the skies cleared up  and  around 9 am the majestic Hubbard Glacier was right in front of us.
The face of the glacier is 6 miles wide , though from the ship you can see only 3 miles of it.

It takes about 400 years for ice to traverse the length of the glacier, meaning that the ice at the foot of the glacier is about 400 years old.

The glacier routinely calves off icebergs the size of a ten-story building. Where the glacier meets the bay, most of the ice is below the waterline, and newly calved icebergs can shoot up quite dramatically. This is why ships must keep their distance from the edge of the glacier in Disenchantment Bay

We left the Hubbard Glacier a little before noon. The rest of the day was spent lazing around and packing up for next days disembarkation.

The show that evening was the Le Cirque Bijou . It was a spectacular performance which combined acts by various artists aboard the Jewel.  The show culminated with a grand send off by the Officers, Staff and Crew of the Norwegian Jewel.

That night our dinner reservation was at the Teppenyaki - Japanese restaurant. This place is very popular and since the table seats 8 people only, we never found a reservation for 9. Also kids don't eat free here , its $45 per child. The food was very good but the portions are huge!!  We felt bad wasting giant shrimps on our plate. The dinner made for a fantastic last meal aboard the ship.

Day 6 - Glacier Bay National Park

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a vast area of southeast Alaska's Inside Passage that is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site.

It was a beautiful sight cruising the inside passage.

Snow capped mountains flanked both sides.

Our first stop was the massive Margerie Glacier. It is a 21 mi long  and 250 feet high tidewater glacier in Glacier Bay. It is one of few glaciers that are actually advancing.

The calving of a glacier is a sight that cannot be described. It is best experienced in person. 

The cruiseship spent a good hour or so at the Margerie Glacier.  There was a ranger talk in the Spinnaker Lounge but the lounge has large windows that blocks the beauty of nature. We decided to be on the decks instead.The rangers could be clearly heard on the loudspeakers all around the ship. It does get chilly and windy, so make sure to pack gloves, hats and jackets.

Around 10 am when we started cruising waters again a bunch of us ladies decided to go check out the $10 Blowout sale.They had purses and scarves and shrugs.

The next stop was Lamplugh Glacier.

As we were beginning to cruise again we were leaving the deck and noticed that they had a special Alaskan Salmon Chowder and bread booth setup near the pool. It was good to have a hot bowl of soup after being bundled up in the cold. Surprising this was not announced or mentioned anywhere.

After a quick lunch before heading to the Stardust Theatre for the Glacier Bay Rangers Presentation at 1 pm. A female park ranger provided her first hand experience of exploring the Glacier Bay area for 2 weeks in nothing but a canoe. It was fascinating and inspiring. Everyone was in awe.

Our dinner reservation that evening was at La Cucina . The osso bucco , mushroom risotto and calamari was delicious. Overall the food was great. Pizza was an option but none of us opted for it.

Day 5 - Skagway

Skagway is a city in southeast Alaska, along the Inside Passage. Much of the downtown is the historic Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad which runs through town operated vintage trains along the Chilkoot trail which offer sweeping mountain views during its climb toward Canada.

Our ship docked the port around 8 am. Skagway is a much compact port than the others. 

We had booked the White Pass Summit Rail & Bus Excursion through Chilkoot Charter Tours which was not to begin until 12:30 pm. So after a quick breakfast some members of our group decided to simply walk around town. DD also wanted to mail out Alaska postcards to her friends from a post office right in town. 

The entire town of Skagway is neatly lined with gold-rush-era buildings. Its like you stepped back into 1890s

You will notice this unusual looking building in town with the initials AB inscribed on its facade. Its the Arctic Brotherhood Hall and what looks like bones are actually thousands of sticks and pieces of driftwood that make up the facade.

You will also see the landmark Red Onion Saloon

Right in the middle of the town is this mammoth thing which is quite simply a railroad snow blower used to clear the tracks on the Yukon railroad

We also saw Whitepass train pull up onto the tracks and work the steam engine. 

Around 10 am we decided to head back to the ship to grab a bite before heading out on our tour . To our surprise  the breakfast buffet had closed at 9:30 am instead of the usual 10:30am that day. We were still able to grab something at the Outdoor Café but not a full meal.

For our tour we were told to walk to a red shelter structure right where we ship is docked. A small shuttle bus showed up with a driver who was clearly holding the Chilkoot Tours sign.  The tour is a 4 hour round trip which includes a 2 hour train ride up to Frazer , BC and return 2 hour journey on a bus. We picked this tour because we had heard that the train and bus journey each offers a very unique landscape experience. Note this bus and train combination is not offered via NCL excursions and is something that we booked privately months ahead.

After picking up more passengers from another ship the shuttle dropped us off to the train station where we boarded the famous White Pass & Yukon Railroad.

Built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, this Scenic Railway of the World was designated as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (along with the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty). The 3-foot wide Narrow Gauge Railroad climbs almost 3,000 feet in the first 20 miles with an average grade of 2.6%, and up to 3.9% in some locations. It also passes through 2 tunnels and travels over sky high trestles and bridges.

There are many points of interest along the way:

• Skagway Scenic Overlook
• White Pass Trail of ’98
• Brackett Wagon Road
• Pitchfork Falls
• Bridal Veil Falls
• William Moore Bridge & Overlook
• “Welcome to Alaska” sign
• Tormented Valley
• Fraser, British Columbia

Here are some glimpses

Upon arrival at the train depot at Fraser (Canadian Customs) passengers are transferred to a bus for their return to Skagway. 

On the bus ride back we stopped along some more scenic spots.

On arriving in town we decided to to grab a drink at the  Skagway Brewing Company. We ordered a flight of local brews along with onion rings and spinach artichoke dip with focaccia bread, both of which were really good. 

I also stopped by this quaint little store in town called A Fine Line - Made In Skagway located at 551 Broadway, Skagway, AK 99840. This store had unique handcrafted jewelry at reasonable price point. Here is my $25 purchase- a leather and metal bracelet that screams "Alaska"

Back on the ship the show that evening was the acrobatic show Anna and Vlad - Aerial Duo. It was a phenomenal act and the duo kept us on the edge of our seats with their jaw-dropping aerial  acrobatics.  Get there early to get good seats !!

TIP OF THE DAY:  

1. If you are taking this Chilkoot tour make sure to either eat before the tour or grab something to eat on the way. There is no food to purchase on the train and there are no food stops along the bus route. The other large group who were riding with us had starving teenage boys who ended up sleeping the entire time , to kill their hunger.
2. Check the timings of the dining options the night before on page 4 of your daily. It seems the start and end times may change daily.