Hi there!
You can see Glacier Bay from a cruise ship.
Glacier Bay is simply stunning to see from a cruise ship and is so worth seeing on a cruise!
If you do an Alaska cruise that has Glacier Bay on the itinerary, there’s a good chance it will be one of the major highlights of your cruise!
Cruise ships don’t dock at Glacier Bay.
You can see the incredible beauty of Glacier Bay National Park from the water!
The best side of the ship that is best for Glacier Bay is outside!
Lame… 🤣
But, it’s true!
You can be wandering all over the cruise ship when you are sailing through Glacier Bay National Park and you will see gorgeous views all around you!
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In 2023, I went to Glacier Bay National Park on a cruise ship.
Your experience may vary!
There are 63 national parks in the United States, and you can get a truly unique national park experience by taking a cruise ship to Glacier Bay National Park.
You can experience Glacier Bay National Park without even getting off the cruise ship!
👆 Glacier Bay National Park from a cruise ship! Experience a national park without even stepping off the cruise ship! Only in Alaska!
The waters of Glacier Bay are part of the national park, which means that you will be in the national park just by sailing through Glacier Bay on the cruise ship.
And to add to your national park experience, park rangers of Glacier Bay National Park will be a part of your Alaska cruise experience!
They will actually board the cruise ship on the day you have your Glacier Bay National Park cruise day, and they will spend the whole day on the cruise ship with you!
They will be roaming the ship throughout your time in Glacier Bay National Park.
So if you have questions, you can stop them and they will be happy to talk with you.
They will also be there to help out with wildlife sightings. (Binoculars recommended!)
👆 A bear walking along the shoreline was spotted from the cruise ship in Glacier Bay National Park! Park rangers of Glacier Bay National Park can help you spot wildlife. Best if you have binoculars!
👆 Park rangers of Glacier Bay National Park get on and off the ship on a small boat!
👆 The park rangers have just gotten off the cruise ship and away the park rangers go back to their home base on land in Glacier Bay National Park!
👆 I was looking at a map of Glacier Bay National Park trying to figure out where we were when I saw a park ranger. He pointed out on the map where we were at that moment! If I remember and understood correctly 🤪 he said the mountain was Mount Cooper!
👆 Glacier Bay National Park cruise itinerary: I was in Glacier Bay National Park on Saturday, May 6, 2023 during an Alaska cruise from Vancouver roundtrip on the Sappihire Princess. The scheduled time in Glacier Bay National Park was 6:15am to 3:30pm. There are no excursions to book in Glacier Bay National Park! Everyone will be on the cruise ship the whole time.
👆 Glacier Bay National Park cruise itinerary: I was also in Glacier Bay National Park on Thursday, May 18, 2023 during an Alaska cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage one-way on the Majestic Princess. The scheduled time in Glacier Bay National Park was 6:15am to 3:15pm.
👆 The Glacier Bay National Park day on a cruise ship is dedicated to all things Glacier Bay National Park.
👆 There are onboard activities on a cruise ship provided by the Glacier Bay National Park rangers.
According to Princess:
Princess is one of a select few cruise lines permitted to cruise the pristine waters of Glacier Bay.
Just west of Juneau, this breaktaking national park and preserve boasts some of the world’s most spectacular tidewater glaciers, such as Margerie Glacier, which often drops colossal chunks of ice into the sea.
Glacier Bay National Park and its epic ice giants are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
During your scenic cruise, friendly park rangers will join the ship to share their knowledge of this amazing place and host a fun Junior Ranger program for kids.
They may even be able to help you identify Glacier Bay’s abundant wildlife, including humpback whales, sea otters, porpoises, harbor seals, black bears, mountain goats, bald eagles, and large colonies of seabirds.
More below about Glacier Bay National park ranger activities on your scenic cruising Glacier Bay day!
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The day before your cruise into Glacier Bay National Park
As part of the National Park Service program to Glacier Bay National Park, you’ll get a few handouts to enhance your general knowledge of the national park and glaciers.
You’ll also be given a Glacier Bay National Park map.
You’ll also be given a regular Princess Patter, which is the daily schedule of cruise ship entertainment activities.
The Glacier Bay National Park ranger schedule will also be on there.
👆 Princess Patter on Glacier Bay National Park day with the ranger program schedule. I cut out the Glacier Bay National Park section to put in my pocket for easy reference!
According to Princess:
To allow you to enjoy your Glacier Bay experience to the fullest, we do not schedule any events or activities that could distract your attention from the views and commentary in this special place.
The casino onboard will also close.
There will be no shipboard announcements, except by the rangers, and there will be no advertising of onboard services.
Don’t forget to watch “Welcome to Glacier Bay” on your stateroom TV.
Glacier Bay National Park day with park rangers
My cabin was on the lido deck, and when I walked out of my room a little before 6:30am and passed the elevators nearby, I saw a group of park rangers standing around.
So, it seems they did get on the ship around 6:15am!
When you wake up the morning of your Glacier Bay National Park day, turn on the TV in your cabin!
As soon as you turn on your TV, Princess nature and adventure ambassador Jeff Corwin will start talking to you and welcome you to Glacier Bay with a short introduction to the national park.
You can also go back and look for clip if you want to watch it again.
You will find a lot of short videos (2-3 minutes) and long videos (45-50 minute episodes) about Alaska on the TV in your cabin. Browse, watch, and learn!
If you walk around the cruise ship in the morning and you haven’t seen or heard from park rangers yet, you’ll see signs indicating that the park rangers are indeed on the cruise ship!
The first activity of the day was at 7:30am where a park ranger
On my cruise ship, the morning park ranger talk was in a lounge at the back of the ship.
They had the day’s schedule posted up, and it was also where you could get a stamp for your national parks passport.
Can you get a national park passport stamp for Glacier Bay National Park?
According to the National Park Service:
Yes! Rangers will have the parks passport stamp available!
👆 If you have a national parks passport, you can get a Glacier Bay National Park stamp on the cruise ship! If you don’t, you can stamp something else as a souvenir!
Throughout the day, a park ranger will be talking through the PA speakers so you will be able to hear them when you are in public areas of the ship.
You can also listen to them from your cabin through the TV in your room.
👆 You can listen to the public announcements that the park rangers make from the comfort of your cabin! You don’t need to be in the public areas to hear it! You will turn on your TV and go to “movies and TV” > “live TV” > “bridge camera”
👆 You can get a view of the bridge camera in Glacier Bay National Park from your stateroom TV. This is also how you can hear the public announcements made by park rangers. You can see the bridge camera any time during your cruise. It is always there for you to see!
Throughout the day, you can roam around the ship or enjoy the views from your balcony.
👆 10:06am
👆 10:09am
👆 10:14am
👆 8:56am. An announcement is made around this time that we are passing by Reid Glacier.
👆 8:58am
And then you will reach the “grand finale” of Margerie Glacier!
This cruise ship stays around Margerie Glacier for some time to give you a chance to see chunks of ice falling off the glacier aka calving.
👆 11:28am. Margerie Glacier.
After leaving Margerie Glacier, there was an afternoon session in the Princess Theater where a park ranger talks about Glacier Bay National Park.
👆 1pm park ranger session in the Princess Theater.
Park rangers will continue to be out and about on the cruise ship until it’s time for their departure.
👆 Spot the park ranger in Glacier Bay National Park!
👆 Spot the park ranger in Glacier Bay National Park!
When it was just about time for the park rangers to get off the cruise ship, there was an announcement about where they would be getting off the ship.
You can watch the small boat arrive at the cruise ship that’s coming to pick up the park rangers.
You can get a glimpse of the rangers sailing away from the cruise ship and wave at them as they leave!
Glacier Bay National Park ranger program schedule on the Princess app
You can also look for the schedule of park ranger activities on the Princess app.
The Princess app is how you can choose your cruise boarding time and how to look for the dinner menu during your cruise, among other things.
And, it’s also how you can look for the onboard entertainment and daily schedule of activities on the cruise ship!
You can see the cruise entertainment schedule before your cruise even begins, although how far in advance you can see the schedule can vary. If you keep checking back, more activities may be added, and the schedule could be changed too.
So you can look for “journey” or “journeyview” in order to see onboard cruise activities, and that includes the Glacier Bay National Park day.
Here is what was listed in the Princess app on jounrneyview during my cruise. Glacier Bay National Park ranger activities for your cruise may vary!
More pictures of Glacier Bay National Park from a cruise ship
Glacier Bay from the Sapphire Princess
May 6, 2023
👆 9:34am
👆 9:36am
👆 10:02am
👆 10:06am
👆 10:14am
👆 11:05am: Margerie Glacier
👆 11:09am: Will you be able to see a glacier calving in Glacier Bay National Park at Margerie Glacier?!
👆 2:46pm
👆 2:46pm
👆 2:52pm
Glacier Bay from the Majestic Princess
May 18, 2023
👆 9:56am
👆 Norwegian Encore cruise ship sailing away from Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park, a few minutes before 10:30am.
👆 The reality of what it’s like on the open deck on Glacier Bay National Park day! 😂 See more of the public viewing areas on the Majestic Princess cruise ship. (10:47am)
👆 Or you might be able to find a quiet spot where fewer people are! (11:31am)
👆 Glacier Bay National Park rangers leave the cruise ship on the small boat! (2:56pm)
👇 Sailing towards the Gulf of Alaska from Glacier Bay.
👆 Sailing away from Glacier Bay towards the vast North Pacific Ocean! Or more specifically the Gulf of Alaska.
And that’s a bit about a day in Glacier Bay National Park on a cruise ship!
I went to Glacier Bay National Park in May 2023. I was on a Princess cruise that had a scenic cruise day in Glacier Bay National Park. Your experience may vary!
HAPPY CRUISING WITH PARK RANGERS IN GLACIER BAY!
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