You'll Have To See It To Believe It!!

I’m talking about Glacier Bay, a true UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site.  The 3.3-million acre park was so designated in 1992.

This natural beauty is on the itinerary of several cruise lines that cruise the Alaska market, and is accessible only by sea or air.  One of those lines is Princess Cruise Line, and it is the line that The Travel Factory groups have used on our tour/cruise every year for the past 20 years. Cruise ships started going into the area during the early 60’s, but in order to protect the environment, today the cruise lines must apply for permits to visit.  Only a limited number of permits are issued each year, and to get one, the cruise ships must meet very strict criteria.

It takes about 8 hours to transverse Glacier Bay the way Princess does it.  As you enter the Bay, 2 or 3 Forest Rangers board the ship and narrate the transition throughout the day, pointing out glaciers of interest and why they were named, helping to sight wildlife, especially the whale and sea otter population, and of course provide the historical background to the Bay’s development, and sell National Park products too.

The park has 16 tidewater glaciers and 12 of them are actively calving small bergs into the bay on a daily basis.  The turn-around point for most ships is the Margerie Glacier. It is 21 miles long and takes up about a mile wide in the Bay.   The Princess Captain will ease up around a quarter of mile away or less and turn the ship so that the folks who have balconies or suites on the right side a view of the Glacier for about 45 minutes.  Then he will do a pivot and position the ship so that the folks on the port side can have their view from their private balconies.  Beside the sheer beauty of natures surrounding, what folks come to see is the “calving” of the iceberg.  That’s when big hunks of the berg break off from their years in the making and smash into the water below.  The falling ice can create strong waves with chunks as big as a Volkswagen, and the sound will certainly get your attention.  The natives called it “white thunder”.

The Travel Factory is currently planning and taking reservations for our 21^st trip to this fascinating 49^th state in the Union.  We will leave on June 29 for 5 nights on the land, exploring the interior of the state with two nights in Denali National Park.  Then we will cruise for 7 nights from Whittier to Vancouver, and besides visiting Glacier Bay, we will also take in Hubbard Glacier, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.

Princess has a current promotion going, and beside the good rates available, they are offering a $50 on-board-credit per person, free dining in one of their specialty restaurants, and a reduced deposit of only $100 a person.  This promotion has an expiration date on it so we encourage anyone interested to give us a call and get that $100 refundable deposit down for one of their rooms.  The air fares continue to go up, so it is important to make reservations early for the best price too.

See more info on our website: thetravelfactoryabilene.com or call 698-1421.