Glacier Bay: My Best Day at Sea

This isn't a port — it's the best day of the entire cruise. We entered the bay at 6 a.m. with mist hanging in the valleys and orcas swimming alongside the ship. National Park Service rangers and a Tlingit cultural interpreter boarded at the mouth and narrated all day over the PA and on the bow.

The ship slowly cruised up to Margerie Glacier — a mile-wide wall of electric blue ice 250 ft above water (and another 100 ft below). The captain spun us 360° so every balcony got the view. We watched house-sized chunks calve with cracks like lightning and booms like artillery echoing for seconds. Harbor seals with pups nursed on ice floes. Then Lamplugh Glacier glowed turquoise in the sun. Saw mountain goats on cliffs that looked like white specks from the ship, brown bears digging clams on beaches, and humpbacks breaching in the distance.

Lunch was on our balcony with room service while drifting in John Hopkins Inlet — glaciers on three sides, absolute silence except for cracking ice and raven calls. The Tlingit interpreter told stories of the bay when it was entirely under ice just 250 years ago — the fastest glacial retreat on Earth.

The pros: the most spectacular scenery imaginable with world-class ranger commentary throughout the day.

The cons: weather can close in, though even rainy days are dramatic.