Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in southeastern Alaska is massive and mostly only accessible by water. offering views of a dramatic wilderness landscapes, towering tidewater glaciers, and abundant marine life.
Major Highlights
• Margerie Glacier & Grand Pacific Glacier: Located at the end of the West Arm, Margerie Glacier is an active tidewater glacier advancing about 12 to 14 feet a day that frequently calves chunks of ice into the sea. It sits right beside the massive, rock-strewn face of the Grand Pacific Glacier.
• Johns Hopkins Glacier: Situated in a dramatic mountain amphitheater, this is one of the few actively advancing tidewater glaciers in the Fairweather Range.
• Active Glacial Calving: Witnessing building-sized blocks of blue ice fracture and thunder into the milky-turquoise waters.
• Abundant Wildlife: Frequent sightings of humpback whales, killer whales, sea otters, harbor seals (which raise pups directly on floating icebergs), Steller sea lions, mountain goats, coastal brown bears, and puffins.
If you are cruising, Alaska National Park Service rangers will usually board your cruise ship and provide live educational talks and offer help in spotting wildlife.
Another important location is the Huna Tribal House (Xunaa Shuká Hít): Located at Bartlett Cove, this is the first permanent Tlingit clan house built in Glacier Bay since historical glacial advances displaced indigenous villages centuries ago.
How to Experience It
• Cruise Ships: While a limited number of itineraries visit, over 90% of visitors see the park from the deck of a cruise ship sailing on a 65-mile journey up the bay.
• High-Speed Day Boat Catamarans: Operating out of Glacier Bay Lodge in Bartlett Cove, full-day motorized tours offer a closer, more intimate look at the fjords and glaciers than massive liners.
• Land Exploration: Fly into Gustavus or arrive via the Alaska Marine Highway to access Bartlett Cove’s rainforest trails, sea kayaking in the calm waters of the Beardslee Islands, or camping.
Not all cruises or cruise companies have Glacier Bay as part of their itineraries. Some visit Hubbard Glacier or Dawes Glacier or the Mysty Fijord, so if this is a destination that you would like as part of your Alaska cruise be sure the cruise you select has Glacier Bay on the itinerary.
Major 2027 Cruises Visiting Glacier Bay with Itineraries
Norwegian Encore (7-Night Alaska Roundtrip)
• Route: Seattle → Juneau → Skagway → Glacier Bay → Ketchikan → Victoria, B.C. → Seattle
• Starting Price: From $1,279 (Interior)
Royal Princess / Eurodam (7-Night Roundtrip)
• Route: Seattle → Juneau → Glacier Bay & Icy Strait Point → Sitka → Ketchikan → Victoria, B.C. → Seattle
Starting Price: From $1,069 (Interior)
Princess Cruises (Coral Princess, Crown Princess
• Route: Vancouver, Canada ↔ Ketchikan ↔ Juneau ↔ Skagway ↔ Glacier Bay ↔ Whittier/Anchorage
• Duration: 7-night single-way or 14-night grand adventure collectors’ voyages
Starting Price: From $829 (Interior)
Holland America Line (Koningsdam, Westerdam) / Emerald Princess
• Route: Roundtrip from Vancouver, Canada visiting Glacier Bay and regional ports like Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan
• Duration: 7 nights
Starting Price: From $969 (Interior)
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