July 3, 2024.
We arrived in Valdez after a beautiful drive past lush hillsides and roaring waterfalls. Without much time to plan activities here, we wandered around looking for things to do. We walked into the Stan Stephens office to inquire about any glacier cruise offerings during our short visit. They sold us on their half-full 2:30 pm boat ride, which includes dinner, that afternoon. In just a couple hours, we stepped on board.
As the line of people filed in for the best seats inside the cabin, we climbed to the open-air, upper deck seating area in the back of the boat. I was just excited to be on a boat, something quite novel at this stage of my life. I spent a ton of time on boats as a kid, but since moving west I’d hardly done any boating.
For nearly seven hours, we rode around looking for wildlife and gawking at glaciers. We put on all our layers and stood at the front of the vessel for the best (though coldest and windiest) viewing. From our perch, we saw humpback whales, sea otters, Dall’s porpoise, Stellar sea lions and many birds. We took what I thought was too much time floating around to look at a single bald eagle perched in a tree. One of the highlights for me was watching the sea otters lounging on icebergs. The icebergs themselves were also a prime source of intrigue, with their surreal colors and unusual shapes. No two were alike.
Although I dressed in layers and packed warm mittens, I wished I would have worn long johns and brought hand warmers. I kept having to go inside to bring my body temperature back up and to press my frozen hands against the heaters.
The main purpose of the tour was to see the three arms of the Columbia glacier. As we got closer, I noticed more and more icebergs dotting the water. The cloud layer dropped down, practically touching the ocean. It got noticeably colder and more humid.
The boat slowed as we approached each viewpoint, and every time it came to a stop, everyone busted out of the comfy cabin to stand shoulder to shoulder on the outside deck. I hated that, so I generally moved opposite of the flow of people and their selfie sticks. Most seemed less interested in viewing the glacier than of taking large pictures of their faces with a little bit of landscape behind. To each their own, I guess. During these brief moments when everyone suddenly went outside, I could find nicer spots to look out over the landscape on the side decks or even back inside.
After the final glacier viewing, everyone went inside to wait for dinner service to begin. The boat moved more quickly, and with fewer stops, as we made our way back to Valdez. We were seated near the back of the boat, which means we got our food first (pro tip). We were all very hungry and the food was reasonably good. After dinner, LeeAnn and Aaron returned to the front of the boat while I took out my painting kit. I did a quick painting of an iceberg photo I’d taken earlier in the day, trying to capture the brilliant turquoise and all the intersecting lines and shapes.
All in all, I’d rate this five out of five stars, although I can’t imagine doing this with a full load of passengers. I’m particularly sensitive to crowds, so that might not be a dealbreaker for others. I liked having options of where to go and what to do during the boat ride. The naturalist who called out all the wildlife and offered up historical facts and other trivia on the boat also did an amazing job providing context for our adventure.