Glacier bay and the cruise ship Statendam

Entering Glacier Bay -- lots of haze from fires in BC
At Margerie glacier
A much smaller boat cruises by Margerie glacier - gives you a sense of scale!
A bit of glacier calving at Margerie glacier


I haven't talked much about our cruise ship, but it was very nice. It's one of the smaller cruise ships of the Holland America Line (HAL) called the Statendam. There were about 1300 passengers. We had a 4 person stateroom with a queen bed, a bunk, and a couch which turned into a single bed. We were very comfortable, and had an ocean view room facing the coast. We didn't spend much time in our room - we were usually in the library, the crow's nest, or on deck watching the scenery and spotting wildlife. The boys split their time between the kids programs (Club HAL) and the pool. The food was generally very good, even in the buffet, but we preferred the restaurant. There were a lot of other kids around, so the boys had a good time. I tended to go to bed early with the boys and get up early to work out in the gym, so Mike had to enjoy the entertainment on the ship by himself, but he thought it was mostly good, although often geared to the retirement age set. We would definitely consider doing it again, although it will be a while, given the expense!