Hubbard Glacier, AK
Our original itinerary was to sail from Seward to Valdez, then from Valdez to Hubbard Glacier. Traveling this route, our first day out of port was to be a short one, with only a small fraction of the time sailing the Gulf of Alaska. However, due to complaints from passengers on previous cruises, Valdez was canceled, and our adjusted itinerary had us traveling from Seward to Hubbard Glacier, then from Hubbard Glacier to Icy Strait Point and Hoonah. This itinerary had us sailing almost entirely in the Gulf of Alaska for the first full day. Watching the weather report before we left port, it appeared were in for high winds and choppy seas.
Keep in mind, as you read what follows, that the author of this blog gets motion sick trying to read on airplanes or even watching someone else play video games.
The first day out at sea was rough for someone like me, but not unexpected. Being highly susceptible to motion sickness is the primary reason I’ve avoided cruises. I expected Gulf of Alaska days to be the ones where I was most in danger of being sick, and I was right. I spent most of the afternoon and evening trying to stop my body, head, and eyes from doing different things simultaneously. I had only marginal success. But it wasn’t just me. The ship’s crew locked most of the doors to the decks (presumably to keep people from falling overboard), and posted sick bags around the ship and on the handrails.
Dinner at Onda
My wife and I had scheduled one of our more elegant meals for that evening at Onda, an Italian restaurant. However, being that I was doing everything in my power not to be violently sick, my ability to enjoy the meal to its fullest, was limited. Onda is located at the back of the ship, and I was seated facing the windows looking out at the open sea. The theory was that if I could see the waves, I would be less likely to be surprised by the movement the ship was about to make. How well did it work? Well, the only thing I can really say is that I managed to keep everything down.
Our entrees and desserts were excellent, and the waiter helped make it a great evening (well, as good as it could be for me while I was fighting the worst out-of-body type experience I could imagine). In an after-dinner conversation with the waiter, he told us he had been working on cruise ships for nine years, which I could easily believe, considering the ease at which he served us and others while the ship tossed to and fro. I can only imagine what I looked like trying to eat while not moving any muscle other than my arm to bring the food to my mouth, and my jaw to chew it with.
I feel sorry for my wife, who, after waiting so long to go on a cruise, had to put up with me becoming ill with the first gust of wind.
I went to bed early that night while she went out and enjoyed herself.
Twas but a Capful of Wind
The next morning, I woke early and felt exceedingly well. Overnight we had turned landward and were now in Yakutat Bay, protected from the wind and waves of the Gulf.
I have to admit that this entire episode reminds me of the following passage from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe:
The ship was no sooner out of the Humber than the wind began to blow and the sea to rise in a most frightful manner; and, as I had never been at sea before, I was most inexpressibly sick in body and terrified in mind.
…I expected every wave would have swallowed us up, and that every time the ship fell down, as I thought it did, in the trough or hollow of the sea, we should never rise more; …
…but towards night the weather cleared up, the wind was quite over, and a charming fine evening followed; the sun went down perfectly clear, and rose so the next morning; and having little or no wind, and a smooth sea, the sun shining upon it, the sight was, as I thought, the most delightful that ever I saw.
I had slept well in the night, and was now no more sea-sick, but very cheerful, looking with wonder upon the sea that was so rough and terrible the day before, and could be so calm and so pleasant in so little a time after. And now, lest my good resolutions should continue, my companion, who had enticed me away, comes to me; "Well, Bob," says he, clapping me upon the shoulder, "how do you do after it? I warrant you were frighted, wer'n't you, last night, when it blew but a capful of wind?" "A capful d'you call it?" said I; "'twas a terrible storm." "A storm, you fool you," replies he; "do you call that a storm? why, it was nothing at all; give us but a good ship and sea-room, and we think nothing of such a squall of wind as that; but you're but a fresh-water sailor, Bob.
Below is an image my wife took of the “terrible storm” that had me so sick.
iPhone photo, courtesy of my wife, who had zero motion sickness.
Calmer waters in Yakutat Bay, AK
Hubbard Glacier
Now that the “capful of wind” and a good night’s sleep were behind me, I was eager to enjoy the beauty of Alaska and Hubbard Glacier.
Trying to take photos of the Hubbard Glacier and the surrounding landscape was a bit of a challenge, but it was glorious! A cutting wind was blowing off the glacier, throwing water and ice directly at us and my camera and lens.
I usually am not fond of cold weather, but after recovering so well from the previous night’s seasickness, I felt great and was happy beyond reason to be on the deck photographing. Not knowing exactly how cold or windy it would be on deck, I packed all the appropriate gear in my backpack, but once I claimed my spot on deck, I became oblivious to the wind and the cold and was entirely focused on getting my tripod and camera mounted with my 200-500mm lens. In this particular instance the cold, ice, and wind, actually made me even happier, and my wife was standing beside me, staring at me. I can only imagine what she was thinking.
As you can see in the iPhone photos my wife took above, she is appropriately attired while I’m only in a fleece jacket and beanie. I did bring gloves and a heavy coat with me, but they stayed strapped to my backpack until there was a lull in the photography.
Eight-image panorama shot at 500mm
Aside from the cold, the wind posed the next greatest challenge. Even with my camera mounted firmly on my tripod, everything locked down as tight as I could get it, the wind was blowing so strongly that I could not keep my camera still enough for a sharp photo. Remembering some of the photographers I follow on YouTube, I threw my left arm over the top of the lens adding much-needed stability. Now that the problem of camera shake was somewhat solved, the next challenge was all the moisture and ice in the air blowing down off the glacier. This problem I had no solution for, so the majority of the photos are not as sharp as I would like. Still, I think these capture the experience well.
Saying Goodbye
After an hour or so of taking photos, and after the ship spun around a few times so that everyone on the ship could see the glacier, we turned around and headed back out of Yakutat Bay and toward our next stop, Icy Strait Point.
If you would like to see my other posts related to our Alaskan cruise, see Cruising Alaska with Norwegian Cruise Line.
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