Glacier Day! A slow, scenic cruising through a fjord to a glacier is a key feature of all Alaska cruises. The most sought-after glacier cruising in Alaska is Glacier Bay, but the National Park Service only issues a limited number of permits to cruise ships each year and Disney Cruise Line does not have any of them. For years, Disney has had Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier on their itinerary, but after several cruise seasons of being iced out of that narrow fjord, they officially changed their destination to Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier for the 2019 cruising season.
Of course I have no point of comparison, but Dawes Glacier did not disappoint in the slightest. From the moment we entered the fjord to the moment the ship reached the glacier, the scenery was jaw-dropping. Rugged mountain cliffs loomed next to the ship. Stunning waterfalls rushed down the mountain and into the icy waters below. Icebergs that were the bluest blue you could imagine floated by. It was an unforgettable journey.
We spent almost 5 hours outside on glacier day. It is so gorgeous we didn’t want to miss a minute of the journey. We started our glacier experience around 11am on Deck 4, where we grabbed comfy deck chairs, blankets, hot chocolate, and binoculars and watched the mountains slowly pass by.
Deck 4 was great for a few reasons. It was much less crowded than Deck 10, which is where everyone (understandably) wanted to be. Deck 10 is also exposed to the elements and did not have any seating. (They stack and lock the deck chairs on 10 to allow everyone to have a standing spot with a view.) Deck 4 is covered and has the lounge chairs with cushions on them. We thought it was the perfect location for the approach and early part of the trip up the fjord. You definitely want to be on the top deck during the final approach to the glacier and to see the glacier itself, but we felt like this was the perfect spot for the relaxing journey.
There were subtle changes in scenery as we travelled up the fjord. At the beginning of the day, the waterway was wide and the mountains were green and covered with trees.
As we continued through Endicott Arm, the trees in the mountains were broken up by mountain glaciers. Massive sections of snow filled the valleys between the mountain peaks. Giant icebergs started to float by, and the waterway narrowed. There was both excitement and a chill in the air.
At this point, the mountains started to get rockier. Streaks of water ran down the mountainside, as snow runoff created countless waterfalls. The scenery was stunning even on this cloudy day.
Endicott Arm also offers wildlife viewing opportunities. In the earlier section of the fjord, a naturalist provided commentary over the speakers. (Regulations don’t allow this closer to the glacier.) She somehow spotted these tiny white dots on the mountainside that were actually mountain goats. Though they are abundant in the area, they are difficult to spot since they look like patches of snow and blend in so well with the mountainside.
And keep an eye on those icebergs. Sometimes wildlife will hop along for a ride.
And of course if you are on a Disney cruise, the chance of spotting mice, ducks, and dogs is pretty high too!
It was really amazing to me how such a large ship was able to navigate through the fjord. Looking ahead, the path seemed windy and impossibly narrow but somehow the ship kept traveling further. The bottom two pictures below (and the character shots above) show how close we were to land. You almost felt like you could reach out and touch the granite cliffs at times.
And finally, Dawes Glacier came into sight. It was stunning. A tidewater glacier, Dawes Glacier flows down the mountain all the way until it drops into the ocean. It is massive – over 600 feet tall and a mile across. The ice also continues below the surface of the water for some 250 feet more.
It’s tough to get a sense of the glacier’s size from wide angle shots. The zoomed in shots of the zodiac boats below give you a better sense of perspective. The glacier’s face is indeed massive.
Dawes Glacier is actually 2 glaciers joined together. What looks like giant tire tracks running down the glacier is actually the medial moraine, an accumulation of debris from where the edges of the two valleys met when the glaciers came together.
Disney offers a single excursion option on Glacier Day – the Glacier Explorer (DG01). During this excursion, participants board a small boat directly from the Wonder and speed off for a close-up glacier experience. At $260 per person ages 10 and up (and $185 ages 0-9), it seemed SO expensive for a boat ride just to get closer to what we were already seeing.
I wavered back and forth on the excursion for months, both because of the expense and because I had a fear of missing out whether I took it or not. I was worried about what I would miss on the ship if I took the excursion (time with my larger family group, my kids meeting the characters in their Alaska outfits, the naturalist presentation, etc.), but at the same time I was worried about missing the chance to get up close to a glacier and all the amazing things that go along with that if I did not take the excursion. I was paralyzed with indecision.
So while I was wavering, the decision was made for me. The excursion sold out for both time slots. I continued checking in case there were cancellations but nothing ever opened up. Do I feel like I missed out? Honestly, I do. The glacier was more impressive than I had even imagined and now having seen it, the idea of getting right up next to it is so exciting. I wish I had done it. I’m sure I would have missed something on board but in a world of trade-offs, I think I would have preferred to miss something on board.
But when all is said and done, we had an absolutely incredible experience. Before the cruise I worried that the kids would be bored or my parents would be antsy at a second “sea day” in a row. But the scenery was just too phenomenal for any of that. I think we all could have sat out there for several hours more. In fact, it wasn’t until the ship completed its turn and started to leave that we all realized it was 3:30 and nobody had eaten lunch. Stunning surroundings have a way of distracting you I suppose.
We were given one last treat as the Wonder started its slow journey out. As we all sat outside on the pool deck with our lunches, we heard an enormous groan and saw a giant splash of water. The glacier had calved! An avalanche of ice fell into the water off the face of the glacier and the fjord gained some new icebergs. What an amazing treat and perfect way to end our glacier day.
