Saturday, August 31, 2013...On the morning of our first cruise day we headed to the scrumptious breakfast buffet on Deck 11.  There were so many options from fresh juices, fruit, personalized omelets, cereal, pastries, and of course bacon.  I then headed up to the walking/running path for a morning walk in the fresh sea air.  Pat rested in the room with his stomach rolling, so he ordered Sprite, Diet Coke and some saltines from room service and rested in the room. 

 

The captain announced that we would be headed to Hubbard Glacier about 1:30 PM, and we should be looking forward to a great view.  He also explained that they planned to send a crew out to retrieve a large chunk of glacial ice to bring aboard to be carved into an ice sculpture.  I went to the "Dog House" to get a brat, sauerkraut, and cole slaw for my lunch, then headed back to the room to check on Pat.  His room service had arrived and thankfully he was feeling much better.

 

 

Headed into the Hubbard Glacial Bay

Waterfalls formed from recent rain trickle
down to the shoreline

Our first sighting of some glacial ice floating

More glacial blue ice floating by us

 

 

Cruising toward Hubbard Glacier

 

 

Soon the captain announced that we were entering the Hubbard Glacier area and we would have a clear view of the amazing glacier.  We got our cameras and binoculars ready, put on warm jackets and head gear, as we went out on our balcony to watch as we cruised past beautiful scenery.  Hubbard Glacial Bay's water was gray at first, but soon we saw chunks of beautiful glacial blue ice floating past as the water turned blue as well. Soon we saw our ship's rescue boat crew headed toward the six mile, Hubbard Glacier, to capture a large chunk of glacial ice.  The view of the glacier was just amazing as our captain piloted the huge ship closer and closer for even better views of the indescribably beautiful blue ice formations.  As he turned the boat 360 degrees we could witness the loud crashing of ice caving into the glacial waters.  After taking tons of pictures and enjoying the amazing sights, it was time to get ready for the ship's first "formal" night. 

 

 

Enjoy our photos from Hubbard Glacier Bay:

John, with "hat head" enjoying Hubbard Glacier from our balcony

Pat enjoying the view of Hubbard Glacier

Saying "goodbye" to Hubbard Glacier

 

 

All dressed up in our suits and ties, Pat & I headed to our Deck 5 Cascades Dining Room.  We were warmly greeted at table 263 by Marian and Agnelo.  Of course Marian teased us about choosing the required bread, and brought the bottle of wine that she had saved for Pat & I from the previous evening.  Agnelo made his dinner recommendations (sorry, we rarely chose his selections) and ordered a wonderful artichoke & prosciutto salad with a warm bacon dressing for a starter with a melt-in -your-mouth beef medallion for my main course.  Of course I enjoyed "sky high lemon pie" for dessert with my coffee.  We ran into Kathy and friends all dressed up at their table.  We offered to take their photos for them at their table, and of course Kathy had to return the favor! 

 

Pat & John...sooooo formal!

 

We headed back to our room to remove ties and leave jackets behind as we headed to the theater for the 9:00 PM show, featuring pianist, Elliot Finkel, and orchestra.  Elliot's show featured great arrangements of music from both Broadway & Hollywood.  We especially enjoyed "Skyfall", "Somewhere Over the Rainbow",  a funny version of "Blurred Lines" and an outstanding, "Clair de Lune".  We really enjoyed the pianist and the orchestra.  We concluded our first cruise day with a coffee nightcap and chocolate cheesecake.  Need I say that we are really enjoying the cruise!

Our towel "dog" was waiting for us to return to our room
after our formal dinner and show!