The Golden Princess is the largest ship to venture into Tracy Arm Fjord. With all the icebergs floating around, most cruise lines go up to Glacier Bay instead. They've seen "Titanic". But Princess is more adventurous, and our captain maneuvered pass the icebergs to get close to Sawyer Glacier.

Tracy Arm Fjord

We got a balcony room specifically for this day. We knew it would be chilly and beautiful. At the mouth of the fjord, it was probably 60˚, but near Sawyer Glacier, it was closer to 40˚. We ordered a little champaign breakfast on our balcony, then watched the icebergs pass by. The colors were amazing. Staying a safe distance from the glacier, we did see some minor calving.

"Hmm. Should I begin with the smoked salmon, fruit, rolls, muffins, juice, or coffee? Better leave the champaign for Dan. Oh, wow, look at the falls!"

The layers of the bergs and colors were amazing.

After a couple hours passing by icebergs, we finally found the cause of them: Sawyer Glacier. We kept getting further and further up the fjord until we were within a couple hundred yards of the glacier. Glaciers are formed by pressure, not freezing, as hundreds of feet of snow pack on top of hundreds of feet of snow. They grow in the winter and recede in the summer. Some have a net growth per year, whereas most are receding. Sawyer has receded 2.5 miles in 3 years.