I cruised a lot with my parents from an early age. They always said it was the easiest way to travel in a wheelchair. I found out for myself when I began using a wheelchair. Aside from the obvious ability to go to different places and unpack once, a cruise ship can allow you to see things that would be difficult, if not impossible, to do on land.
This was at the front of my mind when I planned my first trip to Alaska. It was easy to decide to go by cruise ship, but narrowing down which one to take took some time. In the end, I decided to take the Royal Princess to the Inside Passage. It was a mid-size, extremely accessible ship, and it gave me a chance to explore Glacier Bay National Park.
About Glacier Bay National Park
Glacier Bay National Park is located between the Gulf of Alaska and Canada on what’s called the Inside Passage. Over 1,000 glaciers, dangerous mountains, wildlife, and a rainforest of over 3,000,000 acres make it one of the least accessible national parks in the United States. The only way to reach it is by helicopter, plane, or boat.
The park is so huge you could only see a small part of it if you made it there and were able to get around. There is only one accommodation, Glacier Bay Lodge, open from May to September, so it’s not like you can stay and explore different areas.
This national park is part of a World Heritage site and is considered the world’s largest international protected area. Because of the makeup of this land, most of the acreage of Glacier Bay cannot be navigated by the average able-bodied person. The terrain is not even passable in most areas.
Cruise Ship Access to Glacier Bay
Alaska was my bucket list 50th state and I was determined to see Glacier Bay National Park despite being in a wheelchair. I was able to make that happen. I’d like to tell you that I did some wildly adventurous climbing in a rugged chair, but I instead chose to take the path of many others and do it from a cruise ship.
Only a handful of cruise lines are given permission to go into the park, so that narrowed the choices immediately. Princess currently takes more passengers there than any other cruise line, with seven ships going through each season. The Royal Princess is one of their ships that is a perfect size to navigate the inlets and enable you to see the most during your journey. Those facts, along with the reputation they have for wheelchair accessibility (which they lived up to), solidified my decision.
Our Day at Glacier Bay
Taking a cruise that goes through Glacier Bay does not mean you just sail by the park. You actually go through the outskirts of the park for an entire day, led by actual rangers who work in and know it will. They come on the ship at 6:00 am and stayed until about 3:00 pm, providing commentary as you work your way through this huge natural wonderland.
On our cruise, we could hear the rangers on the loudspeakers while sitting on our balcony, clad comfortably in our robes. There was no rush to go anywhere while we watched the glacier views with our morning coffee. We were also able to watch and listen with our pizza lunch at Alfredo’s. In between, we did venture outside in the cold (about 40 degrees in August) to get better looks and photos.
There was a lot to see: seals, sea otters, whales, glaciers, and mountains. A few people with great binoculars saw black bears frolicking on the land. In addition to the ranger who was outside on the deck pointing out what to see on our 360-degree voyage, there was another with park workers in the theater. They answered questions and sold souvenirs. and stamped National Park Passports.
That Bucket List
I had Alaska closing out my bucket list. Everything I could see from the ship gave me another item to add: the Greek Islands. I may not be able to get my wheelchair up those mountains filled with white stairs, but it will be worth it if I can still see a lot from a ship.