Hey Guys!
This post continues our time on the Carnival Luminosa.
Read Days 1-3 here & Click here to see links to all of my blog posts
Our cruise dates were May 8-15th, 2025.
Today was another day at sea but it was also our “first stop” on our cruise.
We woke up to beautiful views of snow capped mountains.
My sister and I headed to Deck 10 to listen to a naturalist speak about what kind of wildlife we may be seeing today and about the fjord we would be cruising into.
After he was finished, we all headed to Deck 9 to have breakfast.
There are many options for breakfast such as omelettes, pancakes, bacon, fruits, pastries, bagels, yogurt, potatoes, burritos, and much more. So, you shouldn’t have a problem finding something you like!
The views from our table at breakfast
After breakfast, we all headed to the top deck to check out the views.
The captain had made an announcement that we would be arriving to the Tracy Arm Fjord around 3 pm.
As we got closer to our arrival time, the views were becoming even more dramatic.
Tip: A fjord is a long, narrow sea inlet surrounded by steep cliffs, typically formed by glaciers that carve out U-shaped valleys which are then flooded by the sea.
Tracy Arm Fjord is known for its dramatic scenery, including towering mountains, steep waterfalls, and the beautiful Sawyer Glaciers. The fjord is 30 miles long.
Read reviews for the fjord here
As we were checking out the views, the captain began making an announcement ….sadly, he announced that we were not going to be able to visit the fjord due to excessive ice.
Apparently this is a common occurence when you cruise earlier in the year.
Tip: If you have time and are stopping in Juneau, you can book a tour to Tracy Arm Fjord on a much smaller boat. You get much closer to the glacier and waterfalls. It’s 7 hrs long so you would need a long stop in Juneau.
So, they changed our destination to the Endicott Arm Fjord.
Endicott is a 30 mile long fjord and just like Tracy Arm, is known for its stunning scenery, including the Dawes Glacier, which sits at the head of the fjord.
We were disappointed that we would not be seeing Tracy Arm…however, we were hopeful that the views at Endicott would be comparable.
That is one downside to cruising, the itinerary can change at any time!
Unfortunately, it was a very cloudy day and was sleeting snow so some of our views were obscured by the clouds.
As we neared the fjord, the color of the water began to change to a beautiful blue-green.
Water tends to look this color due to the presence of glacial flour, which is fine-grained rock sediment ground up by glaciers. This sediment remains suspended in the water, scattering sunlight and causing the water to reflect blue-green wavelengths.
The views were spectacular!
Pictures could never do this place justice!
As we were cruising along the fjord, we began to see ice floating in the water.
The ice comes from the glaciers….they are constantly calving ice.
Glacier calving is the natural process where chunks of ice break off from the edge of a glacier forming icebergs.
This occurs due to the forward motion of the glacier, which can destabilize the end of the glacier.
We also started seeing multiple waterfalls!
They were everywhere!
The water color continued to change as we got closer to the glacier!
We spotted a smaller tour boat taking passengers through the fjord.
As I mentioned earlier, these are a great way to get up close and personal to the glaciers.
The cruise ships can’t get as close as the smaller boats.
The views just kept getting better and better!
Tip: We had purchased mini binoculars to take with us on our trip so we could spot wildlife. I highly recommend you do this or bring full size binoculars if you have the space for them.
Click here & here for things to pack for your Alaskan cruise
More gorgeous views
As we were admiring the views, I pulled out my binoculars and started looking at some of the icebergs floating in the water.
I thought I had spotted an eagle perched on top of one of the huge icebergs!
Sure enough, as the iceberg got closer, it was in fact an eagle!
It was so cool!
Besides eagles, you will also have a chance of seeing whales, mountain goats, bears, a variety of sea birds, and seals.
The small tour boat cruised alongside of us for most of the time we were in the fjord.
The clouds actually added to the dramatic views.
The closer we got to the glacier, the more ice we saw.
Once we arrived, we made our way to the very top deck on the ship so we would have 360 degree views.
Sadly, we only got to view the glacier from a distance.
The Dawes Glacier is approx. 15-20 miles long and a 1/2 mile wide. It’s 600 ft tall and extends from the Alaska-Canada boundary, flowing northwest into Endicott Arm.
The ship made a 360 degree turn in the water so everyone could see the views from every direction.
The color of the water was surreal!
The ship remained stationary for approximately 3 hours.
So many waterfalls!
After seeing the views from the top, we headed back to our room and headed to our balcony.
This is why you will want to have a balcony on your cruise!
I was going to combine days 4 and 5 in this one post but decided that these views deserved one post!
All of us on our balcony
I couldn’t stop taking pictures!
I think I took over 1500 pictures of this one area!
Later, we decided to head back to the top deck for more unobstructed views.
The sun was trying to make its appearance.
We walked from one side of the ship to the other admiring the incredible views!
A bit later, the ship started its departure from the fjord.
So, we headed back to our room to once again take in the views from our balcony.
Tip: The cruise offers Wifi packages but they are expensive. We decided to purchase the chat option through the Carnival Hub app. It was $5 pp for all week but it. definitely needs some work!
Views along the way
After taking way too many pictures, and now being out of the fjord, my sister and I headed to the spa to relax and warm up!
The spa rooms had full length windows so you could enjoy the views while you relaxed!
We were so happy that we had decided to purchase the spa pass….we definitely got our money’s worth!
After spending a while in the relaxation room, we headed to the steam room.
It was so relaxing and the steam was infused with peppermint.
Peppermint-infused steam can be beneficial for respiratory health. It offers relief from congestion and promotes relaxation. The menthol in peppermint acts as a decongestant, helping to open nasal passages and can also be used to cleanse the skin, open pores and remove impurities.
Next we headed to the sauna.
It was so hot! You could only spend a very short amount of time here or you could easily get dehydrated!
It’s crucial to stay hydrated when you use these rooms because most of them are hot.
Tip: They keep water infused with fruit in the relaxation room.
After the sauna, we headed to the hydrotherapy pool.
The temperature in the pool was different each time we visited. The first time it was scalding hot and the next time, it was lukewarm.
However, it was still relaxing with all of the jets!
After spending about 1.5 hrs in the spa area, we headed back to our rooms.
We then headed to deck 9 to have dinner.
After dinner, I headed to the fitness center to work off all those calories I had just eaten. 😉
It wasn’t always easy walking on a treadmill while the boat was swaying from one side to the other!
After working out, we headed back to our rooms and called it a night!
Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned for Day 5!