Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Location: At Sea → Endicott Arm, Alaska
fter several days of open ocean and busy ports, today brought one of the most unforgettable sights of the entire cruise.
The ship turned quietly into Endicott Arm — a narrow fjord of ice, cliffs, and waterfalls — leading us toward Dawes Glacier. It felt like sailing into another world of ice and silence.
🌅 Morning: Ice & Awe
We woke up to one of the most spectacular sights of the trip: Dawes Glacier at the end of Endicott Arm. The captain said it was the clearest visibility he and the crew had ever seen here. Sun blazing, sky a perfect blue, waterfalls tumbling down sheer cliffs — it was breathtaking.
From our cabin on Deck 10, I looked down at the ice floes drifting past. At first they seemed small, almost delicate — until I remembered we were ten stories up. Those “small” chunks were the size of cars, and the larger ones could easily have been houses. The whole experience felt surreal — beautiful, massive, and humbling all at once.
I couldn’t get Scott or Eric to jump down there for scale. 🙂
🌤️ Afternoon: Trivia & Live Shows
After lunch, we found our way back to that retro burger place tucked along the promenade — a curious mix of steel stools at a curved counter, dark red carpet running halfway up the walls, and heavy flowing curtains that gave the place the strange feeling of part diner, part theater.
That’s where we stumbled into another trivia game. Yesterday it had been Harry Potter; this time it was Star Wars.
My score? A measly 5. Eric Ellis pulled in 17, Scott nailed 19, and some show-offs in the front row scored 23. Clearly, I need to brush up — maybe a good excuse to rewatch the entire saga.
Scott and Sue said they had something we needed to see, and knowing their sense of humor, we figured it was worth checking out.
The show was located in the aft of the ship in a huge auditorium. A stage stretched across the front, surrounded by dozens of wraparound sectionals. Farther back were lounge chairs and raised seating areas arranged in rounds. The whole space was dimly lit, giving it the relaxed feel of a nightclub.
HP and I followed Scott and Sue into the auditorium to catch the Love & Marriage live show. The host came out dressed in purple and black, warming up the crowd by asking how long couples had been married. Who had been together the shortest time? Who had the longest marriage?
We ended up sitting next to an older couple who, to our surprise, were picked to compete.
It struck me how open people can be when they’re far from home — maybe it’s the ocean air or the sense that no one here really knows you. There’s a kind of freedom in that, to laugh at yourself and your partner in front of a crowd, to let people see the cracks and still call it love.
The questions, though? Pure traps.
“Who was your last girlfriend before your wife?”
“Which of your wife’s friends would look best in a bikini?”
What? Lots of laughs, but no thank you — that’s not entertainment; that’s divorce court in disguise. Funny and uncomfortable to watch, sure, but I’m not signing up for that one. Hard pass. Hats off, though, to the brave souls who jumped in — willing to share both their triumphs and their tribulations with a room full of strangers.
The real highlight was the older couple married for 59 years. They absolutely crushed it and walked away winners. The middle group — 20 years in — held their own. But the newlyweds, just four months married? Cringe city. Half their answers had the audience groaning and laughing nervously. Cute, but also… yikes.
The real trial by fire, though, was the newlyweds — only a few weeks into marriage and still figuring things out. It quickly became clear they had plenty to sort through, and doing it in front of a room full of strangers turned it into pure entertainment.
I couldn’t help but wonder: if they stay together, this might become one of those stories their family retells for generations.
I didn’t have the heart to point out that this game might end their marriage before it really had a chance to get started. Watching it unfold was equal parts funny and painfully awkward.
🍽️ Evening: A Standout Dinner
Dinner in the main dining room at 5:00 p.m. was one of the best yet. By now, Saif and Francis greeted us like old friends, already asking about the glacier and how our day had gone. Tonight’s theme was Asian cuisine, and for once the vegetarian options felt like they had been planned with care.
I started with crispy spring rolls, followed by a warm bowl of curry soup, then a veggie stir-fry with rice that was packed with flavor. Dessert was mango tapioca pudding — sweet, creamy, and the perfect finish.
Every dish was satisfying. The others went for steak and shrimp, but honestly I wouldn’t have traded plates with anyone at the table.
After dinner we drifted back to Vintages, where Amit was serving up Manhattans. Scott and Sue say they make the best ones on the ship. Eric, as usual, stuck with his rum and Coke.
The evening felt relaxed and easy, and I could tell I was starting to settle into the rhythm of life on the ship.
⭐ Quick Ratings (1–5 stars)
- Food: ★★★★★
- Service: ★★★★★
- Cleanliness: ★★★★★
- Activities: ★★★★★
- Excursion Value: ★★★★★
📝 End-of-Day Reflection
Best part of today: Dawes Glacier in full sun — a once-in-a-lifetime view.
Something unexpected: Realizing just how massive the ice floes really are when you remember your perspective from 10 stories up.
Tip for future travelers: Get up early and claim your spot on deck for glacier day. The views are unforgettable, and photos don’t do it justice.
Standing there on the deck, sunlight catching the blue edges of the glacier, I realized how small we really are against something so ancient and alive. The ice moved with a patience we can’t imitate, shifting, melting, reshaping the world one quiet inch at a time.
It made me think that maybe we rush too much. Out here, surrounded by ice and silence, time felt slower, like the world was reminding us to breathe, to look closer, to remember how rare it is just to be still.
At the Forge
Day 5 was the kind of day that reminds you the world was beautiful long before we learned to name it. The glacier didn’t roar or demand attention — it simply existed, patient and immense, reshaping the valley one breath at a time.
Maybe that’s what awe really is: the moment we stop trying to capture something and let it change us instead.
— Dennis D. Montoya
Stories Forged in Ink and Ash
Dennis D Montoya 