The Great Escape - Day 20: Icy Strait Point's Marine Wildlife

July 9

We arrived at Alaska's Icy Strait Point shortly after breakfast I believe.  It's a spot known for its marine wildlife (whales, sea lions, sea otters and such) and there's an "adventure center" run by the local native tribe that offers such things as zip lining, boat tours and such.

Arriving at Icy Strait Point's docking facility

We were signed up for a Zodiac tour of the area to find its wildlife in the mid-afternoon so the morning was spent relaxing both onboard and on the shoreline.

Our cruise ship from a bit further away, weather was overcast
but not cold, just perfect with a fleece jacket.

Returning to the ship for lunch, I was in time to see the below Orca being followed at the mandated minimum of 100 yards by the same Zodiac boat rental outfit which we had reservations with in the afternoon.

Here's a video of the whales we saw while out on the zodiac boats.  It was a truly amazing experience.  We saw not one but two bubble net feeding events really close to our boats as well.  I didn't manage to capture pictures of these particular event but here's an example from google:

source: LINK

The movement of the zodiac boat on the water precluded clear photos of the whales and so it was that I turned to video capture:

The zodiac boat tour guide, DJ, also led us to a buoy nearby where we saw seals basking under the overcast skies:

We could also see a group of sea otters in the distance but never got close enough to get a picture.

Our guide and a fellow zodiac boat crew headed back

towards the company dock

A view of the Celebrity Millenium as we passed her

enroute to the zodiac docking area.

Tomorrow:  Juneau, the state capital and the Mendenhall Glacier