My cruise to Alaska was on Celebrity, so unfortunately we couldn't get close enough to the Hubbard Glaciar to see any calving. But our whole Alaska experience was so wonderful! We too did the Misty Fjords floatplane and the helicoptor out to Mendenhall Glaciar, where we took an extended glaciar hike. Both of these tours were booked privately, which was a significant cost-savings over the Celebrity tours, and were (we were told) much better experiences, lacking the cattle-calls and crowds of the ship's tours. I can't recall the tour operators' names, I'd have to go back and look them up, but they were really fabulous.

The floatplane did not feel too small -- we were in there with another couple, and it was just marvelous. I don't recall feeling any fear at all. Our pilot was a charming young guy who kept us entertained with local stories. The scenery was so breathtaking! We landed in a lake and stepped out on the pontoons, and we spotted two bears on the shore not more than 50 feet away from us! That was very cool.

The best part of the entire cruise for me was the helicopter/glacier trek. The helicopter ride was an E-ticket -- he flew us in very close to a few glaciars, and right up next to several stunning waterfalls, then landed on Mendenhall (is that the right name?) glacier, where they outfitted us with full hiking gear, including spiked boots and walking poles. It was surreal, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world! It definitely rates way up there amidst the most amazing experiences of my life. :)