Has anyone missed their cruise out of Seward?

[sglenc]

We are booked on the Celebrity Millennium southbound from Seward, in July, 2018. We want to take one of the 6 hour tours of Kenai Fjord on the same day as the Millennium departs. Our schedule would be 6:45 AM train from Anchorage to Seward, 11:30 AM - 6 hour tour of Kenai Fjord, return to Seward at 5:30 PM, 6:00 PM board the Millennium for a scheduled 8:00PM departure. Celebrity said we can board as late as 6:30 PM. Our TA recommends we plan on doing Kenai Fjord a day earlier because the cruise line has the right to change departure time. It seems to me that all the schedules are coordinated and it should work. Has anyone encountered a problem?

[hubofhockey]

What could possibly go wrong? Go for it. :evilsmile:

[Straitlover]

Are you booking the excursion on your own or through the ship (assuming they are offering it)? If it's through the ship, they won't leave you. Might be worth any extra cost for peace of mind.

 

I have been considering the same excursion for next June. Since my excursions are not available yet, I don't know if HAL is offering it or not. I have the same concern about being late but more about what if the boat breaks down while we're out, not HAL leaving earlier. I can't come to Seward earlier, so if I can't book it through the ship, I probably won't be doing it.

[Keith1010]

First you will need to check with Celebrity to see what time you must be on the ship.

 

Me, I wouldn't do it. Too much risk. And too hectic.

 

Why not get there one day earlier?

 

Keith

[zqvol]

In spite of what the others are saying I think your biggest issue is missing the Kenai Fjord tour. The train is often late because of any number of things. The tours are almost always back on time, and you have an hour leeway. The pier is only about a 10 minute walk from the tour dock.

[new_cruiser]

The train may be late, but the Kenai Fjord tours count on passengers that arrive or leave by train. I doubt that they would leave passengers behind if the train was slightly late. They also need to get passengers back in time to take the train that leaves at 6 PM.

 

We did a Northbound cruise, took a Major Marine Kenai Fjords tour. During the tour, they made an announcement asking for people taking the train that evening to identify themselves so they could make sure to have a shuttle ready when the docked. If you to be at your ship by 6:30, you should let them know that too.

 

We were taking the evening train the next day. We dropped our bags at the train station in the morning as that seemed more convenient than having to go back to the lodge later to get the bags before catching the train. Then we boarded the town shuttle bus to go to the Alaska Sealife center at about the time the train was due to arrive. The train was a bit late. There were shuttles from Major Marine and Kenai Fjords along with a bunch of other shuttles waiting for passengers from the train. All the shuttles (including ours) waited until the train arrived and passengers got off before leaving.

 

If you have time, staying overnight in Seward would be a good option. I'd rather have a more relaxed start to the vacation. An early 4 hour train ride followed by a 6 hour cruise and then hurrying to board the ship could be a hectic start. With the extra time you could visit the Alaska Sealife Center and Exit Glacier in addition to taking the boat tour.

[katrina915]

I did the Kenai Fjords tour the day of ship departure. I was on a DIY land tour and arrived the day before. We didn't go with Major Marines, but the other one and they indicated that they are used to getting folks to the ships before departure and this one shuttled us there. Don't miss the Kenai Fjords tour though, it is one of my favorites. Good luck.

[kpd21880]

Hi there! We did Millennium SB this summer and also the Major Marines 6 hour tour. If you want to do the MM tour the same day as boarding, I don't think you'll have any trouble with getting to the ship in time. So many of the passengers do the same.

 

That being said, I'll also say that from our experience, we did the train from ANC-Seward and then the Major Marines 6 hour tour right after. We were all exhausted after the Kenai Fjords tour and very glad that we had an overnight in Seward before we boarded Millennium the next day. With the super early morning for the train and then the tour, we were completely wiped out. We stayed at the Best Western (nothing fancy, but clean!) and it was inexpensive because we booked that room very early in our planning.

 

The next day we checked into Millennium right at 11am, before the train arrived in the Seward station, and our check in and boarding was seriously less than 5 minutes total. After checking in, we had lunch on board and explored the ship a bit before heading off again and taking the free shuttle downtown to the Sea Life Center. We spent the afternoon there, and walking around town, before heading back the the ship in the evening.

[jmssmiley]

Many people will be doing the exact same thing you are, no worries.

 

 

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[quack2]

I have taken the same 6 hour boat trip out of Seward three times on sailing day. No issues at all with getting to the ship. Kenai Fjords and Major Marine know that a significant number of their passengers are boarding a ship that evening.

[Budget Queen]

Has your TA even been to Seward and/or actually on a Kenai Fjords tour?

 

This is ALWAYS a trip I do on cruise day, I will NOT waste my "Alaska" time doing nothing. I have NO problem boarding a cruise ship late, after a boat tour. I've been doing this for about 25 years with multiple tours per my preference per visit.

 

Including twice this year on cruise day, with again recently 2 Sundays ago.

 

The "worry" is not warranted..