Kenai Fjords day cruise or Prince William Sound day cruise?

[Pghgal1]

First time to Alaska and first question posed on CC. I'll be in Seward for 2 days and Whittier for 1 day before sailing on August 25 on HAL Noordam. I originally wanted to do a 6 hour cruise in Kenai Fjords NP to see glaciers and wildlife. It sounds like there will be some rough patches on the boat when going into the Gulf of Alaska. One person in my group is prone to seasickness. I'm also looking at a 6 hour cruise in Whittier to see mostly glaciers and possibly less wildlife in Prince William Sound but sounds like much calmer waters. What I'm asking is is the kenai fjords a must do? Am I missing out on more fjords if I choose Prince William Sound instead. The Noordam has stops in Hubbard and Glacier Bay- will that satisfy my wanting to see glaciers? 

[oaktreerb]

Hubbard is a huge glacier.  Glacier Bay is a national park where you will see more than one glacier.  Some HAL ships sail into College Fjord which is beautiful.  A lot depends on the weather.  If the weather is nice, Kenai Fjords is amazing.  You could probably skip Prince William Sound.  You could visit the Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, Exit Glacier, Seavy’s sled dog tours, drive up to Girdwood (Alyeska Resort tram).   There’s not a lot to do in Whittier but you’ll see plenty of glaciers from the  ship.  There is also Portage Glacier tour in that general area.

Edited May 5 by oaktreerb

[Pghgal1]

35 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

Hubbard is a huge glacier.  Glacier Bay is a national park where you will see more than one glacier.  Some HAL ships sail into College Fjord which is beautiful.  A lot depends on the weather.  If the weather is nice, Kenai Fjords is amazing.  You could probably skip Prince William Sound.  You could visit the Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, Exit Glacier, Seavy’s sled dog tours, drive up to Girdwood (Alyeska Resort tram).   There’s not a lot to do in Whittier but you’ll see plenty of glaciers from the  ship.  There is also Portage Glacier tour in that general area.

Thank you! That is the perspective I was looking for and very helpful. 

[Suzanne123]

OTOH,😊 I love the glacier cruise out of Whittier so much that I once did it twice in one weekend from Anchorage via the railroad.  At the time, there were two vendors.  ( One had a newer boat, the other better food.) Anyway, we saw loads of otters, sea lions, and kittiwakes along with all 26 glaciers.  Smooth sailing all the way.
On a bad day, if you get seasick, the Kenai Fjords trip is miserable once you get out of Resurrection Bay.  Seriously, the company will tell you if they expect rough water, and if they offer you a refund, take it.

[Northern Aurora]

Just a few random comments from someone who lives in Alaska -- Seward is where Alaskans go for recreation.  While Whittier is unique there are more attractions of interest in the Seward area for most of us.

 

A "must do" is only a must do if you want to see it.  But we thoroughly enjoy the day trips out of Seward.  Major Marine is our favorite vendor, and we take the longest excursion available we can.  On those longer excursions (ie, out of the bay) almost every time someone experiences motion sickness.  Those prone to motion sickness need to take something before boarding the boat.  And if one of your party is prone to motion sickness I wonder if all of the party has to do the exact same thing each day.  Can your group split up based on individual preferences.

 

Exit Glacier (and its visitor center) and the Seavey dog kennels are located just outside of Seward.  The SeaLife Center is located in Seward.  The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is an almost 2 hour drive from Seward, as is Girdwood.  

[SirTomster]

When I was researching what to do, I found one piece of information that sold me on Seward.  That was a comment by someone who said the Kenai Fjords Cruise was the highlight of their Alaskan cruise.  But that is not on the cruise!

 

So I hope I can say the same thing in 40 days.

[Pghgal1]

On 5/5/2024 at 5:12 PM, Suzanne123 said:

OTOH,😊 I love the glacier cruise out of Whittier so much that I once did it twice in one weekend from Anchorage via the railroad.  At the time, there were two vendors.  ( One had a newer boat, the other better food.) Anyway, we saw loads of otters, sea lions, and kittiwakes along with all 26 glaciers.  Smooth sailing all the way.
On a bad day, if you get seasick, the Kenai Fjords trip is miserable once you get out of Resurrection Bay.  Seriously, the company will tell you if they expect rough water, and if they offer you a refund, take it.

Thank you for sharing. I'll be taking this into consideration!

[Pghgal1]

On 5/5/2024 at 9:43 PM, SirTomster said:

When I was researching what to do, I found one piece of information that sold me on Seward.  That was a comment by someone who said the Kenai Fjords Cruise was the highlight of their Alaskan cruise.  But that is not on the cruise!

 

So I hope I can say the same thing in 40 days.

Looks like I'm taking the same cruise as you but at the end of August. Hope you have a great time! I'd be curious to hear about your experience

[Pghgal1]

On 5/5/2024 at 5:51 PM, Northern Aurora said:

Just a few random comments from someone who lives in Alaska -- Seward is where Alaskans go for recreation.  While Whittier is unique there are more attractions of interest in the Seward area for most of us.

 

A "must do" is only a must do if you want to see it.  But we thoroughly enjoy the day trips out of Seward.  Major Marine is our favorite vendor, and we take the longest excursion available we can.  On those longer excursions (ie, out of the bay) almost every time someone experiences motion sickness.  Those prone to motion sickness need to take something before boarding the boat.  And if one of your party is prone to motion sickness I wonder if all of the party has to do the exact same thing each day.  Can your group split up based on individual preferences.

 

Exit Glacier (and its visitor center) and the Seavey dog kennels are located just outside of Seward.  The SeaLife Center is located in Seward.  The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is an almost 2 hour drive from Seward, as is Girdwood.  

Thanks for your input! Yes my group will split up for the day cruise. We definitely want to maximize our time in Seward!