Prince William Sound or Kenai Fjords Tour?

[LarryF]

We are going to do a 5 - 6 day land tour on our own after our cruise ends in Whittier next year. I want to see as much as we can between Seward and Denali before we fly home from Anchorage.

 

I really wanted to go on the Kenai Fjords tour, but my wife is too nervous based on the reviews we've read about the rough seas and people getting sea sick. How does the glacier tour in Prince Williams Sound compare? Which tour in PWS should we consider? Do the tour in PWS also navigate through the rough waters?

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

[akjuly]

I just posted in a different thread a similar question. I was considering between Kenjai and PWS but have to choose one. I am looking into which PWS tour company to take? From what I read, it seems the waters are calm in PWS. I would like to know how different the Kenjai and PWS tours are.

[Chenega]

First of all, all the trips are outstanding either in Kenai Fjords or Prince William Sound.

 

Waters in Prince William Sound tend to be calmer since you cruise in fairly protected waters while the longer Kenai Fjords trips do spend about 1 hour in open ocean.

 

Wildlife viewing is much better in Kenai Fjords with puffins, kittiwakes, eagles, and the occasional orca and whale. Prince William Sound has better glaciers (if there is such a thing) but they also have wildlife (just not as much at Kenai Fjords).

 

Regardless of which trip you take, be sure to take motion-sickness preventatives about an hour before you depart. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

To be honest, the scenery at each is so stunning that (hopefully) no one will worry about the movement of the boats. If in doubt, dress warmly (layers) and get out on the open decks.

 

Operators out of Whittier include 26 Glaciers (http://www.26glaciers.com), Prince William Sound Cruises (http://www.princewilliamsound.com), and Major Marine (http://www.majormarine.com) Seward operators include Kenai Fjords Tours (http://www.KenaiFjords.com), Major Marine (http://www.major marine.com), Renown (http://www.renowncruises.com).

 

These trips explore a very special part of Alaska you won't see up close from the ships.

[NancyIL]

Chenega, the links aren't opening, so here they are again:

 

http://www.26glaciers.com

http://www.princewilliamsound.com

http://www.kenaifjords.com

http://www.majormarine.com

 

Larry, I'm also thinking about a PWS and/or a Kenai Fjords cruise. Of the various PWS cruises, I am most interested in the Wilderness Explorer Glacier Cruise. It leaves at 11:00, and we would do this upon arrival in Whittier - in spite of my earlier comments about "too much boat too soon"!

http://www.princewilliamsound.com/579.cfm

[akjuly]

Nancy - why Wilderness Explorer Cruise over the Glacier Adv. tour? Just wondering what the difference was. Anyone?

[NancyIL]

Nancy - why Wilderness Explorer Cruise over the Glacier Adv. tour? Just wondering what the difference was. Anyone?

 

The Glacier Adventure Cruise is shorter and doesn't leave Whittier until 1:30. That's a long time to be hanging around Whittier after our northbound cruise ends. The Wilderness Explorer Glacier Cruise leaves Whittier at 11:00, and the route through Esther Passage is supposed to be very beautiful. Click on "Cruise Routes" to see the different paths of the two cruises.

 

**I just saw your other post - and you will be driving from Anchorage with 3 kids. In that case, I would probably choose the shorter cruise. It sounds more educational and child-oriented than the longer cruise.

[akjuly]

It looks like you will see a lot more on the Wilderness but your right, it would make for a very long day from Anchorage. FYI - there is a $10 coupon in the Anchorage Visitiors Guide for the Wilderness cruise (not much, but something). Don't know when you're going but requires booking 14 days early.

[LarryF]

Nancy,

 

If you go on the Wilderness tour, are you planning to stay the night in Whittier? If not, where are you planning to go from there?

[NancyIL]

It looks like you will see a lot more on the Wilderness but your right, it would make for a very long day from Anchorage. FYI - there is a $10 coupon in the Anchorage Visitiors Guide for the Wilderness cruise (not much, but something). Don't know when you're going but requires booking 14 days early.

 

We're not going until June 2007, but thanks for the tip!

 

Nancy,

 

If you go on the Wilderness tour, are you planning to stay the night in Whittier? If not, where are you planning to go from there.

 

Larry, Alaskan Leopard has a 1 hour 15 minute shuttle (no touring) that leaves Whittier at 5:45 p.m. and arrives in Anchorage at 7:00 p.m. The price is $24/pp plus up to 10% for fuel surcharge (2006 rates): http://www.alaskanleopard.com/Tours/Whittier.htm (I just now noticed that their web site says tours and express buses will leave one hour earlier in 2007.) I have a hotel reservation at the Hilton in downtown Anchorage for that night, as well as a reservation to pick-up our rental car at the downtown Hertz location the next morning. After that, who knows! If we do the PWS cruise and stay in Anchorage the first night, we will probably drive to Denali the next day and stay 2 nights. The itinerary that I posted a week or so ago had us taking the 4-hour Alaskan Leopard tour bus to Anchorage (no PWS cruise), picking up the rental car, and driving to the Matanuska Glacier area that first night. There are so many possibilities...good thing we have almost a year to get everything figured out!

[Chenega]

Nancy, thanks for reposting the links. Second time this has happened so will see what is going on.

 

As far as Whittier tours, it takes 90 minutes to 2 hours to get there from Anchorage including transit time through the Antonson Tunnel. Entrance to Whittier is on the half-hour with exit on the hour. The cost round-trip is $12.00 per vehicle.

 

I agree that the shorter trip is probably better for kids. When wildlife and/or glaciers aren't calving, it can be a long stretch for kids. The shorter trip also does a few science demonstrations involving microscopes and picking up glacial ice that kids can get into fairly easily. However, my 14 year old nephew went on the longer trip through Esther Passage and really enjoyed it, especially when we saw a black bear on the shore and a humpback surfaced fairly close to the boat.

[NancyIL]

Nancy, thanks for reposting the links. Second time this has happened so will see what is going on.

 

 

I know exactly why your links didn't work: you can't have anything touching the underlined URL, such as a comma or part of a parentheses. I knew most of your links wouldn't open just by looking at them.

 

Example:

 

(http://www.cruisecritic.com) - won't open because the ")" is touching the line under the URL (http://www.cruisecritic.com) - ")" doesn't touch any part of URL

[Chenega]

Ah...learn something new every day. Thanks for the advice. Now I can do it correctly.

[Budget Queen]

Larry- I too highly suggest you convince your wife to get to her health care professional and get the best motion sickness precaution available for her. Prevention is the key here, and there is no guarantee she also won't be affected on the cruise ship. I've seen plenty of sick passengers.

 

So if this can be taken care of, doing both is spectacular and well worth doing. Especially if you are sailing into Whittier, take advantage of being there with a glacier boat tour- far superior to anything seen from your ship. Then since you are going to Seward, again, consider the boat tour- has to be one of my top two must dos. :)

[LarryF]

We have been on 15 cruises and early on, my wife got seasick once or twice. Since that time she always either take Bonine or more recently wears the patch and hasn't had a bout of sea sickness in years.

 

My mistake was letting her read some of the posts about inclement weather and crossing the pacific in possibly 10+ foot high swells to get to the fjords. The posts about vomiting didn't go over too well with her either!

 

I've got almost a year to work on her...maybe if we get another hurricane in Florida this year....I will put her on a float in our swimming pool and see how she fairs....

[Budget Queen]

I would speculate that she will be fine with using the current precautions.