Which Kenai Boat Trip for?

[Travel_Maven]

Does the shorter Resurrection Bay Cruise provide the opportunity for good wildlife viewing (puffins, sea otters, etc.) or do we need to do the longer trip and risk the seasickness?

[egruber]

We were just in Kenai Fjords and I don't believe the length of the trip will determine your wildlife. It's the luck of the draw. Certainly, the longer you are on the water the greater your chances, but you never know where the animals will be. We took the 9 hour tour and saw whales, and they were a bit further away than the bay.

 

Bring binoculars. The puffins and otters can be a distance away. The puffins are easily frightened.

[Budget Queen]

Yes it does make a difference on what tour you take in regards to wildlife. The Bay cruises have WAY less sightings, if any, and never recommended by me. At the least, you need 6 hours on the water, nothing shorter in my opinion, if you are going for the wildlife and scenery viewing. The bay trips don't even get out of view of Seward.

 

It's all about time and distance.

 

It is necessary to have in place suitable precautions for any motion sickness potential, if a concern.

[Debbie&Chaz]

Budget Queen is right - you have to get out of the bay. We did a 6 hour tour in June, and it was the best wildlife, whale and glacier viewing we have ever had in Alaska. Yes, I've been to Glacier Bay and to Hubbard, but have never been up so close, and really FELT the calving, not just the splash. A pod of Orcas played around our boat for over 30 minutes while we were at a dead stop. As others have stated, its a crap shoot. We lucked out.

[Warrior1]

Just more reinforcement. We did the 6 hour trip in mid June and it was great. We saw lots of wildlife as was already mentioned and Holgate Glacier was great. Alaska Tour Saver has 2 for 1's on the 8am departure. We camped on the bay and saw a bunch of otters, but that is about all you will see in the bay.

[cbowler]

I have to second the longer tour. We recently did the 6 hr tour with Renown Tours and it was just great. We saw a tremendous amount of wildlife, fantastic scenery (not even comparable to what's in the bay), and Holgate glacier which was awesome with a lot of calving. We used a Tour Saver 2-for-1 for this tour which made it even better! As for the sea sickness - you do indeed need to be prepared if you are at all affected by this. It was a nice day for our tour but the seas were still a bit rough.

[larmaro]

We also did the 6 hour tour last week with Renown tours and used the toursaver book. It worked out great we also booked the bus with them out of Anchorage. It left at 7am and when we got to Seward the driver took us on a little tour of Seward and then they stored our luggage while we took the Kanai Fjords tour and when we got back they shuttled us to our ship. We saw lots of wildlife. 3 humpbacks about 12 orcas lots of otters, porpoise, seals, puffins and the glacier was magnificent. That was our favorite tour, and we went on some good ones. Also if you have the toursaver book the Bering Sea Crab Fishermans Tour is also a good choice.

[RMcoolX]

renown.com

 

Just got back from doing their National Park 6hr Cruise. Great tour at a a great Toursaver discount. Saw calving from the Holgate Glacier that was incredible. I think that the whole front foot of ice fell off that thing!!! Sounded like the 4th of July out there!

[ChiLee]

We took the 8 1/2 hour Kenai Fjords tour which we chose because Costco had a special pricing package for it in their Anchorage store. as I recall, it was $230 for two people. I think that this is more than what the 2 for 1 coupons offer but it was also for a longer tour and therefore not directly comparable.

 

In any case, it turned out to be the BEST tour that we took on our Alaskan vacation. We saw Orcas, Humpback whales and Sea Lions all much closer than we did on our Whale Watch in Juneau. And it was spectacular to be able to see all of the birds in their natural settings.

 

I am speculating here but I would think that the shorter tours would mean that the boat has to keep to a fairly strict schedule so that you hit all of the major locations and get back on time. In contrast, the longer tours gives the Captain/Guide more time to find the wildlife.

[Alaskalovr]

Just as an FYI. The Northern Lights coupon book also offers a 2 for 1 coupon. (check the dates) for their (Renown)11:30am National park cruise. This book costs less than the other one. I've used both books. They are both good but you need to see which coupons you would use to decide which is the most cost effective for you. Also always call to book before buying your book to ensure available tickets when using a coupon!We went the end of May and saw everything. The Captain wrote about our day on his blog and called it the Trifecta! It was awesome!

Have a great trip!

[Travel_Maven]

Thanks to everyone for such informative responses! Please keep 'em coming.

 

We will need to do our tour in one day from Anchorage so right now I like the Renown tour that takes you back and forth to the city. We will just prepare for potential sea sickness with medication and forge ahead!

 

Can anyone tell me how to get the coupon books?

[Budget Queen]

Thanks to everyone for such informative responses! Please keep 'em coming.

 

We will need to do our tour in one day from Anchorage so right now I like the Renown tour that takes you back and forth to the city. We will just prepare for potential sea sickness with medication and forge ahead!

 

Can anyone tell me how to get the coupon books?

 

Frankly, I do not recommend Kenai Fjords as a round trip day trip from Anchorage. It's just too long, in my opinion, impacting on the potental highlight of the transits and tour. You are not going to get everything you could be out of this.

 

IF you are cruising out of Whittier, then it is far better to go to Seward direct and not waste time you don't have backtracking. It will be more costly, but figure out the overall "cost" to your vacation in time, and inconvenience. This is vitally important to people short on time, in my opinion.

[pizzalady1]

Can anyone tell me how to get the coupon books?

 

 

http://www.alaska-discounts.com/

http://www.toursaver.com/?gclid=CKP76LT345MCFRUasgodvwUKZg

[Travel_Maven]

:)Budget Queen. I'm not sure I understand your suggestion about going to Seward direct.

 

This trip will be in June, 2010. We were thinking about doing the Kenai 6 hr. tour from Anchorage on the day before our Cruisetour begins. We are doing the land portion first but we are flying into Anchorage a day early to do either Kenai or PWS. We will have 1 full day before our train leaves for Denali the next morning. If trying to do a 6hr cruise from Anchorage is too much then I guess we can do the PWS tour. We are in our mid-40's and are used to pushing ourselves when we travel to get the most our of our vacation...however, we like to travel smart also, so if Kenai really isn't do-able in 1 day on this trip, we will save it for next time.

 

Thanks a bunch!:)

[Travel_Maven]

larmaro, did you go all the way back to Anchorage or did you catch your ship out of Seward? If you went back to Anchorage, what time did you get back? Thanks!

[caa]

:)Budget Queen. I'm not sure I understand your suggestion about going to Seward direct.

 

This trip will be in June, 2010. We were thinking about doing the Kenai 6 hr. tour from Anchorage on the day before our Cruisetour begins. We are doing the land portion first but we are flying into Anchorage a day early to do either Kenai or PWS. We will have 1 full day before our train leaves for Denali the next morning. If trying to do a 6hr cruise from Anchorage is too much then I guess we can do the PWS tour. We are in our mid-40's and are used to pushing ourselves when we travel to get the most our of our vacation...however, we like to travel smart also, so if Kenai really isn't do-able in 1 day on this trip, we will save it for next time.

 

Thanks a bunch!:)

 

Travel Maven -- this is what we did last month, and it worked very well:

 

- 6/14 -- flew to Anchorage, arrived early afternoon; picked up a rental car; drove to Seward; spent the night at Murphy's Motel; walked around town and ate at Nellie's Roadhouse

 

- 6/15 -- 8:00 AM Kenai Fjords tour (6 hr); stopped at Safeway and picked up enough snacks so our teenager would survive the rest of the cruise tour; drove back to Anchorage airport; returned the car; walked over to the Princess desk and checked in for the cruisetour. We made it to the hotel in Anchorage just around dinner time.

 

We had ample time to do all this without feeling rushed, and the Kenai Fjords tour was one of the highlights of our entire 2-week trip. We stopped a couple of times along Turnagain arm on the way south to watch the Dall's Sheep, admire the scenery, look for belugas, etc. We were going to stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the way back, but we missed the turnoff and weren't interested enough in it to turn around and go back.

[Travel_Maven]

Caa, I appreciate the advice, but unfortunately our flight doesn't arrive in Anchorage until 12:50am after a long flight from the East Coast. I don't anticipate being able to travel again until we get some sleep in Anchorage. We may have to settle for a PWS tour but if anyone has had a similar situation I would appreciate more suggestions. Thanks!

[Budget Queen]

Caa, I appreciate the advice, but unfortunately our flight doesn't arrive in Anchorage until 12:50am after a long flight from the East Coast. I don't anticipate being able to travel again until we get some sleep in Anchorage. We may have to settle for a PWS tour but if anyone has had a similar situation I would appreciate more suggestions. Thanks!

 

You have your flights already purchased?? Are you open to canceling your cruisetour, and likely better managing your time going independent?? With you open to going to Seward independently, getting to Denali Park is essentially the same only in the other direction. Only 1 road between the destinations from Anchorage. It is likely you have some "down time" in your cruisetour- one area seen is the cruise embarkment/disembarkment day. Cruisetours, generally waste the day with poor timing, many time leaving too early out of one area and arriving too late at the other.

 

Kenai Fjords is a top tour choice in Alaska, bottom line. I always advocate people get there, you can see by this board the countless rave reviews, from those recommendations. Denali Park is the other highlight, time in the park is essential and you are way better off with your own transportation. 2 nights is a min. here. Significant is all the "stuff" along the way. Loaded with easy off attractions, that are completely bypassed on cruisetours, which are point to point. This is only a suggestion- but something you may want to think about. Many people have done it. It is extremely easy, no way to get lost and consistant excellent reviews, of which I have never seen any of them wish they had done a cruisetour. But you will see a percentage of Alaska cruisetour visitors who wished they'd gone independent.

[Travel_Maven]

Budget Queen, As you suggest, we are open to doing the inland trip on our own. The only reason we are still considering staying with the Cruisetour is that my husband is always the "PackMule" whenever we travel and he wanted a break from the driving, carrrying luggage, etc. We are doing this trip without children as kind of a 2nd honeymoon and wanted it to be as easy for him as possible. However, we also want to maximize our time there and give ourselves the best opportunity to see as much as we can. In addition, if we can save some $ while seeing more wildlife and scenery, I think he will go for it.

 

We don't have our air booked yet, but plan to do it soon as we are using frequently flyer miles and want to get our tickets asap. (limited quantity of Freq. Flyer seats). I've checked into adding an additional day on the front end of the trip so we could spend the night in Seward but as luck would have it, that day is a FF blackout day for our airline. It is beginning to look more and more like we need to do the land portion on our own or save Kenai for another trip.

 

Thanks so much for all the help! Will let you know what we decide...after all, we won't be going until 2010.

[lauramiddl]

Alaska Railroad does offer a anchorage-seward daytrip. It would be a long day, but considering you wouldn't be driving, I think it's doable -- especially without children. You'd get the six hour excursion with Kenai Fjords and RT on the train from Anchorage.

 

http://www.akrr.com/arrc253.html

[lovetocruise99]

http://www.alaska-discounts.com/

http://www.toursaver.com/?gclid=CKP76LT345MCFRUasgodvwUKZg

 

Also check ebay and look for books that have the specific coupons you want.

[Budget Queen]

Alaska Railroad does offer a anchorage-seward daytrip. It would be a long day, but considering you wouldn't be driving, I think it's doable -- especially without children. You'd get the six hour excursion with Kenai Fjords and RT on the train from Anchorage.

 

http://www.akrr.com/arrc253.html

 

These are far from ideal, in my opinion.

[Budget Queen]

Budget Queen, As you suggest, we are open to doing the inland trip on our own. The only reason we are still considering staying with the Cruisetour is that my husband is always the "PackMule" whenever we travel and he wanted a break from the driving, carrrying luggage, etc. We are doing this trip without children as kind of a 2nd honeymoon and wanted it to be as easy for him as possible. However, we also want to maximize our time there and give ourselves the best opportunity to see as much as we can. In addition, if we can save some $ while seeing more wildlife and scenery, I think he will go for it.

 

We don't have our air booked yet, but plan to do it soon as we are using frequently flyer miles and want to get our tickets asap. (limited quantity of Freq. Flyer seats). I've checked into adding an additional day on the front end of the trip so we could spend the night in Seward but as luck would have it, that day is a FF blackout day for our airline. It is beginning to look more and more like we need to do the land portion on our own or save Kenai for another trip.

 

Thanks so much for all the help! Will let you know what we decide...after all, we won't be going until 2010.

 

 

If you want to consider posting, how many days you have for the cruisetour, and what the itinerary is, I could offer suggestions on using that time with independent travel perhaps?

 

I have always managed my own luggage, hauling it via plenty of public transportation, so a "luggage" feature means nothing to me. :) But what I do, with a car rental, and a single overnight, is leave the "major" bag in the car, and just take out, in a Walmart bag what I need for the night. Has worked out perfectly for me over years of doing this.

[Travel_Maven]

Budget Queen (and others), good suggestion for the luggage! I am working on a tentative itinerary right now. Here is what my timeframe looks like. I would welcome any suggestions.:) I'm not sure if I'm trying to do too much or if I am allowing enough time to do everything we want to do in Denali. We definately want to do a Summit Flight tour and/or Glacier Walk but not sure if we should do them out of Denali or Talkeetna. Also not sure if there will be time to do PWS tour. Here is what I have so far.

 

Day 1. Fly in late night. P/U Rental Car & Spend night in Anchorage.

Day 2. Drive early to Denali. Spend day. Flightseeing &/or rafting if time. Spend Night.

Day 3. Take early Park Shuttle to Eielson. Spend most of day in Park. Do Huskey Homestead tour. Spend night.

Day 4. Morning in Denali (Park Shuttle again if necessary). Drive back to Anchorage. Stop in Talkeetna and explore town. (Perhaps to Flightseeing if not time in Denali). Drive on to Anchorage. Turn in car. Spend night.

Day 5. Take early Bus or Train to Seward. Do at least 6hr. Kenai Cruise. Spend night in Seward.

Day 6. Take early bus back to Anchorage. Do PWS cruise if time before Cruise leaves at 8:30pm.

 

This is very tentative and I'm still tweeking it to get it right. I look forward to any suggestions. I'd also appreciate suggestions for lodging and food.

 

Thanks a bunch!:)

[Travel_Maven]

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