kjmcneil89

Difference for cruise and hotel combos - 

Kenai Fjords Tours owns the Windsong Lodge which is out of town and not in walking distance to anything but they have a shuttle.

Major Marine owns Harbor 360 Hotel and Gateway Hotel which are both right in town and walking distance shops, restaurants, etc.

Major Marine is the locally owned company and has new boats on most of the tours, and uses smaller boats on the 8.5 hour. 

On 1/14/2024 at 11:14 AM, Spork24 said:

 

Harbor 360 and Seward Gateway are both sold out.  Edgewater still has some rooms, but doesn't appeal to me as much as Harbor 360.....  I may end up booking Edgewater for 1 night and do the evening train to anchorage if I don't come up with something more fun.

If you're interested in taking a glacier/wildlife boat tour in Seward, both of those hotels package the day cruise with Major Marine and almost always have room available for that if you call them.

We have a Viking Romantic Danube booked October 22nd, first time river cruisers. Will they let us know ahead of time if the levels are too low and the route is changed? Or is this something they tell you on board? We will have a great time either way, just curious about what to expect.

If you're looking to also go on a Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise while you are in Seward you should reach out to Major Marine Tours, they can book cruise and hotel packages with the Harbor 360 Hotel and Gateway Hotel and will definitely have rooms available for next year.

Just posted - 30% off cruises using code CYBER30

Major Marine just put up their Cyber Monday 40% off sale

https://majormarine.com/specials-packages/

Major Marine Tours in Seward just posted their sale - 40% off and promo code is CYBER

On 8/23/2020 at 7:40 AM, Marylandteachergirl said:

Right now, the Toursaver website says all 2020 coupons/offers will be accepted for the 2021 season. I don't know if that means they will not be publishing a new edition this fall or not.  Anyone know?  i was thinking about buying one for 2021.

They are not printing a new one for 2021, will be still using the 2020 books and all of the coupons will be valid for 2021. Once they run out of hard copies you can just use the app purchase. 

18 minutes ago, diesel1973 said:

I'm really confused now. Can I have the Covid test done at Anchorage airport or does it need to be done before I leave? If I can't have it done at airport can I quarantine myself until I have test done and get results?

You can have the test done within 3 days of your flight, show up in AK with negative test results, and not have to quarantine.

If you show up without a test to the Anchorage airport they will give you a test but you will then have to quarantine until you get the results back which could take 5 days. 

On 6/17/2020 at 12:44 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Do you know why HAL has abandoned Seward?

HAL/Princess owns the dock in Whittier, so it's more cost effective for them to bring their ships there. The Alaska Railroad owns the cruise ship dock in Seward. The move of HAL/Princess to Whittier will free up more space for smaller ships, NCL, and other lines.

On 2/12/2020 at 4:41 AM, disneyochem said:

Finalizing our month-long trip to Alaska in June.  We’re doing a B2B with 2 weeks on land between cruises.  I currently have both of these cruises booked—Kenai Fjords (6 hours) when we arrive in Seward and the Prince William Sound Cruise before getting on our southbound cruise.

 

Are these two excursions different enough to be enjoyable?  I’m concerned that these two excursions might be too similar.  I’ve heard from many that the Kenai Fjord Tour is not to be missed.  Same with Prince William Sound?

 

Thank you!

 

 

Kenai Fjords has A LOT more wildlife and whales, if you have to choose one Kenai Fjords is definitely the best choice. The scenery is more dramatic, and you'll see glaciers and wildlife. 

Definitely Devil's Club Brewery in Juneau. 

1 hour ago, Tashabear said:

We have been looking at Alaska cruises for a while and found one that we are really interested in based on the length of the trip and the itinerary. It is in 2020 on Norwegian - 15 day repositioning trip - starting in Vancouver. Cruises north to Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Sitka and Ketchikan. Comes south for an overnight in Seattle, then Victoria BC, Astoria Oregon and ends in San Diego. Any day this is a no brainer. The issue is it leaves from Vancouver on October 3. I know everyone talks about seeing Alaska in the summer months for weather and activities. So I'm wondering if anyone has gone this late in the year before. We expect it would be cold but are areas closed for the season by then? Do the railroad excursions still run in October? Are stores and shops closed up? One appealing factor is the opportunity to see the Northern Lights. But we don't want to spend 5 days seeing nothing else in Alaska if most activities, like gold panning and such are closed for the season. Any assistance and information would be appreciated.

Over half of the shops, restaurants, and summer activities close down by end of September. Although I have been in Sitka in November and seen over a dozen humpback whales. 

A Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise also goes through Resurrection Bay, but a Resurrection Bay cruise does not go into Kenai Fjords National Park and you won't see a tidewater glacier in Resurrection Bay. Definitely recommend a full day Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise with Major Marine Tours.

Talkeetna - recommend Denali Brewpub over West Rib, breakfast at Talkeetna Roadhouse

Seward - The Cookery is arguably the best restaurant in Alaska. Especially for locally sourced food. 

11 hours ago, SempreMare said:

 

Yikes.   Is there a website for water conditions specifically in that area? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/Forecasts/FZAK51.PAFC.html this is the NOAA website of sea conditions, this is based on a buoy out in the open ocean and the seas are usually not as bad where the boats go closer in. I would check the Cape Clear to Gore Point forecast a few days before your trip. If it is anything 5ft and under it's going to be a nice day and you shouldn't have to worry about it. When I went out on the 8.5 hour cruise it predicted 6ft but it was pretty calm for the majority of the trip and no one on the boat got sick.

2 hours ago, martincath said:

The fact that you're considering Seward guarantees you're on a Vancouver one-way cruise MD - so while I certainly don't disagree that you could go whalewatching out of Anacortes with a high success rate, it's an awful lot easier to get one out of Vancouver instead! I don't know what % success for Orcas the MM orcawatch claims, but they are transients that come in to eat baby seals - which are easy targets at that time of year until they get better at avoiding Orca!

 

Your best bet is almost certainly Vancouver (unless you are also spending time in Victoria), as from April to October all of our local whalewatches out of Vancouver/Richmond and Victoria claim 95% 'whale sightings' - and Orca are the bread & butter species. They are fast and roam far, so some times they're just too far from any given port down here on the Salish Sea, but it's probably still 80% Orca success or better across the whole season. All companies also offer a 'no whales, free trip!' guarantee so eventually you will see something good even if you have to visit us for years on end 😉

 

Major Marine says that the orcas they see during that time of year are mostly resident orcas that are in the area for the king salmon run and they see them on 80% of the trips. I think it depends on what time of year you will be visiting.

The motorcoach will most likely be the cheapest. 

https://www.alaskacoach.com/routes/seward-express.html

I also prefer Major Marine Tours - the NPS ranger is always great and they are locally owned in Seward. 

The 5 hour tour doesn't leave the bay, so you have a better chance of not getting seasick. However, the 5 hour tour does not see any tidewater glaciers where the 7.5 hour tour spends time in front of 2. I would recommend the 7.5 hour if you want to see glaciers and more wildlife. Weather is unpredictable, will be a hit or miss.

There is 10x more wildlife in Kenai Fjords National Park than in Prince William Sound. I'd say the glaciers are just as good in Kenai Fjords too. 

9 minutes ago, new_cruiser said:

Your math is irrelevant. This isn't the Prince William Sound tour so the distance of 140 miles has nothing to do with this tour. Also, the average speed isn't significant. The boat goes fast crossing the Gulf where there isn't much to see slows down when you get to the fjord.

 

Those of us who have actually been on the tour have responded that it isn't rushed or hectic. I do recommend choosing the 7.5 hour tour instead of the 6 hour as there is more time for watching the glaciers and the wildlife in the longer tour.

Yes the 26 glacier cruise in Prince William Sound is the only company that advertises the "fastest vessel in Alaska". Major Marine catamarans cruise around 20-22 knots, which is a very comfortable speed, and they slowed down and stopped for TONS of wildlife.

Having been on both 5 and 6 hour tours there is a difference. You do not see a tidewater glacier on the 5 hour and it only stays in Resurrection Bay. The 6 hour is definitely the way to go and it's just a minute's walk to the train station and our tour was on time and a good amount of the boat was also travelling back by the train, so I don't think that is something you need to worry about.

In my opinion, from traveling and living all over Alaska, you don't get the true experience unless you do a land and sea trip to Southcentral and into the Interior. Southeast is beautiful but Southcentral also has abundant wildlife, glaciers, and extremely dramatic geology. Everything you would (probably) want to see and experience you could do with a cruise from Vancouver to Seward and post cruise land tour. After you get off the cruise I would recommend exploring the Kenai Fjords and Kenai Peninsula, they have the best wildlife and fishing, and then heading up to Talkeetna and then Denali before flying out of Anchorage. 

This is bookable online now with code CBM! 

https://majormarine.com/