Help with Kenai Fjord Cruise

[chinita415]

Maybe I am making a big deal out of nothing, but here's my dilemma:

 

Our ship arrives at Seward at 6am and I want to take a 6 hour cruise out to the National Park and the evening train up to Anchorage. I really want to book the 8am cruise with Kenai Fjord Tours independently, but I am faced with these questions.

 

- Will I have enough time to disembark the boat to make the 8am departure? Our boat will be the first boat of the season to arrive at Seward so will there be glitches? I e-mailed the tour company and they re-directed me back to HAL. They also said that HAL may give priority for disembarking for people who booked the 8am departure with HAL. And what if the boat arrives late to port? The tour company made it sound like I will be out of luck if I book independently. Should I just suck it up and pay an extra $90 per person to book with HAL for the peace of mind?

 

- If I wait for the 11:30am departure, I was going to book with Major Marine because they have guaranteed seating vs open seating with Kenai Fjord Tours. The later departures sound busier due to the people from the Anchorage train.

 

http://www.kenaifjords.com/kenai-nationalpark.html

http://www.majormarine.com/alaska-day-cruises/kenai-fjords-fullday-national-park-cruise/

 

Help! Am I overthinking this? :confused:

[Marie321]

We booked Kenai independently. In Seward, there is a fenced off area around the ship. We walked through this area (short walk) and met a bus just outside the fenced area. The bus took us on a short drive and dropped us off where we caught our tour. It took only 5 - 10 minutes to get to the tour. That 2 hour cushion gives you plenty of time.

[vbmom87]

Barring any unforseen problems with the cruiseship arriving in port on time, you should be just fine. I would sign up for self-disembarking. (You will bring all your own luggage with you off the ship rather than leaving it outside of your cabin the night before and having to pick it up yourself the following morning). With self disembarking you can leave the ship anytime after the first call for disembarking is made.

 

When we went with Kenai Fjords in 2008 they offered shuttle pickup from the dock if you called them when you were ready for pickup. We had a slight glitch that day. Their phones were out of service and we could not reach them. We just ended up taking a cab the few blocks. It cost us $6 plus tip. They stored our luggage for the day.

 

Going at 8:00 am is a good idea. It gives you time to take in either Exit Glacier or the Sea Life Center before you have to board the train. (If of interest)

 

As with any tour, if you don't make it, you may be out your money. Some vendors do say that if your ship does not make it into port they will refund the money. Others may not be as nice. Check what their policy is.

 

As far as the choice of the HAL Kenai Fjords excursion. Make sure it is one that goes out of Resurrection Bay. Many of the cruiseline tours stay in Resurrection Bay. You really want to get out of the bay for the full experience of glacier viewing and lots of wildlife viewing opportunities.

 

Good luck. You will love the Kenai Fjords Tour. If anyone is prone to seasickness, take precautions. It can get rough out there.

[Budget Queen]

Seward arriving ships are in port VERY early. They open up the gangway, by 7am, so it is simple to get to a 8am tour, IF you get yourself going.

 

The 11:30pm trips are the most full, but everyone has seating on any boat tour you choose. I do NOT give any priority to a "reserved" seat, and actually find it less desirable for me. With Major Marine, you also have the added food expense, as nothing is included.

[Warrior1]

You said that you were the first boat of the season(I'm assuming late May--early June). If that is the case, I don't think those six hour cruises will be full or you will have to worry about seating. We went on Kenai summer of 2009 on June 13th--11:30 with a buy one get one free coupons and there weren't 50 people on the boat. It was great! It was cold, so when the boat was in motion most people moved inside for periods of time. You will get up and move to where there is something to see so the movement on the boat was pretty fluid. The captain gave plenty of time for everyone to see and get pictures when we saw whales and were in front of the glacier. If you go at 8am, it would give you time to go to the Sealife Center, Exit Glacier, or squeeze in the Seavy Dog Sled Tour depending on what time the train leaves.

[chinita415]

Thanks for everyone's replies! You've reassured me that the 8am tour is probably the best option for us. The tour operator confirmed that they do have a shuttle to their office and they can store our luggage until we get on the train.

 

The cruiseship is at College Fjord the day before, so relatively close by and would be unusual to be late to Seward the next morning right?

 

Thanks for the specifics about the disembark area and gangplank times. We will most definitely self disembark. We are relatively light packers and will each have a carryon size rolling case and a small duffel/backpack. (I was on a shuttle at LAX recently with a very grumpy couple who had HAL paraphernalia galore who had 8-10 rolling cases, a handful more duffels, AND the woman had various totes and handbags on her person!!! It looked like they came back from a long trip and they kept buying small suitcases along the way. I felt so bad for the driver. They didn't even tip him. :eek: )

 

The tour returns at 2pm and our train is at 6pm. We'll definitely go to the Sea Life Center. But I am not sure how we'll feel after that! It's going be a long day with early rise to disembark and not getting into Anchorage until 10:30pm. All 3 of us are also motion sickness prone so we'll see how we feel after the tour. :rolleyes: I think we are all going to be wearing our scopolamine patches most of this trip. We've used it before in Hawaii on the small snorkel boats and worked great. Will also try the ginger root caps I keep reading about.

 

BQ- sounds like you prefer Kenai Fjord over Major Marine? Yeah, I don't think we will be doing a big feast on a rocky boat. It just sounds like a "deal" for people who like unlimited food, not necessarily quality food. The "healthy chicken wrap" offered by Kenai Fjord sounds way more appealing to me.

[Budget Queen]

It just sounds like a "deal" for people who like unlimited food, not necessarily quality food. The "healthy chicken wrap" offered by Kenai Fjord sounds way more appealing to me.

 

This actually is inaccurate, the Major Marine food is EXCELLENT, they had Copper River salmon on the two trips I took last year, and Kansas prime riib. Plus, it was perfectly cooked. Want to make it clear, that BOTH tours, equally out of Seward, do a fantastic job.

[Budget Queen]

All 3 of us are also motion sickness prone so we'll see how we feel after the tour. :rolleyes: I think we are all going to be wearing our scopolamine patches most of this trip. We've used it before in Hawaii on the small snorkel boats and worked great. Will also try the ginger root caps I keep reading about.

.

 

 

This absolutely needs to be in place. I see sick passengers EVERY trip, again, including the two I went on this year. The seas were "calm" compared to other trips I've been on.

[Marie321]

I've been on many small boat tours in Alaska (fishing, wildlife watching, etc) and I never had a sea sickness problem.

 

I DID have a problem on the Kenai tour. This is a double decker boat. The captain said if you have a problem, sit on the lower tier (I sat up on top to start) and near the rear where they have a snack bar area. When I started feeling quezy, I moved there and felt much better! There is much less motion in this area. You are still in a good location to move out on the deck and see things. I would eat a light breakfast. Their lunch meal was delicious and just right!

[chinita415]

I've been on many small boat tours in Alaska (fishing, wildlife watching, etc) and I never had a sea sickness problem.

 

I DID have a problem on the Kenai tour. This is a double decker boat. The captain said if you have a problem, sit on the lower tier (I sat up on top to start) and near the rear where they have a snack bar area. When I started feeling quezy, I moved there and felt much better! There is much less motion in this area. You are still in a good location to move out on the deck and see things. I would eat a light breakfast. Their lunch meal was delicious and just right!

 

Thanks for the tip. I already know about the location issue from getting sick on double decker tour buses. Also made the mistake of eating a big burrito before a whale watching cruise here in SoCal. Stuck doing my "business" in the bathroom while the rest of the boat oohing and aahing at the whale! I am assuming they have hot water or tea available at the snack bar? That'll probably calm some of the queasiness.

 

This actually is inaccurate, the Major Marine food is EXCELLENT, they had Copper River salmon on the two trips I took last year, and Kansas prime riib. Plus, it was perfectly cooked. Want to make it clear, that BOTH tours, equally out of Seward, do a fantastic job.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I would love to eat that on land, but not on a potentially puke inducing tour. :p I am speaking from experience of seeing my mom and sister get horribly sick on various trips in the past and same for myself. So taking all precautions.