Joypen

We are trying to decide which day cuises are the best for Prince William Sound from Whittier. We are considering the 6 hour 110 mile Wilderness Explorer Cruise which goes through Passage Canal, to Ester Island passage, the Wally Noerenbery Hatchery and to Surprise Glacier. They also have a 4 hour 50 mile cruise that goes through Passage Canal and Blackstone Bay. This seems to be the route that the other tour companies also take. Which route and tour company is the best? For seeing wildlife? For seeing glaciers and scenery? We are also going to take a Kenai Fjords National Park cruise out of Seward. We are currently considering booking the Northwestern Fjord Tour that is 9.5 hours and 150 miles round trip. Is this better than the other 6 hour national park tours and the Resurrection Bay Tours? Is one tour company better thant the others? We are not interested in Kayaking.

BayouGal

We thoroughly enjoyed the NW Kenai boat tour out of Seward, and the 9.5 hours flew by. Plus the timing is perfect after disembarking to walk next door to Ray's for dinner. You may want to consider seasickness precautions. We used the transderm Scop (pronounced scope) patches--which require a prescription.

Enjoy your trip!

kinsocal

we loved the Kenai Fjords trip..it escapes right now..but we took the longest tour...it was well worth it..we purchased the wristbands for seasickness, that way you dont have to worry bout perscriptions or drowsiness, etc...

jq

We have done the Kenai 6hrs on the water trip twice and its been great both times. I hear the northwest glacier tour is also nice and you see more of Kenai NP if you have the time for 10 hrs.

BudgetQueen

Longer is better in both locations. Don't expect wildlife in Prince William Sound. And yes, I go on the North Western trip every opportunity definately "better" then the regular for me. Here are some photos from my last NW trip, if you care to look?
http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen

I would not depend on the "wristbands" for seasickness prevention unless you have had relief already from this method. I've sailed with plenty of people where it was not effective.

BudgetQueen

Never ever consider the bay tours, you don't even loose sight of Seward. You need at least 6 hours on the water.

Joypen

Thank you so much for your help in getting things arranged for our trip. We have reserved a 27' slide motorhome with Great Alaskan Holidays. Riley Creek campgrounds for 2 nights at Denali and the suttle bus to Wonder lake at 5:15am. We have tickets for the 6 hour, 110 mile Wilderness Explorer Glacier Cruise in the Prince William Sound, departing at 11:00 and returning at 7:00pm. We also booked the 9.5 hr. Kenai Fjords Northwestern Fjord Tour. Hopefully these are all that need to be done in advance. I'm so excited!
BudgetQueen, I just wanted to say I loved your pictures at your site. The ice sculptures are amazing! Want to see those for myself sometime. Hope we see lots of wildlife and I know the scenery will be unforgetable on the trip.
We hope to see Homer and drive through the valley to Valdez, time permitting!
Thanks for everyones help!!!!!

BudgetQueen

Keep track of this years Ice Sculpting in March. www.icealaska.com

AND have a great time in Alaska!!!!!!!!!!

BayouGal

FYI: Seasickness

The transderm patches do require prescriptions, but once applied, they are good for 3 days. We planned our boat trips so one patch would cover all our boat trips where we might have experienced seasickness. You wouldn't necessarily need to do that, but the patches were a big success for all 3 of us, and DD usually is very susceptible to seasickness. And although we never encountered really rough seas, on each trip someone was always hanging over the edge. :-&

Good luck with your planning and enjoy the trip!