Seward and Glaciers
 

We are on an NCL cruise; part of the itinerary is from Homer to Seward. We have from 8 am to 11:30 PM in Seward. Any hints on visiting Exit Glacier? Do you get there by taxi? how much? What about cruises out of Seward to the Kenai Fjords National park or will I see enough of the coastline from my huge cruise ship. Any recommendations for companies that run day tours from Seward? thanks in advance.

Kenai Fjords Tours runs good tours, take at least the 6hr or nw fjords,9hrs. You will see wildlife, glaciers up close, lots of birds, maybe whales. You can get to Exit Glacier by cab, about 12 miles or by tour van. Seavey Family Ididarod wheeled dog sled rides and kennel tour is great.

There is NO comparism to a Kenai Fjords boat trip of at least 6 hours on the water and your cruise ship. Way superior. There will be cabs to Exit glacier from the cruise ship. Expect about $20 each way. www.kenaifjords.com runs a boat trip leaving at 11:30am returns at 5:30pm, plus several others to choose from. Take seasickness precautions, most ofter you do go through some rough areas and frankly, I see sick passengers every trip. :)

I think your Homer comment is a mistake? I don't know of any of the cruises calling there?

You're right, Budgetqueen, I must have had a brain drain. It's Haines not Homer. Thank you for the information.

Are the 6 hour tours good enough to see glaciers and wildlife or is the nine hour much superior? The nine hour might be too long for us (my husband has a limited attention span for wildlife). Any thoughts on visiting Exit Glacier? or the Sealife Center? I can see that it will be a challenge to decide on what to do in our limited time.

I think that longer is better. But.. we took the 6 hours cruise w/o stop for lunch last year and had a blast. The weather was great. We saw whales, dolphins, puffins and other birds, seals, sea otters and a calfing glacier. So the 6 hour is great if that's all the time you have, it won't be a waste of money.

Definately longer is better all the way around. BUT if glaciers are your priority, go out of Whittier.
Scenery is also a significant feature of these tours. I have to say, I haven't seen many comments that say they can max out on wildlife????
Not usually a factor with Alaska visitors??
Anyway- Exit Glacier is worth an hour or 2, there are ranger activities to consider. The Sealife Center is a very well run environmental attraction. But for me nothing beats the sightings in the wild, so the Kenai Fjords boat tours would always be my priority. My opinion only.