Hi everyone,

There seems to be a variety of boat tours leaving from Seward. We will probably be able to take only one, and have the time to dedicate the whole day for it. What do you suggest?
Thanks!

You for sure want to do an all day tour. Make sure you are taking one that goes all the way to a glacier, not just one that does Res.Bay. In my opinion, the fewer the people on the boat, the better the experience.

I'm pretty sure we went with Major Marine. If it were to do again, I would do it in a Kayak or much smaller boat. With that said, it was an outstanding experience with Major Marine. Saw tons of sealife and calving glacier. You will not be bored. Only negative was the meal/snack they provided was just ok. This was 4 or 5 years ago

Yes, make sure you go on the all day, longer tour that takes you out to either the Hogate or Northwestern Glaciers. Well worth the extra time.

We have used Kenai Fjords and Major Marine and both were excellent.

I third the suggestion to go as far and long as you can. You will see the best glaciers and have the most opportunity to see wildlife.

We went with Alaska Saltwater two years ago and highly recommend them. Only 12 or 15 people on the boat. We stopped in front of a glacier for lunch and saw lots of wildlife.

Thanks for all your responses and tips, oh we can't wait!!!!!!

I wanted to go with Saltwater for the smaller boat, but they were all booked up. We did Kenai Fjords, and did the 9 hour northwestern glacier tour. It is a long day, but it was pretty great. we saw tons of wildlife and the glacier did a small amount of calving for us.

Thanks china_cat! Did you book ahead of time, or were you able to get in a tour when you got to Seward?

We took the longest Kenai Fjords trip. Some tips - although water was rather calm, I got seasick, being very prone to it. I noticed staring thru binoculars was the cause - it seemed to enlarge the visual disturbance/motion sickness causing swells. Bring binoculars, water repellant jacket - we hit mist/fog. They served lunch which was not that great, so if it is important to you what you eat, bring some food. They sell sodas and snacks. Even if it is overcast, wear sunblock, especially on your face - I got burned.

But despite seasick and sunburned, it was great. Saw glaciers calving, land and sea mammals, dolphins, lots of big birds.

I booked ahead of time, but I think there were still spots when we got there. at least, I assume there was since the boat wasn't quite full.

we had orcas come right up to the boat and dive under it, I actually got sprayed by one. It really is a great trip.

For anyone reading this to plan for next year, I would highly recommend you look into a night ( or better yet two) at Kenai Fjords Wilderness Lodge instead of staying in Seward and taking an all-day boat trip. The price may look steep, but if you add up everything that is included, and add a bonus for the wilderness experience, it comes out ahead. Our boat tour out was on a nice nearly new 42-foot boat. Mthere were fourteen passengers. You could talk to the captain a bitif you liked. We were on the water four hors going out, with stops at Holgate and Aialik Glaciers ( the latter for a long time). We saw every kind of sea wildlife you can name. We arrived at the rock beach around 2 and walked the half mile or so to the lodge. This is a near new Eco-lodge build on Alaska Native land within KenainFjords NP. MIT is a string of small log cabins,meach with private bath. All have a gorgeous view of the glacier across the lagoon. Black bears frequent the tall grass in front of the cabins and we saw them each morning. Meals are included and the food is incredible. Activities such as kayaking are also included. Me did an all-day kayak trip,to Aialik Glacier, with a stop on the strand there and a late luch stop on an island on the return. If you go for only one night, you do not have time for that kayak trip but you can do a shorter one across the bay to a waterfall. The boat trip back departs around 2 pm and we saw even more wildlife on the return, including a pod of orcas that we sat and observed for half an hour, and a school of dolphins that played in the boat wakes for 20 minutes as we entered Resurrection Bay. We laughed so hard at their acrobatics my sides hurt. Mi will never forget that experience, and would go back in a heartbeat .

We had a fantastic day with a Kenai Fjords tour that included Aialak Bay -- easily the highlight of the trip.

I have taken the Kenai Fjords National Park 8.5 hour tour which included Ailak Bay and stopped briefly for dinner on Fox Island - fantastic day and saw so much wildlife as per my pics and article on it here:
http://www.dreamhorsemedia.com/travel/seward

If the 9 hour tour had have been available on the day we were there, i would have chosen that for the extra half hour.

Kenai Fjords also run a small boat for up to approx 16 people max (Captain's Choice Tour) and it a similiar price, but more customised. The customers have a say in what focus on and where to spend the most time. 9 hour day trip.

I had the same dilemma as you when I had to choose a boat/cruise. If you don't mind standing up most of the time and being on a small boat, with only a few people then the Captains Choice tour could be the go. The choice comes down to your personal preferences for boat size, people, what you want to see and conditions.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Kenai Fjords tours just as long as you do at LEAST an 8 hour trip.

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