AdventuresByLeah
Aug 2021
This review is about the Kenai Fjords National Park Tour 8am Departure on August 3rd. It was 6 hours in length and went out to Aialik Glacier and back from Resurrection Bay (Seward, AK).
Boat:
+ ITS COLD.... Prepare for the weather - it was very warm in Seward (T-shirts), but once we were out on the water I put on all 3 layers of bottoms and 5 layers of tops with a winter hat, rain jacket, mittens. It's the wind and clouds that really makes it cold! Had it been raining, I'm sure even colder.
+ PICK A SEAT... All seats will fill, so take the ones you want from the start. There are indoor and outdoor options. You can move to outside the deck when there is wildlife, and then go back inside.
+ SNACKS ON BOARD... Great snack/warm beverage options for sale at very reasonable prices ($2-3 cider/cocoa/coffee). Fresh baked cookies was such a win!
+ NO SEA SICKNESS... We were blessed with an incredibly calm day, so this could change with weather. Note the mornings were more calm than afternoons.
Wildlife:
+ ANIMALS: We saw 3 humpback whales, 2 porpoises, 1 Dahl sheep, 1 harbor seal, 1 black bear on shore, lots of sea lions, puffins, sea otters, and birds
+ NARRATOR: The captain was also the narrator upon wildlife sightings. They were excellent at spotting them from a distance, and they would pull up a safe distance away from the animal while still close enough for photos and viewing.
+ LENGTH TIME: Each animal that was new they would stay a very reasonable amount of time to talk about them, but not too long for kids to get bored. I was very worried about the captain over/under narrating, and they were just perfect. As we saw repeat animals, the captain would point them out but spend less time on them. They were able to gage the crowd on if people were interested in getting closer or moving on.
Glaciers:
+ We went out to Aialik Glacier, though you see many glaciers from a distance along the way. Great for photos. There was not much calving happening yet, but a few small pieces.
+ I would recommend this cruise option over Kayaking out here. Taking a smaller boat out to start your Kayak would likely be a higher chance of sea sickness. It's also not safe to go up close to a calving glacier, and there have been death incidents in Alaska when attempted.
Bring:
1. Lots of layers - Hat, mittens, buff, rain jacket, rain pants, warm layers underneath
2. Thermos (warm beverages get cold in 1 minute in paper cups)
3. Camera
4. Binoculars
5. Money or snacks
The National Park Passport stamp is at the Visitor Center in Seward a few blocks away from where the boat takes off from.