We took this day-long cruise from Seward to Northwestern Fjord. The route is to sail south out of Resurrection Bay, and then turn north into Northwestern Fjord. We boarded the boat in the morning, and they told us that they were expecting very rough conditions on the open ocean when we departed Resurrection Bay. They said they were not sure they would be able to make it into Northwestern Fjord, but they would try. But they also said that if we wanted, we could re-book for another day, or we could just get a refund on our tickets. We decided to re-book for the following day, which turned out to be a very good decision. The weather was perfect.
The cruise itself was really excellent. We had commentary on a clear PA system from our guide, who was very familiar with both the wildlife and history of the area. The crew kept a lookout for wildlife, and the skipper navigated the boat so we could get good views of them. We saw quite a few whales, two separate pods of orcas (killer whales), sea otters, sea lions, a black bear on shore, and many species of birds. There were some birders on board who were quite happy by the end of the trip. We also had pretty close-up looks at some glaciers, and were entertained by an enormous ice avalanche on one of them. And, of course, the scenery was fantastic.