7.5 Hour Kenai Fjord National Park Cruise

Kenai Fjords National Park is a truly breathtaking destination, allowing visitors to experience the natural beauty of Alaska’s coast. A boat tour is a perfect way to explore this unique and spectacular landscape, taking you through the park’s stunning fjords to see two glaciers, and giving you the chance to see a variety of wildlife up close. 

In this article, we will share our experience of the 7.5-Hour Kenai Fjord National Park Cruise and highlight what you can expect to see while onboard. We’ll offer an honest review of what we enjoyed as well as any drawbacks that we encountered, provide information about other boat tours in Seward, make suggestions on how to choose the ideal trip for your needs, and share tips that could be beneficial for future travelers.

Whether you are already planning your trip to Alaska or simply looking for inspiration for your next trip, this post is for you.So please join us as we take you on a photo journey through the beauty of the Kenai Fjord National Park.

Seward resides on the coast of Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park is just southwest of the bay.

In order to get to Kenai Fjords National Park from Seward, you must sail through Resurrection Bay.

Resurrection Bay offers magnificent views of lush emerald forests, rocky cliffs, and abundant wildlife. You can see glaciers hanging on the mountains far away, you can also see Bear Glacier – the larger glacier in the park – from a distance.

However, there are no tidewater glaciers in the bay.
You cannot get close to the glaciers, and you will not see a dramatic glacier calving in Resurrection Bay.

To experience the breathtaking beauty of a mighty tidewater glacier, you must go into Kenai Fjord National Park.

But – when sailing out of the bay to Kenai Fjords National Park, part of the journey goes through the open waters of the Gulf of Alaska, which might be rough.

There are 2 companies that operate commercial boat tours on big boats or catamarans. Both companies provide a variety of tours, and most of them have similar itineraries:
Major Marine Tours
Kenai Fjord Tours

There are smaller, local operators that offer half or full-day tours in small boats. Although more pricey, you can customize a tour, especially for your wishes. Sailing in a small boat close to a tidewater glacier is an enchanting experience, that will make your visit to Seward unforgettable!

Here are some tour operators that offer small boat tours:

Northern Latitude Adventures

Seward Ocean Excursions

Visitors have a wide selection of boat tour options to choose from, ranging from short tours to longer excursions, varying in cost and theme. Choosing the right tour for you might be confusing. To help you make the most out of your visit to Seward, here is a summary of several boat tour alternatives so that you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

On a hazy morning, we boarded the Major Marine large catamaran at Seward’s scenic small boat harbor. 

The seats on this cruise are reserved. During onboarding, you will get your assigned seats. The company guarantees reserved seating in the heated cabin for every guest on this cruise.The boat provides comfortable indoor seating, most of them with tables, but not all of them. There are plenty of panoramic windows, as well as several outdoor decks, a snack bar, and bathrooms.

The boat left the pier right on time and sailed through the beautiful Resurrection Bay.

A short while after departing, we spotted a pod of orcas.

There are 3 main types of orca in the North Pacific:Resident orcas are often spotted near Seward, as they feed on fish.Transient orcas can be spotted, but are less likely since they feed on marine mammals like seals.Offshore orcas feed mostly on sharks in the open ocean and are rarely seen in Seward.

The best time to see resident Orcas in Seward is between early May and early June, although these majestic creatures are also being spotted in the area during the months of June through September.

As we sailed towards the ragged cliffs of Aialik Cape, the scenery became more dramatic.

Aialik Cape, located in Kenai Fjord National Park, is a natural wonder. It is a five-mile coastline with remarkable jagged cliffs that rise from the sea, providing stunning views.

Next, we came across a group of harbor seals lounging on the rocks. Harbor seals are the most common seal in Alaska, and can be seen in small groups, or even alone.

A short while after, we noticed a humpback whale that quickly dove beneath the water. The captain halted the boat and we waited for a few minutes, but the whale never reappeared.

As we sailed along, the boat stopped near a flock of seagulls at the water’s edge. The naturalist guide explained that this could be an indication of whales feeding beneath the ocean surface. We waited for some time but were unable to spot any whales.

After passing Aialik Cape, a strong wind started to blow, and the passengers were asked to leave the deck and go inside, while the boat entered Aialik Bay. The rough sea made the boat sway a lot, but the captain informed us that these conditions were normal for this part of Alaska. Luckily the rough ride was relatively short.

Once we reached Aialik Bay, the sea was much calmer and we were able to go back out on deck.

The boat continued sailing through the beautiful Aialik Bay, with the naturalist guide providing more information about the park’s nature and wildlife. At that time, the crew started serving lunch.

The deli lunch that is included in the cruise price consists of a sandwich and a snack. There are several options for sandwiches from which you can select when booking the cruise. Pre-COVID, there was also an option to purchase an additional buffet meal of salmon and prime ribs. However, this option is not offered in 2023.

Then the magnificent Aiaik Glacier emerged. What a sight!

We were able to get close enough to observe the beautiful blue hues of the ice, and even saw some chunks of ice break off into the sea. The captain then turned off the engine and allowed us to take in this majestic sight.

Aialik Glacier is a tidewater glacier. These glaciers are rivers of ice, that flow all the way down from the mountains to the ocean, and terminate in the water, where they break off with calving – large chunks of ice falling into the water. Tidewater glaciers are incredibly important, as they maintain a balanced ecosystem for Alaskan wildlife.

In addition, Aialik Glacier is one of the few glaciers in Alaska that is retreating at a slower rate than others due to its unique location in the Kenai Fjords National Park.

It’s an incredible feeling to be close to a glacier. The sight alone is breathtaking. The cold, crisp, and clear air together with the occasional sound of the glacier calving, make it a truly magical experience.

We stayed near the glacier for about 30 minutes. The captain slowly turned the boat so that everyone could get the best views of the glacier. We saw a few small calvings when small chunks of ice broke off from the edge of the glacier into the water.

We left the stunning glacier and sailed back into Aialik Bay, once again admiring its stunning beauty.

As we continued the journey, we passed by several drafts of sea otters, floating together. 

When we entered Holgate Arm, the spectacular scenery become even more breathtaking.

Then Holgate Glacier emerged.

Holgate Glacier is a smaller, but more active tidewater glacier than Aialik Glacier and gives greater opportunities to observe calving.

Surprisingly, Holgate Glacier stands out from other glaciers in the area – it has been advancing instead of retreating over the recent years!

The setting near the glacier is absolutely enchanting, providing an unforgettable experience of Alaska’s raw beauty.

Just near Holgate Glacier, you can see the South Holgate Glacier, which is a hanging glacier. Hanging glaciers are glaciers that are attached to the mountainside and reach down towards the sea but do not make contact with it.

Setting off from Holgate Arm, we started our journey back to Seward.

Before leaving the glacier, the staff members fished out a chunk of glacier ice from the water. They chopped it and offered to buy drinks with glacier ice.

Our next destination was the interesting Chiswell Islands, a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and an important bird sanctuary.

The islands are filled with small coves, which offer shelter to many birds that nest there during the summer months.

We saw puffins, murres, and kittiwakes while sailing. Additionally, we passed by several groups of Steller sea lions sunbathing on vibrant rocks surrounded by beautiful turquoise waters. We even managed to spot a mountain goat in the distance.

Heading back to Seward, we continued to enjoy the stunning scenery along the way.

Finally, we arrived back at the small boat harbor of Seward, appreciating all of the amazing sights that we had been able to witness. What an incredible place!

This is just a small glimpse into what to Expect on the 7.5 Hour Kenai Fjord NP cruise.

The Kenai Fjords NP 7.5 Hours Cruise truly offers a great experience. It provides the opportunity to admire some of Alaska’s majestic nature and wildlife while getting to learn more about the park from the knowledgeable guide.You get to see 2 active tidewater glaciers on this cruise, which is a big plus for us as nature lovers.From the moment of boarding to disembarkation, everything was well-organized. The boat was comfortable, and every passenger has a guaranteed reserved seat inside the heated cabin (which is not guaranteed by other companies / other cruises).

However, there are a few drawbacks.

The one thing that really frustrated us was the fact that the deck got exceptionally crowded whenever we stopped at an interesting location or when some wildlife had been spotted. Unless you were lucky enough to be at the front, it was really difficult to get a clear view.

On the other hand, it’s important to mention the wonderful staff who ensured that all children had plenty of room in front so they could view easily without any obstruction (In contrast, another boat tour we took on a different destination lacked such a considerate atmosphere. We will elaborate more on that in a dedicated article.).

Moreover, part of the amazing experience of being near a glacier is the incredible silence, when all you can hear are ice blocks cracking and breaking. Unfortunately, this magical moment is disrupted when dozens of people around express exclamation of astonishment… and block part of your view too…

This is not related to this specific cruise, but to all cruises of all companies. The higher the number of passengers, the less intimate the experience.

If you are interested, there are alternatives of sailing on smaller and less-crowded boats, for example:

Major Marine Tours operates an 8.5-hour cruise to Northwestern Fjord in a smaller boat with up to 60 passengers. This cruise is not suitable for children under 12, therefore it was not an option for us (our kids were 13, 11, and 7 at the time of the cruise).

If it fits your budget, we absolutely recommend checking out a half or full-day tour with one of the smaller local operators in an intimate small boat. We did a similar tour on our last trip to Prince William Sound (a dedicated article is coming soon) and it was such an incredible experience! These tours offer fantastic experiences and memories, however, they are pricy.

Here are some tour operators that offer small boat tours:Northern Latitude AdventuresSeward Ocean Excursions

The 7.5 Hours Kenai Fjord National Park Cruise is a great way to explore the majestic beauty of Alaska’s coast and its wildlife. With some preparation and expectation management, you can make sure that your cruise experience will be enjoyable and that you get the most out of it. We wish you a wonderful journey!