For anyone visiting Alaska, Kenai Fjords National Park is a must-see destination.
It’s one of the best places to take in the stunning scenery and experience beautiful Alaskan wildlife up close.
But here’s the catch: the park is virtually inaccessible by road. Visitors have to take a day tour cruise from Seward.
Getting Around Kenai Fjords National Park
The two main cruise operators in Seward are Kenai Fjords Tours and Major Marine. If you’re trying to decide which tour would be best for you, we’ve got you covered.
Travel can be unpredictable; there’s so much that could go wrong. Therefore, getting the right travel insurance is paramount.
A travel insurance plan can help ensure that minor mishaps don’t ruin your Kenai Fjords National Park experience.
Kenai Fjords Tours
If you’re looking for things to do in Alaska, a Kenai Fjords National Park trip should be on your list. The 600,000+ acres park offers plenty, from exotic wildlife to stunning landscapes.
As most of the park can only be explored by boat, several daily cruises are available.
Kenai Fjords Tours out of Seward is one of the more popular options for exploring the beautiful, expansive park. Here’s everything you need to know about Kenai Fjords Tours if you book with them.
Cruise Options and Routes
Like all the other cruise operators in Kenai Fjords National Park, Kenai Fjords Tours offers several cruise options and routes for explorers.
Ultimately, the choice boils down to what you want to see (glaciers, wildlife, or both), how deep you want to go into the park, and the time of the year.
Read later – 4 Best Kenai Fjords Kayaking Tours
The longer you stay on the boat, the deeper you go into Kenai Fjords National Park — and the more you pay.
Here are some of the most popular Kenai Fjords Tours cruise options and their respective prices:
- A 4-hour Gray Whale Watch Tour ($80)
- A 5-hour Resurrection Bay Tour ($108)
- A 5-hour and 30 mins Glacier Dinner Cruise ($162)
- A 6-hour Kenai Fjords National Park Tour ($162)
- A 7-hour Northwestern Fjord Tour ($207)
- An 8 hour-and 30 mins Kenai Fjords National Park with Fox Island Dinner ($189)
The Fox Island Dinner cruise is only six hours long, with the other two and a half hours accounting for dinner.
As you’d expect, some of these cruises may not be available depending on the season. For instance, the Gray Whale Watch Tour is only offered in spring.
Boats, Crew, and Food
When deciding the best Kenai Fjords National Park cruise, you’ll want to know what to expect regarding boats, crew, and food.
You’ll be happy to know that Kenai Fjords Tours boasts a fleet of modern vessels for all cruises.
The staff are polite, thoughtful, and highly professional.
It’s Alaska, so it should be expected that someone will get seasick at some point during the boat tour. The crew will check in regularly to ensure everyone is okay.
One of the best parts about Kenai Fjords Tours is that they offer a hearty and filling lunch, depending on the duration of the cruise.
For the shorter tours, expect sandwiches and premade wraps. For longer trips, you may get a delicious hot lunch.
The Overall Kenai Fjords Tours Experience
Kenai Fjords National offers an abundance of wildlife and marine life to see.
All cruises from this operator depart from Seward Harbor, which is ideal if you want to see all the animals and marine life. Of course, it all depends on the weather.
On a good day, you’ll see whales, puffins, sea lions, seabirds, mountain goats, and more. Some routes will be more scenic than others, but you should be able to get some stunning views of glaciers, mountains, and fjords regardless of your route.
Major Marine Tours
The other major Kenai Fjords National Park tour operator is Major Marine Tours.
The cruise provider offers amazing tours to enjoy the park’s stunning scenery, wildlife, and glaciers.
Here’s everything you need to know about Major Marine Tours if you book with them.
Cruise Options and Routes
Major Marine Tours also offers a variety of cruise options to choose from.
Depending on your choice, you’ll spend four to eight hours cruising through Kenai Fjords National Park.
Here are some of the most popular Major Marine Tours cruises:
- Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise (4 hrs) –$129
- Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise (6 hrs) – $199
- Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise (7 hrs and 30 mins) – $229
- Northwestern Fjord Cruise (8hrs and 30 mins) – $269
All tours start at the Seward Harbor.
The boats depart almost simultaneously, so you need to be sure you get into the right one. You may wait a few minutes in line out on the docks before you can get on board.
Boats, Crew, and Food
Like most Kenai Fjords National Park tour operators, Major Marine Tours has an impressive fleet of boats to carry passengers on wildlife tours.
All the vessels feature a viewing deck, heated cabins, clean restrooms, and large fog-free picture windows.
The crew is experienced, friendly, and always ready to help.
Major Marine Tours offers lunch on tours longer than six hours.
Expect nothing fancy in terms of their food, just a bag of chips, a sandwich, a cold beverage, and maybe a snack. Premade wraps are pretty much the standard these days with most cruise operators.
The Overall Major Marine Tours Experience
Tours start in Seward, offering fantastic views of the harbor town as the boat heads to the open ocean.
Typically, shorter tours will take some time in the Resurrection Bay area, while longer ones take heads deeper into the park to explore the glaciers.
If there are whale sightings in the area, boats will typically divert toward them while maintaining a safe watching distance.
There’ll also be plenty of opportunities to see glaciers, especially for the longer tours that go further into Kenai Fjords National Park.
Kenai Fjords Tours Vs Major Marine: Which Is Better?
Regarding Kenai Fjords Tours vs. Major Marine, both cruise providers do an excellent job at helping travelers explore Kenai Fjords National Park.
They also offer similar sightseeing opportunities. However, there are a few differences between the two companies.
For instance, Major Marine offers reserved seating, while Kenai Fjords Tours doesn’t.
That said, you won’t have trouble finding your seat on a Kenai Fjords Tours cruise. The Kenai Fjords Tour boats use the captain as the narrator, while Major Marine Tours have a park ranger aboard.
However, you’ll find that the captain is just as informative as the park ranger, so that’s something you don’t need to worry about if you’re leaning toward Kenai Fjords Tours.
Ultimately, the choice between Kenai Fjords Tours and Major Marine is mostly a personal preference.
Conclusion
Kenai Fjords Tours and Major Marine are the main cruise operators in Kenai Fjords National Park.
There’s not much to separate them; it boils down to individual preference. If you’d like to explore more of what The Last Frontier offers, this Alaska five-day itinerary will be useful.
