RESURRECTION BAY WILDLIFE CRUISE–SEWARD, booked or have been on?

May husband and I will be on the Pacific Princess leaving Seattle on 6/11/09. Looking for information of this excursion in Seward. Have you been on it, are booked to be on it, or do you have other options. Thanks and happy cruising.

This is good for people concerned about sea sickness and are short on time. But I'm a much bigger fan of going on the longer Seward crusies all the way into Kenai Fjords National Park. You'll have a better experience with more wildlife and some decent glaciers to view.

All things being equal, I'd do these in the following order:

Kenai Fjords National Park

Columbia Glacier from Valdez

Prince William Sound from Whittier

Resurrection Bay

Portage Lake

We are wanting to do the Kenai Fjords however they can't guarantee that we will be back to the ship in time. We have to be on board at 5:30 and ship doesn't dock until 8 am so we can't go on the 8 am excursion. Limited choices.

Perhap this would be a good day to explore ashore instead? Hike to Exit Glacier, see the Alaska SeaLife Center, the National Park Visitor Center, and enjoy town. You'll sail the full length of Resurrection Bay coming and going by cruise ship that day anyways.

I have the same problem. We are doing the Pacific Princess beginning July 23. Since it is the only ship in port and it is a week day I don't understand why they can't shift the time to 8:30-2:30.

The 6 hr trip is wonderful. We did it 2 years ago.The best scenery and wildlife is beyond Resurrection Bay so I'm not sure the 3 hr trip is worth it.

On the first day of our land tour after our cruise we were booked at the Alaska Sea Life Center and then the 3 hour Resurrection Bay Cruise before making our way via the train to Anchorage. We had about 1.5 hours between the two stops. We thought the Resurrection Bay cruise was a nice way to begin our tour, but certainly wished to go further into the bay to see more glaciers. On the trip we saw sea otters, a couple of whales, sunbathing seals, lots of birds, passed by a glacier, etc. We had considered ditching the Sea Life Center to instead take a longer cruise, but got a little nervous leaving the tour group for such a long time as we were unfamiliar with the area. However, if we were to do this again we would try to squeeze Exit glacier between the two stops. I figure that we could have taken a cab from the Sea Life Center to Exit, have the cab wait for us, and then rejoin the group near the dock where the day cruise left from. Not having to wait for people to board the bus from the Sea Life Center would have given us more than enough time to make the trip to Exit.

We are wanting to do the Kenai Fjords however they can't guarantee that we will be back to the ship in time. We have to be on board at 5:30 and ship doesn't dock until 8 am so we can't go on the 8 am excursion. Limited choices.

This is what I wonder a lot too. Same applies to the Adventure Bound boat tour out of Juneau. If they would just go out later, more cruisers could catch their tour. I know Adventure Bound caters to locals, so maybe they just don't want the cruise business. Perhaps it is the same in Seward? I am just guessing about that, but like you, I don't understand why they can't have a departure a bit later. Just too logical I guess, unless there is something we are missing here.

Part of the problem is we only have the one port of call every 2 weeks. They can make more off the shorter trip yet still offer something. It's tough but to be bluntly honest I wish we didn't have Princess doing a port of call in Seward. It burns my buns seeing all those passengers throwing their money at Princess on the excursions.

Yes, a 30 min later departure time of 6pm instead of 5:30 would allow plenty of time to make it back to the ship on the regular 6hr sailings that are set up for the train passengers. But Princess couldn't make the commisions then. Could you imagine hearing of the comparision of passengers train vs ship and the price differences? Princess wants to be exclusive and not have independants, that's how they make more $$$.

As an example Major Marine is $69 for 12:30-5:30 yet Princess is charging $99 for their 4.5 hrs and Kenai Fjords with lunch at Fox Island is $89 which is also a bay cruise but atleast they feed you unlike Princess which is more expensive and you get less.

Sorry but you asked and that's my take on the scenerio. :(

My opinion only, I would never waste my time on the bay tour. You will see this EXACT same area sailing on your cruise ship. Bring your binoculars out on deck and use them. :) It is rare to have much wildlife sightings, the above report is definately atypical. Many see very little, and none get any good glacier viewing, again, you will see the same from the cruiseship.

This itinerary has been a negative since they started, the same problem is in Valdez, you have no time to do anything except the ship tours, since the timing is off.

You may want to consider other activities perhaps?? There is plenty to see and do in Seward. http://www.seward.com

This is what I wonder a lot too. Same applies to the Adventure Bound boat tour out of Juneau. If they would just go out later, more cruisers could catch their tour. I know Adventure Bound caters to locals, so maybe they just don't want the cruise business. Perhaps it is the same in Seward? I am just guessing about that, but like you, I don't understand why they can't have a departure a bit later. Just too logical I guess, unless there is something we are missing here.

FYI, Adventure Bound sometimes has a 9 am trip to Tracy Arm. You may want to give them a call to see if your date is available. We were able to book a 9am the last week of July.