Kenai Fjord Boat Tour & Seasickness

[biojeep]

We are planning the boat tour of Kenai out of Seward but my wife suffers from pretty bad motion sickness even sometimes when she wears the scopolamine patch. From what I have read that is a common occurrence on the longer tours. Are there any tours for that area that people are less prone to motion sickness? We would hate to miss the wildlife in the area because we figure that will be our once in a lifetime trip to that area of Alaska & we are looking forward to the sites of that area as much as Denali. Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Northern Aurora]

Every Kenai Fjord trip I've done has has folks on board who find themselves experiencing seasickness. While the tour operators generally will have products on board for sale, if your wife has experienced seasickness in the past she should be prepared and take whatever product she finds works well for her.

[JimS4210]

I'm sure others with more knowledge will be able to give more advice, but they have the 4 hour tours that stay in Resurrection Bay. You don't go out into the Gulf of Alaska so the seas aren't as bad, but you give up the chance of seeing more wildlife. The more time on the water, the better.

 

We have the 9 hour Northwestern Fjord tour booked for July 1st. Can't wait...

 

Jim

[Chenega]

I'm sure others with more knowledge will be able to give more advice, but they have the 4 hour tours that stay in Resurrection Bay. You don't go out into the Gulf of Alaska so the seas aren't as bad, but you give up the chance of seeing more wildlife. The more time on the water, the better.

 

We have the 9 hour Northwestern Fjord tour booked for July 1st. Can't wait...

 

Jim

 

Even that tour depends on weather and sea conditions. We were on a whale watch two weeks ago and encountered six foot seas at Cape Resurrection which is at the entrance to Resurrection Bay. I've also done other trips that were calm.

 

Take precautions before you go just in case.

[mapleleaves]

If it's a windy day, even Resurrection Bay can be pretty nasty. I've turned green on that tour ! And taking dramamine or bonine as you board the boat doesn't give it enough time to work. I'll attest to that!

 

I've attempted the Kenai cruise 3 times and got out to the glacier once. It was incredible and I would always try it again, but only on a CALM day. Even on a good day, there's a rough patch as you cross the Gulf of Alaska and I turned green. We saw the glacier calve, saw whales, seals, tons of birds, eagles nest, eagles, mountian goats. It was worth 15 minutes of feeling nauseous! The other 2 trips were downgraded to a Bay tour because the seas were so rough. I thought the Bay tour was pretty boring. But i guess it would depend on where you're from. On one of those days, it was so blustery that the Bay was really choppy and I almost lost it.

 

The most sheltered day trips are out of Whittier. If you have a car, you can easily make it from Seward to Whittier in time .... those trips tend to leave around noon-ish. But again, if your wife is prone to motion sickness, only attempt it on a calm day.

 

Maybe take the tour on your own. There's enough to do in Seward to keep your wife occupied for 6 hrs while you cruise .... walk around the harbor, polk around the shops, follow the waterfront path to downtown watching for eagles and otters. Downtown there are more shops, and the SeaLife Center.

Edited May 11, 2014 by mapleleaves

[AryMay]

After many cruises and tours on smaller boats, I've never gotten sea sick. HOWEVER...I am worried enough about our upcoming Kenai Fjords National Park tour that I bought a package of Walmart's generic motion sickness pills (meclazine) and will take them the night before and the morning of our cruise. A package of 8 pills was less than $1.50...well worth the cost if they work!

[Budget Queen]

If it's a windy day, even Resurrection Bay can be pretty nasty. I've turned green on that tour ! And taking dramamine or bonine as you board the boat doesn't give it enough time to work. I'll attest to that!

 

I've attempted the Kenai cruise 3 times and got out to the glacier once. It was incredible and I would always try it again, but only on a CALM day. Even on a good day, there's a rough patch as you cross the Gulf of Alaska and I turned green. We saw the glacier calve, saw whales, seals, tons of birds, eagles nest, eagles, mountian goats. It was worth 15 minutes of feeling nauseous! The other 2 trips were downgraded to a Bay tour because the seas were so rough. I thought the Bay tour was pretty boring. But i guess it would depend on where you're from. On one of those days, it was so blustery that the Bay was really choppy and I almost lost it.

 

The most sheltered day trips are out of Whittier. If you have a car, you can easily make it from Seward to Whittier in time .... those trips tend to leave around noon-ish. But again, if your wife is prone to motion sickness, only attempt it on a calm day.

 

Maybe take the tour on your own. There's enough to do in Seward to keep your wife occupied for 6 hrs while you cruise .... walk around the harbor, polk around the shops, follow the waterfront path to downtown watching for eagles and otters. Downtown there are more shops, and the SeaLife Center.

 

There is no way to tell if it's a "calm" day from Seward, or what the sea conditions are going to be in the gulf. I've left on all kinds of "Seward days", rough there and calm and always encountered the opposite at some point during the trip. The "rough" from Seward actually had the vendor warn, it may turn back, and was given the opportunity to cancel without penalty. One trip, later was calmer seas in the gulf. I've had beautiful calm seas, sun shining at the marina, only to hit rough seas, rain in the gulf. NO WAY to predict anything.

[Budget Queen]

We are planning the boat tour of Kenai out of Seward but my wife suffers from pretty bad motion sickness even sometimes when she wears the scopolamine patch. From what I have read that is a common occurrence on the longer tours. Are there any tours for that area that people are less prone to motion sickness? We would hate to miss the wildlife in the area because we figure that will be our once in a lifetime trip to that area of Alaska & we are looking forward to the sites of that area as much as Denali. Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

You need 6 hours on the water, ideal. Any tour with less time is compromised and will not offer you the glacier or wildlife opportunities for the minimal park trips.

This is a personal decision, that may benefit from a health care providers advice. There is NO guarantee it can be 100% prevented with someone prone. I see this all the time, people standing in line boarding, "bragging, they never get sick etc". Then seeing them heaving in the back. There is NO way out of this tour, and time stands still for those affected, absolute misery. Some hard thinking on your priorities and acceptance of the risks involved. Good luck.

[laughing husky]

The Phillips 26 Glacier tour guarantees no sea sickness or your money back.....Take a look at that one...