Alaska Glacier Cruises & Alaska Glacier Tours

I love the rush I receive daily seeing customers excited about our beautiful mountains, cascading waterfalls, huge icebergs, playful wildlife, and diverse bird populations. Also, I have an opportunity to work directly with my family, and what I would call my extended family—our staff of all Valdez residents. It is rare in Alaska to encounter an operation employing all Alaskans, much less a staff that is completely made of one community’s residents.

The other thing I love about our tours is that every day is different. Someone could cruise with us 13 days in a row—and yes, this has happened—and each day they will see something different, explore a new bay, see different wildlife, and travel with a different group of co-customers.

Day cruises vary in length, route, and special features so no matter what your interest or activity level, you can find a cruise to meet you needs.

For example:
• Birders may choose an itinerary that has a more open schedule to spend more time birding
• Families should look for an itinerary that will entertain travelers of all ages
• Travelers with unlimited time may want to consider longer trips that travel farther into each region, providing a more comprehensive experience
• More active travelers may want to choose a trip that combines touring with sea kayaking
• Someone who does not want lots of activity can choose from most any tour—they should just clarify their physical limitations while making the reservation.
We have had passengers on board our boats from 3 months to 101 years old. Choosing the right cruise for you and your traveling companions is the first step in making sure you have a great day on the water.

I truly believe that there are four favorite spots for glacier and wildlife cruising in Alaska and each port/region can provide a traveler with a unique experience. Often the decision comes down to the total numbers of days in a person’s vacation, where in Alaska their vacation begins/ends, and how they are traveling through the state. This will decide if they only have time for one tour or if they can cruise from multiple ports. Many travelers with a more open time schedule will cruise from two, three, or all of the following areas:

Inside Passage/Glacier Bay National Park
Tours to the glaciers located in Alaska’s Inside Passage or Glacier Bay National Park depart from multiple locations. Depending on how you are traveling through this portion of Alaska, you can participate on a cruise as a shore excursion offered by a cruise ship or as a day trip as part of an independent itinerary. In addition to day cruises, you can select to take an overnight cruise in this section of Alaska on a small boat, extending your stay in the area to a few days.
If you choose to cruise in this area you will travel through fjords where many glaciers scatter the shorelines of the fjords—the remains from the larger glaciers years ago.

Kenai Fjords National Park/Resurrection Bay from Seward
A day cruise from Seward can easily be done as a one day tour from Anchorage or can be combined with an overnight stay for a Kenai Peninsula Adventure. Seward is accessible by road, the Alaska Railroad and the Alaska Marine Highway; in addition, many cruise companies arrive/depart from this port.
When you cruise from Seward into Kenai Fjords National Park, the terrain you encounter is quite rugged due to the weathering of the Gulf of Alaska. You will see exposed rocky sculptures and wave-carved features in the shorelines. Kenai Fjords National Park has many tidewater glaciers, and each tour company features different ones based on the route.
From Seward, travelers have a chance to see many different types of coastal birds, and tours that feature the Chiswell Islands will expose you to an even larger variety of birds. In addition, the Park provides travelers a great chance to see orca whales, humpback whales, sea otters, and sea lions.

Prince William Sound
Day cruises into Prince William Sound happen from two ports: Valdez and Whittier. Even though they travel into the same body of water, the tours feature many different things, so we have broken this section into Prince William Sound East and West.
Tour companies that operate in the Sound boast “calm waters” because of the large barrier islands that protect this area from the weather of the Gulf of Alaska. In addition to providing smooth sailing (most of the time), these islands also provide for a lush environment. Unlike a trip from Seward, in the Sound you will find trees all the way to the waterline. The Sound is also the most heavily glaciated area in Alaska, so on any cruise in the Sound you generally have a glacier out the window.

Prince William Sound East from Valdez
Travelers who have the time in their itinerary to spend a night or two in a community generally will consider a glacier and wildlife cruise from Valdez. It’s accessible by road, scheduled air service, or the Alaska Marine Highway, so you can loop it into any itinerary quite easily.
All tours from Valdez feature the Columbia Glacier, the largest glacier in Southcentral Alaska. Some of the longer itineraries also feature some of the smaller glaciers in the central part of the Sound. As in many of the other ports, you have the chance to see great wildlife, including one of the strongest sea otter populations in Alaska in Port Valdez. En route, travelers will also view sea lions, whales, eagles, puffins, and more!
Many travelers who cruise from Valdez say that they really received a chance to fully experience what coastal life in Alaska is about. On their tour, they were able to learn about oil shipping, historic mining efforts, the 1964 earthquake, watch commercial fisherman in action, and learn about the Alaska Native populations in the area.

Prince William Sound West from Whittier
Cruises from Whittier also serve as an ideal day trip from the Anchorage or Kenai areas. Access to Whittier is quite unique. By land you can drive or take a train; either way you utilize the same tunnel for entrance to the Sound. Or you can take the Alaska Marine Highway. Similar to the overnight trips in the Inside Passage/Glacier Bay, small boat companies also offer overnight cruises from Whittier into the Sound.
Tours from Whittier feature a variety of routes that all visit multiple glaciers, and depending on the route you can spend between 4 and 8 hours on the water. A feature in all of these itineraries is a visit to a Kittiwake Rookery located directly across the bay from Whittier. On a cruise from Whittier you’re also quite likely to view whales, seals, otters, eagles, and more.
In addition to featuring different glaciers, some cruises feature visits to commercial fishing hatcheries, special meals on board, or unique narrators.

Once again I want to stress that it is rare that an Alaskan traveler only takes a day cruise from one region. Because each area offers a unique feature, visitors participate in as many as they can based on their itinerary and the amount of time they are in Alaska.

In Alaska we have a great history as well as a very complex environment, so the narrator on board can make or break a cruise. Each cruise company has a different approach as to how or who does the narration.
• We have our captains narrate. They have all been operating tours with us for over 15 years each; therefore they are truly the experts in the area. In addition to sharing information about the glaciers we visit and the wildlife we see, they share stories about early explorers, gold and copper miners, the 1964 earthquake, commercial fishing, and the events surrounding the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.
• Some companies have their crew narrate. Generally this staff has been trained and sometimes is a member of the regional Alaska Native group.
• If a company operates in the boundaries of a National Park, they will often bring on a National Park Service Ranger to do all or some of the narration.

Based on our customer comments, the narrator can be the most important part of a day cruise. There are days when we will see breaching orca whales, feeding humpback whales, seals, sea lions, sea otters, bears, goats, eagles, puffins, cormorants, calving at glaciers, or commercial fishing activity. But the number-one thing written on our comment cards is “amazing staff and crew—the captain’s narration kept us involved and intrigued all day long.”

Our company’s goal is to make sure that each of our customers not only has a great day on the water seeing what life is like in coastal Alaska, but that each has a chance to visit/interact with our Alaskan staff. Guests learn what is like to live in Valdez in the winter, where we average 360 inches of snow; they can hear stories of grandparents who survived the 1964 earthquake, and what it was like to grow up with Prince William Sound as your backyard.

Our vessels operate with an open bridge. This means that the passengers can approach the captain ask questions about the trip, learn how the navigation equipment works, and help spot wildlife. This adds a great deal to the customer’s experience.