Alaska - Which cruise to take?

I am thinking of a day trip from ANC and am trying to see which is a better cruise: Portage Glacier cruise or the prince william sound cruise from whittier. The later is much longer and more expensive, is it worth that much more than the former?

I am thinking of a day trip from ANC and am trying to see which is a better cruise: Portage Glacier cruise or the prince william sound cruise from whittier. The later is much longer and more expensive, is it worth that much more than the former?

Night and day difference.

Portage Glacier is a little boat ride in a little lake up to a little glacier. (Oh, all right, "little" to us Alaskans is probably "mega-HUGE!" to you Outsiders.) It's nice enough, but there's a reason the PWS cruises are 5 times the price. Glaciers calving, huge fjords with cliffs that plunge right into the water, birds, otters, and maybe even a whale or two (much more common out of Seward, but I think they do occasionally come up into the waters of the Sound). It's also 5 hours versus 30 or 45 minutes.

If you even have the option of making a decision, choose PWS. You'll see most of what you'd see from the Portage Glacier boat near the entrance of the tunnel to Whittier.

Agreed.

Don't waste your time with Portage. It was once magnificent... but has since shrived back into the mountains. It does make an excellent spot to pick up ice for beverages at DO's though :D

Cool to take the tunnel to Whittier too.

Darn neither of these operate in Oct, will have to go to Seward. How do the Kenai Fjord cruises fare compared to the above two?

Darn neither of these operate in Oct, will have to go to Seward. How do the Kenai Fjord cruises fare compared to the above two?

Does Kenai Fjords operate in October? I thought they all ended by Sep 27th.

I think you are kind of out of luck with such tours so late in the season.

If it were me, if it is nice weather, I would drive to/toward Talkeetna. Great views of Mt. McKinley from several vantage points. A couple of nice places in Talkeetna to have lunch. Stop in Wasilla either going or coming at the Iditarod headquarters (nice film). You might also do a google search for sleddog kennels. There are several between Anchorage and Talkeetna. Perhaps you could get a tour and/or a sleddog ride (sleddog rides are available at the Iditarod HQ's too, but maybe only in the summer).

You might return from Talkeetna via Wasilla then Independence Mine (if not snowy, there are some good descriptions of the historic buildings in the area). Maybe the muskox farm is open in Palmer and you can see the muskoxen.

On the way back from there, stop at Thunderbird Falls for a nice hike to the falls (1+ hours round trip?).

Or if it is nice weather and you enjoy hiking, skip all the above and head to the Glen Alps trailhead east of Anchorage. Lots of nice hikes there. Last Friday I did a 10-mile, 5 hour loop hike and saw several moose. Beautiful morning, but when I returned to Anchorage they had a windstorm!

John

[QUOTE=fti;14823279]Does Kenai Fjords operate in October? I thought they all ended by Sep 27th.

I think you are kind of out of luck with such tours so late in the season.

I posted this information in a post about Alaska tours in October. Just in case anyone will be in the Seward area late September through October 15, 2010, Major Marine Cruises does offer a three-hour wildlife cruise. It departs daily from September 27 through October 15, 2010 at 12:30 PM and returns at 3:30 PM.

I posted this information in a post about Alaska tours in October. Just in case anyone will be in the Seward area late September through October 15, 2010, Major Marine Cruises does offer a three-hour wildlife cruise. It departs daily from September 27 through October 15, 2010 at 12:30 PM and returns at 3:30 PM.

Thanks for the info. If it were me, I would not go to Seward just for this tour. I took a similar tour last April (back then it is called a gray whale watch tour, but you rarely see gray whales and the captain brings you to all the normal wildlife hangouts in the bay). I just think it is a long way to go for a 3 hour tour, especially if it is your first time in Alaska. I guess one question for the OP is what else they are doing while in Alaska and how long they will be there.

I guess one question for the OP is what else they are doing while in Alaska and how long they will be there.

I have one full day in ANC and another in BRW. I would like to see widlife. Also while in BRW I'd like to see Pt. Barrow. Is it worth it? I got a quote of $105/pp for 6 hour tour that stops two miles before the point. I read that the point is only 9 miles from the city, so I'm not sure why it takes so long. I'm hoping to see some polar bears and whales during the trip to the point.

Would I be able to see the lights from the hotel or should one go out of the city?

Can vehicles get all the way to the point when it's not iced up? Don't know, but IIRC October might be a bit early for bears up there. As for the aurora, you ought to be able to see them from the village, but clouds happen. You might ask some locals if a flightseeing trip might help find bears out of BRW.

As for going to Seward, I agree - probably not worth the time and money.

Instead, use the money to get up in the air - on a float plane from Lake Hood, or a flightseeing hop in the direction of Denali from one of the operators at Talkeetna (or even from Merrill Field in Anchorage if the Parks Hwy is looking icy/dicey - which can be the case depending on when in October.)

Getting up in a light plane is, IMO, virtually compulsory for visitors to Southcentral Alaska. You just can't get a feel for the beauty and immensity of the place from the ground, and seeing 3 or 4 minutes of the Chugach Mountains on approach/departure from ANC is not the same thing. And on a clear autumn/winter day, flying from Anchorage or Talkeetna toward Mt. McKinley in a light plane gives a new definition to the word "awesome."

Remember too days are getting shorter - fast - in October.

I was in BRW in August 2008. We stayed overnight at the Top of the World Hotel, and they set up a night drive out to the point -- we left at 9 and got back about midnight, when twilight was happening. The packed gravel road stops a few miles short of the point. From then on, you need 4 wheel drive and special tires. Our night tour was by this Inupiak driver in one of those 15 passenger vans, but it had these huge knobby tires. We saw polar bear at the point, and the following morning. so yes, you can get there when there's no ice. Were the question above phrased differently, I'd wonder if you can get there when the ice is in. I cant imagine what you'd do for 6 hours, though late in the season with the ice in, I'd suspect there would be much more bear activity.

There isn't exactly a robust tourist industry there. Alaska airlines runs an up and back flight tour where you fly in in the morning, take a tour, and fly out on the evening flight. No idea how late in the season that runs, but we took that tour during the day (not through the airline). It was also with a native driver, but was in a giant blue schoolbus they had purchased from ... South Caronlina? There wasnt much to see that we hadnt seen the night before.

I don't see in my email how much either tour cost, but I'm sure a search/call will find it for you. We had an oceanview room that cost about $200 a night. It was... basic. But, oceanviwe on the artic ocean -- how many people do you know who can say they've done that?

You probably will not see any humpback whales in October during the cruise from Seward. Most of the humpback whales that travel to Hawaii to mate or to give birth will have started their long journey. You may see orcas during the wildlife cruise; they live in the area year round.

We were in Seward over Labor Day weekend and took three cruises with Major Marine. We saw one humpback whale and it was on the six-hour cruise that also visits a glacier. Even though we only saw one whale, we saw more of the whale than I have ever seen in Alaska. It actually did a peduncle throw so I was thrilled - but apparently I am easily entertained.

I have one full day in ANC and another in BRW. I would like to see widlife. Also while in BRW I'd like to see Pt. Barrow. Is it worth it? I got a quote of $105/pp for 6 hour tour that stops two miles before the point. I read that the point is only 9 miles from the city, so I'm not sure why it takes so long. I'm hoping to see some polar bears and whales during the trip to the point.

Would I be able to see the lights from the hotel or should one go out of the city?

If wildlife is a priority, then maybe the 3 hour tour would be good. Note as said you probably won't see whales - not even orcas. With the 3 hour tour you stay in the Resurrection Bay and the orcas rarely go in there. But you will see sea lions, seals, hopefully eagles, mountain goats, black bears? And you can take a peek in the Sealife Center. And try to make a stop at the Wildlife Conservation Center at Portage. Though they are in captivity, it is a great place to see lots of animals too.

I have been in contact with a photographer in Barrow, hoping myself to go up there to photograph polar bears. They basically haven't seen any polar bears yet this year (well, one but way in the distance and not close enough to photograph). I was in Anchorage and Denali last week and was ready to fly up to BRW on a moment's notice using AS miles if bears were there.

I didn't see the Northern Lights, even from Healy when the forecast was 3 and the skies were clear. But a person I met at the ANC airport on Friday night said that he was north of Wasilla Thursday night and saw them that night, even though the forecast was low. You can check the forecast here:

http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/

What a great and informative thread. So glad I visit the U.S.Forums. ^

Darn neither of these operate in Oct, will have to go to Seward. How do the Kenai Fjord cruises fare compared to the above two?

Ah, I figured you were planning for a trip next summer.

Yes, things wind down here pretty quickly. Guess no one wants to visit ANC once the daily high sinks into the 50s, much less below freezing. :eek::p

Ah, I figured you were planning for a trip next summer.

Yes, things wind down here pretty quickly. Guess no one wants to visit ANC once the daily high sinks into the 50s, much less below freezing. :eek::p

50's? Today's forecast per accuweather.com is 45F :D

Ah, I figured you were planning for a trip next summer.

Yes, things wind down here pretty quickly. Guess no one wants to visit ANC once the daily high sinks into the 50s, much less below freezing. :eek::p

I chose Oct, so that there will be some daylight to see the place, some darkness to see the lights, to avoid freezing temperature and to see whale hunting, was I wrong?

I chose Oct, so that there will be some daylight to see the place, some darkness to see the lights, to avoid freezing temperature and to see whale hunting, was I wrong?Not wrong, just not specific enough. October is a very transitional month, so something that might be doable on Oct. 1 might not be doable at all by Halloween. But most importantly - and always a necessary qualifier - is where? Avoiding freezing temperatures in SE Alaska in most of October is probably a safe bet; in Southcentral Alaska not so much; in the interior, north and west of the state, not at all. Our son (born in Anchorage) has his birthday on Oct. 21. Born in a snowstorm, and most of his birthdays when we lived there fell on or after the first sticking snow was on the ground at sea level (remember Anchorage involves a lot of hills and mountainsides; winter arrives a couple weeks earlier at the higher elevations in the city.) Sometimes the snow was a foot or two deep, and driving became very tricky if it warmed to, say, 35F in the day then re-froze at night.

Also, you're losing something like 10 min. of daylight every day.

In the interior and Denali, things can be frozen stiff by Oct. 15, sometimes by Oct. 1. Fairbanks' average high temperature is below freezing by Oct. 14.

As for whales, probably too late except for Orcas in Prince William Sound and Southeast.

As for whales, probably too late except for Orcas in Prince William Sound and Southeast.

He is referring to the whale hunting in Barrow, not the orcas and humpbacks.

He is referring to the whale hunting in Barrow, not the orcas and humpbacks.

Yes.

He is referring to the whale hunting in Barrow, not the orcas and humpbacks.

Yes.Ah, sorry.

50's? Today's forecast per accuweather.com is 45F :D

Well, it was 50 last weekend, and last weekend there were no tourists. ;)

Also, you're losing something like 10 min. of daylight every day.

It feels like 10 minutes, but it's really only about five minutes and 40 seconds. (http://pafc.arh.noaa.gov/index.php?index=anctext)

It feels like 10 minutes, but it's really only about five minutes and 40 seconds.I think I was actually looking at Barrow when I said that. But you're right - in Anchorage it does feel like 10 min/day even if it's only six. I hated the first day (sometime in Oct/early Nov IIRC) when I went to work in the dark and left work in the dark. Sux.