A beautiful sunny day... great day for the cruise. We left at 11:30 and pulling out of the harbor, close to the shores of Kenai Fijords National Park, we saw kayaks investigating the shore line that is not reachable any other way. The popular Puffin seabird could occasionally be seen diving into the water. A bald eagle swooped in and perched on a ledge up the mountain wall, where everyone with binoculars could get a close and detailed view. The full day cruise of the harbor continued to reveal natural beauty throughout the trip. A worthwhile ($100) trip to really get to see all the natural beauty that Seward has to offer.
Shortly out we ran across a small group of Orca (killer whales) and stopped to watch them dance in and out of the water as they passed our boat. I gave up trying to capture that beauty with my camera, as the spout of water and flip of the tail is hard to synchronize with a digital camera... I did get a number of good pictures of where an Orca had been.
The highlight of the trip was the visit to the Holgate Glacier. It is considered a "tidewater" glacier because it is moving into the ocean, and breaking off a piece at a time creating many tiny icebergs. The captain put the boat so close you felt like you could reach out and touch it, and it was magnificent, with the bright blue colors reflecting through the crevices in the ice. Loud noises like a shotgun going off or booming thunder could be heard as the glacier creaked and cracked. A truly awesome experience to be there. We waited quite awhile hoping to see the glacier "calve", meaning to break off a big chunk. Small pieces were continually breaking off and falling into the water which was full of miniature icebergs. The crew used a net to pickup a small piece which it took two of them to lift into the vessel so everyone could see it and touch a glacier. The ice was full of small air bubbles. Being near the glacier reduced the air temperature significantly, so everyone was dressing up... the water full of mini icebergs also contributed to colder air.
On the return from the glacier we swung out by Chiswell Islands National Wildlife refuge where we saw nesting bluffs in the rocks for the seabirds, and in one area saw many of the Puffins diving in and out of the water. One small island (rock) was home to the Sea Lions, and we saw a huge male sunning itself with many smaller one on the rock or swimming in the water. As we returned to the harbor, we got the grand prize which was two Humpback Whales swimming together and near us for awhile. The eight hours went quickly with so much to see.
Just like the big cruise ships, a buffet of salads and Alaskan Salmon and chicken was served about midway through the cruise. Then at the end, 5 types of dessert was served. It was a great cruise and we all returned stuffed, cold, but well educated on the natural beauty of the area. And on the cruise I met a woman with her son from Minneapolis, that just prepared backpacks and got on a plane to Anchorage.... rented a car and were tent camping in the state parks in the area for a couple of weeks as a first visit to Alaska. Pretty gutsy people.
This cruise was very worthwhile, and really made the trip to Seward a fantastic experience. I feel that the full day cruise is worth the extra money, as the half day cruises do not get out as far and as close with the glacier which is a real experience.
