Kenai Fjord Cruise Yields Bounty of Sealife, Glacier Sightings

Day 8, 2024 Ultimate Alaska

Sunday, June 16, 2024; Seward, Alaska.

Seward is known as the home of the original Iditarod system of trails that eventually head to Nome. It also is where many passengers begin or end their Alaskan cruises that travel between here and Vancouver. For me, this is where I’ve finally seen all types of sea life that epitomize Alaska.

My sisters and I joined an all-day Kenai Fjords National Park cruise that left Seward in low-lying fog. We had doubts that we would see mountains, glaciers, waterfalls or even whales, sea otters or seals. (Before the day was over, we saw them all!)

Even before we left the marina, we saw a bald eagle sitting on a harbor piling, calmly watching boats coming and going.

Our boat had ample seating inside with easily accessible doors for outside viewing and photography. It made for a much more pleasant trip than my similar excursion here 19 years ago on a small boat with little room inside to escape what was a rainy and bitterly cold day. Today I came prepared, with both a warm jacket and a windbreaker. Even mild temperatures can seem chilly when the wind coming off the snowy mountains has a bite to it.

Before we left Resurrection Bay for the Gulf of Alaska, we saw sea otters putting on a show. They weren’t shy as they played and rolled in the cold water.

Then we saw the telltale spray from a few whales. After teasing us for while with their flippers, they showed themselves to be orcas as they rose from the water.

After everyone got their fill of watching and photographing the orcas, we left and “stumbled” across a humpback whale intent on making a splash. It breached, then slapped the water repeatedly with its pectoral fins, spyhopped (stuck its head up for a look around), disappeared briefly and then repeated the process.

As we drifted, it swam right by our boat and rose for a stunning breach just off our aft quarter.

It finally signaled it was going deep with a flip of its fluke.

Before we headed into Aialik Bay, we passed a colony of Steller sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks.

Once we entered the bay on our way to Holgate Glacier, the low fog quickly lifted and we had clear blue skies as the captain parked our boat near the giant ice face. Every few minutes the crack of ice breaking away split the air – but by then it was too late to see the falling ice. Many passengers kept their cameras focused on the face of the glacier hoping to capture the calving. I didn’t have the patience, but I did get a closeup of a couple of harbor seals resting on floating ice. The crew fished out a piece of the ice and chipped it away for special drinks available for purchase.

We passed some tufted puffins on our way back to Seward, where the fog had concentrated just above the water.

As there wasn’t enough time left to explore the town, I could only quickly snap some shots of colorful murals on the way back to the ship.

We have another day and half at sea before we reach Dutch Harbor, a town in the Aleutian Islands made famous by the Deadliest Catch television series. Our fingers are crossed that our good weather will continue and allow us to dock there. I am one-for-two in previous visits.