Glacier Cruise: Whittier or Valdez?

We did the Lulu belle, it was fantastic. He takes you to the Glacier and to the shore to get the tip of the boat in a cavern type rock, then you see the whales, the sea lions and other animals.

We've done cruises from Valdez and Seward. We've also done both Stan Stephens and Lu-lu Belle out of Valdez. I HIGHLY recommend the Lu-Lu Belle in Valdez. Capt. Fred takes his time and gets you close! The whole family agreed it was the best one we've done!

IMNSHO, I'd suggest in order: Whittier, Valdez, Seward; for "tourists"

For Valdez, I've had good experience with both Stan Stephens and Lulu Belle.

For my personal trips, I typically make an excursion to Valdez and then take a cruise, but primarily because I think the drive from Los Anchorage - Glennallen - Valdez is enjoyable.

For scenic and enjoyable drives, IMNSHO, Valdez is 1st, then Seward, then Whittier. Of course, driving to Whittier takes one part of the way to Seward, but you miss some of the best driving scenery that is on the far side of the Turnagain arm and through the pass.

On the water, cruises from all 3 locations are pretty good and, as others have suggested, one should try to take all 3 if at all possible. I took my 1st trip with Stan Stephens in 198?? and was the only Alaskan on that particular trip so spent a few minutes talking to Stan and the Mrs.

We also thoroughly enjoyed the Stan Stephens cruise out of Valdez. We also did one out of Seward but the Valdez one was better.

rv2go wrote:
We did both Whittier and Valdez. Also took a water tour out of Seward. Each is different. Take all 3 if you can.

I agree as we have taken the Kenai Fjords NP tour out of Seward 3 times. Each has been different, but the only one that was not enjoyable was on a cloudy day with 6-foot swells when DW got seasick. But last July was the best yet so I highly recommend Major Marine over the Kenai Fjords Tours company in Seward.

And you can use your TourSaver coupon book to save considerable $ in all three places!

We did both Whittier and Valdez. Also took a water tour out of Seward. Each is different. Take all 3 if you can. May be your only trip to AK.

we went on the one out of Whittier as I recall, the one where you have to drive thru a railroad tunnel to get to and where the town sunk under water years back. got real close to calving glaciers, etc.
bumpy

How many times are you going to Alaska? Do everything you can on the first trip as you may never get another chance. Every tour is different. Get the Alaska TourSaver and do as many as you can. It will pay for itself on the first long tour.

You will see several glaciers in Whittier but nothing as spectacular as you will see in Valdez. Highly recommend the Lula-Bell in Valdez if you are looking for all around scenery and not just glaciers. We saw a number of otters, eagles, whales, and the Columbia Glacier on the Lula-Bell. Even if you don't take the Lula-Bell go down to the harbor one evening after 7:30 and check it out. It is a beautiful old boat and Capt. Fred Rudolf is a hoot. If you want to get close to the glaciers in Valdez take the 1/2 day kayak tour with Anadyer. You will NOT see any calving but you will be able to touch a number of calves that have fallen off Columbia.
They are all spectacular in their own way. Maybe it would be best if you just do them all!!

x2 on Stan