Welcome back to the MMT Blog! After a few months off during the winter season we are getting the blog going again as we prepare for the 2016 season. It’s hard to believe, but our first cruise of the season departs in less than one month! Our Gray Whale Watching Cruise departs March 18th from Seward and we can’t wait to get back out on the water and explore the stunning landscape and incredible wildlife that calls Resurrection Bay home.
With the new season comes some exciting changes at Major Marine Tours. Our biggest announcement is our purchase of a waterfront hotel in Seward, Harbor 360 Hotel. Adding Harbor 360 Hotel to the Major Marine Tours family allows us to offer more cruise, hotel, and activity packages than ever before.
Harbor 360 Hotel offers some of the best views of any hotel in Seward. The hotel is located directly on the Seward Small Boat Harbor, where you can watch the boats come and go and enjoy the wildlife that frequents the harbor. You are likely to see sea otters, marine birds, bald eagles, and the occasional harbor seal right from your hotel window. A stay at Harbor 360 Hotel combined with a Major Marine Tours cruise gives you the full experience of Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park, allowing you to enjoy stunning scenery and wildlife from the moment you wake up to the moment you tuck yourself into bed after a day of awesome Alaskan adventures.
For your added convenience, check-in for most of our cruises is located inside the hotel and boarding is at the dock directly behind the hotel. To accommodate all of our vessels, two of our cruises, our 5 Hour Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise and our 7.5 Hour Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise, will still check-in at our original South Harbor Office and will board at the Seward Small Boat Harbor E Dock. You can view our Seward Check-In Information Page for a map of our check-in locations.
In addition to the purchase of Harbor 360 Hotel, we have made a couple of other changes to ensure that our guests have the best Alaskan experience possible. We have replaced our 4 Hour Evening Cruise with three departures of a new 3.5 Hour Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise, which departs at 9:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. The three departure times are a convenient option for people who have limited time in Seward but still want to get out on the water.
We are happy to announce that we will be offering free parking to our customers in Seward this year. We encourage you to park at the City of Seward Pay Parking Lot closest to your check-in office and we will gladly reimburse you for the cost of parking.
This year, Major Marine Tours celebrates our 25th anniversary of cruising in Kenai Fjords National Park. It’s incredible to think of all of the people that have experienced this beautiful national park from one of our cruises in the past 25 years. Thanks to all of our customers for choosing to cruise with us, and we hope to see you again on one of our cruises soon.
2016 also marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service. What better way to celebrate the National Park Service centennial than getting out and enjoying your parks this year? Join the National Park Service in their Find Your Park campaign, and be sure to visit your Kenai Fjords National Park in the near future!
If all of that wasn’t enough, we have a very exciting event in the works that we will be announcing soon. Keep checking back with us for more information!
