Glacier Bay & Island Adventure

Meals Review

The food was delicious. Combine that with excellent service and the dining room was always filled with smiling faces—though we were an easy crowd to please, with all the good wildlife and the weather.

All meals were plated, except for the day we had a barbeque buffet. Expect to eat a lot of Alaskan seafood on this trip. We even ate a King salmon that our guide Lee had filleted in front us earlier that day.

There was always a meat or vegetarian option if you didn’t want seafood, as well as soup, salad and dessert. All allergies and food requests were catered to. Bread was baked daily. There was even a baking class. The final night's Captain’s Dinner started with Tom, a guest from San Jose, singing a song about our week, accompanied on guitar by Silka, one of the stewards. It culminated in a nineteen-dessert extravaganza and a slideshow of our week.

The buffet dinner at Orca Point Lodge was my favorite. It consisted of leg after claw, after leg of King crab, King salmon and prime rib, as well as salads and vegetables, all enjoyed on the deck overlooking glass-flat water at sunset. For dessert we had s’mores around a campfire. Hard to beat that.

Crew & Guides Review

Lee, our cultural guide, was from Ketchikan and Tlingit. He often entertained us with Tlingit folklore, anecdotes of encounters with bears and Robert Service poetry. He was a talented storyteller, and every evening we would all easily suspend our disbelief and allow ourselves to get swept along as he told us folklore of the Tlingit people.

He told us how storytellers were singled out for that profession as young men and instilled with the tenet that stories must be recited word for word without deviation. To test their memory, they would recite stories in harsh conditions, such as while sitting in freezing water, to ensure the purity of the tale for generations to come.

Our Alaskan captain was experienced and negotiated ice chunks and brought us close to the calving Sawyer Glaciers. We took turns to go out on a skiff and get even closer. He even put the bow of the boat into one of the waterfalls that came down the granite walls towering above us.

Steph, our enthusiastic and experienced scientific expedition leader, kept a list of wildlife sightings on the wall by the bar that included a coastal brown bear, puffins, seal lions, mountain goats, sea otters, a porcupine (!) and too many humpback whales to keep track of. Thanks to her, we all became experts in when a whale was going to dive, all of us pointing out when its back arched and it was about to go down deep. As its tail fin, or fluke, stood upright and sank slowly underwater, we would all cheer.

Accommodations Review

The Baranof Dream had plenty of communal space, up on deck for wildlife viewing and for socializing and dining below. I also really enjoyed how there was no bag-packing all week, and as everything was planned, there was no time spent thinking about what to do tomorrow. Also, we didn’t need to bring rain gear, boots or binoculars. Living the “Baranof dream,” we had it all covered for us.

Itinerary Review

The cultural element felt authentic. In Sitka we had tours of the Bishop’s House, the Sheldon Jackson Museum and the St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox cathedral. Our day in Juneau coincided with the vibrant dedication ceremony of the new Walter Soboleff Building. We were treated to a performance of Norwegian folk dancing in the fishing port of Petersburg, by school children happy to be skipping a math test. At the Tlingit village of Kake, we learned about totem pole carving and basket weaving from local guides. We even had the chance to dance with the people of Kake.

Those who wanted to enjoyed a peaceful kayak a few days. A family of four, among others, was cheered on by onlookers, as they jumped into in the cold water together.

The whale watching was phenomenal. One day in Stephen's Passage, Steph, our scientific leader informed us we were following a well spread-out pod of about 20 to 30 orca.

The bulls kept their distance, their giant triangular dorsal fins rising 6 feet out of the water. We got much closer to the cows and calves, with their smaller, curved fins. Mothers and calves stayed together, and the inquisitive nature of the younger orca brought them much closer.

When the mothers and calves, in groups of three or four, came up to breathe, they were often all touching, rolling and swimming over each other. Every five minutes or so an orca’s head would pop up to see what those strange creatures on the boat were up to.

Steph lowered the hydrophone and we were able to hear them clicking and whistling for a few moments. A mother and calf came in for a breath and a look-see no more than 15 feet off the port bow and moments later, the same calf spy hopped about 20 yards in front of us.

We saw orca on two more occasions. Each time was just as amazing as the first. Seeing orca so close was my personal highlight of the whole trip.

Accommodations Review

The boat was really comfortable and had everything we needed.

Meals Review

Every meal was great - if anything there was just too much food! Don't think we needed 4 course lunches when dinner was so delicious.

Crew & Guides Review

Loved having [guide] Mark along on the trip - he was so knowledgeable and really inspired the kids on all the walks we went on with him.

Accommodations Review

We stayed in a deluxe cabin aboard the Admiralty Dream. It was quite spacious for an onboard accommodation. The beds were VERY comfortable, with a plush yet supportive mattress and crazy-soft sheets. The bathroom was set up in a way that made showering easier than it has been on other, bigger ships. The ship's common spaces were very comfortable - a lounge with great windows for viewing passing sights and a dining room with plenty of space for the 54 of us.

Meals Review

The food was creative and delicious. There were certain back-up foods that were always on the menu (burgers at lunch, fish or chicken at dinner), but we almost always chose one of the specials of the day, which included (for lunch) halibut tostadas and venison chili and (for dinner) rack of lamb and cioppino. A heavy focus on local Alaskan products (salmon and halibut, spruce tips, elk) was very appropriate.

Crew & Guides Review

Captain Gavin ran the ship and was completely dedicated to giving us the best experience possible. Erin was our naturalist, and she was top-notch (she got her master's in environmental science at Duke's top-rated environmental school, so they definitely hired for killer qualifications). Erin gave short, info-packed presentations most evenings after dinner, which were well-conceived and presented. We were joined by Ranger Cindy at Glacier Bay, who is also a naturalist, so we received tons of valuable information from her too. Our Tlingit cultural guide, Mary, gave an exciting story of the Tlingit origin story of the Raven, as well as a lot of interesting information about Tlingit culture. She left the ship halfway through to go to the Celebration in Juneau (First-Nations dancing groups from all over the world), so then we were joined by Joe, who was also great. We were also joined by Tlingit Elder Alice at Glacier Bay, who told us of the special history of the Tlingit who lived in the valley before the glacier expanded in the 18th century.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Nick was tremendously helpful in our selecting which trip to go on, and then in handling all the lead-up organizing. We also received assistance from Justin when we needed to change our plans by a week and Nick was on a trip in Mexico. I handled all our transportation apart from booking the cruise, but AdventureSmith was very helpful booking us into the Admiralty Dream trip.

Traveler Advice

Follow the instructions about bringing warm and waterproof clothing! The ship provided us with waterproof jackets, pants, and boots, but they were not insulated, so our own layers were essential. It was often down in the 40s (F) in the morning and evening. And it rains off and on every day.