Small Ship Alaska Cruise Reviews

Accommodations Review

The bed was really comfortable and I loved looking out of the large picture window at night to see the light....LOL and also on occasion when  I would wake up early in the morning I would see the night sky and the moon. The shower and toilet combo worked well but was a bit of a tight squeeze but makes sense for this type of transportation. I really liked the nightly sheet left on our bed about the following day's activities. I could read up about what we were going to see and do. I also liked the intercom in the room to alert us to various wildlife or geological sightings.

Meals Review

The food was OUTSTANDING. Great choices, so carefully prepared. The baker also did an outstanding job of keeping everyone in fresh, hot, delicious goodies. The afternoon cookies at the bar were very popular. Pounds were gained but who cared!!! As I am lactose intolerant, I was amazed at how the chef and her staff created incredible alternatives for me to eat as did the baker.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

I am use to organizing our trips so it was nice to have someone else advising on what we needed to take and things (such as waterproof pants and jackets) etc. would be provided. Aaron cheerfully answered all of my questions.

Crew & Guides Review

Larissa and Simon were the two naturalists who guided us through the daily activities and provided evening slide shows on topics of interest. Both were wonderful and knowledgeable. Not only was Larissa knowledgeable about nature but she was an accomplished photographer and artist. At the end of the journey she created a DVD of photographs with music for all of us to take as a great memory of our journey together. Simon was remarkable. He is so eager to learn. He was substituting for the other naturalist who was assigned to us for the trip. It was his first stint at this and honestly his enthusiasm was so huge and his passion for his work so strong. He was funny, a great communicator, and a real joy to share time with. Both were always there to answer any questions and guide us to books in the ship's library for additional information.

I loved my time spent with Alice who shared her Tlingit history with us. She and I had a quiet talk at the end of the day that she spent with us in Glacier Bay. She drummed and sang a welcoming song as we sat in the corner. My goal was to call the Orcas to us and sure enough...the last day we were on water a WHOLE POD came by and accompanied the boat. My dream for the trip. We had a great staff server for food, Mystique. She was light-hearted and fun and personalized her service regarding meals..she remembered the special things we liked when eating the delicious foods. Capt. Erik was, of course, on a mission to find me my Orca experience and sure enough, he delivered.

Traveler Advice

Take time to just enjoy the majesty of Alaska!

Accommodations Review

The beds were surprisingly comfortable!! Loved having the window cracked and having the fresh air at night. Very clean cabins and we were really only in our rooms at night to sleep :)

Crew & Guides Review

Again - beyond excellent!! Sarah (with an "h") was the BEST!! She was so friendly and fun! My kids and I really enjoyed her. She did a great job planning the activities and offered a good variety of options. She was also so enthusiastic about everything and she was really easy to approach and talk to. She was a blast when she was our guide. She and Julie were quite the combo!!!

Julie - she was my daughters favorite!! She was a great guide and so much fun!! She always made sure Syd was at the front of the boat to get the best pictures!! She knows her stuff and when asked questions - she had an answer for everything!

Ted - I went kayaking with him the first day. He was awesome!! Very helpful and knowledgeable too. He was fun and very easy to approach and ask questions. He did a presentation on loons - and taught us how to call birds. We are still trying to master that! My daughter is the best one out of all of us. 

Gray - he was my son's favorite. I had him for the fish hatchery. When I saw the bear - he came right to the front and "read" the bear and allowed us to take pictures and have that experience. Very respectful to the wildlife - I wanted to just stay there and watch the bear and baby - but he had us continue on after a few minutes to leave the bear be. 

Andy and Adelia - they drove the skiffs for us a few times. Very nice and fun! We saw orcas with Andy and she got us safely (very fast) lol - to the orcas in time to see carnage with the sea lions. That was a great experience (sad) but awesome. 

Dakota - he was our waiter. HE WAS THE BEST!! After one day - he  knew our drinks for every meal. He had drinks in place in the morning and then different drinks for lunch and dinner.  We and our tablemates adored him. He was a highlight of our day. He asked us about our adventures at night - that was appreciated. 

Matt the bartender ......  what a guy!! Any drink we wanted he would make.. My son is 21 - not a drinker but wanted to try some things. Matt was up for it. Now that I am home and I am not sure I can have a margarita - Matt made the best margaritas!!! He made drinks of the day - and was more than happy to tell how he made it. At the end of the trip he wanted to make me a new margarita. He made a jalepeno, orange cinnamon one. It took a while to make it and it was well worth the wait. I am sure I am missing someone - but EVERYONE was great!!!

Transportation Review

It was a smooth transition on and off the boat and with our luggage. No complaints!

Itinerary Review

I think every place we went had it's own unique experience. My son LOVED the bush whacking tours!!!! He loved seeing things that even people on the ship (me) didn't see. They found blueberries every time and stopped and ate them. He raved about how good they were. He also was able to eat salmon berries which he loved also. He would have done that every day for both excursions! My daughter loved the skiff rides because she wants to be a photographer and what a great place to get good pictures!! She was in heaven and 14,000 picture or more later - she found her happy place. 

I liked everything I did - going to the fish hatchery I think was my favorite though because that is where we saw a mamma grizzly and her baby!! They were right there and didn't seem to mind us a bit! I think my mom enjoyed the skiff rides and the one day it was open kayak - my son took her out on one for about an hour and she loved that. She has never done that before so she enjoyed that. My kids also loved the polar plunge. What a way to end the trip - and they can say they jumped in glacial waters!!! Everything was so beautiful and wonderful!

There was nothing we didn't enjoy - and I am saying that honestly! I think the only thing is one morning we anchored in a really rocky (back and forth) spot and my mom got sea sick and missed out on the days activities. After the morning excursions - they did move the boat to a calmer area - and Matt the bartender made my mom a drink that settled her stomach so she was able to join us for dinner and the evening activities.

Meals Review

Beyond excellent!! I packed snacks for the kids for in between meals - mistake!! I brought them all back home. There was way more than enough food! The food was excellent! The choices were great with a great variety. My son is soooo picky and he tried new foods and found out that he actually liked them. Breakfast was always exciting because we got to hear what we were having for lunch and dinner! No one can say they went hungry or didn't have anything they wanted. If we didn't like any of the options - they offered other items also - but we all tried something that was offered. I found out my self that I like scallops and my son decided he liked crab with the all you can eat crab night! Amazing!! The desserts were to die for also!!

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Very good!! The packing list was spot on - our fault we didn't listen to all if it - most of it - but a few things we didn't think we would need - but we did need. That was our own fault!!

Traveler Advice

Listen to the packing instructions :) A strap for your phone and a camera and a sense of adventure!!!

Accommodations Review

Comfy beds and warm comforter. We didn't spend that much time in there anyway so the small size of the space didn't matter to us.

Meals Review

Megan was a fantastic chef. We loved the fresh seafood that she served in all manner of ways for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The dungeness crab dinner was truly a FEAST!!!

Crew & Guides Review

Monika was so knowledgeable, it really made the trip. We love this sort of trip with the activity of hiking and kayaking and learning so much about the terrain, plants, animals. Monika and Beth were a great team, keeping us engaged and safe at all times. 

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Aaron did a great job keeping us on task with submitting paperwork and providing a lot of advance information to help us prepare.

Traveler Advice

Follow the instructions on what to pack. Buy a pair of Neos. Enjoy the lack of internet access and always have your binoculars at the ready. Thanks for such a wonderful experience. I'll never forget this. Oh, and jump in the water if you can (47.2 degrees is really cold but it's also a once in a lifetime chance).

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

I had sailed on Wilderness Discoverer before, so it was like coming home again.

Meals Review

The breakfast bacon on UnCruise ships is the best in the world, and I always eat more on my trips than I do all year at home. A big plate of perfectly ripe fruit available at the pre-breakfast made it easier to resist the two baked offerings that were there too. The variety and imaginative combinations of ingredients--who knew you could do so much with kale! Impressive how the single gluten intolerant guest had her requirements met at every meal.

Crew & Guides Review

Kelly was enthusiastic beyond words, and very knowledgeable. Our guide at Glacier Bay National Park who spent two days with us was a pleasure to have along, and I think she enjoyed us as much as we did her (sorry don't have her name) because we were a very receptive audience for all the information she had to share.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Adventure Specialist Andrew has arranged all my trips over the years, and he is as good as it gets. He even advised on which side of the ship was a better choice of cabin on this trip, and he was spot on.

Accommodations Review

The Alaskan Dream was, quite simply, a dream boat. Everyone on the staff, from Captain Eric to the crew onboard, went out of their way to make sure everyone was comfortable and happy. The beds were very comfortable. 

My husband had been wanting to go on an Alaskan cruise for quite some time.  I was the one dragging my feet because I didn't want to be stuck on a giant cruise ship.  My husband's cousin and wife had made arrangements through AdventureSmith and just raved about it.  I was particularly taken by the small boat--I figured a 104 foot catamaran holding 40 passengers was much more my speed (I hate crowds).  It was the size of the boat that made me decide to go with this trip.  My husband and I thought it would be more like a floating B & B, and we were right! 

Meals Review

Oh, my word! We ate like KINGS! The seafood was absolutely to die for! The menus onboard the Alaskan Dream were varied, and everything Chef Garrett made was incredible. I was impressed that each meal offered a seafood, meat, and vegetarian option; and if someone had special requirements (lactose or gluten intolerance, for example), the chef made special meals for them. Everything--the soups, the appetizers, the main courses, and the desserts--were delicious and plentiful.

Traveler Advice

Pack for ALL kinds of weather--hot weather as well as "Alaska" weather. We had nine days of sunny, hot weather (totally unexpected, I know) and were really not prepared for it. I'd been looking forward to nice, cool Alaska weather!

Crew & Guides Review

Everyone was wonderful. Alex and Kari were both enthusiastic and knowledgeable, very personable and friendly, and just plain nice to be around. Alex was great at identifying birds, land animals, and sea animals. Kari was great at explaining about the Tlingit culture and the local areas we visited. The most wonderful thing she did was "sing up" a pod of orcas. We came upon the pod, and they promptly dived underwater. Kari got a drum and sang a Tlingit killer whale song, and the orcas immediately popped back up! They stayed for as long as she sang; and when the song ended, they dived back down again. It is the most spiritual experience I've ever had, and many of the guests who witnessed this agreed with me. I'll never forget this as long as I live.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Everything was SO enjoyable, so well organized, and so much fun. I've been telling all my friends just what a wonderful job AdventureSmith did and strongly recommending you. I especially appreciated the fact that you folks took care of EVERYTHING from the plane flights to ground transport. It's the first trip I've been on where I didn't have to do every-darned-thing myself.  It was great. 

We got lots of good information on what to expect while we were in Alaska, what to pack, etc. What we didn't expect was the totally unprecedented heatwave. We had only one day that was below 75 degrees--thank God the humidity was very low! We'd packed our long-sleeved shirts, sweaters, jean, knee socks, waterproof shoes/boots, windbreakers, and rain gear...and didn't need them! Thank goodness, we'd packed a few summer things in anticipation for our stay in Washington after our Alaska trip--those are what we wore most often! It was amazing.

Accommodations Review

We knew the cabins would be small and that was perfectly adequate for us. We were totally comfortable in the cabin. However,new carpet is needed on the stairs, as it was frayed in several areas. Pillows (I felt as did other passengers) need to be replaced. Bed linens in our cabin did not match.

Meals Review

Overall meals were really good and plenty of it. The chef made every effort to have a variety of meals, especially for all the kids onboard as well as those who needed gluten free, etc. The improvement, in my opinion, would be using wild caught seafood 100%. The use of the farm raised seafood was tasteless & mushy. Also would suggest perhaps a greater variety/imagination on the breakfast menu (hot foods-i.e. the eggs, bacon/sausage/potatoes was a bit boring daily).

Crew & Guides Review

Annie was our principal trip leader. She was outstanding. She made sure everyone's needs were met. Annie had all kinds of programs planned for the kids which they totally enjoyed. We enjoyed the nature guides, Mark and Annie, as they were very informative. We usually were with them as they were leading the less intensive group. The other leaders did an excellent job as well, we just did not have as much interaction with them. And oh! the Captain. Captain Mike Bennett was personal, engaging, and such a pleasure to get to know.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Having a background in the travel industry, I would say that AdventureSmith did an outstanding job. I would highly recommend your company to others and plan to book with you again. Andrew was very professional to deal with. Andrew was definitely very tuned in to my family's needs and objectives.