UnCruise Adventures

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Safari Endeavour

Safari Explorer

Wilderness Discoverer

Wilderness Explorer

Wilderness Legacy

Wilderness Adventurer

Safari Quest

Safari Voyager

Boston

This trip far exceeded my expectations. I hoped to see all of the animals you hear about and we did. Bears catching salmon, okras, whales bubble net feeding, otters, sea lions and seals, eagles and puffins. Kayaking in Glacier Bay and having a front row seat of Marjorie calving. Skiff tours and bushwhacking also filling the days.

We wanted a small ship and with 36 passengers, this trip delivered. Got to know the passengers and crew. The room was clean with a king bed, private bath and plenty of storage.

Woke every morning to smell of bacon and a good selection to start the day. Meals were not the size of the big cruise lines which is apparently. Always 3 choices for dinner though I wouldn’t say the food was as good as I had hoped but the cocktails and desserts made up for that. We are now going on this same ship to Hawaii! Can’t wait!

Sitka to Juneau Natural Wonders

34 of us set sail on 2/23 to explore the marine world around the western side of four islands.  The Explorer was filled with an engaging and inclusive group of passengers, who were just the nicest group of people imaginable.(you can ask the crew).  Highlights include the night snorkel with manta rays.  There were more opportunities to snorkel in Kealakekua Bay.  I really enjoyed swimming off the back of the boat.  Some passengers went paddle boarding and kayaking.  One of the other highlights was the dinner served at the museum on Molokai. It was very genuine and very lovely.

Whales were abundant.  We saw great numbers of spouts, breeches, and flukes. There were moms and babies.  There were gentlemen suitors following some of the females.  We saw 3 types of dolphins, and of course, sea turtles.  

This ship had the best food of any boat I have sailed.  Every meal was freshly and individually prepared.  The deserts and pastries were heavenly.

One of the most important aspects of this cruise was the crew.  Each and every one of them worked incredibly hard to make sure passengers were happy and well cared for.  Every crew  member knew, and used, each passenger's name.  

Our cabin was clean and comfortable.  It was refreshed twice daily.  

UnCruise is not for everyone.  There's not a lot of glitz, no games, and no big productions.  Entertainment might be a presentation on sea turtles or fish.  Because we were close to shore most of the time there was cell service but no ship wifi.  You can wear very casual clothing all week and there is no need to get dressed up and nobody really wanted to.

Wonderful Trip

This is our 4th cruise with Uncruise and it was very nice.  The ship had a great crew who were knowledgeable, friendly , and hard working.   They make all activities enjoyable and easy.  Food was good with several choices.  Was nice that the portions were not too generous.  Also good that the chef did not over salt anything.  Ship was very clean.  Our only complaint was the bed location in our cabin,  hard to get into and out of.

The aquatic wild life was wonderful, many humpback whales.  Saw two new species of whales, one which was quite rate.  The night snorkel with the Manta Rays was a highlight.  As the water was cool, low 70's, would have been nice if wet suites were available.  The excursion equipment was modern and well maintained.  The open bridge policy is a good feature as this is the best place to see wild life.

Beautiful Hawaii Waters

UnCruise Hawaii Cruise Review - An Amazing Trip

By Ken Montgomery, 4th time UnCruise passenger Jan 2018

The UnCruise trip from Kona to Molokai (northbound)was a wonderful trip In so many ways. We were on the Safari Explorer for 7 nights. We embarked on Saturday Jan 27th, 2018. There were 33 passengers & 16 crew. There are 18 staterooms. We saw lots of whales, dolphins, turtles, Manta Rays and lots of reef fish. 

Every UnCruise Hawaii trip will have a different itinerary due to weather factors - mainly wind and seas. We had calm winds and seas for the most part, so we were able to stay to the original cruise plan. 

Itinerary

Saturday embarkation day. - passengers had to get their bags to the Hapuna Prince Resort Hotel ( 45 minutes north of Kona)  by 3pm.  There was a gathering room in the hotel for the UnCruisers. The bags were then taken to the ship and placed in the state rooms. At 4:30 the Cruise Activity leader Travis introduced himself and gave a quick cruise briefing, then we all loaded on a bus for a 10 minute ride to the ship. We were shown to our cabins, then had the lifeboat drill and free time till dinner @ 6:30. The dinner started with the welcome aboard  drink and welcome from the captain and introduction of the crew. 

After dinner, Travis explained tomorrow’s activities based on current weather & wind forecasts. There was a documentary or a talk about Hawaii  on the cabin TV or in the lounge every night.  The crew anchored the ship Saturday night off Kona. The ship had a gentle rock to it. 

Sunday

After breakfast we got ready for our first snorkel trip - south of Kona.  Great water clarity and fish. Fins and masks were given to each passenger’s approximate sizes.  They had plenty of extra fins and masks in case the ones given to you didn’t fit. Your gear was stowed in lockers on the bottom deck by cabin number. We then learned how to use their skiffs for snorkeling. 

A fresh water shower & island punch awaited returning snorkelers. Lunch followed and we spent the afternoon positioning the boat for our evening adventure north of Kona. We saw a few whales along the way. 

Sunday Night - a light dinner was served at 5pm. At 6 we had a briefing about our evening snorkel trip to see Manta Rays feeding. An outside vendor brought in wetsuits for everyone, which were needed.  We took the skiffs out to the location where the Rays were feeding and we broke into 5 groups with about 6 people hanging onto each surfboard. A leader would tow us around the area so the passengers just focused on looking down at the action. We saw plenty of Manta Rays, a truly amazing experience. We were in the water about 45 minutes. Even with the wetsuits, many of us were a little cold and were ready to head back to a warm shower. This was the wildlife highlight for me on the cruise followed closely by all the humpback sightings. 

We had snacks and deserts on board after we returned and had our showers. 

Monday - 2 major activities. In the morning we went snorkeling at Captain Cook’s monument. In the afternoon we visited Kona where you could go on a guided walking tour, do an outrigger ride or just go shopping. In the evening we had a presentation from 2 lovely Hawaiians who told us about growing up and living in Hawaii. 

Monday Night - the crossing from the Big Island to Maui takes all night and can be a little rocky, but our crossing was fairly smooth. 

Tuesday  - the morning activity consisted of a kayak trip along the south portion of Maui or a skiff boat ride exploring the coast. We saw whales before breakfast and during the kayaking trip. We returned to the ship and went whale watching off the west coast of Maui the rest of the day, seeing dozens of Humpback whales as we cruised.  Following cocktail hour and dinner we had a staff presentation. 

Wednesday 

Morning - we did a skiff ride looking for whales and there were many whales putting in shows for us to enjoy. We went kayaking or paddle boarding after that. 

Afternoon- a tour of Lanai City where we visited their museum and explored the small town in the rain. 

Evening - Anchored in the lee of Lanai 

Thursday morning - snorkeling with turtles off Lahaina 

Afternoon - free time in Lahina town

Friday morning / docked in Moloka’i - van tour of eastern portion of island visiting cultural sites. Optional difficult hike to waterfall with 4 stream crossings, walking sticks provided. Bug repellent provided. Very interesting story about Hawaiin culture. 

Friday night - went to a Panai, a Hawaiin party featuring roast pig and other traditional Hawaiin dishes at a local museum & community center with plenty of entertainment. 

Saturday departure- bags out by 7:30, they transported us at 8:30 to the only hotel on Molokai where we waited for a shuttle to the airport. The new UnCruise passengers were arriving here also. Best to book an early flight out of Molokai, as there is nothing left to do on Molokai. 

Misc Notes

Crew Gratuities.  UnCruise Staff recommends a $25 to $35 per day per passenger gratuity. 

Cell service - sometimes you have a few bars, sometimes there is no service, depending on your service provider and location.  There wouldn’t be enough cell strength to use streaming services. There is no wi-fi on the ship. 

Laundry - there is no laundry service on the ship 

Shoes - water shoes are useful for getting in & off the skiffs and walking around. Sandals work for all other needs. 

Optional Excursions - there are no optional excursions - all activities, drinks, meals are included.  The only thing you’ll ever need to pay for are Un-Cruise hats or t-shirts and the Crew Gratituities

Things you should bring

- [ ] 3 swim suits - so they dry in between uses. 

- [ ] Optional - a 3 to 5 mm wetsuit. A shorty would be fine. The water temp in January is in the mid 70’s and the snorkeling sessions were usually 45 to 60 minutes in the water, many passengers were cold without them. You can hang the wetsuit to dry on the deck on a hanger.  

- [ ] Rash guards are great for snorkeling, they give you sun protection and are perfect to wear under a wet suit. Buy them in any “Crazy Shirts” store in Hawaii. They even have rash guards that take on a new pattern once they are wet. They sell for about $48, long sleeves give the most protection, but are a hassle under wet suits arms.  They dry very fast, so you can get by with one.  

- [ ] “Swimmers Ear” drops to dry out the water that stays in your ears from snorkeling. 

- [ ] Bring a long sleeve dry-fit t-shirt for boat trips or sitting out on the deck at night. 

- [ ] The ships store is very small, so bring your cold meds and cough drops in case you need them. A small tube of Vaseline in handy for minor scrapes & cuts. 

- [ ] Eye glass cleaner fluid and the microfiber clothes to clean them. 

- [ ] DVD’s that you’ve always wanted to watch. The ship has a few hundred movie DVD’s for borrowing. We like to bring documentary DVDs. Do not bring Blu-Ray DVDs, they won’t play on the stateroom equipment. 

- [ ] Extension chord to make plugging in all your chargers a lot easier. We only found one plug in the living area, so the extension chord was really essential. 

- [ ] Small flash lights for night time trips to bathroom 

- [ ] A secure hat for windy skiff rides. 

Things You May Not Need to Bring

- [ ] Binoculars- the ship supplies each cabin with a large 7x50 pair of very good binoculars 

- [ ] Large Suntan lotion container. The shop has them on deck. Bring a small tube if you are staying a few extra days in Hawaii. 

- [ ] Lots of fancy camera gear. This is not really a photography cruise like Alaska and many other places are. Whale photography is particularly difficult. It’s best to enjoy the action and view the professional’s work. There are many great documentaries on whales on U-tube and on Netflix where the photography is better than 99% of photographers can do.

- [ ] Water bottle- UnCruise provides cold water in the dinning room and reusable water bottles for your use. 

- [ ] Alcohol- all the alcohol, beer and wine are free all the time.

- [ ] Shampoos & conditioner are in the shower in large dispensers, so no need to bring your own. A hair dryer is in the bathroom. 

- [ ] Walking sticks - the ship supplies them for the 2 hikes.  They are provided by outside contractors and are not carried on the ship.

- [ ] Sea sickness meds, the ship supplies them. 

- [ ] Fancy clothes - everyone dresses casually all the time.

- [ ] Jacket - it never really got cold enough for anything above a windbreaker 

Summary

A great trip with fun adventures. The food was very good.  The wine and cocktails were excellent & plentiful and free. The crew is hardworking and talented. They even remember everyone’s names.

An Amazing Adventure

We chose this cruise due to the small size & no dress code. Flew into Honolulu, stayed overnight & toured Pearl Harbor Saturday morning. Then flew to Molokai for the cruise embarkation. Ship was fine but the master cabins were lacking (see detailed cabin review). The food was good to very good. Experienced Uncruisers told us they believed the food quality has diminished significantly in recent years. I thought the food was fine with only 1 meal of limited quantities & questionable options-- the night of the manta ray snorkel.

As far as activities, we went for the snorkeling. Almost every snorkel trip was a disappointment, except around the Big Island. The manta ray night snorkel was impressive & the snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay was comparable to anywhere in Galapagos.

Some of the crew were great while others seemed to have to try real hard to pretend to like the passengers. After we gave the recommended $$tip amount & what we had budgeted, some of the crew were downright surly, (Travis & hotel manager).

Busted A/C, Sewer Gas Smell, Surly Crew after Tips Received

We chose UnCruise because of a friend's recommendation and our aversion to large cruise ships and preference for adventure cruising.  If what you want is floor shows, mega-restaurants, work out gyms, balconies, and relaxing cruising go elsewhere. But if you have a spirit of adventure, want to actually physically do something, encounter Alaska up close AND have fabulous food, personally involved crew, very comfortable but not uber rooms, an open bar, other fun adventurous passengers then go with UnCruise. 

we saw orca including spyhopping, bubble feeding humpback whaes, a black bear, a large contingent of feeding grizzly bears, mountain sheep, loads of eagles, many good shore and sea birds. 

The glaciers were awesome and Ranger Deb taught us a lot plus being very enthusiastic.  We learned about glaciation and deglaciation and revegetation in post glaciation areas. Hiking in the temperate rain forest was great. You cannot miss and any of the cruises out of Juneau chould be great

Supremely enjoyable and well run cruise

Our weather was not great but the trip was superb. First, this is a cruise for people who enjoy nature and learning about it. We truly had an up close and personal encounter with whales, harbor seals, orcas, and bears. Each evening we had a nice lecture after dinner. The crew was amazing! Our guide was simply the best in the business. Our chef catered to each person’s needs and made terrific meals. Each staff member was extremely helpful and always smiled. Our captain deserves special recognition. He went 2 hours off course and found a pod of orcas at dusk on a very foggy night for us to see. We followed them for at least 15 minutes. I still can’t believe he was so persistent and actually found the orcas. He was truly engaged in making sure we had the best experience possible.  We also ventured “off course” again to view three pods of humpback whales bubble net feeding. We encountered one humpback that tail slapped 39 times and we sat there and looked at it. Activities include skiff rides, kayaking, and walks. The boat does not stop in any ports and for sure shopping is not part of the cruise. Dinner is casual and full of laughter and wonderful conversation. I love the fact that we are “unplugged” for almost the entire trip. Internet services and cell services are very limited. If you absolutely need some sort of entertainment, the boat has many DVDs you can use. This was our second trip to Alaska on this boat. We thought there is no way our last experience could be beat, but it was. The trip exceeded all of our expectations. Thanks, Uncruise!

Simply amazing!

AMAZING - 5 days off the grid and Alaska was cool too. UnCruise adventures was like being on an excursion for 7 days. We stopped in every inlet and saw Sea Otters, Sea Lions, bears, Bald eagles, and humpback whales. We hiked, kayaked and watched nature pass. We didn't once stopped at one of those cruise owned ports. We had a park ranger on board that provided tons of information and perspective. Food and Service were exceptional! - Staff of two cooked meals for 30+ people in a room about 4x4; choices were abundant making a decision your only problem.  Staff rotated chores on the ship and even the captain would help you on and off the ship during excursions.  If you ever get the chance to go to Alaska consider Uncruise Adventures. As we pulled back into civilization I dread the thought of getting back on the grid.  ^5 to the staff; they really make the trip exceptional!

* Get off the Grid - Get on an UnCruise *

Split

We wanted a small boat experience to do the Inside Passage and chose the Safari Explorer which had a capacity of only 36. Fortunately from Seattle to Ketchikan there were only 12 of us as it was the first cruise of the season, and 26 from Ketchikan up to Juneau - this made their service even better. 

The staff were helpful, knowledgeable and professional in every sense. Our excursions on the skiffs and kayaks plentiful, we saw humpbacks, orcas, porpoises, seals, and grizzlies. Often there would be a choice of activities including hiking (where the pace was quite slow) and 'bush-wacking' which was fun. 

The food and bar service was excellent and flexible to cope with the various food requirements of the varied guests - nothing was too difficult for them. 

They has an extensive supply of waterproof jackets and trousers, wellingtons, and binoculars. 

It was expensive of course, but worth it.

Unforgettable

My husband & I are in our sixties and love small ship exploration trips.  Our cruise of the Hawaiian islands with Un-Cruise was our best trip yet.  It's all about the small ship casual  experience (less than 30 guests). Definitely worth the price.  No fancy stuff. No entertainment. No crowds.  Just great staff and fellow travelers who love the same things we do: nature, fish, animals, hiking, snorkeling, kayaking, swimming and learning about history and culture.  We were busy all day long, doing all the things we love to do. Our chef and pastry chef prepared great meals, and we enjoyed the open bar.  The only negative I can think of is that tips weren't included like they are on most small ships.  We knew this, but found it very annoying.  We don't like having to think about the cost of a trip when we're relaxed and having a great time.  I think this is a very bad practice and provided this feedback to the cruise operator.

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