This cruise far exceeded our expectations and any cruise we had been on before! There is no comparison between a large ship cruise and an Uncruise small ship experience. While more expensive EVERYTHING is included, great food, top shelf liquor, shore excursions, snack time. Also as a small boat they cater to you. Our wonderful bartender Serenity (yes that's her name) knew what we wanted when she saw us coming and had it ready. This was a whale and wilderness cruise and when the captain saw a pod of whales the ship stopped until everyone had their fill of whales, or bears, or goats on a cliff side and we just stayed there. He made up the time at night going to our next wilderness stop. We also got up close and personal with several glaciers. Speaking of that most days we were in a deserted cove with us the only boat. From there we had day excursions with options for adventurous bushwacking to a nice cruise in a small boat. For several groups on the boat this was not their first Uncruise adventure. That in itself tells you a lot about this cruise line. The last night we were Juneau with several large ships and we really felt the difference. Read Less

We chose Un cruise because a boat is the best way to see these parts of Alaska, and we are not Cruise-type travelers. We wanted the ability to see more out of the way areas, and to have access to them via hikes, skiffs, or kayaks. We also wanted a smaller boat with fewer travelers and a staff that would be able to educate us about what we were visiting and seeing. Though more expensive than most of the cruises we looked at, Un-cruise succeeds at this on many levels. Though the cabins are small (we had a Captains cabin on the first level (111), they are cozy and comfortable and we had a nice sized window. The showers are small for a normal sized adult. Having said that, we were entirely comfortable throughout our week on the boat. There is a comfortable and spacious all purpose room on the second level, a nice dining room, and adequate deck space including two small hot tubs and a small exercise area. From our cabin, there was minimal engine noise and the cruising was smooth, something that had concerned me because I get seasick easily. The ship is organized with remarkable efficiency and the staff is exceptional. They are organized into navigation, expedition, hotel, and wellness departments, and each do their jobs beautifully. From a service standpoint, you want for nothing on this boat. Highlights include a ship's captain and staff that are welcoming and are willing to alter course to follow whales or other wildlife until everyone has seen them; guides who are knowledgeable and accommodating; waiters and waitresses who are eager to please, a skilled bartender, and yoga instructors and massage therapists who are friendly and caring. The menus change every day (all you can eat crab night was my favorite). The food was for the most part solid, though there were a couple of misses (occasionally overcooked fish). If you don't like the menu, the chef and kitchen staff will work hard to prepare something else for you. The daily activities are particularly well organized and executed from the back of the boat, where access to skiffs, kayaks, and even paddle boards is made easy. There is even a carefully supervised polar bear plunge for those who want a taste of arctic swimming. Though we had rain almost every day, the weather failed to distract from the beauty and overall experience. High quality rain and wet hiking gear (especially boots) is a must for this trip. If you don't bring your own, they supply high quality jackets and rain pants. Lastly, our fellow travelers were pleasant, interesting, and focused on the beauty of Alaska. If Alaska is on your bucket list and you are a traveler who seeks sensational up close beauty and knowledge in the comfort of a small boat with great staff, this is the way to go. Read Less

Safari Endeavor Alaska John Muir cruise is definitely a cruise for people who enjoy adventure, wildlife, learning, intimacy, and luxury. This is not a cruise for those who want Las Vegas type entertainment, many visits to cities and souvenir shopping, big staterooms, and endless variety on the ship. The staff is excellent: friendly, knowledgeable, with a love for the outdoors and adventure. This quality flows down from the captain, who is a great manager--he kicks in when needed for any job onboard, while maintaining strong discipline and camaraderie among the crew. The food is excellent, though I'd like to see more variety, especially near the end of the week; however, I understand this could make planning more difficult on a small ship such as this. There are many outdoor activities: kayaking, photography, skiff tours, bushwhacking, a polar dip (!), and just plain sightseeing as you pass by one incredible scene after another. My only criticism here is that activities are rotated a little too infrequently. For instance, free kayaking should be offered more frequently, as should combination kayaking/bushwhacking. Do count on seeing incredible wildlife, such as grizzly bears, bald eagles, sea otters, and, of course, whales. And the glaciers are spectacular, many of them unavailable to other types of transportation. Read Less

We are used to small ship cruising having been on Small river ships and National Geographic Lindblad several times. We thought we would try this company and were incredibly disappointed. The food was the worst. They give you very small portions first off. One egg omelets, served overcooked and dry or oatmeal. If you wanted something different they somehow forgot to bring it to you. Lunch and dinner was no different. Meats that were tough, vegetarian dishes that lacked imagination and sauces that were bland and discusting to boot. The off shore activities were geared toward young able bodied people. The bulk of the guests were over 55 so lots of them had no choice but to stay aboard ship and be bored. I went on one all day hike. They took us on a 12 mile hike! Mid way in the hike, we were warned if we wished to bail out, they would take everyone back as well. In other words there was no bail outs allowed. Most of could hardly walk the next day. Our cruise was supposed to have a naturalist on board. She was a just students paying off her loan. She knew quite a bit about very little and hung out with 4 guests the entire 7 days. The bar is open though, morning noon and night. Free alcohol all day and night. It made for some very drunk guests. Boredom makes people drink a lot. In short, do not waste your time or money on the Un Cruise Alaska cruise. Read Less

The small boat experience of the UnCruise Safari Endeavour exceeded our dreams! From the moment the owner of the cruise line , Dan Blanchard, spoke to our group before boarding until we departed a week later, everything was top notch! Our cabin was #317, yes, it is small. But the only time you will be in the cabin is to shower, dress, and sleep. And it's plenty big enough for that. The best part of the cabin is the view every time you open a curtain or walk out the door! From Captain Shep, to expedition leader Kent, the guides, the wait staff, bartenders, small craft tenders, and definitely the chef and his staff, the love their job and it shows! One of the really neat things was everyone being in the lounge around 5:30 for happy hour and to hear about the activities of the next day! When everyone had selected their activities an announcement would be made that dinner was ready and we all made our way to the dining room. No pushing and shoving like the big cruise ships, very civilized. This was our first cruise with UnCruise, but it won't be our last! Read Less

We travel as a group of 3 couples. This was our 2nd Un-Cruise. Two more couples decided to join us after hearing about our first experience with Un-Cruise. Several people have asked us to compare our first Un-Cruise, which was in Alaska, but the trips were so different, I can't compare the trip. The overall experience lived up to the first cruise. This cruise was actually in Sea of Cortez, there was no option for that on this forum. We stayed in Cabo San Lucas before the cruise and Un-Cruise bused us to La Paz, about 3 hours north. I would highly suggest The Bugalows in Cabo for pre and post. The host hotel Barcelo was awful! The cruise consists of morning and afternoon activities. Usual choices are hiking, snorkeling, kayaking or skiff riding. The highlights were riding donkeys in the desert, snorkeling with sea lions and whale sharks! The day we snorkeled with sea lions, the water was really rough. The ship pulls up to a rock in the ocean that hundreds of sea lions seem to hang out on. The juveniles are the ones that like to come check out the humans. They are like puppies. They are curious and have no intention of hurting you. These juveniles are about 4-6' long and couple hundred lbs! The day, the last day of the cruise, we were supposed to swim with whale sharks, the water was so rough, the port wouldn't allow any boats to go out. This was back in La Paz. Luckily for us, we weren't flying out until 2 days later. So after we disembarked the next morning, we booked a private tour to swim with the whale sharks. It was just our 10 o a very small boat. We road out about 30 minutes and finally spotted one. I was terrified. I knew I had to do it though. It was AMAZING! The whale shark couldn't care less about you. You swim directly over them. An absolute must do. The staff on these boats are amazing. The expedition guides know their stuff. Most of them have some sort of degree in marine biology, forestry, etc but even if they don't, they obviously spend a lot of time learning. The waitstaff who double as room stewards are mostly young people looking for some adventure. The food is amazing. On this ship, every meal is served in the one dining room. On the Alaska cruise, breakfast and lunch were buffet. But remember, the buffet is only for 60-80 passengers, not 5000. As the name suggests, this is nothing like a regular cruise. No assigned seating. No dress code. Very informal. Breakfast had a special or you could have eggs, toast, the usual. Lunch had a meat and a vegetarian option. Dinner was a meat, fish or vegetarian option. I am a very picky eater. On a couple of occasions, none of the choices appealed to me. The chef happily made me a salad or changed up one of the dishes for me. On this cruise, the drinks were included. The bar/lounge area was one floor up from the dining room. Cookies every day at 3pm. Happy hour with delicious hors devours, I liked these better than some meals, was at 5:30. The rooms are small. But very little time is spent in the room. We had one of the ones that opened to the outside deck with a walkway. I would have preferred one on the deck below so I could have left my blinds open to watch wildlife. But if we kept blinds open, everyone walking by could see in. The bathroom is tight but workable. They do provide shampoo and body soap and hair dryers. Part of the great experience of these ships are meeting fellow passengers. In our group, we range from age 35-53. We are all DINKS, double income no kids, who's main priority in life is to enjoy it while we are young and see as much as we can in this world. The majority of other passengers are in the 50-70 age range. We had one 10 year old and a couple in early 20s, and Larry, who was 87! I think on this cruise, everyone was from the US. The Alaska cruise had a lot of people from Australia and New Zealand. If you put down a deposit for your next cruise while on the current one, you receive a decent discount. Which we have now done twice. I think up next for us is Pacific Northwest. Every cruise, you get a bigger discount also. We are working our way up to Galapagos! Read Less

This is our second cruise with Un-Cruise. The last one, on Safari Quest, was five stars in every category. This was not a repeat adventure. Yes, the marine life was spectacular. Snorkeling with baby sea lions, getting right next to a blue whale, touching and observing for hours the grey whales and babies was amazing and special. We encountered two super pods (over 2,000) dolphins that stayed with the boat until sunset. That is a once in a lifetime experience. We got to enjoy all the wonders of the wildlife in the Sea of Cortez. The whales, sea lions, dolphins, birds all cooperated and showed us their individual beauty and wonder. That’s why we went. We just hoped the entire week would have been as nice as previous cruises with Un-Cruise. I hate to keep comparing with the Safari Quest, but that’s my reference point. The crew seemed to be hard working but we did not feel they were over friendly. We thought the crew were nice people. What they do is not easy. It takes a special personality. We recognize that . Maybe they had been without a vacation for some time. Overall, they seemed tired. When passing in the hall they often did not say “hi” or even look up and make eye contact. They are knowledgeable in their field, but their presentations could use a little more showmanship. There are two crew members we would like to recognize. Mark, the guide, and John in engineering went out of their way to help us during the cruise. John came to our rescue a few times. He was a very nice, pleasant young man. When he overheard we needed a bag of ice he went out of his way and brought the ice pack to our room. It was not his job, he just did it. Thank you, John! And on the last morning, Mark made sure our luggage got put on last (first off) so we could make our quick connection at the airport. We appreciate his extra efforts. The boat was clean and comfortable. The captain kept us safe and out of any bad weather (waves, wind) as best he could. The boat is large enough that the crossings felt calm and stable. The first night they did a safety drill. The boat is US Coast Guard certified. The Captain did a very good talk explaining the noises you might hear on the boat. It was very reassuring to those that hadn’t sailed before. I thought it was a good idea to let you know that the sounds of the anchor going down, the bow thruster, or a hydraulic lift was normal. He talked about their water treatment system and introduced the chief medical officer, guides and head stew staff. The sign up for the messages were that night. They filled up fast. During the week the crew preformed safety drills. We felt safe in the capabilities and commitment to safety. They made sure we were going to get on the skiff safely. Our room, we thought, was a perfect location. Stateroom #308. We had a door that led to the outside. We could get fresh air if needed. It is far enough back that the solid railing around the front of the boat stops before your room, so you can see the water when laying on the bed. We couldn’t hear our neighbors or people walking above us, it was very quiet. The back closet was large (boat standards), with six deep drawers. The bed is high enough to use the space underneath for storage. The desk and chair we used for additional storage of books, binoculars, water bottles, and toiletries that didn’t fit in the bathroom. We liked the bed lights and the overhead lights got brighter the longer you kept it on. The bed was comfy, on the soft side. Two large pillows were provided. There were extra blankets and a throw. The Aft 300 deck is where the excursions meet, so it was convenient for that, but far enough forward you do not get the noise. The shower is small but not that bad. The location of the soaps was hard to understand. It was right under the shower flow, so the soap would be washed away before getting to your head or body. Our shower needed a new curtain. But it was very clean with plenty of hot water! The windows were large at the foot of each bed. The draperies closed for good privacy and darkening effect. It would have been nice to have a sheer to pull so you could get light and privacy. Even though the rooms were well marked the couple next door accidently walked into our room, twice while we were in the room. I don’t know what their problem was, but, most people walking by never caused any kind of problem or noise. On the TV were three different channels. The bow camera, the menu for the day, and a slideshow of the crew. I thought it was very nice to have individual photos of the crew we have contact with, their names, and position on the screen. There also is a speaker in your room. Daily announcements, special sightings, tour excursion departures, and meal call were announced. You could also listen to the nightly 20 minute talks. The thing we liked the least, was the wet landings from the skiff to the shore. We understood that going in. But wasn’t there a way to land the skiff higher on the sand so we could jump off the front with our hiking/walking shoes? The waves were small and not pounding on the beach. Just pull the skiff two feet onto the sand. It wasn’t that we minded getting our feet wet, it was the chance of getting sand in your hiking shoes/boots and walking for hours with it rubbing against your skin. The boat excursion choices were the same just about every day. Beachcombing. The sand was very coarse. You could paddleboard and kayak in a restricted area. They had snorkeling from the beach or from the skiff a few times. Underwater there was not a lot of coral, but the fish were colorful. Wetsuits, mask, fins, snorkels are provided and in good shape. But, the water is very cold (65°F). They offered desert walks and hard exploratory hikes. There was nothing for the intermediate hiker and you could not venture out on your own. They did have small boat tours. If you were lucky a seal lion or dolphin would swim close to your boat. Birders enjoyed the unique species they saw. The guides did their best to make it interesting. Jeremy gave us a very informative and interesting boat tour. He pointed out all sorts of birds flying, nesting, floating, feeding and swimming. There was an osprey on a nest and one perched in a cactus. We saw up close pelicans, herons, osprey, frigates, and oyster eaters. I also had a wonderful desert hike with Kati as a guide. We gained elevation to beautiful vistas. She made it interesting and fun. And I felt like we really exercised and learned some things about the area. My only suggestion is to have a SEPARATE hike for the birders. Why should the entire group have to constantly wait for the birders that are lagging behind, watching the same bird? Kati had the patience of a saint. The rest of the group thought it was rude. The trip to Magdelena Bay was exceptional. The vans were clean and comfortable. The drive was scenic. We wound up through the mountains, and down the other side. The group was split up into 6 to 8 per boat. The grey whales and their babies were everywhere! At one point we had two families swimming right next to us. The curious babies would stick their heads out of the water to look right into your eyes. You could touch them, splash water on them. They in turn would blow whale snot on you, if you were lucky! It was AMAZING!! We were out on the bay for 2 hours. 90% of that time we were right next to a momma grey whale and baby or one within sight. We even saw them breaching! Leaving was hard to do. It is such a special area!! Lunch was at a local restaurant five minutes from the port. Lobster, fried fish, shrimp was served with potato salad. There was good chips and dips on the table. The service was fast and efficient. One man at our table was not a fan of seafood. The quickly served him a grilled chicken breast. Lindsay was our guide for the sea lion snorkel. She was very good and a great “diver”. She made sure we were safe in the water and no bull sea lions came near us. She kept the group together and made it exciting. Maiwenn was the captain of the skiff and did a good job of watching out for us and assisted the snorkelers in climbing the ladder and getting back safely on the boat. They had one of the easiest ladders to climb, in our experience, from a Zodiac. We even saw blue footed boobies flying overhead. The food selection was Tex-Mex almost every meal, including breakfast. We were not a fan. Breakfast example was Rancho Huevos or Bacon and Jalapeno Omelet; Chiryo and sweet potato hash with eggs or spinach and feta omelet. There was a lot of feta with meals. You could always order plain scrambled eggs. One morning there was a big hit – pancakes. On three lunches there was not a second choice. At sit down breakfast you order for the day. If you go to early-riser breakfast for fruit, breakfast bread, cereal, and sometimes yogurt because spicy Mexican food isn’t your thing to start the day, it was hard to order. There was always enough food and presented beautifully. During dinner the difference from the first table served to the last was usually 30 minutes. So when the first tables were getting dessert, the last just got served their plates. There was plenty of wine offered at dinner and the crew was attentive to other drink orders. One lunch example was a chicken pita with no other choice. Chicken tacos with very little chicken, open face – more like a burrito, no cheese, no sauce, plain rice, re-fried beans with chips and dip on the table. Dessert was a dry white cake that was supposed to be tres leches cake. Another lunch was beef teriyaki or veg stir fry. Basically the same thing. Dessert was Bailey’s ice cream pound cake with white chocolate sauce. Again the cake was dry, tasty, but dry. One day because of the activity schedule they had a brunch. This included a very nice selection of eggs benedict, bacon, sausage, pasta, chicken, cinnamon rolls, garlic knot bread, salad with mango vinaigrette, guacamole, salsa and chips, fresh fruit. The problem was the buffet line went very slow. I felt sorry for those after us, having to stand for over 30 minutes to get their food. We were finished eating before some had gotten their food. Maybe they could have had two lines or have someone helping serve the food. It might have gone quicker. Dinner had a dry fish choice – red snapper, with chicken; yellow tail or duck; marlin or ranchero steak; grouper or pork tenderloin; sea scallops (poached) or lamb. We were surprised that there wasn’t a soup and salad at dinner. Black bean soup was one night. Gazpacho another. One dinner we didn’t like either entrée and the Chef made us very large and delicious chef salad with a balsamic avocado herb dressing. The first evening there was prime rib or a macadamia nut encrusted fish and a wonderful chocolate decadent dessert. And the last evening there was beef tenderloin or lobster tail. Some had both! Those were both very good. But to say we had less than 5 good meals, isn’t my idea of an Un-Cruise experience. We did have one amazing dessert. It was a Kalua Carmel Custard with fresh blackberries, blueberries and strawberry. The blueberries were dusted with gold powder. I told them they should have named it something exotic, it was outstanding. I should have taken a photo! It was a work of art. In conclusion the marine life and Sea of Cortez experience was one we will remember for a long time. It really is, as Jacques Cousteau described, “the world’s aquarium”. This had nothing to do with Un-Cruise but our Un-stay at the Barcelo started our trip out on a wrong note. We tried to check in on the Friday before our cruise. Un-Cruise has a hospitality room there on Saturday and we thought it would make it convenient. The Barcelo would not honor our reservation we had since May 25th 2016. They said because it was for only one night (cruising on Saturday) they needed the room for people that were staying four days. They accepted our reservation online. They confirmed our reservation. But the kicker is THEY CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD for the night. They graciously drove us to the Holiday Inn. I did not come to Mexico to stay at the Holiday Inn. Holiday Inn does not charge the same rate as a night at the Barcelo. Funny thing is, we met a couple (on our cruise) that the same thing happened to them. They were told that their room had plumbing problems. Another couple at the Holiday Inn said a similar thing happened to them. Barcelo called them three days before they were supposed to arrive. Said they needed their room for a conference. At least, they stayed at the Dreams hotel. The Holiday Inn staff was very nice, and the place was clean. It did not have the same facilities as the Barcelo and was a little run down. We should not have been treated like that! Un-Cruise guests, be warned. Read Less

We just returned from the UnCruise to the Sea of Cortez. It was just amazing. The natural beauty was awesome, from mountains and cliffs and turquoise water, to the plants, animals, and sea life we saw on the cruise. The ship was clean and comfortable, with nice touches like afghans in the lounge for colder nights. Good, healthy food, in reasonable quantities. Great and creative bartender. Hiking, snorkeling, skiff boat rides, beach parties. Yoga at dawn, massages at your convenience.The staff was just amazing, knowledgeable and helpful at every turn, got to know us personally. Activities were offered for high, medium, and low intensity and safety was top priority. UnCruise brings all the equipment (snorkels, wet suits etc) so you don't have to. We had a 90-year old and a 9-year old in our group and they, along with everyone else, had a good time.Highly recommend this cruise and hope to go again. This is a nature cruise, so don't go if you are looking for night-life entertainment. We were up by 7 am, in bed by 9 pm. Highlights include visiting the sea lions on their island rock, great snorkeling, mule trip with the vacqueros of Baja, dolphins cavorting next to our little skiff, swimming with the enormous whale sharks, and several pleasant afternoons with drinks and snacks on beautiful beaches. Read Less

I was looking for an adventure cruise on a small ship with a focus on glaciers and wildlife. Weather in Sept was wet, cold, rough and windy. We saw almost no wildlife - 2 bears on a beach 3/4 of a mile away and only humpback whales from a considerable distance - literally nothing else. Food was excellent, crew was very accommodating. The owner of the cruise line was on board and altogether too much of a presence in a number of respects. On days when we saw very little, kayaked around the ship for lack of something to do, they got everyone together in the evening and raved about what a fantastic day we had had. Well no it was cold, windy and we saw very little. They could not help the weather, obviously, but they tried to hard to pump up everyone when it would have be wiser to just not make ridiculous comments about the day that simply did not apply. Read Less

We were looking for something in a small boat cruise that included lots of moderate to strenuous outdoor physical activity and as up-close to geography and wildlife as possible. The Un-Cruise "Exploring Muir's Wilderness" fit the bill to a T. From no-hassle check in to the nice touch of their delivering our luggage to the airport after debarkation (leaving us time to dally/shop in town for several hours before catching their shuttle to join it for airport for check-in), the administration was practiced, hospitable and generous. We got to see whales breaching, sea lions roaring, sea otters doing that cute on-their-back swimming thing, both black and grizzly bears from a safe distance, glaciers up close and calving, more bald eagles than anyone would want to try to count, and on and on. Their recommended equipment listing was spot on - don't short-change its elements, as you'll need it all by cruise end. Hiking -"Bush-whacking" they call it - into the forest, off-trail, was great, as was kayaking around islands and along shorelines. "Meandering" ashore was nature walk interesting, but more demanding than some cruisers anticipated - don't go if you have trouble with mobility, as there's not enough to occupy on board ship, and the whole ethos is diving into the locale. We were lucky in the weather, and we didn't expect luxury accommodations (as some reviewers obviously did - we weren't there for the froufrou, but for the get out and explore). My wife scores it as the hands down best vacation we've ever taken (I've got to think some more before I score it above Paris, but it's certainly close). We both agree that the best part, and what made it really stellar, was the crew. Every member, bar none, seemed genuinely pleased to be there and thrilled that we'd decided to join them. They were also interesting, intrepid in the outdoors, remarkably well educated, eager to share their extensive knowledge of the state/wildlife/geography/flora/fauna, and honest to admit if they didn't know (and then immediately track down someone who did!). The lounge was comfortable, the meals excellent (meat/fish/veg or combine them entrees every dinner, and best-ever breakfast bacon - don't miss that!). The rooms were a bit Spartan (albeit with more storage than we expected), but cleaned daily spotless and daily re-despotted. If you're looking for a small ship outdoorsy getaway, you'll find you only use them to sleep/change/bathe - there's plenty of out-of-room to do. Overall, accommodations were nicer than the two previous small-ship cruises we've taken (on other cruise lines). A single complementary massage per passenger and two available hot tubs were welcome after some of the activities. Their "Plan-free" claim is not license to freelance - and in the Alaskan wilderness, letting hikers or kayaks go off on their own would be downright dangerous - this is not Disneyland or Monaco - but is flexible to adjust to weather, avoid other cruise ships, react to reports of interesting wildlife activity nearby, etc. The only negative I can even imagine is that Alaska's so enormous, there's no way to cover it, and the week we were onboard was limited to the southern Inside Passage, so you'll need to go beyond it to see the northern bulk of the state. As for meeting the advertised criteria, nothing negative to report at all - even the martinis were beyond excellent. If the above is what you're looking for, I'd certainly recommend it heartily! Read Less