My wife and I wanted a small ship cruise to see Alaska's glaciers before they disappear. We chose UnCruise. a Seattle company of good reputation to take us into Glacier Bay. Our small boat got close to places big ships could only view from a distance. Zodiacs took us a quarter mile from the marine glacier’s crumbling face and to remote shorelines. Booking for us, unfamiliar with cruising, was supportive. Uncruise met us at the Juneau airport and escorted us to the ship. Crew were tops, every member - helpful, enthusiastic, smart. Couldn't do enough for us. The bridge was open most times, the captain welcoming. The ship was clean but spare and dated; food good varied, ample; the bartender a magician. A park ranger joined us for a full day providing a complete tutorial. Were that all, no question five stars plus. My wife completely enjoyed every minute of the trip despite the noisy cabin. The only flaw, and fatal for anyone who expected wilderness tranquility, was our cabin [more below] which, we didn't realize until we left port, was located directly above the throbbing main engine. When we booked the agent assured us both decks were essentially similar, maybe the lower a bit noisier., but save the money. On my IPhone dB meter our cabin measured 75-85 dB relentlessly night after night. Ear plugs and a pillow over the head did little. Home, I measured our electric leaf blower on top setting - 85 dB at 8 feet. IOW we were asked to sleep with a ferocious leaf blower. We can quibble the app wasn't a dedicated scientific meter but I'm satisfied I obtained a reliable equivalence. Four persistent attempts over a month to contact the company finally produced a frank sympathetic response from the CEO and an offer at recompense which we appreciate but didn't erase the experience. Read Less

One of the best trips we have ever been on, for sure. If you want a small boat, with great views, wildlife, activities, crew, and food, and 50 adventurous, well traveled people to laugh with for a week, this is a great trip. We had great weather, sunny days, but even if it had been misty or cloudy, which we were expecting in Alaska, the breathtaking scenery, abundant wildlife, opportunities to observe them, (not just "spot" them) along with activities, crew and staff, food, and the other guests we met and got to know, made this an AWESOME trip for us. Lots of wildlife - eagles, (one time, we saw 8 in a tree at once) many opportunities to see whales, (including breaching, which is amazing to watch) orcas, sea lions, puffins, bears (Saw three onshore once, the first mate, Alex, announced the sighting, steered the boat toward shore so we could watch, for about an hour or so) moose. Spent three days in Glacier Bay with no other boats (except one sailboat. Captain Rob skiffed out to them and brought croissants and cobbler- as a friendly and diplomatic gesture.) We kayaked to small coves, close to glaciers and waterfalls (even caught a couple thunderous calving glaciers) quiet glacial waters and untouched wilderness. Stopped in small town of Haines for a day, did a river raft with very good guide from area. There was hiking and/ or bushwacking, kayaking, snorkling (obviously with wetsuits, which were provided) or skiff rides each day, or I suppose you could stay on board if you wanted to. There was 20- 30 min of morning yoga/stretching sessions on deck with Sarah, to get ready for the days activities, and also a couple of stationary bikes, stairclimbers and some weights. Excursions and activities included in cost. I cannot say enough about the captain, crew, and staff. Impressive and more. All are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, friendly and eager to share their knowledge and experience. They want you to have a great time, and make it happen. All worked as a team, and it was not unusual to see the captain helping to haul out the kayaks, returning for the day. The guides are eager to share their passions- knowledge of the area, wildlife, plants. There were evening talks, which were plus/minus for me, short enough to listen to, not extensive. We had a Glacier Bay Park Ranger onboard for 2 days, who interacted with everyone, did a couple talks, and even ate meals with us. You could (and we did) go up to the bridge and talk with the captain and other crew. The captain altered the itinerary to get the best weather or sightings. Food was excellent. Breakfast and lunch buffet. Service for dinner, with three entree choices (meat, seafood or veg or could do half and half) big salads available for lunch and dinner, and dessert. All you can eat crabs one night, and a delicious berry cobbler for 4th of July. No formal seating, and getting dressed for dinner is putting on a clean tee shirt, and then finding your friends to sit with. Generous cocktails, good wines, (included in cost) soft drinks at the bar. Patience was our only bartender and somehow she made it all happen, although other stewards could jump in to pour wines when she was busy)The metal water bottles provided are fine to use for the week, but it would be good if there was flavored waters or Mio drops to add to your water, or G2 or Smartwaters or something. There is no cell or internet- absolutely glorious to "unplug" for the week (ship to shore calls if urgent) Most people in 60's age range, with a few college kids with parents. We had three kids under age of 12 on our boat, who were exceptional- enjoyed all activities, books, board games and cards, and even talking with the rest of us. The last night there is a slide show with pics from the week's activities and all your new friends. You can opt to have them emailed to you, and you can keep them. The small boat experience and this kind of access to wilderness makes the trip well worth the cost. Signed up to do another one- just have to decide on an itinerary, but we may do another Alaska one! Read Less

I love wilderness. I love small ships that don't really go "anywhere." This cruise promised and delivered exactly what I wanted. We had 3 whole days in Glacier Bay with nary another person or ship in sight. To add to the sensory overload was 3 continuous days of sun, something unheard of in most of Alaska. Alaska was Awakening and while there were no babies of any sort and the bears were still hibernating, it was a great experience. Small ship cruises are most expensive. With 37 passengers and a crew of 25, there was lots of attention. The food was good and the cabin, albeit with its tiny bathroom, was comfortable. Each crew member had a particular interest. What I found troubling was that there seemed to be no one in charge of wildlife spotting. While not every bird, otter, sea lion, seal and porpoise needs to be enumerated, it is good to call them out and identify them. I found that lacking and it was disappointing. There were multiple and daily opportunities to kayak, hike, and go for skiff rides to explore. The activities are not tremendously difficult. On the cruise we were on, I think young children would be bored. I would go again. Read Less

Just returned from the 4/17-29/17 "Famed Passages of Discovery" cruise from Seattle to Alaska. Can't begin to say how incredible it was. The small ship experience let us get to know everyone on board, including the entire expedition team. All wonderful, enthusiastic, adventurous people. The mountains, waterfalls, and wildlife were beautiful. Enjoyed the hikes, boat tours, kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, polar plunge, ...... all tailored to the group. You could choose from many options to meet your level of desired activity. The itinerary was altered to get the best weather. The UnCruise team was very impressive - especially noticed how well everyone was treated. It is a rare cruise that allows the team to stop what they are doing and photograph and observe wildlife when they are present, even if that means dinner will have to wait. The entire team was also personally introduced on the first day and thanked by the captain on the last night. The team worked together to get what needed to be done completed - not unusual to see the captain down on the EZ dock pulling your kayak in. He provided the nighttime entertainment one night by singing with his guitar. We had a wonderful stretch of weather - less rain in April than usual. Would love to go on another UnCruise adventure - biggest question is which one should be next. Highly recommend!!!! Cabins are very small (and bathroom is the smallest I've ever seen), but we didn't spend any time in there other than to sleep. Not too much evening entertainment, but by then everyone was too tired to do much and headed to bed. Not too much fitness equipment on ship, but plenty of off-ship hiking, kayaking, and paddleboarding available. This was a "wellness/fitness" cruise so we had added yoga, fitness classes and discussions of nutrition that aren't normally included. Given the space limitations, it was impressive what fitness activities could be done on board. If you like the spa treatments, formal nights, casino, shopping, city tours, or entertainment of more traditional cruises, this is NOT the cruise for you, but if you prefer seeing the unspoiled wilderness & native wildlife with a few adventurous people, this is DEFINITELY the way to go. All excursions and alcoholic beverages are included in the price. Read Less

We wanted an adventure experience and we got just that. It was fantastic; we bushwhacked, kayaked, skiff boat excursions, visited a salmon fishery and were up close and personal with the Bears. The staff and crew were first rate, everyone was knowledgeable, helpful, entertaining and felt like family by the end of the week. The food was excellent, rooms small but nice, comfortable and very clean. The land package before the cruise was just as excellent and did not disappoint. For a trip of a lifetime; Un Cruise made it a lasting memory to enjoy for ever. One unique feature is that if nature is showing her face, like 20 plus whales feeding,the boat will stop and let you enjoy the sweet surprise. We also experienced the Northern Lights. We departed from Juneau which is a beautiful city to explore and enjoy and cruised the inside passage and returned to Juneau which was perfect for us. Read Less

This was our first experience with any type of cruise. We chose the small boat because we heard that we would be able to go to areas not normally allowed of the big cruise ships. We were not disappointed! The cabins were very nice and ours had a sliding door that opened on to the deck. I would not recommend spending the extra money on this type, since there was no added value for the door. Also, because we had no cross ventilation, none of the clothes that got wet were able to dry during the whole cruise (and these were NOT cotton clothes). Everything else in the cabin worked great. The guided trips were fantastic, especially dropping anchor next to a glacier and then kayaking closer. The whale watching was not a disappointment, as we saw quite a few whales. Some even swam just yards from the boat. Another favorite was the snorkeling. Obviously we needed to use their wet suits because the water temperature was 34 degrees. But I never got cold. Unfortunately, there was only one 45 - minute chance to perform this activity and we paid $35 to rent the suit. Very expensive for just the one time. They should have scheduled more snorkeling activities. The crew was extremely friendly and went out of their way to make sure you had what you needed. Megan was a fantastic leader for all of the activities and Dawn was a great guide, who knew quite a bit about many things. The food was excellent, definite fine restaurant quality. Breakfast and lunch were buffet style while the dinner was slightly more formal sit down. For dinner each night you could choose a meat, seafood, or vegetarian. What we didn’t realize until the last couple of days was that you could order half and half. And we didn’t know this until a fellow passenger ordered it. This was not publicized. All in all, we had a great time and will certainly book another cruise in the future. Read Less

Although the accommodations are not luxurious, they were comfortable and adequate. The adventure was unbelievable! We spent little time in the room and most of our daytime hours were off the boat. We kayaked, hiked, went on skiff tours and snorkeling was available. We saw humpback and orca whales, bald eagles, puffins, bears and even the Northern Lights!!! Unbelievable beauty and breathtaking experiences being so close to calving glaciers, misty islands, amazing tide pools and feeding bears. The staff was so enthusiastic and informed that it was contagious. I felt VERY safe all the time whether on the boat or kayaking or hiking. The food was terrific, varied and abundant and the on board staff so helpful and cheerful. There were games, movies and a bar for down times. The other guest were from all over the US and world and so much fun to hang out with. I would go again without any hesitancy! Read Less

My kids had a great time, this was their first cruise, so they had no other comparisons. I was expecting more for $20,000 (4 of us)- like linen changes, portion sizes of dinner more than 4oz and special occasion celebrations as shown in brochure. It is one of the few cruises that you can lose weight, many choices of activities. The staff was wonderful and we enjoyed getting close to nature. I think this cruise line is a great idea for parents with teenagers because there is no internet and the kids get unplugged and do some physical activity out in nature. The evening presentations were also very educational. Kids entertained themselves with board games, books and binoculars (looking at whales and other animals). The staff worked hard to make everyone's trip enjoyable. I would recommend this trip for people, who are willing and able to get off of the boat and are up for adventure. Read Less

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We, a group of 3 couples, took this cruise a couple weeks ago. I cannot say enough good things about this cruise line. When you compare prices of Un-Cruise cruises and the "big ship" cruises, you wonder if it could be worth the extra money. The answer is yes. We were on the Wilderness Adventurer. It holds 60 passengers and 25 crew. It is 4 floors. The lowest level is the crew level so we never saw that. The next level has some cabins, which is where ours were, the galley, the dining room and the bar/lounge. On the back of the boat, this is the level you get into your kayak or the skiff but you access this from stairs on the 3rd level. The 3rd level is rooms and the front bow where you can stand out and watch wildlife. The 4th level is the open deck and bridge. The back half is off limits because this is where kayaks and skiff are stored. There are 2 elipiticals and 2 stationary bikes and some weights on this level also. This cruise line is very informal. You do not need to dress up for any meals. Some nights we came in from hiking and went straight to dinner without cleaning up. There is no assigned seating. There is fruit/toast/yogurt out at 6:30am, then hot buffet breakfast at 7:30 every day. Lunch is buffet at 12 or 12:30. Cocktail hour is at 5:30 with a drink special, because the Alaska cruises do not include alcohol, and heavy appetizers. Dinner is at 6:30. During breakfast the chef tells you your dinner choices, a meat option, a seafood option, and a vegetarian option. You pick one. One night, one of our group didn't like her meal so they brought her out one of the other choices. One night I didn't like any of them, so they made me a salad to order. Cookies every day with lunch and at 3pm and a different desert every night. I am a picky eater and don't eat seafood so the food wasn't my highlight. My friends loved the food, especially the all you can eat crab night. The cabin is basic. But you aren't on this ship to be in your room. We were about 6 or so feet off the water, with a nice size window. You have a shower/toilet combo. There is a TV but it's only a couple channels of discovery type shows. We never turned ours on. The rooms only lock from the inside, not from the outside. At first, I thought that was crazy but it quickly became obvious, there is no need to worry. Both the other passengers and crew are all great people. As the week went on, more and more clothing were being hung outside the room on hooks in the hallway. Our floor of rooms had a problem with the heat, we talked to several people about it but they couldn't figure it out. We ended up sleeping with the window wide open and the door cracked to cool off. There is a big white board in the dining area. This is where the days activities are listed plus the expedition leader would tell us our options every night. Some days we all went out on skiffs, some days we all stayed on board and did some wildlife viewing from the top deck. Sometimes, the choices were kayaking or hiking or skiff. The expedition guise are all so interesting and knowledgable. Some had degrees in wildlife but others had other degrees but just love being outdoors. I learned so much from them. The best thing we did a bushwhacking hike. There was no trail, hiked over, under and through the forest. It was a blast! A bear was spotted on shore about ¼ mile from us. Luckily we never saw him on the hike, we did go see him on the skiff on the way back to the boat. There was some kind of different entertainment every night. Some were lectures, one night was crew or guests could sing, the last night was the slide show. We brought some cards with us and played cards a few nights. There are some games on board along with books and DVDs. Every room has a DVD player. The whole week was just so great, no cell phone service, no other people besides who was on our boat, and the park rangers we saw at Glacier Bay National Park. All of the guests were easy going and interesting to talk to. Most guests were probably in their 60s. Our group is aged 33-52. There were a few other 20 somethings there, all with their parents. Almost all Americans, except 2 couples from New Zealand and 2 from Australia. We loved it so much we signed up for another one on board. You get a nice discount for doing so. Wildlife we saw were humpback whales lunge feeding, they kept coming closer and closer to the boat, probably 50 or so yards away. We saw 2 orcas, 2 moose, lots of brown bears, aka as brown and fuzzies, and cubs, mountain goats, seals, sea lions, otters, Bald Eagles, puffins. Read Less