Alaska Cruises (Page 2): Ditto Lindblad. Kayaking, Zodiacs, hikes, naturalists. All included. We had one extra which was a helicopter ride to a glacier. Well worth it.

bamfordr Loc: Campbell CA

UTMike wrote:

Lindblad is my choice. Been twice with them. They pair with National Geographic and their smaller boats with zodiacs get you places the big ships cannot go. Also, very good food.

Ditto Lindblad. Kayaking, Zodiacs, hikes, naturalists. All included. We had one extra which was a helicopter ride to a glacier. Well worth it.

foodie65

janiebutz wrote:

We’ve planned on a trip to Alaska for July, 2020. Our hope is to find a company that has a land/sea trip on a smaller ship. We’ve read about Uncruise, Road Scholar, Lindblad, Alaskan Dream Cruise and Windstar thus far. Would anyone like to comment, recommend, NOT recommend any of these? We would also appreciate any other ideas for this big (and costly!) adventure. Thank you in advance for your help.

Last year we had an excellent experience with Road Scholar. Small ship, 50 people. Ship small enough to get up to glaciers where larger ships cannot. Good land excursions also. Roadscholar.org

Collhar Loc: New York City.

janiebutz wrote:

We’ve planned on a trip to Alaska for July, 2020. Our hope is to find a company that has a land/sea trip on a smaller ship. We’ve read about Uncruise, Road Scholar, Lindblad, Alaskan Dream Cruise and Windstar thus far. Would anyone like to comment, recommend, NOT recommend any of these? We would also appreciate any other ideas for this big (and costly!) adventure. Thank you in advance for your help.

We are booked on SilverSea cruise. The ship is called, Silver Cloud. Not July but September. This will be our first Expedition Cruise. It is a 12 day cruise. There are about 300 people. We have done and are done with the mega cruise lines.

photogeneralist Loc: Lopez Island Washington State

If you are still active, I recommend the Seawolf, a converted minesweeper with a crew of 5 or 6 for their 12 guests capacity. They are a Glacier Bay based Kayak mothership. You can find out about them at seawolf.com. Their naturalists are superb. and the food is gormet.

janiebutz

THANKS to everyone who has offered information on this. You are great resource! Now to pull it together and give them our credit card 🥴!

Boss

My wife and I did a Holland America Tour - Cruise, flying into Anchorage to begin the 10-day tour, by domed-car train, to Denali and Fairbanks, wow what a way to travel, and such grand views. Then by motor coach to Eagle, on the Yukon river, where we caught a river boat up river (south) to Dawson. From Dawson to White Horse was by motor coach. From White Horse to Skagway was the high light of the whole trip, on the narrow-gauge railroad! We boarded the Volendam at Skagway for a four-day intercoastal cruise, including Glacier Bay, to Vancouver.

There are numerous excursions available, such as into the interior of Denali Park, where we saw Grizzles, Mountain Goats, and Fox. There was also a trip to the base of Denali, by school-bus type bus, on the standard road in Alaska, gravel. (There are (were) only 107 paved roads in Alaska, and only a very few of them connect.) Skagway offers a number of excursions. We did two, one to a sled dog training camp, and an Eagle Watch, on a large flat-bottomed boat, up a braided river, where we saw numerous eagles and elk. Both of these excursions are not to be missed!

The intercoastal cruise provided numerous whale sightings, and in Ketchikan we saw a large number of eagles, at the fish processing plant.

Based on what I saw on our trip, I do not think that small boats offer anything significant in the intercoastal water-way. The morning we left Skagway, Glacier Bay was the first stop. When I woke up and looked out our veranda, the ship was just starting to move forward. We had been stopped parallel to the glacier wall, probably less than 200 feet from it, but I guess I needed my sleep. Do any of you sleep with a camera?

I think the Holland America ships such as the Volendam and sister ships take about 500 passengers. They are considered “Old Folks” ships rather than the 3,000 of your closest-friends mega-ships.

rplain1 Loc: Dayton, Oh.

DirtFarmer wrote:

I think I would drive up the Alaskan Highway and see all the sights. Then take the boat back. Get a rest from driving at the end of the trip, not the start.

Drove the highway in 1966. Except for about 30 miles around Whitehorse, the road was not paved. We messed up our schedule and had to drive back instead of taking the boat. Driving 1200 miles a second time on that road was not as enjoyable as the first trip.

It is pretty much all paved now.

Mike Holmes Loc: The Villages Fl

We booked with John Halls Alaska tours last summer and were very pleased. They have fully escorted both land and sea tours. They have there own custom coaches and book all of the best lodges during there land tours. They also book large and small boat sea cruses with there own tour directors on board and coordinate all luggage and handling. They have been doing Alaska for many years and can arrange all of your tour.]

h_scott

Another enthusiastic endorsement for Lindblad / Nat Geo. We took the last cruise of the season which was two weeks in September from Sitka to Seattle. First half is focused on scenery but our hope was to see bears feeding- and we did! Watched for a couple of hours about 300 yards away. Also saw bubble feeding whales for hours too!
The second half had a cultural focus on the natives of Haida Gwai (Princess Charlotte Islands). It was our first of 3 Lindblad/ Nat Geo trips and we're planning more.
The Nat Geo photographers will help you to take better pix even if you use a phone (and on up of course).

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

Mike Holmes wrote:

We booked with John Halls Alaska tours last summer and were very pleased. They have fully escorted both land and sea tours. They have there own custom coaches and book all of the best lodges during there land tours. They also book large and small boat sea cruses with there own tour directors on board and coordinate all luggage and handling. They have been doing Alaska for many years and can arrange all of your tour.]

I mentioned them in an earlier response, and I totally agree with you. I've had 2 tours with them to Alaska (and one to Australia and New Zealand) and they are top-notch. I'll repeat their web link here: www.kissalaska.com.

timcc Loc: Virginia

I also strongly endorse Lindblad/NatGeo Alaska cruise. They have expert naturalists to lead excursions in the rain forest, zodiacs for reaching interesting locations, and professional NatGeo photographers who give presentations on photography and lead slower-paced excursions designed specifically for photographers. The meals are fantastic, and the small ship (52 cabins in our case) will follow whale sightings, etc., and even change course or turn around to get closer to wildlife (the big ships cannot do that).

One piece of advice: take rainproof jackets and pants for the hikes in the rain forest. You'll also need knee-high rubber boots for wet zodiac landings -- they can be rented on the ship (in advance) if you do not want to carry the heavy boots with you. If you go late in the season, you may also want to bring mosquito nets for your head.

If you can, take advantage of Lindblad's post-cruise extension to Denali Park -- you can stay at a lodge 90 miles into the park and take daily hikes/excursions to see the mountains, lakes, and wildlife. There is a tiny airport near the lodge, so at additional expense you can also take a photo flight around Mt. Denali -- spectacular if the weather cooperates. Have a great trip!

janiebutz

Thanks so much!

Virgil Loc: The Hoosier State

We used Cruise West a few years ago. Superb vacation!. I believe they might called Uncruise now. Contact them and they may send you a video giving you an idea of their small ship travels (combination sea & shore). Whoever you go with make sure it is small ship cruising, the only way to really see Alaska. I would guess "Uncruise.com".
Virgil