Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises — Attraction in Valdez

I could write a novel on the amazing experience we had with Stan Stephens. Our original scheduled tour of the Meares Glacier was 3 July. Check in was easy and the boat was only 1/3 filled which means there was plenty of room to move around. About an hour out we started having engine issues and the boat had to return to dock. We were disappointed, but The Staff at Stan Stephens seamlessly transfered people to the shorter tour going to the Columbia Glacier refunding the difference of the trip, refunding the trip all together, or rebooking the Meares trip for another day. We chose to rebook for the next day, 4 July. This was probably the best decision, as we had the best experience with CPT Amanda on the next days tour. Her and the staff were extremely knowledgeable on every thing we saw which included just about every animal on the brochure. This included watching a playful humpback whale playground for about 20 mins and viewing a resident pod of orcas hunt and swin close to the vessel. I know there is never a guarantee that people will see things on these trips, but the Stan Sthephans staff will do everything possible to provide whatever opportunities are available. Finally, even if there were no animals on the tour, just experiencing the beauty of the land and sea made the trip worth the cost. We are from Fairbanks and taking this tour will become a family tradition for us, especally when we have family come to visit. Thank you...

This is one of the best days Ive had in Alaska! I've seen a lot of Glaciers in my life, but this was so different an absolutely amazing. You start off from the port of Valdez. We saw tons of animals: Seals, Eagles, Sea lions, puffins, humpback and otters. The crew allows you to rent quality binoculars at $5, and I highly recommend it- total game changer.

The captain would slow down or stop and made sure we had plenty of time to get great pictures. Lunch was served roughly halfway through and was delicious clam chowder, a bagel and oreos. It was nice you can grab tea, coffee, lemonade, water etc. anytime you want.

When we got to the glacier, it was amazing! The captain slowed down and everyone on board was silent and in awe. You could only hear the silent "ca-clunk" of the bergie bits lightly hitting the boat. Completely surreal.

The captain provided commentary, that was informational but not too much. You can hear it in his voice and actions that he really cared that you understood what you're looking at and enjoyed yourself.

The rest of the crew were friendly, professional and organized. I learned that Stan Stephens is a family owned company, and "grandma" Mary Helen Stephens was on the boat. I love seeing a family that involved.

I Can't recommend this tour enough, and was so happy I was...

My Husband and I are newly weds. We decided to take their tour while on our Honeymoon and I'll tell you what??

Went on a tour with Stan Stevens in Valdez, AK. If you want to WASTE your VERY HARD earned money, go on with this tour company but, if you don't want to just waste your money, invest on something different, by all means. This tour company sucks and the capitain is BEYOND HORRIBLE. Won't even get close to wild life animals ON SHORE for you to get a good photo. (Not possible to get a photo even with a professional camera). Save your money and go to the hatchery. There, you'll see the sea lions up close, they'll be feeding, you'll see seals up close, you'll be able to see sea otters, etc. The serving crew was really good but the captain of the boat was the problem. Asked the passengers for help finding whales because he obviously didn't know what in the heck he was doing and when it was time to see some sea lions at "their island", he wouldn't even get close to them. Today is 7/7/2019 and believe me, MOST passengers were asleep on the boat because there was NOTHING else to do. No entertainment at all. The ONLY excellent thing about this tour was the fact my Husband and I were together. That was FANTASTIC and I...