Phillips Cruises & Tours, LLC — Attraction in Whittier

First, We are BOTH Celiacs, needing Gluten Free food, medically not by choice.

Secondly, The cruise was through spectacular scenery. Low clouds & light rain made it difficult to enjoy it all. But, the mountains & glaciers ARE spectacular. Saw most of the animals advertised; but speed of boat - ~35 knots (near 40 mph) made them go by FAST. Or, scared them into diving.

Third: Food: Advertising said Gluten Free was available. Staff totally unaware of what that means. We were served, after they tried to change us to different poisonous lunch, Gluten Free vegetarian chili, but with WHEAT CRACKERS & a WHEAT roll. No GF crackers or rolls were offered. After explaining to guy, "We need Gluten Free, because we are Celiacs. We must have Gluten Free." [No light came on in that lighthouse. Sean had no idea why we wanted it...or what Coeliac means.] So, sadly normal...

Fourth: We saw, in no particular order, sea otters (5-6 FEET long; who knew?), harbour seals (before leaving harbor), bald eagles (everywhere), steller sea lions (Alaska department of 'X' was putting caps on the buoys they were resting on, 'Why?'), dall's porpoises, mountain goats, black bear, but no whales or orcas. No Sasquatch either. :-). We got near Hubbard Glacier, one of the few (2022-2023) advancing. No great calves, sadly.

Fifth: Close to end of trip, they baked & served hot chocolate chip cookies to everyone. Again, I had to explain... Happy to take our money; but it does not provide the same quality of tour. No GF cookies, sadly... We got with 100 feet of Blackstone Glacier (ditto Hubbard) & it was 500' tall plus high face. With waterfalls coming down the face of cliffs by it. Again, it's just spectacular! Would like to see it in August & under sun.

Sixth: Cat is fast, comfy, & rest rooms were clean & supplied. Bar serves adult beverages, hot & cold, & hot cocoa ($4). Water, coffee, & tea are self-service & and free, which is nice. They do have various chips available for sale; though all but the plain corn (for nachos) & a flavored (jalapeños) corn contain wheat. Gal was embarrassed & sold me a bag of plain, without the cheese sauce. There are many chips available, which are GF, of course. But... Candy, nuts, etc. & souvenirs too are sold.

Conclusion: Would I go again? Sure. Would I expect better meal service? More awareness of Celiac disease? Ah,...

We did the 26 glacier cruise with Phillips Cruises. The entire experience was professionally run from booking to disembarkment. The crew were all competent and friendly. The captain’s commentary about marine life and the surrounding geology was spoken clearly, in a friendly tone, over an excellent PA system. There was a vegetarian and non-vegetarian choice for lunch, which was also appreciated. The food was very good. The ship was in excellent condition and amenities offered on board.were adequate. As advertised and guaranteed, we did not get sea sick, but on a ship that size combined with the tranquil waters of Prince William sound, I don’t think sea sickness is a big threat. I do have two critiques to offer, hence the four-star rating (3.5 if I could split it). First, I feel the ship was too big (about 250 seats) to offer a personal experience to the customers. At 199.00 s seat, I shouldn’t feel like I’m being processed at a mass marketing venture. As a comparison, in winter 2025 we took a sunset, steak dinner cruise to the Nà Pali coast with Capt Andy’s, (beer and wine included) in Kauai, on a catamaran, (about 50 people), for about 240.00 per person. The crew was accessible and personal,. we were waited on throughout the trip, and had perfect views everywhere on the boat. Second, we were among the unlucky ones to be assigned a center, lower deck table which does not provide good viewing through the windows. We had no option to select a window table which should be offered on the website when buying tickets such as done with airline or concert seats. Center tables should be a reduced price to compensate. In summary, a good but over priced experience, better if you get a...

26 Glaciers

Before I start, 3 points

You are allocated seats, so I would recommend you request a window seat. This is not a huge issue, but definitely worth getting if you can.

Secondly you can hire binoculars on board which was a godsend for us, as ours had broken the day before. And at $5 a pair, an absolute bargain.

Thirdly dress warmly with layers and hat and preferably a hooded jacket.

We were in the upper deck, and it got very hot before we got going, so don’t board too early.

There is unlimited complimentary tea and coffee. Both surprisingly good.

We set off, and shortly after lunch was served. I can recommend the salmon chowder.

The weather was low cloud and intermittent rain. This was not a problem if you had suitable clothing.

We saw the glaciers with xxx calving multiple times in College Bay. In cxx bay xxx calved 8-10 times. The captain got us up safely as close as he could and gave both sides of the boat views, however I would recommend you go outside. You can switch sides, so get maximum views. It is so spectacular.

On the way back the captain spotted 3-4 hump back whales right by the shore and stopped for a good 15 minutes. The whales were bubble feeding something not often seen whale watching. Amazing.

Half an hour later the captain spotted a bear swimming in the water. Again we stopped to watch. Magical.

As if that wasn’t enough we also saw sea lions on a buoy, and thousands of kittiwakes on a cliff.

This is a fantastic tour, all the staff were so friendly and welcoming and helpful. I cannot fault it and it is great value for money. I forgot to mention home cooked cookies that were given out, a lovely...