UnCruise Adventures — Local services in Seattle

If you are looking for an extraordinary way to explore the Last Frontier, unCruise Adventures gifts you the opportunity to not just visit Alaska, but to step Inside! ⁣⁣⁣ Kayak through frozen, glacial water ⁣⁣⁣ Paddleboard alongside jumping salmon⁣ Bushwhack through remote islands⁣ and land on deserted beaches⁣⁣ Skiff to the face of calving glaciers⁣⁣⁣ Taste bullwhip seaweed⁣⁣⁣ Have a glacier silt facemask⁣⁣ Kiss a giant slug⁣⁣⁣ Dive into Polar Waters⁣⁣⁣ Witness bears pounce and salmon jump⁣ View a dozen 50-ton Humpback whales play and breach off the bow of your boat⁣⁣⁣ Spot bald eagles, mountain goats, puffins, porpoise, sea lions, sea otters, seal, orca whales, countless bird species, starfish, porcupine....⁣⁣⁣ Berry hunt for the sweetest, wild blueberries and strawberries you’ve ever tasted⁣⁣⁣ These can all be apart of your Alaskan Adventure!

Mid-August, my family and I spent a week on Uncruise Adventures' largest ship, the 90-passenger S.S. Legacy. The cruise was roundtrip from Juneau and we spent the week sailing the Inside Passage including Glacier Park National Park. We were able to maneuver into small bays where no large cruise ship could attempt to go. And because of this flexibility, the crew could make changes based on the weather forecast or stops for wildlife at a moments notice.

Once onboard, my family of four (kids 5 & 7) found our accommodations very comfortable with twin beds in each room and fair-sized bathrooms. Our cabins are very well-appointed but not traditionally considered luxury in comparison to newer, larger ships, but don't let it scare you because the service is absolutely first class! This is an expedition-style ship with a focus on adventure and most of your time is spent off the boat or in common areas mingling with other guests.

Every morning and afternoon there were a wide variety of excursions for all activity levels, including the kids -- short/long kayaking tours, paddleboarding, zodiac tours, beach and meadow walks, beginner bushwacks, extreme bushwacks, etc. The expedition team is incredibly friendly, knowledgable, flexible and enthusiastic! The Legacy is also equipped with a special launch pad, called the Sea Dragon, allowing guests to load into the zodiacs, kayaks, and paddleboards without touching in the water or getting wet.

For the kids, Alaskan-family-travel writer and guide, Erin Kirland created specific activities and excursions just for them. Parents could join in or choose to go on their own separate adventure, which allowed for a perfect balance between family time and freedom. There were 67 passengers and roughly 16 children onboard ranging from 5 years of age up to high school. My kids had the most incredible week learning about Alaskan wildlife, creating button quilts, making friendship bracelets, wild berry hunting, touring the engine room, exploring the beach, becoming Jr. Rangers, and enjoying "Kids Happy Hour" with the best snacks and so much more!

The Food and Beverage program on the SS Legacy was exceptional. There is a full bar located in the lounge with 2 incredible bartenders who make daily craft cocktails or any guests' favorite drink. A full sit down breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served in the dining room with beautiful windows for viewing the incredible scenery and wildlife. The menu always included meat, fish, salad, and vegetarian options with wine pairings and a full kids menu and all meals were incredibly fresh and delicious.

Once you have been on an UnCruise, you immediately want to go on another! The beauty of the sea, land, and wildlife, the attentiveness of the crew, and the connections made with other guests combine to call you back for more. One of our fellow cruisers was on his 7th UnCruise Adventure! And my son had such an incredible experience and made such sweet friendships, he cried for two hours after leaving the ship. Both my kids speak daily of fond memories of our time in Alaska. To date, this is one of our favorite...

UnCruise failed to deliver the advertised experience. I booked this cruise primarily because the itinerary called for spending three days around glaciers and in fjords (two full days in Glacier Bay NP and one in the Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm fjord). The other three days to be spent at remote coves sounded like an interesting way to spend the remainder of the itinerary. What we got was five days at remote coves with much the same set of activities each day (enjoyable to a point, but two or three days of that was plenty), half a day at a glacier in Glacier Bay with time for only one off-ship activity, and half a day scenic cruising out of Glacier Bay. We never came within 30 miles of Tracy Arm, much less sailed up it (or Endicott) to see the fjord and glacier as advertised in the itinerary. I understand weather and sea conditions can sometimes create problems with cruise itineraries, but neither was an issue on this trip. While I'm not a fan of large cruise ships, I actually had a better fjord / tidewater glacier sightseeing experience on a large cruise ship in Alaska several years ago than I did on this cruise.

Onboard accommodations were OK, but not really up to the standard of a cruise at this price point. I booked this type of cruise for the activities and experience more than the food and cabin comfort, so if they had delivered a great experience it would be easier to overlook food that was only good (not great) and a cramped, somewhat uncomfortable cabin that was so small and dark I didn't want to spend more time there than necessary (sleep, shower, dress, toilet).

If I had known ahead of time what the ACTUAL itinerary would be I never would have booked this cruise. As much as I wanted to love this cruise and hoped to find a company that I could look forward to using for future trips, with UnCruise's failure to deliver the expected experience on this cruise I just can't see giving them a second opportunity to disappoint me.

Update - My reply to UnCruise: Your response to my original post states that you change the itineraries of your cruises in a "spirit of spontaneity" in support of your "aim to deliver meaningful adventure". From this, I now understand that you consider spending additional days in coves with much the same scenery, wildlife, and activities each day as a more "meaningful adventure" than cruising through fjords and spending time on activities around tidewater glaciers. I understood going in that the itinerary would likely not be exactly as published, but based on the heavy emphasis you place on the glacier experience in your marketing descriptions for this cruise I never imagined that you would choose to eliminate most of the fjord and glacier experience. If I had known this was a possibility up front, I would have taken my business elsewhere and avoided learning a very expensive lesson about...

“Uncruise is the only way to cruise!!” is my current mantra. Wilderness Discoverer is a cozy boat with a 26-member crew that hosted 49 guests on our particular cruise from Juneau to Sitka between August 10 and 17. A few cabins hadn’t been booked leaving our cruise with a luxurious crew-guest ratio. We got to interact with the crew and know them just as we did other guests.

The itinerary covered Alaska’s Inside Passage and Glacier Bay National Park. The captain worked closely with the lead adventure guide to time the activities according to the winds and the tides (yes, literally) for providing the best experience. Everyone is assured to find an activity that suits them best for their energy level for the day! Ample time was given for full participation and enjoyment in all activities. All crew members actively helped in spotting wildlife. We lucked out and saw bubble netting humpback whales; breaching orcas; brown bears that had come to the coastline; different birds including puffins; sea otters; stellar sea lions; harbor seals; jumping salmon. Psst - if there is an amazing wildlife moment for all to take in, the captain will make the announcement no matter the hour!

I should think that the food was good; many guests said so. We ourselves had made special dietary requests and the crew went the full distance to make it possible for us to remain well-fed while we enjoyed our time on the boat. Similarly, being teetotalers, I cannot say anything about the alcoholic drinks. Though I can say that Terra, the lady at the bar, drew us aside whenever she had a fruit based drink and served it to us!

We traveled with a 9-year old and yes! they had a color pencil set which did please him. There are books to read on board. Videos too; but watching the natural sights beats any video.

Our adventure guides encouraged us to try new activities. They participated enthusiastically enhancing our joyful memories. They made evening presentations by turns that were topical, informative, fun and inclusive. For the day that we went to Glacier Bay Marine National Park, a Park Ranger came on board our ship and spent the day with us making presentations, pointing out wildlife, providing ‘show and tell’ samples etc.

The bathroom in the cabins are cleaned regularly and well. The common areas are inviting. Hot tub, exercise equipment - all present. Linens were fine. There is one dryer on board in case ‘liquid sunshine’ leaves too many items of clothing soaking wet.

Great experience all in all. Would look to do another itinerary...