Wanna go wild on an Alaska adventure cruise?

UnCruise Adventures Alaska review

A thrilling hike-kayak combo!

Let’s start with our epic hiking and kayaking adventure in Alaska…

We’re on a mission.

We’d zoomed off in a Zodiac from our adventure ship earlier in the morning (at the bright and cheerful time of 7:00 am).

We’re hunting for several kayaks that were helicoptered in the previous summer. Once we find them, we’ll tack on a hard five-mile paddle to Patterson Glacier.

Who knows – we may be the first people ever to beach at the foot of the enormous windswept slab of ice and snow that is Patterson Glacier!

Our fearless leader, Dan Blanchard, is excited.

The CEO of UnCruise Adventures (which offers these “uncruises”), he loves to escape his Seattle desk whenever he can to join a voyage.

Despite trying, he’s never reached Patterson Glacier in the 25+ years that he’s personally explored this region.

Today, he’s determined we’ll make it.

We’re fortunate enough to experience all sorts of amazing adventures here in this vast, incredibly wondrous, wild place – where waterfalls gush and monstrous mountains rise steeply through the mists and there’s no sign of human presence anywhere (except ours).

We live close to mountains and British Columbia’s version of wilderness, which is pretty wicked. (Hello Joffre Lakes!)

We thought Alaska wouldn’t blow us away. This cruise puts paid to that theory…

Indeed, there are many stunning places to see in Alaska. And a cruise to Alaska is a USA bucket list experience!

But UnCruise Adventures is unlike any other Alaska cruise.

In fact, it’s not really a cruise in the usual way you think of a cruise on a large ship. We wear jeans for dinner and there’s nary a shop on the whole voyage.

Adventures galore!

In the first 24 hours of our UnCruise Adventures Alaska trip, we listen to the snap, crackle and pop (or “berg seltzer”) of melting bits of ice bergs while on a Zodiac ride to Sawyer Glacier in Tracy Arm.

We also pick up three forest rangers for an impromptu ship’s lecture on their work (they counted 780 seals the day before on the glacier).

And we see a fat black bear ambling onshore, spy humpback whales in Frederick Sound and veer off course to invite a whale researcher and his four assistants aboard for dinner. (They’ve run out of veggies and beer on the miniature island where they’re living for the summer.)

But this is all par for the course.

All UnCruise Adventures’ reviews point out that these cruises are all about experiencing nature up close via active adventures.

UnCruise cabins: It’s cozy onboard

Made for slipping into secluded wilderness areas rarely visited by others, these expedition vessels are cozy.

They’re so intimate that there are no room keys, and guests often leave doors open when relaxing in their cabins.

It takes a little while to adjust to the size of our cabin on the Wilderness Discoverer.

It’s the teeniest cruise cabin we’ve ever slept in!

But there’s room for two single beds pushed against the wall to make a double, allowing just enough room for a small side-table.

(And because UnCruise Adventures is committed to eco-cruising, bed sheets aren’t changed during the week.)

But it all works, given the adventure focus. Because UnCruise isn’t about living it up on the ship – it’s about getting you outside.

SUP on an Alaska UnCruise

Stand-up paddle boarding? Yep.

Along with kayaking, hiking and skiff tours on Zodiac-style boats – led by expert naturalist guides and included in the cruise price – there’s SUP, the fastest-growing watersport in the world.

You stand up on a board shaped like a large surfboard and paddle with a long oar.

We don’t paddle in Alaska’s icy glacier-fed waters, but smooth-as-glass Pacific inlets.

Hiking to Baird Glacier

Another favorite outing is the guided trek to Baird Glacier in Thomas Bay.

After passing playful seals, we jump from our Zodiac into a field of violet lupins and pink River Beauty flowers.

The beginning stretch passes through rocky fields, where the wind blows cold and white Arctic terns cry mournfully as they circle overhead.

Upon reaching the push moraine (a pile of rocks pushed by the glacier), we sink into deep boot-sucking mud, then haul ourselves out with the help of hiking poles handed out for each hike.

But it’s the glacier itself that is fascinating to walk across.

It’s like a marvelous modern painting with jagged black, chocolate and white striations.

We peer down into blue holes of icy water and leap across crevasses.

This is true wilderness, and UnCruise Adventures’ guests are the only Alaska visitors with permission to explore Baird Glacier.

There are no marked trails either.

At the crack of dawn, the expedition team had earlier staked out a general route with red flags, but no one knows how best to navigate the glacier until we get there.

Indeed, throughout the week, bush-whacking and trail blazing are par for the course.

Learning about the local culture

Enrichment lectures add to the authentic experience.

In Wrangell, a young Tlingit woman, wearing a traditional raven-embroidered cloak, comes aboard to share the history of her tribal people.

Guest mix

Something else you’ve probably gleaned from reading other Alaska UnCruise reviews is that your fellow passengers are a mixed lot.

They come from as far away as Australia and New Zealand.

Most are active types in their 50s and 60s.

On our Alaskan UnCruise trip, there’s Jim in his 70s, who hikes in shorts – brrr! He’s so buff he could put any young weightlifting jock to shame.

And Toni from Minneapolis, who’s here for the “critters and birds.” (“If I want to gamble or see shows, I’ll go to Vegas,” she proclaims.)

And a multi-generational family of ten celebrating the grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary.

Grandma and granddad read wildlife books onboard, while the 20-something grandkids enjoy stand-up paddle boarding.

The food on UnCruise

You’d think with all the physical activity, we’d lose a couple of pounds. Unfortunately no.

Pretty well all UnCruise reviews note that the food is excellent.

On our trip, the good food was just too darn great – with that home-made taste you get when cooked fresh for a small group – that there was no way we could slim down.

All meals are buffet (except for the king crab feast the last night), eaten family-style in the dining room at tables of four and six.

By the end of the cruise, we feel like old friends with many of our fellow passengers. Someone organizes an email exchange list.

A few lucky people stay on for the reverse itinerary, which explores different uninhabited coves and inlets.

And one couple books a trip on a more expensive, luxury UnCruise in Hawaii – a clear vote in favor of adventure cruising like this.

UnCruise ships in Alaska

UnCruise Adventures has nine vessels. The cruise line currently offers trips to the Galapagos Islands, Hawaiian Islands and Mexico’s Sea of Cortez – as well as to Alaska.

Alaska itineraries

UnCruise Alaska prices

At first glance, the price tag for an UnCruise Alaska wilderness cruise may make you hesitate.

It looks higher compared to other Alaska cruises on larger cruise ships operated by, say, Holland America Line, Princess or Celebrity Cruises.

But remember. On those cruises, you have to pay extra for shore excursions. And they can add up. Their Alaska adventure activities can easily run $200 USD p.p. or more per tour for kayaking, backcountry Zodiac expeditions and whale watching.

On UnCruise, all wildlife viewing, land adventures and other excursions are included. Guests go off in different small groups, depending on the activity level they choose. (You can choose from easy to tough activities.)

Wines and alcohol (signature cocktails every night!) are also all included on UnCruise Adventure trips.

So, yes, the cost is higher up-front. But there are no extra charges. UnCruise prices include pretty well everything (except cruise gratuities).

That’s it for our UnCruise Adventures review of our cruise to Alaska!

UnCruise offers some of the best small ship cruises to Alaska for adventure lovers.

If your bucket list includes seeing pods of humpback whales, sea otters, sea lions and black bears – and you want to kayak, hike, go SUP and more – think UnCruise’s Alaska trips.

The great crews (and great food!) round out an already terrific cruise.

---

---

---

Photo credits: 2 to 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 to 19, 23 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | Remaining photos UnCruise Adventures

---

We were hosted aboard the Wilderness Discoverer as media guests to write an UnCruise Alaska cruise review. But, as always, all words and views are our own. We let you know if something is “wow” or… might put you off.

---