UnCruise Adventures

Just returned from our first but won't be last UnCruise, Alaska's Wild and Woolly from Juneau, it was absolutely AMAZING. If you want a small-vessel activity-based adventure cruise with a mind to sustainability, this is it!! The professional yet very fun crew, from guides to chefs, made this a 5 star vacation we won't forget. I didn't include the video of a seal jumping up on someone's kayak, but it happened! Also whales breaching, bear sightings, just so great, every. single. day. Our best vacay yet.

I have sailed with UnCruise twice and each time was outstanding! We did two weeks on the inside passage (2012) which my husband still says was the best trip ever. We also did Hawaiian Seascapes (2022) and it was amazing! Both ships, the Discoverer and the Explorer, were well appointed. Rooms were clean and comfy. The crew on both ships were also super accommodating, food was fresh and delicious. I would highly recommend this cruise line if you want an active trip to the places small ships can get to. 10 out of 10.

The only way to see Alaska! You get up close to enjoy nature either by kayak, paddle board, Zodiac, or on foot. Smaller ships with fewer passengers allows a personal touch to traveling while being served by a professional staff and served gourmet cooking. The only way to see Alaska!

The best! I can’t say enough good things about them! Small cruise yet hugs adventures! Can’t wait till our next adventure together with them! The crew make it so amazing and you want to stay on board forever!

Hands down, best way to cruise! No ports with thousands of people buying over-priced trinkets. Instead, everyday is an adventure with nature. Never had a bad meal, dessert, or cocktail. Can't wait to cruise with UnCruise again!

Our family has sailed twice with UnCruise, to Alaska and to the Sea of Cortez. It was the perfect trip for our teen sons who love adventure, my husband who loves water sports and hiking and myself who needs a great meal after it all. The quarters were just luxury enough without losing the adventure appeal, but always very comfortable. The staff has tremendous expertise about the locations and their own position no matter if they are naturalists (there are so many naturalists) or servers in the dining room. I'm convinced the hiring process includes several psych tests because all staff was well rounded, absolutely lovely and patient! We had an emergency on one of the sailings and we had such great support that we were off the boat in port just before dinner and back on board before the midnight sailing because the captain organized our needs so thoroughly. I'm incredibly impressed with UnCruise for its programming, sustainability, great amenities and overall fun.

We were on the Wild, Woolly and Wow Cruise. The whole experience was incredible. Vessel was Wilderness Adventurer and she didn't disappoint. The staff were brilliant. The activity staff had a huge age range to accommodated and their patience and enthusiasm was amazing. Food was delish and the chief loved her job. Andy, the captain very approachable and Benjamin, head of hospitality made everything easy - wanted to bring him home. AND then there are the sites and activities. Couldn't fault it - up there as one of my top experiences in life. Thank you UnCruise... See you again...

The most spectacular way to see the Hawaiian Islands while also getting to know the real Hawaiian culture. Some of my highlights: meeting the family who lives in the ancient Halawa Valley, mountain biking on Lanai, enjoying a home-cooked meal by locals on Moloka’i, seeing manta rays at night, kayaking, exploring a lava tube on the Big Island, following a pod of dolphins, waking up to a view of the West Maui Mountains, jumping off the boat into bright blue waters, and the many magical snorkels we had. Since it is a 36-passenger boat, the crew is very adaptive to the best interests of the guests. I was impressed by how they accommodated guests of different interests and abilities, with several activities to choose from every day. We also docked in places other cruises can not, due to the small size of the boat and the strong connections formed with the islands. The guides and crew were friendly, professional, and very knowledgeable. Jeremy and Dai Mar were like a Google search bar for anything ocean or land-related (for real). The staff was a joy to be around throughout the week. They kept us well-fed with 3 delicious meals every day. I enjoyed many wonderful meals with all the great people UnCruise attracts. I could not have imagined a better week on board. Thank you UnCruise!

Fantastic company. Best staff ever. I have cruised Alaska and Baja, Mexico - I would like to more cruises with UNCRUISE. No - I want to do ALL the Uncruises. Great food, great drinks - all included. It's the knowledgeable, helpful, friendly staff that makes Uncruise so unforgettable.

The pluses: Amazing food. Amazing food. And amazing food. Also, some talented naturalists and outdoor guides. BUT, a few big drawbacks: The boat, the Safari Endeavor, was very old and not as advertised. The sales literature said it was renovated 11 years ago. Patently untrue. The boat was built in 1984 and looks and vibrates like it was built 40 years ago, too. I also felt I was patronized constantly as an older person. I'm 65, in terrific shape, hike regularly and bike 20 miles daily. I was told ridiculous things like, "Let's give the seal lions room," as if they don't know how to swim, or "let's step back from the edge" of a viewing platform as if I were a toddler. Just not my vibe. Also, excursions that were advertised as two hours were cut short to 80 minutes at least three times. Our trip also had many people whose tickets were comped, including the large family of the cruise director, which lent an odd air of missed privilege to the adventure. It didn't help that Alaska is melting; for the money, I would recommend Patagonia 100 times to Alaska. It's much more beautiful with exquisite blue glaciers that are still visible. Or for old spruce trees, visit the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. If you do go to Alaska, I'd find another small ship operator with vessels that are worth the dollar charged. The Endeavor needs to be retired.

Although the crew was great, we were well cared for and we did have a good time, I feel like we were ripped off by the sales team when they moved us to a different tour on a different boat last minute. We ended up staying in a different cabin class because what we booked wasn't acceptable to us on the new boat. The difference between what we paid for and where we ended up was about $4000. They gave us $1000 for the itinerary change. When I complained afterward, we were offered "an additional savings" (unspecified amount) on our next booking. I've called, written emails, even written directly to the company owner via snail mail and tried to contact him via someone who knows him. It's been three months. Still nothing. The full story...we originally booked the Glacier Bay National Park cruise on the Wilderness Discoverer round-trip out of Juneau, but a large group cancelled and Uncruise subsequently cancelled our trip 4 days before departure. They gave us the option to join a cruise on the Wilderness Explorer out of Ketchikan for which they'd alter the itinerary so it would also visit Glacier Bay and return to Juneau with our same dates, or we could rebook for a different time or cancel completely. They pressured us to make a quick decision and we'd been planning a vacation for months that included follow-on activities. Changing all the dates on that last minute would have been a mess, so we went along with the changed itinerary. We had booked the Admiral cabin (highest cabin class) on the Wilderness Discoverer with a stand-alone queen bed and sitting area. When we arrived on the Wilderness Explorer, the Admiral cabin turned out to have a murphy bed against a wall on one side (so one of us would have to crawl over the other to get out) and since it converted into a sofa, there was no space to store a bag! The room was super small. We ended up switching to a Trailblazer class cabin (two cabin classes lower than what we'd booked) with two twin beds and promises to "make it right" afterward. Apparently "making it right" means offering a discount on a future booking. I don't think so.

Our UnCruise voyage aboard the Safari Endeavor from Sitka to Juneau was an exhilarating adventure with lively, knowledgeable nature guides and varied activities each day (skiff tour, eco-meander, bushwhack or kayak) The crew/staff is much more engaged than any other tour I've been on and a lot more fun. The chef on Safari Endeavor provided a marvelous variation in cuisine. The expert coordination of our 7-day voyage reminded me of a champion figure-skater executing a triple axel with perfect precision. UnCruise Adventures has mastered the art of coordinating a down-to-earth, first-rate adventure. Kathleen Alexander

My wife and I just returned from our Uncruise Adventure in South East Alaska, and wow. This was one of the best trips we have ever taken. We experienced the Uncruise Adventure named the Wild, Wooly, and Won aboard the ship the Legace. We had the best time. The crew was amazing. Captain Tim, Shelby, Matheew, Chad, Andrew, Will, and Chief are genuinely great people. The entire team was just outstanding and so much fun. Highlights: The food was five stars. We did not have one bad meal. Andrew mixed up some incredible drinks at the bar, and the chief was amazing. The boat was so cool and comfortable. We loved the small size and saw parts of Alaska that were very remote. The wildlife was life-changing. We witness Wales bubble feeding, bears eating on the shore, Eagles everywhere, sea otters, dolphins, jellyfish, and more. If you like to observe aminals in their natural habitat, this is the adventure for you. I was gobsmacked by how incredible the crew of the Legacy was with all of the guests. Honestly, the crew made everyone feel like family. Can you imagine running around on a small skiff in remote Alaska with a marine biologist talking about all the wildlife around you, especially the humpback whales? Shelby was truly amazing and made everything enjoyable. What an incredible group of people. Lastly, was all the fun and amazing people we met on our voyage. The best part about our adventure was all the new friends we made. The thing about this cruise is everyone is in great shape, loves adventure, and is around the shape age. I was worried the ship would be packed with escapees from the Seattle nursing home. That is not the case at all. The youngest person on the boat was ten years old, and we had a few grandparents along for the ride with their families. I can promise you everyone had a great time. In conclusion, go on this adventure. It was an absolute blast. Thank you again, UnCruise, CaptianTim, the crew, and our new friends. BEST TRIP EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The cruise was very good, with special landings Glacier Bay. Noisy engine/generator, but expected in small ship. The main concern is that two of us, fully vac'd and boosted, careful with masks, got symptoms of Covid last of 7 day trip, tested positive on next day return, and ***despite 3 calls to uncruise, no staff or cruise members were notified*** This seems irresponsible. People return home to vulnerable or unvaccinated family. No help from Juneau public health or CDC. They said it was up to uncruise. The staff were wonderful. Everyone on board deserved better.

I'm giving the "UnCruise" a full five stars for luxury adventure because I can't think of one thing they could have done better. We took a small ship cruise down the coastline of Costa Rica and then through the Panama Canal. Starting with howler monkeys and hiking, we then moved on to birding in the rain-forest, and onward to water sports like paddle-boarding, kayaking and snorkeling with the parrot-fish. The Panama Canal passage is a bucket list item; it is very dramatic and an engineering feat, not to mention strategically important to the US and global trade. Our home for the week was the Safari Voyager, a small ship that holds 60 guests and about 30 staff. The food was excellent, generous and healthy while the top shelf libations flowed freely. A small ship adventure meets the demands of multi-generations and abilities, so college kids can sleep until noon, dad can march up the mountain and grandma can kayak and skiff about. Probably not recommended for younger children due to the demands of the trip but there were plenty of older passengers. My mother is 86 and she did just fine. I'm somewhat confused by the knocks UnCruise is getting with regards to "luxury". We are a camping, hiking, Grand Canyon kind of family, and luxury to us means excellent service, good equipment, clean organized accommodations, and gorgeous healthy food. Thus, the UnCruise gets a hearty five stars from me, and we will definitely be back for more.

Any way for you to shut the boat down while at anchor? While I'm sure your guests are having fun, for the rest of us in Agua Verde on Jan 1 2018, listening to your gensets run for 24 hours wasn't all that fun. The whale sharks probably don't enjoy it much either. Kind of a disconnect for an "eco tour" to disrupt the peace and quiet and pollute such a beautiful place. Kill the spotlights overnight while you're at it. Air, noise and light pollution, nice trifecta!

What a wonderful cruise, what a wonderful vacation, what a wonderful company! My wife and I took a cruise on the SS Legacy from Ketchikan to Juneau this July. The trip was called Alaska's Golden Legacy, and was a 7-night cruise. Our ship had about 50 passengers and over 25 crew, so that made for a really great passenger-to-crew ratio. The whole cruise felt very intimate, the crew were all incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful, and it was just an all-around spectacular time. Our journey included stops in Petersburg, Wrangell, Glacier Bay National Park, Sitka, Skagway, and Haines. Since we weren't strictly attached to our schedule, our captain even made a detour to LeConte Bay and LeConte Glacier, which was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Some highlights included seeing wildlife (humpback whales, orca whales, bald eagles, brown bears, sea otters, etc.), catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights one night (the captain woke us up in the middle of the night to announce it, and it was so worth it!), seeing glaciers, learning about Tlingit (Native American) history and culture, hearing about Alaska's rich history, taking the train ride in Skagway, getting to know the passengers and crew, relaxing, and oh yes, the food. How could I forget the food! The food was amazing! My favorite meal was the Dungeness Crab dinner, where that's basically all I ate that night. Some other memorable dishes were the black cod, the various salmon dishes, halibut, rack of lamb, crab mac and cheese, and on and on and on. Each meal was a delicious feast, and they provided plentiful snacks throughout the day as well. Our captain, Captain Dano, was an incredibly personable guy - not only was he approachable and fun to talk to while he was steering the boat in the bridge, he also showcased his poetic skills during the open mic night, helped put together a few poker tournaments, and shared some meals with us as well. The crew he brought together was also amazing, and that was a testament to him as a leader. Another nice thing about the cruise is that it's all-inclusive. No having to worry about paying more for excursions, drinks, giving tips (until the very end, when you can give one big tip to the crew), etc. And one free full-body massage! I could go on and on about how awesome the trip was, but you should just stop reading this review and go book yourself a trip with Un-Cruise - you will NOT regret it!

If I could rate this company 0 stars, I would. I had to cancel a cruise in May (2020). Per their own policies, UnCruise was supposed to refund me 1/2 of my deposit. First, they told me it would be 90 days. Then, it was 120 days. It's now been 7 months and I have yet to receive a refund. They obviously don't care about their customers or their integrity. I cannot recommend every booking a cruise with them. They will steal your money.

Took a very expensive Alaska cruise. When introduced to the crew one of them was so ill his voice was gone. He obviously had major flu symptoms. Three days in I got deathly ill, I've never been so sick. By the time we got off the boat 30 people had contracted the illness. Some had to go to the hospital. My poor husband had to fly home in horrible shape. We requested some sort of compensation & they promptly denied our request. Seems very irresponsible & negligent to allow a crew member aboard that was contagious. Thousands & thousands of dollars down the drain. Worst vacation we've ever had.

We went on our second trip to Alaska on the Wilderness Explorer. The service was fantastic. They went above and beyond what we expected. We couldn't be happier with the staff. I have food issues and they always made something excellent for me. No one had any complaints about the food! The guides were very knowledgeable and made sure we all had a great experience, no matter your abilities. I loved it the first time and even more this time. Can't say enough about it. We are planning our third trip with them just need to decide which trip to take. So glad we decided not to go on a big ship and be one of the herd! You don't see Alaska on a ship like that. Don't do it! Go with an Uncruise small ship, you won't regret it.

UnCruise is unfair. They took my money that I paid for a cruise, they cancelled the cruise and refuse to refund me any of the money. Don't give these people your money.

My wife and I had an absolutely fantastic trip. We went to Alaska's inner passagecruise with a small passenger set (22 passengers, 9 crew members) - boat Safari Quest. Each day was a new adventure - seeing natural wonders like glaciers and tons of animals in their habitat. We saw bears, salmon, a variety of whales, sea lions, porpoises. We saw a calving glacier and whales in a feeding frenzy. Staff were wonderful Food was great (3 plated meals). Guest became lifetime friends.

We took both the inside and outside passages through Alaska a couple years back and both were amazing! Our next cruise was through the San Juan Islands, which was not as great, due to the differences in locations. A lot of money for the same old same old every single day. Just the opposite ofthe Alaska tours. My advice, since all of the cruises are a little overpriced, splurge on the one on your bucket list. This review is actualy a 5+ star for Alaska and a 2 star for The pacific northwest tour

My husband and I went on the Safari Endevor on the 7 night Muirs Wilderness inner passage cruise. Un Cruise is offering an expensive version of their cruises for those that want a bit more luxury ( not really luxury unless you believe sit down decent meals and a free massage puts you in a luxury class?) All the excursions are included and offered from the ship due to the fact you are closer to beauty vs. ports (like the large ships). It was a wonderful way to see Alaska and I would recommend it to anyone that really wants to see the beauty up close and with knowledgable staff readily available. High point- besides 24 x 7 million dollar views/beauty-rain, shine or cloudy, The bar tender Daniel Harding was a rock star in my book. He made the BEST Irish coffee and could give lessons to the Buena Vista in San Francisco. The low point- they have a way to go on Service. Although they tell you to let them know if you need something different than the meal choices for the day...it comes thrown on a plate and almost presented as an insult to requesting it. Many meals were just plain bad when not on the agenda. Throwing a burger on a plate without any condiments or even a sprig of parsley for presentation.....was disappointing. Also, while sick ( not sea sick but a touch of flu/cold)...left me wanting to stay in the cabin to contain myself from others as well as feeling unwell enough to be social....gave me the need to request some chicken soup, or chicken broth, or even pasta with just butter....bland.....could not be fulfilled. Tomatoeish Soup that was on the menu, or broth that was from the menu which was celery, carrot, or? Was provided on a tray without any cracker, no bread, no salt and pepper no water? It would have really helped. It really lacked that extra touch. For what it costs, a bit better service is still lacking. Everyone is young....so maybe while knowledgeable about nature, not so much in detail for service. Everyone was nice enough. Maybe they did not want to promote room service, but I did not really want room service.....just some cold comfort food.

Our trip aboard the S.S. Legacy was the 2nd part of an Uncommon Journey titled "In the Path of Lewis and Clark". We boarded in Portland cruising the Columbia River then the Snake River then returned to Portland. For the price of the trip, I expected a small version of an ocean cruise. I was very wrong. The ship is older and there is no hint of luxury. The room included 2 single beds attached to the wall and a small desk & wooden chair, very simple. You had to hold your breath to pass from the toilet to the shower. The lounge was set up with tables and chairs, only 2 settees for comfort. The 4th deck was set up with a few tables & chairs and some rusting gym equipment. The days were regimented. Wake up call at 7AM, Breakfast at 7:30, on the bus by 9:00 to see museums,, back by 4:00, Cocktails at 5:30, dinner at 6:30 and Lecture at 8:00. No entertainment, not even a pianist. You ended up in your room by 9:30 to read or sleep since there was no TV, no WIFI, nor radio and only 8 newspapers were brought on board the days the bus came. The food was OK, but you only had 3 choices, a beef entree, a fish entree or a vegetarian entree. The portions were on the small size.. On the positive side, the 2 tour directors, Kenne & Bob were both knowledgeable and gave good lectures as was Jackie,, another lecturer. The crew was friendly and accommodating. The scenery was beautiful. And, importantly, there was an open bar The final negative came on the last night of the cruise. On our bed that night was a letter asking that we not forget gratuities. In our case, they recommended 7% of the cost of the room $625 or 10% , $809. Our literature from Uncommon Journey had recommended $250. Guess which one we chose? Comparatively expensive, I do not recommend this cruise.

My husband and I took a cruise on the SS Legacy from Portland down the Snake and Columbia rivers in May of 2016. We booked a room at the bow of the ship, which for the additional cost, was a mistake. People understandably wanted to view the rivers and thus stood in front of all the windows our room had to offer. The only thing we were able to view from the comfort of the room were peoples' backsides. Due to the traffic, we also had to keep the curtains drawn for privacy. Rooms were clean, but sheets were not washed the whole duration of the trip. I wished the amenities in the room were better. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash were in a unit on the wall in the shower...no lotion. Adequate, but not what I expected. There were some good historical movies that you could watch that connected with the time period of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The biggest surprise was how good the food was. Awesome new chef that knows his stuff. Although I am not a big drinker, alcohol was available 24/7. The whole reason we took the trip was for the "Lewis and Clark" experience. Here we were not disappointed. Todd and his wife Nadine were the consummate aficionados in regards to the life and times of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. I thought the trip was a little overpriced. Not for the budget minded. 3.5 is my rating