Small ship cruising

[kscruiser]

Looking for input from anyone who may have taken a small ship cruise through Alaska like Alaskan Dream Cruises. Was there enough room on the ship to not feel cramped.

[mapleleaves]

Do you mean cramped cabin or cramped on the ship in general?

 

There are a few trip reports from small ship cruises in STICKYS near the top of the page. The reports will provide useful information for you.

In the 2013 STICKY, go to Reply #45 where reports are sorted by cruiseline ... there are 2 or 3 reports at the very end of the list. Then go to reply #56 for a report from Shazzah.

I don't recall seeing any for 2014.

 

There are some in past trip reports in TripAdvisor as well. Look in the Alaska forum under Top Questions.

 

People are very enthusiastic about their uncruise experiences but after reading a dozen or so reports, I know it's not for me.

[Glaciers]

We’ve done Alaskan Dream and UnCruise and neither felt cramped although that’s really subjective. There certainly aren’t the activities you’d find on the larger main lines. Both did a good job keeping us occupied most of the time.

 

UnCruise was a more active trip with Kayaks and Zodiacs onboard that we used most days when we weren’t exploring or motoring through areas. Alaskan Dream was much more into the Alaska Native cultural activities with many performances by SE Alaska Natives.

 

There are a few previous posts that you could search for on small ship cruising. Tripadvisor too.

 

UnCruise was one of the best cruises we’ve been on.

[donaldsc]

I did a cruise on the Alaskan Dream catamaran when it was owned by another company. We did not feel cramped although there was obviously not as much public space as al behemoth cruise ship. You need to remember that she holds only 40 passengers. The cabins were not large but we only slept there so who cared.

 

Meals are family style and while there is not as much space between tables as on a cruise ship there is sufficient space. Remember that on a small ship such as this you are there to see Alaska and not for fine dining. Regardless, the meals were good and the person who was baking on our cruise made good breads and wonderful cookies.

 

We spend most of our time outside on the large upper observation deck or inside in the bridge. You can't spend time on the bridge if you take a large ship cruise. When the weather was rainy we spent time forward in the Vista View lounge which was a bit cramped when everyone was there.

 

We love small boat cruising. If I had the choice between small boat cruising and cruise ship cruising, I would always pick the small boat.

 

DON

Edited March 30, 2015 by donaldsc

[Chenega]

My wife and I took an Uncruise last August and we loved it. Going on a Lindblad/National Geographic cruise to Norway in May and another Uncruise in SE Alaska next year. Having done the big cruise ships with Royal Caribbean and Disney, have to honestly say we wouldn't go back. The big guys have lots to offer for entertainment but when it comes to getting close to scenery, the small ships can't be topped.

 

We were on the Uncruise Endeavor and never felt crowded. Also met some great people and were impressed by the great crew.