Our Ultimate UnCruise Adventure 2016: July 2-July16

[Shazzah]

6 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

 

Yup, I have one I'm working on right now...  I need to get it finished before I link it up 🙂

Awesome.  I will be sure to check it out. I just read your New Zealand Celebrity Cruise Report and absolutely loved it. Thanks so much for posting your reviews in your signature - I have not yet cruised Celebrity, so I would never have found your review. 
 

As an aside - we lived in Sydney for 3 years - in an apartment by the Harbor Bridge and just above the Rocks. We made it to New Zealand once, for a land tour by train and also ferry. Your cruise experience is enticing!

[Shazzah]

My photos for our next day only cover one adventure, a heck of a crazy Skiff Tour. It started off slow, as we were motoring along the face of a small glacier.  As we worked our way closer and closer, we saw some ice caves, and then some beautiful turquoise ice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could see another group who had selected the long hike as their adventure. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This had turned out to be a stunning Skiff Tour. The photos don’t do justice to the actual journey of carving our way through shallow waters and rocks to get near the caves. We arrived back at the boat and relaxed while waiting for kayakers to return from their long paddle. The shoreline was covered with what looked like glaze, and we could easily see the demarcation between the silty glacier water and the aqua water.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by Shazzah

[Shazzah]

We are up to 13 July 2016; it is Wednesday and we are half way through our second week. I had worried two weeks on a small ship would lead to bored teenagers, or even be a bit too much family time. This didn’t turn out to be the case.  The granddaughters enjoyed the nature activities, but had also made several friends on board. Plus the expedition guides went out of their way to prepare special activities for the younger passengers. 
 

This was a full day, with two main adventures. First was a hike in the morning in the Virginia Lakes area of the Tongass Forest. This was a fairly easy hike with a slight incline, and lots of opportunity to examine the rainforest. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the expedition leaders poses with the kids. 

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by Shazzah

[Shazzah]

The afternoon adventure was a stop in Wrangell, a small town that has become a popular destination for small ship cruises in Alaska. We attended a presentation on Tlingit history and culture at Chief Shakes Tribal House, then everyone split up and toured the town, went for a hike, or went to the excellent museum. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of the homes were brightly painted, and there were lots of colorful flowers. 

 

 

 

We were back onboard by 5:30 or so, in time for dinner and cruising towards the Misty Fjords Area and Ketchikan. 

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by Shazzah

[Shazzah]

Thursday 14 July  2016

 

The destination after  Wrangell Was Traitor’s Cove, enroute to Misty Fjords National Monument and Ketchikan. There were lots of water activities today, including skiff tours, kayaking, and paddle boarding. We saw a black bear along the shore in the morning, and then again as we were eating dinner. Not sure if it was the same bear. Here are photos covering just a sampling of the day.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2019 by Shazzah

[SuperCrewBear]

On 8/6/2016 at 2:34 PM, Shazzah said:

This will be a trip report / photo journal of our recent family outing to Alaska. We chose the Ultimate Bays & Fjords trip with UnCruise Adventures. This is described as a 14-night Alaska adventure expedition aboard a small ship. We chose to start in Sitka, going to Glacier Bay National Park and on to Juneau. We spent the day in Juneau touring Mendenhall Glacier and downtown, then boarded the ship for our leisurely UnCruise to Ketchikan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were two options for this itinerary - one aboard the Wilderness Discoverer, and the other on the Wilderness Explorer. We picked the Discoverer, having sailed on both ships in 2013. They both have pros and cons. I like the outside decks on the Explorer, but my husband prefers the more comfortable layout of the Discoverer. We had 9 people traveling in our family group, so comfort won out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We flew into Sitka (4 of us coming from Maine, and the other 5 from California):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived safely in Sitka, only to find some of our luggage had decided to stay in Seattle. This caused some tense moments, and more time at the Sitka Airport than we would have liked, but our bags did arrive 24 hours later - good thing the Maine contingent had given ourselves an extra day in Sitka. The California Crew was arriving the next day, on Friday, for our Saturday (7/02/2016) embarkation.

 

 

We made an impromptu decision to rent a car at the airport - turned out to be a good move, as it made our trips back and forth from the airport, to meals, and to local attractions very easy. (A car isn't needed, but for our large group, it worked well). And, Avis even takes you back to Sitka when you return the car, if need be.

 

Lodging in Sitka was the Super 8 Motel - it was fine. Dated, but clean with friendly staff. We did the usual in Sitka during our stay - shopped, toured the museums, the Totem Park, and visited both the Alaska Raptor Center and the Fortress of the Bear. We had an outstanding breakfast and dinner at The Fly In Fish Inn, just outside of downtown. I highly recommend their restaurant, and we will try to stay there on future trips. Breakfast at the Fly In Fish Inn - quite a tasty change from our normal lo cal choices:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next post will share some highlights from our visit to the Alaska Raptor Center and The Fortress of the Bear, then we will board the Wilderness Discoverer, and get on with the adventure!

 

I've taken two Alaskan cruises on a large ship plus multiple fly-in road trips of the interior.  I have been feeling like I wouldn't do another cruise as I like the road trips A LOT.  After looking at these pictures and reading about the 14-days on the UnCruise...I'm reconsidering.  This looks like something I could enjoy A LOT.  It's now on my back burner...now I need to figure out when. 🙂  I appreciate the pictures!  Thank you!

[Shazzah]

On 10/17/2019 at 9:44 PM, SuperCrewBear said:

 

I've taken two Alaskan cruises on a large ship plus multiple fly-in road trips of the interior.  I have been feeling like I wouldn't do another cruise as I like the road trips A LOT.  After looking at these pictures and reading about the 14-days on the UnCruise...I'm reconsidering.  This looks like something I could enjoy A LOT.  It's now on my back burner...now I need to figure out when. 🙂  I appreciate the pictures!  Thank you!

Thank you - I’m glad the review and photos gave you ideas for future travel. Road trips are fun, too!

 

[Shazzah]

Hoping to finish up this report today.  Thank you for those who have followed along, even though it has taken more than three years to finish!
 

Friday 15 July 2016

 

We woke up in another beautiful anchorage - Walker Cove, within Misty Fjords National Monument. There were lots more water activities today, including long kayak paddles with some bushwhacking, skiff tours, shorter kayak trips, and paddle boarding. There was even a polar plunge in the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shazzah]

More photos from the afternoon ( note - I seem to be missing my memory card from the last day of the trip, so the photos of Misty Fjords include some from our self group, and a few from our previous trip.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shazzah]

I realize this has been mostly a photo journal of our trip, so I will include some more info on the ship.  This post includes photos from both of our trips on the Wilderness Discoverer.  We found no significant changes between 2013 and 2016 - a good thing, since we really like the way the ship is laid out. 
 

The dining room is on the main deck. Breakfast and lunch were served buffet style, dinner was plated. It was always open seating. 
 

 

 

 

The small bar separated the dining room from the lounge area which was at the bow of the boat. Alcoholic beverages were extra; you could run a tab and settle up at the end of the week. We found a good assortment of Alaskan Beers on tap

 

 

 

 

 

The lounge area had small tables and bench seating on the side. This is where people hung out to visit, to read a book from the onboard library, or to watch presentations by the ship’s crew. 
 

This looks like a Slide Presentation shown on the last night, sharing all the week’s adventures. 
 

Cabins are not large, but they seem to work just fine, at least for our group. The only complaint I’ve heard is about some of the cabins in the main deck, which may get more engine noise. Most of the cabins are on Deck 3, which is the deck above the dining room and lounge. There are 4 larger cabins on Deck 4, the sun deck. Each cabin has its own restroom facilities

 

 

 

People often say it isn’t worth getting the largest/most expensive stateroom, because you spend so much time outside when on an Alaska Cruise. We certainly found this to be the case, especially because we were blessed with such good weather most of the week.  The sun deck was a popular gathering place. 
 

 

 

This post describes a bit more about the ship. We all liked he ship very much, but undoubtedly, the outdoors was the main attraction. 
 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by Shazzah

[Shazzah]

Saturday 16 July 2016

 

Our two week trip with family and friends ended with our early morning arrival in Ketchikan. Time for hugs and goodbyes - with the crew as well as each other. We had come to appreciate many of the crew members and were sad to see departure day come. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The younger generation left us to get transfers to the airport. They had jobs, school, and summer sports  to get back to.  Finding a two week period where we could all take time off for the trip was no easy task!  It is gratifying to hear the kids and grandkids say this was their favorite vacation ever. They would all go back in a heartbeat. 

 

Those of us from Maine took an extra day to see Ketchikan and rest up for the long cross country flights. We did the usual - shopped for souvenirs, ate more fried halibut chunks, and also visited the Totem Pole Park. 

Thanks again for following along, and many good wishes for lots of successful cruises to Alaska. There is a reason people keep going back, year after year!

 

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by Shazzah

[Cruise_More_Often]

Thank you, Shazzah. It felt like I was traveling with you on that cruise. It was fun to read about, and see from your pictures, a different type of cruise from the ones we do.