Review: Alaskan Dream Cruises

Table Of Content

• Getting Around the Ship
• Life Aboard Alaskan Dream Cruises' Ship, Baranof Dream
• Explore Nepal's Mystical Wonders with Our Tailored Nepal Tour Packages!
• The Journey Is the Destination with These Top Tours, Cruises, and Transportation Services
• Northstar Travel Group
• Authentic and personal small expedition adventures through Alaska’s Inside Passage

One queen bed or two twin beds (207, 208, 301 cannot be converted to twin configuration), ocean-view window, wardrobe, private bathroom with shower. Two twin beds (301 & 302 are full bed only), ocean-view window, wardrobe, private bathroom with shower. Two twin beds, ocean-view window, wardrobe, private bathroom with shower. Our experience was very different than my experience aboard Uncruise, their main competitor in offering these immersive small-ship cruises in Southeast Alaska.

The 8 Best Alaska Cruises For Every Travel Style 2024 - Forbes

The 8 Best Alaska Cruises For Every Travel Style 2024.

Posted: Tue, 08 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Getting Around the Ship

In any case, here’s a look at the actual day-to-day itinerary we experienced aboard the Alaskan Dream on our Alaskan Dream Cruises. All this means that you can not only choose 1) how long you want to cruise and 2) where you want to start and stop, but also 3) how flexible/rigid you want your plans to be. I first learned about Alaskan Dream Cruises several years ago, when attending a professional travel writers’ networking event. After my 2017 cruise with a fellow small-ship operator, I was intrigued to experience how different – or how similar – ADC was to other companies in the same part of the industry.

Alaskan Dream ‘Not For Sale’ and Enjoying Strong Demand - Cruise Industry News

Alaskan Dream ‘Not For Sale’ and Enjoying Strong Demand.

Posted: Wed, 06 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Life Aboard Alaskan Dream Cruises' Ship, Baranof Dream

Alaskan Dream supports the community by purchasing seafood from local, family-run fishing operations. The fisheries are managed with care by the people who rely on them for their livelihood. This corresponds to peak season in Alaska when 95% of the cruises take place, and tourists visit by land or sea. This is also when there is more daylight, temperatures are warmest, and wildlife is active.

Explore Nepal's Mystical Wonders with Our Tailored Nepal Tour Packages!

Your knowledgeable guide will provide commentary on the indigenous plants and wildlife of the area. Explore Chatham Strait alongside Baranof Island’s charming shoreline dubbed “The Waterfall Coast” and savor an opportunity to kayak a protected bay in the area. The Alaska’s Ultimate Adventure Cruise is our most adventurous itinerary.

Day 6: Petersburg to Kake

It's also Alaska–native owned, which is one of the reasons the cruise line appealed to us. We love supporting native American cultures and US companies — a double-whammy of support. The main dining room, known as the Sitka Rose, features made-to-order meals, with open seating at six-tops. Social hour, drinks and daily recaps from expedition leaders are held in the Vista View lounge, which serves as the ship's primary gathering spot. As with all of the line's ships, Alaskan Dream has an open bridge policy. Choose to extend your adventure with custom offerings such as a journey into Tracy Arm aboard a high-speed expedition vessel, a glacier helicopter landing and trek, and saltwater fishing for salmon or halibut.

The Alaskan Dream, remodeled in 2011, is an intimate small ship ideally suited for exploring Alaska off the beaten path. As this vessel is Alaskan owned and operated, choose this ship for an authentic experience encompassing both the nature and culture of Southeast Alaska. The Alaskan Dream has knowledgeable captains, and her all-American crew is a fun mix of small ship cruise veterans and enthusiastic new recruits. With a maximum capacity of 40, she has a very good crew-to-guest ratio and is known for stellar guest service.

The Journey Is the Destination with These Top Tours, Cruises, and Transportation Services

And each night, programming touches on legends, language, regalia, and art. Alaskan Dream Cruises' fleet of six small ships carry between 10 and 76 passengers. In appreciation of your service, we are pleased to offer active duty, retiree, and veteran military personnel a 5% discount as well as free alcohol aboard our expeditions. Larissa and Simon were the two naturalists who guided us through the daily activities and provided evening slide shows on topics of interest. Not only was Larissa knowledgeable about nature but she was an accomplished photographer and artist. At the end of the journey she created a DVD of photographs with music for all of us to take as a great memory of our journey together.

Northstar Travel Group

The four classes of cabins range in size from 104 square feet to 416 square feet (the Owners Suite), but they feel roomier, due to the bed-to-ceiling windows. Several cabins support triple occupancy, and one cabin fits four people in bunks. All rooms have doors to inside hallways, offering more privacy than the typical expedition ship cabins that look out onto an exterior passageway.

Authentic and personal small expedition adventures through Alaska’s Inside Passage

That means we didn’t have time for afternoon excursions most days, and spent more time cruising on the ship. It reminded me once again why mega-ships are not my style – they Disneyland-ify even the incredible wilderness of Alaska when you have to queue up for every view. I loved my time spent with Alice who shared her Tlingit history with us. She and I had a quiet talk at the end of the day that she spent with us in Glacier Bay. She drummed and sang a welcoming song as we sat in the corner.

Kari was great at explaining about the Tlingit culture and the local areas we visited. The most wonderful thing she did was "sing up" a pod of orcas. Kari got a drum and sang a Tlingit killer whale song, and the orcas immediately popped back up!

My goal was to call the Orcas to us and sure enough...the last day we were on water a WHOLE POD came by and accompanied the boat. She was light-hearted and fun and personalized her service regarding meals..she remembered the special things we liked when eating the delicious foods. Capt. Erik was, of course, on a mission to find me my Orca experience and sure enough, he delivered.

To one side a pod of harbor seals on a particularly large ice sheet—one member, just to the side, seemed to be playing peek-a-boo, rising to eye level in the water and sinking below the surface again. On the other side, cloud-like Dall sheep climbed impossibly steep, unnamed cliffs, bound for the meringue-like snow at their peaks. The food on board was plentiful and outstanding, as my extra five pounds will attest! Every meal had a fresh seafood option, and all the food was delicious. The crew was so accommodating, as we asked for extra dessert, mixed and matched the side dishes, and tweaked our meals at will.

We then spent the rest of the day sailing back toward Juneau and Orca Point Lodge. This day lodge is owned by Alaskan Dream Cruises and is a common stop on every itinerary that passes the area. We had a prime rib and Alaskan crab dinner (which was, to be honest, only okay compared to the quality of the rest of our meals) and time to stock up on souvenirs (which we did).

Complimentary Alaskan gear including jackets, pants and boots is available for use aboard the Alaskan Dream. Though Alaska is in the United States, cell service on the water is non-existent. There was also local gin onboard from Port Chilkoot Distillery called 50 Fathoms. Because the Alaskan Dream Cruises ships are provisioning in Alaskan ports, you have to imagine they're bringing local products onboard.