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Joey
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Joey
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PostMon Aug 04, 2014 8:51 pm 
Last month my wife and I spent a week with 56 other guests on a cruise from Juneau to Glacier Bay to Sitka. On most days we got off the ship twice. We could pick from kayak, hike, skiff tour, paddle board. There was even scuba one day.
Fresh bear print in the tidal mud flat
Fresh bear print in the tidal mud flat
In addition to the glaciers, brown bears and sea otters, we saw repeated bubble-feeding by a group of humpback whales. Here is a slide show that will automatically start when you click the link. Then move your cursor around near the top of the screen and some controls will appear. You can turn on the text description of each pic. The slide shows screen claims I took them all but actually Joan took half. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jelf/sets/72157645863350706/show/ And here is a map of where we went: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?t=h&label=on&q=https://sites.google.com/site/gmap4files/p/vacation/2014_7_5_W_Adventurer_cruise.txt The cruise line is named Un-Cruise and is based in Seattle at fisherman's terminal. If you decide to book an Un-Cruise and you are new to this company then tell the sales staff that you were referred by their former guest Joseph Elfelt. You immediately get a discount of $150 per person. Joan and I will receive a $125 per person discount if we do another trip. You have to like free money.

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TheBearded1
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 9:55 am 
What did you think of the overall experience? My wife desperately wants to go on a cruise, but I despise the idea of a traditional cruise. Could this be a good fit for us? Why I hate the idea of a cruise: Visiting beautiful areas only to stay on the boat, docking somewhere just to go in the touristy part of town for an hour or so and return to the refuge of your oversized boat. Spending days on end lounging and drinking while surrounded by awesome outdoor destinations, crowding with thousands of others on the same boat doing the same watered-down versions of things you could be doing on-shore experiencing culture. I'm a traveler, not a tourist. Would I like an un-cruise?

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Daryl
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 9:57 am 
Looks like fun, I've thought about doing one of these. We did an Alaskan cruise years ago on one of the big boats and that precipitated our move up here from AZ. With the smaller boat was there any rough sea times? Even in the big boat it got to me one night and made sleeping difficult.

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Ski
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 10:44 am 
exceptional photos, Joey. I did an Alaska cruise a few years ago- Holland America- huge ship (Oosterdam.) The food alone was enough to make it worthwhile for me- roast venison one night, lamb shanks the next. (After finishing off the lamb shank the waiter came over and asked me "How was your meal?" My response was "I could eat another one of those!" So he brought me another full dinner!) In port stops were short- two or three hours maybe- had just enough time to race around Juneau in a van to "see the sights". I did manage one hike at Sitka- ran up Gavan Hill and back down. Great views but very brief and hurried. My trip was much different than Joey's. If you don't like the idea of being on a huge ship with a couple thousand people most of the time and rushed through quickie touristy tours, you probably wouldn't have fun. I spent most of my time outside on the aft deck enjoying the scenery (instead of one of the bars or casinos, like most of the other passengers) so it was okay with me. as Rumi says: YMMV just my two cents. Love the whale shot, Joey. smile.gif

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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mike
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 10:50 am 
If you don't want the big cruise ship thing try this

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Joey
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Joey
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 12:16 pm 
TheBearded1 wrote:
What did you think of the overall experience? My wife desperately wants to go on a cruise, but I despise the idea of a traditional cruise. Could this be a good fit for us?
You are describing a large cruise ship hauling around yourself and 5,000 of your closest friends. Un-cruise is none of those things. Both cruises we did had well under 100 guests. On this year's cruise we did not stop at any town. Heck, we did not even go by any town. On last year's cruise we stopped in Wrangell for few hours. Most people attended a cultural program in a native long house. To find out more, go to http://www.un-cruise.com/alaska-cruises-eastern-coves Scroll down until you see the list of "Vessels" in the righthand sidebar. The "Wilderness" boats are the ones we have gone on. The Safari boats are more of a luxury class. Most events off the boat were around 2 hours. They also has a number of open paddle sessions where one or 2 people could take a kayak and go by themselves without a guide. You do need to stay in sight of the ship. All guest kayaks are 2 person sea kayaks and very stable.
Darly wrote:
With the smaller boat was there any rough sea times?
Very minor. In fact I was amazed how smooth the water was most times. Bear in mind that our route was never in the Pacific ocean. We were always on inland waters and the air was calm. We did have some rough water on last year's cruise but it was at night and I expect most people slept through it. Finally, here is a slide show from our un-cruise last year from Juneau to Ketchikan via Misty Fjords National Monument. (Eastern Coves route). https://www.flickr.com/photos/jelf/sets/72157634759891226/show And here is a longer description of last year's trip: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8006411 Joseph (Joey) Elfelt

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Daryl
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 1:13 pm 
Ski wrote:
(After finishing off the lamb shank the waiter came over and asked me "How was your meal?" My response was "I could eat another one of those!" So he brought me another full dinner!)
haha We did Norwegian, they have multiple restaurants on board and you go where/when you want, we were at the steak house one night and the waiter asked what i would like with my steak, I replied "another steak". So I got a plate with a ribeye and a sirloin! The food and eating is awesome on the big boats, but it's very touristy and it seems they are always trying to get more $$ out of you. I think I'd like one of these small boats better.

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kite
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 1:41 pm 
Thats pretty cool Joey, love the photos I just took an uncruise on the Endeavour in June had a blast.

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contour5
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 2:28 pm 
Beautiful pictures, looks like a fun trip. That bear print is pretty terrifying...

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Joey
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 3:10 pm 
contour5 wrote:
That bear print is pretty terrifying...
On that hike in the space of a square yard we saw bear tracks on top of moose tracks on top of wolf tracks. The guides all carry bear spray and all the guests are briefed the first evening on safety issues including what to do if a hike encounters a bear. By any measure, the hikes are quite modest. Most guests are retirement age and while some would be right at home here at nwhikers, others were no doubt having a wonderfully unique experience. We just kept our mouths shut and enjoyed the photo-friendly pace.

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meandering Wa
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PostTue Aug 05, 2014 4:56 pm 
I too find the idea of a cruise in the big way a whole lot of no fun. This small boat, along with the Amazon river boats are more my style. LOVE the wonderful bear paw print photo

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zephyr
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PostWed Aug 06, 2014 9:16 pm 
Great trip report and photos, Joey. Thanks for sharing. Some of those photos of wildflowers in moss and ferns look like something out of William Morris's designs. I got to go on a small boat once out of Petersburg, AK. It was an old halibut boat that took seminars out to explore the islands, fjords and glaciers on a week long journey. It's great that you all did the small scale tour and had a more personal experience with the crew and fellow passengers, not to mention getting out and about on foot, in dinghies and in kayaks. up.gif
Joey wrote:
The guides all carry bear spray and all the guests are briefed the first evening on safety issues including what to do if a hike encounters a bear.
So Joey, just exactly what did they tell y'all to do if the group encountered a bear? ~z

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Joey
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Joey
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PostThu Aug 07, 2014 3:51 am 
zephyr wrote:
So Joey, just exactly what did they tell y'all to do if the group encountered a bear?
Stop. Be quiet. Slowly move toward the guide so we look like one big thing. The guide will calmly talk the bear down. If the bear advances at some point the guide will tell us to look bigger. Spread out just a bit. Raise arms or open coats. Bear spray as a last resort.

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zephyr
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zephyr
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PostThu Aug 07, 2014 9:24 pm 
Great. Thanks! ~z

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