Small boat cruises

[rojaan]

Hi we are planning a cruise in August 06 and would like a small cruise boat with less than 20 passengers :D

 

Can anyone recommend a company ? so far I have looked at Cruise West and Sikumi

 

Thanks for any help

[Budget Queen]

Although they take more than 20 passengers, I have a friend who is a naturalist on Lindblad. They run about 6 naturalists for 100 passengers, my dream vacation. :)

 

There is also Alaska Safari to consider too?

[CassCruise]

Rojaan, I too hail from sunny qld!!! we had friends who did cruisewest last year and absolutely loved it - I also have a friend who is going with a group and they have the boat to themselves (I think there is about 12-14 of them going) if you want I will find out the coy for you.... with kids we will stick to the big guns:)

[wildlifeart]

I have one small boat cruise that I could recommend that my wife and I went on in 2004. The name of the boat was the Discovery. We sailed out of Juneau, went to Sawyer Glacier and then around Admiralty Island. Spent one day at the Pack Creek Bear Observatory. It was a great trip. You get to see Alaska up close. Lots of whales and even a little fishing from the boat. Caught a few salmon and had a bbq on shore. There were 10 passengers on the boat. The food was great. The staterooms were a little small but that was okay. You might want to check them out. http://www.alaskacharters.com

[Host Caroline]

I believe American Safari Cruises does Alaska in the summer... if so they are worth a look. Lindblad, Cruise West etc. carry more than 20 pax so if you want more of a charter they won't be for you. That being said they offer a superb cruise experience with onboard programs etc. but you won't have the luxury of customizing your itinerary as much

[puffin2620]

In addition to the suggestions already posted you might try the Boat Company (www.theboatcompany.com). It carries about a dozen people. A friend took it a few years ago and raved about the trip. After much research we chose Lindblad this summer and had a wonderful experience - 5 professional naturalists for about 70 passengers. We learned a lot. In addition to close-up views of glaciers and wildlife, there were opportunities for kayaking and hiking. Cruise West and Glacier Bay offer Inside Passage trips similar to Lindblad. They have less expertise on the naturalist side but are cheaper. One caution about American Safari and the Boat Company is that their trips don't seem to cover as much ground. You may want to look closely at the itinerary. A priority for us was getting into Glacier Bay, which they may not do. Also, you may want to check if the charter-type boat is being booked by a large group. It may not be as much fun if you are the lone outsider.

 

Good luck and enjoy. I found a travel agent on line who was very helpful in discussing the pros and cons of the different ships. We can't give TA recommendations on this site but if you google around on key words such as small ship and Alaska, you'll probably find her.