A great Alaskan expirience

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 183

Review summary

We have just finished a 19 day Seabourn adventure to Alaska and as we anticipated it was what we have come to expect from Seabourn. For both of us it was our second visit to this wonderful state. The first 5 days were a part of the Seabourn expedition program. We were met at the Anchorage airport and then whisked off to the Thomas Cook hotel where we met David the tour guide, coordinator, and all around handy guy. That evening we had a group dinner with 26 cohorts, soon to become friends. The next morning it was off to Denali via an 8 hour train ride through some gorgeous country. Wednesday was a free day for us to rest and take in the lodge. Excursions were available although Dee and I just took the day off. Thursday’s we were off into the park, not just a panoramic view but deep into the park. Where most tours go in about 15 miles our excursion went in about 63 miles. During that wonderful drive we ran into ptarmigans, caribou, grizzly, doll sheep, magpie, and the preverbal snow hare. Every minute of the 8 hours trip was fun and exceptionally interesting. Our guide had been leading these expeditions for 30 years and knew the park like the back of her hand. Our last day was a busy one as well. The alarm jolted us awake at 6:00 AM, we put our bags out, got breakfast then, on the bus for a three hours drive to Talketna. There our intrepid group boarded three planes to fly to Anchorage. The reason for the plane ride was to give us the opportunity to see the Alaskan back country and get a great view of a number of glaciers. We were taken aback by the beauty of the mountains and glaciers from a birds eye view. After an hour and a half of flying we landed in Anchorage and it was off to lunch, then on to the ship. In short the expedition was more than we expected in terms of quality, and the wonderful companion ship of our travel mates. It was truly a Seabourn experience. There is a lot to be said about knowing a group of people before you get on the ship. The companionship of the expedition group continued on into the cruise. If you are visiting Alaska via Seabourn and they offer this pre cruise adventure, take it. We have been on the Sojourn before, and like its sister ship the Quest it was a great cruise experience. Once on board we saw cruise members we had sailed with before and believe it or not they remembered us. Like previous trips the crew was very attentive and after a short period of time knew our names and our preferences. One of the surprises on this trip was the fact that our suite was upgraded from a veranda suite to a penthouse suite. Our joke was that it was so large that Dee and I had to carry gps devices to find each other. In truth the suite was fantastic. It had a separate bedroom, living area, a dining area, a two room bathroom, and a huge veranda. The itinerary was excellent as we were able to go places larger ships could only dream of. Add to that the off ship excursions via kayak and/or zodiac really made these excursions up close and personal. The picture opportunities were plentiful including glaciers, whales using bubble netting to get their lunch and a female grizzly with her two cubs just to name a few of the opportunities. The food, as in the past, was excellent. We are Colonnade people as we like the more casual dining experience. Our one complaint is that consuming this food seems to shrink our clothes. . As is our way we continued our “May We Join You” philosophy. We share a table every night with different people. On this trip we met lawyers, entrepreneurs, a gentleman and his wife who lived in South Africa, New Zealanders, Australians, and Germans. The most impressive couple however was the couple who exuded tremendous courage and strength in the face of health issue. As we have written before and will again, Seabourn knows how to make a cruise special. We love cruising with Seabourn so much that in 2019 we will be returning to the Quest to venture to Antarctica and the Amazon.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Seward (Anchorage), Alaska

CRUISE HOLGATE GLACIER

INIAN ISLANDS SERVICE CALL ONLY

Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Alaska

Haines, Alaska

Juneau, Alaska

Sitka, Alaska

Ketchikan, Alaska

Wrangell, Alaska

Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Alert Bay, Northwest Territories

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

Disembarkation