Alaska Adventures Small Ship Cruise
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Overview
Highlights
- Travel through sheer-sided glacial fjords to the foot of tidal glaciers where you will witness natural calving events as building size chunks of ice fall from the glaciers face into the ocean below.
- Cruise through Alaska’s Fredrick Sound, a hot spot for feeding humpback whales. Keep your eyes out for breaching calves, young humpback whales that are known to jump out of the water.
- Gain special access to a remote and protected salmon stream at Pack Creek, where brown bears gather to feed.
- Join your naturalist on foraging expeditions through estuaries, forests, and bogs. Uncover the sensationally sweet Alaskan blueberry.
- Visit Baranof Island’s Warm Springs Bay and dip into a relaxing natural hot spring.
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Trip includes
- All accommodations included in your trip, including comfortable, classic ship-board accommodations with fluffy duvets, and local lodges if your trip includes a lodge stay.
- All shore trips, wildlife viewing, and zodiac excursions guided by our expert, knowledgeable crew/guides. All cultural site visits, and all additional local guides.
- All meals and snacks, prepared freshly for you by our chef. Meals feature great variety, and highlight local, fresh specialties.
- All beverages including coffee, tea, juices and sodas, filtered water, wine and craft beer.
- The services of our naturalist and crew both aboard the ship and ashore. These caring, entertaining and knowledgeable people are your hosts for the trip, always available for questions, teaching, or conversation.
- Open wheelhouse. You are welcome to come into the ship’s wheelhouse, from which our crew are navigating the ship. On our sailing ships, you are also welcome to take the helm under our crew’s guidance, and help sail the ships, if you like.
- Use of gear on board including kayaks, fishing gear, and rubber boots.
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Itinerary
Board at Petersburg, cruising Frederick Sound, introduction to Alaskan life, introduction to coastal rainforest on walk. Wilderness anchorage at entrance to fjord.
Cruising spectacular fjord to tidewater glacier, ice bergs, wildlife viewing. Option to zodiac, kayak and/or walk, exploring glacier, ice bergs in this awesome ice world.
Humpback whales of Frederick Sound, Five Fingers Lighthouse, Windfall harbour. Explore estuary and look for brown bears.
Guided brown bear viewing and rainforest walk up salmon creek at Pack Creek on Admiralty Island, with special access for swell guests.
Frederick Sound marine mammals and islands. Island anchorage. Guided brown bear viewing and rainforest walk up salmon creek at Pack Creek on Admiralty Island, with special access for Maple Leaf guests.
Cruising to Warm Springs Bay. Rainforest / bog walk and natural hot springs. Cruising the waterfall coast of Baranof Island. Peril Strait to Kruzof Island
Hike on Kruzof Island through many ecotypes to spectacular west coast beach. Cruising the west coast, sea otters, seabirds.
Weather permitting, exploring by zodiac at St. Lazaria, a spectacular island with thousands of nesting seabirds and rich intertidal life. Vistas of volcanic Mt. Edgecumbe as it sweeps down toward the sea. Hot springs.
Cruise to Sitka for disembarkation.
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Dates & Availability
Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Maple Leaf Adventures.
The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.
Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.
Maple Leaf Adventures Reviews & Ratings
Other Maple Leaf Adventures Reviews
The trip with Mapleleaf Adventures was incredible, life changing!
The trip with Mapleleaf Adventures was incredible, life changing! We saw Orcas, Seals, Sea lions and many more awesome creatures. This area really needs to be protec...
Words can't express my gratitude for the amazing experiences I had on my Great Bear Rainforest Maple Leaf Adventure
Words can't express my gratitude for the amazing experiences I had on my Great Bear Rainforest Maple Leaf Adventure in September 2017. The trip far exceeded my expec...
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Tour Operator
Maple Leaf Adventures has been offering small ship cruises that feature the natural and cultural history of Alaska and Canada's west coast since 1986.
Our "cruise ships" are restored, classic sailing ships. Between 70 and 92-feet long, they are beautiful, comfortable and strong expedition ships.
We have a reputation as one of Canada’s finest tour operators. Trips with Maple Leaf have been named by Frommer’s travel guide as one of Canada's 6 "Best Travel Experiences", by the Canadian Tourism Commission as a "Signature Experience" of Canada, and by National Geographic Traveler as one of its "50 Tours of a Lifetime" and "Best of the World" in 2013.
Our multi-day, boutique expeditions offer guests the opportunity to experience intimately the most beautiful places on the B.C. and Alaska coast, in the company of expert naturalists or historians, crew and chef.
As a longtime practitioner of ecotourism, Maple Leaf pioneered travel in the Great Bear Rainforest and northwestern Vancouver Island, and has made significant contributions to conservation on the coast.
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Logistics
What's excluded
- International and domestic airfares
- Insurances of any kind
- Visa fees
- Excess baggage charges
- Airport taxes
- Optional tipping to local staff
- Costs of medical immunizations
- Beverages (unless otherwise stated) and items of a personal nature
88-foot Converted Tug Swell Swell is a beautiful, classic, converted tugboat. She accommodates up to 12 guests in 6 private cabins (in some areas the legislated maximum is 10 guests), all with full en-suite heads (bathrooms with showers), and a crew of 5. An Elegant Expedition Ship The gorgeous Swell is spacious with amenities offered by no other ship on the coast in her class. The gorgeous Swell is spacious with amenities offered by no other ship on the coast in her class. Her $4 million in refits transformed her from a powerhouse working tugboat to a comfortable passenger vessel. The renovations kept the warm character of her classic wooden construction, and each cabin is panelled with natural wood.
Private cabins: 6 Private ensuites: All cabins Max guests: 12 (10 in Haida Gwaii) Salon and lounge areas: 3 plus wheelhouse Shore boats: 2 Polaris rigid hull inflatable boats Kayaks: 4 Hot tub: 1 Length over all: 88 feet Beam: 22 feet Propulsion: Diesel engine Watermaker: 3600 gallons per day Cruising speed: 7 to 10 knots Registration: Canada Year built: 1912 (rebuilds 1950s, 1980s, a $3.5 million refit in 2004) Where built: Vancouver, B.C., Canada Style of ship: Tugboat
Main Deck
Activities:
- Moderate walking
- Bear viewing (from shore boats, on land, and in some cases at a bear viewing stand)
- Small boat rides
- Marine mammal viewing (whales, sea lions) and bird viewing
- Natural history through hands on experience and talks with your naturalist and other knowledgeable crew members
- Hot-springs
- Exploring beaches
- Kayaking and fishing (optional)
Featured Wildlife
- Brown bear (grizzly bear)
- Black bear
- Humpback whale
- Killer whale / orca
- Dall’s porpoise
- Pacific white-sided dolphin
- Sea otters
- Bald eagle
- Seabirds
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