My wife and I went out on the Columbia glacier cruise (about 6 hours long) while on vacation in AK. It is about a 2.5 hour drive from the Copper Princess Wilderness lodge down to Valdez and it took us a few minutes to locate the cruise office behind a hotel. There was plenty of parking on the street when we went as it was not too busy.
The wx the day we went was cool and overcast with a little rain off and on - it was nice to have the heated interior spaces on both decks. We went on the "Glacier Spirit" which I understand they got new in July 2017. It is a 90' catamaran and the boat was wonderful - nice inside booth type seating on both decks with room for 3 on each side of the table, 2 bathrooms on the first deck, great visibility out the windows, outside seating as well and lots of standing room outside along the railing around both decks.
Our Captain was Amanda who I believe has been with Stan Stephens over 20 years, around 11 as a Captain. She, and all the members of the crew, were awesome. They allowed folks to be up in the wheelhouse and ask questions as the cruise was underway and they were all very friendly and accommodating. Throughout the entire cruise they were constantly scanning with binoculars looking for wildlife to try and make the cruise as good as possible. If you forget your own binoculars they have some to rent on board ($5 I believe).
We were served a lunch of soup in a bread bowl and a drink - it was good. They also have a small snack bar on board with snack and drink items you can purchase.
During our cruise we say eagles, sea otters and sea lions but no whales. It wasn't for a lack of trying on their part as I mentioned earlier. Even though there was a fair amount of ice in the water up near the Columbia Glacier we got up to within about 3/4 of a mile and Amanda gave everyone ample opportunities to get pictures from various angles. Throughout the cruise she provided commentary on the history of the area, the Exxon Valdez, the glaciers, etc and it was very informative.
The boat itself was very clean and comfortable, the entire crew were awesome and it was a great experience. We certainly were hoping to see whales but there is nothing the crew can do about that. I would highly recommend this cruise and believe the price is very reasonable.