This was our favorite excursion for our entire week-long cruise! One set of active grandparents (70s), my middle school daughter (12), and I (40s) had a blast on the boat with Captain Christian. And naturalist Bevin (sp.?) helped us spot wildlife (tons of eagles!) and answered our nature questions about Alaska in great detail. The crew clearly enjoys what they do and made guests feel comfortable throughout our excursion. When we paused or stopped, Bevin took many pictures of each family, and we appreciated getting pictures of our group together on the water.
Ocean Raft Alaska provides gloves, “ninja mask” hats, goggles, and all-weather jumpsuits that double as life jackets. From the ship, we almost chickened out and cancelled our reservation because we thought we would be cold and miserable on the water. Thankfully, we didn’t second-guess ourselves and went on this excursion! We were warm, but not hot, and the bright orange suits were surprisingly comfortable. It was windy, but our gear protected us.
The ship's excursion description didn't accurately describe what a fun adventure this is! This is an adventure for people with a sense of fun because the captain likes to ride into the wind over choppy waters and circle and make “doughnuts” in the water to cut back over the boat’s wake. The captain offered a good mixture of fun and fast speeds and then offered a slower and calmer pace (going with the wind on smoother waters) for us to see waterfalls and wildlife up close.
In the boat, we sat on “horses” and absorbed some of the shock/bumps of the ride with our legs. This really isn’t a ride for feeble folks or folks who get scared by speed easily. It IS a great ride for adventure-lovers and those who like thrills. It is NOT your usual harbor tour boat ride.
IMPORTANT: They offer fun t-shirts and sweatshirts after the excursion back at the hut, but they DON’T take credit cards. BRING CASH if you know you have that someone in your group who will want a commemorative shirt.