Travel Industry Acclaim

I just returned from a wonderful adventure with American Safari Cruises, on board the 12 passenger Safari Escape yacht. We traveled Alaska's Inside Passage from Prince Rupert to Juneau over 9 days. It's a little more challenging to get to/from than the usual Vancouver or Seattle jumping off points, but it means getting to the good stuff sooner and only sailing during the day.

The Escape is a small ship with one "master cabin", one "junior suite" and four very cozy but comfortable cabins (two doubles, two twins). It's close quarters, but very comfortable. Perfect for a charter where one couple pays and gets the master suite, and takes the family.

We had an outstanding crew of six (yes, for 12 passengers) that work very hard and were very knowledgeable about the region. Our captain and first mate spent many years with Lindblad, and our trip leader was a wealth of knowledge.

The small ship allows for a lot of flexibility in the schedule, taking time to stop when we found wildlife, getting into the zodiac and kayaks on a moments notice, and deciding to spend the night in an interesting cove. We spent a lot of time kayaking, hiking and exploring by zodiac. The ship always anchors at night, and they are very accommodating of guests interests and requests.

Shore excursions were basically tours with interesting locals. For the most part, we avoided the big ships and their destinations. I can't imagine having seen any of the wildlife we experienced from a larger ship.

The food on board was incredible. Always a meat, fish and vegetarian option, three meals a day cooked to order. Freshly baked muffins every morning that you could small all over the boat, and cookies in the afternoon that they would deliver to you while kayaking!

I think the only downside of a ship of this size is not having multiple naturalists on board that you would get with a slightly larger ship such as with Lindblad. That being said, we learned a lot and LOVED this trip. I would highly recommend it to high-end adventurous clients.

Samantha McClure - Owner
Small World Travel
An affiliate of Brownell Travel
2201 Enfield Road - Austin, TX 78703

We've returned back from our memorable cruise on the Safari Quest. It was truly a magical week -- almost like all the "good karma" gods came together. We had perfect weather, amazing wildlife experiences, a great crew (and ship), and fascinating cruise mates.

What more could I ask for? The cruise greatly exceeded my expectations. I never dreamed it could be such a diverse, interesting experience with so few passengers and such a (seemingly) small ship. I just hope I can adequately communicate to my readers some of our "once in a lifetime" experiences and what a great cruise experience ASC gives. After all, cruisers can't expect to (1) snorkel with sea lions, (2) zip along in a skiff surrounded by thousands of dolphins, (3) be so close to an Orca to get "whale snot" all over your back when it sprays thru its blow hole, and (4) pet a huge gray whale and its baby -- in just one week??

Linda Garrison
About.com Guide to Cruises

Greetings!

I would like to offer words of praise for American Safari Cruises. I booked my clients, Michael & Judy Smith, on two American Safari Cruises expeditions and they are raving about their experiences on both. While on their last cruise, they put down a deposit for a future cruise to take advantage of special promotions for signing up onboard. American Safari Cruises contacted me regarding this new booking and lists me as the agent to work with the client.

How wonderful to have a supplier colleague work with us as partners for the guests! Our clients win as they:

• Return to a cruise line they enjoy.
• Receive preferred pricing.
• Continue to have their cruise reservation & accompanying arrangements personally serviced by their current travel specialist.
• Receive the Virtuoso amenity.

Hooray! Let's give a round of applause and praise for American Safari Cruises!

All the best,

Robin Kanno
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Conde Nast Traveler "Top Travel Specialist"
 
Landmark Travel, Ltd - Virtuoso
335 Village Square - Orinda, California 94563-2505