The Sea Spirit.Growing up in the landlocked state of Montana, my boat experience was limited to lakes and rivers. I didn't know what to expect in terms of what sleeping on a ship would be like, what a a cruise schedule was like or what exactly an expedition cruise would entail. The Sea Spirit was beautiful, and had recently been refurbished. The cabins were large and comfortable. The staff were all incredibly friendly and helpful. Haley and I enjoyed getting to know many of them during our 11 days together.
Many people have a preconceived notion of what a "cruise" looks like- and this was nothing like that. Although, I did eat a lot (I tried to limit myself to one dessert per day), and I did take full advantage of the jacuzzi, overall the experience was incredibly active and I went to bed exhausted every night.
Our typical daily schedule on the Sea Spirit:
8am: Wake up call. One morning we were awoken with the announcement that there was a "pile of walrus waiting for us." Best wake-up call ever! 7am-8:30am: Breakfast served in the dinning room. -an amazing buffet spread, always an option for fresh cooked omelets or the daily special (ie scratch made pancakes with blueberry compote) 9am: First group loaded onto zodiacs. With 99 passengers, we were split into two groups in order to limit time waiting in lines. 930am: Second group loaded onto zodiacs. 9:30-12: Morning activity. Depending on physical comfort level passengers could choose between a walk or more strenuous hike -often times visiting a historical site or glacier. 12-2pm: Lunch. Always a large buffet selection of delicious food. Occasionally, there was also a bbq lunch option on the upper-deck. 2pm-5:00pm: Afternoon activity (hike or walk, zodiac cruise, etc. ) 6pm: Debriefing in the lounge. An overview of what we did/saw that day and proposed itinerary for the following day 7:00pm: Dinner served in dining room. A three-course selection off of a menu. 9:00pm: Entertainment in the Club. Time to relax and listen to our incredible on-board musician, Randy.
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
3 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
4 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
6 days ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.