Has anyone been on the smaller ships in Alaska? if so, would you please share your experiences and basic itinerary highlights?

Besides the cost, I know that I would love many aspects of the Smalller Ships, like American Safari, Cruise West, Lindblad, etc. Many thanks...

We did a small ship to Alaska and loved it. The ship (100 passengers) was nimble enough to turn when seeing whales and give passengers a chance to see them up close! That company is no longer!
We just returned from a Lindblad cruise in Galapagos and I can't say enough good things about them - service, food, the naturalists on board were all great.

I just want you to know that i went on the Safari Quest through American Safaris, 10 cabins, Sitka to Juneau. And it was one of the best trips of my life!

if you can afford to go on a smaller boat, do it... we went on kyacks or skiff boats everyday... and avoided the major cruise ports (with the exception of Sitka/Juneau). Highlights were kyacking around iceburgs or around a coves to discover a mother bear with her two large cubs or whales feeding or...

I am still waiting for some recent information on "small-ships-cruising" in Alaska. Who has had that and at the end of May. Since money is of some concern we would love to make the best of it.
If we should take an nine-day small ships cruise, there will not be much time and money left to rent a camper for a week or go to a back country place. We would very much prefer a 100 passengers over 1000.

We visited Alaska last summer with Cruise West and had a fantastic time. We did a cruisetour starting in Fairbanks then to Denali where we stayed inside Denali at the North Face Lodge(unbelievable) then on to Anchorage and then Juneau. From there we took the Spirit of Yorktown (about 100 Pax) on the inside passge trip. You can see the details of the inside passage trip on thier website. Having been on meagaships and smaller ships, we truly enjoy smaller ships. They are not for everyone as their are no casinos, shows etc. We were there for Alaska and that is what we got. Cruise West lived up to their motto "up-close casual and personal" Everyone we met that worked for them seemed to like the company. We were treated like family and all the other passengers we talked to felt the same. You can check out the video of our trip at http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...52372566471131. Cruise West also has a link to this on their website.

Since we are very close to booking a small ship cruise for the end of May we are wondering how the chances are to have some sun?
Furthermore we would like to get some advice which tours to book out of Juneau or Ketchikan at that time of the year?

It is hard to beat a helicopter tour to the glaciers out of Juneau (one of those once in a lifetime experiences as it is pretty expensive) If not, try taking the bus out to Mendenhall(sp?)glacier inexpensive and very ccol. You can purchase tickets from a booth next to the incline.