Expert Aboard: Safari Quest Review

This Safari Quest review comes from my firsthand experience aboard the 22-guest yacht exploring Southeast Alaska. I’m sharing the highlights from my trip, along with personal insights on cabins, shared spaces, wildlife encounters, and the small touches that makes this vessel unique.

Overall standout – Service & Size
What sets Safari Quest apart – Design & Access
Cabin Comparisons
Don’t miss – Golden hour at anchor, hydrophone & more
Cruise Highlights – Kayaking & Whales
Look out for – Deviation
If I booked again – Family & Friends Charter
More Safari Quest reviews – Read ratings from travelers

Overall Standout – Service & Size

The naturalist guide, crew, and dining are all exceptional. If you’ve read our UnCruise review, you know that service is their hallmark. And with just 22 guests, the level of care felt especially personal and noticeable. By the end of day one, the 10-person crew already knew our names and dietary preferences. And as a “Safari” vessel, all meals aboard are fully plated (no buffets).

What truly sets Safari Quest apart, though, is group size and flexibility. One afternoon, the crew swiftly loaded all guests into two skiffs for a visit to a sea lion rookery, something only Safari Quest and one other ship in her fleet can do. Side by side, we all watched dozens of sea lions splashing, playing, and investigating our skiffs. The experience felt special because it was collective where everyone shared the same front-row view. On larger vessels, skiff outings require multiple rotations. Moments like this show why Safari Quest feels more like a private adventure tailored to the entire group, and a big reason it would make such an incredible Alaska charter.

What Sets Safari Quest Apart in Alaska

Safari Quest fills a unique niche in Alaska. In this size category, most ships are converted working vessels (former crabbing, fishing or Navy vessels). They are full of character and charm, but not designed first as leisure yachts. Safari Quest was. She’s purpose-built for passenger cruising comfort, with details you won’t find elsewhere at this scale: larger, polished social spaces and bathrooms, and even floor-to-ceiling glass doors in the Admiral cabins.

The result is a private-yacht atmosphere. The service is personal and familiar, yet the setting feels refined. For travelers who want the intimacy of the smallest ships and the style of a luxury yacht, Safari Quest is unmatched.

Another defining feature is her special access. Safari Quest carries permits for wilderness areas that are off-limits to most vessels, even within the greater UnCruise Alaska fleet. We visited the Inian and Lemesurier Islands; places with limited permits and very little human presence. It felt like an exclusive perspective on Southeast Alaska.

Safari Quest Cabins Comparisons

The cabins were simple, clean, and comfortable. They make the most of every inch, but are still much larger than cabins on most comparable vessels. What you give up in private square footage, you gain in the welcoming shared spaces, open decks, and cozy nooks where you’ll naturally spend most of your time. Small corners throughout the ship provided quiet escapes, letting me choose exactly how social or private I wanted to be.

I got to see all the cabins while I was aboard, so a few tips for choosing yours:

• Admiral: Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors and a private French balcony = the jackpot. Guests left the balcony doors open for fresh air and whale-watching. Extra square footage. Highly coveted (and worth booking early), as you simply will not find this amenity on other ships this size.
• Pathfinder: Only one of its kind. Near the galley but surprisingly quiet, with easy access to the bow, dining room, saloon and aft deck launch point. Perfect for skipping stairs without missing any of the action.
• Compass (Single): A newer solo option that can be shared on charters (bunk beds). Two-door design lets you open either inside to the dining room or outside to the deck. Main Deck location (a plus if you have limited mobility), quiet and zero dining room noise.

Don’t Miss

Golden hour at anchor

Uniquely, Safari Quest doesn’t cruise at night. Once she’s anchored, that’s where you’ll stay for the evening. The upper deck was peaceful and quiet, the hot tub steaming around me and the sky glowing gold at 10 pm. With a “sunset sipper” in one hand (Muskeg Sally was my favorite) and binoculars in the other, we scanned for bears while listening to otters splashing and birds calling across the cove. Bigger ships make up cruise time at night, so you don’t get this kind of remote stillness.

The Hydrophone

What could possibly make being surrounded by whales in a skiff even better? Hearing them. The crew dropped in a hydrophone, and suddenly the water came alive with clicks, calls, and trumpet sounds. I’ll admit it made me cry. I recorded a bit of the underwater concert your enjoyment below.

The Game Bin

I’ll preface this by saying I’m a game gal; I even packed a deck of cards. But to my delight, Safari Quest already had an ottoman stuffed with options. From spirited tournaments to laid-back games during happy hour, the game bin kept the saloon buzzing and brought guests together.

Cruise Highlights

A Sweet Surprise Mid-Paddle

Kayaking to the face of a glacier is already unforgettable; the thunder of ice calving, the surge of waves rocking your kayak, the fizz of “bergy seltzer” all around. Especially after watching a larger ship do nothing more than a quick drive-by. But then our guide shouted, “Here comes the hot cocoa boat!” A skiff pulled up with 22 steaming insulated mugs, hand-delivered mid-paddle. Larger ships can’t pull off extra touches like this. Guaranteed.

Humpbacks. Everywhere!

On my July sailing, we saw more than 50 whales in the first 24 hours alone, including orca just three hours out of Juneau. Humpbacks breached all around, all of us cheering from the bow and upper deck. Later, from the hot tub, it was quiet—and we watched a young whale playfully circling the boat, flipping and splashing. At one point, I was mid-conversation in the saloon when a whale launched right outside the window. 

Whale photos by our incredible guide, Bobby. His professional shots shared at the end were a huge bonus.

Look out for: Deviation

No two Safari Quest sailings are ever the same. Our guide Bobby referred to the itinerary as “the plan from which to deviate” and often noted how the three W’s (whales, weather, and wind) lead the way. He always had plans A through D ready, but when conditions aligned, he’d light up and call it an “A+ day.”

We had a couple of A+ changes on my cruise. One was an extreme-low tide that exposed a stretch of shoreline absolutely packed with marine life. Hundreds of brightly colored sea stars, crabs, anemones, and clams that spat water out like tiny geysers. It was an unexpected stop that became one of the most memorable.

Flexibility is a hallmark of all small ship cruising, but it’s magnified here. With only 22 guests, the entire group can pivot together, faster, smoother, and more often. Go in with an open mind and don’t cling to the written itinerary during the cruise booking process.

If I Booked Again: Charter

Safari Quest feels tailor-made for family and friends. With only 22 guests, it was easy to imagine filling the ship with people I love. The crew welcomes you like family, meals feel like home, and chartering her would be a dream. All the while, you’re in the hands of true professionals. The captain and guides bring decades of experience, paired with top-rated industry service.

For more photos & video from this cruise, view my Facebook album on AdventureSmith Explorations’ Facebook page.