My husband and I took a trip in late July 2024 with guide Dr. Adam Pack on Alaska Sea Adventures. We had an incredible experience and highly recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys beautiful scenery, upclose viewing of wildlife, learning about nature/Alaska and gourmet dining. This was our second cruise with Alaska Sea Adventures but the first time with Capt. Harley. Capt. Harley and his crew, Ryan, Katie and Bart are skilled professionals; knowledgeable on all things Alaska, in complete control of the vessel and always watching out for our safety. One particular safety incident was viewing an actively calving glacier. A National Geographic cruise had sent zodiaks with clients close to the glacier face just like our crew. Even though everyone's tendency is to get as close as possible for viewing, our crew knew to stay back and within 10 minutes of the Nat Geo skiffs departing, a huge serac fell very close to where those boats had been. They would certainly have been at risk to be swamped. Another example of the crew's attentiveness was our dinners. I felt embarrassed that after a few days, the crew knew what we wanted to drink at meals without even asking! What service! When not regaling us with their maritime adventures, Capt. Harley and crew taught us all about fishing for black cod, King crabs, salmon, etc. That was when he wasn't helping to shell King Crab legs for us. YUM! Capt. Harley's skill in finding whales and following them at a respectful distance was unbelievable. Dr. Pack was able to fluke photo over 200 whale encounters. We visited hot springs, polar bear plunged into a pristine mountain lake, viewed bears (cubs too) feasting on chum salmon at a hatchery and watched seine fishing. The size and design of the M/V Northern Song allows all 8 guests excellent viewing and photo opportunities, whether inside or on deck. All of us could gather in the pilot house to talk with Capt. Harley as we cruised. The dining area and living area was luxurious and spotless. Our individual staterooms were not "tight" and our private bathrooms easy to maneuver around. It was surreal to work out on an elliptical machine while gliding past glowing blue icebergs, whale blows and barking sea lions. The highlight of our trip was time with Prof. Pack. Despite his many academic accomplishments and his status as a world renown cetacean researcher, he is just a kind, clever humble guy. Watching him work with the crew documenting whale behavior was a privilege. Always ready to answer questions, give a nightly whale presentation while also gathering footage to make a trip video; his humor and upbeat friendly approachability really set the tone for the entire trip. Often small group vacation experiences can be made or broken by the other guests, esp. if you don't prearrange to travel with your compatible friends. Both of our trips with Alaska Sea Adventures were with a guide--either Dr. Pack or the photographer naturalist, Jim Nahmens. Clients that choose these specific trips seem to have similar interests and both of our groups were fun and interesting folk to get to know. This was our 4th whale watching Alaska cruise; all overnight small ship or guided kayaking trips. If you have guests of differing physical abilities, interests or ages, Capt. Harley's trips are a good fit. His vessel, crew and knowledge base is deep and flexible enough to accommodate everyone. Petersburg, AK is charming and highly revisit-able. It is certainly worth every penny and though it sounds trite, was a once in a lifetime experience. Our only regret is that we can't afford to go every year :)!