Journey Entry: My Lindblad Expedition to Alaska

I had the opportunity to experience the eastbound expedition to Alaska with Lindblad Expeditions in June of 2024 for 8 days.?As a travel advisor since 2015, I of course love to travel, but for this adventure I decided to go solo since my husband was golfing in Scotland.? Now, this was way out of my comfort zone, but I felt confident going into the trip given Lindblad Expeditions' reputation for action-packed itineraries that foster an inclusive and camaraderie-based culture. And that is exactly what I experienced.

I started my journey in Sitka at the Sitka National Historical Park.?In the beginning, you are getting to know the ship and how each day is going to flow — you hear from the crew and naturalists on what to expect.?I began to meet my adventure mates and we met the ship’s captain who would be guiding our adventure.?The amount of personal connection was so fun. I ended my day feeling excited about what was to come.

The days are structured similar to a safari…there is a morning adventure followed by lunch and then an afternoon adventure followed by dinner and social or rest time.? My first experience the first morning was kayaking to look for wildlife.? In the afternoon, I learned how to get on and off of a Zodiac which is a skill I never would have expected to have.?The magnificence of nature hit me hard on the first Zodiac cruise where I saw my first bear as we were heading to shore.?As evening approached, we gathered at the front of the ship and saw our first whale breaching.?This was quite a first day and I was now totally engaged.

Next, we moved next to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.? We arrived at the glacier and no pictures had done it justice.?We learned about the climate’s impact and how the size of the glacier has changed over the years.?You can actually hear the ice shifting and see pieces of the glacier breaking apart which had an emotional impact on me.

Next was Petersburg where we had plenty of activity options. I decided to do the Ravens Roost Hike, a 2.5 miles with 500ft changes in elevation — it was a workout!?The beauty of the forest and unspoiled nature is something that is hard to describe.?The weather was perfect this day, unlike some of the colder days we had earlier in the week.?In the afternoon, I was back in the Zodiac where we witnessed the Dawes Glacier and some amazing waterfalls that flowed through the mountains into the bay. This day had to be one of my favorite days of the trip.

On our last day we were able to hear from all of the experts who led our expeditions.?One really cool aspect about Lindblad Expeditions - National Geographic is their Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship Program.?On this night, we got to hear a few teachers' presentations about the trip and how they were going to share this information with their students in rural areas.?I found this to be inspirational to witness how the trip had impacted these teachers and how they planned to make a similar impact on their students.

Lindblad Expeditions' onboard community is another one of the trip's highlights.?Everyone sat together at meal time and got to know one other.?I really enjoyed spending time with the two teachers and bonding over solo travel. The ship is small with roughly 82 travelers and the meals are alll open seating.?There are 44 staff and crew members, so the ratio of guest to crew is impressive. I always felt well taken care of.? I would highly recommend this adventure for multi-generational families, small families, couples, and obviously solo travelers.

Having experienced the Alaskan expedition will allow me to curate the right type of expedition for all my different types of clients.?This expedition requires energy and mobility which would factor into how, and whom, I would sell this trip.?There is nothing as powerful as personal experience when selling an adventure.?It always helps to close the sale.? This experience will also help me have a better feel even for those destinations I have not explored yet.?I have clients that are looking at Iceland and the Galápagos and I can’t wait to share my experience with Lindblad Expeditions with them.

?I will carry friends and connections I made during that week forward for the rest of my life. Alaska and Lindblad Expeditions will forever be with me.

- Kiki Hoener , Travel by Kiki