2022 was a fun filled season of snorkeling for us here at Snorkel Alaska. It was our first year with a full cruise ship calendar since COVID shut us down for 2020 and most of 2021. It was also our big step away from selling our tour through all the cruise line Shore Excursion Programs. Some are calling us crazy saying we are “bucking the trend” as most tour operators crave that cruise line representation. But at what cost? Most cruise lines take 50% or more of the sale in the form of a commission to sell tours. In essence we give them a wholesale rate and they mark it up as they see fit. In the past we were taking large of groups of up to 24 guests with 4 PADI Divemasters or SCUBA Instructors leading the tour to make up for the pennies on the dollar they were paying us. Well no more! We now run small groups of 10 guests with 2 staff in the water. And you can rest assured 100% of the tour costs goes directly to the small mom and pop business that we are.
Check out this video of some of the amazing encounters we had both above and below water. Every day and every tour is different for us. From 20′ tidal swings to visibility changes and the warmer waters that summer brings we rarely see the same thing twice. There were a lot of Wolf Eels out this summer, both juvenile and adults. We had quite a few pods of Orcas cruise by and Humpback Whales bubble net feeding not far from our groups. We even had an amazing encounter with a Giant Pacific Octopus that the whole group got to see. And of course all of our usual suspects like Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, numerous fish species and thousands of non-stinging and some stinging Jellyfish.
Please join us this summer for a truly once in a lifetime experience. Bookings are open now for the 2023 season.