bgturbo944

The only problem with the cruise is the time difference. I am from the East Coast and couldn't get my biological clock adjusted. We only had a week, but if we had more time I would have loved to do a land tour/cruise and gone to more ports. Highly recommend splurging and taking a helicopter ride to walk on a glacier. We went to the dog camp and had a great time. Everyone was very helpful. Alaska is amazing, and cruising is a great way to get from place to place. The snow/ice from winter was still melting so we saw many waterfalls. Investigate shore excursions outside of the cruise line. We did a sea cycle tour in Ketchican. It was a blast, small group, got up close to seals and jelly fish. Did a bicycle/train tour in Skagway. Again, a small group and got up close with the scenery. Our helicopter/dogsled tour was with NCL. Pricy but worth it. We lucked out with the weather, very little rain (in May, 2015), not too cold. Bring layers, as it can get cold at night.

The best part of the cruise was being able to walk the deck on the first full day without a jacket! Of course that was weather dependent. Being on the fifth deck made the motion of the ocean almost nonexistent in our cabin. Also, the hallways in this part of the ship were super wide, two people could easily walk together, kids were seen doing cartwheels at the end of the hall (really got wide there). I think this is where they stage the luggage, but it is only a guess.

Just came back from a week in the Eastern Caribbean on the NCL Escape. Was concerned because it was my first time on a "big" ship. No worries, the common areas were less crowded than those on the Jewel class ships. Because there were only 2 sets of elevators it was easier to navigate the ship. This would be a problem if you have mobility issues. There are forward and aft elevators/stairs and mid ship stairs in the 678 area (common decks). I did not use the pool but never had a problem finding a seat in that area. Never got on the slides or rope course, too chicken. I was worried the cabin (9908) would be too close to the 678 waterfront (directly below the cabin) and would be too noisy, but this was not an issue. Occasionally heard music from the pool area but easy to ignore it. Typical balcony cabin, nothing special about it, didn't have any problem finding space for our stuff. Easy to stuff the luggage under the bed. Make reservations early for the shows. We waited to see the Brat Pack show until Thursday (last sea day-rough seas that day) and were unable to because the lead singer was injured during rehearsals during the day, the show was cancelled:-(

Good food, good shows, good service (The crew worked extra hard for our cruise because there had been gastroenteritis on the cruise just before ours and they had to do extra cleaning, handed out plates/sliverware, packets of salt/pepper. Nothing was left out that could carry germs! Hence the 4 star instead of 5 star rating)