Alaska - Gulf of Alaska Cruise Reviews

For the 5 of us, this was a GREAT cruise, very memorable.  Weather was perfect for Sept.  Ports were great.  End of the season sales made clothing cheaper than I could buy it at home.  Saw lots of animals in their prime.  Salmon runs were a WOW to watch.  The Sun was very nice and our cabin steward (Vincent) was fantastic.  Will definitely try to do this one again.

 Hubbard Glacier was the best part of the cruise so when the itinerary was changed at the last minute and Sawyer Glacier was eliminated I was very disappointed. Nonetheless seeing Hubbard up close was amazing! Other port cities were nice to visit. Do a little research and you can see many things on your own without booking the expensive cruise excursions. 

The food was disappointing. The breakfast and lunch buffet was the same everyday and seemed to be leftovers from previous day dinner. Dinner menu was very limited; only a few entrees changed each day and  "classic" items were available every day. Entrees like lobster and rib eye which are complimentary on other cruise lines like Carnival were accessed an additional charge. Desserts were ok except a couple of nights when they served soufflé which was delicious. The chocolate dessert night was also ok. 

No issues going to dinner whenever you wanted. No wait time. 

Norwegian wine policy recently changed and guests can no longer bring wine on board without being accessed $15  fee per bottle even if you consume the wine in your cabin. Carnival allowed each guest to bring one bottle on board for free and you were charged $15 corkage fee only if you consumed it in their dining rooms. I don't drink much so being able to have a glass of wine in my cabin before or after dinner is nice.  I wouldn't mind ordering off their wine menu but it was very limited and extremely over-priced for sub-par wine. I understand Norwegian wants to make money off alcohol but please provide decent and unusual wines without the crazy markup. You can't sell run of the mill bottom shelf wine which costs $8 at a wine store for $40-45. One last note on food. Was hoping they would serve baked Alaska for dessert since this was a cruise to Alaska but no! In fact couple of times when I order ice cream it looked like I ordered an ice cream shake because it was all melted. 

The ship seemed to lack "vibe". I think it's because there wasn't a central area where guests can congregate. For example, during the early evening hours there was live entertainment in the atrium but the musicians were tucked away in the corner while the photographer people were trying to get guests to take professional photos in the main area of the atrium.  But not many guests took advantage of this service so the main atrium while small was empty and musicians were playing in the corner that no one could see when viewed from different levels overlooking the atrium. Hence no "vibe."  Other musicians would play in dark rooms with curtains drawn. 

For the money the cruise was good value. 

Staff was great, my steward C. Concepsion, exceptional, I enjoyed my spa treatments and the art auction.  I enjoyed the scenery and my excursion except the water was rough and I got sea sick, but did see many whales, sea lions and seals.

If there is a complaint it is that you could have communicated photo opportunities better.  For instance people saw the Northern Lights on two nites, but I never heard or saw any notification that I should be in a certain area of the boat at certain times.  I learned from the photo shop manager that there was a particular night that is well known and that all the captains stopped there.  Why wasn't that on the daily activity list at a minimum?  Another is the glacier during the inside passage portion, My room was on the wrong side of the boat, there was nothing in the daily activity list and no announcement I heard that told us which side of the ship to be on during which hours so I missed it completely. 

I would also suggest that aerosol spraying of hand sanitizer while a good idea for keeping germs in check is a horrible thing for any of us with  asthma or allergies.  No way to avoid the airborne spray with folks standing in the doorways spraying everyone's hands.  I ended up having a pretty severe allergy attach as I'm highly sensitive to chemicals. 

Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the cruise and will recommend it to others and would go again too!

Thanks

We saw glaciers close up and did a shore excursion to walk on one. Alaska is so beautiful and we enjoyed our time. The Norwegian Sun was a good ship for us as first-time cruisers. A couple of small misunderstandings keeps me from giving it 5 stars.

My favorite part of the cruise was our balcony stateroom and viewing the beautiful scenery. My disappointment was the entertainment in the theatre - we only chose to see one show - nothing else interested us. 

the service was fantastic and the ship was very easy to get around.  The captain was great and always let us know when there was something you needed to see. The only complaint we had was the pillows.  The need replacing badly.

This cruise was a grand experience for my grandchildren and me.

We will always remember it. The service, food and shows were excellent. We all wish we could go on another cruise.

Everything!!! Can't really pick a favorite part because it all was wonderful.. I would tell people it's a trip of a life time and to make sure this one is on their bucket list...

My wife an I were fortunate enough to cruise to Alaska during clear weather, Alaska is a most beautiful place. Ketchikan was our first stop and one of many places to get great winter gear at a great price. We did Jeep excursion with canoeing and salmon tasting, my compliments. In the Icey Straits Hoonah) another winner Bear excursion, some 14 bears seen, again big thumbs up. Onto Juneau where we booked an independent excursion to helicopter to the glacier....did not disappoint (we had planned a horseback ride from the boat, it was full however)....again beautiful, also grabbed a bite of Alaskan King crab at Tracy's...in town. Onto Skagway where we did the Fijord high speed rafting....looking like astronauts in our orange protective gear...again great, A visit to Skagway wouldn't be complete without a visit to town and eating at Skagways Red Onion Saloon, Next onto Hubbard Glacier beautiful. The next day we disembarked in Seward and spent the night...please do so as they have a world class hidden gem of a restaurant Cookers, we also visited the sled dogs and Exit glacier....once again beautiful.

So the question is why only 4 stars?, unfortunately our cabin (on one side only) apparently did not have any type of noise cancelling material between the walls, we could hear everything: conversations, snoring throughout the night, phone ringing and sounding like it was in our room, actually it was as though the people next store were living with us.  Talking to our Steward, the ships cruise desk, and even e-mailing Royal Caribbean 2 times yielded no results.....still waiting for Royal Caribbean corporate to respond it has now been 10 days. I know this sounds

minor but having cruised many times, this is not the norm and honestly the snoring and TV kept waking us up throughout the night.

In

Great ports!  Great Views! Excellent food! Per Michael Johnson from Nashville TN, service recovery staff member from , I should not book another cruise through this site.  Was informed that we could travel with a birth certificate and drivers license. At the last minute found out must have a passport to enter Canada or forfeit travel (booked 7 passengers over $12,000.00) or leave 2 people behind. Had to drive 6 hours to Atlanta drive 6 hours back then catch a plane 2 and a half hours away. Lost first 2 days of cruise recovering for being up over 36 hours!

Service in all dining areas and stateroom was excellent. Food choices and qualify in main dining room somewhat disappointing. Stateroom and bathroom size seemed small compared to Holland America. TV reception very poor during most of cruise. 

We enjoyed our Alaska cruise and the Island Princess.  We had spent 7 independent days touring Alaska by rental car so it was very relaxing to leave the details to the Island Princess.  I enjoyed the 2 sea days at the start of the cruise touring Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay...but then came 3 hectic days in ports. Fun but tiring and the evening activities after port days seemed diminished.

We have nothing but good things to say about our Alaska cruise. Harry Kroll was great in helping choose our cruise and plan the details. He helped us choose a perfect state room for us. The cruise itself was outstanding. Everything was so organized. From the time we arrived at the terminal for departure to our debarkcation port everything went flawlessly. One of the things that impressed me the most is how much NCL goes out of its way to serve their customers. We had booked back to back kayaking trips and the first one proved to be a little challenging. They allowed us to change the next day's excursion. The only thing that I would change is to tone down the music in the mornings.

Alaska speaks for itself and pictures can't do it justice. Being a regular cruiser but new to Norwegian, if found pros and cons. 1 huge pro is it's really relaxed. During dinner hours, you don't see as many people dressed to the 9's. You can dine any time too. I liked that vs having a designated dinner time. (one night we were accepted into the dining room wearing shorts as shorts was listed in their dress codes; the next night we were not allowed to eat in the dining room due to wearing short) 1 huge con is they didn't have nearly as much or as good entertainment as Carnival or Royal does. 

I was disappointed in the ship...it was ok but not grande....Never saw the captain..............Lots of extra expenses for entertainment on the ship...Food was ok...expected better.  The lido buffet was avoided due to the set up...no organization...guests all over the place...no body steering the crowd....rude rude rude guests.....

Favorite part of the cruise was visiting the ports and the glacier fjords.

The food was okay with a few very good items.  But there were plenty of items to choose from and a fairly good variety of selections from day to day.  We enjoyed the Belgium waffles.  Dining in the dining rooms was pleasant with some very attentive servers.  Again, the food was okay with one or two exceptional items.

We would not recommend eating at the Bayou specialty restaurant unless you really like Cajun food.  We were looking for a great steak and there was a limited variety of steaks most of which were tough.

Our room was comfortable.  The bed was amazing. 

We enjoyed the vocal impersonator show and the naturalist shows.  The dancing/music show was only so-so with some of the performers just going through the motions.  We did not understand the emphasis placed on Cajun foods and entertainment for a ship heading to and from Alaska.  We thoroughly enjoyed the pianist at the open bar who played for Frank Sinatra.  He was phenomenal!  We wish he could have played in a larger venue.

We also enjoyed the complimentary tour of the kitchens in the ship.

A wonderful experience sailing on Radiance of the Seas. Smooth sailing, every port seemed to get better and better as we headed south, and the additional tours were an experience of a lifetime.

The ports and excursions are once in a lifetime and beautiful scenery.  However, Radiance of the Seas was a huge disappointment.  the boat never has a day off and cleanliness suffers.  Passengers depart by 9AM and new passengers can board at 10:30AM.  Although people clean the rooms/bathrooms/etc, it is always a "hasty" cleaning and the rooms/bathrooms smell.  Even though they replaced the carpeting last year.  

Food was terrible....experienced cruisers complained.  Even met people buying food at port and "sneaking" on board for a sick friend.  Service on boat was friendly and helpful.... except for Guest Services.  Conflicting info from various guest service agents and unorganized/unhelpful people.  More help from room attendants and waiters than guest services....recommend bypassing them when you can.

Entertainment was sketchy.  If you attend an event LATE by 5 minutes - you can't participate.  Really?  Need a new cruise director.

This was a fantastic cruise to Alaska.  I have been to Alaska several times on business but I had never taken a cruise through the inside passage.  What a spectacular place.  The cruise was very relaxing and the tours we took were all after 10AM, so there was no rushing to get somewhere.  The crew were all very nice and the ship was beautiful.  We saw so many beautiful places, got to play with the musher dogs and ate incredible food.  It could not have been a better trip.

Good ports - Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, and Hubbard Glacier were new for us - and Juneau and Skagway are good stops for any cruise.

The Millennium is an older ship - so staterooms are a little smaller than what we are used to.  Because it is smaller, hard to find a "quiet" place on the ship where you can read or relax.

We added a land tour - and that is a must.  Celebrity did a great job on this part of trip.