Alaska - Gulf of Alaska Cruise Reviews

Our favorite part was the quality of the tours both on land and sea. We did the cruise portion first. The ports on the cruise portion were great and the last two days on the cruise, cruising the glaciers was very relaxing. The land portion was equally good on the tours. The tours automatically included in the land portion were top notch.

One recommendation on the land tour would be to hand out information on the entire land tour at the beginning just like they do on the cruise portion. On the land tour, you didn't receive information on the tours, etc. until you arrived at each lodge.

Food was fantastic, especially Oceanview Cafe! Stateroom service was great too, and everything was very well organized and explained. Good range of events and activities on offer.

possible improvements:

- make it clearer when booking what comes with the package (which meals, drinks do you get as standard)

- as we boarded, we felt pounced upon to buy a beverage package from all angles, not a great first impression and confusing (we ended up cancelling this when we realized we could have tea, coffee, juices as standard)

- make it clear the onboard gratuities aren't compulsory either and that you can settle this by cash tipping, again, we had to rearrange this which took 5 trips to guest services 

Crew was amazing! Food was to be desired. Desserts were dry as desert. Beautiful Alaska! Ship was not as nice as I had hoped, and not a lot to do onboard. 

Friendliest staff of any cruise I've been on! Scenery was so peaceful and beautiful!

Ship was extremely easy to get around on! Especially the dining room was easy to reach by elevator.  Don't fight the crowds go to dining room for a complimentary breakfast and lunch for a relaxing sit down meal.

Staff and Service. NCL staff are courteous and friendly.  The ship is just big enough for us.  The program is quite good.  Embarkation and disembarkations are well organized.

Lovely ship, very clean. Food was better than other cruise lines that we have been on (NCL, RC) Only complaint was that the latest you can be seated for dinner is 9PM and the mealtime hours were shorter than we have been used to on other ships.

The spa was nice, but the gym was filled with dated equipment many with non-working monitors, or no monitors at all.

The Staff and crew were terrific.

All in all we had a wonderful vacation on HAL

The best part of the cruise was cruising Glacier Bay. It was absolutely beautiful and the ship got really close to the glaciers. We were able to experience some of them calving and it was amazing to hear the thunderous noise as the ice dropped into the ocean. The boat was well maintained and the food was fairly good. We had nice interactions with the staff. We saw a few shows which were also okay. My son went to the kids club a few of the days and had fun there. I wish he had more time to make some friends but at least he had things to do. 

We had an excellent cruise, the weather was perfect, the people were nice and wonderful.  Would like to go back and stay longer!!

Our waiter, Niko and Puto, were wonderful servers!!  Had them everynight...very attentive, friendly, entertaining, and great personalities.   

Overall this was a very good trip.  I found the ship to be clean, the staff friendly and attentive.  The food in the main dining room was just average - not the fabulous fare you expect on a cruise ship.  Buffet fare was better than you would expect.  We were unable to participate in the one excursion we booked though Celebrity due to an injury an thought we'd have to file a claim through our travel insurance.  When I asked Guest Relations for a copy of the injury report - which was not available because it is for 'internal use' only - I was sent me to the Excursions Desk and they provided me with a full refund!

As far as the injury - watch that step in Cosmos Lounge.  I missed the step and fell twisting my left ankle and right knee.  When I went to the medical facility I was told that as long as I could walk nothing was broken!  Seriously? I was given ibuprofen, a cloth brace for my ankle and told to rest.  Didn't even look at either my knee or ankle.  Wow!

Our favorite part of the cruise was cruising the Alaskan waters.  We appreciated the room upgrade as well as the LavAzza coffee in the buffet.  We like the idea of a coffee card for specialty coffee and tea drinks, so missed this amenity on the Millennium.

the hubbard glacier was the best part of the cruise. beautiful day and the boat was able to get half a mile from it. all of the people on the ship were great everyone went out of there  way to make you feel at home. the rooms were very clean and spacious.  the ship itself was clean and fresh.

This cruise was amazing, the ports were wonderful, the glaciers were breathtaking...I can't say enough about this cruise.  The ship was nice, there weren't too many activities for our children, but they LOVED going to the Fun Factory.  The only downside to the Fun Factory is that it closes from noon to 2:00. I understand they want kids to be with there families, but a time limit would be better. The food was good and plentiful.  Our cabin "helper" was amazing.  He really helped to make our trip successful, it nice when you see the staff go above and beyond.  

Not anymore.

The emergency drill was a mess .

People could not only enter the assigned room and people sitting could not see anything as people standing blocked their view.

The food was average and crew members themselves expressed their opinion to us that since Royal Caribean took over things started to decline.Toiletpaper is so thin that one cannot unroll a full roll as it breaks of.With all the money spent on

publicity head office should be concerned with these problems and not ignore

passengers and crew comments.Prices charged for cruise represents no value.

Hubbard Glacier and the stops were our favorite part of the cruise.  Dinners were not as good as in the past in the main dinning room.  Desserts are the same in the dining room and in the Windjammer as they have been for the last 4 cruises.  Its time to change that up.  The steaks we ordered has no flavor at all.  Like they were frozen way too long.  Other than this, the cruise was beautiful.  The ship was spotless, and the service was impeccable.

I usually travel on all inclusive cruises and while this cruise, with the basic beverage package was comparable I did not like the heave sales pitch for all add-ons.

Working with Justin Williams and Customer Service, at , was wonderful.  I would book another cruise with this company. The land tour was beautiful.  I didn't like that Celebrity did not provide an itinerary,of arrival and departure times, before I left for the trip.  I almost missed my privately booked Denali flightseeing ride due to no time of  hotel arrival given.  If I had known we were driving right by our pick-up point at hotel, to drop everyone else off at a tourist trap, I would have asked to be left off first.  Hotel at Denali was mediocre, ran out of some food items.  Cruise was enjoyable and we had a very attentive attendant.  Food was okay.  My first cruise and if I cruise again it would be on another ship or line.  I was there for majesty of Alaska and got my money's worth.

We were not satisfied with the 10 day land cruise package. 

The tours provided little interest and for sure lacked of any wildlife.  The scenery at times is nice but doesn't take your breath away.  Accommodations are simple but adequate prices are high. 

The balcony cabin on the Island Princess was ample and had good storage. Service was adequate but not at the level we have seen in other cruises.  Nothing particularly impressive with the food at the buffet or the restaurant.  The specialty restaurant Sabattine was worth the extra charge. 

We got the impression that when the ship was designed they forgot about a casino and a gym. The casino is the size of a mid size living room and the gym is indoors with no windows looking out.   Not what you expect in a modern ocean linner 

The one outstanding portion was the shows. In particular On The Bayou very well done.  

Cruise staff and entertainment was excellent!!! Had a great time with all of the scenic views. Would definitely recommend a balcony on the port side of the ship. 

Good organization of the cruise. But the ship did not go to the Hubbard Glacier and it's very frustrating. Such a ship and the ship's captain must be able to perform the route completely.

The cruise was the beat part. The land portion was great also. We did an on line review with Holland already and we let them know the 2 weak points on the land area. Two of their lodging experiences were very disappointing! One was a Hilton property and the other property was Holland's. The Holland property should be completely razed and rebuilt.

I would recommend this whole experience with the exception of the two locations.