Pretty good cruise on an nice older ship

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 18

Review summary

I had read a lot about the overhang above many of the rooms (including Aqua Class) on deck 9 - these pics. kind of show what it's like. It's really only an issue if you are trying to take a wide angle photo or if something is close up and very high. For 98% of the time it is not a problem - in fact if it is raining or if the sun is really out and baking things, you'll be glad it is there. If you really want a true full view veranda - the suites on level 6 Aft (a bit spendy) are nice but you can be seen from rooms above. The only other problem with this room is the shower - it is great with wall jets and rain head etc.. but the nice glass doors they have don't seal well and you tend to get water on the floor. (poor stateroom attendant kept it up as nice as possible) . To Aqua Class or not: we did it on a whim and at a good price - mostly for the access to dine in Blu - much nicer experience than the MDR. Other than the last night (there must have been some staff issue) , the service was impeccable. Also enjoyed breakfast on 3 mornings in Blu - a really calm, luxury dining experience. We also took advantage of the free access to the spa's Persian Garden (2 steamrooms + 1 dry and really nice heated lounge) - they sell a week access to others for $109 or $20 /day . These two perks make the Aqua class worth it if you can get a good price. The priority embarkation saved us 15-20 min. The sparkling wine comp is a bottle of their house sparkler (sells for $35 aboard) - not bad - it is what you would expect from a basic house wine. The other listed perks of Aqua are not much to worry about. Th itinerary was really good - it gave a good sample of what coastal Alaska is like. They get in really close to the Hubbard Glacier which is spectacular -great viewing from the room and even better up on deck 11. The ship remained at 1/4 - 1/2 from the face (turning a few times) for about 40 minutes . Juneau was great - we were there from 7am to 9pm so there was ample time to see things. The best was the "Mendenhall Glacier paddle and trek" excursion - where we paddled across Mendenhall lake to the glacier and put on crampon spikes and hiked the glacier ice for about an hour. ( expensive, limited availability, small group but worth it - they provide all the gear needed) . Ketchikan is a really cool little city - the Alaskan Riviera ! Icy Straight (Hoonah) is a small little village with a very small cruise port and a shuttle to take you 1 1/2 to the village. They have a zip line (world's largest ?) but watching those who did it, it didn't seem that cool ~ $175 pp.

Embarkation

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Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

Ketchikan, Alaska

Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Alaska

Juneau, Alaska

Skagway, Alaska

Seward (Anchorage), Alaska

Disembarkation