This was my first cruise and I believe it gave me the best opportunity to see as much of Canada as possible in seven days. I loved the pampering and friendliness of the staff, the delicious and varied meals, and the balcony in our stateroom (I don't think I could travel without one in the future!)
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was simple thanks to explicit, easy to follow directions.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The main dining room offered a new variety of dishes each evening. I was free to try new starters, entrees, and desserts with the knowledge that if I didn't like it, I could order a different dish. Our servers were friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive. The buffets offered a huge variety of choices throughout the day. Many stations served dishes fixed the way the customer requested. My only complaint would be the coffee as it was too strong for me even after I diluted it with hot water. I did not try a specialty restaurants since the meals elsewhere were delicious, varied, and served with a smile. I saw no need to add to the cost of the trip.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
I did not participate in the activities. The sights along the route the ship took were beautiful, so much of my free time was spent just enjoying the scenery.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
I did see a number of the ship's shows in the evening and enjoyed each one. The comedians were funny and geared toward families. The vocal performance was amazing as was the Cirque performance. The ship's own singers and dancers put on a delightful song and dance show highlighting Broadway musicals. It was a lovely way to end the week.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Without fail, every crew member that I saw smiled, asked how I was and how my day was going. Our stateroom attendant seemed to know what we needed, without being asked. He was unobtrusive, but kept our room neat and tidy all day long. My husband asked for an ice bucket the first day; each day after there was ice in the bucket, regardless of the time of day.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Everything on the ship was clean and well-maintained. That's an amazing fact when you consider how many people were on board!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our stateroom had more room than I was lead to expect from general cruising articles that I had read. The luggage fit under the bed; the closets held all of our clothing and had plenty of hangars, there was desk and counter space for incidentals as well as shelves and cabinets for additional storage. The bathroom is compact, but plenty of space for one person at a time!
We rode the bubble train from Anchorage to Seward. That was a phenomenal experience! We sat in the front car at the top of the train and there were glass windows surrounding us. Nothing to block our view of the gorgeous scenery around us. We saw many eagles and some wildlife. We also had breakfast on board and that was a delight as well as delicious. The men in our party of six went on a fishing excursion while the women toured the Sea Life Center. The aviary was our favorite spot with many of the birds putting on a performance for the visitors. There were many varieties of birds and ducks with the puffins being my favorite. The Center was over-priced, but educational. It promotes the protection of all wildlife in Alaska so the money goes to a good cause.
We found the local Catholic church which may be the smallest cathedral in the world. It was nice to be at mass with the local citizens and see the beauty of their more than a 100 year old church. The town itself is a larger city. We enjoyed exploring it. but not as much as the other towns we visited.
Skagway was a delightful town filled with history and fun to explore. We took the White Pass train/bus tour up the Klondike Highway. Our bus driver leaving town was great, giving us a lot of background of the area and pointing out various points of interest. We rode the train back down to town. I thought we might see more wildlife, but did not. The scenery was worth the ride.
This was a delightful stop. The shops at the Point we clean, spacious and filled with locally made items as well as touristy items. We hiked a nature trail, took a bus ride Hoonah, a nearby Tinglet village.There was an eagle's nest right in the center of town with two eagles in the tree nearby. There were many kayaks on the bay water.
This was a fun town with lots of history. We toured the former "red light" district, now shops and restaurants. The salmon weren't running, but we saw where they would be in a short time swimming upstream. We enjoyed the shops here.
This was not a port, but a beautiful day of cruising and soaking up the scenic views surrounding us. I wonder if anyone has ever counted the mountain peaks as it seems that there are an infinite number of them in Alaska!
Again, thanks to detailed instructions and the helpful Celebrity staff, disembarkation went smoothly. We paid to have Celebrity take care of our transportation to the airport and it was well worth it. We were directed to a bus who dropped us directly in front of the Customs section of the airport. Due to the huge number of people flying to their next destination, it was a lengthy process, but the lines moves smoothly and without a glitch. From the time we left the ship at 8:30 to the time we were ready to board the plane (having gone through Canada Customs and USA Customs, it was 11:30. I would not have expected it to take that long so would tell future travelers to pay for the the ship's guarantee to get you to the airport on time.
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