It was a great cruise and worth every cent. We will definitely do Alaska again to experience different excursions.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We were picked up from our hotel, Double Tree at SeaTac. A short bus trip to ship, and no line up - straight through to check in and allowed to board strait away. We were told our room may not be ready. Decided to check and went straight there. Our steward was just finishing up so welcomed us in and introduced himself. Couldn’t have ran smoother.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
As usual the food was great. I opted for the soft drink package, as I am not a huge alcohol drinker - is cheaper for me to buy as I go. My partner isn’t a big drinker either and mainly sticks with water so she didn’t have a package.
We originally opted for ‘anytime dining’, however after the first night we changed to a fixed time with same table and wait staff. This was mainly due to my partner being coeliac - to make it easier to order the next nights meals etc. When we changed to fixed time, we were lucky enough to snag a table for 2 in a nook, with a window overlooking the ocean behind the ship.
Our waitstaff were fantastic and service was great.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
On our sea days we were able to keep busy enough. We found things to do, even if it mean just relaxing or having a quiet drink.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Most entertainment was good and enjoyable. There were a few performances that weren’t as good (for me), but they were enjoyed by others.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
As expected, service was impeccable and all staff we encountered were helpful and friendly.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was well appointed with what you would expect. It was clean and tidy. Our room steward ensured that the room was kept well. Any clothing we left sitting about was always either folded as left on the bed or hung in the wardrobe.
Turn down service was completed each night, always with a few extra chocolates left for us.
Ship tip
It’s a large ship - when you first board, use the few hours to have a look around and suss things out, and of course, enjoy a drink or two.
We based ourselves in Seattle for this trip. We are from Adelaide, Australia, so flew Adelaide to Melbourne, Melbourne to LA, LA to Seattle. Long flights! We spent our first night in Seattle (SeaTac) and conked out. The next morning, strait to the ship.
Once the cruise had finished, we stayed in Seattle (Westin) for a week before heading home.
We didn’t book any excisions through the ship with Seattle, just did it ourselves.
Nice coastal town - as they all are! We did a nature cruise and hike excursion in the Tongass National Park.
Although the day started of raining, by lunch time it had cleared right up to blue sky’s and sun.
After our excursion, we were able to walk the town and visit Creek Street and the shops along the way. Great port with lots of personality.
This was probably one of our most exciting ports to visit, mainly due to our excursion - helicopter flight and landing on Mandenhall Glacier, which we then had a guided walk on.
This port call wasn’t overly long, so we returned to the ship after this.
This was en evening call, getting in around 6pm. We were only here until 11pm.
We chose to go the Butchart Gardens to see the fireworks display.
The gardens we were able to see were great, however, this night was the last of the season for fireworks and was extremely busy. We didn’t get time to explore the rest of the gardens due to the sheer number of people.
Another nice town with personality. Very scenic and full of character.
We did two excursions here, the first being dog sledding at the Mushers Camp followed by a motor coach tour up the Klondike Highway to White Pass Summit.
Although it went pretty smoothly, they seemed to be running a little ahead. We arrived at our meeting point at our allotted time, only to find our colour have already disembarked. There were a few others this happened with also.
There was no waiting once we were off - we were able to locate and collect our luggage straight away and then head to our coach for transfer to our hotel in Seattle.
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