Bottom line....I was very "REAL" in my review. We loved this cruise. We would cruise with Holland America again. We were disappointed by a few things but overall, this was a great trip! TAKE DRAMAMINE WITH YOU! This is a rough ship at times. A lot of people got sick!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Easy embarkation. Just have your paperwork ready to go and show...and you will breeze right onto the boat!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
For the most part, excellent! There were a few times that we felt rushed in the dining room or wasn't given an order we requested but overall, pretty good!! Staff is friendly!!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Not a lot in the way of entertainment to choose from...but the way the port times are set up...that is not a big deal. We weren't looking for much in the way of entertainment anyway. We hate fighting the hoards of people for a seat at the Mainstage showtimes anyway...which are 8:00 and 10:00 nightly for whatever they have...something different each night. Missed almost all the shows.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
What we did see was good. Enjoyed it!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Staff is super friendly everywhere. Only ran across one rude staff and that was in ordering room service. He kind of freaked out because I asked for a few tortilla chips to go with the quesadillas and guacamole I was getting but I calmed him down by saying...it's ok...no stress...don't go through any trouble to add them. (Note: tortilla chips were plentiful on the boat since they were served continually at the Lido Deck as Nachos) Note to staff: Consider adding a few to the plate you offer in room service...that way we have something to enjoy guacamole and salsa with.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Very clean boat overall!
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The cabin is a bit of an issue...the design and overall cleanliness is great BUT we did find blood on our sheets at the first night. At first, we thought that maybe it was US bleeding from a razor...but we checked thoroughly and neither was bleeding anywhere....SOOOOOO that was super creepy. We talked to housekeeping the very next morning since we discovered it SUPER LATE...our housekeeper was accomodating and changed everything but nothing else was said until we told a supervisor named Job who sent Bosco to speak with us. They offered to test our blood on the ship but we declined. Yikes...that was by far the worst experience for the whole cruise and just a situation we will never have answers to...who knows? Were we offered any compensation for our grief, fear or worry? No...the matter was dropped. Shrug my shoulders at this point...as a manager...I would have done something!
Ship tip
Plan your excursions in advance...we didn't because we didn't know what was best to do. Choices seemed overwhelming so we wanted to talk to staff about it however, when we did that...we had other guests hanging over us, staring at us, and rushing us plus rushing the attendant too...and just making an overall jerk of themselves...(they had planned theirs and had a question so we were in the way----you know how people are nowadays, they are rude and impatient.) So we basically discussed all our options with a random third party standing over us and staring at us and we made decisions we may not have made had those guests been told to get in line and wait their turn...which is tough to wait...but fair!!! We waited our turn!!! (Note to staff: Put a rope up that defines a line for people to get in so that other guests do not walk up to the counter where guests are being waited on and be a nuisance to other paying guests handling their personal excursions.)
Stayed close to the Space Needle and got to do EVERYTHING we wanted. Which they will tell you in Seattle that the two things you must do is the SPACE NEEDLE AND PIKE PLACE PUBLIC MARKET. We did those things and that was COOL!
Great port...but a long time to be there. Alaska is beautiful everywhere but this is not the most beautiful port. We stayed until 10:00 pm so we got a lot of shopping in...you won't have that chance everywhere. We saw the Mendenhall Glacier...which is the supposed "MUST SEE".
Great port...great activities. Decent time at this port overall. Minimal shopping time at the end of our excursion. We did the Bears, Otters Oh My tour by boat. That is 3 hours long on the boat. Then onto the Bears by bus. We did see a lot of whales on this too! Great tour! Nice Tour guides.
Great to go to be able to say that you stepped foot on Canadian soil. But you get there SO LATE and then leave quick. It's a JOKE! We did the horse and buggy tour...it was dark on the way back just about. No time to shop except for a the port gift shop unless you go back into downtown...which we didn't choose to do. It was late already. The port gift shop is small and crowded and people were tripping out in there too being rude about checking out....it was a hassle to buy a couple of souvenirs. So.... think it all through before you plan.
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