This was the first cruise we have been on since 2019 and it is apparent much thought has been put into simplifying embarkation and disembarkation to minimize large queue's of people, well assuming people can follow directions, that is. Many folks seemed to have problems with the Verifly and ArriveCAN app. They seemed easy and straight forward to me. I would encourage people to figure out how to use those app's, as it really does simplify things and avoids standing in an hour long line. The muster station drill has been vastly improved and takes maybe 10 minutes of your time instead of much more in the days when we had to gather and wait for a demonstration to teach us how to fasten a life jacket. We enjoyed the ports, but in hind sight wish we would have done a longer cruise that allows for more time to be spent in the ports. I've never been on a cruise with only ~4 hrs in port and that was the case for 3 of the ports. Overall the cruise was a hit with us, the crew were great, the buffet and MDR had typical cruise food and the specialty restaurants were excellent. The ports of call were interesting and some excellent excursions are available. I would recommend that for the Icy Point Straight port, that you either book an excursion, or just stay onboard as there really is nothing else there . . . a few shops and that's about it.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Follow Instructions and complete Verifly and ArriveCan, then bypass the long line of people that didn't do that and go to the cruise terminal entrance marked "verifly"
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The specialty restaurants were all excellent, the main dining room and buffet was on par with other cruise lines I've sailed with (I've been on Carnival, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean).
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Ship tip
We rented a cabana on Lido deck and enjoyed having butler service for lunch and dinner as well as a great and not crowded place to view the glacier's. It was well worth $199 for the week.
We did the most amazing "small group" whale watching excursion. A calf grey whale put on quite a show for us breaching over and over near our boat. We also saw probably 15 other whales in the area.
We did the bering sea crab boat excursion and thought it was excellent. An actual crab boat from the show deadliest catch has been converted with seating, so you can observe how fisherman go about their job of long lining, and crab fishing. The eagles of the area recognize the boat because they feed them. Its quite a show when wild eagles come within 20 ft of the boat to pluck herring from the water. Had zero time to explore the port however due to very short time in port.
For the first time, we did self assist disembarkation. I will always do this in the future. We got up, had a leisurely breakfast, packed our bags and walked right off the ship with no staging, no lines, no hunting for our bags, etc. It was definitely the way to go. It took 5 minutes for us to walk from our stateroom through the terminal and bingo we were out front ready to be picked up.
Thank you for an informative review. November will be our first cruise since COVID and our 3rd try for the Panama Canal Sunfarer. Liked your embarkation and disembark info. Have downloaded apps. Again, thanks. Your great review is much appreciated.
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