My first cruise was incredible. The scenery in Alaska was majestic and the ship board experience was much more than I imagined. I had a wonderful balance of relaxing on the ship, top notch entertainment and excellent customer service to help me feel pampered.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
There was a little line, but it moved fairly quickly. Staff was helpful and kind.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
For dinner I went to the main dining room 5 nights and the food selection was fantastic. There was a great variety of choices. It was fun to try new dishes. The buffet offered a lot of choices at all hours of the day and night. Everything was delicious and convenient.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There were a lot of activities to choose from. I didn't do a lot, but enjoyed having so many possibilities each day. I'm sober, so am grateful they offered meetings for friends of Bill W, they helped me stay grounded throughout the cruise. I went to a few workshops, presentations and did a little arts & crafts. I enjoyed each of them.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The ship's stage shows were a spectacular treat. I went to the dance showcase and Bayou stage show, loved the high energy entertainment. Steve Moris, the comedian was fantastic. I haven't laughed that much in years, he was just what the doctor ordered. Additionally, Naathan Phan, the magician/comedian was funny and very entertaining.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
My room steward, Lawrence Dotimas was wonderful. He was always very helpful and kind. When my hands were full, he went out of his way to help me. The waiters were great and was very impressed with the guys in the white coats who were helpful and accommodating to people at my tables who had special diets. Everyone was great, top notch, kind and helpful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship design and layout worked well for me. My room was in the front, so everywhere I need to go, was easy for me to get to.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
At the last minute, Princess upgraded me to a balcony, D208. It was absolutely perfect. The size was great and I just loved the view. I was grateful for the benefit of being able to go out on my balcony to take photos or just sit in front of the window, to enjoy the view.
We stayed on the ship, but got somewhat close to the glacier. I loved viewing the variety of scenery around the glacier (icy chunks in the water, iceberg and snowcapped mountains).
It was spectacular. I was able to view the glacier from several different spots on the ship, including my balcony. It was breathtaking. I highly recommend going outside, despite the weather; being able to feel the crisp air, completed the experience.
We had a gorgeous sunny day in Skagway. I went on the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari excursion. We went on an hour boat ride out to the point. The naturalists on the boat were super informative and entertaining, so the time passed quickly. At the point, we took a fun school bus ride through the rainforest and then took a 30' canoe out to the glacier. The colors surrounding us just popped (emerald green trees on the shore of the grey/blue glacier lake and the light aqua blue glacier appearing to be frozen in time as it melts down between the mountains). We got to walk through glacier rivers with our rainboots on. To top it off we were given lunch at picnic tables, surrounded by yellow wildflowers.
It was a bigger town than Skagway, rather spread out. I went whale watching with Juneau Whale Watching and had a great time. We saw a few whales, even a mama and her calf. We saw sealions on the buoy. Afterward, they dropped us off at Mendenhall Falls to walk around at our leisure. I didn't have a lot of time, so I power walked to Nugget Falls which gave me a closer view of the glacier and an amazing view of the falls. There were even icebergs in the lake.
I didn't book an excursion, but spent time walking around the town. Creek Street was colorful and picturesque, but very crowded. I went to the city park, met a local woman and visited with her and her son.
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