Overall the cruise was amazing! I'm glad we planned excursions at each port in Alaska and I'd definitely go again! Just don't expect awesome food at the buffets or complimentary restaurants. Also, don't go to the complimentary restaurants if you're already hungry. The wait was around an hour for each meal.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Excellent. We paid for Priority and we're able to skip the long line. I definitely recommend it!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The soda options were not good on the ship. They basically had coke and diet coke only. We were pretty bummed about it since we bought the unlimited drinks package. The virgin pina coladas we're on point though!!!
We spent most of our meals in Garden Cafe because the restaurants took forever to bring us our food.
The cafe was pretty good with lots options but there was rarely ever fresh fish, shrimp or any other seafood. I expected a lot more seafood on an Alaskan Cruise. The desserts seemed to always leave something to desire. They looked so pretty but they lacked flavor in a big way.
We went to Cagney's for dinner one night and it was incredible! One of the best meals I've ever had and definitely the best on the ship. Our dessert there was delicious so we were very disappointed in the desserts at the buffets.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We went on the Race track, did mini golf and laser tag. We enjoyed them all. We loved that we could collect jewelry throughout the trip and enter multiple raffles as well. We watched and participated in several of the group activities, such as Battle of the sexes, and it was great. We belly laughed a lot!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We watched several performers and saw the Jersey Boys. Be careful when you go to a show because there is a standby line. We were told by a staff member to get in line even though I told them we already had reserved our tickets and they almost caused us to miss the show. While most of the staff knew what was going on, I'd say 1 in 7 didn't and they caused a lot of confusion.
Children's Programs
I didn't bring my kiddos with us.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Most of the staff was amazing but we did run across a very rude bartender. He was just grumpy and told us there were limits on our non alcoholic drinks, even though we prepaid for unlimited.
Then there was the guy who almost made us miss the show because he told us we had to wait in the standby line even though we already had tickets. That was very frustrating because we were in line for over 15 minutes before my sister in law came out to find us.
There was a day they shut down the waterslides due to light rain. That was confusing because, well, it's a waterslide.
Then there was an issue with room service where they forgot half our food but we didn't have time to call because it didn't arrive until 15 before we needed to get off the ship for our excursion. We had put out the room service order on our door the night before.
With those few exceptions, the rest of the staff went above and beyond!!!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was great and almost everyone on staff seemed to step in when needed. The ship was always clean and well maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin was a lot roomier than I expected it to be after reading previous reviews of rooms. The pillows were not comfortable at all if you use a firmer pillow at home. They are very thin and you have to squish them together several times throughout the night.
Our toilet only flushed half the time. I kept meaning to call about it but we were so busy from sun up to sun down. At times it would take pushing the button 10+ times to get it to engage.
There was plenty of closet space and drawers for those like me who unpack right away. If you're like my hubby and just live out of your suitcase (or floor pile 🤣) then that won't matter to you.
Ship tip
Take advantage of the onboard activities each day. They were a blast! Also, have your luggage taken directly from your ship to the airport when available. We accidently missed the cutoff and it was a huge pain to wait in the line to retrieve our luggage from customs. It took forever and we had to lug it around everywhere with us.
This was our favorite port! We went to the Dog Mushing adventure and tour. Our driver, Stuart, was hilarious and is one of our favorite people now !
He pulled over at several amazing spots and even stopped on the side of the road when we came across a bear so we could take pictures of her. We got to meet a 19 year Musher who's now qualified to do the Iditarod and play with puppies.
We saw a giant frozen lake, weeping rocks, waterfalls, mountain goats and more along the way. It's a 6 hour tour and we were never bored.
In Ketchikan we scheduled a 4 hour private Hummer tour and our guide was awesome! He took us to several local places so we could avoid the big tourist crowds. We did a hike to a beautiful waterfall, saw a lot of the island and did some shopping.
We didn't bring our passports but only our birth certificates. We thought you needed passports to leave the ship so we just checked out the city from the deck.
This was tough. We were told we'd have priority disembarkation but when we asked, they told us we had to wait worth everyone else. The line was pretty crazy and it took forever to get through. It took even longer to get our luggage after we went through customs.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
