Our fourth cruise to Alaska so we were thrilled to see some things again. We'd call this cruise an "express" Alaska trip - if this is all you have time and budget for, great. If you can make more stops and see more of the state, even better!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Smooth. We had a 10:00-10:30am check in time. Everything moved quickly and we were in seats awaiting boarding as Group 12 within 15 minutes. We were on board the ship by noon and quickly began exploring the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Enjoyed every meal and in between too!
We had four specialty dinners with our package and chose Cagney's, Q, Cucina, and Ocean Blue. We also ate in the main dining room for dinner. We visited Taste and Savor for breakfasts and lunches.
Great food and service across the trip!
The Cellars - A Michael Mondavi Family Wine Bar
5 out of 5
We greatly enjoyed a wine and cheese pairing at The Cellars. Much fun and learning how our pallets are impacted by food and the wines we choose.
Q Texas Smokehouse
4 out of 5
Being from Texas, I'll share that the brisket at Q wasn't smoked low and slow enough - and it was just ok. Others at the table raved about the pulled pork and chicken being amazing. The sides and desserts were great! We took the opportunity to dance as the band, Big Iron, played some great music!We went back after dinner another evening and sat at the bar while the band played. We really enjoyed the music!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Overall we enjoyed the entertainment on the trip. Great musicians, especially at the piano/karaoke times. For the theater, one in our group needed to use the handicap seats at the rear of the theater and the sound wasn't well balanced for that location. Difficult to understand spoken words from stage. Singing and music were good/acceptable balance most of the time.
Icons- great singers and musicians. Our group was split on the 'Icons' chosen - Lady Gaga in the same stratosphere as Billy Joel? Others also available for polite debate too... But the performers were great! And we always appreciate live musicians.
The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's - we planned to see at least 2 performances but after the first one in the theater we were 'good'. Musicians were well rehearsed and of high quality. They did good versions of the songs, had great costumes, but didn't really sound like the Beatles to us.
Jersey Boys - we truly enjoyed this performance but the spoken words were difficult to understand in the handicap seats at the top of the theater.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Perfect service.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
We enjoyed all of the ship. We weren't at capacity for this sailing so elevators were easy to navigate and dining was easy to access.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We enjoyed this cabin. Great shower. Excellent location for access to forward viewing areas and easy walk to front or rear elevators
Ship tip
Explore!
And, the fish shapes in the carpet are swimming to the front of the ship. So if you want to go forward, follow the fish... If you want to go aft, then go 'against' the fish
Great visit. "Company" stores closed but locals glad to have us shop!
Chose Salmon Bake as an excursion. Quick bus ride over. Beautiful waterfall at the location. Glad it was cold as I think bugs would be an issue if too warm. Food was good, but not the best salmon we've ever had
Great visit to town. We had previously taken the white Pass and Yukon railroad excursion so this trip we simply explored downtown and shopped. "Company" stores closed but locals were happy to see us?a
Smooth. We took advantage of the Port of Seattle's luggage check in for our larger bags and sent them directly to the airport when we set them out on the last night.
We also took advantage of the wheelchair assist for departure and greatly appreciated the help all the way to the curb for our car service pickup.
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