we enjoyed certain parts of this cruise and other parts we disliked. Don't think we will use this cruise line again, we were not in ports very long so we feel we did not see very much of all Alaska had to offer, we will be going back but not on NCL.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Since we were Haven passengers embarkation was a bit confusing, but we did get on board fairly easy.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Most of the food was very bland & cold. Buffet was like a cattle call with limited seating, breakfast was very disappointing, waffles like bricks, scrambled eggs were powdered eggs, only good food was the fruit, bacon was barely cooked. Breakfast only served till 9:30 a.m. so if you were up late, no breakfast for you unless you wanted to give up sleep. The best meal we had which we had to pay for was at the Teppanyakee Japanese restaurant, that food was awesome. O'sheehans which was also a free dining for us the food was bland, very skimpy portions but the service was acceptable. Same experience at Tsar's palace.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
went to the casino as really the only interesting thing to do unless you want to play shuffleboard, basketball or pay out the butt for bingo cards, the Casino was very nice and fun, of course you were paying for playing etc.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Shows were Ok, comedy was the best as well as Luminesce. Magician was very funny. Did not attend farewell show so cannot comment on that. The Haven passengers had special seating that in my opinion was awful, off to the far left in the upper balcony, looking at the stage from the side.
Children's Programs
Our children are in 20's
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
service and the staff was very good, our room stewardess Regina was fantastic and Bowen our Concierge was very very helpful, we had a small medical emergency , he even came to the ships doctors office, he got us off the ship at ports quickly and got us off on final day for our excursion. He made reservations for us etc, he really worked hard to make our experience fantastic and easy
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Lay out was Ok, the elevators are a nightmare, only mid ship elevators went to our floor(14) waited forever to go up, on excursion days it was horrible, 1,000 people all trying to go UP from 4th deck, and again none of them went to our floor so we had to get off walk to midship and wait again. Made the whole trip miserable,
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Cabin was very nice, we had a 2 bedroom two bath suite on the Haven floor. the main bedroom was a king size bed and was very nice, the second bedroom was a sleeper couch, that couch was so hard even with 2 or more pads on it, I felt like I was sleeping on the floor. I called Regina our stewardess she brought the cabin supervisor with her and they put a full size mattress on top of the couch mattress, the shower in this room was not adequate, water pressure was so light you could not feel it hit the top of your head, the sick faucet only had very hot water that worked. Our kids stayed in a mini-suite on deck 11 and they loved it. The haven guest lounge had a great hot tub and a exercise pool(very small) a steam room and 2 pieces of exercise equipment, we had a private viewing deck on top that we all used for the glacier viewing that was real nice, staying in the Haven was better than being in general cabins but it definitely was not all we expected for the money we spent.
Ship tip
Don't expect a lot, the food is mediocre at best and there is hardly any activities especially if you don't drink, and definitley not for small kids, they will be bored. Cruise carnival for kids, next time we cruise we are going to Hawaii and will be traveling on Royal Caribean. Some people may love this cruise line and think all is wonderful, to each there own, this is just our opinion of our experience.
we took a tour of Seattle then on to the airport, it was supposed to be 3.5 hours long, we went to the space needle, after we finally got up there we had about 5 minutes to look around and go back to the bus, no shopping time etc, then we went to Pikes market, we had 1.5 hours there but the thousand of people made it impossible to shop or enjoy.
this port was beautiful, we did a lumberjack and totem pole excursion, the lumberjack show was similiar to like a Disney land show, we had to walk from the ship to this show, probably 1.5 miles. From there we got on a bus to the totem state park, I was not allowed to use the restroom when we got there because the lines were to long and our tour guide did not want to wait. This port had the most shopping with easy access from the ship. Our sons went on a 6.5 hour sea fishing excursion, they fished for 4 hours and then all the fish they caught which was 9 each, were taken back to the base camp and they were cooked for them and served with sides, they both said it was the best experience of their life.
this port was breathtaking we took an excursion that we drove 4x4 vehicles up a steep mountain in a national park, we ate wild blueberries, so many waterfalls, on the way back we went to a mountain lodge that had breathtaking views and we were fed a wonderfull meal. That excursion made our trip.
I hate to break it to you but the inside cruises are all
alike. I have been there on 3 different cruise lines and they offer short excursions and usually offer a morning and afternoon one of the same thing. Or if it is a long one it is super expensive.
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