This was our first experience on NCL, and overall it was good. We have previously cruised Carnival and love the frivolity and the family oriented atmosphere of Carnival (we aren't partiers so we don't go into that scene). We plan to cruise Alaska again and will probably go on Norwegian. We are planning to do a land/sea package next time.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This couldn't have been easier. We took the train from Anchorage to Seward and checked into the cruise right at the airport. We got our cards and they took our luggage. It legitimately took seconds.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The only specialty restaurant we at in was O'Sheehans. It was very good, however, we had a vegetarian in our party and she had a bit of a chore to find something. She chose a salad with Italian dressing but the dressing was very strange and very spicy. The main dining rooms were good. I typically don't love buffets, so we didn't eat dinner at the buffet but once, the breakfast buffet was good with lots to choose from. The omelet stations were mobbed!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
My daughter and husband enjoyed the pool one evening. It seemed that the pool was heated which was a definite bonus for my husband. They tried to do bingo however the price to do that was too much.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The entertainment on this cruise was delightful. The singer, and aerialists were phenomenal. We did not, however, enjoy the comedian. We thought he was racist and crass. We saw him on the welcome aboard show and within the first minute of him being onstage, we knew we wouldn't go see his show.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I cannot say enough good things about these hard working people that make the cruise lines what they are. They are all phenomenal.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Everything was clean and relatively easy to find.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The cabin was clean and mostly comfortable however they are SMALL! I will say that we had 4 people in our cabin so we knew it would be small, but this was like, crawl on the bed to pass anything small. We had a murphy bed as well so if we wanted to enjoy the balcony in the evening, we had to crawl across the bed and not hit our heads on the murphy bed to get out.
Ship tip
This is an older ship, so if you're looking for all the bells and whistles, this probably isn't it. It's comfortable and welcoming though.
You cannot get off the ship here. You just visit the area. We went out to the common viewing area and it was very nice, but our best view was from our aft balcony. Dan, our cruise director, was very informative about the glacier.
This port is beautiful. We did an excursion through Viator and did the brown bear search (grizzlies). Unfortunately we didn't see any, but our guide was amazing and fascinating. He was from Tlingit tribe and the stories he told of the island during WWII and growing up where he wasn't allowed to speak his native language are both horrific and fascinating. The ride around the island was just incredible. I don't feel we would've gotten to see that any other way.
We did a raft ride at the Mendenhall Glacier and just had the best time. Our guide was Master Oarsmen Connor and he was was adorable and funny. These are class 1 rapids so nothing that you would need to worry about for your kids, but it really was a lot of fun. On the way back, the bus driver let us off in the town and my husband and I went to Tracy's Crab Shack. Be prepared for the sticker shock on this. One crab leg was $28! Granted it was huge, but if you're hankering for Alaskan king crab, know that you're going to pay.
We went to Dawes Glacier instead. We couldn't get very close to the glacier however, because the ice floats were covered with hundreds of seals and NCL's goal is not to disturb the wildlife.
By far, my favorite port for the excursion and the shopping. We did a sled dog adventure/pan for gold excursion through Viator. The guide picked us up at the dock and we went for the most beautiful ride through the Yukon to the training center. We got to play with sled dog puppies and go for a ride. Afterward, we got to pan for gold and then it was back to port. Our guide stopped several times for us to get out and take pictures and we DID see a bear on our ride back. Jack let us get off in Skagway and we went into some of the coolest shops. I loved, loved this port.
I was disappointed in Ketchikan. We did do an "all in one" tour through Viator for this. It was clear that the guide had lived there a long time and knew a lot about the city, but I found him to be boastful. We spent a lot of time learning about salmon and not a lot of time learning about the Totems. We did stop several times for photos, but the beach where it was said that we could see seals and whales was about a 10 minute stop. We only drove past Creek Street, and disappointingly, never stopped. The main shopping hub in Ketchikan is Tongas trading, which I found to be somewhat touristy and cheesy. You had to look pretty hard to find something that was made in Alaska and not China. Even the things that I looked for and thought were made in Alaska, I got home and realized that they were just designed in Alaska, but made in China.
We booked a Vancouver highlights tour through shipmate for this port to take us from the cruise terminal to the airport and to visit some of this incredibly beautiful city. This excursion did not disappoint and even the price of the tower was included in the tour price. Stanley Park was amazing and we got to stop several times to see the different areas, including the Totem poles (our guide, who was British, told us way more about the Totems than the guide that had lived in Ketchikan for over 50 years!) We also got to go to the public market on Granville Island and I had some authentic poutine. The market was amazing! At the end, the guide drops you off at the airport near whichever airline you're flying home on. I highly recommend this trip if you have the time!
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