After reading some negative reviews, I want to start off by saying those people must be incredibly fussy. We had a family adventure of 10 people of varying ages and everyone had an absolutely incredible time. Everything went smoothly, from the flight there to the flight home. The views were just awesome, and we were lucky with sunshine every day we were in Alaska. We enjoyed the food -- the specialty restaurants were delicious and the buffet was just what we needed as a family with 2 small children who were happy to have choices and eat quickly. The staff were friendly, the ship was clean, and we enjoyed all of the activities we took part in.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Easy and relatively quick considering the number of people on this ship
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Having 2 children 6 and under, the Garden Buffet was the easiest dining for us and there was always something the kids were happy with as well as something to satisfy adult appetites. We also dined in 3 specialty restaurants. We all thoroughly enjoyed Teppanyaki -- the kids were happy to have kids meal options (as were we to not have to pay adult prices for food they wouldn't eat) but the chef offered all of the traditional items to them as well. We both got the filet and chicken and they were delicious! The second specialty restaurant we ate at was Q -- the food was typical for BBQ and plentiful. We couldn't even eat dessert, though it was included in the specialty dining package. The waitress packed up my mother's and she brought it back to her room! The final specialty restaurant we at in was La Cucina. There were several courses so it was a bit slow for the kids, but they enjoyed their plain spaghetti just the same. The carbonara and filet were fantastic. We were very pleased with all of our dining experiences.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The kids loved the water slide with the loops. Waiting in line was cool, but you expect that in Alaska! My husband braved the more intense slide and got stuck half way -- as did many passengers. Fortunately, they had a hatch to let you out when that happens. I opted out of that for fear of getting stuck. We walked through the fitness center, which seemed adequate, but we were happy to have a week break from our normal exercise routine. We did use the racetrack, aracade, and virtual reality rides and enjoyed all of them. I wish there was a package that would have made all of these things a bit more affordable. The arcade package did not include the games and activities we chose, and overall we figured for a family of four we spent about $130 on these activities -- still less than the arcade package.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
My children only attended twice, but the staff was welcoming and organized.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Everyone was cheerful and helpful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
It was tight with 4 passengers in this amount of space, but it was what we expected on a cruise ship. The room was clean and the pull down bunk beds worked well for the 2 kids. There wasn't a lot of space to walk around but we didn't spend much time in the room and in the evenings after the kids fell asleep we enjoyed sitting on the balcony.
We did the tour of Seattle at the end and had a very knowledgeable tour guide. It was hard to adjust back to a city after such amazing Alaskan excursions though.
We had an amazing time on our buggy tour. The guide was fabulous and it was the perfect family excursion. 10 of us went together and it was all that we hoped for and more.
Dogsledding on the Mendenhall glacier was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life -- something I will never forget. It was well organized and the amazing weather only enhanced our journey!
We had a blast on the zipline -- I wanted to go again! The kids loved the Chickpea adventure course, it was the perfect size for my 4 and 6 year old and gave them something adventurous to do.
It was OK -- paled in comparison to Alaska, but there was a lot to live up to. We just did the horse and buggy tour and then took the shuttle to the shopping area in the city. It was fine, it just wasn't Alaska
Glad you enjoyed it. Alaska is an incredible place. I have seen some of the negative reviews as well and I always wonder how some people can find a way to be miserable on a cruise or a vacation.
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