Cruising to Alaska has always been a dream of mine, and I was not disappointed! I definitely suggest going on a whale cruise in Juneau. You do see whales from the cruise ship, but not that well. The salmon bake in Juneau should be a definite stop along with the White Pass Railway tour in Skagway! The salmon spawn mid July to September so that is the best time to go if you want to see them.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very smooth process and everyone was very friendly and helpful.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The buffet had the best food choices. The main dining rooms were just okay and not that good. We sent more food back in the main dining rooms than anywhere else. There were several specialty restaurants on the ship, but you had to make reservations the first or second day to be able to get into any of them. We were not that lucky and did not want to spend more money on food. The drinks were always good and they had a lot of variety. There were not a lot of late night options. There was only 1 location that you could get food 24 hours and the menu was very limited. You could also get room service, but we chose not to do that.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
It was definitely too cold for the pools! It was actually difficult to get into the fitness center in the mornings because every machine was full. They did have a lot of activities in the evenings, but a lot were scheduled at the same time so you could not participate in all of them. There was not a lot scheduled during the day at all.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
There were really only 2 staff members that stood out during our trip. Everyone else was all business and not friendly at all. We never even met our room steward. None of the bartenders ever smiled or encouraged conversation. I felt like we would get in trouble if we tried to hold a conversation with anyone.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Ship tip
We get to Glacier Bay at 6 AM in the morning! There is nothing telling you that you will arrive that early so be prepared. You really only get to see 2 glaciers and you don't want to miss out.
We arrived in Seattle earlier and visited the Space Needle, Pike's Fish Market, and the glass museum. We even went to a baseball game and had a fabulous time.
We did an excursion from the ship. It was the salmon hatchery, the Mendenhall Glacier National Park, and the Cold Creek Salmon Bake. I recommend doing the whale watching instead of the hatchery unless you are there mid July through September. The salmon spawn at that time so there was nothing to see at the hatchery. The Mendenhall Glacier National Park was was wonderful and I definitely recommend walking the trail to the waterfall. It was beautiful! The salmon back was the best meal of our trip. The staff was wonderful and the food was incredible. It was a great location with a creek and another beautiful waterfall.
We booked the Railway Tour through Chilkoot Tours (ask for Mike as your tour guide)! We took a bus ride up the mountain and then rode the train back down. It was a long day (8 hour excursion), but so worth it. We were served lunch on the train, but I would recommend bringing some snacks. You are on the train for about 4 1/2 hours. You get to stop once and get off to explore an old town. You stop several times in the bus to take pictures on the way up. The scenery was incredible!
I wish we had an entire day in Ketchikan. It appears to be a wonderful city and we were not able to explore as much as we wanted to due to time contraints. We did a duck tour once we got off the boat that lasted for 90 minutes and it gave us a quick overview of the town. By the time we did that and out souvenir shopping, it was time to head back to the boat. There is a lot to explore in Ketchikan!
It was a beautiful city, but you are there from 6 to 11:30 PM and 4 cruise ships arrived at the same time. Everyone was trying to get off their ships and get to the downtown area at the same time...AND it was a Saturday night so the locals were out as well. You could not get into any restaurants/pubs/bars at all. I would have prefered staying in Ketchikan longer and skipping this port altogether.
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