Decided to book an Alaska cruise after the cruise I'd been wanting to do could no longer be booked for a solo cruiser without having to do some pretty dumb things to get it booked. I'm thrilled to say that I've now been to the largest and northernmost state, and I met so many nice people, several of whom were fellow solo cruisers!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Extremely quick with going through the terminal. Due to the early time that some passengers arrived, myself included, we had to wait in a room after passing through security, where we were called in groups to board. Thankfully, it wasn't too terribly long of a wait, and it was great that there was a room for us to sit and wait!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Most food in the main dining rooms and buffet was delicious, but there were some things that were really lacking in flavor, such as some chicken things, and the strip steak was not as good as on my other cruises. The desserts, however, did not disappoint my incredible sweet tooth!
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Not nearly as many planned activities as my previous 2 cruises. Some days had barely any activities planned at all. Not sure if it's because the ship was smaller, or if that's how the cruise line is as a whole, but I'll keep it in mind for any future cruises with NCL. I did attend some trivia sessions (one of which I won!), a game show about movies, a fruit carving demonstration, and a presentation about Alaska.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Only attended 4 nights of entertainment in the theater, but everything I saw was amazing. The ship's production cast put on a lovely showcase of Burt Bacharach's music, as well as an incredible performance of song and dance from around the world. I also attended both comedy magic shows put on by a husband/wife duo, and they did plenty of tricks that truly wowed me!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Excellent service from everyone all around! Everyone was always so nice and polite and smiling.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Extremely easy to find your way around on the ship, and it was so great how quickly you could walk from one end to the other. The ship was incredibly clean all around.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
I booked a "guaranteed" room, and ended up with a room than can accommodate 5 people! I definitely loved having a larger room all to myself. There was a ton of storage space, and I loved the nice open area when walking in. The shower was tiny, though, which made it incredibly hard for the shower curtain to stay in place when I'd move around.
Ship tip
Due to the ship's smaller size, you can definitely feel the swells more often. I strongly suggest bringing some form of nausea prevention with you, especially if you used to be prone to motion sickness!
Didn't do any excursions here. Walked around the city (which, there were walking tours and carriage rides, but why pay when I can see the same sights on my own for free?), and I thought Victoria was absolutely stunning! The legislative building is incredible, and the Confederation Garden Court across the road was beautiful, with a nice fountain and a display of each province's/territory's coat of arms (I think that's what they were, but I could be wrong). Lovely architecture all around the city!
I did the excursion to the Fortress of the Bear. I wish there'd been more than 30 minutes allotted to spend there, but I thought those bears were so adorable, and they were certainly curious about their human visitors! Afterward, I walked around downtown for a while; Sitka is a pretty area with lots of history!
Very little to see here if you're not doing an excursion other than riding the mountaintop gondola (if you're docked at Wilderness Landing). That's what I did, but it was perfectly fine for me because it was a pretty neat ride to the summit, and the views were spectacular! There's also a free tram ride down the other side of the mountain to the area near the other cruise ship dock, so at least there's a little more for you to see if you're not doing an excursion.
Did the streetcar tour. The driver was super informative about Skagway's history and was very entertaining, creating a lot of laughs amongst the tour group. Walked around for a while after the tour concluded to get some more pictures.
Flew in 2 days early because it was a lot cheaper than flying in the day before. I stayed at a hostel pretty close to the cruise port and the city's top sights. I walked to the Space Needle, although I didn't go to the top, and I rode the Great Wheel.
I rode the Goldbelt Tram, which gives an incredible view of the city! I also walked across the Douglas Bridge, which connects Juneau and the adjacent Douglas Island, so it was a pretty cool sight to see Juneau from the other side! It was on my birthday that the ship docked here, so I had a very nice afternoon here.
Opted to not do any excursions here. There's not too much to see in downtown that's worthy of snapping pictures, but I still managed to see some things that I chose to get pictures of. Creek Street is a very popular part of downtown, and I did think it was charming to walk along. Was a nice shuttle ride to and from the ship.
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