Our cruise to Alaska was an amazing experience. The only thing I would change is I might try to pick an itinerary with more Alaska time. I just loved it!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Our parents are diamond level so it was very quick.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We ate in the main dining room 4 times - once for breakfast which was the buffet food but with a wait time, once for lunch which was meh, and twice for dinner which we enjoyed. We would have had dinner in the dining room more but we had purchased the 3 night specialty dining. This purchase was well worth the money. Delicious food in Chops, Izumi, and Wonderland. We also had bruschetta (sp?) at the Oak and Amber pub as a kind of snack between meals one afternoon, and it was quite good.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We went to several trivia events, which we do enjoy, but we kind of wished that there was some themed trivia like pop culture, music, sports and such. We enjoyed the Love and Marriage game show- nothing new there but still a good time. We also participated in the Battle of the Sexes. The men won this time by one point. And I can't forget to mention the two Hush parties- a dance party where everyone is wearing headphones. I had a really good time at these.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We went to Pixels and it was very fun, but I have to say that the performance by Mosaic was amazing. Listening to them sing gave me chills at some points during their show. There were laughs in the show as well. I highly recommend catching Mosaic if you get a chance.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We truly had fantastic and friendly service everywhere we went. We did have one bartender who did not know how to make a margarita, but he was sheepish about it and got some help.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Everything was lovely. The only thing I could say is that we missed the "atrium" area that we have seen on other ships- the main gathering area with music in the lobby and usually a bar, that kind of thing. I guess on a giant ship like the Ovation you really don't want there to be a main gathering area for all those people!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was our first cruise with a balcony and we LOVED it. Don't think we can go back to an inside cabin. There was so much more space and storage! My husband loved leaving the balcony door open at night.
Ship tip
Comfortable shoes. This is a huge ship and you will be doing a lot of walking.
We did the Taste of Juneau which included a cooking demonstration and a visit to the Alaska Brewery. This was an okay excursion itinerary that was made really fun because of the people involved. Our tour driver was always ready with bad jokes. The couple who did the cooking were charming and friendly. Everyone at the brewery was friendly and helpful as well. It was a nice way to spend a few hours.
Fell in love with Skagway. Our excursion left mid afternoon so we had time to walk around town and visit a couple of breweries. I had read about Spruce Tip Ale, so I was on a mission to find it! You can only get it in two places in Skagway and we went to both. I really enjoyed the crisp flavor. Our excursion was the Wildlife Preserve outside of Haines. We took the fast ferry to Haines and then a bus ride to the preserve. Both were very informative and enjoyable. Then we got on a small open air boat and rode all around seeing one moose, several birds, and an eagle's nest. The entire experience was just beautiful.
Standing on our balcony, I was in awe of the "bergie bits" floating by and all of the beautiful mountains and waterfalls. Words cannot adequately describe it. Even the pictures we took don't cut it, because you don't grasp the grandeur of it. This was an amazing morning.
We did a walking food tour that was really fantastic - A Taste of Victoria with Andy as our tour guide. We went to 5 or 6 different places and sampled meatballs, macarons, an Italian bakery, pieroges, local beer, even some biscuits. Andy also had interesting history to talk about as we wandered. This was really a great experience.
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