Long-time traveler, first-time cruising - a great experience. Loved being in a group. Infiltrating smoke a problem, as mentioned. The lesser wifi/internet package seemed worthless . . . one in our group had the higher-speed option and as much problems and woes as us. Some of the upsales efforting by staff became tiresome.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Effortless
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Did "My Dining" for dinners in Cascades - 8 PM daily; Jervie (waiter) & Francis (asst. waiter) were fabulous. Breakfasts & lunches in Windjammer - just fine. No drinks/alcohol packages.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Wish there weren't problems with smoke from smoking areas infiltrating the Centrum and public areas. Really created a problems with several in our group that had asthma/respiration challenges and irritating to the rest of us.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
As expected, worked well. Balcony plexiglass hadn't been cleaned for weeks/months from foul fowls, but we let it go.
Ship tip
Big but not too big. A little bit of everything for everyone to enjoy.
Nice views as captain brought ship in relatively close, did a 360-degree spin for all to see, then headed back out. Spectacular day and views; enjoyed the calving of the glacier.
Bonus: Avis car rental within walking distance of dock, so we rented two cars and made our way around the island - out to Mendenhall Glacier and spending as much time as we wanted, back into out, and north again. The car rental really worked out well for us. Also enjoyed the Northern Lights leaving Juneau for Skagway at night.
Enjoyed walking through town and the National Park sites and tour while we were waiting for our afternoon excursion; enjoyed what ended up being a private kayaking experience on Lake Chilkoot, the 9 of us in 3 kayaks. Great guides, great day. And more Northern Lights at night.
Enjoyed a little bit of time in the old salmon cannery and the museum-like treatment around all the sales racks and kiosks; chartered a private whale-watching boat with James and Andrew - plenty of humpbacks, eagles, sea otters, a sea lion
Most of our group wanted to attend the lumberjack show - it is what it is. Did a rainforest excursion/raptor sanctuary - easily the weakest excursion of our trip. We waited until last minute to book our Ketchikan outings, so we're partly to blame. Would like a do-over there.
Wasn't sure how final day of "sailing only" could match the Hubbard experience, but we loved the views, the mountains, the inlets and islands of the Inside Passage more than we anticipated. Also, plenty of orcas and some porpoises to entertain as well. Was worried the cruise was going to be anti-climatic the last full day, but it was a great finale.
Simply got off (toward the end of the carry-your-own-luggage early departure) and went through border control — it was a breeze (helped to have Global Entry, when benefited our group. Also, we took the light rail public transportation from the nearly Waterfront Station (only a couple of blocks from the dock) — less than $22 for the five of us and about 30 minutes later, we were at the airport. It took about the same time at 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of others taking a taxi from dock to airport.
Simply got off (toward the end of the carry-your-own-luggage early departure) and went through border control — it was a breeze (helped to have Global Entry, when benefited our group. Also, we took the light rail public transportation from the nearly Waterfront Station (only a couple of blocks from the dock) — less than $22 for the five of us and about 30 minutes later, we were at the airport. It took about the same time at 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of others taking a taxi from dock to airport.
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