This was my first time to Alaska, and my first time on a shorter 4 night cruise. I had misconceptions that the weather would not be nice enough and the cruise would feel far too short. The weather was very pleasant and my four days while short were still very fun and relaxing. It was a wonderful long weekend and I would both do a short cruise or a cruise to Alaska again in a heart beat.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We live near Vancouver, and I can not even begin to express how nice it was being able to leave the house, get dropped off at the terminal, and walk through security onto the boat. No flights, no overnight hotel... just simple drive and drop. Embarkment began at 11am so we arrived at 10:15am. By the time we walked through checkin and customs etc (which was all relatively empty) we were on the boat drink in hand by 11:06am. People who were meeting us on the boat arrived at 12:30 and took nearly 2.5 hours to go through the same areas, so arrive as early as you can!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The main dinning room was delicious, the menu didn't change as much nightly as other cruises I've been on but no meal was a disappointment! We also took part in the Chefs Table (six course meal with wine pairings) and WOW that was AMAZING. I highly recommend partaking if you can swing the the $100 per person extra, it is worth every single penny!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The entertainment/activities crew were really fun and engaging. From trivia and bingo, to dance parties and mini competition shows.. their enthusiasm and humour made it great. I participated in one of the teams for "Friendly Feud" (family feud) and it was ridiculously silly and fun. The entertainment onboard is what you make of it, so participate fully and get swept up in the crews exuberance.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
There was no bad service anywhere. All the crew were extremely friendly and helpful. I really appreciated in particular that in the spa I was not given a hard sales pitch to buy product after receiving a massage. That's been common on other ships I've been on, so it was refreshing to not end off a relaxing hour with an attempted guilt trip into spending more money.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
In 5 cruises this was the first time I have selected and inside cabin, Its a very different experience than having a balcony but between an inside cabin and outside facing (window, no balcony) I did not notice much difference in how the room felt to be in. The only thing I disliked with our room is that because we were on deck 2, we were the farthest away from fun areas of the boat which meant lots of walking or stairs, and calling an elevator to deck 2 at times took a very long time.
Ship tip
If you want to experience the rock climbing wall make sure you plan ahead.. find out when it will be open/sign up for time on it. I wandered past it a few times with the after thought of trying it out only to find it closed in those moments.
The port area is cute for a first time visit wander around. The shops are mostly just gift shops and expensive jewelry stores, so next time I visit I will be booking an excursion. However if you forego an excursion for wandering around shopping, The Ketchikan Crab & Grille had amazing dungeness crab for lunch and the staff there were very friendly and also able to accommodate one of my travel companions who is celiac.
We did express disembarkation (taking our own luggage off) and we waited in the coffee shop area on deck 5 for the line of people to start moving, then we were able to join the line and walk straight off, no fuss.
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