We got there later in the day (5:30ish) and when we arrived on 1 of 2 buses. The line was longer than I would have expected; however, it moved quickly even with covid protocols.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I am gluten free and they had options for me no matter where I chose to eat. The windjammer (where I ate breakfast and lunch and on occasion snacked) had a gluten free section and things were clearly marked gluten free. I visited the park bar (I think is what it was called) late one night for snacks with the group I was with, but they had no gluten free options. The main dining room had me choose dinner options the night before (from my cruising experience is common no matter what line your with); however, quite a few things when I choose them where unable to be made so that was a bummer.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
There were activities; however, with the weather being colder most were unavailable. I do wish they had planned better for outdoor activities in the colder weather since we were in Alaska.
Children's Programs
1 out of 5
The children’s activities were nonexistent. The outdoor activities were mostly closes due to weather (would have thought they would have considered this on an alaskan cruise). The arcade did not work for us at all, despite changing our cards. The pool situation was completely insane. The outdoor pool was closed except maybe once. The indoor pool (Solarium) was for adults only except 8 am - 10 am and 1 pm to 3pm. By the time the kids ate breakfast or lunch, there was little time left to swim before they had to leave the area. When we talked to the front desk about the limited options for kids, we were told that the cruise was geared for seniors, even though kids pay just as mich to be there, it was a senior geared cruise and we should have chosen a larger ship for our cruise. We told them we had no idea since we were not told this when we booked and since that is the way they do it, it would have been nice to have been notified so we could have chosen differently.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
While food service was a little slow, they were consistently good and friendly.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Constantly saw staff cleaning the ship, all day every day.
Ship tip
Choose another ship if booking for Alaska with kids. Also, book excursions when getting off the ship, each stop had plenty of choices and was either cheaper or a better deal (longer/more for the same price) or both.
About 9 of our group did snorkeling here, yes, snorkeling. We booked it through their website since they don’t book through the cruiseline anymore. We used www.snorkelalaska.com and it was hands down the highlight of the trip. They were super nice, explained everything and how things worked and what to expect. We were lucky and had pretty good weather, about 50ish degrees. I thought we would be cold, since it is Alaska, but we really weren’t. I was surprised at how many jellyfish there were. If I go back, hands down I would do it again.
We were in this port from 7pm to 11 pm, and alot closed at 8pm. We had dinner in the main dining room at our scheduled 5:30, and we got off the ship right after dinner (about 7:30-7:45). We walked around and visited a few shops. The thing that made this worth it was it was a much smaller place and far less commercial. Everyone who drove past us while we were walking waved. We went into the grocery store and people working there knew the other locals by name, so it had a more authentic vibe, it was more like a real Alaskan experience.
We dis the ziprider, which is the only excursion we booked through the cruiseline since they catered to the cruiselines first and we didn’t want to miss it. It was absolutely amazing and super enjoyable. I highly recommend it. After that we walked around the port area. We wanted to take the bus into town, but couldn’t find it. We walked along the beach and saw tons of starfish. It was a pretty stop and we all enjoyed it.
Some members of our group did the Mendenhall glacier and gardens tour, they enjoyed it but regretted booking through Royal Caribbean, since other members of our group payed $20 more for an extra 2 hours of whale watching (booked when they got of the ship). We ended up canceling our other bookings through the ship except in Icy Strait Point). Some of us did the tram up the mountain and explored, it was nice. We went to the red dog saloon, which was an awesome experience, I highly recommend it!
We walked around, a little and did the “To the summit” excursion, which we originally booked through the cruise and cancelled. We booked it again once we got off the ship (same excursion but saved some $). It was nice, but a little boring for younger kids. It really explained what people experienced during the gold rush in that area and the obstacles they had to overcome. It was very informative and interesting.
We arrived at the glacier at about 2pm so we were able to see it and the ship turned so everyone got a good view. We had binoculars so we could get a better view. The kids enjoyed seeing it as well.
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