Very nice cruise with the following exceptions: For some reason the medallion technology just didn't work. Although it opened the door consistently--that was about it. Finding friends via the app worked about 25 % of the time. The app crashed constantly--went to the guest services area about once a day to fix problems (so did everyone else in our group). Some days couldn't reserve dining. Drinks came about half the time when ordered (took 1 1/2 hours to get drinks delivered on 2 occasions). Got the feeling that they were very short staffed. The other issue that was very frustrating was that we were unable to get any specialty dining reservations once on the ship--all booked up. Some staff on board told us that not all specialty dining was open daily due to staffing shortages.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Very crowded San Francisco embarkation--but went relatively smoothly. There were long lines to get on the ship, so be prepared for 20-30 minutes of standing on the gangway once your embarkation number is called.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Buffet and restaurants were above average. Since we were a 6 person group and many enjoyed the dining room experience, we ate 80% of our meals in the dining room. Generally very little waiting for a 6 person table--the same wait time if reserved or not reserved. The wait staff was excellent. The buffet was decent--nothing special but we all seemed to find enough to eat. Really enjoyed the hamburger place and many liked the international cafe breakfast and lunch offerings. There were no specialty restaurant reservations available when we got on the ship--they were completely booked.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Folks actually swam daily in some of the pools and the hot tubs were used frequently (about half of the hot tubs were inexplicably closed.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The mini-suite was a nice size. Enjoyed the extra room. Our friends had balconies and were very small. (Only 1 chair to sit on other than the bed).
Ship tip
Book specialty restaurants ahead of time if you want to go to a specialty restaurant.
Beautiful city. Tours on debarkation day were completely booked up which was disappointing and there was no place to "hold" one's luggage. (It was a Sunday so the luggage holding places were closed).
The Mendenhall ship excursion was sold out so we booked in advance a much cheaper excursion thru Viator. Same thing, different bus. You can also just book an excursion to Mendenhall (or anywhere else) once you get off the ship. Again, a very walkable city.
There is plenty to do in Skagway--just getting off and walking around is so much fun. Many, many shops and it's a safe, clean city. Unfortunately lots of rain the day we were there and ended up waiting for our excursion to begin for 45 minutes in the pouring rain on a super windy day. (you would think there would be more shelter available since it rains so much). We took the ship's shore excursion to Kroshel Wildlife Refuge. Took so long to get there--45 minutes by boat, then a 45 minute bus ride (longer due to road construction). Most on the excursion really liked the circus atmosphere of the animal refuge--I thought it was very weird. Kids will love it.
Beautiful scenery. The captain turned the boat around 360 degrees so everyone got to see the amazing views. Lots of floating ice with seals sunning themselves.
Always a great port stop--lots to do right off the ship. You can spend the day just walking around. Plenty of shore excursions to sign up for right on the pier if you haven't signed up for a ship tour. We went on "The Deadliest Catch" boat and thought it was one of the best excursions we have been on.
Just got off the ship and walked around. Several good restaurants that reportedly served excellent food. I went shopping and enjoyed going in a few stores--there were about 10 stores within walking distance of the pier. One included local artists and one boutique woman's clothing store. The pier area is very clean and nice.
Sorry you had so much trouble with the app. We were on the Grand recently and it was fabulous to use. Going to be on the Ruby in February so I hope they figure it out by then. Sounds like you had a great time on shore.
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