We have had Alaska on our "bucket list" for several years. We chose NCL Sun for the longer itinerary (10 days vs the usual 7) and a May departure. We have found that cruising while schools are still in session and longer trips means fewer children aboard. We've cruised with our kids and grandkids during vacation time, but when we are alone we like the relative peace and quiet of a more "senior" demographic. That said, the families we did see aboard had very well-behaved kids. This was our first NCL cruise, tho we've been aboard Carnival (2) Oceania (2) RCCL (4) and Holland America ships in the past.

We stayed in a hotel in Vancouver the night before we boarded, and toured the city until about 3:00 pm which made embarkation a breeze; if there had been any lines, they were gone by that time.

Booking so early in the season we felt we were taking a chance on weather but never saw a cloud during the trip, and temps were in the 60s and even topped 70 a couple of days. All our stops were a great experience, though if you're not interested in the world's longest zip line you might skip the tender ride to Icy Strait Point. Since it was May, we never had more than one other ship in port in Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, or Victoria. Looking at the port schedules, it seems there are usually as many as four ships calling in these ports in June - August. Smaller crowds were great, especially on our whale watching trip (Juneau) and the White Pass rail tour in Skagway. The boat and rail car we were only half full and gave us plenty of room to move about for the best views. We booked whale watching and the rail trip thru NCL. Read more