We landed in Anchorage and bused to the boat! What appeared to be a two hour bus-ride became a scenic tour with a very witty and knowledgeable driver. Arriving in Seward we were greeted with champagne, smiles and more champagne. Our room was inviting, well laid out in-keeping with a luxury experience. The common rooms were all equally well laid out, well kept and luxurious. The food was generally very good. Especially in the Signature Dining Room. We got to eat there twice and both times were over the top. Overall in the other venues the cuisine was a little "dumbed-down" in terms of taste.I suppose that this was due to trying to cater to a wide swath of humanity (at least the well off swath).
The crew were amazing. They were uber-friendly, knowledgeable and eager to please without any sense of forced "creepiness". We did not get involved with any of the ship-board activities. So can't really comment on them. We did do the Spa thing. Again, another great experience. The excursions were not in-keeping with the level of the cruise however. Some, like the gratis Ocean raft adventure were an exhilarating thrill ride filled with sea otters, puffins, remote islands and eagles. Others, like the paid Jet Cat Beach-combing trip in Sitka were a total waste of time and money. Tiny island filled with sharp rocks, broken shells and little else. We did see over our seven days; whales, dolphins, seals, sea-otters, puffins and eagles. But no bears or moose! The wild life have their own itineraries!!! Alaska is not a zoo. Sort of a giant theme park though.
Overall excellent! The size of the bathroom was a real surprise based upon what our friends had said about their cruise experiences (non on a Regent). The shower was great! And having a large closet was another surprising perk! We unpacked everything and made our selves at home. The bed was very comfortable, the quality of the furniture was high and having our own balcony made it special. Our steward, the maids and the room service staff were all wonderful.
Beautiful
Nice walk. Shopping
Saw whales
Wow