My husband and I are in our mid-30's. It's our 4th cruise, our 2nd RCI cruise and our 1st trip to Alaska. We treated ourselves to an aft balcony on deck 7 and while we certainly would have enjoyed the cruise without it, it just made the cruise that little bit better that was so worth it.In brief, the ship was fantastic with so much glass we could always see outside and enjoy the unbelievable views no matter where we were. Alaska was so much better than I even imagined - if you're thinking about Alaska, just do it. Without writing pages and pages...Embarkation was fast and efficient though getting through customs was a bit of a chore. The service was exceptional throughout the cruise. We never had a bad experience or even an average experience. All staff were so friendly and made a point of saying hello and asking how our cruise was going. In the dining room the assistant waiter Freddy kept our wine glass constantly refilled without us even noticing. The waiter Myla was so friendly and efficient and at the end of each meal would give us highlights of the next day's dinner's and our dining options. The head waiter even came over every night to personally ensure we were having a good experience. I was really impressed with all the dining staff and the dining room food was the consistently best food I've yet had on a cruise. Of course buffet of their staff on Serenade of the Seas.Great cabin on deck seven aft, right in the middle.  Decent size with lots of storage space for 2 people.  Wonderful spot for Alaska because you can see everything from the back and especially in Tracy Arm there is no wind so even though it is cold at the the top its nice on the balcony and you can order some nosh from room service and enjoy hot chocolate right on the balcony viewing the glacier.  Just above Safari Lounge but only noisy one day during karaoke for about 30 mins around 5pm.  No engine noise but there is vibration from the engines when the ship is at top speed (which only happens on the first and last day).  No hallway noise and dead quiet but quite a walk to the elevators/stairs which are mid-ship.  There is a crew space where they collect and wash dishes right across the hall but I never heard them. The cruise director Mike was great (is it just me or does he look a lot like Tom Green?) and very funny. I would also say the entertainment staff and daytime activities was some of the best and most varied we've seen. Everything from trivia games (lots of them actually), dance classes, naturalist lectures, games, language classes, mixology, wine tasting and on and on. Lots to do during the day if you can tear yourself away from the amazing views.The evening entertainment was good but not as good as experiences on Princess and Carnival. First of all, we have late seating and I really don't like having to be ready for the pre-dinner show at 7pm. Of course we could just miss it but I really enjoy the shows. The 3 production shows were good. The had guest entertainers, a comedy magician who was good but we've seen better, a comedy musical impressionist who was a better singer/musician then comedian or impressionist, and an Olympic gymnast who was very good. They were all fine and an entertaining way to spend 45 minutes but I would have preferred a good magician/illusionist (skip the comedy), a good musician/singer (skip the comedy and impressions) and a good comedian. Do as the gymnast and stick to a strength rather than try to be everything to everyone. Anyway, since that's my biggest criticism it was obviously an excellent cruise. A couple of other small points so I won't seem that I'm mindlessly loving everything, I wish Serenade had a Crow's Nest for a quiet read, the Vortex is similar but the music playing was loud and not conducive to relaxation plus the smoke from the night before was disgusting and kept me away. Also a piano bar would have been a nice addition. There is a piano in the Schooner Bar which could be used for singalongs but we didn't see it used for that which is a shame.The weather was fantastic by the way and really added to the experience. No rain the whole time and sunny for most of the trip, at least in the afternoons. Icy Strait Point - Rating: 5We booked through Glacier Wind Charters to go on a 4 hour whale watching tour. The boat was very nice and there were only 6 of us all together. Captain Shaun took us out and the scenery was beautiful. It would have been a great day even if we hadn't seen any whales but we did. We saw perhaps 20 humpback whales, sea otters and a bear and its cub on the shore. I can't say enough good things about the experience. It was cool but not cold and the sun came out for awhile which was beautiful. We noticed the boat for the cruise and there was well over 100 people which must have made it hard to actually see anything so I felt we made the right choice. Endicott Arm Fjord - Rating: 5+Not a port but a destination for sure. We were supposed to go to Tracy Arm Fjord but it was iced in so we could have only got about 1/3 of the way so I'm glad we went to Endicott Arm. I was afraid it would be disappointing since I had really been looking forward to Tracy Arm but Endicott was spectacular. There were fantastic views everywhere and we got all the way in so we were so close to the glacier (I think Dowes Glacier but I could be wrong) and just spun around 2 or 3 times. It was pretty full in the front both on the helipad and all the decks but we got a goodish spot for viewing. Then when we got there we went down to our balcony, ordered room service and enjoyed the view while drinking hot chocolate with Bailey's. It was much warmer there then on the helipad so were were in light sweaters and very comfortable in the sun. Plus we got to watch the glacier and the views while we left Endicott Arm. Skagway - Rating: 5Great port. It was clouded over in the morning and the mountain tops were fogged which I suspected would happen when I booked our train ride. So we spend the morning hiking around the area and had a picnic lunch, then came back to the ship in the early afternoon and took the 4:30 train trip. The sun was out by noon and it was spectacular weather for hiking (it was actually quite hot by early afternoon and pool weather) so we were glad we layered. And the lighting was perfect for the train ride. The train was actually even better than I had expected. We got on the left side going up but actually spent most of the time on the viewing platform between cars which I would highly recommend to anyone taking the train. The views were spectacular and the staff were excellent. There was a really good commentary over the speakers which could be heard in all the cars and the staff were across the board very friendly and helpful (with the exception of the sales agent at the downtown Skagway office who I strongly suspect was high as she couldn't manage to string together a single sentence). Juneau - Rating: 5Took the ship excursion Photo Safari by Land and Sea run by Gastineau Guiding. I was very nervous as I am not a tour person, more of a DIY person but it sounded really good. And it was very good. The tour guide George was really knowledgeable both about Skagway, the wildlife and photography. We drove to Aucke (sp?) Bay where we saw tons of bald eagles before boating an odd speedboat with inflatable sides. Anyway it was very fast (but mostly smooth) and no bathroom on board so we had a bio break before boarding. Saw some seals and bald eagles then we went to a spot with tons of sea lions all on a rock. George was great about giving us tips on how to take the best pictures and how to set our cameras for the shot. Took many pics then we were on our way again and did see two humpback whales and later saw a buoy with a bald eagle at the top and 3 cows and 1 male sea lion at the bottom - so cool! Then we returned to Aucke Bay and took the mini-bus to Mendenhall Glacier. Took some pictures there and continued on to a nice hike along one of the trails around Mendenhall. Then we returned to the ship. The tour was a great 'sampler pack' of Juneau and packed a lot into about 4 hours. The only way to have improved the experience would have been to have another hour or two for a slightly more in-depth experience but that's just me.All together, a great ship, a great destination, great ports, great staff and great food all made for a perfect vacation.