About Us: My husband and I are in our mid-60s. This was my second time in Alaska (the first time was 1992 in Anchorage, Prince Williams Sound and Denali) and his first, and this was the second cruise for both of us, the first being Hawaii on The Pride of Hawaii. We originally planned to go in June but had to cancel at the end of April due to my husband's surgery. We were able to reschedule everything, including the exact same "special" cabin and all tours for August, so we went for it. My husband was having some chemotherapy side effects, so that did affect some of our activities. Overall, it was a wonderful experience and one that we will remember forever. All of the months reading the Cruise Critic boards paid off. We gained many tips that made this trip very smooth.
Flights & Transfers: The flights were OK, but the return flight was waaay tooo looonnnggg. We went from Columbus, leaving at 8AM, to Phoenix then to Vancouver, arriving at 2:00PM. The return flights left Anchorage 1:44AM, back to Phoenix then on to Columbus, arriving at 4:10PM. The overnight was dreadful—250+ travelers snoring away. The saving grace was that I used frequent flyer miles for first class upgrades so at least we had some arm, leg and butt room. The airline staff gave us something to drink, tucked us in, turned out the lights, and then disappeared. We were given something more to drink in the morning before landing in Phoenix, but not even a hot towel to freshen up with.
Going through immigration in Vancouver was quick and very easy. We took a cab to the hotel and had a driver that gave us some interesting information about the city. The charge was $31 plus tip.
Great extended balcony, quiet location and no noise at all from Club Fusion.