Because this was my first cruise i have no other experiences with which to compare. Overall i had a great experience and i am in the process of planning my next cruise. The things i enjoyed the most: the indoor "Thalassotherapy" pool; trivia games (Jamie was a great hostess for "Battle of the Sexes" trivia); Naturalist Brent Nixon was amazing!! We saw five of his six shows and re-watched a few again when they played on the ship's tv. The pool side grill had great burgers and was a nice lunch spot; ice cream everyday!; The selections on the buffet were very good -especially the stir fry; the fresh fruit on the breakfast buffet was exceptional.

The biggest disappointments for me: The dining experience in the main dining room (the food was presented beautifully and the service staff were very friendly and attentive, but the food -other than the lobster- was not exceptional and the portions were very small. The meals often took over 90 minutes which is too long for someone with ADD. I was also particularly annoyed by the ship's photographer interrupting my meal to take my picture); I was also very disappointed in the casino -I had hoped to play in some poker tournaments, but when I found out it was an electronic table instead of a live dealer with real cards and chips, i had no interest in having the same poker experience i can get on my home computer!

Those thoughts just speak to the ship itself. As for the cruise, it was AMAZING!!! I had been to 49 states, so Alaska was somewhat of a pilgrimage for me, and it is more beautiful than i could have ever imagined! The mountains, waterfalls, wildlife (orca, humpbacks, bald eagles, etc) more than exceeded my expectations. I am looking forward to cruising more, but i cannot help but think that i will feel let down by any other destinations after visiting this truly majestic state! Read more