This was our first cruise so I don't have another to compare to. The cruise staff was very nice and attentive but some were hard to understand because they are all from other countries. I didn't like the pushing to sell jewelry all the time. They had a presentation for shopping in ports by the shopping consultant but most of it was about jewelry. I thought it would be about where to go for souvenirs and things like that but no, it was where the shops are to get the jewelry and I was so sick of it by the end of the cruise I could scream. We went to Cagney's Steakhouse to have a nice quiet dinner and of course there was a screaming toddler in there. I don't mind kids but you would think that the ship would have at least 1 or 2 specialty restaurants that were adult only to enjoy some peace and quiet from all the people and kids on board. Sometimes it was like chaos and I needed to have some quiet time and it would have been nice for 1 meal. The buffet was chaos and it was hard to find a place to sit most of the time, I hated it. The Alaska ports were good but Prince Rupert BC was a joke. What is wrong with NCL choosing this port? My husband and I walked to the mall and that was such a waste of time. We went into 2 stores close to the ship and they didn't have anything worth looking at. We were back on board within an hour. If you go on the Alaska cruise and they stop in Prince Rupert, don't bother getting off the ship. The bright shining light of the cruise was our steward Atish. He cleaned our room and left us towel animals. He was a very sweet young gentleman and we appreciated all his hard work. I think we will have to try another cruise line in the future to see how they do compared to NCL.