Route: 15 day voyage: Seattle -- Ketchikan -- Cruising Tracy Arm -- Juneau -- Icy Strait Point -- Anchorage -- Homer -- Kodiak -- Cruising Hubbard Glacier -- Sitka -- Victoria, BC -- Seattle

1. General Comments: A fascinating trip. We had done the one-week land and one-week cruise with HAL some years ago. This was a less strenuous trip. Unfortunately, the weather was not very cooperative. Temperatures were usually in the upper 40s/low 50s, along with rain, clouds, fog, and occasional sunshine. Our "best" day was in Anchorage with 72 degrees and sunshine. We were a full ship with ca 1,400 passengers. Ages tended toward the grey/white hair set, but there were a number of children along. One infant was "adopted" by nearly everyone on the 7th deck as his or her grandchild.

While we had booked a cabin with verandah, about a week before the cruise our travel agent e-mailed that a couple "superior verandah cabins" were suddenly available at much reduced fares. We grabbed one, and it was super! These cabins are on the 7th deck; you get access to the Neptune Lounge and all its services along with the extra perks for 7th deck passengers. This made for a very pleasant two weeks. Read more