Our trip originates from Detroit, MI. aboard Delta airlines. We had a great view going over the Rocky Mountains on our way to Seattle. We arrive in Seattle on Friday 13th. (I know) but no bad luck. Just the opposite. Our embarkation was on the 14th, so we spent the evening enjoying the sites in Seattle and later returning to our room at Crown Plaza.

The transfers from the hotel to pier were quick and enjoyable our driver gave us the mini tour of the city on our way to the pier. It took a total of 30 minutes to go from the sidewalk outside the pier entrance to our room. Beautiful views of Seattle skyline from the observation deck of the Jewel.

Our room was very clean and neat in appearance, our steward anticipated our every need, he was constantly servicing rooms. The ship itself was amazing. Very impressed with the Stardust Theater, didn't expect to see a theater of that size within a cruise ship. Entertainment was awesome, especially Cirque Du Soleil and Band on the Run. So many things to see and do on board the ship we were never bored. The private spa really hit the spot, especially the heated ceramic lounges. The ship did show signs of wear and tear, but keep in mind that it was built in 2005 and is due to be refurbished in a couple of years. Being that this was our first cruise, we have nothing to compare it to. That being said, all I can is that we had the vacation of a lifetime.The ports were amazing. Beautiful store fronts with snow capped mountain peaks in the background and Bald Eagle soaring overhead. Really surprised about the amount of jewelery that was pushed aboard ship and in the ports. The excursions were fantastic. We booked through NCL, if you book excursions I strongly recommend going directly through the cruise line and book early. We booked the Whale watching and Mendenhall glacier tour in Juneau, and the White Pass Railway and Yukon Gold Fields with gold panning tour in Skagway. Both were great! If you book a Whale tour in Juneau, I would recommend just the whale tour minus the Mendenhall glacier tour. You will see more glaciers when the ship enters Glacier Bay in Tracy Arm and this will allow you more time to see the town of Juneau. Our excursion got us back to the ship 15 minutes before departure. So we didn't see any of Juneau. The White Pass/Yukon tour was great. We took the bus up to Frasier and the train back to Skagway. This allows you to see more scenery instead of taking the train up and down. Then gold panning afterwards was kind of goofy, but you can say you've panned for gold in Alaska. Victoria was a bit of a let down. All of the other ports had shopping and restaurants right by the pier with the exception of Skagway which was only a short walk to main st. On a scale of 1-10, ten being the highest. The ship itself gets an 8. Alaska and her excursions gets a 10. Overall we had a wonderful time and would definitely book with NCL again.