This is our first cruise so I will primarily focus on the things that a first time cruiser can contribute. Our party of 6 (1 senior, 2 adults and 3 kids) booked three verandah stateroom on deck 4 (Upper Promenade). They were far forward (4001, 4003 and 4004) and similar except in one respect. Cabin 4001 was quite a bit noisier than the other cabins as it was right next to a forward crew area. Additionally, the balcony did not have a forward awning to break the wind. That was good for the view and not so great for comfort. Also, we did not find out until late in the cruise that the balconies of adjacent rooms could be opened. That would have been nice to know. The reason we found out about this was because the lock on our stateroom broke such that we were unable to open our stateroom on the last full day of the cruise. We had been having periodic issues with our keycards to all the staterooms but this was a real inconvenience on our last day. This was the only aspect of the cruise that was not well handled by Holland America and, coincidentally, occurred right after we finished the guest satisfaction survey. Key problems seemed to be a recurring problem with a number of passengers on the ship.

The primary reason we picked this cruise over other options on Princess and HAL was the opportunity to visit both Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay as well as see the inside passage via Vancouver. In hindsight, we certainly would not have wanted to miss any of these aspects. The service call at Tracy Arm where we directly boarded the catamaran to Tracy Arm went smoothly. When we boarded the catamaran it was raining and foggy. If we could have cancelled the trip I would have strongly considered doing so since it looked like we were not going to be able to see anything. Good thing I didn't because the scenery was nothing short of incredible. Once we got back into the arm where it narrows we were greeted with more waterfalls than I can remember falling off sheer granite cliffs into a milky green bay full of colorful icebergs. For Lord of the Rings fans it looked a lot like Rivendell. The small catamaran maneuvered right next to a number of waterfalls allowing numerous picture taking opportunities. At the end of the fjord, we turned up toward Sawyer Glacier (South Sawyer was too icy) and pulled fairly close to this beautiful tidewater gem. There was some calving and still numerous waterfalls coming off the steep granite walls. The comparison John Muir made to Yosemite is quite apt. Upon returning to meet the cruise ship in Juneau we grabbed a quick bite and grabbed a shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier with a stop at the fish hatchery. It was fun and beautiful but a little overpriced.

The next day found us in Skagway where we rented a van from Avis and drove to Emerald Lake in the Yukon. This was a nice drive and a nice day with a mix of sun and a little rain. The kids enjoyed our stop at Caribou Crossing and the sand dunes at Carcross. Read more