Carnival's late May sailing to Alaska from Seattle had ideal timing, itinerary and pricing for our agenda. We booked a starboard balcony cabin and spent two pre-cruise days in Seattle, which included the Seattle Folk Life Festival, a ferry to Salty's on Alki Beach for fabulous copper river salmon, the Public Market, original Starbucks, old friends, and the monorail before a fast cab ride to Pier 91. Embarkation was a breeze, with the terminal in high gear and people moving onto the ship as fast as their suitcase wheels could fly. And of course, up to the Lido deck for the first of many food indulgences. We hung out on the adults-only Serenity Deck and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine and views of Seattle.

Cabin ready on time, steward Samad introduces himself, all is shipshape. Seize the towels and back out to the deck for some bubbling hot tub and chat with fellow passengers. We chose the any time dining option for this cruise, a departure from our usual late seating, to allow for flexibility with music, shows, Alaska's late sunsets and shore visits. It was an excellent choice. We had ocean view windows every evening, and sighted whales on several occasions. We attended the opening night show and laughed uproariously at Cruise Director John Heald's emcee-ship.

The first sea day was fairly typical, and we enjoyed the gym, deck, Captain's Celebration, live music, and too-much-food. The second full day was our tour of Tracy Arm Fjord. Although chilly on deck and mostly cloudy, we spent the entire day outdoors with cameras and binoculars glued to our faces as we saw porpoises, bald eagles, whales, a hint of a bear on the shore, waterfalls, icebergs and the Mendenhall Glacier. The ship's naturalist, Michele, made quiet announcements of sightings fore and aft, port and starboard. It was Deck Aerobics. No time to visit the buffet! We watched as ice pilots boarded the ship from a moving vessel--impressive! The ship sailed as far up the fjord as the ice would allow and then performed a 180 degree turn to head back down. The views came to us in that display. Our day in Tracy Arm Fjord had the feeling of being on a National Geographic expedition, which is something we would love to do. We also attended Michele's presentations in the theater, which were informative and interesting. Read more