Stats - we are in our early 50's, traveling with friends of the same age. Based on the info from the message boards, DH and I took one Bonine daily and never had a problem with either drowsiness or seasickness. Our friends didn't take anything, but had no problems either. It was smooth sailing with warmer days transitioning to cooler, rainier days as we moved north. But as everyone told us, even a rainy day is wonderful on a cruise. The Trip: We flew to Vancouver the day ahead and stayed in the Sutton Place. The hotel itself and rooms were lovely, bathrooms just fabulous and staff very attentive. Friends had their room changed because they were two doors down from the elevators, which were very noisy. Boarded in Vancouver July 16, 2007. Arrived at 11 AM, and checked in without any lines. Waited briefly in seating area (an opportunity to review the Destination Alaska brochures), and then around 11:30-ish boarded and found our cabins (C406 and C408). Cabin: Had midship port-side Caribe balcony cabin and our steward, Rodrigo, had already opened the balcony between our and our friends' cabin. TA had re-sent egg-crate request for both our cabins about 2 weeks prior to sailing, but apparently only our friends' request had been noted. We gave Rodrigo a sticky requesting the egg-crate for our cabin, robes, extra pillows, wine and champagne flutes, and everything was available when needed (the egg-crate by evening, wine-glasses by sailaway with the champagne nicely chilled by then). Note: we remembered the corkscrew but forgot bottle-stoppers. It's ok for regular wine where you can reuse the cork or use the BC screw-top wine (the Mission Hills was yummy), but we were "forced" to drink all the champagne since we couldn't "cap" the bottle... ahhhh such sacrifice! The lager balcony was spacious and worked out very well. Although they are partially covered by the deck immediately above, they are 100% covered by a deck much higher up. If the rain is coming in at an angle from the sea side you will get wet, but we stayed dry during most of the rains, even when we were by the railing. We were extremely satisfied with the regular balcony cabins and spent a great deal of time outside (fleece jackets and thin gloves or glove liners worked perfectly well for us when we were far north). The balcony provided us with the entertaining room we needed most of the time but on the occasions before dinner when it might be colder or too soggy for our glass of pre-dinner wine, we just used the two cabin chairs plus bed-side for sitting. We slept with the curtains open, and it never gets completely black at night. It was remarkable to open our eyes at midnight, 1, 2 or 3 AM, and see mountains drifting by as we moved through the channels. We often went to the Horizon Court at 4 AM to grab coffee and a roll, and just watch the landscape go by. Hey, you can always nap later. Bathroom: Although the regular balcony rooms don't have the larger bathrooms, we found the configuration well-designed and although the shower WAS small (DH used most of the towels to mop the floor his first try) the water pressure was great and the shower-head was high enough to avoid the "bent-knee/arched back crouch" that taller people often adopt for the lower shower heads... this was a nice surprise. The closet and floor-to-ceiling cabinet provided a spacious area for clothing with LOTS of hangers, and allowed us to keep the cabin relatively picked-up and clutter-free. Empty suitcases fit under the beds. Great mirror for those "exiting the cabin" clothing checks. Bed: Although there were one or two flat pillows, we had more than enough fluffy ones in the piles on the bed to choose from for sleeping, and they made great nesting and support when we wanted so sit and read inside. The egg-crate may have had more of a placebo effect, but we found the bed comfortable and the mattresses fit together snugly without any indication we were sleeping on two separate beds. We actually found the bed at the Sutton Place (which was a 5 star hotel) much harder and more uncomfortable. We really could have used the egg-crate there! Ship: What can we say that hasn't been said already? The Coral is a lovely ship and a perfect size, making for a spacious but intimate sailing experience. DH and I went to the Wheelhouse bar and were impressed with the comfort and character of the place, not to mention the very reasonable prices and large selection for single-malt scotch. Dining: We didn't use the specialty dining since we never ran out of options at dinner (Traditional, 2nd seating). We had breakfast and lunch in the dining room as well, but snacked in the Horizon Court. Service, of course, was perfect. Our friend loves lamb and our head waiter arranged for her to get "sides" of lamb with other meals as well. One miscommunication was when they asked her how many she would like the next night and she signaled "3", they brought her 3 dinners with 3 chops apiece rather than JUST 3 chops so we all ate extra lamb that night! Our best purchase was the thermo mug and coffee card. DH and I shared one card and normally had unlimited cups of brewed coffee, splurging on cappuccinos for dinner or glacier-days. Towns: Ketchikan: No excursions here - we just wandered around the town, walked up the Married Man trail to the top of the tram for the views, and got some great shots of the Sea Star (from the "Deadliest Catch" series on the Discovery Channel). Salmon were running which was fun to see off Creek Street, and we spotted a number of bald eagles. There is a fun local book store on Creek Street with unusual (playful) gifts, tee shirts, etc. We bought ulus made in the Anchorage factory at the Tongass Trading Post adjacent to the docks as gifts, but will keep one for us. The sun came out and gave us a beautiful day. Juneau: Not surprisingly, this was the most modern and populated port. We had booked the 11:30 whale-watching tour with Captain Larry at Orca, which was terrific! The shuttle ride was fun, and gave us a brief glimpse of the Mendenhall Glacier as we headed for the docks. I spent most of the tour outside on the back deck, which provided great panoramic views and more glacier shots as well. Captain Larry certainly knows the waters, and found humpbacks feeding using a "bubble-net" technique where a male dives and makes a circle of bubbles which encloses and drives the food-source up… then you see the group of whales explode up out of the water with mouths wide open scooping up chow. Extraordinary! By the time we left, other boats had also come up to view this remarkable activity. This was my highlight of the trip! Skagway: My favorite town, and we were the only large cruise ship in port that day so there were very few crowds. It was a drizzly day, which just enhanced your ability to put yourself back in time in this small community with less than 1000 residents. The streets were wide with little traffic. Sidewalks were the more traditional “board” walks, lined by the old buildings. The town has preserved its historic feel, with walking tours, historic markers and buildings. It also has clean and well-marked toilets available throughout the town (hey, that’s important!). After passing the ever-present tee shirt and Diamonds International shops, there were many locally owned and Alaska-made stores, and we bought our “for us” souvenirs here. The Skagway Brewing Company down the street on Broadway has nice locally brewed beers and a friendly staff which makes it a good place to stop take a break. DH and his buddy took Princess’ Helicopter tour of the glacier (noon tour) and had remarkable time even with the wet, and his pictures were amazing. While airborne, they were treated to the sight a large brown bear racing across the ice, so all in all this was DH’s highlight of the trip! Wildlife and glacier viewing: This was a northward sailing and we LOVED the port-side cabin. Much of the sailing is through channels where you get land on both sides, and we often caught first views of the glaciers, although the captain spins the ship at the major glacier sites and because you sail up a channel you turn around to sail back so there is no problem in getting a good view from either port or starboard side. From our balcony we spotted dozens of dolphins playing directly by the ship on our first at-sea day, which was thrilling! Also spotted humpback whale blows/backs/tails, and farther north saw Orcas, which are really something when they’re racing just below the water and you can see those beautiful markings. The sea otters in College Fjord were the icing on the cake for us. Tip: some of the deckchairs on the 7th floor Promenade, starboard side located under lifeboat 7 can get a slight warm downdraft and are a good place to sit for viewing at anytime. You will still want your jackets and gloves in the northern locations, but it certainly takes the edge off the chill. The only negative is that it is close to the ashtrays for smokers, but we sat on the end farthest from the ashtray and smokers were usually considerate and moved along fairly quickly so it wasn’t too bad. Bottom line, the trip was splendid and we thoroughly enjoyed each minute. Our concern is that we’re spoiled now, and fear that larger ships will feel too crowded. We’re still feeling that residual “the floor is rocking on dry land” feeling even after 24 hours off the ship, which just makes us want to book something again soon.