My husband and I began our journey by flying from L.A. to Seattle on August 27th and staying at the beautiful Hyatt Grand. Great location, luxurious accommodations and a great way to begin our adventure. Our cruise left on Saturday, August 30th. Getting aboard went very smoothly. Once onboard we were told the rooms were not ready and all were directed to the buffet. It was beautifully arranged, with many possibilities, but it was way too crowded, like a cattle call, there was no room for everyone to sit, and there were many elderly people trying to get trays, food and find seating. The crew looked tired that first day, but were doing their best to assist those who needed help. Once in our cabin we were pleased to see it was larger than expected, and I especially appreciated that the bathroom had plenty of room, a great shower and tub. I had previously been on an NCL cruise and the bathroom was like a tiny closet, hated it, so this larger one was an unexpected treat. Our travel agent told us we had "open seating", but we actually had been assigned early dinner seating,5:45. I usually get home from work at 7:30, and we eat around 8 pm, so this was very early for us. We would have asked to be changed, but we met a wonderful couple from Utah, Gordon and Jackie, who were sitting at our table that first night, and we didn't want to loose them as dinner company, so we stayed with that assignment. The China was beautiful, Rosenthal. On four occasions I was served water in glasses that were cracked or chipped, so someone should take care and remove damaged glassware from the ship. There were great selections on the menu, and the food was tasty and presentation was great. One problem, there is an advertised option to pre purchase 10 glasses of wine, which my husband wanted to do...but everytime he asked they didn't know what he was talking about or they told him it didn't apply. In the dining room the wine steward told him it didn't apply in the dining room...at the bar he was told it was only in the dining room, so that was very confusing. Our first dinner my husband ordered a glass of chardonnay, he always and only drinks chardonnay. A glass of red wine was placed in front of him, and when he told the wine steward that he had ordered chardonnay, the steward argued with him, pulling out his paper tablet and saying "see here, you ordered this"....not a great first impression. But he did get the wine he ordered. We were very tired that first night, and we missed the big show. By the second evening all the crew seemed in better spirits, there were more smiles all around. This was our first trip to Alaska, and I chose it because I wanted to see Sitka and Ketchikan. Having been a history teacher many years ago I was particularly interested in the Russian history of Sitka, and having studied Native North American Cultures many years ago in college, I wanted to experience what I could of the Tlingit culture. So while others were out taking pictures of whales, fishing for salmon or gliding through the treetops in the rain forests, I was there to soak up some of the history. And I was not disappointed. When I return, and I hope to, I will go out to see the whales and maybe even fish, as people we met told wonderful stories of their outings. But on this trip I did three off shore excursions. First stop: Juneau. Before we started our afternoon tour we went in search of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox church. To us it was worth climbing the steep street in the rain. The history of this city is inter-twined with the Russian presence, and this church, still used as a house of worship, is like a living museum. In town I bought some wooden Russian nesting dolls for our grandchildren and a few t-shirts. Then we were off to see Mendenhall Glacier. In spite of the pouring rain it was magnificent. Why are there so many jewelry stores in Juneau? Even with end of season sales, prices were high. I heard that the cruise line owns or manages many of them, and they certainly do push visiting and buying, but it seems odd that anyone would buy a very expensive item of jewelry so far from home. That evening we were too tired to make it to our assigned early dinner, but when I asked about having dinner at the open seating dining area I was told if we did that we would loose our other assignment...so we went to the buffet at a few minutes past 8 pm only to see that the curtains were down and all that was available was pizza or pasta, neither of which we wanted. I spoke to a waiter and they did bring us a nice dinner, but I do not understand why they would end good dinner choices at the buffet at such an early time...and I think they should extend that until 9 or 9:30 pm for those who take naps and miss dinner! The next day we cruised very near Hubbard Glacier. It was freezing cold and raining again, but it was spectacular, huge and spectacular. In Sitka we visited another Russian Orthodox church. Our guide was a Tlingit, Clint, very informative. This is also an active church, 90% of the parishioners are Native American. The woman at the front door showed me photos of her great granddaughter who was recently baptized there. Again, much history in that church, beautiful icons, photos, religious objects, well worth seeing. Then we went to see the New Archangel Dancers. They are not Russian, but they performed Russian dances in authentic costumes.I'm sure we could have done these two tours by ourselves without buying into the official "tour", but the bus driver/tour guide Clint made it well worth the extra expense. Before we reached the next port of Ketchikan husband became ill with a horrible chest cold, so I got him some cold tablets, some Vapor Rub, brought him lots of juice and tea, and set off to explore Ketchikan by myself. To me this was the most beautiful of the three cities...they were all wonderful to experience, but this to me was the most magical...maybe the fact that it wasn't raining (finally a day without rain)made it so special.I took the tour to Saxman village, a Tlingit village, and to me it was such a moving experience. I studied this culture in college in the late 60's, early 70's....at the time my professor said they were a dying culture....and here all these years later I walk into their village, saw numerous stunning totem poles, met wonderful old and young members of the tribe. We were greeted in Tlingit and in English, and treated to a performance of tribal dancing. The costumes were beautiful, red capes with shell button detail, each cape embroidered on the back to signify the clan that member is from: raven, salmon, love bird, etc. Dancers included the young and the elderly. The youngest dancer was a beautiful young girl of maybe 4 or 5 years old, and one of the young women danced with her beautiful baby daughter in a sling across her chest...the baby was maybe 5 or 6 months old...excited and happy to be dancing, her little legs and arms keeping rhythm to the drum beat and chant. Among all the wonderful things I saw this was the highlight of my trip...my visit to the Tlingit village. All in all, a wonderful trip. Enjoyed the accommodations, our cabin steward was wonderful, there was plenty of great food...an abundance unless you are looking for dinner after 8 pm. And upon our return to Seattle everything went smoothly, we were off the ship and on our way to the airport in no time. I highly recommend the $16 per person charge to have the ship staff do pre-boarding check in and have your luggage sent directly from the ship to your flight home. We did it, and it went well. We got off the ship with only my carry on case, and our luggage was in Los Angeles when we arrived. This was a great trip!