We have been to Alaska before on a land trip, so we did not feel the need to do many excursions. What we did need was a relaxing trip, beautiful scenery, and everything taken care of by someone else. In that respect, the trip was a big success. We took the train from Portland, where we live, to Seattle and spent the night at the Maxwell Hotel which had a good pre-cruise special.

We are not very experienced cruisers - this was only our fifth - and our previous cruises have been on small ships. We were concerned about being on a larger ship,but other than crowds on the first day in the dining areas, we did not feel much impact from a large ship. Embarkation was not as bad as I thought it would be and disembarkation was handled very well. Also getting on and off the ship in ports was never crowded.

We upgraded to a Signature Suite and were very pleased with the cabin. It is the first time we have been on a cruise where we did not struggle to find room for all of our belongings. We really enjoyed the large veranda. Our cabin service was fine, but we did have trouble with the bathroom plumbing four times!!! during the cruise - this was our biggest complaint about the entire week. Each time it was fixed quickly, but still….four times!! Not just our cabin, but apparently the whole section of the ship that we were on. Read more