We stayed in Vancouver for a few days before the cruise at the Best Western Chateau Granville. The city was nice and so was the hotel. We did the Hop on/off Trolley, which made it easy to see the city. We boarded the ship on the 7th, and it was a fast easy process. It took maybe 20 minutes. The ship is nice, the staff was friendly. We ate at Windjammer while waiting for our room. The food was good there for breakfast lunch and dinner. When we walked down to our room on deck 8, there was a sewer like smell. We got used to it though.. Room was nice, there was 4 of us. It was a bit tight, next time we will get 2 rooms. The bathroom also smelled, and they need to put shower doors on instead of a curtain. I am hoping these newer ships are making the rooms and showers a bit bigger.

We saw the magician and the singer/dancer show and both were good. Casino was nice and did pay out. It smelled good also. Food was good everywhere, and walking the stairs instead of the elevator helped with overindulging. We had signed up for the glacier landing and walking but it was cancelled due to the weather. We also did the White Pass railroad in Skagway, which also stopped at Liarsville. It was a very nice ride, and we got some interesting info on the ride. We got off at all of the ports, but Skagway was my favorite. We also saw the Hubbard Glacier, and our captain, Goren, did donuts in the water over and over so we could get a view. I do not know if all of the captains do this or not. The got a piece of ice from the water, and carved it on deck.

There were around 2300 people on board, but it never felt crowded. We just chilled in the Windjammer, and did not stress about if were at a window seat or not. Getting of was easy too. We did the 3 day land tour after, and that was a breeze through the whole 3 days. Jon was our driver, and I felt safe with him at the wheel. Our motorcoach had seatbelts. As a matter of fact, all the busses had seatbelts. Our tour guide was Andy and he was very knowledgeable and very nice. He made the whole process smooth and easy. By he way, if you are doing a land tour and you missed out on glacier landing/walking, there is another chance at one of the excursions on the land tour. We did the long tour of Denali National Park and it was worth it. Another land excursion was the Husky Homestead. It was cool, and we got to hold the baby puppies. Sled dogs are a big part of Alaska, so I recommend this one. Alaska scenery is very beautiful and the farther north you go, the more snow on the mountains you will see. I did not see My McKinley, and that was my fault. I was doing laundry at our hotel, Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. But the mountain was visible, and someone in my party got pics of it.