Our trip was planned about 8 months before our departure. So there was alot of planning for this vacation. We left Nebraska for Denver Colorado two days ahead of time for travel reasons. Flew on a Friday to Seattle and stayed at the Sleep Inn Sea Tac Airport. Good place to stay and price was fair. Took the shuttle back to the airport on Saturday and dropped our luggage off and boarded the bus to the cruise terminal. Embarkation was simple enough and we only had to wait for about 40 minutes or so. We boarded our beautiful "Amsterdam" at about 12:30. They sent you up to the "LIDO" for food. We sat out by the pool. They had the sky dome open over the pool and it was a beautiful day. We had a good lunch and about 2:00 or so we could go to our stateroom. Not knowing what to expect, we were surprise about our room. Just perfect! Smaller than I had imagined, but bigger than my husband had thought. An oceanview on the lower promenade deck, front of the ship and just around the corner was the door to go outside! Wonderful! Could go outside in just a few seconds. That was great! We had a tub/shower combo which was nice too. We had the early seating, which for us was good since we live in the central time zone. The food was good and the servers were real nice and remembered our names and drinks that we wanted. It was fun to eat all of the different courses! We ate our breakfasts at the Lido as well as the lunches. Tried the pizza and the Mexican food. All was fine. Enjoyed the variety. No complaints. The servers came around quite often, because the glasses are so small. They have a high pitched voice that says "Coffee!!" Fun. It was fun to dress up for formal night. Was a little seasick by Sunday, but took some pills and that helped. Also the ginger gum works good. After that day had no problem. Not use to the ship rocking back and forth. The entertainment was good and you could do as little or alot, depending on your style. It doesn't take much to entertain us. We live in a town of 60 people! So just watching the scenery go by was what we wanted to do. All in all, took over 1000 photos! We did a whale watching tour with Steve of Harv and Marv's in Juneau. Saw lots of whale and bubblenetting! Another excursion in Sitka with Esther G Sea Taxi or Puffins and Whales with Davey Lubin. Wonderful! Saw Puffins, whales and even a bear! And I got my "whale tail" photo! In Ketchikan, we just did the walking tour. Enjoy Creek street. Went to the history center and the local library museum. Walked the docks and looked at all the old boats, talked to a few people. Was fun. The icing on the cake was our final tour of Butchart Gardens!! It was spectacular!! It is just plain beautiful. Even got a tour of downtown Victoria. We signed up for the signature luggage, and Holland delivered our big suitcases to the airport for us and when we arrived in Denver, they were there, no problem. Would highly recommend this, because when we got to Sea Tac there was such a line to check your baggage. Don't know for sure how long it would have taken. But any less stress at the airport is worth it to me. I took the advise of someone here on the boards and I will tell it to you. A cruise is what you make it! Everything not perfect. And no real complaints. Would highly recommend this cruise to anyone. We just had a great time. Thank you Holland America and Alaska, We will be Back!