We chose Alaska cruise for its breathtaking scenery. It was our first ever cruise experience and overall we had a good time. The embarkation and disembarkation went pretty smoothly, there were cruise line and port employees around to give instructions or to answer questions. The only thing was we had to rush our breakfast before disembarkation because we didn't know that our stateroom door had to be opened by 8 am when the information said we could disembark from 7:30 to 8:30 am (our luggage were still in the room). The food aboard the cruise was pretty good and had a quiet variety to choose from. I was told that NCL offered more option for specialty dining. The Indian food in the buffet dining hall was exceptionally delicious. The desserts were not overly too sweet. Cruise staff in general was polite, friendly and helpful with the exception of few. The stateroom steward was attentive and took care of our room daily. The cruise offered a variety of professional entertainment, we really enjoyed the cirque de soleil type of acrobatic show. We felt the shore excursions fees a bit too steep so we opted to do our own. Our 18 yrs old son wished the cruise offered more activities for his age. We would go on a cruise again but not in the near future.