Chose this cruise as part of an Alaska land/sea package. Anchorage to Denali, Denali to Seward. Seward to Vancouver. Embarkation in Seward was very smooth. Checkin took only about 30 minutes. Not a lot of long lines. I think that was partly due to our arrival at the pier being only 3 hours before departure, and partly due to booking a Suite. Another part of booking a Suite was that you are escorted to your room for embarkation, so no luggage to carry, etc. For our first time on a cruise, I think it was a good decision to book a Suite.

The ship was in excellent condition, having just been refurbished in April/May 2016. The cabin was very nice, as well. Huge amount of space for 2 people. Another reason I booked a Suite is that I am a photographer and want a front-facing balcony for the cruise. I was NOT disappointed here. The suite had a 146 sq foot balcony with 4 chairs and a table (2 chairs were chaise lounges). Suite guests had exclusive use of La Cucina for breakfast and lunch. Everyone was very personable and made you feel welcome. For shore excursions, I booked via shoreexcursions.com instead of NCL. Our favorite excursion was the bear and wildlife search at Icy Strait. We were able to come within 30 yards of several brown bears from a vantage point across a creek.

All-in-all, we had a very memorable first cruise. So much so that we booked 2 cruises in 2017.