First, the positives:

(1) Excursions. Give in to the arch-tourist nature of packaged few-hour bus-herd excursions, go with the flow -- it's only for a few hours, cynic! -- and you'll get an effortless taste of what's fun, cool, interesting, and breathtaking about Alaska. Plenty of options with minimal tour-bus time -- see how rugged the land is from a floatplane, meet happy sled-pulling mutts, see glaciers and maybe whales and hungry bears, wonder if your tour guide never breaks character because he *is* a character.

(2) Premium dining, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. At the back of the boat, Share is legit gourmet. If not outstanding, at least consistently crafted and palate-pleasing. In the pub, The Salty Dog may push "artisanal" an inch too far, but it's blessed relief from the culinary crimes of dispassion everywhere else. Sadly, you *can* screw up the basic steakhouse experience, and the Crown Grill is proof -- even when the second ribeye was rightly rare inside, it was an underaged, unseasoned, joyless too-thin cut from a too-big cow. Sides were drab. Read more