We were traveling with friends who had already booked this cruise on the recommendation of her sister. The only reasons I did not give it a higher rating is because the food both in the buffet and dining room were just "okay", the cabin was fairly decent in size but you could tell the ship was aging. While most of the dining room staff were great, the customer service staff--not so much. We went to the desk to ask a couple of questions regarding bottled water and getting a robe that I had ordered online and he was not very nice.

I would recommend this cruise and cruise line anyway because they went the extra distance by providing distilled water for my husband's c-pap machine in the cabin and they continued to provide it even into the land portion of the vacation. The self serve laundry room came in handy and often there was much fun to be had there! The entertainment was top notch, they had a naturalist on board throughout the whole cruise providing seminars on wildlife, wales, etc. and then he was on the intercom throughout our whole trip through Glacier Bay and College Fjords. Having cruised to Alaska before on another cruise line that is no longer in business, we did not have this. We also had not done the land tour before and were just thrilled with the transportation and accommodations. We enjoyed this part tremendously. Being less mobile than some, we didn't do many excursions other than bus tours and the tram up Mount Roberts in Juneau. I highly recommend stopping by The Red Dog Saloon there. The new port in Icy Straits was a waste of time, nothing much to see. We went into the village and walked around a bit. Not much else to do.

If I had it to do over again, I would begin in Fairbanks with the land tour then onto the cruise, more time to relax that way. I'd also go end of May - early June instead of mid-May, although we had pretty good weather. We were told the starboard side was the best for a balcony, but you could see equally well on either side. Also they stop in Ketchikan instead of Hoonah Village! Skagway hasn't changed much in 28 years!