This was our 28th Silversea cruise, part 2 of back-to-back Alaska cruises. We chose this for the itinerary, sailing dates, company of friends. Ten years ago, we did a similar cruise round-trip San Francisco. This time, completely different crowd, families, not at all like the cruise in 2008, nor even the cruise the previous week. It was noisy, kids running up and down the corridors, no such thing as "indoor voices". A very loud group of 8 adults completely wrecked the ambiance of of La Dame (guest relations made good on that one). Dress code? What dress code?

But not all negative: Best service and food we have ever experienced on a Silversea Cruise. We've never seen the staff so friendly and engaging. Granted, our last two cruises were on the Muse and one was the maiden crossing, like part of the shakedown. So maybe it was the ship, the experience of the staff, the size, itinerary...who knows? Except for the above issues, a most excellent experience. We have 4 Silversea cruises booked and paid for over the next year.

We didn't do any shore excursions, preferring to wander around the ports. There were some large cruisers docked at some, but not all, of the ports; they carried 2100-3200 people or more, made for some crowdedness at certain ports.Walked to the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka, and shuttled to the SeaLife Aquarium in Seward, walking back. Both hikes worth it. Ketchikan bills itself as the salmon capital of the world. Ketchikan is replete with salmon retailers, but the creek walk is very pretty and entertaining, particularly if you like to browse. Skagway...not enough time at the port to take a Yukon-White Pass RR excursion unless it was Silversea's, so you had to buy from the ship at with the usual markup. Fun place to walk around though. Read more