My family wanted to see Alaska, and since we live near San Francisco, this cruise seemed like the obvious choice. The ship itself was quite nice, big but easy to get around. I was impressed by the number of pools, although since this was an Alaska cruise the only one that was consistently busy was the covered pool. I don't usually get a balcony cabin, but on this particular itinerary it came in handy for viewing the glaciers without joining the crowds on the top deck (although that was fun too).

The entertainment was fine -- the production shows, highlighting music from the British Invasion, Broadway and easy listening from the 1950s -- were a bit cheesy but fun and well done. The casino was fine, although I was surprised that the ship had NO video game arcade for the kids. We spent more time in the library, which had a bunch of books (mostly donated paperbacks of Stephen King novels and bibles) and board games (most of which were missing about 10 percent of the pieces) and was a fun place to gather and talk. While I usually enjoy comedy, we didn't like the comedian, Russ Nagel, who spent way too much time bragging about dating teen girls. Ewwwww!

I found the dining options OK, and I appreciated that the hamburger counter was open through lunch and dinner for picky kids, but I was disappointed by the premium dining at Sabatini's and Crown Grill. Sabatini's dresses itself up as Italian fine dining, but it's really a less-competent Olive Garden on the high seas. I like Olive Garden, but that's not fine dining. The Crown Grill was similarly underwhelming, and due to slow service the meal took over two hours. And while the restaurant is filled with opulent displays of wines, don't expect to see a wine list -- the wines available here are just the same ones available at any bar onboard.