There are few choices but we felt that the south bound trip provides the best relaxing opportunity since we front loaded our trip with traveling by car in Alaska a week before. The cruise stopped at the most popular and scenery places including the Hubbard glacier and Glacier Bay National Park, and through the inner passage to Vancouver. And to finish the trip on Saturday allowed us enough time to fly back to home and rest before working on Monday.

To get to Whittier from Anchorage you can take a bus (remember to book early), train or hire someone from a rental car company to drive you. Embark was super easy and staff was experienced. It was less chaotic than the big port in NYC. The stateroom we had was partially blocked but the room was clean and beautiful. The bed was comfortable but the bathroom was slightly small. There was plenty room to place our personal items.

The safety drill was also well organized and not chaotic. We had the "any time" dining option which included 2 nights of formal attire. The specialty dining was extra so we didn't use them. The meals were OK but not exceptional. The chef perhaps didn't know how to prepare authentic Italian dishes since the tomato sauces used tasted sour, salty with some bitterness. I think it is about average. Read more