Lovely setting but logistics issues.

I was invited by family members, and I was interested in seeing Alaka, so I was happy to be included. Alaska was beautiful and the three shore excursions I chose very well done, though a bit expensive. But there were several issues for me.

1.The worst issue was the disembarkation. It was a nightmare. Trying to get 4000+ people off the ship in a period of 3 hours was unrealistic and the process was very long and exhausting. I would suggest having a longer time range to get off and adding more exits. This was terrible. Just getting off and back on the ship after shore excursions was unwieldy and crowded.

2. I am dairy and garlic intolerant and though the cruise attempted to make my dining more selected, the process was not done well. The food at buffet at the Garden Cafe was overwhelmingly cooked with dairy. We had to ask the staff about every item. We had to reserve a dairy free meal the night before for each of the restaurants, and even then, they would just tell us which item we could eat, rather than make adjustments in the meal preparation. Besides Jello, the dairy free dessert was unedible and awful. They told us we would have a "guide" for dairy free meals, but that person never materialized. Besides that, the food at the specialty restaurants was excellent. The main dining rooms, not so much.

3) The line at guest services was always a long wait and the phone to guest services from our cabin NEVER answered the phone.

4) The daily flyers were great but would have been a lot more helpful if they had been given to us in advance rather than the night before. That would have made it more feasible to plan our activities.

5) Elevators were too slow and too crowded.

6) When I went to see Jersey Boys, entrance to the theater were closed, and two people I was with were not allowed to enter after me because of space... BUT there were empty seats all over the theater, including two next to me!!!! There was no reason to close admission.

7) Arriving in Victoria at night and having only 4 hours there was unrealistic. I dont know if the itinerary can be adjusted but I wound up not being able to see Victoria... so a wasted time.