Embarkation: I realize this was a nightmare for some people, but we had very few problems. We arrived at the port around 10:30, immediately a porter offered to take our bags and check them in for us, which enabled us to walk right in once they opened the doors, totally worth the $30 tip my family gave him. It did take a bit longer than usual to check in, but it seemed to me they were training new people. As we were boarding, one of the two check-in machines went down, it only delayed us about twenty min or so and honestly we were so thrilled to be on vacation that we just rolled with it and laughed at the "cruise rage" happening around us. Ship & Activities: The ship is definitely older and they were doing some work on it, and every once in awhile we would catch a whiff of sewage. Nothing terrible though and I was surprised how much fun I had on the smaller ship, I think it was our most enjoyable cruise yet out of 6 we've taken. That is primarily thanks to the friendliest crew I have ever come across. We are trivia players and we loved the Cruise Director staff, especially Chris and Elyse. Our room attendant was excellent, always said hello and asked how we slept. We had My Time Dining and it was a relief to eat earlier than 8:30 and be able to work around our activities. I do think they are still working the kinks out, as a couple nights we sat for a very long time waiting for wine and to order. Our wait staff was very attentive and we were very pleased with the quality of the food in the MDR and the Windjammer. My parents had an aft Jr Suite which is really the way to go if you can swing it. We didn't have to fight the crowds on deck and were free to sip coffee and take photos of the incredible Tracy Arm Fjord Glacier. The scenery was just incredible and doesn't even seem real it's so pristine. The real highlight of the cruise was Derek Lewis's Kamikaze Karaoke. Definitely not for the sensitive and easily offended as his act is a little risquE. He was great entertainment, and the camaraderie he created was truly impressive. Everyone was cheering each other on and Superstarring each other all over the place (check it out and you'll know what I mean!), the only downside of his show was the increase to my bar bill! Ports: Juneau was great excursion wise; we did the Summer Camp Dog Sled excursion. It was exciting, interesting, informative, and involved puppies! However the service in town left a lot to be desired, you'd think they could fake a little customer service 4 months out of the year. Skagway was beautiful, a must see is the hourly tour of what used to be the brothel above The Red Onion Saloon, $5 for 15 min and you can bring your beer. If you like beer this is a great cruise, each port had brew pubs and if you get a flight it's a great way to try a little bit of everything. Victoria was especially good for that, the glasses in their flights are rather large! Older passengers might find the walk from the ship to downtown Victoria difficult and will want the shuttle, we enjoyed the walk through the neighborhood though. Skip The Original Christmas Village, overpriced and mean.

Debarkation: A snap, found our bags right away and into a cab we went! Overall, it was an excellent cruise. It was by no means perfect, and there were things that could have been improved upon, like the faucets in the bathroom and shower, in the long run though an amazing crew and beautiful ports made all that seem unimportant. Too often we see "cruise rage", where people nitpick on so much that they can't enjoy their cruise over one or two small incidents. We've been victims of it too, but no more - we set out to enjoy ourselves, and boy did we!