I am a Viking Oceans person. I love the serene nature of the ships and the maturity of the passengers. The ship is spotlessly clean and their employees are indefatigably cheerful. I won't go on another cruise line.

This cruise started out rough when we heard (ahead of time) that we couldn't board until 5:30 due to port issues in Vancouver. Viking took care of us but it did mean that over 900 people were ready to go through customs and board at about the same time. Then, there was a problem with a lifeboat and we couldn't leave Vancouver until it was fixed. We spent the day we were supposed to be sailing just sitting in the harbor. Nothing they could do about it, but communication could have been better. The lifeboat issue was fixed, but now we were a day behind. Well, our sweet shore excursion folks scrambled to reschedule excursions in Ketchikan . Some, they could. Some, they couldn't. We skipped Sitka to get back on schedule. Credits were given for missed excursions. Then, the dock crew (not Viking people) didn't seem to know how to attach the gangplank for us to get off the ship in Juneau. Many people gathered and swarmed when they finally figured it out and finding the right excursion group was not easy.

We were amazingly blessed to be able to do all our excursions, except for Sitka. They were well run and just jaw-dropping - whales breaching and bubble-feeding, orcas swimming under our boat, bald eagles all over, walking on glaciers, etc. Don't miss the Skagway streetcar! Or the Skagway train! My new favorite town. Read more