We originally chose this cruise because of the shore excursions. The excursions, for the most part were very good, although the timing of getting to and from them was certainly not done for customer convenience. In one instance we had two shuttles returning to the boat. they would not let us get on the first one which left half full. the second now was stuffed with not space to move, and no air circulation. Another one was canceled and swapped for 4 hours at a public game park (still looking for that refund), and none them lived up to the cruise line's statements about taking good care of people with food allergies (celiac). Food on the boat and, if offered on an excursion, was not celiac friendly unless you like jello...overall food was boring, repetitious, and of a quality you would expect to get at Denny's. Excursions were not timed for anything relating to customer comfort. Transportation and timing gets you up before 6am in some cases and taking excursions at 8:30 at night. movement between hotels on the land portion had you putting bags out at 8:30 am and then sitting around to 2:30 pm for a bus. Yes, the sun always shines in Alaska this time of the year, but it doesn't mean their customers do. It is tiring to get up early, wait around, not have any gf food options or snacks (food hours were limited and room service was abysmal-limited choices and of course not gf ) and then get on a bus for a ride to another location where upon arrival you learn that we were delayed in our arrival so the rooms could be ready (but they were to in some cases) . I could go on, but you get the meaning here.

The boat had several cracked widows and seating was a problem in the lido deck during meals. Emphasis was on getting passengers to spend money, not on service or quality. We've been on many cruises - this was the most disorganized. off ship, the holland America hotel in Denali was the worst one of the trip. The room was dirty, no toilet paper, and not suitable for any gf diet. So much for them caring about customers with food allergies.the non holland America hotels were much better in many respects but still lacked gf options. in one case the menu was changed before we arrived removing the gf options. in another we arrived in time for the last shuttle to town at 5:30pm, which would have been fine if the last returning shuttle from town wasn't at 5:45pm.

I highly recommend you look at other cruise lines before doing any Holland America trips.