Just back from Alaska..

Hi all.. wanted to send a quick mini report..we just returned last night from the Aug 12th sailing to Alaska from Seattle. A wonderful trip..but thought I would touch on a few things that people always ask,...

We arrived at port in Seattle at 10:45.. party of 6.. 2 Vista Suites, and an extended balcony with FTTF.. check in was smooth, and we actually were on board by 11:15... HINT.. I had read that we should point out the "FTTF" symbol on the luggage tags, to the porters there. They had no clue what we were referring to. The FTTF cabin was ready as promised, but was still decorated for the previous cruisers "Happy Honeymoon".. that remained all 7 days.(unless they had decorated the wrong cabin).. Cabin Steward "Jeefrey" was awesome, and I only asked the first day for ice.. it was supplied all cruise, all day. Thank you for that. Had dinner in the steakhouse. Food was awesome as usual, but service was lacking. We had the reservation made months ago, but when we were seated, only 4 of us 6 got menus. We were told that they were "out of menus".. place was not busy. How can that be? Unfortunatley, that set the tone. Had to flag down a server to get more bread. Entertainment I thought, was great. If anyone is going soon, dont miss JC and the Miracles, music by Vini, and Music Unlimited. My DIL attended the hypnotist show and loved it. Michelle the naturalist was just wonderful and we enjoyed her very much. Tracy Arm was gorgeous. My sister and her husband took the Tracy Arm explorer, we did not. Surprisingly, they were not impressed, and felt it was not money well spent. They did get closer to the glacier than we did of course, but as my sister said, "Not near $400.00 closer", for two. Captain did get us very close. I had ordered a fruit and wine basket for my son and his wife.. it was beautiful and was delivered as I had asked on the first day. Food was good I thought, but we aren't hard to please. I stuck to the flat iron steak in the dining room most nights. Always good and perfectly cooked.Service in the dining room was fast.. "Oana" was our server.NOTE:.. our dining time said 6:00 pm, but it was 5:30 PM..Late seating was 7:45, not 8:00pm.. Room service was fast every morning with coffee and pastries. Within 10-15 minutes of calling. "Elegant nights",(both Sea days) we did not attend. Went to the steakhouse on one of them, and the buffet on the other. Captain Vito was present and spent a lot of time meeting guests, as we witnessed from a nearby lounge. I wasn't aware of anyone with any issues or complaints. Staff was always pleasant and welcoming. Weather was cool and rainy. We chose the luggage express for $20.00 per person.. well spent.Boarding passes were waiting in our cabins, and luggage picked up the night before. NOTE..if you chose the luggage express, there is no "over weight" charge if your bags weigh more than 50 pounds. We self disembarked, and walked off the ship when called to do so. Easiest ever! We used Seattle Shuttle for all our needs in Seattle, getting to the port, and back to the airport. They were on time, courteous and easy to deal with as well as reasonable. We were to SEA-TAC by 8:30 AM..

Hotel in Seattle was the Edgewater..cant say enough good about them! All in all we had a great trip.. sure missed Ketchikan, but oh well, next time!

Thanks for the quick report. It really covered a lot in a few paragraphs. Interesting that your family member didn't think the small excursion boat in Tracy Arm was worth the money. Everyone we spoke with thought is was the best ever. Just goes to show you how we all have different opinions. We have done Alaska twice and I want to go again.

Hi Springs... yes, I thought so also.. this is what they told me, and of course, as you said, every ones opinion is different. My sister told me, that they went pretty quickly to the area of the glacier.. they didnt see the bear on the shoreline like we did, or the eagles..they were moving too quickly. she said that when they were at the glacier, they of course were admiring it etc, and she said she felt bad that we had elected not to go..because it was so pretty, etc etc... then they came around the bend, and there was our ship.. right there..pretty close.. she just felt, that they werent all that much closer to it than we got.. just opinion. I have heard many great things about that tour, but also have read a few others opinions that matched my sisters.. over all, i'm glad we didnt book it, but i wouldnt hesitate to maybe another time.

Thanks for the report!

Thanks for the report.

Keith

Thanks for the review -- lots of good information

(PS: It was a little hard to read...maybe break it up into some paragraphs next time....thx :o)

Thanks for the review. Funny that the room was decorated and if a mistake the room steward didn't remove them.

thanks for the review -- lots of good information

(ps: It was a little hard to read...maybe break it up into some paragraphs next time....thx :o)

+1 :)

Tracy Arm was gorgeous. My sister and her husband took the Tracy Arm explorer, we did not. Surprisingly, they were not impressed, and felt it was not money well spent.

That's nice to know. I was wondering what you get for $400 as we probably won't be doing that excursion in the future.

Thanks for the report!