Eyeshutopen

Day 4: We opted to self guide ourself around Ketchikan instead of doing a shore excursion. Creek street was beautiful and where most of us went. They had a free shuttle bus that went around to further places in town but we choose to walk to all the totem poles instead. Not many places to eat but we did find good coffee and souvenirs. Spoke to a couple locals who said they are still recovering from COVID. This was the first day we really noticed the long daylight. Eating dinner with the sun still up was fun. For appetizers we both got the tuna and a beef short rib dish both were bursting with flavor. For an entree we both got steak (we like the same things lol) and shared dessert. Since we wanted to try the crème brûlée station in the buffet. I must say I loved the original and unique desserts they had here. Way different from the cupcakes, cakes, and bread pudding i have become accustom to with other lines. This was the day I discover the no sugar added peanut butter cookies and that they used real pistachio in their recipes. **if you don’t read anything else I write please take a mental note to try the peanut butter cookies, pistachio crème brûlée and the cassis & pistachio gelato! **

Day 3: First sea day, the bakery in the buffet made everything fresh in the morning and it reminded me when I was in France. Everything I ate here was great. My go to was a croissant with bacon and eggs. I thought of doing ham and cheese with Dijon mustard but the ham was not appetizing. I also tried out the internet included with our package, I wasn’t expecting it to be able to stream but I was hoping I can at least use Google or surf Reddit for a bit, unable to really do anything. Not sure if this was because of the area or if this is the case with all sailings as I don’t ever get internet. Glad it was free, wouldn’t pay for it. Shops onboard were very small, had some nice souvenirs but mostly jewelry and bags if that’s your thing. The entertainment tonight was good. Broadway musical songs. we skipped lunch and went to an early dinner. I did snap a photo of both menus. The bread service in the MDR is so good too, they change the cream cheese dip every day and paired with the fresh bread, i ended up skipping an appetizer and just getting the lamb chops (wouldn’t get this one again). My boyfriend got the crab cake and steak in a mushroom sauce, way better choice. Next stop Ketchikan! Room review: I really liked the ocean view cabin, inside staterooms were the same size, only real difference was the window, wish it didn’t have the metal down the middle though. I found myself using the small couch a lot, wish all cruise lines had seating areas in the interior rooms. Great way to sightsee without being in the cold. Mask, hand sanitizer, and Body lotion were all included which was a first to me.

Actually this year, It was the Barclay Hotel, if interested. No elevators if that’s a conflict for someone.

Day 2: We went to lucky’s donuts for breakfast, I am normally not a donut fan but I loved the pistachio donut here, coffee was great too. Highly recommend. We spent the rest of the morning walking around the city, it was beautiful, I want to come back and stay longer some day but we had a cruise to catch. embarkation was simple and easy, we were on the ship within 30 mins(10am). Our room wasn't ready since the inside cabins on our original deck were going to be used for quarantining COVID guest. This ended up getting us an upgrade to an ocean view which was fine by us! We grabbed a coffee from the cafe, this will end up being one of our favorite places to hang out on the boat. We headed to the gym, it was small but had everything you need. After we were done we went to the buffet for lunch, I loved the screens which had the layout of the food stations and what they were serving. My favorite spot was the Indian section. We stopped by here every day and we’re never disappointed. When I first started cruising, I would normally nap during sail away but from the advice of other guest we grabbed a blanket and headed out, it was great, don’t know if I would do it every sailing but some are definitely worth it. for the rest of the evening we walked around the ship, it was not the biggest and lacked some downtime activities (ex: game room, stateroom movies) but it did have a luxuries design to it. The crowd was a lot older too, making trivia much hard for us lol but everyone we met was super nice. For dinner we went to the main dining room. We shared the ravioli, my boyfriend got the prime rib and I got the jerk chicken. Everything this night tasted great. I really enjoyed the unlimited drink package even though I don’t like alcohol being able to just order drinks and not deal with receipts and tipping was something I didn’t realize I would love so much. More cruise lines should follow this process. If you want to tip more, just wait until the end of the cruise or give cash along the way.

Hello! Long time member, first time poster here. I normally look for reviews on ships I am about to sail on so I figured I share my personal experience this time. We decided to do the one way itinerary, as we wanted to see as much of Alaska as possible and have a longer time at each port. Ideally we would have loved to do B2B but work obligations made that not possible. Hopefully some day! Day1: Our flights from NYC to Vancouver had me nervous from the beginning since I have heard about how terrible the airport was at Toronto since COVID and was afraid about a cancellation or delay. We left only the day before our sailing and though I went in prepaid we still had to deal with problems. Westjet cancelled our flight a few times and luckily I booked with delta and they were able to get me on alternate flight both times even though the customer service wait times sucked. On departure day our flight got delayed a few hours, we have lounge access with delta so that didn’t bother us too much but we had a connecting flight that originally had 3 hours layover time however now only 1 hour. Upon arrival in Toronto our flight attendant made an announcement that they were backed up in customs and will only be allowing passengers with connecting flights off. Without this priority I don’t think we would have made it because customs was horrible, unorganized and rude staff set the tone however most people were doing their best to help each other. It took us 45 mins to get to the agents. Once cleared, we had to make a mad dash through security again, which was so slow, security had people begging to get by faster, it seemed every bag going through was being flagged for extra screening and then they would just hand it off. I felt bad for them as they looked overworked. We were stuck on line with a few other people who were on the same flight (one had a broken ankle with crotches) since we got through first we ran all the way to the gate agent and told them that the other guests were right behind us and explained the delay. She agreed to hold off a few mins to wait for them. Luckily we all made it. Word of advice to anyone flying to Vancouver from the east try to fly into California, Washington, or Oregon first then fly up. Avoid Toronto at all cost! We landed in Vancouver close to midnight and opted to take a taxi to our hotel. Pricing was very clear and based off a flat rate per zone, we paid $30. credit cards were accepted. the hotel we stayed at was clean and simple for $40. They had a bar in the front but I couldn’t hear the noise from my room. It was exactly what we needed, just a place to sleep and shower.