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Chris Newman

Age: 41
Occupation: computer programmer
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Norwegian
Ship: Spirit
Sailing Date: July 24th, 2004
Itinerary: Alaska

This was a vacation of a lifetime!!

This is my first cruise, so I did not know what to expect. I was so pleased with our overall cruise experience. The staff was so friendly and bent over backwards to try to please you. Our room stewards were friendly, visiting our room twice daily for cleaning then in the evening to turn down your bed and leave a chocolate.

I traveled with my husband and two children. A 2 1/2 year and a 4 1/2 year. Now before you wonder what got into me for taking two pre-schoolers, it turned out to be a very positive experience. There was planned childrens activities. I could even leave the little angels in daycare. There was a beautiful play area, and beautiful childrens pool. When I asked my 4 1/2 YO what his favorite part of the cruise was, he answered the kids pool!

Our inside room was small, but then there were 4 of us in the room. We basically just slept and bathed there, then we were off for adventures. Next time I would want a window. The Alaskan cruise through the inside passage is so pretty you don't want to miss anything. I was a little batty about never seeing daylight in my room.

Embarktion was a long process with 2 tired cranky children. Lots of lines, lots of people. And we were early to boot. YUK.

Our shore excursions were fun:

Juneau: Whale watching cruise. We saw a pod of 6 whales "bubble" feeding. The staff on our tour said we were especially lucky to see this. We watched for a good long time as the whales repeatedly surfaced and dove with a beautiful flash of tail. It brought tears to my eyes. I was glad the deck was windy or my hubby would have teased me for choking up! :)

Ketchikan: Went to Totem Pole State Park. Our guide was full of knowledge about the indiginous people of the area. Unfortunely, this was lost on my 2 little guys and they were very fidgity. Cool totem poles. Saw eagles and salmon in the rivers.

Skagway: Took the narrow gauge railway up about 27 miles. VERY beautiful scenery. I split from the rest and took a bike ride back down, while they took the train. Easy bike ride, all down hill!

Prince Rupert: Not too much going on here. A blue collar city of 15,000. Not set up for cruise ships. We took no excursions but just planned on walking around. Not anything going on.

Food on the ship was fantastic. I loved the "freestyle" eating. Took advantage of their free child care a couple nights so the hubby and I could have a relaxing dinner.

One of my favorite parts of the cruise was our trip on the cruise ship toward Sawyer glacier via Tracy Arm fjord. I CANNOT DESCRIBE THE BEAUTY OF THIS PLACE. We even got to see a little seal sitting on an ice floe.

Chocolate buffet. Need I say more?

I cannot wait until my next cruise!!

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