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John McClure

Age: 55
Occupation: retired
Number of Cruises: first
Cruise Line: NCl
Ship: SUN
Sailing Date: August 31st, 2003
Itinerary: Alaska

My wife and I were part of a group of 16 people taking this cruise. Check-in was easy and smooth. NCL staff were especially helpful to a couple in our group who forgot their passports. After boarding, we had a nice lunch at the buffet and then returned to our rooms to find our baggage waiting.

Our inside room was ample in size and beautifully designed; there was plenty of storage space and the bathroom was adequate though compact. The room was very quiet with little sound from the hall and none from the elevators.

On our first night, NCL gave our group a complementary one hour cocktail party in the Observation Lounge. We celebrated the ship's sunset departure from Seattle with a nonstop flow of hors d'oeuvres and drinks in a lovely setting.

Our first stop was Juneau, where my wife had a nice whale watching trip (hers was Orca - I heard the one sponsored by NCL was better) and my kayak trip was cancelled due to rain. I took a bus to see the Mendenhall Glacier. Some of our group rented a limo for a tour around the city. Overall, we had a decent day despite the weather.

The next stop was Skagway. We rented a car and drove into the Yukon to a town called Carcross. The weather was lovely, and the scenery along the way was stunning! We also visited the old miner's cemetery and Reid Falls in town. Those of our group who took the rail trip also enjoyed their adventure. Terrific day.

We visited Glacier Bay the next day. Fortunately, the weather was clear though cool. A couple of Park Rangers boarded the ship and provided useful information about the glaciers. The ship pulled up very close to the glaciers, giving us some great photo ops.

The next day was Ketchikan. The weather was lousy, causing us to cancel a float plane trip to the Misty Fjord Park. We spent abut 4 hours walking around the town and shopping.

Our last stop was Victoria. This was a wasted port call. The ship did not dock until after 6PM and departed before midnight. We didn't even leave the ship, though some of our group spent a couple hours walking around the town.

Now for the ship. Service was uniformly excellent. The cabin crews kept our room spotless. Room service was efficient though the menu was limited. And the restaurant staff was surprisingly attentive (in light of the freestyle tipping policy). Getting on and off the ship for excursions was handled efficiently, while assuring that non-passengers did not board.

Overall the food was very good. We ate most meals at the Seven Seas and avoided the buffets. The number of choices for each course was astonishing, and most of them were creative, interesting and tasty. We had a spectacular dinner at Le Bistro - as good as any 4-star restaurant. The Freestyle seating concept worked perfectly for us. Our entire group ate together 3 times, and the rest of us just showed up in groups of 2, 4 or 6 at other meals. There was rarely any wait for seating.

As for entertainment, we saw two very good theatrical reviews. Some of our group enjoyed the art auctions and casinos. We skipped the lounge acts.

Overall, we had a hell of a good trip. My only suggestion to NCL would be to realign the port calls so that there would be ample daylight time at each stop.

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