Alaska Cruise on Royal Caribbean

We flew into Seattle the day before and stayed at the hotel. There were shuttle companies available to take us to the cruise port whenever we were ready. We ran into several other cruisers while waiting on the shuttle. Next time, we may try Celebrity, as there seemed to be a number of people from and going to board them.

We left Seattle on May 24th on the Ovation Of The Seas, a very nice ship. It was a little cool in May, but we were lucky and had very little rain. We had a balcony cabin, which was great—you do not want to forget your binoculars.

Train up high

First stop was at Sitka, with beautiful views and lots of things to do. The whale-watching and other wildlife viewing was great, and wandering the town was easy and relaxing.

Next, we stopped in Skagway, where we took the White Pass rail and a bus up to the Canadian border; there were lovely views and it was a very interesting trip. There are lots of things to do in this area. Setting this excursion up through the ship provider made it easy to get to the excursion and back.

The next day was an adventure in Juneau, a lovely area. We visited the Mendenhall Glacier area and spent a little time in the town, stopping by one of the local establishments for crab legs right on the dock.

Cruising to the glaciers was our only problem. We did not get to go too far in because of the dense fog we ran into—an issue with going that early in the year—but the scenery we did see was beautiful, and we ended up seeing a couple of whales from our balcony.

Killer whale

The last stop was in Victoria. We chose to stay on the ship and enjoy and explore a little. It was easy to get around, and we visited most of the areas of the ship. It seemed well laid out, but, being as cold as it was, we spent most of the time in the Solarium.

This was the only disappointing thing we ran into: We ate most of our meals in the main dining room and were expecting more local cuisine, but the menu was fixed and seemed about the same as the menu we had during our Caribbean trips. We ate breakfast and lunch at the buffet and some of the other small venues. We loved the pizza in Sorrento's. We would grab a slice there fairly often.

Embarkation and debarkation were OK—much improved from previous trips, and it did not take quite as long to get on the ship, but finding our luggage when we got off was still interesting. I spoke with several workers there and they said they were always looking for ways to improve these aspects of the trip.

Depending on when you go, May through September, pack well. This is not a Caribbean cruise, so one day you may be in shorts and the next day you may need a rain jacket and layers. Bring comfortable walking shoes and make sure you have binoculars. Don’t be disappointed if you do not get to make a stop or have to bypass an area; this is still the great wild.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our Alaska page.