*If you have any questions that aren't answered in this post, please leave them in the comments section where I do my best to answer all Alaska related questions directly!
My Essential Alaska Travel Resources :
There are a lot of travel companies out there, but some are better than others. These are my favorite websites and resources to help plan an incredible trip to the 49th State. For flights, I recommend using WayAway or Hopper to compare the cheapest dates to travel to Alaska. Car rentals, arguably the best way to see Alaska, are best through Discover Cars! I always use AGODA for hotels. They have an easy-to-use platform where you can compare the best rates. To keep cell phone service if you're traveling internationally, I always use Airalo’s easy to purchase eSIM’s (no installation required). For fun things to do, I recommend Viator to find the best tours in the area, otherwise Klook also does the trick. Just in case, Safetywing is the insurance I always use for travel insurance. Lastly, my Alaska packing list for your travels to the Last Frontier. An Alaska Cruise Itinerary
If you're planning to cruise to Alaska, then you might be like us when we were choosing which itinerary to book - a little overwhelmed. I'll be honest, we had no idea which itinerary would be best, or which towns would be best to port in. We highly recommend choosing a cruise that at least stops in Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Our cruise with Royal Caribbean lasted 9 days, including boarding and disembarking the ship. Although it started and ended in Vancouver, we ported in Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchikan. Our schedule onboard the Serenade of the Seas looked like this :
3 Excursions Not To Miss in Alaska :
1. Ketchikan - Crabbing on the Aleutian Ballad 2. Sitka - Wilderness Sea Kayaking 3. Juneau - Whale Watching The Serenade of the Seas
With 13 decks the Serenade of the Seas holds about 2,500 people at max capacity - it has an outdoor movie screen, indoor cinema, casino, spa, gym, rock climbing wall, mini golf area, outdoor jogging track, indoor adults only pool in the solarium, outdoor pool, and kids play pool area. There are also 3 included dining options, with 5 specialty dining options, and 10 bar/lounge areas. With our budget we stayed in an Ocean View room, which allowed us to have one window in our stateroom - trust us you'll want at least one window for the incredible views - however other options onboard include the Interior Rooms, Balcony Rooms, and Suites. As we share our honest review of our experience onboard the Serenade of the Seas, we'll be sharing our opinions and reviews of the onboard atmosphere, the entertainment and amenities, what we loved, what we didn't love so much, and if we would recommend the ship overall. I also want to preface by sharing that before this we had cruised to the Bahamas with Royal Caribbean, and had a great experience!
The Onboard Atmosphere :
To be fairly honest, we've never felt so out of place in our entire lives. The entire time onboard we saw 2 other couples our age (20's-30s), a small handful of families with young children, and the remainder of the guests were around 70+ years old. Don't get us wrong, we have nothing wrong with spending some quality time with a different generation, but when you're looking for an adventure in Alaska this felt more like being stuck on a rowboat with some Grumpy Old Men. Everything entertainment related on board was catered to the aforementioned age group, which made it feel like a bit of a snooze fest if I'm being completely honest - with multiple cruise days we really felt like we had nothing to do but sit around and enjoy the views (which let's be honest were truly spectacular - but still).
The Entertainment & Amenities :
Entertainment from the impressionist and comedian were flat out racist and sexist, and both my husband and I found it quite uncomfortable. Don't get us wrong, the other singers and dancers onboard were incredible and hugely talented, however they weren't able to play hardly any music from this century and even they themselves seemed bored. Other entertainment activities included daily Sudoku Tournaments and Trivia, as well as daily dance classes. The most awkward part happened during the farewell show however when the cruise director was more concerned about getting applause for his wife (who also worked on board as a director in entertainment) rather than the actual talented singers and dancers. Other amenities were closed everyday except for embarkation day when we left Vancouver. When we tried to play other activities like shuffleboard no staff was able to find where the pieces were. When we tried watching a movie the cinema was so small that the entire floor and stairs were covered with people who had nothing better to do. If you decide to go, I would highly recommend bringing your own entertainment for days with rough weather. 
What we LOVED :
I'll be honest, not everything about our cruise was bad, there were actually quite a few things we loved! For example, the food was fantastic - just a few of the items in our included dinners were Maryland Crab Cake, New York Strip Steak, Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Hazelnut Cake and Lobster - and they were all delicious. The views were also unreal, and we were so happy to have taken a cruise to see these places that are otherwise nearly unreachable. Sailing towards Hubbard Glacier and through the Tracy Arm Fjord was magical, and the staff was kind enough to go out on a zodiac and gather a floating piece of glacier that had fallen off to bring it back onboard for everyone to touch and take pictures with!
What We Didn't Love So Much :
As for the ship itself, we were shocked to learn that this is the ship being taken out on this year's Ultimate World Cruise - we truly hope there are some major updates being made before they embark. During our time onboard many doors had writing with markers or splotches of who knows what, banisters on the outdoor railings were falling off, and the interior of our room felt very outdated and stuffy. Nothing was too terrible, but it felt like it might be soon.
So, Would We Recommend?
Honestly, even with all the things we loved about our Alaska Cruise onboard the Serenade of the Seas, we would only 50% recommend it. We'll put it this way, we would 1000% recommend a cruise to Alaska because the views in addition to any experience visiting Alaska is truly incredible, however, if we were to do it again we would also 100% look into other cruise companies OR a newer ship through Royal Caribbean. So, do with that information what you will. ;)
Other Alaska blog posts you might be interested in :
-> 11 Best Waterfalls in Anchorage and Beyond -> Where to Rent Bear Spray in Alaska -> 7 Best Tours in Alaska
Pin this Alaska Cruise Review for later!
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I'm Deborah👋🏼
In 2021 my husband Tyler convinced me to move to Alaska. After living there for a year (then leaving to take a year long world trip) we realized there was no place we loved more. So now we're back - and I'm here to share all my best tips and hidden gems to make Your Alaskan Adventures the best they can be. My favorite travel & outdoor gear is available right here! Use this link to shop all my favorite Alaska necessities! 
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