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Cruise Review: Glacier Bay Highlights and Denali

Ship: Spirit of Glacier Bay

Date: June 2008

Does trip of a lifetime paint a picture?

So many things that will be special memories.

The colors and smells of Alaska are different than anything we have experienced before.

We started with the Denali portion. Met our group at the hotel during a wine and cheese reception. Received a good layout of the trip. We were off to dinner with one of the Cruise West staff. She had been working for Cruise West for two years and loved her job.

We traveled on bus and train and kayak all through Denali. Definitely worth doing this extension as it is so different than the cruise portion. The trip out to Kantishna Roadhouse was spectacular. We saw a whole list of animals, up close and personal. Our leaders were knowledable, friendly and knew the lay of the land. Kantishna Roadhouse, as expensive as it was, was a value that made the trip totally out of the ordinary. Kantishna is truly out in the middle of no where. Yet, we had good food and a comfortable cabin with like minded guests.

We flew to Juneau a day early, this was Linda's suggestion and a good one it is. Goldbelt hotel across from the water.

We met the Cruise West people at the desk in the lobby. Everything was smooth and organized. We were taken to the ship, settled in our DLX cabin. Worth the extra dollars for the larger cabin as none of the cabins are huge to start with.

Food was good and consistant throughout the cruise. Naturalists were excellent as was the high energy crew. Every question and request was taken care of. We were so honored to have dinner with the Captain one night. The crew mixes and mingles the whole time which we really enjoyed. They share their knowledge and enthusiasm. We also learned of other destinations Cruise West travels from them. We hear they are going to go to the Galapagos and we will sign up for that trip.

Overall we had a wonderful experience and feel the whole package is a good value for the money. We felt special every inch of the way. This is the way to travel, you won't find us back on big ship anytime soon. We put down a deposit on the next trip which is $100 and gives us $250 in credit. Quite a deal in our opinion.

A last note, I want to say that Linda at Sunstone Tours is the Agent of the Year for Cruise West. We were honored to have her as our agent. She knows the trip and ships inside out, with her experience we were very well prepared for this trip.

Anta and Mark Smarts
Boston, MA