We selected the cruise for the time available and for the destination. We spent three days in Seward prior to embarking. We took the train from Anchorage to Seward after a quick evening in Anchorage. We highly recommend the train as a means to travel! We were able to do some things in Seward that were also available in the ports like whale watching. We stayed outside of Seward and didn’t rent a car as there are some travel options in the town. Food in Seward was good and the locals were very friendly. Embarkation and disembarkation were very smooth and easy. We were traveling as a couple and left the kids at home as we were celebrating our 25th anniversary. We have never been on a cruise before and overall we enjoyed it. The cabin was small as expected, but very functional. We were able to move around easily and all of our “stuff” fit well in the spaces provided. My preference is for a soft bed, but this bed, as could be expected, was hard and difficult for me to sleep on. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. We ate at multiple restaurants, but the Azura was our favorite and never disappointed. Overall we found the food to be satisfactory. I didn’t want to do the dress up every night option although some people did. Either way worked out fine as some people dressed up and others didn’t. We had read that Alaska cruises are a little laid back. The scenery during the trip was amazing. My wife’s only regret was that we didn’t get a cabin with the balcony which she highly recommends. We spent more time on the ship looking at the views of the inside passage than we did at the shows although my wife caught a few and said they were excellent. There is a casino feel to the cruise. There is more than enough for anyone that has different interests on the ship to be entertained. We didn’t sign up for excursions through the cruise. We did get off the ship and find things to do. Sometimes we explored the port city, other times we found an excursion and still other times we explored and went back to the ship (Icy Straight). We did get a couples massage which was a positive experience as I had never had a massage, but the bed was killing me! The negatives were the time we spent in each port. We were in Icy Straight all day and only for a few hours in Juneau. If we cruise again we will examine that a little more. Overall we loved Alaska and we enjoyed the cruise.