I took a class here last year in preparation for climbing Mt. Baker in WA state. I had zero…read moremountaineering experience but really wanted to learn what it was all about. I was sold when Chris did his first information session. Chris is such an experienced, calm, and teaching focused person. He described his approach to teaching climbing that just made sense for me. During the course we learned navigational skills, learned how to use all the climbing gear, how to safely cross glaciers, practice rescuing teammates from crevices (amazing experience!). We would learn the concepts in a classroom setting, then do an overnight camp/hike to practice all the skills in the wild. I knew nothing when I started the class, and I am now comfortable doing some of these things on my own, this is a testament to Chris' ability to teach and make sure you remember what you are taught. I would recommend this for anyone that is interested in mountaineering, it was such an amazing experience, and I have since drawn upon those skills in other outdoor scenarios. Chris makes this a comfortable learning environment, where you can challenge yourself, explore the wonder that is the mountains, and make some great friends! What are you waiting for?? GO GO GO!

Chris and Melissa are awesome! I summited Mt Baker with them in 2010 and could not have asked for a…read morebetter instructor. I had never held an ice ax and didn't know what crampons were before I took the glacier climbing course, but Chris taught me everything I needed to know. He is very professional and methodical in his approach, teaching all of the necessary skills to a considerable amount of depth, and allowing for lots of practice between the classroom sessions and field trips. If you want to be hand-held up Baker in a hurry, look elsewhere. If you want to learn the skills and feel confident that you could navigate your way to the top or run a crevasse rescue, you can't do better than Chris. Definitely one of the most memorable experiences of my life!

Nothing beats a sunny day on a boat in Seattle! Our captain Dorin and his boat Mitlite were…read moreperfect. The boat is beautiful and well designed with space in the front, back, inside and below for guests to relax and enjoy the cruise. Once we left the doc to cruise around Lake Union and Lake Washington I was instantly relaxed. Friends were able to easily move around the boat and I was impressed by how little it rocked on the water. Would definitely recommend Dorin and his boat for any occasion you have to get out on the water!

Great day aboard the Mitlite! Capt Dorin was a terrific captain, very knowledgeable about the area…read moreand a great host! We had a amazing time! Thank you.

This was one of the most amazing trips I've ever been on, and I can't imagine doing it without…read morePhil's help. We didn't know anything about going on safari, and Phil build a custom trip that catered to exactly our personal travel style of going to some of the more off-the-beaten-path places with fewer tourists, but still lots of amazing experiences (we watched a family of elephants chase off a pair of male lions!). Everyone we met was on their 4th or 10th safari and when they found out we'd never been before, they'd always ask, "So how did you even find this place?" Also I had no idea you could have a vacation with this much adventure and yet zero stress. Having Phil take care of everything and getting it all arranged for and paid in advance took a HUGE load off of us, which was so great as we both have jobs where we typically do a lot of planning and project management. By taking care of that, Phil let us go on an exciting vacation where we actually got to RELAX. We took literally THOUSANDS of amazing photos, but here are just a couple fun ones I shot with my phone.

We had dreamed of going on a safari for years but didn't know where to start. Then we had the good…read morefortune of meeting Phil. From the very first day of working with him to plan and organize our trip of a lifetime, we felt we were in great hands. Phil's fantastic first-hand knowledge of the camps allowed him to create a trip that far surpassed the typical group package deals. Phil meticulously plans every detail of the trip, from the best places to stay to recover from jet lag before the safari, to every transfer. You are never left wondering where to go or if someone will be there to meet you. The camps he chooses are small and personal, where you are taken care of and treated like family. The safari experience is second to none, with personal drivers and guides who are excellent, highly skilled, and knowledgeable. If you want a safari experience to remember, I can't recommend Phil and On Safari-In enough!

This is by far, the smallest aircraft I've been inside, so I wasn't really expecting the…read morefear-of-death pangs that reverberated through my body once we were airborne and at the mercy of the bay breezes. Thankfully, our pilot, James, was a jovial fellow with a good command of his craft. A short three minutes later I felt my pucker give way to a state of enrapturement at the Seattle skyline from several hundred feet in the air. There is a certain giddiness that comes from laughing in the face of your own mortality, especially with James on the mike. The time will fly by and before you know it, you'll be descending back to Boeing Field. It's so surprising to realize how little runway this plane needs in order to land. If you forget to bring cash for a tip, like I did, you can Zelle at a later date

This isn't the seaplane tour I thought I'd booked. But, James (owner/pilot) was very understanding…read moreand so helpful. He was more concerned about our having a good time and celebrating my husband's birthday, the way we'd imagined. James, thank you!

David built a curated trip for our group of 6 in Argentina that was the perfect blend of our…read moreinterests and desires. No bus tours here! The best food, best wine, and crazy outdoor adventures blended with special cultural experiences. David spent time with me and our group ensuring the itinerary was just right for us, helping with interior travel and the big flights to and from. The on-the-ground guides he hired were perfect! And, when a minor issue emerged while on the ground, David was responsive immediately and helped to resolve it within hours! This is exactly why you hire a travel agent, so you can enjoy your vacation and not worry. Highly recommend David Hawkraven and look forward to future trips with his assistance!

This was my first time working with a travel agent, and David did not disappoint. He helped us…read morebuild an unforgettable, three week excursion through Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. As the scope and duration of our itinerary grew beyond any trip we had previously taken, it quickly became overwhelming to plan it all ourselves. David worked hard to accommodate our wish list, and coordinated with multiple entities to ensure we had a seamless experience. I highly recommend DesignedTravel!

Really enjoyed the entire experience-outside of the challenge of finding their location, everything…read morewent smoothly! We lucked out with blue skies and light winds - enough to make chasing the sunset perfect. Learned a lot about ballooning from Bob and Jay. And really enjoyed their personalities-it was evident that they truly enjoyed what they do. There were two groups that took flight on a Sunday evening. I would definitely recommend this company for your hot air balloon ride--they'll let you participate in pre and post balloon activities if you want. And of course, the champagne post flight was a great way to end the day.

Such a wonderful ride in Winthrop! Couldn't ask for a better pilot and experience! We went with our…read morefriends and didn't think we would enjoy it as much as we did!!!

This was my second cruise. My family and I wanted to see Alaska and decided in February of 2024…read morethat the best way would be an Alaskan cruise. Especially as we were traveling with 2 people over 65. We had read that June was best for Orcas and August best for Humpback whales so we booked a June 2025 cruise. This was great as it allowed us about a year to pay it off before the cruise. My mom and her husband had one room and my sister, my son and I had another. We ended up upgrading to a balcony room and I am so glad we did. After my first cruise experience on the "FUN" cruise line, I was miserable. I was sea sick, the screaming running kids was too much, the activities kind of sucked, there were little places to relax. I was scared to ever cruise again. NCL has completely changed this for me. The good: I like the free style dining. I hated being locked into a time for a dining room especially on port days. I enjoyed being able to come and go as I wanted, not as the ship wanted. The Vibe: This ship had a totally relaxed vibe. You could chill in the atrium in the chairs and watch trivia or games. The Starbucks had comfortable chairs to watch the views outside. The observation lounge was beautiful with all different types of seating options. This was one of the best places to be during the cruising day in Glacier Bay. They also provide snacks and drinks in the observation lounge so it was truly relaxing. They offered music throughout the day. Some were great, others just made us want to leave. Overall it was a wonderful place to hand out and became a favorite place of ours. The ship itself is decorated beautifully. Much more modern and updated. All details are considered from the carpet, to the chandeliers to the stairs. I loved the art exhibits in the walkways. We really enjoyed the scavenger hunt in the art exhibit on the first night. My son and I really got into it. Port Days: NCL really takes into consideration the ease of port access. Even for some of us who have more difficulty walking or with inclines, everything was doable. When not right in town, there are buses offered. The waits are too long for the buses either and in some cases the walk was not too far and quite enjoyable, especially in Skagway. Unexpected: My son loves to do the National Park Junior Ranger programs. We were bummed we were close to Glacier Bay & he would not get to do the program. When we got to Glacier Bay we were shocked to learn that they actually bring park rangers on board and do presentations for kids & provide opportunities for them to earn their badge. This was unexpected & really made me appreciate the extra effort that goes into making sure we had a good time. I loved they brought a little store into the observation lounge so we could still get our park magnets and pins. THANK YOU. The bad: Food: The food seamed exciting and ever changing. It took us about 3 of the 7 days to realize the three main dining rooms had the same menu. We ended up mostly at the local after a few days, but the food gets a little boring and everything is just OK. The breakfast is probably the best at the Local. The buffet was one of the better buffets I've seen. I appreciate that they mix it up with Indian and Asian food options as well. There really is something for everyone. I really liked the made to order crepes. I personally thing the specialty dining is not worth it for the extra cost. I preferred finding something local when we were in port and exploring new foods that way. Two of us on the 6th night ordered Cagneys from the Manhattan room. That night everything was a mess, over an hour later and no food was coming. 3 of the 5 people go tired of waiting and left. It was especially awful considering it was a port night and we had to be off ship at a certain time. The food was improperly cooked, cold, and nothing arrived together. Then the staff had the nerve to blame us for ordering the steak. It was just terrible. No one would take our complaint in the dining room so we went to guest services, who wouldn't take our complaint either. They had to call the manager of the restaurant who after half an hour still didn't come and they had to call him again. They ended up removing the additional cost for the steak from the room, but service was unacceptable. Room Location: Unfortunately we were in the back of the ship, even though it said mid-ship and our luggage tags said mid-ship, it was really back of the ship. This caused the beds to vibrate at night when the ship was moving due to the engines, it was rough. My son was miserable on the pull out bed, it shook even worse than the beds. Luggage: We were so confused when we were told we could go to our rooms & luggage was all over the halls. Not sure if they normally deliver your bags. Took half a hour to find them. Be careful with NCL taking bags to the airport. Mine and 9 others bag tags were mixed & mine were sent to NY.

Having only cruised on the "fun" cruise line before I had vowed to never go again. But the family…read morewanted to do Alaska and quite honestly for the first time, a cruise seemed like the way to go. After some research, we landed on NCL and we liked the itinerary so we booked it about 16 months out. I really like that NCL does free dining. I hate being relegated to eat at a certain time and I liked that there were many options. The boat is large but not "too big". it was walkable, easy to get around once you get your bearings and it was beautiful inside. It felt like a grown up ship. There were great activities for kids and adults and the kids overall were so much better than on the "fun" cruise. I loved there being a Starbucks on board where I could use my card in the app to pay, they had a specialty mug that my nephew fell in love with. The staff were great overall. The room of course was small but had a good amount of storage. I am on one injection that must be refrigerated and the cooler in the room did keep it at a good temp. We had only two issues on the ship and both were food related. One, there are just not enough options. Having 3 of the restaurants have the same menus each night made it really boring and in each port I was craving something fresh and different. I liked the 24 hour restaurant the most but gosh, I wanted some variety!!! My only other issue was in the main dining room, two of us uprated our meals to the steak from Cagney's. That night we noticed no one was getting their food or food was coming and sitting and not being served. Three people in our party got tired after waiting almost an hour for our meals and left. Two of us remained and finally our steaks came, then the waiter started to blame us for everything taking so long because we ordered steak. We hadn't complained, they asked where the rest of our party was and we told them they left and then the blamed us for ordering steak. Forget the fact that every other table around us also didn't get their meals. Overall that just sucked. Like I said, everyone else was great, the ship is amazing. Lots of lounging space and areas inside to look out. It's modern and beautiful. I would easily take the Encore again. It just needs some tweaks with food.

They really do everything possible to provide an enjoyable walking tour for all. wonderful tour…read more Really enjoyed the insights and history .