The pluses: Amazing food. Amazing food. And amazing food. Also, some talented naturalists and…read moreoutdoor guides. BUT, a few big drawbacks: The boat, the Safari Endeavor, was very old and not as advertised. The sales literature said it was renovated 11 years ago. Patently untrue. The boat was built in 1984 and looks and vibrates like it was built 40 years ago, too. I also felt I was patronized constantly as an older person. I'm 65, in terrific shape, hike regularly and bike 20 miles daily. I was told ridiculous things like, "Let's give the seal lions room," as if they don't know how to swim, or "let's step back from the edge" of a viewing platform as if I were a toddler. Just not my vibe. Also, excursions that were advertised as two hours were cut short to 80 minutes at least three times. Our trip also had many people whose tickets were comped, including the large family of the cruise director, which lent an odd air of missed privilege to the adventure. It didn't help that Alaska is melting; for the money, I would recommend Patagonia 100 times to Alaska. It's much more beautiful with exquisite blue glaciers that are still visible. Or for old spruce trees, visit the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. If you do go to Alaska, I'd find another small ship operator with vessels that are worth the dollar charged. The Endeavor needs to be retired.

Although the crew was great, we were well cared for and we did have a good time, I feel like we…read morewere ripped off by the sales team when they moved us to a different tour on a different boat last minute. We ended up staying in a different cabin class because what we booked wasn't acceptable to us on the new boat. The difference between what we paid for and where we ended up was about $4000. They gave us $1000 for the itinerary change. When I complained afterward, we were offered "an additional savings" (unspecified amount) on our next booking. I've called, written emails, even written directly to the company owner via snail mail and tried to contact him via someone who knows him. It's been three months. Still nothing. The full story...we originally booked the Glacier Bay National Park cruise on the Wilderness Discoverer round-trip out of Juneau, but a large group cancelled and Uncruise subsequently cancelled our trip 4 days before departure. They gave us the option to join a cruise on the Wilderness Explorer out of Ketchikan for which they'd alter the itinerary so it would also visit Glacier Bay and return to Juneau with our same dates, or we could rebook for a different time or cancel completely. They pressured us to make a quick decision and we'd been planning a vacation for months that included follow-on activities. Changing all the dates on that last minute would have been a mess, so we went along with the changed itinerary. We had booked the Admiral cabin (highest cabin class) on the Wilderness Discoverer with a stand-alone queen bed and sitting area. When we arrived on the Wilderness Explorer, the Admiral cabin turned out to have a murphy bed against a wall on one side (so one of us would have to crawl over the other to get out) and since it converted into a sofa, there was no space to store a bag! The room was super small. We ended up switching to a Trailblazer class cabin (two cabin classes lower than what we'd booked) with two twin beds and promises to "make it right" afterward. Apparently "making it right" means offering a discount on a future booking. I don't think so.

I showed up without an appointment. Jack could have easily told me to come back another time, but…read morestopped what he was doing to listen to what I needed. Later in the day he provided a quote that was easy to read and understand. We ended up not using JW but we will consider them in the future. The reason was not for the service at all, it was just based on JW being more luxury than we were looking for at this point.

Sheelagh King and the JW North staff is the best in the business. Extremely knowledgable about all…read moreareas of the globe for travel. If we are considering an area to go...you can bet that Sheelagh has either been there or has connections. We have been "saved" by Sheelagh in South America during an airline strike which stranded us in Ushaia Patagonia after calling her for help. We organized and booked a very complicated trip that took many hours of her time that we had to unfortunately cancel. She was gracious and understanding about the cancelation. We recommend JW North for anyone that loves to travel! Great travel advice!

Unimaginable Beauty! who knew Alaska was so breathtaking and picturesque…read more Alaskan 7-day Inside Passage & Glacier cruise from Seattle, Washington. There are just so many attractions one cruise will not do the state of Alaska just. I will be definitely returning again. My cost: $2,486$ (+) $200 gratuities. Look for deals or plan a year out ( payment plans available) if you're looking for cost effective deals for the family. Itinerary: Skagway: A historic gold rush town Tracy Arm Fjord: Named after Navy Secretary Benjamin Franklin Tracy. Juneau: The state capital Ketchikan: Gateway to the North Victoria: British Columbia, Canada

I've been on 6 other Royal Caribbean ships. I'm now on the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas. The…read moreship is smaller than any we've experienced. Our cabin is too. The food is good though. The service is great. As for Casino Royale... well let's just say I can never win on any of the Royal Caribbean ships so that's not really on Voyager of the Seas. That's on Casino Royale no matter the ship. I spend enough money to win too, but it never happens for me. Just keeping it real. Makes me not want to play while cruising. If I won big at least once... but NEVER! Yeah. That's a sign that it's time to just stop! And that part is on me!

I've cruised on RCL many times over the years and had a great experience....but now - I definitely…read morewon't be cruising with RCL again. We just returned from the Alaska cruise. The formal dining room wait staff were ok - however Matt Was the best! He really made up for the other ones. Main Diningroom food - terrible. They cooked the steak wrong -we both ordered medium. One came out Rare and the other medium well. Every night the rolls were cold and the butter was almost so cold you couldn't spread it on the rolls. I had the cookies for dessert and they were soo hard - I took a video. Also the Baked Alaska - they used to do a big show with it. No more dinner shows or even a good baked Alaska. The meringue was none existent. The chairs need to be replaced as they're old and falling apart along with multiple glass chips around the barriers of the railings between floors in the main dining room. In the Windjammer they were constantly out of food-we'd have to ask when something would be refilled. Bars - They advertised hot chocolate for drink of the day - but no bar had hot chocolate to actually sell the drink. Rooms - We lucked out with Nicolas for our cabin attendant! Activities - The bingo isn't really bingo any more. It's all electronic and the numbers are selected from the cards sold. Someone yelled Bingo and the guy running it told everyone to hang on as it couldn't be. And he was right - that's when we realized they already know the outcome as they know the room numbers of the people who purchased the cards. Also - not as many activities anymore that aren't related to selling you something constantly. We'll be cruising with another company next year!

Received amazing service here at Seattle location. The staff are really kind and helpful. The…read moreprocess was confusing for us initially but the staff are very accommodating and rescheduled our appointment for Saturday and helped us.

Anyone in need of consular services through VFS/ Indian Consulate in Seattle, be wary that there…read moreappear to be serious issues with their processes, some of which may lead to double charges. Plus, though on their website they ask customers to reach out, their contact form simply did not submit in any major browser (I tried Chrome, Edge, Opera). And if you want to call their customer service to complain or ask for a refund, they charge you for the call! WOW!! Issue with their billing: When I selected the option to mail my Passport renunciation application, VFS Global's web application for the Indian Consulate retrieved my records as per my ARN and calculated the total payment due. In that payment, it by default included $7.99 + fee and tax for the Photo service. There was no instruction on that page on how to upload my photograph for the service. I received a separate email for the photo service, and that process asks to pay that amount AGAIN! This attempt to double-charge the customers is inappropriate, and their forms to file a complaint or ask for a refund simply don't go through, as mentioned above!! VFS/ Indian Consulate in Seattle - Please correct your process and technical issues. UPDATE: After over a dozen attempts I was finally able to file a Refund Request. The complaint form is still not working. Will update if I get a resolution.

Awesome 12-day Bergen to Bergen trip in December. I booked on the MS Trollfjord. Outside cabin with…read morean obstructed view on Deck 6. If you are looking to experience the polar nights and the Northern Lights, in a casual cruise experience, this is one fabulous way to do it. TIP #1: Don't expect night-time entertainment...no movies no dancing no casino no live musical acts. JUST MAGNIFICENT VISTAS and QUAINT TOWNS, many stops (about 67 total), but only short opportunities to get out on land. This is a trip focused on taking outdoor excursions and hikes, and seeing the dancing lights. BRING YOUR OLD SLR or download a cell phone APP that lets you take nighttime photos at a slow shutter speed....this trip, for me, was about experiencing the AURORA BOREALIS. TIP #1: Upgraded to the window at the last minute while checking in at the Hurtigruten Terminal in Bergen at a great discount! Only $200 USD. Even with the bottoms of the lifeboats in the line-of-sight, I was still able to see out to shore. The view might be more problematic on Dec 7, but on Deck 6, no worries. FOOD: Local sourced foods, so you eat like Norwegians. Dinners are the usual seatings just like on other cruises, but dress is casual. Except for the Captain's Farewell Dinner...though only the crew seemed to be dressed fancy for the occasion. Otherwise, it's a lovely buffet at breakfast and lunch also highlighting local ingredients. The chefs are very inventive and all the meals are beautifully presented. The desserts are inspired and pretty to look at, especially the wide variety of mousse; loved the smoothie shots at breakfasts, the bread is amazing, and there's a wide variety of it and crackers, and while I normally don't slather butter on anything, don't miss out on the butter, it's amazing; there IS fresh fruit but don't expect a wide variety. I changed my dinner meals to VEGETARIAN, and was pleased, as I wasn't so keen on reindeer and steak and cod or lamb. But I tried bites of them, and they were all good. Vegetarians/Vegans can find plenty to eat and the kitchen often offered a vegetarian entree at the buffet. No ice sculptures, just great food. SUGGESTION TO HURTIGRUTEN: The Asian passengers I met really missed their white rice...and, to be honest, me too. Maybe add some Asian flair to your buffet, because even I missed white and/or brown rice. EXCURSIONS: They are for the hearty because the hikes are a fast pace due to the time constraints. But ALL the excursions I took -- The Arctic Coastal Walk, the dogsledding in Tromso, the Russian Border trip in Kirkenes, the Marble Mine near Kristiansund, the Vesteralen Trondenes Church bus and ferry trip were all amazing and worth your time and your dime. TIP#3: Don't miss out on Lofoten By Horse in Gimsoy, Lofoten. Riding Icelandic horses with a view of the Northern Lights on a sandy beach AND on great trails under a mountain (and apparently alongside a links golf course...it was dark!)...JUST WAS MAGICAL!!! Highly recommend the horseback riding...beautiful horses...lovely clean stables, beautiful barn turned restaurant!!! SUGGESTION TO HURTIGRUTEN: Offer year-round golf excursion at Lofoten Links!!! OVERALL: As long as you don't expect a fancy dressy cruise experience, you will LOVE the nice people on the ships of the Hurtigruten....it used to be a boat delivering mail, and it still acts as a ferry for the locals (and their cars). But that's part of the charm. You get to meet locals going about their commute. The food is great. The excursions are too. I had intended to visit Iceland, but when I found the Hurtigruten cruise, I changed my mind and took a chance on Norway. It didn't disappoint. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

We have a trip planned for this October. So far this group has been great to work with.read more

AutoVenture is one of the worst companies I have dealt with in my life. We contracted with them for…read more3 days. They cancelled one day. They did not follow the agreed-to itinerary on the second day. They no-showed on the 3rd day. Rob, the owner, refused to communicate with us the entire trip and that ruined any hope we had of salvaging the situation. We have found other customers who have been wronged by AutoVenture and are in the process of filing with the state attorney general.

Horrible experience. They were supposed to provide transportation from Nurburg to Frankfurt, with…read moresightseeing on the way. They never showed up. To make it worse, their only contact is on east coast time, so we couldn't get in touch with someone until well into our afternoon. They provided zero explanation for their foul-up, and had no remorse for leaving us high and dry, wrecking the last day of our vacation. Run away from this company. There are FAR better alternatives.

In planning a three week trip to France, Jessica's services with Get Out of Town were priceless…read more She helped my boyfriend and I narrow down our locations so that we could see our top sights in the French Riviera, Provence, the Alps and Paris while still getting to relax. Jessica was always quick to respond to questions, made a seamless itinerary and, most importantly, made what could have been a stressful experience in planning easy, fun and exciting with her knowledge and friendly demeanor. She also knew how to maximize our interests, where we needed to purchase tickets in advance, and the many minute details that needed to be covered before leaving - even when I needed to change our schedule several times. In short, Jessica went above and beyond in helping plan a trip of a lifetime. I highly recommend having Jessica help you with your next trip and plan on having her plan my honeymoon in the future!

Jessica's help on my trip to Italy was so helpful! I knew the towns I wanted to visit, but was…read moreunsure about some of the details. She was able to say, if you are in this town, I would suggest you don't leave without seeing this attraction. She provided advice on what attractions were worth a professional tour guide (the Vatican) and which weren't. She even recommended a tour guide who was FANTASTIC! She helped with logistics (i.e. how long I should stay in one area to see all that I wanted to see, how to get from point a to point b, and from where should I fly in/out? She even provided an itinerary on line that I could access based on what we discussed. Her prices are reasonable and she saved me hours of time! I have already recommended her to a friend. I would definitely utilize Jessica's services in the future.

10/10!!!! SO EXCITED I SAW GREY WHALES & ORCAS!!! (&ETC)…read more Based on the reviews we were a little scared to try this company BUT it turned out so amazing! I think people only leave bad reviews when they don't get what they exactly want! Anyway- the workers were so welcoming! The process was very easy from buying the tickets to the end! We got there just in time (not the 45 min ahead like it said) and it was perfect! (Maybe before we were the first boat of the day?) Once in the charter it didn't take long for us to leave. While they are taking us out towards where the whales are... They told us a bunch of stories a bunch of scientific facts and a bunch of tips and tricks! We also saw a bunch of sea life just heading out to the whale areas! (Seals, starfish, birds, fish, jellyfish , etc) The ride was smooth and beautiful- DEFINITELY COLD (even if it's 90F in Seattle)! But the views are beautiful- both of the sea and Seattle!! It didn't take very long to get to the areas but once we did everyone had the same goal - SPOT THE WHALES!!! It didn't take us too long because we got lucky! There was a lot of activity that day! We ended up seeing 6 different orcas and 1 grey whale!! Super fun start to our day and now I can say I saw whales(:

Not a bad way to go if you plan on visiting Victoria BC. We booked an 8 am departure and grabbed…read moresome window seats. Voyage took about 3 hours but seemed to go by fairly fast. Check-in was simple and going through Customs in Victoria was painless. Ferry does have an on-board cafe for snacks and drinks.