L'Austral Review
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This is an amazing ship with a wonderfully helpful staff. On this particularl itinerary, there was 0% single supplement, which made sailing alone possible. Overall a wonderful trip.
Dining: Food in the main dining room is over the top spectacular and, as others have noted, the pastries are unbelievable. I was very happy with the included wines and spirits, but I am not knowledgeable about wine, so take that with a grain of salt. The buffet food, on the other hand, was just OK. The salads were diverse and interesting and the desserts wonderful, but, 'main courses,' were surprisingly bad -- dried out and tasteless. I ate dinner there once and never again. For breakfast, it was OK, but for lunch, much better downstairs where the salads and desserts are buffet, but the main course is off a limited, but terrific menu.
Itinerary: This was a pretty typical Alaska cruise itinerary, but incredibly enhanced by the small size of the ship and the passengers first attitude of the captain. At one point, the pilot spotted a pod of humpback whales, so the captain changed course and we had half an hour or more to observe them up close -- amazing experience. On another occasion, though this was not an expedition cruise, the Zodiacs were launched for us to explore the Terror Fjord, again, up close. Such fun. We stopped at Petersburg, a small fishing village with a Norwegian history. It looks to be too small for the big ships and was nice to visit. I have cruised Alaska once before on Princess, and this l Austral experience was incomparably superior.
Cabin Review
The cabin is beautifully appointed with a wonderful queen size bed, but it's very small. I was sailing alone and loved it, but, for two people, seems like you'd be saying, 'excuse me,' quite a lot. Fact is, though, this is an expedition ship, so I guess the relatively small cabin is to be expected. Some have said they were bothered by the fact that there is a window into the bathroom. I thought it was great -- you can close it very easily sliding the panel across it from the outside, but, if you're alone, it's nice to be able to watch the sea go by while in the shower. I also like the fact that the commode was in a separate, though very small space -- could be a problem for large people.
Port Reviews
Vancouver
What's to say? Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities on the planet and it's full of Canadians, who are the nicest people on the planet.