We aren't interested in the large boats that travel to AND from Seattle to Alaska in 7 days. The Spirit took 14 days to go only one way. The trip was very relaxing with a good size cabin, bathroom, and balcony. We felt that the crew was always available to grant any wish. The historian, Todd Weber, was informative and entertaining. The food was delicious and appealing to the eye...and if you weren't interested in the given choices, you could ask for whatever you wanted. We liked that our time was our own with limited activities on the ship. I say limited, but it seems like there was usually something going on. Great group areas to congregate indoors and out. You could be as active, or as inactive as you wanted in ports. Being a small ship, we got much closer to some of the scenery. We even anchored in Glacier Bay one night while a black bear looked for shellfish on the nearby beach. Cabins are serviced twice a day usually while we were dining. An elevator made the whole ship accessible to everyone. Fellow travelers tended to be over 50 and well traveled. These two week cruises are not inexpensive but I can't imagine paying less for a trip on a mega size boat. My only recommendations to American Cruise Line would be changing to a more modern/neutral look in carpets and couches. (A minor thing.) also have WIFI that works all the time. (also not a big deal.)