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My short answer is yes, it is that great. My DD (age 15 at the time)picked the itinerary and chose mountains, bears and eagles over beaches, sun and tropics for that cruise. We thought it would be a bucket list trip, but after going, we all want to do it again one day. In fact, my DH says he wants to retire and work up there for cruise season.
My long answer: As other posters have said, it's not necessarily better than tropical cruises, just different. And gorgeous in a different way. You mentioned the scenery becoming like wallpaper... when you're on a tropical cruise, you're looking pretty much at sea the whole time. Sometimes rolling, but really, just sea. On an Alaskan cruise, you're looking at mountains and glaciers, where there are waterfalls and beautiful changing scenery constantly, along with some pretty cool wildlife.
The ports are, to me, more unique than most tropical ports. It's fascinating to see all of the different foliage there and it's really much less developed than most typical ports on tropical cruises.
My DD LOVED that cruise, so I think there is plenty for the teenage contingent to do.