CBBrew

We have not had any over-the-top speciality martinis - and I'm not even calling a chocolate martini "over the top"...I think there is a martini bar that I'll search out for you. I took these pictures of the drink menu from the Sports Bar.

 

 

Ok, asked and answered --- I ordered a chocolate martini (delish, btw). Here is the scoop: it's $17.95. It was made and served without telling me in advance it was a $3.50++ (taxes, gratuities) up-charge to the UBP. I didn't question it at all because I didn't care -- but I do think it would be nice if there was a system in place where they voluntarily tell you that your order will be an additional charge.

 

(& btw - this was a bar tender that we had been hanging with for hours. He was well aware we all had the beverage package so it didn't shock him when a drink didn't qualify)

Glad to hear the smell isn't too nasty. :)

There's been recent comments that the prices of certain martini's, like chocolate martini's or espresso martini's, have gone up in price and are now more than the $15 limit per drink imposed with the UBP pricing structure - are you able to report on that, or even better, can you take a current picture of the bar menu's showing the prices of various martinis?

 

Thanks for any updates you can make - we'll be on board her for two weeks commencing Sept 5th, and your trip updates make it even more exciting for me!! :):D

 

Celine

We have not had any over-the-top speciality martinis - and I'm not even calling a chocolate martini "over the top"...I think there is a martini bar that I'll search out for you. I took these pictures of the drink menu from the Sports Bar.

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Hi, great to see a first-hand and recent report on its way! Keep it up! Please keep an eye open at the Ports of Call to see if they are operating a 'corkage desk' for returning passengers.

 

 

 

I hope you can give us a detailed report upon your return, but before the end of next week because we're on the next Northbound sailing! :)

 

 

 

Have a great trip.

 

AMF

Ok -- after Ketchikan and Juneau, in both cases there was NO corkage table coming back from the ports. They were totally holding items (most of what I saw were the Ulu knives) but even on that table I saw zero wine and saw nowhere you would pay the corkage fee to keep your wine. Keep in mind this was a high-level visual, I didn't try to bring my own wine on at either port.

We are 2 ports and 3'ish days into the cruise portion of our vacation and I am just blown away by our experience and Alaska -- just love it. I did rely on this site (+ Trip Advisor) for so much, I really want to "give back" with my experiences & 2-cents worth... I really need to figure out how to do a trip report. If there are easy directions anywhere, I haven't found it - specifically how to post pictures and where to post.

Ok -- I'm currently on the Sun - aft mini suite 0067, on 10th floor. The afternoon leaving Vancouver (on Aug 8) was warm and sunny and while in port on balcony there was a slight odor. Yes, it was noticeable but it was in no way worth changing cabins or even bringing it to anyone's attention. Without my prior knowledge of the problem and hence my "fear", I probably would have thought it was just someone farted -- haha! It didn't last and wasn't that bad but yes, it was noticeable. Once we left Vancouver, I smelled it briefly in the stairway around floor 6 or 7 but not even enough to make me think of re-routing to avoid the area.

I'm currently aboard -- waiting to get off in Ketchikan and am happy to research anything about the ship. I have grand plans of submitting a trip report -- IF I can figure out how! [emoji16][emoji16]

How long should we plan on spending at the farm?? Website says the "tour" is 45 minutes but is there anything to do outside of that guided tour?? And do you know if they sell the qiviut merchandise on property? If not, any great suggestions of where to buy?? I have my heart set on a hat -- and for what I think I'm gonna end up spending (couple hundred maybe???), I want to have several to choose from.

Yep, I originally started in the Roll Call but unfortunately (unfortunately for several reasons) our roll call board is mostly crickets.... We don't even have enough interest for a meet-and-greet. Sigh....

My question is similar to Evelovee original question:

If we need 2 other people to join a flight-seeing tour (specifically a Summit flight) @ 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17..... Where is the best place to post for people to join us?

This is an "unpublished" tour (normally, they only fly this route @ 6 p.m. daily) so TAT is of no help. Our back-up plan is to just do the Grand Denali Glacier Landing - - but we would really like to fly the Summit route.

Anyone, anyone??

We are pretty far along in planning the post-cruise portion of our Alaskan land vacation. The plan is 7+ land days with a loop from Anchorage-to-Anchorage thru Fairbanks and back down the Richardson Hwy to the Glen Hwy.....

If the opportunity presents itself to pull off the road and take a hike, will our vehicle (& its contents) be safe? How about when parked at trailheads (marked) or parks with a car full of luggage? What if we were to *gasp* have car trouble? How about safety at remote cabins (B&B's) overnight?

We currently have an SUV rented so the ability to hide everything in the trunk will be limited. I do suppose I'm asking more about theft of property (car window 'smash & grab') more so than our personal safety ... but yeah, I am curious about that, too.

The "seclusion" of this trip is definitely part of the allure, but potentially being alone (husband & myself) without cell service might get unnerving, so I thought I would ask the experts on this board (which I know there are many....).

Please don't just say "use common sense" - I get that; we are not inexperienced world travelers, but we ARE inexperienced Alaskan travelers.

Our car was broken into in a grocery store parking lot (in Costa Rica) and we were left for 4+ days with no luggage - - and it was mid-morning in a populated area!!! (not safe, but populated).

Everyone in Alaska that I have dealt with while making reservations has been so super nice but it only takes 1 bad seed....

My port stops are Ketchikan, Juneau & Skagway.... But as it turns out the fly-in sledding excursion I have been eyeing is via Alpine Air out of Girdwood, going to Punch Bowl Glacier. If there are recommendations for a tour such as that from one of my port stops, I would be interested in learning more (so I can compare reviews, schedules, etc.)......

Snow vs. ice - - I was not trying to be literal, rather just saying I didn't want to just have dogs pull me in a sled. This, for example, is one of the tours I originally saw; no ice nor snow: http://www.alyeskatours.com/ --- and it is also not a fly-in. Of course, it's also from Girdwood and the OP didn't mention during a land portion after the cruise so it may not matter....

I don't know if you've already booked your cruise or not, but I'm also confirmed on Aug 7 cruise... My "dog sled research" led me to believe that the ones that were most canceled were at the ports. I, however, don't want to ride a sled pulled by dogs, I want to go over ICE! So was told we may need to do one of the fly-in excursions. Sorry at this moment I can't remember the company, but it includes the flight and the sled ride, etc. I'm very excited and the dog sled trip was high on my list of priorities. I'll respond back with the name of the company when I get back to my computer.

It isn't cheap (maybe $500+ per person) but for me, it was about getting the experience that I want.

I am so stoked about the cruise we booked (Vancouver-Seward on Aug. 8) that I just cannot stop reading and googling. It's only been 4 days since booking and I already have pages and pages of notes.....

We will be on land in Alaska (DIY land tour) for 6 nites and have no set plan or agenda. I am having a difficult time figuring out which excursions should be done in conjunction with the ports versus which are better to do during our time on land.....

I realize it doesn't make sense to be in Juneau and not see the Mendenhall Glacier and then fly back to there from Anchorage.... so some things will work themselves out. But others..... I don't know - there are just so many options it is already becoming overwhelming.

My priorities are to do one of the fly-to-bears tour, ride a dog sled on actual snow (not be pulled around on dirt), see whales, pet a reindeer... I don't know - I guess I don't have that many extreme "cannot miss" objectives; rather I just want to experience it all. Therefore, the last thing I want to do is take a whale watch tour from Skagway when that would have been my one & only time to go to Carcross!

I hope my confusion is making sense and someone can provide some guidance for me. Maybe I need a flowchart! :)

Thanks in advance!

Thank you so much for the trip details. We are planning to go next year from Vancouver. I had wanted to go on the last possible sailing because you have a better shot at seeing the Northern Lights -- but I've also read that after about mid-August, some excursions aren't operating, seasonal pubs in port may be closing and a trek to Denali may not happen.... (And I realize you didn't go to Whittier, anchorage, nor Denali). In your research or experience, did you encounter anything you wanted to do but were unable because of end of season challenges?? Thank you so much!