diasmiles

Do u recall the company?

Sorry, I don’t. There are vans parked outside the port and the driver will quote a price.

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How did you get back to the airport after your trip? Did you use Carnival transfers ? Or uber? And so what was the cost to get back to the airport

I was planning on taking an Uber (possibly two). We added an extra piece of luggage but it seemed like too much for one Uber. As we were walking to the Uber area there were a few private transportation vans and one guy offered to take us to the airport for $10/person. So we went with him.

Awesome review.

Awaiting the rest.(y)

Thank you! I hope you enjoy it :)

Great photos!

Thank you!

Great "Cascade Glacier Icecream" sign.

I thought so too :)

Tuesday 08/28/18

Debarkation day Today we were up and out of our room by 8am. We went up to the Lido deck for breakfast and waited. Since we had an afternoon flight we waited until they called the last groups to make our way down.

This was a great trip. Completely different than Caribbean cruises because this one seemed more relaxed and laid back. Service was great, and the food was delicious. Adam our cruise director was amazing. The ship was clean but it does show its age. I can’t wait to book my next cruise! I will definitely return to Alaska one day.

Monday 08/27/18:

Today we would be arriving in Victoria in the evening. The day was like a sea day. We actually slept in and had brunch in the dining room. After that I went back to the cabin to start packing. This is always my least favorite part of a cruise. Or any vacation for that matter…lol. We tried our luck at Bingo and no luck this time. I tried the coffee shop for the first time. This place is delicious, it’s just too bad I decided to try it on my last day on board.

Once we reached Victoria and were given the ok to go into port we made our way off the ship. We took a cab downtown for $10 for the 5 of us. Victoria is beautiful, and it is a shame that we are not there longer or earlier in the day.

Since we had to be back on the ship by 1pm we finished up our shopping and headed back. After dropping off our stuff we went up to the Lido deck for some lunch and to relax. The fish tacos from Blue Iguana are great. I stayed away from the Lido most of the week for meals, so I can’t give anyone much insight. We usually ate in port and one day I had Bonsai sushi for lunch. Blue Iguana is usually my go to if it is on board though.

After lunch and walking around a bit I decided to go play Bingo. I love playing Bingo. I went down to our room to get my dauber and ran into my dad. I told him about it and off I went. A few minutes later my dad shows up to play also. So we make it to the final game and my dad is getting lost with all the numbers being called so I take his card and after a few more numbers...BINGO!!!!! My dad gets Bingo but he sits quietly as I have to go on stage to pick a rock to see how much he won. I choose the rock worth $250 and then some envelopes are brought out where I could double his money, win half or win the jackpot. I am freaking out because it isn't my money but what the heck.I pick the middle envelope and win the jackpot of $750 for my dad! He was jumping out of his seat of excitement thinking he had just won $500. He was beyond excited when he realized he won $750!

Today was our second elegant night and AHHHH...everything was tight! My mom and I were in a panic when my aunt shows up and tells us the same thing about her clothes. All we could do was laugh at this point. And this was the cruise where we supposedly behaved :eek:

Their first cruise was a complete success. I'm afraid we have a couple new cruise addicts...lol.

Sunday 08/26/18:

Today we were in Ketchikan and only for a few hours, so we wanted to make the most of our day. We really didn’t have any plans. I figured this would be a perfect day for souvenir shopping. Although we were only in port for a few hours we slept in a little more and met for breakfast at 7:45am.

We finally had a day with no rain, but it was still cold. We walked around and did some shopping and we made our way to Creek Street. It is so cute and colorful.

They have lots of little shops and throughout Creek Street you will see signs on the houses giving a little history on that particular house.

There is a small salmon shop at the end of this street in a red house that gives out samples and has great smoked salmon. We all bought some salmon from this shop to bring home. Most of it here was canned, at least in the little area I saw. And no canned salmon is not like canned tuna (which is what I thought until I walked into this shop).

We were on this same cruise. LOVED the band Murphys Law...did you go to Frogfest on Saturday night (Juneau night)? All the musicians on board, (dolce trio, scott the piano guy, the duet, Murphys law and 2 different soloists) got together and had a jam session for about 2 hours--AMAZING!! I had never seen anything like this on a Carnival cruise before.

Wasn't it a great cruise? No, I can't believe I missed it! I thought I went to the piano bar. Now I'm trying to remember what I did on Saturday night that I missed this...lol.

Loved this sign (their dark chocolate salted caramel was very good):

Our walk back to the ship:

We make it back on the bus for the ride back to town. We still have a couple hours in port so we decide to walk around town, while my dad goes back to the ship. We buy a few souvenirs and then we stop to have lunch at the Red Dog Saloon. I had the fish and chips and they were pretty good. Everyone else had a burger and they liked their meal also.

Saturday 08/25/18:

This morning we were in Juneau. Like most mornings, we woke up early and went to the dining room for breakfast. I had rented a car for today and was planning on going to Mendenhall glacier, St. Theresa’s and Chapel on the lake. I like to take my time and adjust my day depending on what we like. Well once in port my dad decided he didn’t want to go with the car rental, but he wanted to go on a city tour. Despite my argument, I was out voted. So, we paid $60/person for a city tour and time at Mendenhall glacier. I was completely disappointed because this tour made one other stop to Douglas Island for 10 minutes and then headed out to Mendenhall glacier. There was no way to take pictures and when someone asked if we could take pictures of some landmark he was told by the driver that he could give him directions to that landmark once we were back in town, so he could take pictures. Basically, this was an expensive bus ride to Mendenhall. Then we had to rush down the trail to get some time there before turning back to make the bus back to town. We almost missed the bus. I give my mom so much credit because she would not stay behind because of her injury but she did have to take it a little slow. We should have stuck with the car rental but oh well.

We decided after lunch to walk back to the ship. Once back on the ship we went back to our cabin so that my mom could rest her foot for a while and we could relax before dinner. I hung out in our balcony until it was time to get ready. Our evening was pretty much the same as most. Dinner, a show (I don't think there was a show the night we were in Skagway), listening to music at one of the bars and maybe an after dinner drink. We enjoyed listening to the violinists on board but always seemed to catch them playing the last song of their set.

We made it to Emerald Lake. Since we got an early start we were able to beat the crowds. We took pictures and enjoyed the views before deciding to head back to Skagway.

I started the drive back to Skagway and it was very, very foggy. I am so glad there weren't many cars on the road and everyone seemed to be taking their time.

Once we crossed the border it seemed to clear up some and the rain stopped for a little bit. We stopped by a gas station in Skagway to fill up the gas tank before returning the car to Avis. At this point my dad decided to walk back to the ship while the rest of decided to walk around town for a bit. The rain started up again as we started our walk. We went into a few shops but did not find anything interesting and then we came across the Red Onion Saloon. We decided to grab some lunch here. This place is tiny and has a very limited menu.

At one point I looked up and saw they had urinals as part of their decor. As a nurse I thought it was pretty funny, not everyone in my group agreed...lol. I thought I took a picture of it but I can't find it.

I am loving this review! I was thinking I should ask about the weather, but apparently you are a mind reader! LOL I live in FLA, so I am also spectacularly unprepared for the cold. I guess, I will start shopping!

LOL! I kept hearing that I needed to layer my clothes and I thought I did but I was wrong. I took the jacket I wear when it is "cold" in LA and bought a rain jacket. The jacket was not warm enough which is why I ended up buying a jacket on board. Best $25 I spent...lol.

On our way to Emerald Lake we made plenty of stops and stopped for coffee on our way. We met a very nice lady from Alberta who was visiting a friend and was out for the day.

So, we get to the border of the US and Canada and I ask everyone for their passports. And they all tell me they are in the trunk. What? Why? They didn't know they would need them...lol. I don't know how to respond to that. When the agent comes to our car I ask if someone can go into the trunk and get their passports. He wasn't thrilled but he allowed it.

My dad is driving at this point and as soon as we cross the border we see a black bear (a cub). I get sooooo excited to see it that I forget to take a picture :o. What a sight! I would forget to take a picture and later that evening my room steward scolded not taking that picture.

Before getting off the ship I checked to make sure everyone had their passports and once we were in the car I asked everyone about their passports. Everyone had them. So we started our drive to Emerald Lake.

Friday 08/24/18:

This morning we woke up crazy early to get ready for our day in Skagway. Once we were ready I looked out of our balcony to see that the train was already waiting for its passengers for the day. I rented a car at this port so that we could spend the day at our own pace.

We chose to eat in the dining room all week for breakfast. So, after breakfast we walked off the ship and it was a short walk to the Avis rental trailer. Once I signed the paperwork for the rental, the guy behind the counter handed me a map and we were on our way. It was a pretty foggy day but it is a beautiful drive.

We were back on board at 2pm and there was another group of people getting ready to go on this excursion to meet the ship at 5pm. I live in Los Angeles so I was freezing and not as prepared for the cold and rain as I thought I was...lol. It took me a while to warm up. We all went our own way on the ship after the excursion and planned to meet up in the dining room for dinner. After dinner I made my way to the Fun Shops to buy a warmer jacket. They sell jackets on board for $24.99 and they are super warm. The price was perfect since it will hang in a closet now that I am home.

On the small boat excursion they offer samples of smoked salmon that is delicious. They sell the small box for $12. I did not have any cash on me to buy any but I found it later that night in the Fun Shops for $9 and change.

Our next port would be Skagway and we would arrive early so we made plans before going to bed to meet in the dining room about 6:45am.

I took this picture of our naturalist holding a 300 year old piece of broken off ice from a glacier (sorry about the water drops, I had just come inside from the rain)

This is an amazing excursion that I would recommend anyone to do if they can. The cost of the excursion was $189.99/person and worth every penny. I must say though that if you choose to stay on the ship the view of at least one of the glaciers is great. I was on our balcony at one point and had an amazing view. I had left my camera with my family so I could not take a picture but the ship got a lot closer than I thought it would.