Travel Mom

On 2/8/2024 at 2:37 PM, Boiler Cruiser said:

I have been asked to give advice about cruising in Alaska, since I have had the wonderful experience.  But I would like to know what others have to share on the subject.

 

What advice would you give someone who is looking forward to booking their first Alaska cruise?

 

What should they consider when choosing a cruise line?  What kind of accommodations?  Should they do a cruise tour for their first cruise to Alaska, or just the cruise itself?

 

What time of year is best for booking an Alaska cruise?

 

Any other advice or recommendations?

I have done Alaska multiple times.  I recommend ONE way, add land (but do with alaska RR - they have tours they can put together for you)  Don't take the cruise only if your main goal is to see wild life.  You need land before or after if that is a dream.  Search the boards for tours not assoc. with cruise line.  Most lines go to the same ports.  Include a glacier (Glacier bay is great).  Balcony is best if you can afford it.  Book cheaper in April, May Sept, Oct...sometimes Aug.  They will not need full snow gear.  We had to try hard to find snow. 

Best wildlife sighting was moose in Anchorage (airport and meadow), bears on road in rented car to Yukon in Skagway port, orcas/humpback on tour in Seward - Major Marine.  Going for a second time with them in Aug.

5 hours ago, Brandis said:

We're a party of 5 and our ship arrives in Juneau at 9AM. I was thinking on exploring downtown in the morning, then getting a taxi to Gold Creek Salmon Bake. I contacted them and they recommend on showing up about 15min before the posted starting time of 11:00 in order to beat the rush when guests arrive by the provided transportation. Apparently no reservation is necessary and they accommodate walk up guests.

Then about 12:30 either going back by bus to the dock and get a taxi from there to Mendenhall or if that's possible, get a taxi directly from Gold Creek to Mendenhall. 

How long would you recommend for Mendenhall Glacier if we don't plan to do serious hiking, just enjoying the view a bit and tour the visitor center. How difficult would it be to get another taxi from there?

Finally, we would like to visit the salmon hatchery, their visitor center and then catch another taxi from there.

Keeping in mind that we probably would need a van for the 5 of us.

Would you recommend to pre-book all of this with a local taxi company or would this be feasible by just calling a taxi or Uber when we need it? If taxi, any recommendations?

How much should I expect to pay for this?

Thanks!

WE rented a mini van..  Super easy for our group of 6. 

On 11/25/2023 at 8:57 AM, JColtonMason said:

23 days boarding in Valencia, Spain visiting Tarragona, Toulon, Genoa, Civitavecchia, Malaga, Tenerife, Funchal, 6 days at sea, St. Maarten, Tortola, and Puerto Rico, ending in Miami.  Skipped Palma de Mallorca due to winds and added overnight in Malaga instead.  Switched Funchal and Tenerife dates due to pilot boat strikes in Funchal.  

 

Pretty fascinating watching the ship and service shift from catering to Europeans to catering to Americans.  Buffet got worse(rear half was closed after Europe) but MDR food got better(steak and large shrimp started showing up) but added on a $5 surcharge for any additional entrees in the MDR(didn't apply to our sailing).  Dining times were also pushed earlier.

 

Good:

-Atlantic ocean was sunny and hot and smooth as glass during our entire 6 day southernly crossing

-Amazing warm sunny weather overall except for a bit of rain in France and on a sea day after Puerto Rico and overcast in Rome

-Ship is clean and well maintained for its age so long as you ignore the minute details

-Dirt cheap fare, reasonable hotel service charge gratuities($276 per person iirc)

-We had an interior room, MSC randomly upgraded us to a balcony room in Malaga right before the crossing.  I did not put in a request, only found a message asking us to call the front desk

-Lots of seafood that you would never get on other cruise lines.  Sea bass labeled as grilled fish for breakfast, big-headed shrimp, squid and octopus, kilos of fresh mussels 

-Room still serviced twice a day

-Easy embarkation and disembarkation.  We did have to disembark in puerto rico for passport checks and couldn't get back on the ship until all passengers cleared but that meant we walked straight off in Miami without any passport checks.  In Miami they even let us off 15 minutes earlier than posted for express walk off at 7:15am and we managed to catch an earlier flight at MIA departing at 8:43am(TSA was a long mess though)

 

 

Bad:

-In European ports MSC always charges you additional for transport from port to city center(e.g. Tarragona spain, Toulon france, and Malaga).  Do your homework

-Entertainment was terrible, often one man acts during most evenings with only 3 production shows entire cruise which were great(Elvis, the circus one)

-Every announcement was done in 5 languages which was really long and annoying 

-2 of the days our hallway smelled like strong gasoline

-Food is fine for the price, but not that good.  Some are too salty and steak skewers too tough to chew

-No lobster, no escargot, no shrimp cocktail, no french onion soup entire cruise.  Their signature royal cake only showed up once

-Most of MSC's beef, steaks, and veal leave a bloody iron aftertaste 

-Pizza wasn't as good as I had remembered

-Communication.  I know some were peeved about Funchal and Tenerife switching dates, we received 0 notice.  When we switched cabins(very grateful) our new steward was not notified.  Their letter about puerto rico's passport check was so badly worded that some of us didn't realize we couldn't get back on the ship until the entire ship has been cleared

-The gym could use more treadmills and one more bench and heavier dumbells and a cable machine

 

 

 

Random observations:

-First cruise I've experienced where at every single port, passengers were embarking and disembarking which made for a weird experience.  I'd make friends my age only for them to disappear rest of cruise.  When we boarded the ship was full at 3000+, at times it dipped to 900, ultimately with approx. 1500 people doing the crossing which made the ship feel very empty

-During the European leg, the ship demographic consisted mostly of Italians, French, and spanish-speaking passengers.  As the cruise went on, more Americans started showing up.  I'd say ultimately for the crossing the passengers were mostly American, spanish-speaking, or a surprisingly large amount of Italians.  

-Europeans can be perceived as rude as they don't say "sorry" or "excuse me", cut in lines, and gestures at you.  Doesn't bother me at all.  You can spot a polite American easily

-No free soft serve or gelato; the only way you can get free ice cream is at dine in for lunch or dinner

-3 of the ports we docked next to the Viking Sea ship, even across the atlantic.  Guess they were doing the transatlantic as well.  

 

Overall had a great experience given the price paid and would recommend, although the food, service, and entertainment was below what I've experienced on the Divina and Meraviglia.  Keep in mind this is the ship that MSC uses for its world cruises.  I've also come to realize that cruising isn't for me any more.  The demographic is too old and the pace is too slow.  Thanks for reading!

Where is that picture with the people in the water???

Thanks so much for this review.  We are trying to decide to book for Nov 2024 Miami to Genoa.  How were the 6 sea days?  Was there enough to do?  We also don't like a sleepy cruise.  We are mid 50s and recently retired.  I just love the price.  We did sail on Divina before.  We like comedy, listening to music and finding friends for games.  Were there laundry facilities?  23 days is a long time. I appreciate any feed back.  I tried to find info on their website and not able to.

Take the train down to seward, do the 6 hour fijords cruise and take the train back to anchorage.  Super easy.  or stay the night in seward and do the longer cruise.  Major Marine tour highly recommended in Seward.  

On 6/1/2022 at 8:23 AM, MANDMTRAVEL said:

Hi can you pass your excursion contact?  thanks in advance.

I booked through expedia and got a good rate.  just find the drop down "things to do".  We got the stingray, snorkle (great spot), starfish for $67 each.  Just need to get an early tender out, which we did, but ended up waiting for 30 min for more people.  We had ample time at each spot.  I could have stayed in that water all day.  

On 5/19/2022 at 10:02 AM, TravellingBritNY said:

I am on island right now and can confirm that Coral Beach is pretty much your only option for an all-in-one place.  As others have said, there aren't really enough cruise visitors yet to make another beach club an economic reality, but everyone hopes that changes.

 

But Public Beach may work with a little more effort.  Either stop at Kirk's Supermarket on your way from the port to the beach and pick up drinks and sandwiches or whatever takes your fancy, then head up to Public Beach where there are chair rentals available.  That at least gives you some options.  The beach there is good, and there are public washrooms.  Sometimes there is a food truck or two there as well.

 

If you want a bar, you can walk north up the beach a short way to the Kimpton beach bar, called "Coccoloba" - https://www.seafireresortandspa.com/grand-cayman-restaurants/coccoloba/ that has good food and drinks and is right on the beach.

 

It's far from ideal, but there again, a lot of islands fared even worse than Grand Cayman and it takes a while to recover.

Thank you soooo much!  We just booked an excursion and the guys will follow your advice.

Decided on Riu Rose Hall.  just based it on the internet pictures.  any advice?  will post back after cruise in June

1 hour ago, WioK said:

From the one's listed on Resort for a Day, without Kids I would choose RIU Reggae - about 20 min from cruiseport (MoBay), nice renovated hotel, nice beach and good food options, it's worth the cost.  With Kids, the Palladium has lots of pools for kids but it is a bit of a drive, I like the Hilton Rose Hall.

Thanks! decided on RiU Rose Hall.  will see!!

I think  GC just opened back up its cruise port to passengers in March 2022.  I am hoping more recent information get posted after more opens up.  We go in June and Calico Jacks was our go to!  

Thanks above for the advice to go next door to CG.  another suggestion was Cemetery Beach.  will check it out.

We used to have a number of hotels/bnb that have stay the night before, and cruise.  They offer free or cheap parking for the week.  We can't see to find them any more.  Any suggestions?

We are trying to narrow down an all inclusive resort for our group of 6 (ages 56, 55, 53, 28, 28, 27) for our stop in MoBay in June.  We love a great sandy beach, nice pools, some shade areas and decent drink/food.  Has anyone had any experiences good or bad? please share.

no, you have to take a tour or cab there.  Its prob. 15-20 min from Ocho Rios port

On 10/23/2021 at 1:12 PM, nautica34 said:

Are there any beaches within walking distance to the port and things to do close by. I read that hard Rock Cafe closed so that's not an option. 

 I would like to know as well.  Not much feed back for 2022 on Jamaica!!!  I want to know what to do in the Mo.Bay area

we are starting to poke around and have 8 months before we need lodging.  I see many condos via air bnb.  They are all in high rises.  I don't know the area at all.  Please post back about your stays and what you found good and bad.  There will be 4 of us and would prefer a 2 bedroom or 2 diff. rooms.  Thanks in advance.

Please chime in when anyone has returned.  I will miss 
Calico Jacks...my fav!

Pre covid I used Resort for a Day site to book one over by Ocho Rios.  Dunns river falls resort or something like that.  We really liked it!  good drinks, service and yummy coffee drinks.  Beach was ok, kayaks available.  food was ok

a few years ago we booked Sunsplash or sunspree resort AI, but the drinks were watered down and the pool water was very cold.  Seems to be the cheapest.  Felt like they didn't want us there.  We won't go back.

NOW looking around Montego Bay and have found options on Resort for a Day and Gangwaze.  I will look on Jaital (??sp)  Has anyone stayed at any of the 5 listed by Mo Bay?  Good , Bad?  No kids to worry about, but they don't bother us.  Want good sand beach, good pool with swim up bar, transportation, good drinks.

You are super lucky to have a long port time.  Ours is 6-2 and we wanted to ferry over to VG on our own, but would be rushed due to ferry times or getting out a 7 am. (Yawn).  Should be less crowded for you to do VG in the afternoon.  It is one of the top 20 beaches according to a few shows I saw.

We are probably going to taxi to one of the suggestions above. 

I am looking into 2 different Catamaran sails on SM.  Reviews are older.   Looking for anyone that has done either.

   1.  Ship tour - NCL Golden Eagle sail, snorkel, beach 4 hours  (review says drink is only on return and beach time is 45 min) 

                    *I don't know how many people they take and its a decent price with some shore excursion discount

   2. viator tour - private company  for 6 hours , sail and snorkel and beach multiple locations, more open bar, Pine island stop, 20 person max, 20 people max

                            but $60 more 

Lastly, Is the water warm enough end of March to enjoy??

On 3/1/2022 at 5:14 PM, DJLDRUMS said:

Really now< I've googled Club Orient and read that it was rebuilt and thriving pretty well. Anyone else care to comments? If sending this post out on March 1, 2022. I'm reading that a lot of these posts go back to late 2021.

lots of dated info   i keep hoping more will post info

On 3/5/2022 at 6:40 PM, Ashland said:

We'll be there in two weeks...so we'll see.

Please report back!  Thanks to all with updated info.  I will be there at the end of the month and will update this question.  

On 11/16/2021 at 11:51 PM, tocruzagain said:

Can anyone tell me what the current status is regarding the availability of taxis at the pier and if they’re currently offering island tours with a stop at the beach? If this is happening, what’s the current pricing? I will be arriving via DCL the end of the month. Thank you! 

What did you find out now that you have toured?  Did you find things were open and tours were available.  I am not finding current 2022 info.

how much is a taxi to mullett or orient?

On 2/13/2022 at 12:36 AM, Ashland said:

I thought it was a drive up test site only.

yes probably, I guess an uber can take you. We haven't figured that one out yet

SJ has Walgreens and you can sign up for a test just like in the states.