ljandiernp

9 hours ago, WisCruiser2 said:

@ljandiernp (sorry to hijack thread, Ken) on a number of cruises where we've had an active Roll Call, we've met up for our own informal SailAway, often at the aft bar. Many folks wore Mardi Gras beads to recognize each other, at some there have been name tags, others not. You could float the idea to your Roll Call and see if there's any interest...

Thanks for your suggestion; I like the aft bar and it will be quieter there. I'll float the idea and see if anyone's interested. I could not get any interested when I offered to set up and M&G. Laurie

43 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Watch out for those big sea gulls tommorrow whilst you are in Glacier Bay NP.  They fly close to the balconies and will even land on them.  I was chatting on our balcony whilst holding a pastry.  Not paying attention, one swooped in and took it…

Jeez...gulls are the same the world over! Here on the beaches of RI it's not unusual to hear them referred to as rats with wings, especially the common ones. Laurie

Ken,

I'm really enjoying your travel log, thanks for doing this! We are on the Grand starting the 29th and you're getting me very excited for this trip. I have two questions. One is about an event I'm seeing in the patter called "A Night at the Klondike." Do you know, is this a show?

My second question is about sail away. It looks like there is a sail away party on deck somewhere. Did you pass through and note if it was well attended or not? I was thinking about proposing to my CC thread for our sailing that we ought to meet up at the sail away. There is no M&G being planned. 

Thanks, Laurie

23 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Best suggestion yet.  You win the happiness award. 

Only if it's dark. It doesn't have to be expensive, fancy dark, Hershey's dark is fine, but dark!  Laurie

6 hours ago, alexand278 said:

Ken, 

Thanks for all the updates.  We are doing a similar cruise and landtour in early September and it's so exciting to follow along with you.

 

Random Question: What is the "Good Spirits at Sea" cocktail experience that's mentioned in the daily patter?

 

Thanks!

 

Alexandra

 

 

We participated in the Good Spirits at Sea bar events on a cruise to the Caribbean last year. Some of the drinks had a Caribbean theme; one such as using rum, cinnamon, orange and chocolate bitters, additional cinnamon simple syrup and orange peel, called the Cartagena Cool. There was also an exceptional gin and tonic "ultima" called the Barcelona (obviously not a Caribbean themed drink), that used Hendricks gin (a personal favorite), lemon and lime wheels, juniper berries and tonic water. I believe they are prepared to make any of the repertoire of drinks if you ask. There is usually a book on the bar with options.  I'm interested to see if there is a drink for Alaska. 

Laurie

I'm on the 5/29 sailing from Anchorage (Whittier) to Vancouver so I'm really looking forward to hearing about all you ship experiences as well as wildlife sightings. Have a wonderful vacation!

Laurie

I am booked at the Aviator Hotel for $241.00 per night via hotels.com; they have been undergoing renovations and have reduced prices to some point in May. It looks very nice on their web site; be careful to look at newer reviews, as the older ones are prerenovation and not very complementary at all. Laurie

Are any of the pools on Grand enclosed? Wondering about using pools or hot tubs on an Alaskan cruise. Laurie

3 hours ago, Coral said:

I would definitely do the Kanai Fjords trip! I think that is a good compromise.

Hi Coral, and If anyone else is following this thread, I called the reservation line and talked to an agent about my options. Turns out one can travel on Adventure class in one direction and Gold Star in the other. So, we are going to Seward on Adventure class in the morning, going on the Kanai Fjords trip and then traveling back on the Gold Star level on the way back, allowing us to have dinner in the dining room. She told me that although their web site indicates that one can eat in the dining room even if not in Gold Star class, that is entirely dependent on available seating. At the end of May, when we are traveling, she expected we'd be shut out of dining room seating. I am now very excited about this first excursion of our Alaskan vacation. Thank you for helping me out, Coral! Laurie

15 hours ago, cmmaxwell03 said:

We traveled using the Gold Star service last September. We enjoyed the experience and considered it to be the first excursion of our trip.  We enjoyed being under the glass roof the whole time.  Even thought it was raining, we always enjoyed the viewed.  I felt there were fewer people in the Gold Star section.  The bar was very accessible in each of the Gold Star cars and rarely had a wait.  If you can splurge on the price, I think it's worth it.  But the Adventure class is still good.  You will have a glass roof car and open air car that is shared.  If you do not drink or want a meal, it could be the more affordable option. 

Thanks for your reply. I think I may splurge on an add on boat trip to Kenai Fjords over the Gold Star seats as I haven't found an appealing thing to do in town. The big attraction there seems to be the aquarium, and I'd prefer to chance seeing wildlife in the wild. What did you enjoy doing in Seward? Laurie 

I'm interested in whether or not anyone has an opinion about the Gold Star vs Adventure class seats? Since an Adventure class passenger can chose to purchase a dining room meal and an adult beverage if they want to, the only real difference seems to be access to the high-up dome seating. Even the Adventure class information refers to some seats that sound like they are large-paned, just not up at a height. Having viewed the videos on You-tube, I think that there may be advantages in either location. If an animal were at a distance, up high would be good. If it were close to the tracks, lower might be better. Laurie

On 9/30/2023 at 6:56 PM, cruiser2015 said:

Sounds good.

But I'm a bit confused.

Seems like there just happened to be a price drop that the rep gave you. Is that what happened?

BTW, if you're vet discount is set up and you do a new booking (or a mock booking) the page clearly shows that you have the discount factored into the pricing.

Yes, that's what happened. The purpose of my post was to encourage others to take a chance on calling. Laurie

Hi,

I stumbled across this thread looking for another topic. I called NCL and was told that I had already been linked and the 10% discount was already applied, however, she gave me the price drop! Saved me a little over $300.00, so it was worth the call.

Laurie

22 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Royal class ships cannot sail the inside passage the way smaller ships can

I am comparing Grand and Royal class ships and it appears that the route is the same, at least for May of 2024 for these two classes. This is one of those on the Sapphire: Cruise Details - 7-Day Voyage of the Glaciers (Northbound) - Princess Cruises 

If I did have to take an "outside" passage, how are the seas? Some people report that the inside option is better for those who get seasick. I think it has as much to do with ship size and cabin location, but I'm happy to hear about the experience of others. 

Thanks, Laurie

I have been looking at Princess cruises in AK. I am wondering if ship size, Grand vs Royal classes, makes any difference in terms of port or scenic cruising access? I have done a lot of reading about cabin choices, lack of promenade deck on Royal class ships, balconies or not, and where on the ship to be if you want various balcony options. I love ships in both of these classes for different reasons, and I can easily make a choice if it's not going to be a hinderance in what I get to see. After all I'm going to Alaska, I want to see all that I can. Thanks in advance for your responses! Laurie

Disneyochem, thanks for these specific and great sounding ideas! Laurie

Thanks everyone for the responses; gives me food for thought. There's no reason for me not to rent a car, just like public transportation so that I can enjoy the scenery rather than have to focus on driving in an area I don't know. We will have 3 or 4 days to explore before we have to return to the east coast. I appreciate any ongoing suggestions and I'm going to look at the boards for guides for the area. Keep the ideas coming, Laurie

I'd like to spend more than 7 cruise days in Alaska than provided by a cruise, but don't think a cruise tour is valuable option for me. I'm wondering if there is anyone who can comment about staying in Anchorage. From my reading it seems as though there is a lot to do there, including hiking, birding and going to the botanical gardens. If you can comment from your own experiences, please tell me about transportation there. Can one take public transportation (bus? cab? does Uber exist there??) to locations outside the city? Thank you, Laurie 

15 hours ago, GTJ said:

Take a look at the cruises offered by Viking Ocean Cruises. They are one-way and 10 nights in duration.

Thank you but they are above my expense limit. Laurie

On 2/10/2023 at 9:39 PM, KarenS001 said:

Yes we are doing that one. I’m super excited.

Hi,

I'm planning a 2024 Alaskan cruise and beginning to read about options now. I am enquiring about your reference to the 10- and 11-day cruises.  Are these all "roundtrip" cruises? I can't seem to find one that is this length and one way. Thank you, Laurie

The book is about the situation VERY early in the pandemic. Obviously, the cruise lines have had time to learn, assess and change their protocols by now. I have cruised once this year and never felt uncomfortable about my Covid risk, and I flew from the east to west coast to cruise.  I believe that the cruise lines are making an effort to reduce risk for everyone. Despite their efforts however, responses here on the message board would suggest that we have traded one unknown, that is how the virus is transmitted, for another, the risk of exposure to someone on board who believes their vacation is more important than mine. This makes me hesitant to cruise again for a while. I miss the direct supervision by the CDC because one can no longer track a ship or cruise line's Covid patterns.  Laurie

10 hours ago, antsp said:

I won't know I have covid because I won't test for it, I will just carry on as is. 

Hi,

Does your carry on as normal include masking at all times except when in your cabin with your travel companion? Laurie

Wow let's say I agree that not sharing Covid status is ok. If that's your plan, let me ask how you're going to handle it when you become ill/realize you have Covid. Are you planning to self-quaranteen and order up room service? Wear an N95 and continue to go through the dining areas to pick up your own meals? Send a family member, masked, who has yet to test positive to pick up food?

I am a nurse practitioner, so I fully understand the desire you have to manage your illness in your own way (I'd be the same, but I understand the risk to myself and others), but if you aren't prepared to protect others, shame on you! If you haven't read Cabin Fever about the impact of Covid on cruising, and how poorly the cruise industry is prepared for an outbreak, maybe you should....

Laurie

Yes, it is a do it yourself island and I'm sure we’ll make our own fun if I don’t find a guide to work with. When we travel we seek to support the locals, do something unique, have a meal of local flavor, and get away from the masses. This company's web site looked as though they might be up for a more unique, tailored to the individual party kind of excursion. When I was browsing their site I had a pop up inviting me to a live chat. I asked a question and got a reply that they were out on a delivery and asked for my email to reply to me later. I waited two days then emailed them directly and asked again. It's now been three more days without a reply. Sorry but "island time" is a sorry excuse for poor customer service at this point. Laurie

Sorry duplicate

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