MistyRo76

I never said that our cabins were $4,000. I am booked in cabin # 4131 and my sister is looking to book cabin #4115, but wants to make sure the noise from the Piano Bar below isn't going to be an issue. We are usually out fairly late anyway...and the cabin isn't directly on top of the piano bar.

We just booked our first Alaskan cruise and my daughter is dying to see some sled dogs! She'll be almost 11 when we cruise. Our cruise goes to Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. Which of these locations would be best to do a sled dog tour? And are there any private tour operators that are recommended for this type of tour? Thanks!

Our cruise is so far out (August 2025), that everything shows sold out right now. They usually open these up closer to the cruise date. But both are currently listed. I hadn't heard that this Birthday Breakfast was replacing the regular breakfast. It does say in the description that it doesn't matter if your birthday was last week, last month or last year. At first I thought it showed up cause we have two August birthdays in our cabin. Guess we'll see what happens when they open bookings!

Hi all, Preparing to book our Alaska cruise on the Spirit for next year. I'm helping my sis choose her cabin as she wants to be near us. We are booking 4131. The closest cabin for 2 people to our cabin is 4115. I pulled this location up using the cabin check feature on the cruise deck plans site. This cabin isn't directly over the piano bar area, but it is fairly close. Anyone have experience with cabins in this general area? Would love to hear your feedback on the noise levels. Our cabin is further down and is right over the promenade walkway so I think my family will be fine there.

Haha...Sorry - I meant the cabin category 4k (the interior w/ picutre window), not $4k as the cost. $4k was the price of balconies on our sailing. But it's a substantial savings going with that Obstructed view interior. It's going to be different for us as we've haven't had anything other than a balcony since my hubby and I took our first cruise together when we were still dating (13 years ago). Also - I've read a couple of different places that you can ask your room steward for blankets to sit outside. I've read they are blue blankets and are soft and plush. So shouldn't be a need to pack your own. But maybe double check on that when you're closer to your sailing to make sure nothing has changed! I don't think Carnival sails to Hubbard - unless it's on a longer Journey's cruise. We are using this cruise to just get our feet wet with Alaska and maybe go back later without the kiddo and do Princess or HAL that go to more of those kind of stops.

Thanks to everyone for all of the feedback on the Spirit and Luminosa and Alaska cruising in general! The DH and I sat down and reviewed all of my research last night and made our final decision. We are going to book the August 5, 2025 cruise on the Carnival Spirit! We also decided to go with the 4K Obstructed View Interior on Deck 4. It's going to save us almost $1500 over a balcony and that will go a long way toward some really cool excursions! We are beyond excited to take our first Alaskan cruise!

I saw that Soul Play space listed on the deck plans and wondered what it was. Saw some pics from Saint Greg's live review and found a description of it on the GoCCL page. That sounds right up my daughter's alley! And that's a great option to have on a ship where the weather may not always make it viable to be outside! Would love to see this expanded to other ships as well!

I'm not a pilot (no one would want me flying a plane) or a technical person. I work more on the account management side of the business...but I love it and would love check out the museum!

Awesome...thanks! I jotted those two down in my vacation spreadsheet! I have actually worked my entire career in aviation, so I would love to see the Museum of Flight for sure!

That's definitely our plan! I've been there a few times, but always on work trips with not a lot of time for fun! And hubby has never been. Hubby is also a huge baseball fan, so we may take in Mariners game if they are in town and of course want to see the Space Needle and Fish Market. And eat some great food!

During the time frame which we are looking to cruise to Alaska, there was one longer cruise (10-day) out of San Fran. But it was on the Legend. I did price that one out and it was very comparable to the 7-day cruises out of Seattle. But since we're coming from across the country, it's longer travel time. Plus we want to spend at least two days in the port city. We would have to be away almost two weeks to do the longer cruise. I think that's just long to be away right now with our responsibilities at home (work, animals, etc.). Plus the hubby has never been to Seattle and is excited to explore the city! But someday, we will get on a longer cruise like that!

We've cruised Carnival many times so much of what you've said we are either aware of or it doesn't impact us. This cruise is more about the destination than the ship (other than hoping there are things to entertain our daughter during our ship time). We plan on doing a more extensive Alaska cruise in the future just the hubby and I. So that cruise we will look for better port times and likely branch out to another line. But with the kiddo, Carnival gives us most of what we need. Thanks for your feedback!

Just booked our Alaska cruise for August 2025 on the Spirit. I was perusing through the Fun Shops pages on My Cruise Manager site. Under Specialty Dining they now list both the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast and now a new (to me, at least) Thing 1 & Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast. Anyone have any details how the Thing 1 & 2 Breakfast is different than the the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs & Ham breakfast - other than singing Happy Birthday? There wasn't a full menu listed for the Thing 1 & 2 Breakfast, but the items they did list in the event description sound like the same things you'd get at the Green Eggs & Ham breakfast. The cost for the Thing 1 & 2 breakfast is a little bit more ($15 adult/$10 child compared to the $10 adult/$8 child for Green Eggs & Ham). Just curious as to the differences. We will be celebrating my daughter's and hubby's birthdays on this sailing. So, the birthday breakfast may be a good option!

SaintGreg posted this on my thread about Spirit just yesterday. My hubby smokes tobacco pipes (not a quick process). He really enjoyed the Deck 3 smoking area on our Sunshine cruise last fall. It was quieter than the open deck up top, not as many people and close to the water - which on an Alaskan cruise is a great spot to be. So this is helping to tip me toward Spirit over Luminosa. Carnival Spirit Cigarette smoking (including electronic cigarettes and personal vaporizers) are permitted in the following areas: Louis XIV Casino: There is no smoking in the casino unless seated and playing; it is not allowed at the casino bar or in the entire area when closed. Outdoors: Smoking is permitted in designated areas on Deck 3 (starboard side, forward), Deck 9 (starboard side, forward) and Deck 10 (starboard side, forward). Note: Cigar and tobacco pipes are only permitted at the above outdoor smoking areas. Note: On embarkation and debarkation day, smoking is not allowed outdoors while the ship is refueling. Please consider selecting a later Arrival Appointment to minimize any inconvenience on embarkation day.

I am also currently researching our first Alaska cruise as well! We are planning to also sail in August (2025) and will have our then almost-11-year-old daughter with us. I have poured over the deck plans on multiple sites (Carnival's site is woefully lacking in pics of both ships), watched videos, priced out multiple dates/cabins, etc. Just when I think I have made a decision between the two ships, something steers me back the other direction! LOL I'm your typical overthinker anyway....and this is out of my normal wheelhouse! Luminosa is 9 years newer than Spirit and just underwent a dry dock back in 2022 to make the change over to Carnival. BUT Spirit is scheduled for a 6-week dry dock from January, 2025-March 2025. Not sure if you're looking to go this year or later, so the dry dock may not matter. Also, not sure what they are doing in the dry dock yet. I've seen videos where people have said that Luminosa is kind of a hybrid between the Spirit Class and Vista Class ships. But what I've seen it feels more similar to Spirit than Vista. Luminosa does NOT have Guy's Burgers or Blue Iguana Cantina. There is a generic burger grill and taco/burrito stand. Spirit has a sit-down Bonsai Sushi whereas Luminosa has a Bonsai Express stand. Luminosa has one larger pool on Lido with the retractable roof. Spirit has two pools on Lido with one of those able to be covered. Spirit also has Waterworks and Luminosa doesn't. But I don't really know how much use that area would get on an Alsakan itinerary. I'm hoping going early August they may be at least open that first sea day out of Seattle. But hard to tell! As others have mentioned, Luminosa does not have the mini golf course, but there are 3-4 small putting greens. Both ships have a large Serenity area with a full pool and hot tub(s). The pool isn't covered, but there is ample covered seating. There are some good cabin options for both ships. We are also typically balcony people. Although with the colder weather, I'm not sure how much I'll use it. And I've read that most people head to open decks when there is something to see so they can have vantage points of both sides of the ship. Given that and knowing that we will probably spend a lot more on excursions on this trip than we normally would on a Caribbean cruise, we may end up booking one of the 4k cabins - Interior with an Obstructed View Window. These are on Deck 4 - so good location for getting to the action (dining, casino, entertainment). These let in alot of good light and if you get one that sits between two lifeboats, you still have a decent view. My hubby is a also a pipe smoker and on our last cruise he enjoyed the quieter smoking area on Deck 3 outside promenade. On Spirit, this area is also a smoking area and Luminosa it is not. So, these cabin would be good proxmity for him to go relax with a pipe. And they are a really good savings compared to the balcony that we may not use a ton. I'm cold natured, like you, so if it's chilly, I'm staying in the cabin! LOL Right now, I find myself leaning toward the Spirit. Hoping to commit to a decision soon so we can get booked! Maybe we'll cross paths on this Alaska cruise!

That's beautiful all lit up like that! Looks worth the walk to me!

I didn't know about the ability to bid for upgrades. That's an interesting aspect to consider! I'll have to look into that! For us, the hubby will use the balcony quite a lot, so I'm sure he's going to want to have one. He doesn't care how cold it will be either. Here at home, he sits on our screened in porch pretty much all winter to have his pipes (no worries - he knows there's no smoking on the balconies!). So he would enjoy sitting out there while I'm getting ready for dinner or at night before bed or before getting off the ship. I'm much less likely to sit out in the cold! LOL

Yeah - My initial research also said that Princess and HAL were the best of the bunch for Alaska. But I also heard from several people that HAL would probably not have as much to offer for my kiddo so I didn't really consider them. Since this is a family trip with the kiddo, that brought Carnival back into the discussion for us. But I haven't closed the door on Princess. If it was just the hubby and I going, we would probably more seriously look at HAL as well. We may just go the less expensive option for this trip, and then maybe take a second cruise there without the kiddo on one of the other lines in a few years. Get our feet wet a bit with this first trip! But still lots of reserach to do!

Princess is the other line that I'm considering for this trip. If we do Princess, I think we may have to do an Oceanview or Interior (though it's been so long since I've NOT had at least a window, being in an inside cabin would feel super weird!). Prices for balconies are quite a bit higher on Princess than Carnival - even for the standard package.

Definitely looks like better smoking area options on Spirit. That will make the hubby happy! A coffee, a pipe and a quiet place to sit makes him a contended cruiser!

I checked the daylight hours for the times we would be in port on the cruises we're looking at. It should be fairly light out until close to 10:00. So we will probably get off the ship and at least walk around a bit. The pictures of Victoria look amazing! I would love to explore at least a little!

Good tips! Is the evening attire on the ship (dinners and shows, etc.) the same that you'd see on a normal Caribbean cruise?

Thank you! My kiddo is dying to see any and all wildlife as am I! We supposedly have a couple bald eagles with nests near my house in Kentucky, but I've never seen them! Would love to see some in the wild. And definitely want to spot some whales!

I'm 95% sure we will go for the balcony. It's our go-to on a normal Caribbean cruise. Would be hard to NOT have one on any cruise moving forward. But with all the sights to see in Alaska, it's gonna be a must have.

The cruises we are looking at only have that late evening stop in Victoria to satisfy the international stop requirements - 8PM-Midnight. But I will keep that tour in mind in case we pivot again to another cruise. Do people even get off the ship in Victoria on those short night stops?