SDPadreFan

We got the offer on our AMEX Blue Cash Everyday but now I have to figure out if I can even use it. We already have 2 upcoming fully paid for cruises (7 day Panorama in Nov/Dec & 12 day Carnival Pride Baltic next July). Those were paid for with FCC's due to COVID. Don't need Cheers on the 7 day and already have $600 OBC on that one. Already paid for Cheers on the 12 day Baltic next year but thinking of canceling that and using the money for excursions instead. We did Cheers on our recent 10 day Alaska on the Miracle and not really sure we got value for it. We are really better suited at a max 5-6 drinks per day so we may be better off just paying individually for drinks. Baltic Sea cruise is fairly port intensive with 7 port days and only 4 at sea days. Still contemplating that one. Hoping Carnival adds some Fall 2024 Hawaii cruises before the offer expires. Scored a Premium Balcony on the Miracle for our Hawaii sailing that got cancelled due to COVID so would love to be able to replicate that but those cabins go extremely fast. Would even settle for a bowling alley balcony like we had on Miracle in June on our Alaska cruise. But same thing - those obviously go fast as well.

To me - the unsettling part about their policy (as I read it) is that if you are age 11 or under, you are neither required to be vaccinated NOR provide a negative test result 72 hrs prior to boarding. So unvaccinated age 12 and up (to include adults) must still provide a negative test result 72 hrs prior to boarding. I totally get that. But if you are under age 12, and unvaccinated you DON'T have to provide a negative test result 72 hrs prior to boarding. Did I miss some announcement where the CDC has determined that while an 11 year old (or under) can get COVID-19, they can't spread it to someone else. Thankfully - I can't immagine a situation where I would find myself on an NCL ship. Just not my vibe.

Thanks for all the great info.

Will really depend on the itinerary. Most will just be 2 Cruise Elegant (Formal) nights. We just did a 10 day Alaskan Cruise on Carnival Miracle and we only had 2 formal nights even with 10 days. It depends on how they fit in the schedule. Even with 2 consecutive "sea days" they are not going to have Cruise Elegant nights back to back. So if you had an "at sea" day on your first full cruise day and then another one in the middle, you "might" be able to have a third but it's not going to be on your final "at sea" day because that is typically when everyone is packing and putting their luggage out in the passageways. You would typically need to have 2 full consecutive sea days at the end of a cruise in order to fit a 3rd formal night in.

On our recent 10 day Alaska, we had Grilled Mahi Mahi, Grilled Salmon ("from the grill" almost nightly), Grilled Tilapia, Pan Fried Striped Bass, Grilled Japanese Sea Bass, Blackened Tilapia, Teriyaki Salmon, and Grilled Barramundi. All were pretty much excellent. Think my favorite was the Japanese Sea Bass. Least impressive of the bunch was the blackened tilapia (but it was still quite good).

We always dress for formal night. There are 2 of them for this 10 day itinerary. I wore a sport coat, shirt, tie, slacks and dress shoes. Wife wore long dress. 2nd formal night I ditched the tie, switched the shirt color and went open collar with the Sport Coat. Also switched to grey dress slacks (from black). Wife switched to black valour (sp?) 3 piece pants suit. Don't recall seeing anyone in a Tux. Checked Lido Buffet after 2nd Formal Night dinner and it was fairly deserted so seems most people were eating in the dining room.

Red Frog Pub is just aft of the Phantom Theater (showroom), right next to Java Blue on Deck 2.

Just returned home from our FANTASTIC Miracle cruise tonight (Thurs). 10 hour drive home to San Diego (included meal, gas and stretching stops). Will hopefully start my review on Friday (later in the day). Will start it as a separate thread. Just a tease - saw the Sawyer Glacier calve FOUR TIMES.

Nothing current. We board the Miracle on Monday and so will do a review upon our return. We have signed up for 4 excursions and will include those in the review. They are (in order) VIP Alaska's Whales & Glacier Rainforest Trails (Juneau); White Pass Summit Excursion (Skagway); Cooking in Alaska's Wildest Kitchen (Icy Strait Point) and Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer (Tracy Arm Cruising Day). No plans in Victoria - will just walk around a bit. We also bought the CHEERS Package. Happy to answer any questions either before or after our cruise. Also planning on hiking a little in Skagway.

If you buy the Sawyer Spray as opposed to the lotion. The spray is a spray it on/wipe it into your skin (not an air dry). So spray and wipe, spray and wipe. For face - spray into hands and wipe on face. The lotion does provide about 2 hours of extra protection but both last a pretty long time.

So to answer the OP's original concern - the price jump from $249 to $279. I would say a huge part of that price increase is related to the same price increase we've all seen occurring at our local gas stations (and in our stores and restaurants). It really does impact EVERYTHING. Ships carrying products across our oceans have had a huge increase in fuel costs. Then the truckers carrying the products from the ports to the distribution centers, then to the stores and finally to our homes. There have also been significant increases in labor costs. That small business ship captain has probably had to keep increasing wages to keep or attract new employees or risk losing them. At least so far - we can all be hopeful of one thing. I have not yet seen any mention of any cruise line adding non-optional fuel surcharges to the cruise contracts we all agree to. Shhhhhh! Mums the word.

Maybe a land vacation to use up the flight credits is all you could do. Lots of amazing places in the world to visit. Or maybe a partial Panama Canal cruise (those are usually 7 days) out of Florida, etc. We've had 3 cruises canceled on us recently. First was a 16 day New York to the Caribbean to Florida (eventual homeport). That was to be on Carnival's new ship Mardi Gras but canceled due to shipyard delays (pre-covid). Then a back to back (B2B) in a Spa Balcony on Carnival Magic (Eastern and Western Caribbean 7 day cruises) canceled due to COVID, then a 15 day Hawaii cruise (replacing the 16 day prior cancellation) on Carnival Miracle in one of her Premium Balcony's. A very unique 230 sqft balcony cabin (only about 6 of them on the ship), also canceled due to COVID. So we lost about 29 days of cruises but have happily replaced them with a 10 day Alaska cruise (leaving in a week) on Carnival Miracle (in a very unique "bowling alley" balcony). Then in November, a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise on Carnival Panorama followed by a 12 day Baltic Sea cruise on Carnival Pride next July. So we've replaced 29 days with 29 days. Lemonade from lemons. Hawaii will have to wait till the fall of 2024 (probably) because I really want to snag one of those special 230 sqft Premium Balcony's on Carnival Miracle and those sell out almost immediately. Hope you are able to travel somewhere fantastic. We stopped cruising/vacations in 2010 due to full time care-giving of my wife's mother. I was her full-time caregiver (actually since 2001) while my wife continued to work. So I was her caregiver for about 18 years until she sadly passed away at 92. The 16 day cruise was to be our first real vacation in many years, until that was canceled and then COVID hit the world.

All excursions are expensive in Alaska. Those folks (and companies) really only have income earning potential from May-Sept, and for certain excursions, even shorter than that do to the weather. That at least, is some of the basis for the pricing. My sister had an excursion scheduled for her family a few years back to helicopter out to a sled dog camp (talk about pricey - over $2000) and it got canceled because the dog camp had to shut down earlier in the season due to heavy snow. At least she got her money refunded, no problem. But I'm sure disappointment for her 9 year old grandson. So unless there is a salmon run occurring, bear encounters are chancy at best. Question - does the bear excursion with Princess have a guaranteed bear siting clause. If so - then you may have to just bite the bullet and pay the big bucks. If not - then you could be looking at spending @ $900 or more for a nice day in the woods. I've seen YouTube videos of bears sometimes being spotted (at a distance) along the shoreline near a glacier. If your ship offers a glacier excursion on a smaller boat, that would be not only a possible chance to see a bear or two, but also a great way to see the glaciers up close (compared to the cruise ship). On our Carnival cruise, we are doing an off ship excursion on a tour boat when our ship cruises the Tracy Arm Fjord to see the twin Sawyer Glaciers. So the ship will stop in calm waters, and we will board the tour boat to get a closer encounter with the glaciers, smaller icebergs, waterfalls, etc. The ship will continue on the same path up the fjord, we will just get much closer to the action than the cruise ship.

Problem is the salmon only run at specific times (of their choosing). The same can be said of bear spotting. If the salmon are actively running, then the bears will be in attendance. Otherwise - spotting them is not a guaranteed event. If you are lucky - you may see the salmon in Ketchikan Creek that runs thru town while you are there (but I don't think you'd necessarily see bears in that location. You might see the occasional bear in other locations but it would generally be a chance encounter.

2 things I recommend (as do a ton of other folks) #1 Bug Bite Thing - used PROPERLY (that means really reading the instructions and following them exactly). This item works on virtually any insect bite for removing a great deal of the irritant. Not 100% perfect, but it really does provide a huge relief. https://www.amazon.com/Bug-Bite-Thing-Suction-Remover/dp/B01576DWQU/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1QQAWPI0ZI4SJ&keywords=bug+bite+thing&qid=1654984729&sprefix=bug+bite+thing%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-2 #2 A Picaridin based insect repellent. Our choice (and many, many others) is Sawyer Products 20% Picaridin Insect Repellent. Two very specific benefits to using Picaridin. It doesn't ruin some fabrics like DEET based products. And this is HUGE - it doesn't stink like DEET based products. We are currently using the 4oz spray bottles, but I have also just purchased the 4 oz lotion to try. https://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Picardie-Repellent-Fishermans-SP544/dp/B07BSN5YLN/ref=sr_1_3?crid=LN09U798DC18&keywords=sawyer+picaridin+insect+repellent&qid=1654984660&sprefix=sawyer%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-3 or https://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Picardie-Repellent-Fishermans-SP544/dp/B00VV5KRD8/ref=sr_1_3?crid=LN09U798DC18&keywords=sawyer%2Bpicaridin%2Binsect%2Brepellent&qid=1654984660&sprefix=sawyer%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-3&th=1 Right now - the best value is the single bottle package of the 4 oz lotion. Currently $5.97 (or $1.49 per ounce) I just ordered - and received single package 4 bottles.

Two reasons come to mind. #1 - the ecological damage that many cruise ships can cause in the fairly small and protected inside passageway. By comparison, the Caribbean is a huge washing machine. #2 - the Alaskan cruising season is pretty short (May-Sept) so there is a short period of time to make money from the cruise lines.

The reality of Alaska cruises is that if done right - they can be pretty expensive. But it's an incredible adventure and generally worth every penny. Most people - even knowing this, return to Alaska multiple times (cruises or land tours). It's that amazing a place. Think seeing an American Bald Eagle in the wild would be a rare event. In Alaska - it's their version of sea gulls, pigeons, or black crows.

Some key differences. Port fees and taxes are MUCH HIGHER for Alaska Cruises. Same can be said for excursion costs. My wife and I are doing 3 mid range excursions and the total for those came to $690. You could easily spend upwards of $1500 for excursions in 3 ports. Not a lot to do in some ports if you are not on an excursion. If you like hiking or just in town shopping then you could probably get by with fewer excursions, but the question would be - why. Best experience would be mid June to late July. Otherwise weather definitely becomes more of a factor. The main Alaskan ports of call are all in a rainforest - that should tell you about how much rain it gets. Stick to mid June to late July unless you are a duck.

There may be some confusion going on here. There are (I believe) 2 different Gondola systems. The first one is a flat ride Gondola that takes you between the 2 landing piers. NCL built their own pier and the accompanying Gondola that transports their passengers from their dock over to the main landing area with the (now defunct) salmon canning factory. I believe that is the one that costs $15. The second Gondola is the one that takes you to the mountaintop. That one is used to transport people who are taking the zipline back down. That one probably also accommodates people who just want to ride up to the mountaintop to look around and then ride back down (for @ $50). I'm guessing the Forest Tram is the remnants of the tram that used to take people up the mountain to ride the zipline before the Gondola system was built. So the Gondola/Tram package is probably a ride up to the mountaintop on the Gondola and then the Forest Tram back down the mountain on the road (or vice versa perhaps).

NO, NO, NO. AARP will code these as Charitable, NOT Travel AARP is a Charitable organization so ANY purchases from them will code (to your credit card) as Charitable. Tried doing this with my Costco VISA card several months back (hoping to get 3% cash back) but only got 1% because of how the transaction was coded. In the future - I will use my Citi Double Cash card so at least I get back 2%.

One thing nice about the Spa Cabins is the ability to easily use the much larger showers in the Spa/Gym area. Much better than the telephone booth showers in most staterooms.

First day won't be to bad in my experience. You will have following seas (and winds). Last day is a completely different animal and you will be heading home smack into the south bound Alaskan current and south bound winds, so if the ship is making 15 knots and running into a 15 knot wind (I'll let you do the math. Cabo will be hot and HUMID until late October and rain is a possibility. If your sailing is Oct 22, we'll be watching you sail by from our timeshare in Cabo (Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach). It's just south of lighthouse mountain. Trivia - just north of lighthouse mountain (Cabo) is where they filmed the beach scenes for the movie Troy. Hopefully you won't be dodging tropical storms/hurricanes. It's the tail end of hurricane season but west coast storms during Sept/Oct tend to hug the coastline more closely. July/Aug - they tend to head toward open water (and Hawaii). We have a Spa Cabin booked for Nov 26. Stateroom 12212

We are on the Miracle on June 10th (right before you). Underway in 17 days. Scored a bowling alley balcony (like 7258) back during Carnival's "You Only Turn 50 Once" Mega Sale this Spring. Make sure you know what you are getting in the dog sledding adventure. Some only "simulate" dog sledding on a dirt road with a wheeled sled. When my sister had this planned, they were going by helicopter to a glacier and then the dog sled would run over the glacier. Unfortunately it got canceled because the weather was forcing the dog camp to shut down.

Regardless of what you do - if you have the drink package, you should definitely be looking for top shelf rums to try and not middle to lower shelf like Malibu. Save that for at home. (Malibu, Cruzan, Bacardi, Capt Morgan)

Maybe you are thinking Carnival MIRACLE not Magic to Alaska. Should also probably also include the port you are visiting to help with answering the question.