Musigurl

My must-see list for Seward:

Seward Windsong Lodge (if you haven't yet booked a place to stay)

Seavey's IdidaRide Sled Dog Tours

Kenai Fjords Tours

Alaska SeaLife Center

The Cookery (consistently rated as the #1 restaurant in Seward)

Thorn's (absolutely delicious halibut)

Lighthouse Cafe & Bakery (great breakfasts & lunches)

No umbrellas -- book a clamshell, or look for shade.

Any recent Fort Lauderdale day hotel recommendations for post-cruise before late flight?

We stayed in Seward for 3 night/4 days, all without a car.  We stayed here: https://www.alaskacollection.com/lodging/seward-windsong-lodge/

There's a bus that goes from Anchorage right to the lodge!  And then the Seward shuttle is free to lodge guests.  We used it to get into town for meals as well as assorted places in Seward.  We actually never ate at the lodge as the shuttle was so easy to use -- and there's tons of great food options in town.

You can also book excursions directly through the lodge.

I highly recommend https://ywcavan.org/hotel

It's a legit hotel (not a hostel) -- I stay there every time I'm in Vancouver.  Rooms are on the small side, but it's very clean and front desk staff are terrific.  Small coffee shop on site, or bigger restaurants all within a minute or two walk.  Very close to Queen Elizabeth Theatre if you're thinking of taking in a play or musical before boarding your ship.

Also, it can be difficult to get a cab to come and get you -- and pricey to have one wait for you.

Vionic

https://vionicshoes.ca/collections/womens-sandals?sort_by=price-ascending

Highly recommend rubber sandals.  Here's a selfie :)

I highly recommend the "Salsa, Salsa, Margarita" excursion.  It's not a tour -- you just go there, make (and eat) salsa, make (and drink) margaritas and then dance salsa!  You can use the huge hotel pool afterwards, or they'll just bring you right back to the ship.

I also looked into the same thing, and there are 2 problems -- if you want the cab to wait, you'll pay for each minute -- and if the cab leaves, you'll have difficulty getting one to come and get you.

Had a great experience -- ended up there after the Holiday Inn next door goofed and "accidentally" gave away our room.  They were so nice, and even offered us two vouchers for free drinks in their bar.  I would definitely stay there again.

Most ships have vending machines (bandaids, tylenol, etc) located just outside their medical centres -- I'm surprised to hear that this ship didn't.

I agree with the above. I've done the Med a couple of times in July (like others, I'm a teacher, so it's the summer or never). I figure I can put up with the heat during the day as long as I can have a good, cold sleep.

If you're staying in Rome or Venice before/after cruise, choose a centrally located hotel. It makes it much easier to take a break mid-day. In Rome, make use of the free drinking fountains. They're everywhere and the water is cool and delicious.

Keep drinking water all day -- even when you're not thirsty! If I drank the amount of water at home in the winter that I drink in Rome in the summer, I'd be running to the bathroom all day. But in the crazy heat of Rome I went hours and hours and didn't need to go -- lol.

Here's info (and a map) of the Rome drinking fountains:

https://www.explore-italian-culture.com/drinking-fountains-of-rome.html

https://www.livitaly.com/rome-drinking-fountains/

Just did this 2 weeks ago -- very quick -- no worries!

I've done their tour twice -- fabulous both times (including having bottled water continually available for us)

Excellent -- thanks for the advice!

I agree with KK's comment. I have been able to change a pre-assigned "free" dinner perk, but if there are many on your cruise that has the same perk, a time more to your liking may not be available.

 

Personally, I'd wait until you embark. The time/date of your free dinner should be among the paperwork in your stateroom when you arrive. If it does not suit, make a visit to the PG. If not then staffed, there usually is a dining room staff member in the Lido Restaurant area taking dinner reservations for all of the Restaurants. Make this a priority of yours once you have embarked.

I'm confused. We also have this as a perk, but my paperwork says:

*FreePinnacle Grill Dinner for Two:

– Reservationsand dining times will be assigned by Holland America Line and aconfirmation card will be placed in your stateroom upon embarkationday

So, am I to understand that I can reserve ahead of time to be sure to get the day/time I want?

I've done a lot of food tours, and one of my all-time favourites is in Amsterdam -- it combined a walking food tour with a canal tour.

https://www.eatingamsterdamtours.com/jordaan-food-canal-tour/

Fear not! I've cruised Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, all within the last year. Celebrity has never failed to satisfy. I always think that if you can't find something to eat in the main dining room, you must be very picky. If you don't like the main course that is served to you, they are always happy to bring you a different option.

I find the food pretty comparable between all three of these lines -- and I find myself wondering where-the-heck do you eat when you're not cruising? Do you really only dine at high-end restaurants? Most meals in the main dining room are as good, if not better, than your average medium-priced restaurant, IMHO -- but to each, his own :)

Oh dear, we booked Silhouette for next Feb. and now I’m concerned. We usually cruise RC, so we’ll be elite with Celebrity. We sailed X several years ago: Century and Equinox (beautiful ship). But I’m worried about the food being too salty...I don’t use a salt shaker ever:( We aren’t foodies and are happy that someone is cooking and cleaning for us, but too much salt would be inedible to us, also. Maybe we’ll change and go on RC in Feb. for our southern Caribbean cruise.

 

Thanks for the “heads up.” Oh and we only book balconies and if we find a good deal maybe a junior suite, so no suite perks (I guess we’re just too frugal):)

 

I hope you LOVE saling on Viking and ...... let us know all about your experience:)

I've been twice! Pricey, but really fun. Lots of food & lots of drinks. You can use their LARGE hotel pool afterwards, and they'll still give you a ride back to the ship.

Take the local bus (1-2 euros) over to Oia -- very easy to do, and FAR cheaper. Spend as much (or as little) time as you like without worrying about keeping your eye on the clock.

We walked around town -- 2 favourite stops: http://www.benleprevostchocolatier.com/ for delicious chocolates and https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g551622-d3229179-Reviews-National_Trust_of_Guernsey_Victorian_Shop_and_Parlour-St_Peter_Port_Guernsey_Chan.html -- very cute & quaint -- lots of "old fashioned" candies for sale -- shop owner was lovely!

Following that, we had lunch and then took the public bus (very cheap) on the route that did the whole island. Much cheaper than a ship excursion, and it's basically the same route (minus a tour guide on a mic, of course).

We did a Caribbean cruise (b2b) that past July -- yes, it was hot, and humidity was crazy -- but, just keep drinking water all day, and you'll be fine. On a tour from Costa Maya, the tour company had two guides with us -- one to do the actual guiding, and another with a backpack style cooler filled with cold, bottled water who followed us everywhere, continually replenishing our drinks and taking our empties to avoid littering problems. Funny thing, neither of them seemed to be sweating nearly as much as us! I guess they're used to it?

If you buy something at Margaritaville (restaurant...not sure about store), they'll give you their wifi password.

You can request a larger one -- but it's really large -- I think it was labelled as a men's 3X.