Spirit to Alaska Review With Pics

[tiggerman101]

Just found your review and loving it:D:D And you answered a question that i have been dying to know.

 

On the carnival website "map" of the Alaskan itinerary....looks like the ship sails East of Vancouver Island which would make a smoother and much more scenic sail.....This is a disappointment....not enough not to go though;)

 

I was disappointed as well as we were hoping it would go back that way. In the end it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. You still get days of scenic sailing all around you. It does make for a pretty rough trip though. Fortunately, it doesn't bother me, but I would take precautions if you are prone to motion sickness.

[tiggerman101]

Great pics. I never did see any pictures from your parents cabin. Were they in a 9B premium balcony that you had indicated back in March or did they get bumped? I'm having a terrible time finding any pictures of 9B's.

 

When I got the call for an upsell to the Grand Suite I had them upgraded as well. We had two Grand Suites next door to each other. I never saw the 9B cabin. I have seen pictures and to me it looked like a OS minus the bigger bathroom and dressing area.

[tiggerman101]

David,

 

We are trying to set up our meet and greet for our sailing in Aug. We were thinking about the aft pool bar area. Do you remember it being covered or was it open?

 

Ah, sorry it took so long to get to this I must have missed the question earlier. The aft pool bar itself is covered but it is opened up to the pool. In other words it has a ceiling but no wall. For us, it was a little cold out there, but that was in May. I imagine it would be perfect around your time of year.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Ah, sorry it took so long to get to this I must have missed the question earlier. The aft pool bar itself is covered but it is opened up to the pool. In other words it has a ceiling but no wall. For us, it was a little cold out there, but that was in May. I imagine it would be perfect around your time of year.

The aft pool was very comfortable for our Meet & Greet last week. It was not chilly at all, but I was wearing a velour jacket.:)

 

Thank you, Tiggerman for all of your helpful advice and your review. We had a lovely time last week. The Glacier Explorer cruise was a highlight for us and we would not have known about it without you review.:)

[tiggerman101]

The aft pool was very comfortable for our Meet & Greet last week. It was not chilly at all, but I was wearing a velour jacket.:)

 

Thank you, Tiggerman for all of your helpful advice and your review. We had a lovely time last week. The Glacier Explorer cruise was a highlight for us and we would not have known about it without you review.:)

 

Glad you had a great time! We will probably revisit Alaska in a few years. I would love to do a North/South route next.

[CarribbeanTina271]

Thanks so much for your awesome review! You have help me make up my mind to take an Alaskan Cruise:p... of course it has taken me the afternoon at work to read your review..;).. but I have really enjoyed all of it and the pics!

Thanks again!!

[MiamiSpartan]

Great review and great pics!

My partner and I have talked about Alaska for years, and never seem to be able to squeeze it into our schedules.....:(

[sstradling3]

thanks for the great review. I am sailing Spiriy July 2011

[tiggerman101]

thanks for the great review. I am sailing Spiriy July 2011

 

No problem. I was a bit surprised to see this on Page 1 again. Thanks for reading it.

[picomullet]

Thanks for the review...We can't wait to sail to Alaska in Sept 2011..

[waterbound]

THANK YOU so much for this wonderful review!! The pictures are beautiful!!

 

Personally, I have put off going on an Alaska cruise, because I am more of a beach and caribbean girl, but my husband has really been wanting to do this and my dad has told me so many stories of how beautiful it is there, as he used to live there..

 

I have finally decided that we will be going on our first Alaska cruise next year and after seeing your pictures, I am actually excited!!!

 

I cant wait to see some of these beautiful sites also.. We will be cruising in May, as everyone Ive talked to says that its a good time to go..

[abbey1609]

Loved reading the review as 5 of us are booked on the 1st cruise of the season to Alaska this coming May 2011

 

I am confused by the comments regarding the B2B cruises as we are booked on the fire and ice cruise commencing in April 2011

 

This will be our 2nd Carnival Cruise travelling from Australia, we are flying from Sydney to Hawaii and joining the ship for the 12 day cruise to Vancouver, we keep the same cabins and it leaves the same day for Alaska and we dock at Seattle

 

Do these rules apply to us as we have never been told you can't do a B2B cruise or does this only apply to US citizens

 

Also Carnival announced a couple of weeks ago that The Spirit will be the first of their ships to use Sydney as its base in 2012 .. it will be exciting to see our ship docked in Sydney Harbour and to know we have sailed but I know the prices will be double the cost of sailing out of an overseas port.. cruises out of Sydney are very expensive

 

many thanks

[picomullet]

Tiggerman, I noticed you stayed at the Grand Hyatt..Is that the same as Hyatt Olive 8? Just curious..Yes i read your fabulous review and still come back to it as we are planning our Alaska cruise in September..Fabulous review..Totally enjoyed it. We are trying to decide on hotels now!!!

Thanks for the info!!!

[capndinghy]

Tiggerman, I noticed you stayed at the Grand Hyatt..Is that the same as Hyatt Olive 8? Just curious..Yes i read your fabulous review and still come back to it as we are planning our Alaska cruise in September..Fabulous review..Totally enjoyed it. We are trying to decide on hotels now!!!

Thanks for the info!!!

 

Hello picomullet ...I am not sure if it is the Hyatt Olive 8. This one is on Waikikii, located across the street from the famous Statue of 'The Duke'. It is a very nice hotel. Thank you for the kind words regarding my review. Enjoy your Alaska trip. You will love it!

BTW..here is a link to my latest review of our Valentine Cruise.(It is still a work in progress) :

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1366626

[ccookwood]

This review was great now I have to get moving on excursions we sail on June 14th 2011

[darth frosty]

Caption:

 

JANE STOP THIS CRAZY THING!!!!!!!

 

[TXCruisertoo]

Kathi....my sister and I will be sailing with on 5/24! Can't wait!!

Susan

[DragonMouse]

Triggerman,

I was on a HAL cruise not far behind yours and I have to say the highlight of my cruise was a Tracy Arm fijord catamaran to the Sawyer Glacier. My pictures mirrored your pictures albeit a different glacier. I'm too young for a HAL cruise - not happening again for at least 15 years!........cute town and we didn't have enough time to explore but if I had been thinking I would have shipped the excess from here instead of Vancouver to avoid the Customs requirements.

 

Karen

 

Kayceedee or Triggerman...what do you mean about "shipped the excess" from here...What customs requirements could be a problem?

 

Triggerman...WOW...what a fabulous review. I started at page one and i savored every word and picture. Gorgeous pictures...Really a Panasonic Luminex??? I have one of those...It's a Panasonic Luminix Z-somthing...Not sure if it's exactly the same one but WOW...you are a FABULOUS photographer. We are in the planning stages now. I'm trying to figure which cruiseline to go on.

 

Some board members say that there are some that dock longer than others...but they all seem very very close in time spent on shore to me. (I've painstakingly printed out each itinerary). I've done Carnival before and have enjoyed it. It seems like all cruiselines are pretty much the same...but I could be wrong. I've read reviews from all sorts of cruise lines and well...I've come to conclude that there are going to be some people that will actively find something to complain about.

 

I would so love to see your Oasis review because we're supposed to go this Thanksgiving. I'm so nervous...it'll be my first Royal Caribbean cruise.

[VacationCharlene]

I am enjoying your review about the Alaska trip on the Spirit and we will be doing the same one in 5 days. I am not able to "see" your pictures that you have attached. Any ideas??? Help!

[cruisinskier]

Thanks for posting you r review. I know how much time goes into preparing and posting all these pictures so we truly appreciate it. We have started to research Alaska and hope to cruise there in May 2012 (almost booked!!).

[CRUISINGAGAINWITHDAUGHTER]

 

The ship hauls its rear the way up to Alaska and back. It is going about full speed the first day at see and after it leaves Ketchikan. The area around the West side of Vancouver island was rough. It was a very bumpy ride during those times. The night after we left Ketchikan was some of the bumpiest cruising I have seen on my 10 cruises. It doesn't bother me at all, but a lot of people were sick. It got pretty rough. Just be prepared if this bothers you.

Thanks for this information. The only other time I have cruised Alaska we sailed out of Vancouver so I would not have thought the water would have been much different.

[CRUISINGAGAINWITHDAUGHTER]

One more question. Do you remember what time the ship arrived back into Seattle and what time the first passengers were allowed off? Because of time change and having to go back to work the next day we are booked on a 1110am flight out of Seattle and just wondering how tight it might actually be.

Thanks for the great review, can hardly wait until the 5th of July.

[satman]

Great Review, gave all of us a perfect look at our upcoming cruise. Thanks!

[tiggerman101]

Great Review, gave all of us a perfect look at our upcoming cruise. Thanks!

 

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read through this. I am happy to see it is still in circulation. Wade looked at me a couple nights ago and said "This time last year we were coming home from Alaska". We both loved the cruise and talk about it a lot. We have talked about doing it again in a couple years. With the new season getting in full swing, I hope everyone has a great cruise!

[JGaleCPA]

Best cruise review.

 

Ever.

 

Well done.