It's a "GLORIOUS" day in Glacier Bay, had a Crakin' good time Spirit 9/7/10 review

[Koval]

Up early for Breakfast, Lido deck grits, eggs, beacon, same old same old...

But I like 'em.

Nice view as always, sitting at mom's table with the folks.

Off to their Cabin to get their extra carry on for all my stuff (The Rock :p)

(mom packed light, and could get all their stuff into their checked bags and still make weight)

Now about 8:30 I need to get Nick awake,

because he has been eyeballing the glass figurines that were to go on sale the last sea day at 9:00

so I call the room, and he is up from his nap and heading out the door.

Yes nap, he gets up every day by 4:30 even on a cruise:eek:

I get the bag, take it to the room, and head down to join him at the shops

What do I find, but 4, count them 4 men in the front of a line of women.

Nick in first place.

In this photo, that is not nick in what looks to be the head of the line, but he was the first one in line

I would say at 8:45 there was about 30 people in that silly line behind them.

[Koval]

I guess I will tell you the story of the 4 men verses the Little old ladies

and might I say,

they were not very lady like, but rude, pushy, and not very nice.

I suppose because they were Old, and on Vacation, the rest of the world owed them something,

like to cut in front of 4 men, who had been waiting for 30 min for that door to open :eek:

I was wondering around, cuz I didn't really need to be in that line, Nick knew what he wanted...

But every few mins, I would stop by to say hi and visit with the front runners,

at about 10 min til the shop opens, these two women, about my moms age 75-80 march on up to the front of the line, and park them selves.

Not feeble old ladies, fit and staunchy, could take your arm off if you got in their way types.

So one of the men politely stated the end of the line was on the other end.

I didn't hear what she said, but his reaction was, well that was rude.

So I asked him, and he said, "Basically she said, screw you..." OK then

Then they said, we have been in line down there for 30 mins, so we are going to stand here now til it opens, or something to that effect

OK, really, because Nick was there 25 mins ago and was the first one in line, so how does that happen...:confused:

Then, because the 4 were looking at them in dis belief that they were still cutting in the front of the line,

one pops off with, "Well, we must be looking pretty fine, for all the looks we are getting"

Can you said VOMIT in the mouth...

Cuz I think all 4 of them might have had some there with that thought.

Ok, so Nick calls me over and says,

how about you go to that door up there Marie, in case they open from that end.

No one was at the forward most door, just lined up at the middle door and past the aft door.

So I wander up there, Really not sure why no one was there,

but after about 2 mins, the Shop Clerks, came out of one shop and across the hall to the door I was at.

I said, oh you don't even want to go down there do you, they smiled...

then I said, can I come in with you, and the one guy said, sure come on in...

Now, I have the 4 figurines Nick wanted off the table and at the counter, before they even open the door he was at.

He sees this, has the biggest grin I have ever seen on his face

So as they unlock his door, he being at the front of the line, stood in front of the 2 line cutters,

and let the other 3 men in, then he joined me at the counter.

I do not know what snarky thing those two women had to say or did,

but I heard one of those men say, "Maam, that is about the rudest thing I have ever seen,

I sure feel sorry for you the day you met Jesus" :eek:

Then before we had left the counter, he was up there too with His purchase,

and he was almost shaking he was so put off by those two women.

OK it is not funny, Oh yes it was :D

If they would have been feeble, or even polite, I know those men would have allowed the line cut,

but they were snotty, and felt it was their right to do what they wanted...

I guess they were wrong...

Now here is the kicker

The sales person says as we were leaving the counter,

I have plenty more still to put out...

[Koval]

After all that excitement, off I went to the Cabin,

I had to get my original 100 lbs into the two checked bags,

and my other 60 lbs of rocks and souvenirs into the two carry on's

It took me 6 months to pack my bags, now I have a few hours to get it all back in and make weight.

But I had a plan ;)

First, open the curtains, so I don't miss anything LOL

Like the Dolphins swimming along side the ship, or the Whale spouts...

Suitcases on the bed

now, where is that list,

Yes, I remembered the list

Black bag had this that and the other thing,

Red bag had this that and the other thing,

both weighing 49.8 lbs Coming to the cruise...

Now there were some things that we brought, that were not going back home.

Like the Door signs for all the roll call and and CC Group, and the CC Group items to mention a few

Not taking back the Rain gear, Cheap ponchos and plastic jackets, or some of the clothing that was only for extra layers,

and could be tossed if needed, and we drank the bottle of wine...

Knowing that,

I put some of the Souvenirs into the checked luggage too.

Worked pretty good,

as I only had to remove one pair of Jeans from the black bag at the airport, and put it into the Red one,

then they were ready to check.

[Koval]

With the packing done, it must be time to eat,

headed up to the Lido deck for nachos and cheese fries,

I think I even had a chili dog.

I know I had one sometime during the end of the cruise.

Kind of my staple foods for this cruise

If there was a Burrito bar, I missed it...That was my Favorite lunch on the Dream

Well, at this point, I didn't take any more note, so now I have to go by memory

oh no!

Oh I almost forgot, we did a tour of the Kitchen on this cruise, what a clean place that was,

how in the world do they keep it so nice? With all that has to be going on in there.

I have photos of photos of the food they serve,

All I could think was, man look at the food porn on the wall...So I took a Picture or 8

Now back to the cabin to ready for dinner...

I saw my Crab cake being prepared, wouldn't want to keep it waiting now would I? :p

We had the best time and the best people serving us,

so I got all my envelopes ready for each of those who made my cruise even better.

Left them that night, and not the nest morning...

and took them to Dinner as to hand off to Ivica, his helper

I don't know her name but she brought me cappuccino and Nick Coffee each night, and Fernando the maitre d

What a great Team we had in the MDR and for our Cabin.

After dinner, oh and by the way, the dancing and singing in the MDR was great,

up on tables, jackets coming off, and just good plan fun.

not everyone on the tables, just a couple of the waiters.

I even saw one sweet little girl asked to dance by a waiter,

I am sure it made her cruise...Big smile for her that night anyway.

[Koval]

The ending show, was not the Legend show, we had the Talent show

They did an OK job,

but it was a let down in comparison to the fun to be had with bad karaoke

One sang a song that was such a downer,

I was thinking, great way to end the cruise Really,

the "funny" guy was not funny at all,

After watching Dancing with the stars,

it is kind of hard to watch, a slow ballroom dance.

OK the guy who recited a poem about how he lost his little finger

while chasing a sheep, was pretty good.

I guess I would rather watch bad (Funny) Karaoke,

than almost good Talent.

Sorry, they would have been buzzed by the judges

if there were any...

the only good thing I can say about that show was there were plenty of seats to choose from.

The place was just about empty...

After the show, it was off to bed, as the cruise was really winding down...:(

And I was tired.

[Koval]

Up the next morning, Room Service was just what I needed :)

finished packing the last min stuff, left a note for Catalina,

to keep or do what ever with our Comp. Bottle of Champagne,

and the Pepsi we brought on board, but Nick never drank.

Made sure I stowed away the rain gear, and ? for the next guest,

or for the room stewards, or the trash,

I didn't care as long as it wasn't in my bags, making me over weight.

then down to deck 3 to wait with the rest of the gang

going on the Vanc. Excursion with Reggie's group.

Have I said how much work Reggie puts into his group?

TONS, and we were not even a part of his group, but he allowed us

(the roll call and the CC Group) in on most all of his arrangements.

Even to the point of switching up the Vanc. tour

to met my family's need to catch a ride to the Airport,

when all of his group was catching the train.

So for the price of the tour, he tossed in a ride to the Airport.

That was a sweet deal! as we were going to need at least two Taxis.

OK back to debarking is that a word

We waited for some time on deck 3, it was getting kind of funny,

we were #4, and Stu warned us he wouldn't be going in order

but still

he would call for 1, 20, 22, 23, 24

or 2, 12, 13, 14

or 5, 6, 17, 18,

all around 4 for the longest time.

Then it was time to go, a little hectic I would say, but we had 38 people we were also trying to keep together.

So really, it was pretty easy.

Carnival had all our bags in one area, so we all gathered them up and off we went

Our Bus came a few mins later and we packed on the bags, and off we went.

[Koval]

Downloading photos of the Vanc. BC tour, so off to bed I go,

I have to work in the morning, but I am so close to finishing this review,

I am sure it will be done by tomorrow night.

Thank you for all who have posted and/or have enjoyed reading it

Let me know if I am boring in my review, as to make the next one better, or maybe not at all ;)

Anyone else on this cruise please feel free to post your thoughts and photos too.

[ryanpatricksmom]

We had an unfortunate encounter of the senior kind on the way home.

 

We arrived at the Vancouver airport a couple of hours prior to our flight. We walked around as much as we could, but because of customs, our options were somewhat limited. Finally, it was time to sit at our gate and wait a bit. The first leg of our flight was on a commuter jet because we were only flying to Salt Lake City. I figured, wth, it's only a 1 1/2 hour flight, how bad can it be. As we're sitting, I notice a large number of wheelchairs and canes begin to park around me. One woman in particular was drawing a bit of attention, because she had apparently missed her original flight, and they had put her on ours. After numerous discussions, her flight plans were cemented, and she was waiting for her daughter to join her after she made it through customs. I should mention that wheelchair lady #1 was around 75-80. Naturally, I expected to see her daughter show up within a few minutes and take over for the crew that was attending to her. Nope.

A very tiny 20 something appears, and tells WCL #1 that her daughter is stuck in customs and needs her credit card to pay a duty. WCL #1 has no intention of turning over her credit card to the employee, so she is now being wheeled back to customs (probably about 1/2 mile) and back. Around 20 minutes later, WCL #1 is wheeled back, and she's accompanied by WCL #2 her daughter.

 

Now it is time to board. Delta allows all of those requiring assistance to board first, so approximately 15 people (on a flight that holds 50) board first. At this point, I figure we are done with WCL #1 and #2 because we are sitting in First Class. Not to be. They are sitting directly in front of us, and are now trying to fit in an extremely tiny restroom. I would say it was about 1/2 the size of the average airplane restroom.

In addition, they are in the bulkhead, so their purses etc, must be turned over to the flight attendant to place in the overhead compartment, which they are not happy about. They are loudly complaining, blocking the aisle, and generally being a pain in the ass. Then, WCL #2 bumps her head while getting into her seat. I giggle a bit. WCL #1 comes out of the restroom and bumps her head as well. At this point I'm covering my mouth and laughing hysterically, as well as all of the other passengers around us.

 

At some point during the flight the gentlemen across the aisle from them gets up to retrieve his laptop from the overhead compartment. Both WCL #1 and #2 ask him to hand them their bags. They get what they want out of the bags and ask him to put them back.

 

The safety briefing was performed while WCL #2 was talking loudly on her cell phone, continually saying, "Can you hear me now?" Charming. Requests are made for seat belt extenders.

 

The flight attendant comes around offering drinks. WCL #2 asks for a Baileys on the rocks. WCL #1 needs decaf. I request heroin.

 

WCL #1 starts hacking. WCL #2 tells her to cover her mouth. WCL #1 says, "We're in a small space. The germs are going to go all around anyway. I'm not going to bother." She is also using some sort of device without headphones that is making noise throughout the cabin....turned up loudly because she needs new batteries in her hearing aid.

 

Finally....we get a little bit of quiet for a minute, except for when the snack basket was presented, which caused a lengthy debate.

 

On approach to Salt Lake City a free for all breaks out. WCL #1 has the window, and is leaning forward to see out. Apparently WCL #2 wants to see out as well and is very upset that her line of vision is impacted. As we are now all privy to the continuous conversation, we learn that WCL #2 has toured this area via car. She commences to point out the many areas of the lake frozen below. HELLO....IT'S THE GREAT SALT LAKE!!!!!! The entire cabin rolled their eyes.

 

Do you think that either one waited until the plane had deboarded to get up and block the aisles yet again. Not a chance. Both of them stood in row 1 waiting for the wheelchairs to come and get them....not sitting as you would expect from those that needed wheelchairs. Thank God I already knew that they were on the way to Chicago and not Washington/Dulles.

 

They gave the 4 entitled teenagers that we still have at home a run for their money!

[Koval]

Waiting on Deck 3, to mostly Vanc, BC photo,

and a bit at the Airport.

Click on the photo to go to the slide show.

[Koval]

We had an unfortunate encounter of the senior kind on the way home.

 

We arrived at the Vancouver airport a couple of hours prior to our flight. We walked around as much as we could, but because of customs, our options were somewhat limited. Finally, it was time to sit at our gate and wait a bit. The first leg of our flight was on a commuter jet because we were only flying to Salt Lake City. I figured, wth, it's only a 1 1/2 hour flight, how bad can it be. As we're sitting, I notice a large number of wheelchairs and canes begin to park around me. One woman in particular was drawing a bit of attention, because she had apparently missed her original flight, and they had put her on ours. After numerous discussions, her flight plans were cemented, and she was waiting for her daughter to join her after she made it through customs. I should mention that wheelchair lady #1 was around 75-80. Naturally, I expected to see her daughter show up within a few minutes and take over for the crew that was attending to her. Nope.

A very tiny 20 something appears, and tells WCL #1 that her daughter is stuck in customs and needs her credit card to pay a duty. WCL #1 has no intention of turning over her credit card to the employee, so she is now being wheeled back to customs (probably about 1/2 mile) and back. Around 20 minutes later, WCL #1 is wheeled back, and she's accompanied by WCL #2 her daughter.

 

Now it is time to board. Delta allows all of those requiring assistance to board first, so approximately 15 people (on a flight that holds 50) board first. At this point, I figure we are done with WCL #1 and #2 because we are sitting in First Class. Not to be. They are sitting directly in front of us, and are now trying to fit in an extremely tiny restroom. I would say it was about 1/2 the size of the average airplane restroom.

In addition, they are in the bulkhead, so their purses etc, must be turned over to the flight attendant to place in the overhead compartment, which they are not happy about. They are loudly complaining, blocking the aisle, and generally being a pain in the ass. Then, WCL #2 bumps her head while getting into her seat. I giggle a bit. WCL #1 comes out of the restroom and bumps her head as well. At this point I'm covering my mouth and laughing hysterically, as well as all of the other passengers around us.

 

At some point during the flight the gentlemen across the aisle from them gets up to retrieve his laptop from the overhead compartment. Both WCL #1 and #2 ask him to hand them their bags. They get what they want out of the bags and ask him to put them back.

 

The safety briefing was performed while WCL #2 was talking loudly on her cell phone, continually saying, "Can you hear me now?" Charming. Requests are made for seat belt extenders.

 

The flight attendant comes around offering drinks. WCL #2 asks for a Baileys on the rocks. WCL #1 needs decaf. I request heroin.

 

WCL #1 starts hacking. WCL #2 tells her to cover her mouth. WCL #1 says, "We're in a small space. The germs are going to go all around anyway. I'm not going to bother." She is also using some sort of device without headphones that is making noise throughout the cabin....turned up loudly because she needs new batteries in her hearing aid.

 

Finally....we get a little bit of quiet for a minute, except for when the snack basket was presented, which caused a lengthy debate.

 

On approach to Salt Lake City a free for all breaks out. WCL #1 has the window, and is leaning forward to see out. Apparently WCL #2 wants to see out as well and is very upset that her line of vision is impacted. As we are now all privy to the continuous conversation, we learn that WCL #2 has toured this area via car. She commences to point out the many areas of the lake frozen below. HELLO....IT'S THE GREAT SALT LAKE!!!!!! The entire cabin rolled their eyes.

 

Do you think that either one waited until the plane had deboarded to get up and block the aisles yet again. Not a chance. Both of them stood in row 1 waiting for the wheelchairs to come and get them....not sitting as you would expect from those that needed wheelchairs. Thank God I already knew that they were on the way to Chicago and not Washington/Dulles.

 

They gave the 4 entitled teenagers that we still have at home a run for their money!

So they didn't need the wheel chairs, except that it was to much work to carry their own weight from place to place?

Sad...But that my friends is America today...

It gives a bad name to the elderly

I am one of those people that, love the little old men and women.

You know the ones other people turn away from

even the grouchy ones...

I work in and old town, in an old building, in an old mom and pop grocery store, and we get the old grouches too.

But by the time I am done with them they are smiling and on their way home.

Groceries packed into the car, and a Crackin' good day too.

I had one guy, Ed, who was old and mean move to town...with in a year he was not mean anymore

I think sometimes they just need to be told to stop it, and I told him that. More over I think they need to be loved, like a small child

any attention is better than being alone...

Ok how did I get so off track with this review LOL :eek:

[Koval]

Vanc. BC is a beautiful city, and the tour through Stanly park was great.

The bus driver, also became a tour guide, and he was great too.

 

Turns out that he had taken many on tours during the Olympics so was well versed on his town,

even more than just someone growing up there.

He enjoyed telling us about his home town, and all that goes with it.

 

All of the Tours Reggie set in to motion were very good. As far as I know everyone enjoyed them to the Max.

 

I know my Group all loved the tours, and I never heard anything but Praises.

Thanks again Reggie :)

 

We didn't get to see much of the Granville Island Market,

as we had to re board the bus after a bite to eat,

so we could be taken to the Airport

 

But it looked to be a fun market place if you had enough time.

And needed to shop.

[Koval]

Well, I already told you the story of the rock at the air port, and really not much to say about an Airport...

It was a very long walk to the US section

once at your gate, there was very little to do or look at.

all the shops were the very long walk back...

(They have one shop and one little snacky place down there)

So off I went, needed a little something for my babies from Canada :D

found my little somethings...

Now just to sit and wait for the flight...

Boarding was fine, and I was seated at the window, and off we go...

I look out my window, and what do I see

Our flight was at 5:55 is a good clue...

There she was, steaming off to Hawaii...with out us :(

Our Carnival Spirit....

 

 

The End (or maybe not)

[satex]

BRAVO

Great review Marie. Now I really want to go and I have even checked out the pricing for the Jun 21 cruise. Now how do get West to go to Alaska when he wants to go to New England next fall:confused:.

PS: Ryan - great review of your flight LOL

[Koval]

Thanks Rich, It was a great Cruise....

[happylady]

Thanks for the great review. We can't wait until next May.

[Koval]

If I were to do it again, I would go in the Spring too

and you will love the Spirit, I think she will be my every other ship :D

Now if they would just put in a burrito bar :)

[picomullet]

Fantastic Review...Cannot wait to visit Alaska!!!:)

[Koval]

Fantastic Review...Cannot wait to visit Alaska!!!:)

 

Thank you

 

It really was a Glorious Cruise all the way around...

Others on the same cruise, saw a breaching humpback

some did a Chopper visit to the Mendenhall Glacier...

Some did some fishing, one even fell in the drink during the fishing and all still had a fabulous time.

[mohavemommy]

Wonderful review. Thanks for taking the time to post it. :D

[Koval]

You are going to have such a great time, I love the Spirit...

Sure hope Rich and West get to go on that CC Group with you...

Alaska for Texans is going to be so breath taking!

[Koval]

Well, I think this review will be going bye bye, as no one is headed to Alaska for the rest of this year.

Thank you to all who read it and a bigger thank you to those who posted a comment.

 

Alaska, Glacier Bay, and the Spirit, were all wonderful, or should I say "Glorious".

 

The CD Stu, was good too. I think he was out and about some, but not as much as his side kicks.

But a CD for me, does not make my cruise.

They have a job to do, and he did his. I think Pretty Well.

 

My Head Waiter and Room Steward are a bigger factor to the "Whole Wonderful Experience" for me.

 

So again, I saw do this Cruise, even if you have to pinch pennies to do it...

 

Bye for now!

 

Next the Liberty Looneys CC Group Cruise In Jan.

 

[ajhunt2]

Hi Marie! I was just bumping this up since it will soon be time for all those Alaska cruisers to start looking for info so thought i'd get this back up there.

 

Any plans for your next sailing? I'm trying to get a CC group going for the Freedom in April 2012. You guys wanna come???

[dhkhth]

I will be taking the same cruise 9/11/12. Thank you for the wonderful pictures and review! I have jotted some notes of must does!!

[Koval]

I will be taking the same cruise 9/11/12. Thank you for the wonderful pictures and review! I have jotted some notes of must does!!

You are welcome,

It was a very nice cruise...you will enjoy it!