Review: Carnival Spirit Glacier Bay 5/11/05-5/18/05

[CruiseIsGood]

Denise, 40, traveling solo for the first time. I ran out of people to drag to Alaska. :)

 

 

Embarkation

I arrived the day of the cruise at Vancouver airport. I met two ladies on the plane who were going on the same cruise. We waited in line about 45 minutes to go through Canadian customs. We were quickly loaded on a bus to Canada Place, and that's where the nightmare started. The line for customs was huge. Both Spirit and the HAL Vollendam passengers were in the same line, so figure over 4,000 people and from two to eight slow, surly customs agents. While we were waiting in line for three hours, one of the ships' officers was watching and looked really, really mad. But there was nothing Carnival could do. They promised it will not happen again.

 

I boarded the ship minutes before 4, which was when I was supposed to meet up with my CruiseCritic.com buddies in the Atrium. I dropped off my luggage and made it there just a couple of minutes late, and we had a great time finally meeting each other!

 

The next night at the Captain's cocktail party, he informed us that to make up for the long lines (which weren't even their fault), they were granting us an extra two hours in Juneau and Skagway. I thought that more than made up for the delay, since I got to do more stuff! But before we got to Ketchikan, he announced he'd try to make it two hours early there too. We made it an hour early, which still allowed me to see the lumberjack show, which I would have missed. Kudos to Carnival for that very kind gesture.

 

 

Room

I booked the starboard aft wrap-around balcony cabin on Empress deck. The room was lovely and I miss it! See my pictures. The only thing I didn't photograph was the bathroom, which had two sinks (I could brush in one and spit in the other) and a whirlpool tub. Since this was my 40th birthday trip, I had two dozen roses, two bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne waiting in the room from family and friends. Awww! Almost made me cry.

 

The balcony is large enough for lots of people, and I had plenty of parties with the CC folks and some other people I met onboard. Unfortunately, it's not covered, so when it rained in Glacier Bay, I was up on deck instead. It's worse than not covered--the small overhang pours water. But, when it was nice outside, it was luxurious. Deck 4 is covered, and if I ever get one again, it will be on deck 4. And people, quit throwing stuff off the lido deck. It just lands on the balconies.

 

I had two room stewards for some reason. Maybe one was training. One was very nice--he was always smiling. The other looked like she was on her last nerve. She always tried to smile but looked more like she was going to cry. On the last evening, when people had put out there luggage, she swore as she was trying to move her cart. I just felt sorry for her. If I had to do that job 7 days straight for 6-8 months I'd be swearing and crying too. Anyways, my room was always clean and stocked with ice. I had tipped in cash the first night the amount of another passenger, since it wasn't their fault I was traveling solo.

 

Ship

There are lots of pictures online. This was my third time sailing the Carnival Spirit to Alaska, so obviously I like the ship. The carpet is a little more worn and things are not quite as bright and sparkly as the first time I was there, but it's still lovely. I took the Ecstacy Ensenada run once and Spirit blows that ship away in every area. There are so many window areas all over the ship that it really makes cruising Alaska a joy.

 

There were 300 Australians who did the back-to-back Hawaii-Alaska cruise. They were such fun people. I really enjoyed meeting quite a few of them. :) I thought our time at Customs was bad, but not only did they have to wait 3 hours in Hawaii IN THE SUN, they were also told they wouldn't have to come back through US customs in Canada but Customs didn't agree and they did. They're not happy at all with travel in the states anymore, and I met a few couples who won't be coming back. Very sad. A few said they enjoyed Alaska more than Hawaii, because Australia has better beaches.

 

I didn't see any shows, unfortunately. I spent time in the casino playing blackjack and time with my new Aussie friends.

 

The CD, Michael Mullane, was pretty bland and mostly unseen except for his talks. I heard he apologized for that and said he had a lot of paperwork to do. Dunno why. I adored Dana Hodson my first time, and I think he's on the Victory now. He's extremely entertaining. This was my third time with Captain Pier Paolo Scala, and I adore him. Sweet man.

 

Food

This is my fourth Carnival cruise, and I've always enjoyed the food. I had room service coffee every morning and it always arrived in 5-10 minutes. Pretty impressive. I also had a BLT from them twice. I dined in the dining room for breakfast twice, lunch twice and all but one dinner, and enjoyed each one. I really like the open seating breakfast and lunches, but I skipped both meals a few times--too much food! I met people that I then saw throughout the cruise, including another single lady. They did seat singles together for dinner. One lunch was very funny--a lady (and I say that loosely) ordered calamari, but didn't know what it was. When it arrived she pronounced it disgusting (Squid? Disgusting!) and sent it back. She had ordered the salmon with some kind of sauce for an entree, and it turned out the sauce was green. Dill maybe? I don't know. She pronounced it disgusting without trying it and went up to the Lido deck to eat. The rest of us at the table had a nice laugh when she was gone. Remember--if you don't know what something is, ask the waiter. I'd hate to see the person who ordered escargot and didn't know what it was. I only went to the Lido twice, once for pizza at 3am (don't ask) and once for Indian, since I love their Indian food. The head waiter on the ship is from India, so go figure.

 

My waiter was a much better entertainer than waiter. He never told us the specials, forgot my soup once, many times had one person served and not the rest for 10 minutes or vice-versa, and just didn't impress me. The assistant waiter was great. Some Aussie friends had the same waiter for 19 nights and he was so wonderful he brought cheese trays up to our balcony party! They just adored him and exchanged addresses. Luck of the draw I guess.

 

The Grand Gala Buffet is beautiful but not all that great to eat. Take pictures, then go get pizza. I didn't get to any of the other midnight buffets.

 

Excursions

I enjoyed each one. The review is here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=180368 I did it early because I knew that's what most people are interested in. ;)

 

Good Things

Champagne art auction--grab champagne, walk through and out the other door. heeee!

 

The Captain's Cocktail Party and Past Guest Party both had a lot of servers. I don't remember being that well served on previous cruises. Maybe they were trying to get us drunk enough to forget embarkation. ;) They actually had two past guest parties, due to the 300 B2B'ers and large number of past guests.

 

Ships are not allowed to make announcements in ports. We always have very few announcements (except the Naturalist on open water) when in Alaska.

 

Getting off in ports was very easy, and even when there was a long line to get back on, it went fairly quickly, but in one port they had everyone trying to get back on at the same time it seemed--dinner time.

 

Please try to attend the naturalist talks with Michelle. They really give an insight and understanding of the area. You'll have a much better cruise experience with that knowledge.

 

It still amazes me how friendly people are on a cruise. When we got back to the airport, I noticed everyone clammed up and went back to reality. On the cruise, everyone says hi in the halls, talks in the elevator, and I really enjoyed all of the company of strangers throughout.

 

Bad Things

The Carnival Vacation Club. They tried to shove that thing down our throats all day every day. Notices in our mailboxes, all over the Capers, signs on members' doors, just disgusting. One of my dinner companions was 80 and had notices something along the lines of, "You have not responded!" in her mailbox three days in a row. She went to the presentation and said they were very pushy--until they found out she doesn't have $4,000.

 

The ship's videograher was on two of my excursions, and on the first one took all profiles of me. I have a bad profile. Hrmph.

 

It was over WAY too fast. I don't remember either of the others flying by so fast. I think it's because I was doing so much! Many shore excursions, many parties, much fun. On my previous two, I think that waiting for everyone else to either get ready or decide what to do took up a lot of my time. :D

 

Conclusion

Would I sail Carnival Spirit again? Yes, and fill out 100 comment cards about the Vacation club. But I think I'll try a different line next time, just for some variety and comparison.

 

Pictures

http://community.webshots.com/user/cruisindenise

[K.T.B.]

I've been impatiently waiting for you to do your review. :) Thank you! I cannot believe you had something negative to say! I mean, how dare you! ;)

 

Ok, seriously, it definitely sounds like you had a wonderful time, and yes I'm extremely jealous of you right now. It's going to be a long 51 weeks until we're on board. Your experiences pretty much mirror my own in terms of Carnival's pushing certain things in your direction ad infinitum, but not enough to ruin any of the fun I'm having.

 

Besides the naturalist tour (and I hope that does not mean Michelle's naked while giving it... :eek: ), what else would you recommend for first time Alaska cruisers to do? Either on board or off.

 

Thank you again for the review. It was truly well thought out and exactly what I was hoping to see!

[CruiseIsGood]

On board it definitely depends on what you're into, but look out the windows a lot. Since you've been on Carnival before you know what kinds of things they have going on. I've done the galley tour and it was ho-hum. I liked the Supper Club but with the bright Alaskan nights it's not what I'd call romantic. Bright actually. ;) Oh, I did the $10 wine tasting this time too and it was nice. I'd do it again, but realize they only give you the CHEAP stuff! But one of them was the Black Opal Shiraz, my favorite cheap Carnival cruise wine. Very peppery.

 

Outside the ship, after three cruises my favorites are:

 

Juneau: Mendenhall canoe, evening whale watching with Allen Marine

Ketchikan: Misty Fjords flightseeing, a walk of Creek Street

Skagway: White Pass Rail and now Eagle Preserve float trip

Sitka: Still haven't done an excursion there.

 

With your attitude, Kevin, you'll have a blast. Unless you order Escargot and don't know what it is. heee!

[CruiseIsGood]

By the way, I thought early May was more spectacular than mid-late June. More snow-covered peaks and more of a green and white contrast. And the waterfalls looked like they were in overdrive.

[K.T.B.]

On board it definitely depends on what you're into, but look out the windows a lot. Since you've been on Carnival before you know what kinds of things they have going on. I've done the galley tour and it was ho-hum. I liked the Supper Club but with the bright Alaskan nights it's not what I'd call romantic. Bright actually. ;) Oh, I did the $10 wine tasting this time too and it was nice. I'd do it again, but realize they only give you the CHEAP stuff! But one of them was the Black Opal Shiraz, my favorite cheap Carnival cruise wine. Very peppery.

 

Outside the ship, after three cruises my favorites are:

 

Juneau: Mendenhall canoe, evening whale watching with Allen Marine

Ketchikan: Misty Fjords flightseeing, a walk of Creek Street

Skagway: White Pass Rail and now Eagle Preserve float trip

Sitka: Still haven't done an excursion there.

 

With your attitude, Kevin, you'll have a blast. Unless you order Escargot and don't know what it is. heee!

 

I know what escagot is, no I won't order it! :D

 

Definitely planning on doing the White Pass Rail and (in Juneau) doing the Discovery Point Nature walk. It's Ketchikan we're having trouble deciding.... Really thinking about the Orca Beach Nature Trail. (As you can tell we're very much into nature and the beauty. :) )

 

As for on board, I personally like the galley tour, but it's a more than likely a one time thing. I have a feeling we're going to be doing a lot of staring at the sights and taking pictures.

 

What days did you experience rain? Ditto on the port.

 

Thanks again..!

[CruiseIsGood]

Glacier Bay day it rained, until right as we were leaving. In Ketchikan we had some early afternoon drizzle, then it cleared up. It really does change minute to minute, so if it's not raining when you pull into port take a light rain jacket with hood anyways, and if it is raining, it may clear up.

[CruiseIsGood]

And don't get the stone massage, as BSAN posted.

[K.T.B.]

No massages this time. On our last cruise, we decided to do a couples massage. For the most part is was very nice and relaxing, but then the hard sell happens..... And we warned the 2 girls doing the massages to not try to sell us anything in the end because we would not be interested. They did and we told them that they just lost their tips because they went against what we specifically requested they not do.

 

Matter of fact, if someone was really willing to do a search, they cuold find my review of Conquest. Got "lucky" and received a free treatment in a sensory deprivation booth. Ended up having my back nearly burned because it got too hot.

 

So, no, definitely not going to do any massage treatments. ;)

 

By the way, if you ever do a cruise that takes you to Cozumel, I have the name of a GREAT massage therapist there!

[CruiseIsGood]

I looked, Kevin, couldn't find your Conquest review. I assume you enjoyed it, since you're going on Carnival again. :)

[lizzy77]

Hi there Denise. Loved your review just wish I had the time to do mine. I will try. :p

 

I was on the same cruise,( A back to back Aussie) we just had the best time and I will agree with everything Denise says (and her balcony cabin was fantastic too, thanks for sharing.)

 

The tours we did were sensational.

Juneau, Captain Larry's Whalewatching Mt Roberts tram ride (a must do.)

 

Skagway, Pilots choice Glacier Landing excellent but so short!! The whitepass railroad

 

Ketchikan, Misty Fiords Floatplane with Island Wings. The highlight of them all for us. michelle the pilot was sensational:p

[CruiseIsGood]

Liz, where's your review?? It's been over a month! :D

[Chat Noir]

Nice to read reviews like yours! Puts me a bit back in the upbeat cruise mood. I know our cruise was just a weird kind of fluke and Carnival must do right most of the time, as they have many loyal repeaters like yourself. Thanks for posting your experience:).

[CruiseIsGood]

Sym, I just cannot understand why they did such a good thing for us (extra port time 3 ports) for something that wasn't even their fault, and then they turn around and insult you with 50 bucks for missing the glaciers. It just doesn't make sense!

[Polish Falcon]

Great Review, Thanks for posting!

Q. -Please!

How much time did the ship spend @ Glacier Bay?

Thanks,

Ted

[CruiseIsGood]

I don't really remember. From morning until about 3 I think? Quite a while. Lots of time at Marjorie glacier.

[CruiseIsGood]

I didn't really find Marjorie or Glacier Bay more spectacular than College Fjord. They're both wonderful.