Just returned from Alaska

[Krazy Kruizers]

[ATTACH]272406[/ATTACH] calving on the Sawyer Glacier

 

[ATTACH]272407[/ATTACH] wouldn't have known what this was without Murray's Guide :)

 

[ATTACH]272408[/ATTACH] view from the gym on board--not too shabby to workout to!

 

[ATTACH]272409[/ATTACH] Sawyer Glacier again

 

[ATTACH]272410[/ATTACH] Chillin'

 

These photos were on my phone so easy to share :)

 

We may have the Fun Times still--is there something in particular you wanted to know? We still aren't fully unpacked, but I can look for them for you.

 

Great pictures.

[Krazy Kruizers]

and wanted to share a few quick thoughts while they are still fresh. I will try to find time to post a thorough review with photos over the next few weeks.

 

1) Bring the longest lens you have available for your camera, or consider renting one from somewhere like borrowlenses.com. I brought an 18-300mm and did not feel I had enough reach. If we ever make it out to Alaska again, I will most definitely bring at minimum a 500mm.

 

2)Ketchikan has the most sightseeing and things to do in port. If we could re-plan, I would book an itinery with a longer port time here. We booked a flightseeing tour with Island Wings--definitely a highlight of our trip. Michelle was amazing and the views can't be beat. After the tour we grabbed a bite to eat and then we had to be back on the ship---not enough time!

 

3)Skagway--if you plan to drive to the Yukon (which was honestly a great experience) Murrays guide is a MUST. Without it, we would have just drove and stopped along the way randomly, it was great to know what we were looking at and some history of the area. Note: Emerald Lake was still frozen as of last week when we were there.

 

4) Juneau--felt like any other port. Nothing really stuck out here. We went with Harv & Marv on a whale watching excursion. Capt. Shawn was extremely knowledgeable and you could tell he is a naturalist at heart. We also had the joy of having Brian on our tour as well and he was just as great. I had different expectations for this tour than what actually happened, so just know that they find a whale, watch it for at most 5 minutes and then leave to search for a new whale. They seem to prefer quantity over quality?? It was still a great experience, and we did see a few whales, but it wasn't "spectacular" if you know what I mean. Note: It was pouring in Juneau when we were there so this may be a biased review.

 

5) If your cruise ship offers you the chance to get off onto a smaller one to view the Sawyer glacier---DO IT. The glacier is gorgeous and even though there was still a lot of ice in the water, we were able to get up close to the glacier. The blues from the smaller boat that reflected were amazing and definitely could not be seen from the cruise ship. This boat also allows you to see some wildlife/marine life that you would miss from your cruise ship.

 

6) waterPROOF coat, we wouldn't have enjoyed our trip without them! Sneakers worked just fine for us, no need for hiking boots. Hat, gloves and a scarf/neck warmer were also items we used daily on our cruise. We wore long sleeves, fleece and waterproof coat with jeans every day...never removed any layers because it was frigid (40s-low 50s the entire trip and wet).

 

Thats all for now, more in the full review later.

 

Great start.

[ellbelle]

Just a word of warning: Juneau on the 4th is like Christmas day and it is all about family and community. The streets were blocked off at times (parades), some tours weren't operating or they shut down early. Just a warning! Be sure to check and don't assume.

 

Thanks for the warning! We will be there this July 4...Just noted the time and the route of the parade. Any idea how long the parade lasts? We just wanted to take the Blue Bus to Mendenhall preferably in the morning (port time 8am-6pm) but if too zoo like, may opt to do it after the parade. Thanks!

[mcat12]

Decided to just add to this existing thread. Here goes:

 

We decided to fly in to Seattle 3 days prior to our cruise to explore the city. I've never been to the west coast and my husband has only been to California for training purposes so I was excited. We stayed at The Mayflower Park Hotel. Bid on Priceline and got it for $100/night which was a good deal in my opinion.

This hotel has an excellent location. We took the light rail from the airport to the final stop, west lake station, and only had to walk up half a block and over an entire block. It cost $5.50 for the light rail as opposed to $45 for a taxi/shuttle. The hotel is located on 4th and Olive and is directly across the street from Macy's. Everything is within walking distance! The doormen, Roberto & Sebastian were honestly the best employees there. We're a couple in our early 30's and we enjoyed their humor and resourcefulness. (They were more helpful than the concierge IMO). We were able to check in early, so we dropped out bags off and headed down to Pikes Place Market.

 

This market is seriously huge! At first we thought it was just one floor, but soon realized there were ramps and stairs leading to so many different levels. It was crazy how much was in that one place, we went back 3 more times during our stay to make sure we didn't miss anything! Ha. We thought about having delicious smoked salmon and scallops shipped back to NC, but decided otherwise when we were told it would be $400 for 2 pieces (not slabs) of fish and a dozen scallops! We were shocked to say the least.

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[mcat12]

While in Seattle naturally we had Starbucks ;)

We also went to the Space Needle which was a complete tourist trap. I'm glad we did it to see the city from a different point of view, but I wouldn't go again if I was back out that way.

 

We also took a ride on the Ferris wheel, visited the aquarium and had dinner with my cousin and her husband at the Crab Pot (as seen on Man vs Food) while we were in town. The food here was pretty good--we ordered the Alaskan to share and it was delivered in a pot which your server then dumps on the table--similar to a crab boil down south. It was tender--crab legs, mussels, corn, sausage, shrimp, etc--worth the price!

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[mcat12]

After dinner we met up with another friend who happened to be in town from LA on business. We met for drinks at the purple bar and then walked to the yard house. If you appreciate beer, the yard house may be a good stop. They have like 100 beers to pick from. Not too shabby for a chain! After leaving here we decided to call it a night since we were cruising the next day and walked back to our hotel. **Side note: There are a lot of homeless people out, just be warned. They don't bother you, but if you're not used to a bigger city, it may be intimidating. (Earlier in the day we witnessed 2 street musicians fighting and one smashed a guitar--broad daylight, middle of the sidewalk--just keep moving on! ;) )

 

Arriving at the pier:

We took a shuttle from the hotel to the pier ($8/person). Tom was our driver, a Vietnam Vet who traded stories with my husband (an Iraq vet). It was a short drive from the hotel. When we arrived at the pier we didn't use the porter--mainly because nobody was there to offer assistance, they were just standing around?? Anyways, by the time one approached us, we were 10 feet from the entrance and it wasn't worth it. Security/check in went as expected. We filled everything out online prior to arrival so it was a smooth transition. The ship was able to be boarded earlier than expected, so we were on board by 1pm. Great view of the Seattle skyline from deck 10 of the Miracle.

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[mcat12]

Oh, one other place in Seattle that we stopped at (totally gross in my opinion) but HAD to go: the gum wall! And no, we did not make any additions! Haha

And my husband found this gigantic donut at the market:

it lasted the entire 3 days we were in Seattle!

at the aquarium

any bachelor fans out there? We took photos in this booth--but it doesn't accept MasterCard which is what our bank uses, thought that was odd!

$400 seafood anyone? ;)

 

Ok, back to the cruise, sorry for getting sidetracked!

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[skoeper]

Subtchr--I do not think a tripod or monopod is necessary with longer lenses as long as it has built in stabilization (VR). There were many people on our boat with 500mm simply using their "God pod" ;)

 

I have to ask! What's a God pod? :D

[mcat12]

A 'God pod' is using your body as a tripod. My professor used that phrase and it stuck with me. :)

 

 

 

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[mcat12]

Our first excursion was done through Carnival and was exploring the Tracy Arm Fjord via a smaller ship. I believe we paid around $185 each, and in my opinion it was worth it. We took the first boat of the day at 11am and that worked out in our favor. The sun was shining and the fjords were beautiful! We saw a whale about 10 minutes into our ride, which was my first whale sighting of the cruise.[ATTACH]273217[/ATTACH]

We were also able to see wildlife in their element--eagles, seals, and 2 bears. I took a pic of the bears but with the 300mm lens they just came out as black blobs :-/ I'm attaching a pic of the eagle so you can see what I mean about wanting more reach.

This was our second favorite excursion of the trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat. [ATTACH]273219[/ATTACH]

The miracle behind us about 5 minutes into our boat ride.

 

We returned to the Miracle and had lunch on the lido deck. Nothing to write home about, but my husband enjoyed his pizza. After lunch I went to the gym and he went to the casino. It was easy to workout on the ship--machines were always available even on sea days and the views were great!

 

The next port we visited was Skagway. We rented a car from Avis and were the first to pick it up. We arrived at 845am and the office opens at 9. By the time they opened there were about 5 other groups on line. They were efficient in the office and we were out headed for the highway in about 10 minutes. The drive to emerald lake and back took about 6 hours with all of our (many!) stops. It's a very scenic drive and as I said earlier Murray's guide is a must. We followed it to a T and took some great photos! As we approached the summit the fog was dense. I've never experienced anything that intense before while driving. I was definitely hanging on to the "oh sh*t handle" on the car, lol!

We walked through snow up to our knees to do this! ;)

Throughout the drive there were many pull offs for photo opportunities. Make sure you take in both sides of the road and not just the right side! We saw mountain goats, some sort of sheep (can't remember what the man told us they were), 2 bears, porcupines, etc. We also stopped at the graveyard and wouldn't have known about this without the guide. Onto Carcross. It's a small little town with a few shops. We didn't spend much time here, but did walk around and took it in. We continued on and stopped at the desert--my husband couldn't get over the idea of a desert in the Yukon! There was a tour bus here when we arrived so we waited until they left to take some photos.

After Emerald Lake we headed back into Skagway. We had lunch at a restaurant in Skagway. I can't remember the name of it but they served Mexican, Pizza and Seafood. It was at the end of an off street. We ordered calamari--HUGE MISTAKE! You would assume it would be fresh being on the coast of Alaska, however it was processed and completely disgusting! My husband had chicken wings as well and they were much better. We walked around and went into every shop since we had time, bought some souvineers for family members and took advantage of the local post office and shipped everything home. Our package arrived home before we did! :)

the White Pass Railway in Skagway

Back on board in the evening, we missed dinner in the dining room and ate on the lido. We ate from the salad bar and were content. We went to the comedy show in Mad Hatters and laughed out butts off. The comedians were good. I'd get to the early show early to guarantee yourself a seat. The shows filled fast and people were standing and being turned away. After the shows we walked up to serenity but didn't stay long, everybody was in bed and it was chilly, so we too went to sleep. A note about the serenity deck on the Miracle--it needs repairs. There are soft spots along the railing on deck which were eventually taped off by crew members. Still love the serenity deck, I spent a lot of time here while drifting along.

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[centralcalicruzer]

Just a word of warning: Juneau on the 4th is like Christmas day and it is all about family and community. The streets were blocked off at times (parades), some tours weren't operating or they shut down early. Just a warning! Be sure to check and don't assume.

 

We will be in Juneau on July 4 as well. I assume the Blue buses are still running that day? We have a super long port time, 8:00 a.m. to midnight! Hoping to do one excursion and then bus to Mendenhall Glacier.

[kristinp36]

We just returned this week from a HAL cruise.....I also did Tracy Arm & Island Wings. We had an amazing time. Review to follow soon!

[cruisingautiger]

Great info and review, can't wait to hear more. We leave on the Miracle in two weeks with three days in Seattle pre-cruise.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[mcat12]

On to Juneau. What miserable weather--it rained and rained and then rained even harder! We had scheduled a whale watching your with Harv & Marv as stated earlier. We were greeted immediately upon walking down the ramp to the dock by a young guy who was holding a sign for Harv & Marv--really easy to spot. After everyone in the group of 12 or so arrived, we were split into two groups and off we went on our shuttle bus to the pier. When we arrived we were combined with another group--pretty sure it was for safety reasons, bigger boat could handle the weather better. We were put on the "Alaskan" with captain Shaun and Brian. As I said, Shaun is a naturalist. He was full of information and could answer any questions we had. One thing I learned that has stuck with me so far is that a whales take is similar to a humans finger print--no 2 are alike! Thought that was interesting! Anyways, we saw a pair of whales that we watched for a few minutes before leaving in search of more. I personally would have liked to watch these two a little longer, but it is what it is. We did find one more whale during our excursion, no bubble feeding or orcas (although we did see an orca pod from ship later on our cruise! Overall this was a decent excursion, I would take it again if we went later in the season to Alaska, but not if we were to go in May again. We saw more whales from the cruise ship.

Brian:

Whales:

Sea lions:

An eagle at the pier:

 

We did stop at the Mendenhall glacier, but again, it was pouring and cold, so we took a photo, checked out the visitors center and took the shuttle back to the dock area. I personally felt the Sawyer Glacier was more breathtaking and radiant, but again, this may very well be weather related. On this day I would have loved full body rainwear instead of just a waterproof jacket!

One thing I did notice about Juneau was that upon driving into the city they have a flagpole for each state with their state flag--thought that was a nice touch. As though they were welcoming everyone. :)

 

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[mcat12]

Next was Ketchikan. I would have liked about 4 more hours here!! We were in port from 7am-1pm and it just wasn't enough time. We booked the first flight with Island Wings. We were picked up at the barometer (basically you go into the visitor center, walk through it and our the other end and you are where you need to be). Drove to the take off spot and were greeted by The office employees. We could bring our cameras on the seaplane, but no bags etc due to regulations. When I first sat in the plane, i almost got out. i knew it was going to be small (width), but i didn't realize how short it was going to be (height) and I freaked a little! My husband calmed me down and before I could let my nerves get the best of me, we were on our way! Michelle was awesome--knowledgeable and never made me feel unsafe. If you can, I highly suggest this excursion. Seeing Alaska from the sky is a must!! Completely new perspective! We even flew through a rainbow :)

Eddystone Rock (volcanic plug from a longggg time ago!

 

When we returned, we were dropped off at Creek Street where we rushed through the little shops and Tongass (home of the $20 jackets, ha). Grabbed a bite to eat (to go!) and headed back on the Miracle.

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[mcat12]

Our final port was Victoria, BC. The ship didn't receive clearance on time so people were waiting in line on board to debark for over an hour--not pleasant! It actually got ugly when a man called out another man for "cutting" in line. The man accused of cutting had been standing in line the entire time, he had just leaned up against the far wall instead of the inside wall, I thought they were going to start fighting--fists and all! Shortly after that drama, we received clearance--thankfully! We didn't have anything planned for this port, but upon debarking, there are the usual locals offering tours. We opted for a pedicab tour. Our guide was Eric--young guy with a lot of life! He was extremely funny an has one of those contagious laughs! He pedaled us around the city and pointed out all of the local history. I forgot my camera on ship and didn't want to deal with customs to go get it, so the only photos I have we're taken on my iPhone :-/

Emily Carr house (artist)

Capital building:

 

It was a really nice tour even if it did start raining on us half way through! Eric was prepared and provided us with heavy blankets and a waterproof blanket on top. It was an experience to just take a pedicab, but Eric was so knowledgeable and provided so much history, that we'd probably do it again! Other tourists probably had no clue about the fort or the different color pavers, the history of the bars and how they used to be banks, or the bullet found in the bookstore and the story behind it. It was really a great experience and only cost $90! :)

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[oceanlvr1016]

Do you know which pedicab company you used? We were thinking of making reservations in advance.

[Jdfireman]

Hello all for all looking for bigger lenses and other camera items that dont want to buy them Look into renting them the prices are not that bad and you will get them far away shots...

[mcat12]

Oceanlvr1016-- it was Victoria Pedicab. :)

 

And good advice about renting photo gear, try borrowlenses.com.

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)

[oceanlvr1016]

Thanks. That is the company we were planning to use. Glad to know that you enjoyed their services.

[Bucky3]

My independent tour to the Sawyer Glaciers out of Juneau was with Adventure Bound. Many ships are not in port long enough to do this excursion as it is 10 hours. You must book in advance. If you're talking about July 4th of this year, they may be already fully booked.

 

Thank you for this information, and thanks also to the poster who warned about being in Juneau on July 4th with the parade and activities going on that day.

[crusinpsychRN]

How was security at Seattle port?

[mcat12]

I honestly don't recall " security". Our luggage was taken quickly and we were in line waiting to board. We carried on 2 bottles of wine, which a girl briefly looked at and that was it.

 

Debarking all we did was show out passport, no questions asked.

 

There was more security coming on to the ship at each port in my opinion.

 

They did have the K-9 units walking around the port though.

 

 

October 2014 - Carnival Paradise - Western Caribbean

May 2013 - Carnival Miracle - Alaska

May 2012 - Carnival Sensation - Bahamas

March 2010 - Carnival Liberty - Eastern Caribbean

September 2009 - Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean

March 1988 - Disney Cruise as a child :)