Summit/Southbound Alaska Many Questions....1st time

[Whirlwind]

Hi all.

I have been wanting to go on an alaskan cruise for many, many years, I am so excited, my husband and I are going on the August 5, 2005, cruise we are staying in Room 8156CC so excited about the balcony...this is a dream come true, we are flyin into anchorage the day before and then on the 5th we are taking the train to seward..........Any suggestions for excursions, would be wonderful, also, I have no idea what to pack and what the weather would be like at that time.

 

Please help with any suggestions......thanks so much.

[wcal]

We will be on the same cruise. Go to the Roll Call board, we have a thread for this cruise. Also sign up for the connections party. Looking forward to the cruise, our first time to Alaska.

[Kiwifruit]

Hey there, recently got back from the same cruise it was fabulous and you will love it. We were in 8068 which is same deck and side of ship as your cabin. Beforehand we were a little concerned that we may be on wrong side of trip for Southbound voyage but there was no reason for concern as most of cruise was spent in inland channels rather than out at sea so there was plenty to see on both sides of ship and at Hubbard glacier (which is absolutely awesome) the Captain turned the ship around so both sides got to view it.

 

I'm glad to hear you are taking the train to Seward as that was one of the highlights. So far as the excursions are concerned, the ship offers number of organised excursions which are detailed on Celebrity website and are tailored for all budgets and levels of physical activity. We only did one organised excursion in Hoonah which was the bike ride which we enjoyed, though its an easy place to explore on foot. If you are a little more free spirited you may wish to do your own thing. In Skagway we organised a hire car before we left and had a great time driving up the White Pass to the Yukon and visited Carcross and Emerald Lake .... the whole drive was very scenic and only took couple of hours in each direction and cost only a fraction of what you pay for the ships excursions if there is two or more of you. Just remember you need a passport as you enter Canada.

 

Juneau is another good place to explore on your own as the ship docks right at bottom of main street. You can make your own way to Mendellhall glacier on the blue bus which leaves from close by the dock every 15mins ($5 each way per person) and its well worth going up on the Mt Roberts Tramway which is right by dock as the views are spectacular and if you are feeling energetic you can walk down .... but watch out for the bears ;-)

 

I'm sure you will have a wonderful trip it certainly exceeeded our expectations and the Summit is a wonderful ship

[Boo's Mom]

whirlwind....a lined raincoat should be the heaviest garment you will need. We did the southbound route on the Summit last summer.

 

We did use gloves and a hat...on the train ride in Skagway. (photographing outside the train...while it was moving. ....snow on the ground up there in the mountains)

[CaliforniaDreamin]

We were on Summit in 8142 on our May 2005 cruise. It's 7 rooms forward of 8156. We enjoyed it very much, even though next to elevator, no noise at all. Kiwifruit has good advice on shore excursions. We did the Blue Bus to Mendenhall Glacier and it was worth the money. If you are into trains and scenery, the White Pass & Yukon R.R. trip on the vintage narrow gauge in Skagway is fun, $99 per adult on ship, $89 at train station. The train sells out when 3 or 4 ships are in port at once, so booking on ship may be desirable. Also they back the train up next to ship to board. Check it out at this link.

 

http://www.wpyr.com/

[CruisingChick]

Hey there, recently got back from the same cruise

 

Kiwifruit, you didn't bring home the dailies from the cruise did you? I would love to see them. We leave in 5 days and cruise in 8.

 

Did you do a land tour before the cruise? Did they have a sailaway party from Seward at 9:00 PM? (I assume 1/2 of the pax will be eating dinner at that time and the other 1/2 at a show, so my guess would be there is no sailaway party from Seward??!)

 

Thanks.

 

Anne Maria

[Bruin Steve]

We did this cruise last July as a part of a 13-night cruisetour...

For our shore excursions, we did the following:

 

Juneau: We used Coastal Helicopters for a Helicopter Glacier Landing:

http://www.coastalhelicopters.com/t_icefield.htm

$185 per person (a lot cheaper than similar excursion through the cruise line and a longer copter ride further up the icefield)...this was the absolute highlight of our trip...Wavered on spending the money (there were four of us), but, in the, end, we were so glad we did...there is really nothing like it.

 

Skagway: We did a horseback riding/Yukon/White Pass tour through

Southeast Tours...

http://www.southeasttours.com/yukon_horseback.html

$150 per person...Excellent tour...if you like horses...My kids wanted to go horseback riding and the excursion Celebrity offered was at an inconvenient late afternoon time conflicting with the start of main seating dinner...This one was much longer as it included not only the horses, but a van tour (with 6 of us) through White Pass and into the Yukon...

 

Icy Strait Point: Here, through Celebrity, you are dealing with the native Tlingits on a selection of tours...We went Whale Watching with guide Koo Hook--who posts on Cruise Critic on the Alaska board as "Hoonah Tlingit Boy"...A larger boat, but a great all-around experience...and loads of Whales!!!

 

Ketchikan: Here we made no reservations...just wandered off the ship and found a local 3 hour bus tour for something like $20 a person...there is a small building in the parking lot near the pier than houses a visitors Center and you can find all sorts of tours...

 

Good luck...

[Boo's Mom]

Hi Anne Maria... :)

 

When we sailed on the Summit last summer...Southbound from Seward: Dinner on the very first night was open seating. Something like 6 - 9pm. They did this...because they didn't sail until 9pm..and there were people still boarding the ship at 7 - 8pm.

[CruisingChick]

Thanks Boo's Mom. I don't really like open seating. The service tends to suffer. Oh well, we will have to make the best of it.

 

I really hope we get to the ship by 5:00 PM the latest. Our tour that days says it's a 7-8 trip from Talkeetna to Seward (we stop for lunch and shopping on our own in Anchorage). Don't know what time they have us leave, but in my book the earlier the better.

 

Anne Maria

[badger71]

hi whirlwind please sing up for the cruise critics party we are very close to the 25 needed this will be our first alaska trip we are doing 5 days on land starting in fairbanks and then onto the ship we are on the port side on deck 8 don't have the exact room number with me:)

[Whirlwind]

I have signed up for the party, hopefully we meet our quota...

[flashdog_1]

When you say open seating, you just go in any old time between those hours? We will have been travelling since 4 a.m. central time (1 a.m. Alaska time), so we're going to be really tired. We also will not have been fed unless we buy a sandwich on the first leg (breakfast) and second leg (lunch) of Northwest Airlines. It will be our stomachs' meal time when we get to Anchorage, and no chance to eat there...just jump on the bus after collecting luggage. I was thinking we might run up to the aqua spa or have room service. Did you notice if the menu was posted outside the dining room deck 4 starboard? If so, we could order from it.

 

Right now it's 62 degrees in Skagway and 72 in Vancouver, and inbetween for the other Summit ports

[Boo's Mom]

flahsdog 1 ....... I don't think you can do roomservice until the ship is sailing.

 

For a 9 pm departure...we were on the ship at 11:00. Or thereabouts.

 

There was, of course...the buffet lunch waiting for us.

 

Yeah, it's a really long travel to get to Anchorage. Alaska Airlines....upgraded us to first class..for only $100. per person. A great deal. It was a really, really long day. Thankfully, we were in comfortable seats for a lot of it.

 

BAck to your question: Yes. You can go in anytime during those hours.

[Boo's Mom]

OK. Hold the press... :o

 

I'm thinking.....and perhaps the open seating was done this way:

 

They had open seating for "early seating": come anytime between 6 - 7:30.

 

And for late seating: come anytime between 8 - 9:30

 

I'm not sure how it was done...I just know that it was open.

 

Is this as clear as mud? :confused: Sorry. :)

[Boo's Mom]

and so, there was not a start/finish time. The hours were just to manage the flow of people.

 

OK. There. Now I am done.

[flashdog_1]

Thanks you guys. Should I assume the buffet will be closed at that hour like the rest of the trip (except for reserved casual dining)?

 

We have late seating, but who would stop me if we got on the ship and went straight to the first seating because of our dire need?

[Boo's Mom]

I bet the buffet will be open during the "dinner" hours. As it normally is.

 

I don't think they ever checked to see what "seating" we were in...so you could probably eat during the early seating "open seating".

[medcoder]

Hi, All, have enjoyed reading your posts. I wondered if anyone else has done this cruise before. We have never sailed on Celebrity before but have sailed about 10 cruises in the past. Loved Alaska so thought this cruise would be wonderful. We will be in cabin 6122 has anyone been in that cabin? Let us know what the Sky Suites are like, am really looking forward to the cruise! We live in Naples, FL so this is a long way from home. Thanks for any info.

Carla & Jim

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Did the southbound Alaska/Westcoast 9/6/2003 on the Summit. Was in 7184 which at that time was a Premium Balcony cabin and is now a Concierge Class (CC) cabin. Really enjoyed the cruise even though we had been to all the Alaska ports before. There is always something to do or see that you haven't done before. The west coast ports are interesting also. Victoria - Great harbor scenery, The Empress Hotel, Parliament Building, Buchart Garden; Seattle - Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Boeing Aircraft Factory; San Francisco - Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz Island, naval ship and sub museums; Catalina Island - Beautiful harbor, Casino Building, glass bottom boat, semi-submersible sub; San Diego - Gaslamp Quarter, Balboa Park, Sea World, Seaport Village, Coronado, Mission Bay, ship museums at pier.

 

Here are some links that may be helpful.

 

www.wpyr.com www.ketchikan.com www.juneau.com www.skagway.com

 

www.catalinaisland.com

[Whirlwind]

WE are in room cc 8156...any one???anyone from pittsburgh...aug 5?

[25in99]

Hi Whirlwind:

We were on the Summit in 8129 CC in May 2005, Southbound from Anchorage-great cabin, great cabin steward and service.

As for excursions, I would highly recommend Capt. Larry's Whale Watch tour in Juneau (you have to book it directly, though, not through Celebrity- go to alaskawhalewatching.com).The naturalist from the Summit came on the boat with with us and enthusiastically described all the things we saw-deer, sea otter, whales, eagles. And since the boat only holds about 23 people, you get a better view and he can move around more quickly. They provided binoculars and even gave us salmon and crackers for snacks.

In Skagway, we took the White Pass Scenic Rail trip in the morning and then the Valley of the Glaciers Helicopter tour (booked through Celebrity) which was fabulous and well worth the expense. Dress warmly for that.

 

I would also like to give a plug for Island Wings in Ketchikan. We had independently booked with them to do a floatplane tour because of all that I had read about them on this board. Then the day before our cruise we found out that Celebrity had to shorten our cruise by a day for unscheduled repairs and we would not be going to Ketchikan. I called the office of Island Wings and left a message advising them that we would not be making our tour and wondering if our deposit ($100 pp) would be refunded. Since it was not their fault that our trip was cancelled, I wasn't sure what their policy would be.

When we returned home, there was a message from Jared, the office manager, letting us know that we would receive a full refund of our deposit and when I checked my credit card account online, sure enough, it was already posted. I was very impressed with how they handled the situation and if I ever get the chance to go back, will definitely bring my business to them. Wish Celebrity had been so accomodating with how they handled things- they don't think they even owe us a refund for the lost day.

Have a wonderful trip. Alaska is beautiful and unless you plan to go back soon, don't skimp on the excursions anymore than you have to. My friend did and she was sorry.

 

Linda

[flashdog_1]

I bet the buffet will be open during the "dinner" hours. As it normally is.

 

I don't think they ever checked to see what "seating" we were in...so you could probably eat during the early seating "open seating".

 

The buffet is usually closed at night, only open for casual dining (by reservation) and that's the venue I don't know about (If it will be available before we've sailed). Does any one know? Maybe th Aqua Spa cafe will still be open. Shoot, I just don't know, never having been on a cruise that departed at 9 p.m. Maybe the dining room is the only thing open on the first night before sailing. I just know we'll be hungry!

[badger71]

hi medcoder we are travelling from boston so also a long way still working on trying to change flights to avoid overnights have you booked the cruise critics party yet? we are at 21 and need 25:)

[carol&jeff]

We'll be on the Summit in Sept from Seward to Vancouver and wondering about the following:

 

1. What time can you actually board? The cruiseline says the official time is 2:00pm - but will they board earlier?

 

2. Planned on taking the train on our own from Anchorage to Seward - is it feasible? Understand the train station is about a mile from the port and little taxi service. Carrrying all the luggage that far could be challenging.

 

3. Is there a fee for eating at the Aqua Spa?

[flashdog_1]

No charge for food in the Aqua Spa! There are some beverages you can select that you pay for, however. I didn't order anything that wasn't free. It's the only place on the ship where you can get papaya for breakfast, too.

i like to go there early in the a.m. and walk from starboard to port to see the view from both sides, sit down with my decaf coffee, maybe jump in the T pool or hot tub if they have them cleaned and warmed up at that hour. Plenty of big yellow towels, and a free sauna in the dressing room.

 

i just don't know if they are open the night we board. Does anyone know?