Alaska+Millennium=Memories to Treasure (with Lots of Pics)

[sky61]

Even though we were sailing at 4pm I was glad we had plenty of time for walking around after the train ride. We booked the early train (good grief...I want to say it was around 9:30 and even attempted to look it up on the Celebrity website so I wouldn't shame myself with my abysmal recall but I do know there were two options and when we got back there was a big line formed for the next crowd). Some people had me worried that there may be fog on the earlier run but we had beautiful clear skies so we lucked out.

 

When we got back we all stopped at the train station (bet you're shocked at that) which also had a really cute gift shop. I bought my Dad a Christmas gift (a metal sign for his train room) and some cool postcards. Sorry about saying "cool" so often...but if the shoe fits...

 

 

[sky61]

Okay now people, I happen to live in this quaint, charming New England community but Skagway charmed my socks off! Isn't it the best?

 

 

 

 

[midwestchick]

I love reading trip reports. Thank you for sharing. I'm totally loving all of your pictures and definitely looking forward to more.

I too am very late at posting my last cruise. Posting the photos has totally hindered my report....are you using a hosting site? I tried photobucket but it takes forever to upload pictures.

I too am happy you did this with your parents. I so wish my parents were still here to share a wonderful vacation with.

[sky61]

So my folks wandered close to the train station to look at the plow train and check out the shops in the area. DH and I took a bit of a longer stroll down the road, but everything was pretty compact. It was an easy walk to the edge of the main shopping area. We popped into a few stores and wandered around a couple of side streets, just drinking in the beauty of being surrounded by mountains and loving that sweet town. The train shop and downtown area are within easy walking distance of the ship but there is a trolley available and other transportation if you have issues with walking.

 

We headed back to the ship, looking forward to another formal night.

 

 

 

[Robbar]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.. Lovely prose and pictures though I think you made it sound like your Dad and Mum could barely move.

They look quite healthy and with it :)

 

Regardless , nice to have done a family trip together , I too enjoy trains and such and yes next time in Vancouver take the summer evening supper train to Whistler or such ..

 

We live on Vancouver Island so we get a lot of the Alaska ship in port each year. check my blog out

We were on the Infinity back in August 2001,

one of the same four style ships built for Celebrity that time, course yours was renovated though the style seems the same.

 

Here we are in Hubbard Glacier , great time to buy a Hot Chocolate :)

 

We started cruising in 2001 once our children were starting University and such.

Cheers / Rob

Edited March 13, 2015 by Robbar
pics adjust

[sky61]

I love reading trip reports. Thank you for sharing. I'm totally loving all of your pictures and definitely looking forward to more.

I too am very late at posting my last cruise. Posting the photos has totally hindered my report....are you using a hosting site? I tried photobucket but it takes forever to upload pictures.

I too am happy you did this with your parents. I so wish my parents were still here to share a wonderful vacation with.

 

Hi! I am using Photobucket. This week I ended up splurging for the 29.99 yearly fee and noticed an instant difference (plus no ads). But when I uploaded the first batch of pics I think it took a load of wash and folding for them to completely load. I'm a fast folder so I'd say it was about an hour...

 

I'm sorry you aren't able to share a vacation with your parents. I bet it feels like they are right with you sometimes. Peace and prayers to you.

[sky61]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.. Lovely prose and pictures though I think you made it sound like your Dad and Mum could barely move.

They look quite healthy and with it :)

 

Regardless , nice to have done a family trip together , I too enjoy trains and such and yes next time in Vancouver take the summer evening supper train to Whistler or such ..

 

We live on Vancouver Island so we get a lot of the Alaska ship in port each year. check my blog out

We were on the Infinity back in August 2001,

one of the same four style ships built for Celebrity that time, course yours was renovated though the style seems the same.

 

Here we are in Hubbard Glacier , great time to buy a Hot Chocolate :)

 

We started cruising in 2001 once our children were starting University and such.

Cheers / Rob

 

Hello! Thanks for the picture reply! I wish I didn't make them sound so helpless. They are totally with it and can get around decently but Mom has some medical issues which prevent her from moving around easily although some days are better than others. Dad has knee issues that have gotten pretty bad but he's so tough he doesn't complain so we just have to be aware of pushing it because he'll end up really hurting.

 

I guess you already read that I fell in love with Vancouver. What a city! And yes, we want to go back and go to Whistler and the Botanical Gardens and all of the other things Vancouver has to offer. I look forward to reading your blog!

[JimAOk1945]

What a wonderful review! Your pictures are awesome. I especially enjoy your unique writing style.

 

We have been on two Alaska cruises. The first was on the Star Princess round trip from Seattle. The second was southbound from Seward to Vancouver on the Radiance of the Seas.

 

We haven't cruised on Celebrity, but after reading your review, it sounds like something we might try in the future.

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review!

[midwestchick]

Hi! I am using Photobucket. This week I ended up splurging for the 29.99 yearly fee and noticed an instant difference (plus no ads). But when I uploaded the first batch of pics I think it took a load of wash and folding for them to completely load. I'm a fast folder so I'd say it was about an hour...

 

I'm sorry you aren't able to share a vacation with your parents. I bet it feels like they are right with you sometimes. Peace and prayers to you.

 

I will look at photbucket premium but I know others who have stated they upload directly from their pictures on their computer...not sure how they do it. :confused:

Yes, I'm sure my parents are with us, and I told my DH I was sure his Dad was sitting on his shoulder when we were in the village in Sicily where his (DH) Grandparents were born. Thank you for your kind words.

Looking forward to our NE/Canada cruise.....and indulging on a lot of lobstah! :D

[Robbar]

It is the ship stairs that can cause knee problems to be worse though if one takes it easy it is fine

We did a cruise out of Boston on HA to Montreal in2006 when my daughter was in specialist year

Loved that city and we will be on the QM2 when it docks in July again

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sky61]

midwestchick: I'm not sure how they do it, either. The first photo posting was so traumatic that I got a little bout of anxiety when I had trouble posting here at first. Had to go look up directions all over again. I guess it's good that I need to do things over and over before "getting it." Keeps things fresh (insert 'groan' here).

 

If you can figure out a better, free way do it! I was impatient. Promised myself this would only be a one time one year thing. There's a promise that's on shaky ground already.

 

So glad you are coming to NE. Have you been here before? Lobster is a favorite of mine in the summer. Nothing like a little mayo, celery and lobster on a grilled buttered roll. Classic.

Edited March 13, 2015 by sky61

[K.T.B.]

Enjoying the pictures and the review!

[sky61]

What a wonderful review! Your pictures are awesome. I especially enjoy your unique writing style.

 

We have been on two Alaska cruises. The first was on the Star Princess round trip from Seattle. The second was southbound from Seward to Vancouver on the Radiance of the Seas.

 

We haven't cruised on Celebrity, but after reading your review, it sounds like something we might try in the future.

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

 

Thanks for the compliment about my writing. I try to write how I talk but that's easier said than done and It's probably good that my fierce accent isn't coming out. I guess I could type and pretend the letter "r" doesn't exist ha!

 

And thank-you, also, for your service. I looked up your unit and it has quite a history.

 

You have a nice line-up of cruises under your name! I love that you've been to Alaska twice already. When we were first thinking of this trip I said, "It's a once in a lifetime kind of thing." But the more research I did the more I realized we would want to go back and then our experience confirmed our feeling.

 

I like that there are so many options with cruising, and also like the freedom of not feeling like we have to go with a certain line or to a certain place. With this trip we especially wanted to do this route to see Icy Strait Point and go Vancouver to Seward. We also love Blu and Aqua Class. That's why we picked Celebrity. Someone else might make the decision to do an inside cabin not Aqua but spend the money on Flightseeing or some other neat excursion. We hope to do some of those kinds of things in the future (gotta stay in shape so I can get more vacations squeezed in :o).

[sky61]

Enjoying the pictures and the review!

 

Thanks Kevin! I'm glad you get to spend a whole year planning and looking forward to your anniversary cruise. That's gonna be very special. We have a cruise coming up in April and every time I shoveled this winter (yup...that was a lot), every slip on ice, every day I leaned in the window like a cat looking for the dull January sun to warm me...I dreamed about tropical wind and warm turquoise water and snorkeling and the smell of...here it comes...Sunscreen!! Yes! Got me through a rough winter ha!

[h20cruzer]

I took this same cruise in 2013, it was great. Love your pictures made me feel like I was right back there!!! Made me go back and review all my pics again. Ah what memories. I have been to Alaska 8-10 time and never tire of the scenery. Might have to look at September for another one.

I took the northbound route, and loved the train ride from Whittier to Anchorage.

Norma

[sky61]

That night I took a photo of the screen of our tv. So glad I have this picture that reminds me about what time sunset was.

 

[sky61]

Hubbard Glacier was looking to be another highlight and we knew we wanted to get out to the helipad so we ordered room service to bring us an early coffee and muffin. I happen to be a ginormous fan of "pregaming" my breakfast (I'm talking coffee before the coffee people) and love room service so as usual brought a stack of ones for tips. Told Mumsie to do the same. We ended up hardly ordering this way because with the Oceanview Cafe one floor down it was just so easy to grab whatevs.).

 

DH and I set our alarm early and the parental units said they would meet us later. We wanted to get a good spot by the rail of the helipad. So we were waiting with about ten others at 6:30am in the lobby near theater on Deck 5. There were crew members telling us where to wait. Soon they let us outside (had to climb a tiny ladder-like stairway but crew were there to lend a hand) and we scored a great spot for viewing next to the railing.

 

It was very chilly here. This was definitely the coldest spot of our trip. Glad I had a hat, fleece, scarf and gloves with me. After a while crew members began passing around blankets, which was a nice touch. Plenty of room there and soon more people were joining the group.

 

There are also great spots in the Cosmos Lounge for those who don't want to go outside and want a 360 degree view. I'm sure you would have to get there early to get a comfy seat.

 

 

 

[sky61]

It was super windy but I was just so thrilled to be so close to the action and feeling the cold air made me feel like I was feeling history. So I stayed on the helipad the whole time. My parents came up for a little bit, but they found other great spots by walking around the ship and they got some awesome views and photos, too. I couldn't hear the loudspeaker so great so that would seem to be a disadvantage being out here but Dirk Y., the shipboard naturalist, was right out there with us after a while so he really added a whole other element to the experience.

 

 

Here's a chunk of ice that may have formed when da Vinci was alive. How cool is that?

 

 

[sky61]

Of course I am a big fan of not being greedy with a spot so when others came up DH and I took turns letting people in to enjoy a railing edge view and get some photos. You know...I have found in general that cruisers are thoughtful and many times on my few cruises others have shared space, chairs, information, and more that helped me to have a better cruise experience.

 

Now...if only traffic and driving was the same. Sigh.

 

 

 

[sky61]

Okay just a few of more shots of Hubbard Glacier coming your way.

 

 

 

[sky61]

Whoops. Good grief. Just looked back to beginning of this review and realized I made a mistake when I posted Cabin numbers. We were in Cabins 1138 and 1141. 1140 is in-between. Our cabins both had angled balconies, which we wanted so we could get a better view of what was happening on the side. Sorry for the brain freeze.

Edited March 14, 2015 by sky61
Spelling.

[sky61]

I took this same cruise in 2013, it was great. Love your pictures made me feel like I was right back there!!! Made me go back and review all my pics again. Ah what memories. I have been to Alaska 8-10 time and never tire of the scenery. Might have to look at September for another one.

I took the northbound route, and loved the train ride from Whittier to Anchorage.

Norma

 

Thanks Norma! Reading your note gave me hope that I will return. Glad I could help bring back some of those wonderful memories.

[sky61]

And here are a couple of balcony shots (Cabin 1141) randomly thrown in just to mix things up a bit.

 

 

[shipshape sam]

Great pics! We loved our 2 cruises to Alaska and hope to go again! We really loved doing a land portion too.

 

Enjoying seeing view from Aqua Class aft balconies. We loved M class ships before all the changes. Hope to sail M class next year and see changes.

 

Thanks for taking time to post.

Edited March 14, 2015 by shipshape sam

[JulieMcCoy71]

Thank you for your fun and very well written review! Great pictures!!