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gottagoacruzn

By gottagoacruzn,
in Alaska

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gottagoacruzn

gottagoacruzn

Posted
Posted

Now mind you, not that I'm in any hurry to read the reviews on your recent cruises to Alaska,:rolleyes: but come on guys, lets get with it, I realize some of you are on or still on vacation, and tired, but that's no excuse!!!:eek: Just jokin, ya know. Don't take me seriously, don't wish to make nobody mad.

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sherryf

sherryf

Posted
Posted

LOL! I totally know how you feel. We ought to warn people when they come here asking about taking May cruises, that they will get bombarded with questions when they get back because they are the first ones of the season to go!

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saxgirl84

saxgirl84

Posted
Posted

I have just over 2 weeks until we leave for our 12 day cruisetour. We had a group meeting at our church last night to get all the paperwork and I am now SUPER excited. I'm thinking of taking my laptop so I can sort my thousands of pictures and also start a review and keep it up daily (although I won't be posting until I get home, just too much beauty to experience to be waiting for Internet). I figure we have an 8 hour train ride I can get a bit of the details knocked out in between taking a few thousand more pics :-)

 

Hopefully that will help getting my review/trip report up in a fairly reasonable time..

 

Ok, now back to packing/ whittling down my clothes so they all fit in my suitcase and checking for new reviews!

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gottagoacruzn

gottagoacruzn

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
Just got home on Sunday and am planning on starting my review of the Radiance this weekend!

 

Hi, now that's what I'm talkin about, somebody gonna get the ball rollin!:) Thanks, will be on the Radiance in Sept.

Edited by gottagoacruzn
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mapleleaves

mapleleaves

Posted
Posted
Hi, now that's what I'm talkin about, somebody gonna get the ball rollin!:) Thanks, will be on the Radiance in Sept.

 

Since you're not cruising until Sept, perhaps you could compile the 2015 Trip Report list ...... you'll be reading every report anyway.

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sotiris

sotiris

Posted
Posted

Just home late last night after 10 day land tour of Alaska and the Yukon followed by a 4 day cruise from Skagway to Vancouver. Coping with time change, groceries and laundry. Will try to get something together later this week but feel free to ask questions. In a nutshell it was FABULOUS!!!!!!!😃😃😃

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poolwife

poolwife

Posted
Posted

Here is the review I posted on the Celebrity site. It has turned up under "reviews" yet.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions. We really enjoyed our 10 night Round trip Vancouver cruise on the Millennium. It was May 12 to May 22 out of Vancouver. My husband and I are 64 and this was our 6th time to Alaska. This is a review without pictures. If I wait to insert the pictures it might get done next year. I love going to Alaska for the gorgeous scenery.

 

This was our first time in Aqua class and we were in Aqua Class, Cabin 1117 on deck 11. We very much enjoyed the location of the deck 11 Aqua class cabins. There was absolutely no sewage smell at any time like previous posters have mentioned regarding the deck 9 Aqua class cabins. I would only choose Aqua class again if the price was right being not a whole lot more than a regular balcony. But I did love the larger roomy shower in our cabin. Loved the shower head.

 

My husband and I have been on many cruises and this was our sixth time to Alaska. Our fifth cruise to Alaska. One of the times was an independent driving trip of mostly the Kenai Peninsula. I particularly love going to Alaska for the awe-inspiringly beautiful scenery.

 

This 10 night round trip Vancouver trip went to Sitka, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord and Victoria.

 

Blu - We enjoyed eating in Blu for its ambiance and being a quieter experience than the MDR. We had no problem with availability in Blu like a previous poster wrote. We did eat dinner every night on the ship. Blu opened at 5:45 and we would get there between 5:30 to 6:00 pm so our party of 4 had the best chances of getting a window table. We preferred eating dinner earlier so not going to bed so full. We are also older (in our 60's) and did not party till all hours. The maitre 'd and the hostess in Blu were very delightful and extremely helpful in all ways and helpful too in helping us with customizing our meals.

 

Our waiter, Elias and assistant waiter, Yashmanee, were excellent. One night we didn't eat in Blu because we preferred the menu in the main dining room. The menus are not the same. Our service in Select dining was also very good. Blu is supposed to be a more healthy dining venue but we missed some of the items presented in the main dining room that is why we also ate there. Prime Rib was not offered in Blu but was in the MDR. It is quieter eating in Blu than the hustle bustle of the MDR but the food for dinner is really no big deal better than the MDR.

 

For breakfast - Blu makes the absolute best tableside made Mueslix. Yes, they have it in the buffet but it doesn't compare. We liked eating in Blu a lot but you did have to remember it is an eating "experience" so it does take longer than having breakfast in the buffet. So you needed to plan accordingly if you were short on time. They really strive to please in Blu.

 

I kept wanting to go back to Bistro on Five for their delicious crepes but never got there. They did raise the price to $10.00 per person but we looked at the menu and that included anything and everything you wanted on the menu.

 

Alot of previous posters complained about the appearance of the ship. We didn't find any problems. Our cabin was always well maintained and clean and same with public areas.

 

We really enjoyed using the therapy pool and jacuzzis in the solarium which was an inside area. The pool was always warm although the spas were sometime too hot for use or not warm enough. Was a nice place to relax in the later afternoon after a busy port day or even a sea day. Being in Aqua class we had access to the Persian garden but never got there.

 

I thought this was a great itinerary with it being a 10 night cruise and I wish that length was offered more often. One thing that would be nice to be improved is going to Hubbard glacier instead of Tracy Arm fjord. The fjord was beautiful and I enjoyed going since in 5 previous trips to Alaska we had not gone there, however, it was very disappointing to not make it all the way to the Sawyer glaciers. They claimed there was too much of an ice flow so they turned around. However, at the point the ship turned around the ice didn't look any worse than what we had already gone through. I spoke to quite a few people that said this was their first time to Alaska and I felt bad for them since they did not get to any of the big glaciers on this cruise. The ship turned around and we did not even get to see the glaciers from a distance. Sometimes I don't think people really study the itineraries of their cruise. Being it was their first time to Alaska and they wanted to see glaciers, why didn't they pick a cruise that took in one of the big glaciers. Strange!

 

If I am ever able to talk my husband into going back to Alaska again, we will try to take the small boat excursion to the Sawyer glaciers in Tracy Arm fjord out of Juneau. I have read many outstanding reviews of that trip here on cruise critic. He prefers warmer cruises and I prefer Alaska for the scenery. There is always gorgeous scenery to be seen while cruising Alaska where cruising the Caribbean is a lot of open ocean to see while cruising. T

 

The entertainment on the ship was excellent. Really good comedian (and I don't usually care much for the comedians but this guy actually made me laugh), super excellent singer in Lou Gazzarra, Amy Lee (which was an amazing violinist. I thought I would be bored with a violinist but I wasn't as she was a real performer and was excellent. Also another comedian/juggler was real good. The ship's singers and dancers put on a couple of shows that were good. They were typical. Dancers were excellent. The singers were just ok.

 

Overall, it was a very nice cruise. Especially liked that Sitka was included as one of the ports as very few ships go there which I don't understand. In fact, the port of Sitka is one of the main reasons I booked this cruise besides that it was a 10 night cruise which is definitely better than the shorter 7 night cruises and yet not as long as a back to back. A 10 night that included Hubbard glacier and Sitka would be great. We had not been to Sitka since our first Alaska cruise in 2001 and it is just a gorgeous port. Was not quite as impressive this time though to sail into as they had us actually dock at a newer dock. Last time in 2001 we were on another cruise line and they tendered. We were in a different location right outside of the town of Sitka. Much more impressive than where we docked this time.

 

We saw more wildlife on this cruise right from the cruise ship than any of our previous Alaska cruises. We saw many whales, dolphins and porpoises. Also saw many of those cute little otters on an excursion out of Sitka called the Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest. Didn't expect to see puffins as far south as Ketchikan, but we saw some scurrying across the water as we were leaving the port.

 

We traveled to Vancouver 3 days before the cruise. I used air miles through American Airlines and for the first time was booked through American Eagle. I knew it was a smaller plane but thought I would try it once. Usually we had always used Alaska Airlines. Did not enjoy that plane or their policy of making you feel uncomfortable by announcing twice when leaving Vancouver enroute to Los Angeles that "if anyone wants to get off the plane to please do so now". I fly numerous times a year but still don't like it at all and that definitely does not make a person comfortable with flying on their plane. Won't fly on them again. Will pay for a flight before I use air miles for this airline again. The plane also made a lot of weird noises.

 

That being said we enjoyed our pre-cruise independent touring of Vancouver and Victoria. Our group of 4 rented a car and took the ferry over to Vancouver Island on Sunday, May 10. Was a beautiful ride over there to Vancouver Island as the ferry sails by many small islands. We took our time touring Butchart Gardens Even though the cruise stopped in Victoria we didn't want to rush through the gardens which were gorgeous and wanted to have a slower paced day the day the cruise stopped in Victoria. Monday, May 11, we just toured around Vancouver.

 

When our cruise stopped in Victoria we enjoyed taking a pedi-cab tour for about 3 hours which toured us around the downtown area, residential area and Beacon Hill Park. Was fun once but wouldn't do it again as it is quite pricey. Beacon Hill Park is so pretty with Canadian geese, eagles and just a relaxing, pretty place. Went to Fisherman's wharf and saw the little houseboat town. Cute and quaint.

 

Embarkation went very smoothly because we are US citizens, however, I heard that those from the UK and other places had a 4 hour wait trying to get on the ship. Poor people.

 

Debarkation went smoothly. We also stayed an extra 2 nights in Vancouver at the Blue Horizon hotel on Robson St. I highly recommend it. Ask for a room above floor 20 so you have a nice view of English bay. But you have to have the rooms with 2 queen beds to get the good views. The location is excellent.

 

We went to the Capilano Suspension bridge. Not good for those who have a fear of heights but a beautiful place.

 

Our weather on this trip was absolutely remarkable. It was warm and no rain the whole cruise and only a little drizzle post cruise in Vancouver. Did not need all the warmer clothes and rain wear we brought. Only wore my gore-tex wind breaker to protect from the chill of the breeze but didn’t even need my fleece I brought to wear under it or my pull over sweaters. But, I guess, it is always good to be prepared. I brought rain pants which were not needed either, but one never knows what the weather is going to be in Alaska so at least I was prepared.

 

I would definitely take this ship and this cruise again.

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poolwife

poolwife

Posted
Posted

Skagway - I forgot to mention that Skagway has one of the most beautiful sailaways. Do not be fooling around on the ship and miss it. Sailing out of Skagway and up the Lynn Canal is not one to be missed. Just gorgeous.

Put your jacket on and go up on deck and look forward. Don't just observe from your balcony on the side of the ship.

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sotiris

sotiris

Posted
Posted
Just home late last night after 10 day land tour of Alaska and the Yukon followed by a 4 day cruise from Skagway to Vancouver. Coping with time change, groceries and laundry. Will try to get something together later this week but feel free to ask questions. In a nutshell it was FABULOUS!!!!!!!😃😃😃

 

My review is now posted in 2 parts. The first deals with the land tour, "From Anchorage to Skagway" and the second part is listed under "Review of HAL Cruise from Skagway to Vancouver".

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2216641

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2217184

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Miss Dot

Miss Dot

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Posted
Is it bad that I already started writing my review and I don't begin until Wednesday?

 

Hope your having a great trip. My friends are there on the Jewel & having good weather. Hope we are as lucky starting the 11th

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Miss Dot

Miss Dot

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Posted
My review is now posted in 2 parts. The first deals with the land tour, "From Anchorage to Skagway" and the second part is listed under "Review of HAL Cruise from Skagway to Vancouver".

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2216641

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2217184

 

Thank you for taking the time to post these reviews

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Oregonpoppa

Oregonpoppa

Posted
Posted

We had a great time on our Alaska roundtrip cruise aboard the Westerdam May 23-30. For all the details, however, you'll all have to be patient. Am finishing up on the photos being demanded by friends and relatives, household chores (the fridge was empty) and honey-do's.

Previously, I was a press officer on a 10-day P&O transpacific trip aboard the Canberra in the 1960s (they weren't called cruises in those days and the Canberra wound up being used as a troop ship in the Falklands war) and a couple of 3-day party cruises on Western Lines from L.A. to Ensenada in the 80s. So, my perspective might be a bit different than those of such experienced modern age cruisers that I see on this forum.

I'll try and get my report done soon.

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alaska_planner

alaska_planner

Posted
Posted (edited)
Just got home on Sunday and am planning on starting my review of the Radiance this weekend!

 

looking forward to it!!

we'll be on the Radiance at the end of July.

 

while you're preparing your review, how about a preview?

overall, how was the cruise? amazing? fantastic? life-changing? fun? just bearable?

Edited by alaska_planner
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