Cruising Newbie with Alaska Summit questions

[wa.mama]

Hello,

 

Great discussion board - I've learned a lot already!. We're cruising for the first time on the Summit 5/27/06 southbound. Questions are:

 

1) what is the difference between taking the railroad through Celebrity or thru Alaska Rail? I've noted two different prices and two different departure times (6:45a and 11a) Pros and Cons of each? We're arriving in Anchorage the night before and will be at a hotel that has complimentary airport and railway shuttle.

 

2) what kinds of things are included in the cruise cost? From what I can tell, there is an extra cost for drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), specialty restaurants, spa, persian gardens....anything else? I don't like financial surprises! Do you recommend the soda card?

 

3) has anyone tried "pre-tipping" on day one? The staff are going to get a tip anyway, so is service better if they get it in advance, with the possibility of extra at the end?

 

4) recommended excursions for adventurous family? We have 3 kids, 6, 11, and 12.

 

Thanks for everyone's info - this board has been a source of great ideas.

[Bruin Steve]

We did a 13 night Summit Southbound Cruisetour in July 2004 with our daughters, then 18 and 20...

 

1) what is the difference between taking the railroad through Celebrity or thru Alaska Rail? I've noted two different prices and two different departure times (6:45a and 11a) Pros and Cons of each? We're arriving in Anchorage the night before and will be at a hotel that has complimentary airport and railway shuttle.

Since we only did the cruisetour package with Celebrity, I can't really answer this one...The RR is the RR, but Celebrity/Royal Caribbean has its own dedicated cars which are really nice...

 

2) what kinds of things are included in the cruise cost? From what I can tell, there is an extra cost for drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), specialty restaurants, spa, persian gardens....anything else? I don't like financial surprises! Do you recommend the soda card?

Some non-alcoholic drinks ARE included...You can get free Iced Tea, Lemonade and Fruit Punch as well as juices, coffee, milk and tea (and pouches of hot cocoa) at the buffet...and Iced Tea, tea, coffee, juices, etc. are available and included at meals in the dining room...Only alcoholic drinks and sodas are extra...I switch to iced tea mode during cruises...Soda cards are worthwhile if you drink enough soda to warrant it...Some folks use it as "insurance" on their kids' soda purchases...Obviously, other extra charges are: Purchases at the gift shops and boutiques, prints of photos from the ship's photographers, casino gambling and bingo, art auctions, shore excursions...and, of course, tips...

 

3) has anyone tried "pre-tipping" on day one? The staff are going to get a tip anyway, so is service better if they get it in advance, with the possibility of extra at the end?

The service is great no matter what...I've heard of people pre-tipping, but I can't really see the point...Nowadays, I usually fill out the form for the tips to be added to my bill...and, I'll hand out extra at the end of the cruise or if and when appropriate...But, I don't think anything I could have done would ever have gotten me any better service...

 

4) recommended excursions for adventurous family? We have 3 kids, 6, 11, and 12.

Shore Excursions in Alaska get QUITE EXPENSIVE--especially with a family...

 

Our favorite...and our daughters' favorite on this one was our Helicopter landing on a Glacier while in Juneau...It is quite expensive of course...We saved a little doing it with "Coastal Helicopter" rather than through the ship...They were great--and, after comparing notes, we found our trip to be longer and further up the icefield than the ship's offering...It cost us $180 per person with no discount for kids...but, I see it's gone up to $192...so, it does get quite costly...But, WOW!!!! This was just one awesome experience...

 

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

 

At least one of my daughters also liked Whale Watching...We opted to do it while in Icy Strait Point...so, it was on a larger, more crowded ship...but we did get to see an extremely large number of whales...

 

The other one we did that the kids chose was horseback riding while in Skagway...Again, rather than book what was offered through the ship (very short, local in the Skagway area and at an inconvenient time since we had early seating dinner), we booked a trip through Southeast Tours/Yukon Horses:

 

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

 

A much more extensive trip that included a tour up to Emerald Lake in the Yukon and then horseback riding up there...

 

Hope this helps...Good luck...

[rjg41]

The answers above are right on. Only thing to add is we suggest Orca Enterprises in Juneau for whale watching. They must be booked directly at http://www.orcaenterprises.com. Their office is right at the pier and you are bussed a short distance to the boats. Boats are small which allows for easy viewing as opposed to the "cattle car" boats that the cruise lines book. Ask to be on Captain Larry's boat. He and his wife own the operation and Larry is extremely knowledgable. You will note he takes pictures of the tail of whales for the marine research people. Each whale's tail fin is unique and is like a fingerprint and this information helps track the whales' movements.

[SEPyle]

Hello,

 

Great discussion board - I've learned a lot already!. We're cruising for the first time on the Summit 5/27/06 southbound. Questions are:

 

 

 

1) what is the difference between taking the railroad through Celebrity or thru Alaska Rail? I've noted two different prices and two different departure times (6:45a and 11a) Pros and Cons of each? We're arriving in Anchorage the night before and will be at a hotel that has complimentary airport and railway shuttle.

 

2) what kinds of things are included in the cruise cost? From what I can tell, there is an extra cost for drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), specialty restaurants, spa, persian gardens....anything else? I don't like financial surprises! Do you recommend the soda card?

 

3) has anyone tried "pre-tipping" on day one? The staff are going to get a tip anyway, so is service better if they get it in advance, with the possibility of extra at the end?

 

4) recommended excursions for adventurous family? We have 3 kids, 6, 11, and 12.

 

Thanks for everyone's info - this board has been a source of great ideas.

 

1. We did cruisetour #13 (Northbound, so it was a post cruise instead of pre-cruise. It's all one train with the various cruise lines having their dome cars attached to it. The best part about doing a cruisetour is that you don't have to worry at all about your luggage. You will seperate you luggage: Make sure to put the clothes you will need on the cruise in seperate bags. Those bags will stay on the coach (the word bus is a nasty term); as you go on either the coach or train. You also put clothes you need during the tour into a seperate bag. Even when you are on the train, the bus driver takes the luggage to the next stop and it will magically appear at your next hotel. I also had one carry-on, that I took on the train with me.

 

I'm not sure what you mean about two seperate times. As I remember the train leaves Anchorage at 8:15AM: Arrives in Talkeetna at 11:05AM; arrives in Denali at 3:45Pm and arrives in Fairbanks at 8:15PM.

 

2. I don't believe you mentioned the cost of shore excursions. In Alaska they do add a lot to the cost, however so worth the cost! If you gamble that will be exta as well. Since there's always something to drink for free, I really don't recommend soda cards. However if that's all you drink, that's another story.

 

3. I've seen people give some extra at the beginning, but I wouldn't suggest giving the whole amount. During the cruise I have also given extra to people who give expecially good service.

 

4. Excursions are so hard to recommend because we all have such varried interests. One thing I would suggest for Skagway: Instead of the WPRR train, I recommend renting a car and using Murry's guide. You can then tailor the sights to your own likings, and then will also let the kids get out and explore/stretch their legs! I'm pretty sure 6 years old is the youngest for kayaking thru Southeast Sea Kyaks out of Ketchikan. We did the shorter excursion and it was so much fun!

 

Hope this helps!

 

Sharon

[wa.mama]

Thanks for your input.

One last question - Northern Lights? Has anyone seen them from the ship or is that a separate excursion?

[SEPyle]

If you are sailing on 5/27, there will not be a chance of seeing the Northern Lights, either on or off the ship. They are only visable when it is very dark. In May the days are too long. Best chances on viewing them is in the interior if doing a land portion. If you go in late August or early September, chances are better. Our tour guide actually came to Charlotte for a visit several months ago and he said one night there was a spectacular 'show' in August! He said even the locals said it was as good or better than they usually witness during the winter.