Hitchhiker’s guide to cruising - Serenade Live

[perfect match]

Looking forward to the rest of this review! 🛳😎

[Sobro]

I'll follow along provided there will be no Vogon poetry.

[JBSteelerfan]

11 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Where do you get them?

 

We had ours in Anchorage and on the Alaska RR.  But I am sure they can be found in many port stops as well.  Great breakfast or sandwich meat!

[aussielozzie18]

My dad has just retired from weekly  kayaking at 84.5yrs of age...

Our planned first time cruise to Alaska was cancelled due to Covid and we  are currently  in lockdown with no end in sight, so very keen to follow along on your cruise.

[livingonthebeach]

@Tree_skier thanks so much for sharing your journey!  Will be following. 

[bobmacliberty]

19 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Greetings and welcome to my second live review.

 

This should be a great review.  Thanks for doing it.

 

19 hours ago, JessyCruises said:

So long and thanks for all the fish…

 

You beat me to it.

[Sunshine3601]

8 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

You are right... It was HAL.  Either way., I'm just going to get off the ship and see what is available.  I know that that is a really hap hazard way to do things but nothing really jumped out at me on the cruise  planner. 

Some of the best days are the ones that arent planned!😺

BTW, love the tent for wonder kitty, Basil.    I would worry my cats would wander away into the woods to explore.  Does he stay there?

[Ocean Boy]

5 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Some of the best days are the ones that arent planned!😺

BTW, love the tent for wonder kitty, Basil.    I would worry my cats would wander away into the woods to explore.  Does he stay there?

I completely agree. That is why I enjoy return visits to ports. With the first visit I also have a plan and am on a mission. Subsequent visits are much more relaxing and go with the flow type attitude.

[Jimbo]

8 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

You are right... It was HAL.  Either way., I'm just going to get off the ship and see what is available.  I know that that is a really hap hazard way to do things but nothing really jumped out at me on the cruise  planner. 

Just remember in Icy Strait Point, if you are off the ship early you might be able to catch on as a walk up for a Bear Search Tour.

Not much at that port to do right at the dock, few places to eat and a few shops, other then that not much there.

People do walk into to the town of Hoonah from the dock, but not really a lot to see there either. Plus the walk along the road has a lot of curves  and is kind of dangerous to walk on, no sidewalks. I wouldn't advise doing that.

Best to have a real plan for that port.

If you are into ziplines, they have the longest and highest zipline in the world there. Looks pretty cool.

https://icystraitpoint.com/tour/worlds-largest-ziprider-and-scenic-mountain-ascent/

Edited August 18, 2021 by Jimbo

[Tree_skier]

45 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Some of the best days are the ones that arent planned!😺

BTW, love the tent for wonder kitty, Basil.    I would worry my cats would wander away into the woods to explore.  Does he stay there?

It is hard to see in the picture but he actually wears a harness that we can clip a leash too.  I'd never let him wander and explore on his own.  We'd lose him forever I'm sure.

[Tree_skier]

3 hours ago, Sobro said:

I'll follow along provided there will be no Vogon poetry.

No guarantees!

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

My dad has just retired from weekly  kayaking at 84.5yrs of age...

Our planned first time cruise to Alaska was cancelled due to Covid and we  are currently  in lockdown with no end in sight, so very keen to follow along on your cruise.

I'm so sorry you folks are suffering like that.  Thanks for following along. 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Tree_skier

[Tree_skier]

38 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Just remember in Icy Strait Point, if you are off the ship early you might be able to catch on as a walk up for a Bear Search Tour.

Not much at that port to do right at the dock, few places to eat and a few shops, other then that not much there.

People do walk into to the town of Hoonah from the dock, but not really a lot to see there either. Plus the walk along the road has a lot of curves  and is kind of dangerous to walk on, no sidewalks. I wouldn't advise doing that.

Best to have a real plan for that port.

If you are into ziplines, they have the longest and highest zipline in the world there. Looks pretty cool.

https://icystraitpoint.com/tour/worlds-largest-ziprider-and-scenic-mountain-ascent/

Thanks for the advice

[crzndeb]

9 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

You are right... It was HAL.  Either way., I'm just going to get off the ship and see what is available.  I know that that is a really hap hazard way to do things but nothing really jumped out at me on the cruise  planner. 

I’m on the last 2 sailings of the Ovation in Oct., and probably will just wander around. First time in Sitka. I may do the White Pass train in Skagway again, since I enjoyed it before, and the Fall colors should be beautiful.

[Tree_skier]

Well I have definitely escaped the heat!!!  

 

 

I'm just not sure I've escaped smoke.  So far so good but we could be bugging out before we planned...

 

 

Of course, as you all know, since booking this cruise protocols have changed a few times and with each change there was a dampening of my enthusiasm. However, now that we are less than a week out my enthusiasm is ramping back up.  Masks are being required for us  in many areas of CA again so the masking requirements onboard don’t seem quite so bad anymore.

 

Originally, we were planning on being at the lake for a week in advance of this cruise, but when the testing requirement came out that threw a bit of a wrench into our plan.   I knew finding a test up here in these mountain towns was going to be difficult.  I’ve decided to cut the lake short by a couple of days.  We'll leave Friday and get settled in Seattle on Saturday.  I’ve got a place sorted for an antigen test  in Eugene OR, on the way to Seattle that should be pretty easy to get to from where we will spend the weekend prior to embarkation.  If something goes wrong in Eugene I'll have two days in Seattle to figure it out. The excitement is building again. 🙂

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Tree_skier

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, crzndeb said:

I’m on the last 2 sailings of the Ovation in Oct., and probably will just wander around. First time in Sitka. I may do the White Pass train in Skagway again, since I enjoyed it before, and the Fall colors should be beautiful.

You might even get snow! 🙂 

[Tree_skier]

5 hours ago, Sobro said:

I'll follow along provided there will be no Vogon poetry.

No worries there.  It is well known to be the third worst in the universe. 🙂 

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

If you are into ziplines, they have the longest and highest zipline in the world there. Looks pretty cool.

https://icystraitpoint.com/tour/worlds-largest-ziprider-and-scenic-mountain-ascent/

I'm right at the upper threshold of their weight restrictions.  I'm worried that after a few days on the ship I'll be out of luck.  Especially with wearing heavier fall clothing.  

[Jimbo]

16 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I'm right at the upper threshold of their weight restrictions.  I'm worried that after a few days on the ship I'll be out of luck.  Especially with wearing heavier fall clothing.  

You should easily be able to just walk up the day of, and see if you are okay with the weight  restrictions.. You can also decide weather permitting. 

With only 1 ship in port and they have 6  lines and your ship only being a quarter filled. That's something you can really decide to do or not do the day of, no reason to book through the cruise line.,

 

Just gives you an option around the port area you can walk right from ship to.   No transportation needed.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Jimbo

[kpark895]

Looking forward to this - should bring back some memories as my last cruise before lockdown was on the Serenade towards the end of 2019, albeit to Bermuda.  Enjoy yourselves!

[Tree_skier]

Bag tags prepared. 

[Sea Dog]

14 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Bag tags prepared. 

I love seeing tags. The true sign you are going on a cruise.

[RCCL Fan]

@Tree_skier  You're doing just great so far on your review.... and I'm honored by the compliment.

 

I'm so excited to see how the trip goes for you. 

 

We love Serenade, we had a wonderful time onboard..... minus the day I got another cruiser's iPad wet, if you remember that tale from my Serenade review.

 

I also LOVED that youtube video of the room, the room is very cool as the transformed concierge lounge, but that guys excitement was hilarious.

 

My wife is really into paddleboarding, she wants to kayak so badly.  Each time we had an excursion booked for her, it got cancelled. 

 

Enjoy your voyage my friend, Serenade is a mighty little ship that I adored.

[A&L_Ont]

18 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I'm right at the upper threshold of their weight restrictions.  I'm worried that after a few days on the ship I'll be out of luck.  Especially with wearing heavier fall clothing.  

They do the weighing off to the side, all private like. It is amazing if you want to do it. We did the combined whale watching and zip line excursion.  If not there is great lobster bisque in the restaurant with a view of the water. You can also do a self guided tour of the old salmon canning factory. 

[RedIguana]

Is the Restaurant at the End of the Universe open on your sailing?