Best things onboard Alaska cruises, not the excursions... Also what kind of entertainment to expect.

[kamelia]

11 minutes ago, memoak said:

We did not start it. Somebody posted pictures suggesting it and I for one want to warn people because for us if was very traumatic 

Please know that I did not intend to be disrespectful of your feelings, I just did not want to see the thread meander off course.  I am truly sorry that it made you uncomfortable.  Kind regards.

[villageidit]

On 3/23/2024 at 11:48 AM, ontheweb said:

Yes, Michael Modzelewski is terrific.

 

Also, if your Princess cruise stops in Glacier Bay, the forest? rangers come aboard. 

 

 

OOPS! I think that should be park service rangers.

We had Michael on two cruises and he was terrific on both. Also had a great talk by Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod.

[konatyme]

Be sure to ask Guest Services to notify you if you want to be awakened if the Northern Lights appear. We did this and got to see them (although our cruise was in August and perhaps the time of year makes a difference in how likely they are to appear).

[jeromep]

On 3/23/2024 at 9:48 AM, ontheweb said:

Yes, Michael Modzelewski is terrific.

I was looking for his name.  Thank you.  He was terrific.  We had him on a Dawes Glacier Endicott Arm cruise last year.  I'm not sure what the lineup will be for the one-way Voyage of the Glaciers cruises.  In my experience the cruises RT Seattle that visit Glacier Bay have Libby Riddles come aboard at some point, and a contingent of park rangers from Glacier Bay National Park come aboard for the day and do presentations when the ship is at the top of the fjord and observing the glacier face.  They will then do more presentations through the day as the ship transits back down the fjord to the entry to the park.  We got our National Parks passport stamped for Glacier Bay at the table they park rangers set out on one of the decks where they were hawking their wares and chatting with passengers.

 

If your cruise is RT Seattle with Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, then you likley have Michael Modzelewski on board.  He narrates the passage up toward Dawes Glacier and does various presentations while on board.  He has a very interesting speaking delivery and seems very knowledgeable.

 

I could be totally wrong about how these folks are spread about on the various ships and routes that cruise Alaska, but that is a pattern I picked up on.

 

Things to do on board are mostly aligned with relaxing.  My daughter would spend an entire cruise in the pool if she could.  But she does like the kids clubs... some of the time.  I'll look at the daily schedule for the musical acts that are performing and find ones that fit my taste.  I like a good jazz quartet and sometimes Princess obliges.  If your ship has a Take 5 lounge, you'll have a jazz act in there every night.  The Take 5 lounges are also very attractively decorated.  There are usually musical performers, activities, and small theatrical events in the Piazza throughout the day.  If your ship has a Crooners, they usually have a piano singer there from late afternoon well into the late evening, and they are usually excellent.  There are various talk shows and game shows going on in Princess Live, assuming your ship has one.  The new Royal class ships do, the older Grand Class ships do not have Princess Live.  The Vista Lounge or the Explorers Lounge is where the game show and talk show events take place on the older ships.

 

Movies Under the Stars (MUTS is the typical abbreviation you see around here), up on the main pool deck is a nice diversion.  Usually recently run movies.  The huge LED (or are they LCD) screens keep getting sharper and sharper, so the movies look pretty good, and the sound system up there is loud but clear.  But they cover the pool loungers with covers that have pillows on them, and you can grab a blanket or two to cover up.  I've watched my fair share of movies at the pool.  If you are really brave you can watch a movie from the pool or hot tub.  Staff come around with popcorn and cookies, the bars are open, so you can get a beverage, and the grill and pizza stand are also open, so food is close by.  At night on an Alaska cruise, it can get a bit chilly up on deck, but it is still fun.

 

The production shows are quite good.  You'll hear the complainers, but this isn't Broadway and the shows are scaled to fit a cruise ship theater stage.  I mean, where can you see a live production show every night, even twice a night if you want, and it is all included in what you paid for the cruise?  If the production show has a good reputation, the theater will fill up, so you may want to show up early... with a beverage in hand... to get seats.

 

So, there is lots to do on board, some of it you have to go looking for, some activities will be right in front of you.

[alexand278]

On 3/22/2024 at 10:25 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

For us we enjoy going to lectures on sea days, evening shows in the theater, and the game shows in the Explorers Lounge. We also like to hang out on sea days on the balcony watching for wildlife and awesome scenery as we cruise around Alaska. 😁
 

FWIW we will be on the Grand starting April 30 for 22 days on a B3B, with the 3rd leg going from Whittier to Vancouver. I will be posting to a Live From thread which may help give you some insight, at least with regards to what’s happening on the Grand.

Can’t wait for your live trip posting. We’re doing a similar cruise in early September. 
 

Alexandra

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, alexand278 said:

Can’t wait for your live trip posting. We’re doing a similar cruise in early September. 
 

Alexandra

Us too. This is going to be an awesome cruise, especially with all the wildlife waiting to be seen up there! 😁

[Crookshanks]

It seems that maybe the 'culture' of the Alaska Cruise is a bit different than other cruises.  I've always enjoyed the few presentations I've seen onboard, but there don't seem to be quite as many on Caribbean cruises?  Though one cruise did have a great pair of speakers that did several talks on the ports and such.  

 

This will be my first time going to Alaska, so I am quite excited to see and learn all the things.  Though I'm not a huge fan of being cold, hence my love of Caribbean and Mexico vacations.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Crookshanks said:

It seems that maybe the 'culture' of the Alaska Cruise is a bit different than other cruises.  I've always enjoyed the few presentations I've seen onboard, but there don't seem to be quite as many on Caribbean cruises?  Though one cruise did have a great pair of speakers that did several talks on the ports and such.  

 

This will be my first time going to Alaska, so I am quite excited to see and learn all the things.  Though I'm not a huge fan of being cold, hence my love of Caribbean and Mexico vacations.

We've previously cruised to Alaska with Celebrity, HAL, and Disney. One thing those cruises all had in common was that we saw a bunch of wildlife from the ship as we cruised along. Here's a link regarding which whales you might see, depending on the time of year you are there. 

 

Best Time To See Whales In Alaska (whale-watching-alaska.com)

 

[TheArtfulPenguin]

On 3/29/2024 at 10:58 AM, Crookshanks said:

It seems that maybe the 'culture' of the Alaska Cruise is a bit different than other cruises.  I've always enjoyed the few presentations I've seen onboard, but there don't seem to be quite as many on Caribbean cruises?  Though one cruise did have a great pair of speakers that did several talks on the ports and such.  

 

This will be my first time going to Alaska, so I am quite excited to see and learn all the things.  Though I'm not a huge fan of being cold, hence my love of Caribbean and Mexico vacations.

When are you going? If before me I'll be picking your brain. 

[Crookshanks]

2 hours ago, TheArtfulPenguin said:

When are you going? If before me I'll be picking your brain. 

 

May19th.  5 weeks from tomorrow! 😃

[TheArtfulPenguin]

2 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

 

May19th.  5 weeks from tomorrow! 😃

Which one are you doing?  I'm there the last week of June.  So I hope you don't mind questions after.  I won't give you homework assignments for during the cruise. 🤔

[Crookshanks]

3 minutes ago, TheArtfulPenguin said:

Which one are you doing?  I'm there the last week of June.  So I hope you don't mind questions after.  I won't give you homework assignments for during the cruise. 🤔

I don’t mind homework for the most part. 😆

 

7 day Inside Passage round trip from Seattle. 
 

I was going to attempt another Live on this cruise, though I wasn’t too great at it last time. I get all wrapped up in food and trivia. 🤷‍♀️

[TheArtfulPenguin]

17 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

I don’t mind homework for the most part. 😆

 

7 day Inside Passage round trip from Seattle. 
 

I was going to attempt another Live on this cruise, though I wasn’t too great at it last time. I get all wrapped up in food and trivia. 🤷‍♀️

I'll doing Whittier to Vancouver. I figure the onboard stuff will work its way out.  Unless you find lil bonus or unique things you didn't know of beforehand.

The things I am still pondering; Excursions.  Especially Skagway & Kechikan. Juneau, we are doing the helo to glaciers with 2 landings.

Widowed so it's just me and my 9 yr old daughter. Some of the longer excursions in Skagway might be boring for her since it is a lot of riding and waiting to get to places.

So what excursions have you already decided on? Any you said... Oh this looks good, but then looked at the details and reviewed and said.. Maybe not.

[Crookshanks]

On 4/14/2024 at 1:44 PM, TheArtfulPenguin said:

I'll doing Whittier to Vancouver. I figure the onboard stuff will work its way out.  Unless you find lil bonus or unique things you didn't know of beforehand.

The things I am still pondering; Excursions.  Especially Skagway & Kechikan. Juneau, we are doing the helo to glaciers with 2 landings.

Widowed so it's just me and my 9 yr old daughter. Some of the longer excursions in Skagway might be boring for her since it is a lot of riding and waiting to get to places.

So what excursions have you already decided on? Any you said... Oh this looks good, but then looked at the details and reviewed and said.. Maybe not.

We are sea kayaking in Ketchikan and the Bike and Tram in Juneau.

 

We wanted to do the train ride up to the summit in Skagway, but it sold out before all of us could decide on one, so we're still going to summit, but a different excursion now.  I really wanted to go on the suspension bridge, so we found one that included that.

 

I'm not bringing kiddos on this cruise, so I don't mind doing the more 'boring' excursions as I really enjoy nature and history.  I have 2 boys, 9 and 13, so I understand not wanting to push it with your daughter. And so sorry to hear about your wife, I hope you are both healing. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

First of all, you’re doing it right by doing a one way voyage of the glaciers! 
 

Specifically on Alaska cruises, I like to hang out in my room and watch the stunning scenery through the balcony doors, go to Puppies in the Piazza, eat local crab and other seafood, go out on deck to view the glaciers, and play cards in the buffet along the window to watch the scenery while playing. 
 

On any cruise, it’s fun to go to the comedy shows, production shows, guest entertainer shows, lounges with live music, dancing in the Piazza late at night, get spa treatments, swim, watch or participate in game shows, and just relax around the ship.

[Ken the cruiser]

On 3/22/2024 at 9:25 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

For us we enjoy going to lectures on sea days, evening shows in the theater, and the game shows in the Explorers Lounge. We also like to hang out on sea days on the balcony watching for wildlife and awesome scenery as we cruise around Alaska. 😁
 

FWIW we will be on the Grand starting April 30 for 22 days on a B3B, with the 3rd leg going from Whittier to Vancouver. I will be posting to a Live From thread which may help give you some insight, at least with regards to what’s happening on the Grand.

If anyone is interested, I’ve started my Live From thread and will be heading to Vancouver on Monday!