"Must Do's" on M-class sea days in Alaska

[quahog8]

The "must eats" thread is so useful and enjoyable -- thank you, all. Now, what are the "must do's" to enjoy the onboard experience as much as possible?

 

We are travelling on the Infinity in the next few weeks, and thanks to advice from this board scored 8045 (CC with the larger angled balcony). There are several cruising days through the Inside Passage and on Hubbard Glacier day. We plan to spend a good bit of time enjoying that balcony! :D

 

Now that we know what to EAT onboard, what are those things we absolutely must DO on the Infinity?

 

Looking forward to your suggestions,

quahog8

[RLM77]

Nothing

 

Absolutely nothing

 

Nothing at all, all day long

 

Not a thing

 

That's the beauty of sea days and X service.

 

 

I envy you we don't leave 'til October.:(

[RLM77]

Seriously though, from our experience last year, you will spend all your time at the windows. Our Alaska cruise was not on the Infinity so I don't know the best viewing area, but I would go as far forward and as high as possible with the greatest possiblity for a panoramic view.

 

The mountains and fabulous scenery combined with the wildlife (whales, sea otters, seals, mountain goats, bighorn sheep and eagles) will demand your constant attention :).

 

One very, very important tip is to bring good binoculars. They will enhance your experience immeasurably. If you have one of the cabins that includes a pair (I know cc's do), they are very weak and more like toys.

 

Enjoy

[Blue46]

My husband loved having salmon delivered every morning for breakfast. Also the Sushi in the evening he enjoyed quite a bit.

[wvufan]

Of all our cruises, Alaska was the best experience.

 

Attend every presentation by the naturalist. Attend every presentation by the naturalsit. Attend every presentation by the naturalist:)

 

While the balcony may be fine, we really suggest you get out of your cabin at the glacier-you will be able to get a more panoramic view. Even though the captain will rotate the ship, you might still miss some of the more spectacular calvings. The naturalist will usually see them coming before you do and will direct your attention to the area. You will need to be near the speakers on the top deck.

 

In addition to binoculars, make sure you have a camera with zoom and if you have a camcorder, be prepared to capture a calving.

 

Happy sails to you

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[CaliforniaDreamin]

You can see out through the glass covered roof. Also there are two hot tubs there. It's all free and for 18 years and over so may not be crowded. If you like saunas, there are free ones in the women's and men's changing/locker rooms

[Shirley and Les]

...Attend every presentation by the naturalist. Attend every presentation by the naturalsit. Attend every presentation by the naturalist:) ...

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! :)

At the glacier, they had three or four native Alaskans on board to provide commentary. We sat on our balcony, drank coffee, turned the TV up loud and listened to their comments. The "must do's" on sea days for Alaska are look away from the ship on either port or starboard side.

 

NOTE TO WVU FAN.

Several years ago, I spent a lot of time in the Parkersburg-Marietta area and thoroughly enjoyed the steaks and creative buffet at the Peddler restaurant. Is it still there?

Les

[quahog8]

Of all our cruises, Alaska was the best experience.

 

Attend every presentation by the naturalist. Attend every presentation by the naturalsit. Attend every presentation by the naturalist:)

 

Thank you all for your great suggestions!

 

Please tell me more about the naturalist presentations. Are they crowded? Are they in a particular place? Do you have to be somewhere specific, or are they piped all over the ship? Are there different kinds of lectures: some piped through the TV and some in a particular place?

 

If they aren't too crowded, I'll be very interested in attending.

 

Thanks again,

quahog8

[wvufan]

Hi again:)

 

The naturalist presentations are typically in the theater, so you should have no problem. Don't miss them-if you get Brent Nixon, he is worth the cost of the cruise himself!

 

As you pass through the inside passage, near the glacier, etc., the naturalist will likely be on the bridge and commenting over the loudspeaker system. Unfortunately, it is hard to hear that unless you are near the speakers. They are placed about the ship, including on the top deck near the front, and you will understand what I mean when you get there. I emphasize that Alaska isn't something you see, it is something you experience, so I urge folks to get out of your cabin so you can hear, feel, and smell Alaska and not just look out a window. You may even want to mention to the CD and the naturalist that folks on previous cruises have had trouble hearing and to please turn up the volume. I don't want you to think that you will ruin your cruise if you don't hear every word, but it will be a bit nicer if you can benefit from what he or she says. For example, they might see and point out whales.

 

Hi Shirley and Les:) Not only do I remember the Peddler, but I was the assistant manager there for a while. Two of my good friends owned it, and I worked there while between other jobs. It will always be the best steaks this town ever had. I was lucky enough to get free steaks to take home, and the filets were only $2. Alas, it has long been gone. I live 1.5 miles away from the building, and think about it often.

 

We also highly recommend the T-Pool.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[soooo excited!]

The mountains and fabulous scenery combined with the wildlife (whales, sea otters, seals, mountain goats, bighorn sheep and eagles) will demand your constant attention :).

 

One very, very important tip is to bring good binoculars. They will enhance your experience immeasurably. If you have one of the cabins that includes a pair (I know cc's do), they are very weak and more like toys.

 

Enjoy

 

MUST DO: Plan ahead - our cruise is next summer and for my husband's birthday today I bought him a new pair of binoculars - our old ones are really clunky and heavy - and I didn't realize how bad the old ones were until I bought the new ones - so it was a very very good purchase.

As well, they have a digital camera built in (photos and 30 sec. videos) so when we go off on separate excursions (he'll go fishing, I'm going in a helicopter or float plane ) , one of us can take the digital camera and one can take the binoculars/camera. It's taken a bit of time to get used to using them - it helped to read the directions ! LOL ! - but we're getting better at the photo part. so, think ahead - binoculars - great Christmas or Birthday gift !!

[summitcruiser]

You talked about the binoculars you bought. They sound like a great buy! What is the brand and model? I'd like to check them out at one of our local stores. Thanks for your help!

Chris:)

[soooo excited!]

You talked about the binoculars you bought. They sound like a great buy! What is the brand and model? I'd like to check them out at one of our local stores. Thanks for your help!

Chris:)

 

Hi Chris: Be glad to pass on the info: the binoculars were made by Bushnell, model is Instant Replay ; Celestron VistaPix also makes digital camera binoculars - but there are differences in how they work. I would seriously recommend you buying a new pair of binocs if you don't have good/newer ones - we thought ours were OK until I got the new ones - the difference is amazing. Having said that, digital camera ones are obviously going to cost a few pennies !!!!! but we live in the country with lots of wildlife and my husband fishes a lot so these are a good buy for a present for him and I haven't bought him something specail in a while. If you want the technical scoop on digital camera bincoluars - email me at ready dot cl at gmail dot com - (turn the words back into email lingo ) and I will be glad to share what I've learned otherwise you might be disasappointed with your purchase - I had a really helpful person explain it all to me - warning: the ones I bought were 550 Canadian plus tax - and it takes a bit of practice to use them properly for photos.

feel free to email me (or anyone else who wants to know) - just don't want to bore everyone here at CC with the technical details !

Louise

[laura1960]

As the originator of the "Must-Eats" thread on this forum, I'm now delighted to read the must-dos! Thanks for the reminder to pack binoculars...that would have been something I forgot!

Keep 'em coming!

 

Laura

[Welshlady]

I bought new binocs for my husband before the cruise thankfully as the binocs in the Concierge room were OK but not such good quality. Well worth having a good pair with you and yes, the speakers are bad. we couldn't hear a thing on top deck at the glacier.

[dreamalaska]

My local store clerk advised me not to buy binoculars with digital camera. Since the camera and binoculars use different optics, what you see in binoculars is not what you get on camera. Instead, he told me to invest on a decent pair of waterproof binoculars and get a camera separately.

 

I got a pair of Zen-Ray SUMMIT 10x42 waterproof binoculars. It is the best investment I have done so far. I think they are still taking pre-order at store.zenray.com with $15 off coupon, perfect timing for 2007 cruise season.

[Drew B]

Thank you all for your great suggestions!

 

Please tell me more about the naturalist presentations. Are they crowded? Are they in a particular place? Do you have to be somewhere specific, or are they piped all over the ship? Are there different kinds of lectures: some piped through the TV and some in a particular place?

 

If they aren't too crowded, I'll be very interested in attending.

 

Thanks again,

quahog8

 

 

They are either in the theater or (occasionally) in the cinema if the theater is being used for something else. On my cruise, the early ones weren't crowded, but as word spread how great they were, they became more and more crowded. The naturalist on my Summit cruise (Dr. Leneh Trowbridge) gave lectures on the following topics:

 

1. Humpback whales

2. Glaciers

3. Alaskan wildlife (wolves, bears, eagles, moose, otters, caribou, etc.)

4. Orcas

5. Salmon

 

This was a 13-day cruise, so I'm not sure if they have time to give all of these lectures on shorter cruises...

 

Also, if you are unable to attend a lecture (or if you'd just rather be on deck during the prime daylight hours), they constantly rerun the lectures on the in-cabin TV. You won't be able to ask questions that way, but you'll get most of the enrichment.

 

During their off-hours, the naturalists are passengers on the ship. It is very easy to cross paths with them elsewhere and have conversations about what you (or they) have seen -- they encourage it. I had several experiences in the gym while I was on an exercise bike and Dr. Trowbridge was on a treadmill next to me. We looked out at the ocean in front of us for whales and talked for a half hour at a time.

 

This program was truly a highlight for me! Enjoy!!!

[Fisherman Jim]

I bought new binocs for my husband before the cruise thankfully as the binocs in the Concierge room were OK but not such good quality. Well worth having a good pair with you and yes, the speakers are bad. we couldn't hear a thing on top deck at the glacier.

 

Hi Welshlady,

We were on our balcony and we could not hear the naturalist either. Also tried turning on TV thinking the speaker would be on the Celebrity channel, but alas, nothing doing. How is the weather in South Wales? We are still going to try and make it over there sometime.