Carnival Spirit Inland Passage Aug 8-15 Review

[Traveling Fools]

Returned this past week from a North bound Inland Passage Alaskan cruise aboard the Carnival Spirit. I was part of a group of 16 consisting of my mother, youngest daughter, wife, siblings, and their spouses or in one case child and grandchild.

 

The decision to take an August cruise was not made until mid-January 2007. The Inland Passage was the desired route because it offered more to see and do than an r/t out of Seattle or Vancouver and would permit those of us who so wished an opportunity to do a pre/post inland Alaska excursion. Towards the end of February no one had done anything and my Mom, who was paying for it, asked me to organize and coordinate the cruise. From my perspective late February is kind of late plan a group cruise to Alaska for August of the same year, but oh well!

 

To expedite booking, I skipped getting price comparison from different TAs and instead used one who advertises on CC. I provided them with our requirements, ages, and other pertinent information and was provided a short list of cruise lines that had cabins available. I am not a Carnival flag waver, but opted for Carnival for the following reasons:

 

1. Availability of the required number of balcony staterooms.

2. Price

3. Knowledge that I would not have to worry about my siblings, or their spouses, conforming to traditional dinning room dress codes.

 

The only options I offered my siblings was choice of cabins; i.e. inside, balcony, or suite. In respect to shore excursions, I copied and emailed Carnival’s options and pricing to each of them and suggested that enough of us wanted to do one or more together we could save money using a local contact instead of Carnival’s. I also provided them with a link to CC to include separate links to the relative ports of call forums. I asked them to spend some time surfing through the different CC forums to get a feel for cruising etiquette and be able to better conceptualize what each port of call offered. I only know of one (a brother’s wife) who visited the CC website. They opted for and pre-booked all their excursions thru Carnival. All other shore excursions taken by the group were booked on board or arranged on shore.

 

The TA gave me a list of amenities to chose from offered because we booked as a group. This included a bottle of wine, chocolate covered strawberries, $100 on-board credit per cabin, etc. I opted for the on-board credit, knowing it something everyone would like.

 

All but one of my siblings elected to book balcony cabins. The wife of my deceased brother said she got sea sick once when looking out the porthole on the only other cruise she had taken and elected to book an inside cabin. She was using the amount of money my Mom allocated each of use to bring her daughter and granddaughter and her choice of an inside cabin saved her money she was able to apply towards airfare for 3. I had one brother, for whom money is absolutely no concern, opt for the least expensive cabin available. HOWEVER, knowing him as I do, I insisted he book a balcony…..probably one of the best decision he and I made. I booked a suite for my Mother and Stepfather. She uses a walker and he is on O2 and wheelchair bound. For those reason, I thought the extra space afforded with a suite was essential. I also anticipated my siblings would hang out in their cabin and so extra space would come in handy. I opted for a suite for DW and me for the extra room and because I wasn’t paying for the lion share of the cost. Incidentally, the cost of a suite on Carnival is substantially less than other cruise lines, but then you don’t get all the extra perks provided by other cruise lines.

 

Every one took my recommendation to arrive in Vancouver a day early and remain overnight in Anchorage. This facilitated securing blocks of hotel rooms in Vancouver and Anchorage, transfers from the hotel to Canada Place in Vancouver, and most importantly a dedicated transfer from Whittier to Anchorage. One brother, whose wife works in the hotel business, made his own hotel arrangements in Vancouver.

 

In June, my stepfather’s health took a dip and he was placed in a nursing home. Medicare restrictions eliminated him from the cruise and my siblings suggested my youngest daughter (28) take his place. This was an effortless change to make and only cost us $50.00. The elimination of my stepfather from the cruise also eliminated the requirement to have oxygen available for his use on-board. One less thing I had to worry about!

 

Knowing what I know now, if I was ever to do this again with Carnival, I would book directly through them. We would have got the same price and would have been able to better address issues like billing invoices and dinning room seating. The travel agent I used never asked me our dinning preferences and when I called Carnival direct to organize them after over 25 minutes on hold and 3 transfers, I was told I had to work through my TA and that there was nothing they could (would) do. Within the hour I received an email from the TA chastising me for communicating directly with Carnival. Any future Carnival cruise will be booked through one of their Vacation Planners.

 

The day before leaving Florida for Vancouver, Delta informed us about a change in our flight itinerary. Instead of flying from Jacksonville to Atlanta to Salt Lake City to Vancouver we were flying from JAX to Atlanta and then direct to Vancouver. Hurt me again! This shaved almost 4 hours off our travel time. When we checked in for the flight we were able to get our daughter booked on the same flights. The ticket agent told us there would be a $75 fee, but then never charges us…..Thank-you Delta. We did have to transfer some stuff from out suitcases to our carry-ons to meet the 50 lb rule (must have been the 5 liters of wine we were toting that pushed us over the scale). We checked the carry-ons and avoided the hassle they can cause.

 

Transfers from the Vancouver airport to down town is a breeze. There is a transportation desk outside the Immigration and Customs Inspection area. No reservations are necessary. We did learn the trunk of a standard size sedan is too small for 3 suitcases and 3 carry-on bags. It only cost $6.00 more for the full size limo, so if 3 or more of you are traveling together take a limo from the get-go.

 

It was about 11:00 am when we arrived at the hotel (Comfort Inn Downtown—booked thru Tourism Vancouver). The hotel has been recently refurbished, is in a good location, priced right, and has a friendly and OUTSTANDING staff! Check-in time is 3:00 PM, so our rooms were not ready. We were hungry and walked the 2 blocks to an Indian Restaurant and had buttered chicken for lunch. Had a brother arrive while we were eating who then joined us. Got back to the hotel and most of the rest of the group had arrived. The grabbed a bite and bingo—just like that-- our rooms were ready.

 

Vancouver is a beautiful, ethically diverse city. Sadly it rained until after 5:00 P.M., hampering our sightseeing. One of my brothers and I took off looking for our other brother who was staying 2 blocks away. The front desk staff knew who we were talking about because just minutes before they had given him directions to a Greek Restaurant on Broadway. On our way there we devised a plan to surprise him (nothing but jokesters in my family). We got to the restaurant and discretely found where he and his wife were seated. Ironically, it was next to the take-out seated waiting area. We clued in the wait staff and took a seat in the waiting area. He and his wife looked directly at us at least 3 times without recognizing us. We then traded places and waited another 5 minutes before he recognized us. By then, all the customers seated nearby knew what was going on and we all shared a laugh.

 

That evening I called a local cab company to organize a fleet of cabs to transport us to the pier. I was told to call back the next day. Had the hotel staff make the call for me the next day and the fleet showed up on time. The only snag we experienced was another guest (a single woman), and wouldn’t you know it a passenger on our cruise ship, hijacked one of our cabs. We had a line of suite cases on the curb and that we were loading into the cabs and I consider her actions as selfish and rude! The ride to Canada Place took less than 5 minuets and cost less than $10 with tip.

 

It was about 11:00 AM, when we arrived at Canada Place. We were perhaps some of the 100 pax to get there. We experienced 2 hitches when boarding, both minor. The second “Cruise line” employee we encounter (a local contractor who only assists with boarding and debarkation) who must have been a Gestapo General in a previous life was literately barking at passenger ordering Canadians to one line and non-Canadians to another. I made the mistake to ask about VIP boarding and chewed out worse than by any drill sergeant! Rather than explaining we were going through U.S. Customs Pre-Clearance she was just barking out commands. Clearly the wrong person for that task. The other snafu related to VIP boarding…very poorly laid out and unless you ask, and even then, you don’t know what line to sit in. After we checked in we, like all other pax’s, were seated in rolls of folding chairs and had to wait about 30 minutes before being allowed to board the ship. Once boarding started it went smoothly. Access to all cabins was blocked until 1:30 PM. The Lido deck buffet was open, so we all met for lunch.

 

The weather that day and every other day of the cruise except debarkation was sunny and warm. Vancouver Harbor is one of the prettiest I have ever seen. Floatplanes taking off and landing just add to its beauty and allure. Departure was delayed a couple of hours, but had no effect on the remainder of the itinerary.

 

We were assigned early seating, a first for DW and I as we prefer late seating. For this cruise it was our preference simply because we were a group of different ages and evening habits. Mom, a resident of an assistant living facility, is used to eating at 5:45 PM and calling it a night by 9:30. Unlike other cruises I have been on the demand for early seating was far, far greater than for late seating. I learned that ¾’s of the pax aboard had requested early seating, so we won the luck of the draw. We were seated at a 12 top and adjacent 6 top tables. Contrary to what some on this forum would have your believe, the 12 top tables are spacious and plentiful. You are not a size 12 trying to squeeze into size 10 shoes.

 

Although we had breakfast twice in the dinning room, we actually preferred having breakfast at buffet. The Carnival Spirit (unlike the Triumph) had ample omelet stations for number of paxs on board (I always ordered sunny side up eggs) and the hash browns served at the buffet are much better than those skimpy portions served in the dinning room.

 

Quality of food was better than our June cruise aboard the Triumph and what I expect from Carnival. Service was adequate, also a little better than on Triumph, but nothing special. It was not uncommon for us to be seated at 5:45 (on-time) or no later than 6:00 and not have deserts served until 8:00 or later. The delay in service cannot be attributed to slow eaters. It was clearly a service issue and considering our waiter and helper only had 3 tables, one of which was used only 2 nights, a bit unexplainable.

 

Although we tipped each cabin steward $20 and their assistant $10 the first afternoon, the service was routine. In respect to service in the dinning and staterooms, my sense is the wait and cabin staff have adopted the attitude of some passengers; e.g. smile and be friendly, but don’t tip or leave only the minimum because I won’t see you again after next week. Staff on other lines that I have sailed are more intuitive and attentive.

 

Everyone in our group enjoyed each port of call and with the exception of same ole same ole concessionaires found at most ports, each port is different. We had no problems booking excursions on board or on the pier. My BIL and I booked a 4-hour sport fishing excursion in Sitka. We would have preferred the all day, but they were all booked. Those of you who go fishing in Sitka pay close attention to what they tell you about the cost of processing and shipping your fish will be. Excluding the cost of the excursion, fishing license, and King Salmon stamp, processing and freight for 21 lb shipment cost me more than $200.

 

One excursion I will not recommend and caution others not to take is the Dog Sled Discovery & Mushing Camp at Skagway. Rather than provide a presentation explaining the history of dog sledding and current use of dogs, the excursion employee (a tall young man who wore a long sleeve green tee shirt and had hair recovering a Mohawk haircut) started off by asking our group if we had any questions. When no one responded, he asked us again if we had any questions. When no one answered, his response was that the next 20 minuets were going to be the longest in his life. I asked if he had any kind of presentation for us. He responded they used to show video, but that they do that “crap” anymore and then spent the remainder of his time bad mouthing the Iditarod race, praising the Yukon sled race, and criticizing Native American dog sledders and trainers. The rest of the excursion was OK, but this guy set the tone. By the way Dude, for $124 a head for this excursion ($372 total out of my pocket), I expect that kind of “crap”. I lodged a complaint with the shore excursion desk aboard ship and was told they would look into it and that type of presentation was unacceptable. They also told me it is a new excursion and that the operator is the same person who conducts the same excursion in Juneau. My SIL, her adult daughter, and granddaughter took the same excursion in Juneau and praised it. They were given all kinds of history and fact about dog sledding. Having managed public seminars, I am certain this was a case of poor to no supervision at the site and of the inmates gone wild. None-the-less, I can’t recommend this venue.

 

For those of us who braved the mist….err rain….at College Fjord we heard and witnessed a glacial calving. The noise is spectacular!

 

Debarkation was organized and from our perspective went smoothly. It was raining so everyone got a little wet. In March I reserved a dedicated transfer with Alaskan Leopard (AL). Any group traveling to Alaska not doing a ship sponsored transfer should consider AL. It is a family business, fun, well managed and worth every cent.

 

We spent the night in Anchorage at the Inlet Towers. Ironically, the same place I stayed in June 1993 when escorting a delegation of Japanese. It has been recently renovated. The rooms are adequate and the price is right. The staff on duty when we checked-in had an attitude problem and it only got worse when another group from the ship arrived. The night shift crew was cool. Plenty of good restaurants in Anchorage.

 

The next morning our group split in half with 8 going home and 8 of continuing on to Fairbanks with an overnighter and full day in Denali. The 8 of us opted for the Alaskan Rail Roads Golden Dome Car Service. This proved to be the right decision. Great views, uncrowded, and our own dinning car. Kudos to Alaskan Rail Road they do things right! When you check your bags they ask what hotel you are staying in at Denali and your don’t see them again until they are delivered to you room. They pick them up the morning of your departure and you don’t see them again until you arrive in Fairbanks. We stayed at the Pikes Waterfront in Fairbanks. Had a cabin to ourselves. It was a great place with a wonderful staff. I recommend.

 

One of the highlights of this trip was an excursion from Fairbanks to the Artic Circle and visit to Wiseman. Worth every penny! Jack Reakoff a long time resident of Wiseman gave a 2 hour non-stop totally mesmerizing lecture on Wiseman and environs and subsistence living, all while walking backwards while showing us his village. Do a search on Jack Reakoff for more info on him. Truly spectacular! If you ever get the chance to go there do it! It was 11:30 PM when we took off from Cold Feet for Fairbanks and the sun was just sitting.

 

The next day we had a long, but uneventful flight home. Our daughter, who was one of the eight that went home early met us at the airport with our two dawgs. What a welcome home!

 

I’m sure I’ve missed something. Just ask and I will try to answer.

[woohoo4ue]

Thanks for the review. My husband and I are looking into an Alaskan cruise, and you just don't hear too much about them! Thanks again!

[Luckysll]

Thanks for the great review! I will be aboard the Spirit in 11 days and have been on the Triumph so I appreciated (and understand) the comparisons.

[Cruise Beauty]

Thanks for the review! :D

[sarbah77]

Thanks for the review! We're going on the NB Spirit next June and I'm gathering as much information as possible. :)

 

-Sarah

[NAMVET]

Thanks for the review 11th AC, welcome home:D

[Perrys100]

Loved the review and the details...we all have family and can relate. We too sail Sept 5th not a moment too soon!!!

[Fazzdaan]

We were on the same cruise, except we did it two day pre-cruise excursion to Vancouver Island and a three day post-cruise tour to Denali and Fairbanks on the McKinley Explorer. All were booked through Carnival.

We had an aft wraparound cabin that was wonderful. Enough cannot be said about how nice a cabin it was and we have already booked a similar cabin for our Hawaii trip.

The weather was phenomenal. There were a few hours of rain Ketchikan, and then there was clouds and mist In College Fjord and Whittier. Many residents and crew made numerous remarks regarding how wonderful our weather was.

Since we had no excursions planned for Ketchikan, we took care of the shopping immediately. She got a very nice diamond ring and I purchased a very nice Digital SLR camera on the ship. Between the two cameras we took nearly 1800 photos during the entire trip.

The following day we were in Juneau and we both went on the Whale Watching trip. We saw some single whales, a pair of whales (mother and child) and finally what the naturalist deemed an unusual pod of three whales. We saw other wildlife as well and thoroughly enjoyed that excursion.

In Skagway we did different excursions. I went on the Glacier Discovery by Helicopter and my spouse took the Chilkoot Horseback Adventure. The weather was so unusually clear in Skagway that we landed on Chilkat Glacier in a spot about 7,000' above sea level they had only been able to reach four times this season. Needless to say, we both enjoyed our excursion days.

We planned to go ashore in Sitka, but frankly the tender lines were too long for us to deal with so we spent a quiet day on the boat and simply relaxed.

The final weather blessing was the trip to Denali and the day in Denali. We were able to see Mt. McKinley clearly on both the train and then the following day on a trip into the park. The weather was in the mid 70's and the layers were coming off as the day went on.

We had a great trip. The only thing keeping us from going back is the fear that we will never see that kind of weather again.

[mr. cruiser]

Good reviews

[Traveling Fools]

NamVet..Thanks and the same to you! I'm chairman of a committee of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia established to locate or account for the NOK of the Regiment's 729 KIA in RVN. On Sept 8th we are rededicating a moument originally constructed in RVN by our engineer company with each Trooper's name engraved on it. We wanted to invite as many NOK as possible to the reunion and/or memorial service. Since Oct we have located, or accounted for, 648 NOK and over 100 of them are attending the reunion, memorial service, or both.

 

FAZZDAN: We must have been on the same train. What a ride! Did you take the 7 hour tundra wilderness tour with driver/guide Jim?

[NAMVET]

NamVet..Thanks and the same to you! I'm chairman of a committee of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia established to locate or account for the NOK of the Regiment's 729 KIA in RVN. On Sept 8th we are rededicating a moument originally constructed in RVN by our engineer company with each Trooper's name engraved on it. We wanted to invite as many NOK as possible to the reunion and/or memorial service. Since Oct we have located, or accounted for, 648 NOK and over 100 of them are attending the reunion, memorial service, or both.

 

Do you know Ollie??:D

[Fazzdaan]

 

FAZZDAN: We must have been on the same train. What a ride! Did you take the 7 hour tundra wilderness tour with driver/guide Jim?

 

No, our tour was booked by and through Carnival so we had a different tour and it lasted about four hours. Our guides name was Gary.

 

We were in one of the McKinley Express railcars on the train and I did see the type of railcar you described in the train and since that train only runs once a day we were definately part of the same train. Just out of curiosity, did you have any kind of tour guide available and how was their commentary during the ride? Ours was quite good.

[Traveling Fools]

NamVet...do you mean Pickral...ask him if he Konws Joe W (Operation Embrace)

 

FAZZDAN: We were right behind the engine and luggage car had our own dinning room and upstairs outside viewing area (all other cars we had lower viewing decks) and Yes we had own Tour Guide and BAR TENDER.

 

Although our guide (Jim) was veeeeeery knowledgable (he told us how smart he was before we left the parking lot) he drove everyone on the bus nuts! We had Paxs coming up to us asking us to tell him the train left at 2 instead of 4. Those of us in the back of the bus had a blast! Saw some bears, caribou and had 2 sitings of Sheep. Didn't see any moose until we were on the train. Saw a Mom with twins outside of Anchorage and Mom with TRIPLETS about an hour out from Fairbanks.

[Fazzdaan]

We saw them also.

[judgejaclyn]

Thanks for the review, especially on Vancouver. If you don't mind, what was the cost of the transport from the airport to the hotel? Thanks

[Fazzdaan]

I had transfers arranged through Carnival, but it was the same bus that the public would use. It is called the Airporter and it does pick up just outside the International arrivals area at YVR and is less then $20.00 to the downtown area and hotels. There is a lot of road construction ongoing in Vancouver in preparation for the 2010 Olympics. Frankly, the bus worked well for us and I would recommend it.

[Traveling Fools]

Had 2 brothers that arrived at different times and took cabs base cost was appx $26 Canadian. Limos were $46 Canadian plus tax and gratuity.

 

Two other points:

 

1) Pricey international or At Sea roaming charges apply to cell phone calls made in Canada or while at sea. However, on land in Alaska stadard U.S. plans apply.

 

2) Several of my brothers and I were a bit miffed with the Cruise Director during her debarkation presentation. She openly solicited those in attendance to rate their cruise experience as "Exceeded Expectations" even if it met expectations. I shared this info with my daughter who works for the Ritz Carlton and who at the time was completing her critique. Her reaction was the same as my brothers and me....i.e. How can Carnival possibly expect to improve if all they get is glowing reviews. Artifically inflated progess reviews are recognized as such and are useless!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Appreciated the review! We were on the southbound right after you, so our only day of rainy weather was embarkation! :) I posted my review on the Alaska port of call board (link to about 200 of the more than 2,000 photos I took is in my signature).

 

Cheers!

Jayne

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. My husband and I are looking into an Alaskan cruise, and you just don't hear too much about them! Thanks again!

 

woohoo, visit the Alaska port of call board--you'll find reviews there. :)

 

Cheers!

Jayne

[judgejaclyn]

Thanks for the reply on cost of transport.

[legalwife]

Thanks for the review. I agree, you don't hear that much about the Alaska cruises and we appreciate your info!

 

Also, I encourage you to try to find a local travel agent. It may take you a couple of chats to find one who is dedicated and cares about her clients, but they are there. I went through a couple and love the one I have now. When you find the right one, you can't beat them hands down over PVP's and internet sites. Yes, that IS just my opinion. :)

 

Thanks again for the informative review. Alaska is in the plans sometime in the next couple of years. Have to figure it out!

[Traveling Fools]

Robin,

 

I have enough experience with most types of travel that I feel comfortable to arrange it myself. Plus, have the time to do it. In this instance, my Mom decided she wanted to take us all and initially my sister was putting it together. Work and medical conflicts interfered with her progress, so after 6 weeks of not accomplishing anything I volunteered to organize it. Given Alaska cruises tend to sell out early and that I was organizing something for a group I considered time to be of the essence. I know more about cruising than the one local TA I have done business with so went with one who advertises on CC.

 

I will shop for one to put our Africa trip together.

[legalwife]

Glad to hear you will be shopping for Africa. It may save you some wear and tear no matter how much knowledge you have - AGAIN - if you have the right one. Good luck with your search and I will keep my fingers crossed that you find a goody!

 

Whew! Africa! Now that is a trip. Have friends that went there and loved it.

 

Happy Travels!

[kellywhitehills]

Beautiful review..We loved our Alaskan Cruise on the Spirit..FazzDan is right..Those wraparound cabins are to die for..We booked another one went we cruise Alaska again next year..You can read my review in my signature if interested..

[Vanessa L]

We are doing this same cruise August 6th next year so I was happy to read your review!! How was the food on the Spirit? Any "must do's" on the ship?