Carnival Spirit Northbound 8-27-08 review

[barbevrn]

I have begged my DW to do an Alaskan cruise and we checked into the Spirit this summer...We ended up going to Cancun instead but we will be on the Spirit on Oct 18th for the first Mexican Rivera cruise..Thanks for the pictures on the ship...Dennis

 

You are welcome. I know how much I love seeing pictures. I do have more, but find it easier to fit them in the order I took them.

 

If it is any consolation, it took a few years for me to "warm up" to the idea of Alaska. But seeing how beautiful it is helped sway me.

[barbevrn]

I'm working on a couple of video clips of the Salmon running. I wish I knew how to make them just open up in the thread, but I'm not that computer savey.

 

We were due onboard at by 4:30 for sail away but decided to beat the masses and headed back and was out on our balcony by 3:30. The weather was perfect. We had stripped down to our jeans and short sleeve shirts, then the shoes came off.

Hope no-one has an aversion to feet. Sorry, KCslim......we really are clean people, and I know the balcony was cleaned several times a day. At least you can see WHAT we put on the balcony. It does make you wonder though. (note to self, bring wipeys to clean the balcony railing)One day that they left a flyer in the room that they would be coming around for thourough cleaning of the balconies. I'm sure they didn't want to catch anyone in, ehh, errr you know a compromising position.

Saying goodbye to Ketchikan

Guard Island Light House

 

We stayed out on the balcony as we sailed away. The aft balcony is protected from wind and is perfect in Alaska if it is not raining. I can see it being too warm back there in the caribbean. Tonight was mojito night in the atrium from 5pm to 8:30. The were several flavors to choose from but I opted for the regular one. I can see how they would grow on you. So, I guess you can say I am no longer a mojito virgin. When we got back to the cabin to get ready for dinner, we found our towel animal waiting.

sheesh, I look tired.

 

We were due for a long day in Juneau the next day, so after dinner we went to the casino and gave a little more of their money back. We set the wake-up call on the phone early enough to eat breakfast because we knew we had a very full day in Juneau.

[barbevrn]

Here is a link to a video clip of the salmon in the creek as well as trying to jump upstream. It put both of them together, but it is two different videos.http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=6e82cf379028b14cb0d664&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

[Podie]

Thanks very much for your great review. We're northbound on the Spirit on 5/27 and will be just below you in aft 5299. I was a little hesitant about an aft but your pictures made me feel better about it. It just seems strange to be looking straight out and not seeing land!

 

We've pretty much settled on the same camera you have. Again, your pictures made me feel better about it! Thanks a million for your efforts with this great report!

[elaina91801]

Here is a link to a video clip of the salmon in the creek as well as trying to jump upstream. It put both of them together, but it is two different videos.http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=6e82cf379028b14cb0d664&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

:eek: Absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!

[barbevrn]

The wake up call works VERY well. I was surprised when it seemed to have a "snooze mode" and the phone rang again a little bit later. We had an independent tour booked with Orca enterprise scheduled for 10 am and was suppose to be at the office at 9:30. We didn't dock until 9am, so we were somewhat concerned. We ate a good breakfast and headed out. After checking in at the office we had some time to kill so we walked around the general area and shopped a little.

 

Juneau is the state capitol of Alaska. But, one of the most interesting facts about this city is that is only accessable by sea and by air. Many residents own float planes or boats. Wheeled vehicles arrive by ferry. Juneau itself Is HUGE boasting between 2 and 3 thousand square miles, but very little of that area is inhabited by people

 

While we waited I made some phone calls home to find out my son was having some medical issues. He's grown and married but that still doesn't keep you from worrying. Made a couple calls and donated some of my casino winnings to him. By now a light rain had started. At first I grumbled and a local laughed and said "welcome to Alaska" You know.....that's right. I knew it was possible, so I got my attitude in check. Woo Hoo! I'm on a vacation.....screw the rain.

 

This was the morning after Sara Palin was nominated for VP. We had a female bus driver that didn't seem to happy about it. She said that Sarah wasn't finished with her work in Alaska. She complained that Sarah had spent most of her time in Anchorage as opposed to her home there in Juneau. In direct contrast, one of our tour drivers later that afternoon sang her praises. He drove us past her house and said she was very approachable and he had personally met her and introduced her to one of his tour groups. It was interesting to hear such a sharp contrast. Such is politics..............

I took this just as our tour boat was taking off

 

Mendenhall Glacier from boat.

Glaciers are unable to absorb blue light rays, so they are reflected giving glacier ice it's blue color.

 

Captain Larry kept a sharp eye out. You could see him scanning the horizon and talking on the radio at intervals.

Some of the sea otters were really playful and would come pretty close to the boat.

[barbevrn]

After we made it out into the channel we started seeing spouts. It is characteristic to see or hear the whale spout 3-5 times then arch it's back sharply just before it takes a dive. All we saw was humpbacks. At one point there was whale action on several sides of the boat. Some saw one of the whales breech. Some saw a mother and calf. You pretty much had to choose which whale you wanted to watch in order to get pictures. I can't even begin to say how many we saw. At one point, we saw one headed straight towards the aft of the boat. LOL

 

We saw several whales in a later excursion in Juneau as well as on one in Sitka. But, my very best came from this trip. The rain had stopped shortly after we got underway and it proved to be another unusually sunny day for Alaska. The locals said we brought the sunshine with us. HA!

the hump

The arch! Look at that spine. I didn't even notice the whale in the background until later.

 

going down!

Here it comes!

EUREKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[barbevrn]

Thanks very much for your great review. We're northbound on the Spirit on 5/27 and will be just below you in aft 5299. I was a little hesitant about an aft but your pictures made me feel better about it. It just seems strange to be looking straight out and not seeing land!

 

We've pretty much settled on the same camera you have. Again, your pictures made me feel better about it! Thanks a million for your efforts with this great report!

 

I will admit it has taken some effort to learn to get the best pictures from this camera. I don't think it is the camera per se. I just think it packs "a lot of punch". That kind of punch takes a little getting use to.I was use to your basic point and shoot, which is just that. IMO this one has enough advanced features not to be considered a beginner camera.. Be sure to practice. I was he11 bent on taking pictures that I would be proud of. I got a lot of good information from pierces over on the photo discussion site and tried to get to know my camera. I still missed a lot of good shots. But I got a lot of good ones too :D

[elaina91801]

OMG Great shots!!!!!! We did Captain Larry for whale watching too!!!!!!!!! Isnt he great!!!??? And his whole team!!!!!!! :D

[traveller123]

Thank you very much for your review and great pictures. I'm headed to Alaska on the Spirit on Sept. 17th, so the timing of your posts is perfect. I'm getting so excited for my cruise.

 

I enjoyed seeing the pictures of downtown Vancouver...you could almost see me waving from my office window. I often take the Seabus to/from work...it's a special way to start or end the work day travelling across the harbour and seeing the cruise ships at the pier, etc.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

[barbevrn]

Upon returning to Juneau, we went to eat at the Hangar on the Wharf that one of the tour guides recommended. They were really busy but the food was good and DH enjoyed an Authentic Alaskan beer. We sat looking at the water and were right next to a dock where floatplanes load and unload. It was amazing. We saw at least 5 planes land within minutes of each other. There was someone on the dock that would pull the planes around to the side and tie them off for loading and unloading. I have on idea how they orchestrated that safely, but it was just business as usual for them.

 

We were in Juneau until 11pm, so we lost track of time for just a bit.

 

The Red Onion Saloon

 

 

 

We decided to check on a bus or excursion out to the Mendenall Glacier. We told the last bus was leaving and it was 20-30 min out. And the last bus returned at 4:30. I didn't remember by reading this board. We were talked into a tour that took us around to various sites as well as out for a view of the glacier for around $35 each. DH didn't think it was worth it since we didn't get as close to the glacier as we though we were going to (I love my Grumpy Gus) but, I thought it was worth the price.

 

We took a tour of the town and saw several points of interest. The guide pointed out historical landmarks and this was where we saw Govenor Palins home. He pointed out that there were no protective fences or guards and she had a trampoline in the yard. Then we headed out for a more scenic tour.

 

He stopped at a glacial lake. There were several pieces of floating ice.

Oh look, another whale tail!

And a spectacular view

 

Then we continued on that at first glance looked like he was just pulling off into a muddy parking lot.

 

Well, that proved to NOT be the case. Awesome isn't it!

[barbevrn]

Thank you very much for your review and great pictures. I'm headed to Alaska on the Spirit on Sept. 17th, so the timing of your posts is perfect. I'm getting so excited for my cruise.

 

I enjoyed seeing the pictures of downtown Vancouver...you could almost see me waving from my office window. I often take the Seabus to/from work...it's a special way to start or end the work day travelling across the harbour and seeing the cruise ships at the pier, etc.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

:D Could you tell that I honestly enjoyed your beautiful city? I had never been to Canada, but hope to return someday. Had I not been a member of this site, we more than likly would have gotten transportation to our hotel and just seen as far as our feet would take us. That would have been a great shame.

 

I suppose you don't need the lecture about layers and a rain parka, do you ;)

[silverfoxcruiser]

Barb -- what a WONDERFUL review. Love all the pictures. When we went, we did stay at the Pan Pacific, had lunch there waiting for friends to arrive, and ordered the tuna burger. It was a tuna filet, with l/t on a roll with bechamel sauce! We've been trying to duplicate that wondrous flavor ever since!! Am absolutely loving your review, loving every description, reliving our AMAZING Alaska trip!! Please keep on describing, girl!! Silver :D :D :D

[annakay]

Hey Sis, loving the review! You are doing an awesome job of sharing. Love all the pictures. Waiting for more! So glad you got to go on this cruise. Love ya sister

[barbevrn]

We drove by the Chapel on the Lake which is renowned for its popularity for weddings in Alaska. It was a modern day Chapel and really pretty. I was experiencing sensory overload and couldn't decide whether to get a picture of the church or the scenery, so didn't get a great one of either. Since this was just a drive by view, there wasn't a lot of time.

 

Next he took us to see the Shrine of St Theresa that was built out on an island. We got off the bus and took a short hike to the island. I would think that even a non-believer would have a hard time not feeling the scerenity of this place.

I was lost in the moment inside this beautiful monument when I started hearing the guide yelling........whale, whale....... So I went outside. You could literally hear them blowing all around.

 

This was the best I got. Sometimes you just have to put the camera down and take everything in.

At one point, a whale was blowing and spouting right off shore here. It would have been an awesome shot, but I didn't gather my senses fast enough. Boy, Do I wish I had got that shot!

 

Ok, now who is right? Me or my DH..........was this or was this not worth $35 each? LOL I really don't expect anyone to answer that, because I know in my heart of hearts. It's ME! :D

[barbevrn]

Barb -- what a WONDERFUL review. Love all the pictures. When we went, we did stay at the Pan Pacific, had lunch there waiting for friends to arrive, and ordered the tuna burger. It was a tuna filet, with l/t on a roll with bechamel sauce! We've been trying to duplicate that wondrous flavor ever since!! Am absolutely loving your review, loving every description, reliving our AMAZING Alaska trip!! Please keep on describing, girl!! Silver :D :D :D

 

shuffling feet..........Awwww, I take that as the highest compliment coming from you. I do wonder if this review is a too picture intensive. :D I feel for the poor soul who tries to view it on dial-up...............:eek: :eek:

[barbevrn]

Oh, I almost forgot..........that tour also incuded another salmon hatchery. I know that Alaska is very, very, very PRO Alaskan bred Salmon. They are against the commercially bred salmon and think in the long run that if they cross breed that it will eventually weaken the salmon to the point of extinction. I really don't know which type of hatchery this is. Maybe someone from the Juneau area can enlighten us. I do know it looks pretty Concrete and comercial to me......:confused:

 

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=6e88b4802889067bac446f&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

 

They say that a salmon will beat itself to death trying to get upstream in order to spawn. I believe it!

[barbevrn]

There was still a lot of time left in Juneau and it was such a clear beautifl day, that we decided to do Mount Roberts Tram. It takes approx 12 minutes to travel 1800 feet up to the top. Once thre there are multiple viewing areas, a raptor center, gift shops of course, and several hiking trails. The cost was $25 each but it was for unlimited rides up and down the mountain. I can easily see spending the day up there hiking around. I had read that if it was coudy not to bother.....but we were blessed by perfect weather. The rain and mist of the morning was a distant memory.

 

View to the left

 

 

view straight down

View to the right

This is the eagle in the Raptor Center. He will never again live in the wild. Someone shot him and his beak is severely damaged. At some point, he will get a new fiberglass beak

 

We hiked one of the shorter trails and discussed the rest of our day. At this point we decided to go back to the ship and grab something to eat, then come back to the Red Dog Saloon for DH to drink a beer and catch the tram up around sunset.

The Mountains are enormous. Words cannot express.

 

 

 

 

[barbevrn]

On the way back to the ship, we noticed folks pointing and taking pictures. Sure enough, perched high in the trees was a pair of eagles. They said eagles mate for life and I am sure these are mates.

 

We grabbed a bite to eat and to be honest, at this point I would have been just fine to stay on the ship. I had to work really hard not to be b!t#y barb. HEE HEE So I gathered up that last little bit of energy and off we went.

 

We took a few of the obligatory tourist photos in front of the shops with the stategically place stuffed eagle, bear, and gold miner on the way to the Red Dog Saloon. They had live entertainment and the singer said he had been hired for a stent coming up on the Legend I believe. I'm fairly certain that since he was a lone performer he will be one of the performers that play near the casino bars.

There was a good 3-4 inches of sawdust on the floor. They say the use of sawdust was to make it harder for gold minors to find nuggets they dropped. About once per week, the saloon owners would sweep up the sawdust, take it out and place it in water where the sawdust would rise to the top, leaving the gold on the bottom. Another interesting tidbit of trivia.......the "ladies" were usually paid with "a pinch" of gold dust. They would pinch a hard pea long enough to form permanant indentions in their fingers, therefore doubling and tripling their payment.

plaque on the wall in the Red Dog

 

We didn't time it just right and got up to the top of Mount Roberts the second time just after sunset. It was still quite beautiful!

One of the girls working the tram was sad because someone had taken her camera. She said this was the clearest sunset all summer. We were once again reminded just HOW blessed we were to have this beautiful day!

Once again we went back to the ship. This was the one and only day that we did not go to the dining room for dinner. We ran by and got a slice of pizza to tide us over til morning.

I think my puppy from yesterday became a bunny! I was really too tired to care much. We went to bed complaining about our aches and pains, but for the most part content that we had gotten the most out of the day we possibly could have.

[KLLund]

WOW Barb .. this review gets better every day .. now I am going to sit hubby down in front of the computer and say .. YOU are not Grumpy Gus .. and YOU need to see this because I want to go to Alaska .. and it is NOT that cold !!!

This is an amazing journey through your camera lens .. and I cannot thank you enough .

[barbevrn]

I can't find the time out smiley.........I forgot that I had taken a couple panaramics on my trusty old Nikon point and shoot. I think I could have done the same with my panasonic, but the Nikon gives you a grey shado so you know you have enough overlap. Arcsoft Panarama maker ROCKS! It is EASY.

 

I am having all kinds of fun doing this review..Finding detail in my photos, reliving my cruise, and learning all kinds of new things.

 

Here is my first one......It probably would have been better with 3 overlaps instead of 4. Things closest to me seem the most distorted. It makes me wonder if I could do some cropping.........HMMMM, probably not since it is only a 3mp camera.

Vancouver looking away from downtown

Ketchikan

[barbevrn]

WOW Barb .. this review gets better every day .. now I am going to sit hubby down in front of the computer and say .. YOU are not Grumpy Gus .. and YOU need to see this because I want to go to Alaska .. and it is NOT that cold !!!

 

This is an amazing journey through your camera lens .. and I cannot thank you enough .

 

LOL, truth be known, DH probably thought the same if not worse about me. We've been married ...........sheesh, 29 years. It's all about compomise.

 

Do keep in mind that Alaskan weather is unpredictable. But, with preparation......it's all good. Layers, layers, Layers.........it makes perfect sense now. The thing you don't want to do is not have enough on. You can always take away and add as you need to.

[kcslim]

Barb, this is fantastic!!! Believe me when I say, I have not been at all enthusiastic about going to Alaska, but your whole "story and slideshow" certainly is making me reconsider. Even "despite the feet on MY balcony" :D

 

Seriously, I agree with everyone on here.. you are doing a fantastic job, and I keep looking forward to more! Thank you so much!

 

Karen

[KLLund]

I live in Oregon .. I am a layering PRO .. LOL .. but I totally understand what you mean .. I had to learn when I moved from California.

[seashell36]

Barb, I just want to say thank you for this wonderful review! The combination of the pictures and your descriptions is absolutely awesome.:D DH & I were just talking about doing the Alaska cruise for our 20th anniversary. I will definitely have to show him this review. Can't wait to read the rest of it!