Carnival Spirit Northbound 8-27-08 review

[jrmende63]

We had to get on the tour bus and was driven to our train. There was a set of railroad tracks just outside the ship and I had expected to board there. Not sure why they don't pull the train down there. If anyone knows, I'd be interested in nowing. We had to wait until they were ready for us and we boarded our car. It was not nearly full, maybe half. This is one of the pluses to booking on your own. We took the left side and as far rear as we could get.

 

This was the source of our "heated car" It was still cool at 7:20 in the morning and a few passengers stood around the stove until it warmed up

Since we did the bus back, we didn't flip our seats, but we saw them do it.They just grabbed on to the back and......flip. The back became the seat and the seat became the back.

We passed several historic cars as well as the maintainence shop for the trains.

the scenery was breathtaking. This overlooks the harbor and if you look really close you can see the ships

If you look closely you can see the black cross. While building the railroad, this several ton boulder fell on two men. His has since been a monument to them, and all the men that died buiding the railroad.

We saw old pieces of wood from wagons of the past as well as the remains of abandoned mines.

Another train up on the hillside

Barb I know the answer to your question. The train tracks that are right by the ship are for the passengers who book the train ride through the ship. The train comes right beside the ship and picks up the people. We did it through the ship due to my mother-in- law had a bad knee. We did have to walk back to the ship after the train ride though. We did both up and down on the train. I think the next time we go, we will do the excursion you did. I so want to see Emerald lake. And thanks for the video clips of the salmon. We were in Alaska in mid May and did not get to see them in Ketchikan. We were too early for them.

[barbevrn]

What a wonderful picture review!! We have been on the Spirit for an 8-night cruise to Mexico, and will be on her again for the Hawaii to San Diego cruise on 10/06/08. This will be our first cruise with an aft wrap-around balcony, and I can hardly wait!! We will be in Cabin 4237, so I understand the balcony will be covered. Did you enjoy the aft cabin? How loud was the sound of the water, and did you have any problems with soot from the funnel? We have also been to Alaska, and all your pictures bring back such wonderful memories. Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

PeggyS

 

Yes, we enjoyed the aft cabin very much. I wish there was a way to get on on the bow........but, that would be difficult. LOL We did not notice any soot from the funnel at all. It did mist and rain a few times, so it could be that it rained. The sound of the water was pretty loud when you were standing back there. You could not hear the naturalist unless you were in a public area, on the bow of the ship, OR had your TV turned to channel 15. We tried turning the TV on and opening the door, but we had to turn it up so loud I was concerned it would disturb the neighbors.

[barbevrn]

We went and waited in the Pharaoh's Palace as instructed. We heard them say there were 88 people taking this tour. We waited just a little past the designated time for the last 4 passengers and when they did not show up we were walked down to the gangway. We boarded our tour boat straight off the ship. It was bi-level with the bottom level fully inclosed and the top level partially enclosed. We opted for the top floor. We were pretty much free to walk around. It was rough at times.

 

We made a huge mistake. We forgot to take our meclizine. Fortunately there was a lady there that let us have one. I should have taken two........

 

 

we started seeing eagles in the trees, but they were pretty far off.

 

It started raining on and off after about an hour. I stayed out on the observation deck as much as I could because I would get queasy when was sitting inside.

 

We saw several rafts of sea otters and learned that each raft was gender specific.

 

There are sea lions on the lower rocks and sea gulls on the tops. They are pretty hard to see

 

 

We observed an eagles nest. Eagles do not have white heads until they are mature. We saw both the mother and father fly into the next. It was an awesome sight, but the boat was moving too much for me to capture it.

 

I loved the contrasting yellows and greens

[kcslim]

Barb.. I would DIE for your camera! ha! I still have the point and shoot... GORGEOUS photos.

 

K

[barbevrn]

We were able to get close to only one shoreline. Thats where we saw a few starfish. We saw pinks, purples, and orange.

A distant bear.

 

 

A sea otter checking us out

Another married couple

 

 

 

And more whate tails!

 

I had debated between Capt Davey and this one with the ship. I opted for this one for a couple of reasons. 1st there was a weight limit of 225#. DH is tall and just a little over that number. I don't consider him that big, but did not want to have any surprises. I also wasn't sure there was a bathroom on the smaller boat and you know how it is when you mix water and cold air. :eek: Capt. Davey only takes up to 6 people out at one time. If/when we do Alaska again.......I will look into that more closely. I think we would have slowed down a little and gotten closer to the shore. But, that's just my uneducated opinion.

 

All in all this tour was a huge success as far as wildlife goes. But, when they made us come sit down..............this cruise lovin' gal turned all shades of green. I'm sad to say........I'm ashamed.....someone who loves the water as much as I do should NEVER forget the meclizine. EVER! It did convince me that we made the right decision about not taking a float plane though.

[barbevrn]

I wasn't too sick to capture this light house. I believe it is called the Rockwell Lighthouse.

 

I did get fussed at a little to sit down since we were going pretty fast and the seas were rough. We were dropped off at the dock in Sitka and you could either take a tender back to the ship or a free shuttle bus downtown. At this point, I did not feel I could handle the tender.

 

It was raining pretty hard now, but we walked around a bit and then found a resturaunt that was serving chowder. I drank a glass of tea and nursed the chowder until I started feeling better.

 

A tour of the St Michael's Russian Orthodox Church was included in the wildlife tour, so we stepped inside for just a minute.

 

There was quite a bit of memorabilia inside

 

We walked around for a bit and then I decided I felt good enough to go back to the ship. We caught one of the free shuttles back to the tender.

 

 

 

They packed the lifeboats FULL. They are totally enclosed and almost claustrophobic. I'm sure in the event of a real emergency they would be fun. But considering my previous seasickness.....I didn't care for the tender ride back to the boat.

[kcslim]

Oh, so sorry Barb.. I got sick my FIRST cruise.. never imagined I would. I don't forget the bonine/meklazine now! You did great, despite it, though!!

 

K

[BeachBum47]

Barb, thank you so much for this review! We are going on the Spirit in November. We did the Alaska trip about 7 years ago and it is so amazing to read your review because I feel like I wasn't even paying attention to anything when we were in Alaska! LOL

 

Coming from British Columbia, the scenery is quite normal for us but it never gets boring and I still think it's so beautiful. Your pictures are amazing! You have a real talent.

 

I also loved your review of Vancouver. You make me want to go take a tour of my own town! Ha ha

 

Thanks again Barb! :D

[barbevrn]

 

Once we got back to the ship, we hung out and dozed off. We had a couple of hours until time to leave Sitka. It was nice to have a little downtime for a change. The rainy weather was actually soothing.

 

The last tender back to the ship was 4:15 and we were due to leave at 5pm. It rained rairly heavy the later part of the day in port. We made our way topside just before 5pm

more "wildlife"

 

Locals making a living

 

We made our way back down to the room to freshen up for dinner. I stepped out to enjoy our balcony and was rewarded with a rainbow

It was the perfect reminder that at the end of the day, even though it was less than perfect, there are treasures to take from it.

 

 

 

That evening as we left Sitka sound.......the ship started rocking. We had taken more meclizine when we got back to the room, so all was good for us. Many weren't so lucky. Our waiter was not on his game, you could tell he did not feel well. We saw a female waiter or assistant sitting back by the kitchen and other staffers would pat her on the shoulders as they walked by. Many comented that it was extra rough even for them.

 

 

 

The ship was really quiet. I think the rain and rough water took it's toll. Four full days of intensive touring and sightseeing probably had it's part in it too. We had one last sea day and went to bed hoping that the the seas would be calmer. I fell asleep with a smile on my face. Thank God I wasn't sick anymore!

[barbevrn]

Barb, thank you so much for this review! We are going on the Spirit in November. We did the Alaska trip about 7 years ago and it is so amazing to read your review because I feel like I wasn't even paying attention to anything when we were in Alaska! LOL

 

Coming from British Columbia, the scenery is quite normal for us but it never gets boring and I still think it's so beautiful. Your pictures are amazing! You have a real talent.

 

I also loved your review of Vancouver. You make me want to go take a tour of my own town! Ha ha

 

Thanks again Barb! :D

 

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. :D I don't gaurantee 100% accuracy so I take it that it is all good since I didn't get called on anything.

[barbevrn]

The last sea day.................we actually slept in until almost 9 am.There is usally a sense of sadness that last day. The sense that the vacation that you have planned and dreamed of for so long is coming to an end. This day was no different.

 

I had looked out my balcony the night before and in the wee hours of the morning. There wasn't a speck of land to be seen. That was to remain so until mid afternoon. For the first time since we left Vancouver, we were out of sight of land for more than just a short period. Well, since there wasn't much to see outside, it was time to explore.........

 

The atrium on the Spirit is somewhat different than the other ships I have been on. The majority of the public areas are on the 2nd and 3rd decks. The Lobby is on deck two and the photo galary is on deck 3. These are the only two decks open to the atrium. There are walls with windows similar to those found in an ocean view that are set vertically instead of horizonally.

 

 

 

This is looking through one of the windows across the atrium. You can see peeps looking for photos in the photo gallary

standing closer to the window, you can see the glass elevator as well as the pursers desk on the left side.

 

 

 

here you can actually see the cabin doors across the atrium as well as the mural on the wall opposite the glass elevators

 

From the other side

 

 

I know that these are actually what many of you have been waiting for. There are more to come!

[barbevrn]

One of the stewards let me peek into a cabin with the beds separated into twins........I felt kinda awkward and stayed about 2 seconds.......lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pharoah's Palace entry

 

 

This is actually kinda like a waterfall. It flows down the sides and is several decks high. You can see decorative stairways on either side

Fruit display on lido.....The watermellon carvings were a work of art

[barbevrn]

We started seeing remnants of land a litte after 1pm. The water was a greyish color. They say that is caused by the glaciel "flour" or particles left behind when the glaciers melts.

 

 

Just before 3pm we heard announcements that a pilot would be boarding the ship and navigate the ship through College Fjord and to Hubbard Glacier. He would be in control of the ship until we came out of the Fjords. After the Valdez oil spill many laws were changed and all commercial as well as large ships MUST utilize a specially trained harbor pilot. They anticipated that we would reach College Fjord around 5pm and Harvard Glacier around 7pm.

 

There still wasn't much outside scenery, so we went back to enjoy the interior. It had been raining and misting much of the day. The water had calmed down tremedously so the masses were out. This was the only day that the lido deck was just entirely to congested to enjoy. It was congested enough that we had taken our food back to our cabin to enjoy.

 

This bank of video poker yeilded me my Royal Flush......they also proved to be Indian givers. LOL If youo look closely you can see the DH trying his hand.

 

I did a double take when I saw "Elvis" just inside the sports bar. I'm assuming he was going to be singing in the Legends show later that night

 

Around 4pm we started hearing regular announcements from Michelle, the ships naturalist so we made our way to the upper decks.

[barbevrn]

We found a spot on the port side toward the back of the lido resturaunt located just inside the doors. I went in and out trying to keep my camera dry.

 

You can see icebergs off in the distance. See the deep blue one to the left

 

We learned that the Glaciers on the port side were named after female colleges and the ones on the right were named after male colleges

 

I should have written the names down, but I didn't. You can see where the glacer has eroded the land as it made it's way down the mountain

 

This is also a tide water glacer. There is actually ice under that dark brown at the bottom. At one point, this glacier moved so fast that it plowed up the earth in front of it. They call it "the dirty little girl" That isn't the official name though........LOL

 

Two glaciers merge and come together

 

This one takes all kinds of twists and turns

 

The ice bergs really don't look very big from the ship

[barbevrn]

Then we have the mother.........ehhhhhh, errrrrrrrrrr Father of all Glaciers.....

 

 

 

They turned the ship twice to allow each side to view the glacier for approx 20 minutes each.

 

 

 

 

It was cold and wet, but so worth it! I had on all my "layers" and gloves, so it was bearable

 

 

Turning to sail away from the Glacier

We had a long lingering view from our Aft balcony. If there were any doubts about our aft balcony.........we left them at Harvard Glacier.

 

 

 

You can see the College Fjiords glaciers along the way. We stood out on our balcony until Harvard Glacier was no longer visible. We got there at 7pm and sunset was at 8pm. I'm sure had it not gotten dark, we could have seen it much, much longer.

 

DH had to pull me away in order to make our last dinner in the dining room. We had to pack and have our luggage outside the door by midnight. So, I had to call a close to the perfect ending to our 7 day cruise in Alaska. It's like they saved the best for last. A perfectly orchestrated finale...................

[barbevrn]

Since I never figured out how to post video clips, here's a link. Again.........two separate videos of Harvard Glacier. Sorry about the movement......It really is hard to keep the camera stead on fool 18X zoom. I pretty sure when I started the second clip the glacier was already calving.........but it took a couple seconds to realize what I was seeing............ENJOY!

 

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=6ea4d628f0dd742f729a50&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

[barbevrn]

Well, all good things must come to an end. Just as my cruise had ended......so has my time off from work :( I have to return to work today. I still have debarkation and more pictures taken from around the ship to share.

 

Looking back I see a few typos and gramatical errors. Hopefully they will not distract too much from the read.....

 

Wish me luck as I try to muddle through my 1st 12 hour shift in almost 3 weeks!:eek:

[kcslim]

Oh Barb, thank you so very much for all of this! In that video clip.. that's how I envisioned Alaska to be... COLD... was it?

 

Good luck on the first day back... I used to work in healthcare.. are you a nurse? lol

 

Am enjoying every bit of this.. haven't even noticed any "errors"..

 

Karen

[Podie]

Thanks, Barb, it's been GREAT and I feel like I know you! Can I please ask a few food questions? I've heard the room service breakfast has very few items available. Do you remember what they offered? Coffee, juice, baskets of pastry, or more than that? Also, were there things like granola and yogurt on the breakfast buffet? And are you allowed to bring food back to your cabin?

 

THANKS! It's been great!:)

[lennytee]

W O W ! ! ! :D

 

Thanks!

[sunrise2]

Thank you for your great review. This will come in handy for when it will be our turn to cruise to Alaska! Thank you for sharing your journey with us! Loved it! :)

 

Keep all those memories close at hand and when things get stressful at work, just close your eyes and remember!

[Willie T]

Bravo!

[camper49]

Never too many pics!!! This is the best review ever!! We are doing this same cruise aug. 19th, 2009. Had southbound but had to switch to north and was not certain about it but now i can hardly wait!!!!

[Payd]

Wow!! You did an awesome job on your review. I loved all of the pictures. I really enjoy our hot weather vacations, but someday we will travel to Alaska.

 

So happy to hear that you enjoyed your travels in Canada too!!!

[barbevrn]

I still have debarkation and a few more pictures. But, just as I though.......work is sorta getting in the way. If I don't get pulled into working overtime or at any of the shelters they plan on opening, I'll finish up tomorrow.

 

Honestly, the cruise was pretty much over after Harvard Glacier. The casino even closed at 11pm :eek: :eek: :eek: But, they said we were pulling into Whittier and they had to close it by law.