~OFFICIAL~ "SPIRIT"ing to the Majestic Land of the Midnight Sun! * May 11, 2010*~

[grrl2grrl]

My photos are all up!!! Woohoo... There are TONS! When you go to the photo link in my signature, wait until it loads...

The worded review coming soon!

[anamanxs]

My photos are all up!!! Woohoo... There are TONS! When you go to the photo link in my signature, wait until it loads...

The worded review coming soon!

 

Great shots Dana, Is the photo storage program easy to use. I am still trying to find an easy program to use. I like the way your pics are framed and that they look like a slide show. Was it very time consuming. I know the blog thing is, that I have been using.

[anamanxs]

Some of my pictures from the trip

:D

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/577761287VHxNnO?vhost=travel

 

 

They are still uploading too

 

 

Great pics Jen!

[anamanxs]

All yal make me wish my cruise was now. I can't wait to see what yal saw.

Anyone stay at the quality inn on johns st? Just curious on do they have a shuttle to the dock and how far the dock is from there? Also, is it walking distance to great places to visit? My SIL asked me and I have no clue LOL

 

 

Several of us stayed at the Quality Suites on John St. It was old but clean and we would stay there again. They do have some shuttles, best to check with them on what is running each month.

 

We would be glad to stay there again, very good bargin for the money.

[grrl2grrl]

Slide is very easy, the only issue is I can only upload 50 images at a time. I can have more than 50 images in a slide show, just have to wait till the first 50 are uploaded then keep going.

 

There are many options for frames, and all sorts of fun things to go along with the slide shows, and they update to the blog with just a copy and paste.

 

Funny thing is I was just looking at the slideshow you have posted. I like the clean-ness of your slide shows.

 

Try it out with 5 photos, and see if you like the format! Good Luck!

 

It sort of looks like we all got most of the same photos!

[MCEaton]

My photos are all up!!! Woohoo... There are TONS! When you go to the photo link in my signature, wait until it loads...

The worded review coming soon!

 

Dana,

Sorry we didn't get to officially meet, the day of meet & greet MH was videoing the glazer and time got away from us, but your photos are great.

Hope you had a great time and we hope to meet you on a future cruise.

 

Mike & Chris

[anamanxs]

Dana, you need to check out the cruise we are looking at in Jan 29 2012. It is pretty far off but sounds like fun and gives us time to save for it. Hopefully it we be official soon.

 

Kim, I found Teatly British Blend at Kroger's; you were right it is GREAT!

 

Everyone's pics are great. I hate it that we didn't get any of the group together. I am still uploading to shuttlefly the pics I got from my son-in-law. But, I do have several pages of my blog done, link below. I am up to Skagway.

 

I started Southbeach again ..... I'm starving!

[grrl2grrl]

Brief Review: (if this one is the short one, you'd never have gotten through the long one)

 

2 days in Seattle pre-cruise were spent with in-laws in Monroe, WA @ RV park.

Highlight: little coffee trailer that is Cowgirl Coffee, a scantly clad woman fixes you what ever coffee you like in a drive thru.

Most Amazing: There was a ring around the sun, I've seen a ring around the moon before, but never the sun. See photos for picture.

Tuesday Sailing date- We rented a SUV to take all 6 of us, and our luggage so we did not have to park a vehicle at the port, much more cost effective for the 6 of us. (If you are flying in, and staying overnight anywhere before your cruise - just get a rental... it will be cheaper than most of the other transportation options.) The port of Seattle has not got the porter thing figured out yet. There were about 3 other people standing with their luggage, waiting on the few porters to take their luggage. We decided it would be easier/faster to lug our own. Inconvenient, but I imagine the port will get better with more experience. The water in the port was a dirty brown once we started moving. Not far into our trip the views of the snow capped mountains were beautiful. I went outside on the 3rd deck to take photos, but when I went back inside, I couldn't get in. Any of the doors. A bit of anxiety crept into my stomach. At the 3rd door I tried, there was an employee on the other side. He helped me open the door, but it closed on me when I was halfway through. I was not hurt, but just be aware of high winds when outside. We had late dining, and our waitstaff was pretty quiet the first night, but as usual, very good at what they do.

***Note to non-fish, non-seafood eaters... you may be disappointed in the dining room meal choices. There are many varieties of seafood or fish on the menu each night, but for me, I mostly had the choice between chicken, flat iron steak, prime rib, or bbq ribs. I understand why the menu would be more fishy in this part of the country, just go with the right expectations.

DO get the cold fruit soups. It's like having desert first, and the presentation was nice also.

The sun disappeared around 8:30, but it did not get dark for another hour later. The light came around 5:30 a.m. but we did not see the actual sun until about 8:00 a.m.

The show was the exact same show as one of them on the Legend, down to the same costumes. I expected more. This is the only dance/singing type show I went to because of the disappointment.

Wednesday - Sea Day. I was in the shower when the naturalist came over the speakers announcing whales. (btw the clothes pins tip on the bottom of the shower curtain worked wonderfully.) I also went to the spa to have a color & highlight treatment done. The price was only slightly over what I pay at a high end salon on land, so for me it was worth it. This was also cruise elegant night, and we got all dressed up. We went to all the photo booths, and had as many photos as possible taken. (We like choices) We usually budget $100 just for photos, and usually come home with about 5 8X10's. The comedians on the ship were funny, so we went to all of those shows.

Tracy Arm was not passable, so we went to Endicott Arm. The glaciers and the icebergs were beautiful. I took so many photos. The people that booked the excursion came back to the ship with stories of calving and wildlife, non that I saw from on the ship.

Highlight: The ship did a 360 degree turn which was neat.

Sitka offered a pretty sunrise, and a beaver, or otter playing in the water. Some people said they saw whales, but I was getting dressed. We did the Gold Panning Adventure, and it was horribly touristy. We ended up walking back to town instead of taking the bus. This town is SMALL. If you are going to have one of your big excursions like float plane, or ect, do it on the Sitka day. We were done with our gold panning, and walking back to town before dinner was even completed.

Juneau was a big city, I wish we had more time here. We went hiking tin the rainforest with our wonderful guide. The hike was awesome, but not for the faint of heard.

 

Sleep is coming, so more to come later...

[anamanxs]

Dana, no wonder your hair looked so good!

 

And you are 100% correct on the dining options, everything I had was good but never ate so much beef on a cruise. I think they replace the gormet chicken dishes with some type of fish; which everyone in my group ate but me! I really wish they offered more vegetables, I did order the steamed veggie a couple of times.

 

As, Dana said just be prepared!

[dobiemom]

Sitka offered a pretty sunrise, and a beaver, or otter playing in the water. Some people said they saw whales, but I was getting dressed. We did the Gold Panning Adventure, and it was horribly touristy. We ended up walking back to town instead of taking the bus. This town is SMALL. If you are going to have one of your big excursions like float plane, or ect, do it on the Sitka day. We were done with our gold panning, and walking back to town before dinner was even completed.

Sitka was my favorite port on my first cruise, but I thought the Carnival Spirit was not going there? Did you have to change itineraries? Or was there an excursion to Sitka from another port?

[grrl2grrl]

Sitka was my favorite port on my first cruise, but I thought the Carnival Spirit was not going there? Did you have to change itineraries? Or was there an excursion to Sitka from another port?

 

You are correct... boy I was tired last night... it was Ketchikan, our first port.

Good thing I stopped right after that, I think everything was about to get merged together...

 

now after my sleep more to come :)

[grrl2grrl]

You are correct... boy I was tired last night... it was Skagway, our first port.

Good thing I stopped right after that, I think everything was about to get merged together...

 

now after my sleep more to come :)

 

wow... I am suffering post cruise port confusion... Sorry again... Skagway... our first port... I got it this time... really...

[dobiemom]

wow... I am suffering post cruise port confusion... Sorry again... Skagway... our first port... I got it this time... really...

Thanks, Dana. Get some sleep! I can't wait to read more about your cruise! :)

[grrl2grrl]

Juneau was a big city, I wish we had more time here. We went hiking tin the rainforest with our wonderful guide. The hike was awesome, but not for the faint of heart. In fact, I had a slight asthma attack when climbing the stairs portion of our hike. I would do it again. The information about the plants from our guide was wonderful, and the exercise was great after feeling a little cooped up on the ship. I only wish we had more time in Juneau. Also, I did not see any wildlife in Juneau, well except a mountain goat on the next mountain which looked like a dot through my big camera lens (300 mm) and from the bus there were bald eagles sitting on the side of the road as we went by. I don't count them as viewing wildlife. I was really hoping for some great shots in my pictures.

In Ketchikan, I was pretty sore from my hike, but I went on shore early. It was quiet still in port, with only the buzz of locals getting ready to work. I thought I might get more wildlife if I just walked, and waited. Past the cruise ship portion of the port I took a right, and just walked. I saw many of the locals. They all said "Good Morning" as we crossed paths. I saw a cemetery, and thought that would be a quiet place, especially with the woods behind it. So I walked up the hill, and found a slug, a couple of Canadian Geese, and a Bald Eagle at the top of a tree, even though it was pretty far. All the woods had no trespassing signs, so I respected the request. I walked back to the ship, and I think my feet were done. I didn't even go shopping. I knew Ketchikan was going to be the best port to buy souvenirs, but I met up with other members of my party, and they were headed back on board early, so I went with them. We stayed on the lido deck as long as we could, but when the sun was behind the clouds it got a bit chilly. So we went to the spa to check out their in port specials. Heather chose the full body massage for $99, not bad for a cruise ship. I chose the pick 3 for $75, and got a facial, head & neck massage, and hand massage. It was wonderfully relaxing. This port day was also the other cruise elegant evening. So we got dressed, and did all the photos again, did I mention I liked choice? Tonight was also the late night comedian, so we stayed up, and were pleasantly surprised, as the show kept us laughing.

The next day was mostly at sea, as we were headed to Victoria that night. I was determined to see a whale, as I had missed them all so far. I stayed on deck all day. I didn't even want to go to lunch, but I did... We saw many icebergs floating by during lunch. In the dining room for lunch, we always requested a table by the window, and as long as we didn't mind sitting with others. So don't be afraid to ask. About 4pm I was out on the 3rd floor deck, and hunting whales. I saw some!!! I saw a few fins, and a one even rolled, and flapped their flippers. I would have liked to see some of the feeding activities, or breeching, but no luck.

In Victoria, we had our dinner a little earlier, but it still overlapped port time. I am glad I still chose dinner. When we got off the ship, there were several options to get into town, but beware, as the port security was telling us one price for the cabs, and we heard the cabs telling another couple a totally different and inflated price. We were also thinking about the horse drawn vehicle, but they were done for the night, and so we went to check the price of the bicycle cart. We saw a couple getting out, so we went to see if the bicyclist was available. The bicyclist was telling the couple, "I didn't understand that you only wanted 1 hour, so why don't we just say $75.00 and call it good?" We abruptly, turned and left. The bus will take you for $7.00, and accepts US cash, and gives change US. The driver pointed out some land marks, and dropped us downtown. The only thing open were the tourist shops. The prices were about the same as we had been seeing on the rest of the cruise at the ports. I got a nice shot of the lit up parliament building, and then we headed back to the cruise ship.

We woke up back in Seattle, it's always sad to leave the ship. Embarkation was easy, and we quickly found our bags. The little office for rental cars had many brochures and free maps of Seattle, and very helpful employee that gave us more info than we needed. We went back to the RV, and did laundry, and just relaxed.

On Wednesday, we went to the San Juans via a whale watching tour. The excursion was very nice, and while the whales were not very active, as we only saw a couple of minkes fins. The impressive part of this was the seals. We saw a California Sea Lion sunning on a buoy right away, and then saw many Harbor seals sunning on a little island. When we were tracking the whales we has some of the seals around the boat with their heads bobbing with the waves, just watching us, and the whales. We also saw puffins, and they got a little, uh hum, busy while we were there. It started raining about halfway through, so we went to the inside of the boat, and had a little lunch.

On Thursday, we headed to Forks, and LaPush. This was the first time we had been on a ferry, that was neat. The drive was pretty long, about 4 hours from where we were in Monroe. I had done a lot of research on the Olympic national park. They have a whole portion just on waterfalls of the park. We stopped in Port Angeles, which was bigger than we expected. There was a park office which we stopped in, and they had preserved animals on display. I asked one of the rangers about the waterfalls. He told me he only knew of 2, but there will be natural waterfalls throughout the park. I mentioned the website, and the 15 something waterfalls they had listed, I really just wanted a printed version, as I was sure to loose signal for the internet. He didn't have one and tried to direct me to one of the waterfalls he knew of. I told him we were going the other way, so no thank you. I'm sorry, but if you are a park ranger, you should probably at least know the content posted online about your own park. So we drove around the mountain range, and our ears popped several times, the lakes are beautiful, and the rain was was off and on. When we arrived in Forks, we drove through the town looking for somewhere to stop for a late lunch. We passed the town. It is that small. On the edge of the town was a trailer park with the colors of the trailers like Easter Eggs. We turned around and went back to a little place called "The it place" the food was piled so high, and it was pretty good. After lunch we stopped by the Bedazzled by Twilight store, which was just sad. A whole store chocked full of the same stuff you can pick up in hot topic, for about triple the price. Needless to say we didn't purchase anything, sadly. I thought my nieces would have gotten a kick out of a souvenir from Forks.

We moved onto LaPush, and drove through this as well. There were trailers at the end with the yards filled with junk and trash. It was really sad. I know people live like this everywhere, but with the surroundings of such an amazing place, the beautiful mountains in the background, and the wild beach in the front, how can you abuse the land and property like this? We stopped by the gas station so I could use the restroom, and I bought a bottle of water for the hike. The locals, which I assume were from the Quilute tribe, as LaPush is a Quilute reservation. They didn't look like the Native Americans I am used to, (The Seminole Tribe is local), they looked more like what I picture an eskimo without all the coats and fur would look like. I suppose that's not to far off in this part of the world in winter time. It was spring and cold when we went. We went to First beach, and there are just little places to park on the side of the road, and then a little path to a quick hike down to the sand. You really want to check out the photos in the link below, it is as beautiful as in the movie. We took some photos, took in the beach, and then went to Third Beach. This was a longer hike, 2 miles one way. The signs at the beginning of the path said this was Cougar Country, and gave tips to survive becoming a Cougar meal. We didn't see any cougars, or bears or any wildlife at all. We did find the biggest clovers I have ever seen in my life. When we got to the beach there were about 15 boys in tents on the beach. This was incredibly dangerous, if the tide is too strong, anyone on the beach would be trapped, and killed by the ocean. In fact Heather wouldn't move from the path so she could try to make a quick exit in case of a large wave. It was almost ridiculous, but the fact that there were Tsunami warnings, and wave warnings on the board before we began the path. I however, choose to live an educated dangerous life... I walked down the beach. The driftwood piles were enormous, and the boulders were gigantic. Everything on this coast was huge. So on the walk back, we were almost to the car, Heather says, "Do you have your cell phone?" I felt for it, and had to answer, "No." We had to go back... I walked back to the beach, no luck, asked the boys, no luck, searched the beach, no luck, but I took a few more photos as the storm had rolled over, and the sun was peaking back through the heavy clouds. I was almost tempted to stay for the sunset, except up here the sun doesn't really set, just fades away. Then we walked back to the car, a little lighter than we came. Good thing I work for the company... Because of our extra 4 mile walk that was unplanned, we just barely made the time for the last ferry of the night. We got back to the RV around 12:30 a.m.

The next morning we slept in, and re-packed to get ready for our flight. Loaded up the car and made our way to Pikes Market. It was neat. Almost like a flea market, but nicer, more handmade wares, and higher priced. I tried some smoked salmon, which tasted more like Virginia Baked Ham lunchmeat with the texture of tuna fish. I bought a couple of souvenirs for the girls, and then we went to the Space Needle for our dinner reservation. This was quite an event. The views, and the experiences were beautiful. The services was excellent, just like my cruise, but also more of a fishy menu like the cruise. I decided to try the salmon, as I was in Seattle, and I would like to like fish, I just don't. So for me the fish was okay, but I'm sure someone who enjoyed fish it would have been great. The meal was as expensive as some of our Alaskan excursions, so I don't think I would do it a 2nd time, but I am glad we did it once.

 

See I told you, you would be thankful for the short version...

If you have questions, I would be happy to help, as I know we have many future Alaskan cruisers lurking.

Also all the photos are loaded on the link below...

[anamanxs]

Great revie Dana, we didn't get to see any of the Puffin.......

 

Wow and you can say you ate at the Needle, I had a coffee does that count! I have never watched the Twilight movies, going to have to do that I guess. We started watching it ont he Spirit but it wasn't the first one and I had no clue what was going on.

[anamanxs]

Thanks to all in the group, I had a GREAT time being your group leader and hopefully someday can be a leader again. It was definetly an experience that I hope I have learned from and that each of you had a GREAT time!

 

Each of you hold a special place in my heart. As t all cat friends say; you left pawprints on my heart! We build memories of a life time and it was the cruise of a lifetime. I cruised to the sun for your just that: sun and fun but this was an amazing chance to see our GREAT world in all her splender and beauty!

 

If we missed meeting - our online communication has been great also, so all my SPIRITERS and Adopted SPIRITERS again ...... THANKS and I hope we can meet again!

 

There are several great reviews out there and I am sure more will be coming. Mine is still a work in progress. I started a new thread at: Review Alaska and then have my blog review. Just click on the different pages on the right.

 

Their are several of us interested in this NOW OFFICIAL upcoming cruise, check it out if you haven't already!

 

Looks like it is going to be a blast and a chance for us to get together.

 

And now a little Happy Dance THANKS Dance to all my SPIRITERS! Love ya all!

 

[Rychedelic]

My family and I had an incredible time on the Spirit!!

 

Question for anyone on the May 11 cruise...did you buy the Funship DVD? The one that shows all the activities and people on board?

 

If ANYONE has a copy with the capability to make a copy, I would graciously pay for one. My parents bought one but when they got home noticed it was a DVD of the ports and not the one of the ship fun that they were filmed on.

 

We immediately called Carnival upon returning home after discovering it was the wrong one and they told us that the DVD is only available while on board, they do not have copies on file. Well, it was my parent's 50th anniversary and wish they had noticed it was the wrong one before leaving the ship, but it was delivered the morning of departure so...here I am asking. Never hurts to ask.

 

Thanks for reading. :)

[anamanxs]

I did not get one but I hope you are available to find one (I will ask a few I know that went that are not on CC). I would do a seperate thread asking that question. I am sure someone on CC bought the video. I did not even know they had two.