Alaska cruise

Going to call Carnival and ask them directly....but to be honest, when I called with my other question, about if there would be a naturalist on board, the person had no idea. Then after putting me on hold and asking someone else, she came back and said the answer was "no". "That the CD was the only one who narrated what you would be seeing". And my CC friends here have told me otherwise, so not sure if I can even trust them but I'll give it a shot.

Going to call Carnival and ask them directly....but to be honest, when I called with my other question, about if there would be a naturalist on board, the person had no idea. Then after putting me on hold and asking someone else, she came back and said the answer was "no". "That the CD was the only one who narrated what you would be seeing". And my CC friends here have told me otherwise, so not sure if I can even trust them but I'll give it a shot.

If you read the reviews for Carnival Alaska ones in the Alaska forums- they show pics of the naturalist on board with the times they'd talk about each thing so I KNOW they have them...for SURE. lol

Just goes to show you.....CC friends are more reliable than the cruiseline itself.

Funny you should mention that.....stayed tuned.....getting one started soon!

So as not to otherwise hijack or detract from this thread I am posting a link to my Alaska review that I just got started - read on!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2108564

We are going to Alaska next year, May 22 for a 7 day on Celebrity. We had every intention of sailing on Carnival, mainly because I am used to Carnival and I tend to be loyal. My husband had sailed Alaska with his first wife on HAL, and said it was beyond boring, so we had decided against HAL. Anyway, we found a price impossible to beat on Princess one night, and if Princess had 24 hour service like Carnival does we would be on Princess, but before I could call Princess the following morning I checked my email and got a deal from Celebrity that beyond cheap....so basically my husband and I cruising an OV (we will most likely upgrade to veranda before the cruise) for $749 pp, with more than $800 in perks including gratuities paid for both us, premium drink package for both of us and $200 OBC....AND the deposit was only $100 pp, Carnival couldn't come close to that....so this will be my first time to cruise anything other than Carnival and I'm hoping my husband's boring cruise on HAL was because his first wife was no fun and that even if it was a HAL thing that Celebrity is way better....anyway...do your research...I still wish we were sailing Carnival, I'm comfortable with Carnival, but many other cruise lines offer perks that are unbeatable.

We did extensive research on this subject this summer as it is my husband's dream trip! We ended up not booking this summer but plan on next June for the trip. The BIG thing we found is that Carnival only does 2 port stops, while Princess and NCL each do 3 port stops. That may be the deciding point for us.

Carnival's only doing two ports this season because the Miracle has a propulsion problem. Next year the Legend is scheduled to have three ports, some itins include Glacier Bay.

Carnival always has Hot Chocolate available.

HAL uses packets and has Split Pea Soup during glacier viewing.

Princess charges for their HC. (Haven't seen it in the buffet.)

Carnival's cabins are larger than Princess' - apples to apples. Suites are better on Princess. HAL's OV cabins are comparable to Carnival's.

Carnival's only doing two ports this season because the Miracle has a propulsion problem. Next year the Legend is scheduled to have three ports, some itins include Glacier Bay.

 

Although one of the azipods wasn't putting out 100% thrust, we were cruising at 20 knots at times and we stopped at 4 ports + glacier bay just 3-weeks ago. Legend will have he same itineraries when she makes the Alaska run next season too.

We loved our Carnival cruise to Alaska! Our balcony became our own private viewing area. Truthfully, if price was an issue, I would take the "cheaper" cruise which hits the ports you want to see, and spend the saved money on excursions! One excursion we did was the helicopter to the glacier, and dog-sledded there, and it was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. (see my picture next to my name!)