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Alaska Review on the Carnival Spirit


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Alaska Review on the Carnival Spirit

 

This will be my first review here on Cruise Critic and I hope that everyone reading enjoys it. A little background ... there was 6 of us on this cruise which included myself, DH, DS (5), DD (2.5), my Dad and my Mom. This was mine and DH’s third cruise (all on Carnival), DS and DD’s 2nd and my parents first.

 

Our first cruise was back in October 2011. We went on the Carnival Paradise to Baja Mexico which was a four day cruise. At that time my husband knew he wanted to cruise to Alaska (thanks to his buddy at work who came off one that September and raved about how beautiful it is and how everyone must attempt to visit once in their lifetime). So we booked the four day as a test cruise to see how we and our children liked it. Of course, we loved it!! So after that cruise DH decided it would be an awesome present to take my parents with us for their 20th anniversary. How sweet is he??

So once my parents agreed easily we were off to count down the days to our Alaskan Cruise on the Carnival Spirit!

 

Alaskan Cruise

Carnival Spirit

May 1, 2012 - May 8, 2012

Departed Vancouver, British Columbia & ended in Seattle, WA

Ports of call:

Juneau, AK

Skagway, AK

Ketchikan, AK

and Glacier Bay

 

Day 1 - Long Beach, CA to Seattle, WA

 

DS, DD and I before we left for the airport

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DH, DS and DD ... DD is a Leo and has a temper like her mommy lol

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We decided to fly out of Long Beach into Seattle roundtrip on Jet Blue. It was cheaper and at the time we thought would be easier on the kids. We left on Monday April 30th and flew from LB to Sea-Tac. Our flight was delayed over an hour due to technical problems. We didn’t know if we would make our shuttle on time but with luck on our side we did. I initally booked a rental car and last minute decided to cancel it and booked with Quick Shuttle under the impression that I would be easily pushed thru the border. Also, I was saving a little over $200 by switching. Well I wish I didn’t switch. First off, Quick Shuttle’s bathroom on board the motorcoach that picked us up was disgusting! There was this smell that came from the toilet not being maintained or cleaned. Secondly, the ride from Sea-Tac Airport to Downtown Vancouver (which they drop you off at the Holiday Inn on Howe St) took over 7 HOURS!!!!! We had two pick ups once we left Sea-Tac and once we came to the boarder, all the passengers on board had to get off and go into a building to go thru Customs. At first we were told that all passengers had to get off the shuttle and take all luggage inside to go thru Customs but then the driver came on and said he worked a miracle and we could leave our luggage on and just take our carry on’s we had inside the coach. So with that and the 3 drop offs after the boarder we ended up at a little over 7 hours for our trip from Sea Tac to Downtown Vancouver.

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We decided to stay at the Holiday Inn on Howe street (the drop off for Quick Shuttle). The room was reasonably priced and in a good location near food, stores etc. Plus it wasn’t far from Canada Place to board the ship. Overall the room was clean, the beds were comfortable but the hotel is currently renovating and the way they built it was a little weird. I mean you go in then have to take one elevator to level two then walk across the pool to take another to the rooms.

 

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After checking into our rooms we were super hungry the last time we ate was at 7:30 a.m. so we went off to Tokyo Joe’s for some dinner. Tokyo Joe’s is a nice little quaint restaurant with no more than 5 tables inside and a couple outside. They serve Japanese and Hawaiian style plate lunch. As we are part Hawaiian we were stuffed to our limits with, Udon, Teriyaki beef, Shrimp Tempura, and Yakishabu!

 

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Udon ... delish!

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Shrimp Tempura .. you get 6 with an order

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DS's partially eaten Beef Teriyaki

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Gyoza's

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A picture of us eating YUM

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After our dinner DH and I walked two blocks to the Marketplace IGA which is a grocery store. We went in to pick up some water, juice and a 6 pack of ginger ale which was way overpriced than what I’m used to. We headed back to our hotel and called it a night, tomorrow we boarded the SHIP!!

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We woke up quite early and walked across the street to Starbucks and ate a little breakfast. After breakfast we walked back to our hotel and asked the receptionist to call us a cab. Once we were grabbed all our luggage and brought it out front we checked out and were on our way to the port. We arrived a little after 11 am. Our cab ride from the Holiday Inn to Canada place was $14.00 including tip. We had VIP boarding since we booked a Ocean Suite and I used my credit card to fund my parents booking so they could board the ship with us. We were on the ship by 1 pm and headed to the Lido Buffet for lunch.

 

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The view from our balcony as we sailed away from Canada Place.

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After our lunch on the Lido deck we headed to check to see if our rooms were ready. They were!! My Dad and Mom called our room to thank us for their cake.

 

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After we unpacked we all went up on deck 10 to take some pictures of sail away.

 

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I’m back. Had to throw a load in and give the kiddo’s a bath.

 

I knew the ship had to go under a bridge once leaving Vancouver, so I did my best to capture it. Here’s the results ....

 

Next time I need to attempt it at a different angle

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We then headed to the arcade to let the kids play for a while. On our last cruise I bought the $20 token deal and ended up taking tokens home that I swore I would take on our next cruise. Of course I forgot them. Well this time I said I would buy the same but since we were on a 7 day cruise I for sure thought we would use them all ... we didn’t. I should sell them on ebay!

 

On our way to the arcade we had to walk thru this jungle hallway that had windows looking out, tables and chairs. Every time we went to the arcade there were a handfull of people in there playing cards or reading.

 

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An entrance to Circle C

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The only complaint I had about the arcade was the air hockey machine needs to be fixed. It takes 4 tokens to play and more than half of the little holes that blow air don’t work so the puck gets stuck in the middle.

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I can't wait for more, I live in Huntington Beach and we are looking at Alaska cruise for next summer with the kids.

 

I am a little worry with the rough sea, did you encounter rough sea?

 

Being the first cruise of the season and so early in May we actually had a pretty easy going cruise. The only time we hit rough seas was on Sunday night and most of Monday. Sunday was Ketchikan and most of all the water excursion were cancelled due to the weather and once we left port the ship was rocking! A couple kids in Camp Carnival got sick and they actually had barf bags taped to the walls near all elevators. But in actuality we had it pretty well. Just don't forget the Bonine!!

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Woo-Hoo, a Spirit Alaska review!

Great start.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Your kids are soooo cute!

There are many of us who have been waiting for the first review of 2012!

Looking forward to more, keep it coming!

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Great start! Wonderful family! Food at Tokyo Joe's looks delish! Love gyozas and udon:) Maybe the shuttle should change it's name to Stinky Tortoise Shuttle:rolleyes: Not exactly the best way to start out, but at least you got there. Waiting for more.

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Great review so far! I am doing this same cruise (Vancouver, Alaska, Seattle) next year so I am very interested in hearing how things were with weather and excursions since this is so early in the season.

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LOVE the pictures! Keep 'em coming!

 

Even though I've been on Spirit before, I can never get enough of seeing her. :)

 

I can't wait to read about your excursions, etc.

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My wife and I took this same cruise aboard Princess in 2007. This was our first cruise. We had such a wonderful experience. The seas were a bit rough going to juneau from seattle, but once you enter the inside passage, all was well. Be sure to keep a look out for small, misty plumes in the ocean. These will be whales. We hope you have a great trip. Thanks for posting and keep them coming!!!:)

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Great start! Wonderful family! Food at Tokyo Joe's looks delish! Love gyozas and udon:) Maybe the shuttle should change it's name to Stinky Tortoise Shuttle:rolleyes: Not exactly the best way to start out, but at least you got there. Waiting for more.

 

 

LOL ... they should think about a name change :p

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I have been waiting for this. We sail on July 31st. So excited!

 

You will definitely have a wonderful time. We are planning to go back in a couple of years and want to cruise in either July or August. Let us know how you like it!!

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