Kathy's Not-Quite-B2B 2014 Vacation: Miracle in Alaska and Glory Western Caribbean

Now that I finally figured out how to post photos here from Flickr, I think it's time to get a review going. We sailed Carnival Miracle Alaska on July 15 and Carnival Glory Western Caribbean August 2. If you've seen any of my reviews, you know that I try to do a play-by-play of what we did, followed by "Kathy's Your Mileage May Vary" assessment of our travels. Here goes....:o

Soooo… we started out with summer 2014 as our Alaska cruise. Alaska has been one of those places on our cruise “bucket list” and this seemed to be as good a time as any to try it. Originally we were going to sail with BIL and his wife, since BIL was scheduled to be at a conference on the West Coast immediately prior to the cruise. However, BIL’s employer likes to send him on frequent business trips and decided that since he was already on the West Coast, he should follow the conference with a business trip to Asia instead of an Alaska cruise. He ended up booking a cruise on Princess for later in the summer.

So how did we end up with the not-quite-back-to-back cruises, you ask? DH is a college professor and given his schedule, my schedule, and our sons’ schedules we are pretty much limited to vacationing between July 1 and August 15. We booked Alaska last summer, when the weather was hot and Alaska sounded very inviting. Then winter in Upstate New York came. It snowed a lot this past year – and it was cold. Somehow, in the midst of the cold and snow, I wanted a beach. Alaska wasn’t going to meet that need. DH called our PVP to ask about a 5-day Carnival Victory cruise out of Miami. For about the same price, we could do a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival Glory. Sold. It meant flying to Seattle on 7/11, back to NY on 7/22, then FLL on 8/1, return to NY on 8/10. Oh, yeah – after booking all of this, I learned my new boss would be starting work on 7/21. Nothing like getting off on the right foot….

About us: We started cruising ten years ago, a 5-night Canada cruise out of NYC on Carnival Victory. Alaska was our 19th cruise. On that first cruise ten years ago we sailed with our three sons, then ages 13, 8 and 4. Fast forward and that 13 YO is now a 23 YO U.S. Navy Ensign, serving about a destroyer homeported in Japan. We haven’t seen him in person in a year, although Skype helps. The next one is 18 and entering his senior year of high school. DH took him to visit a couple of colleges between these cruises. And the youngest one starts his freshman year of high school in September. The two younger sons sailed with us to Alaska.

I can already tell this is going to be an interesting and fun review. Can't wait for the rest, thanks for posting!

My West Coast travels previously were limited to California: San Diego, Long Beach, Monterey, San Francisco. DH had visited both Portland and Seattle, but this was my first Seattle trip. And sons had never been farther west than the Grand Canyon. We decided to spend a few days pre-cruise: a “touristy” day with the usual sights of the Space Needle, Monorail, Pike Place Market, etc. and dinner with one of DH’s friends who relocated to Seattle several years ago. A second day with a ferry trip to Bremerton, then a show with DH’s friend and his family. Finally, a day at Mount Rainier.

We flew into Seattle on Friday and checked in at our hotel – Hampton Inn Southcenter , not far from the airport. It was much less expensive than staying in downtown Seattle, and they had a shuttle that could take you to local shopping, restaurants, and the light rail station. They also had some local restaurants that would deliver to the hotel. It worked well for us. Lunch at Southcenter Mall, then some time in the pool at the hotel with dinner ordered in.

Next day – We took the light rail downtown, then took the monorail to the Space Needle. The wait really wasn’t too bad.

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Boys and Dad at Space Needle

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Underneath the Space Needle

Then a walk down to Pike Place – lunch at Kells in Post Alley, a walk through the market (and a view of the original Starbucks), then a visit to the Seattle Aquarium. Met DH’s friend who drove us back to his house for dinner.

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Pike Place Market

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Seattle Aquarium

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It's Starbucks

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Boys at the waterfront in Seattle

So far so good, can't wait the rest of your review.

Sunday – I wanted to ride the Washington State Ferry, so we took another light rail train downtown and caught the ferry to Bremerton. We walked over to the USS Turner Joy, a Vietnam-era destroyer that is now a museum. It’s about two or three generations before the destroyer our son sails. Lunch at Anthony’s, then back to Seattle. We ended the day with dinner with our friends downtown followed by a show.

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Seattle waterfront from ferry depot

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Washington State Ferry

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Puget Sound

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Waterfront near Bremerton

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USS Turner Joy

Monday – Thanks to a Cruise Critic poster, I found a Mount Rainier day trip through Tours Northwest that would pick us up right at our hotel. We had a small bus to drive up to the park. We made a stop at a Safeway along the way to pick up sandwiches and soda to have a picnic at the park, then enjoyed a scenic ride into the park and up to Paradise, stopping at places along the way for photos, including Longmire and Reflection Lake.

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Christine's Falls

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Reflection Lake

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View at Paradise

At Paradise we had lunch, then did a short hike to Myrtle Falls. We did have to walk through snow (even in upstate NY we don’t that in July), but were rewarded with some beautiful views of the falls with Mount Rainier and the Nisqually Glacier.

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Myrtle Falls

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Nisqually Glacier

On the way back, we stopped at Longmire along the Nisqually River for more photos, then a stop at an inn known for its raspberry ice cream (yum!)

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Nisqualy River at Longmire

Back at the hotel, we ordered dinner, sat out by the pool and hot tub, and got ready to cruise.

Oh goodie this is going to be a great review! Looking forward to more!

Kim

I am looking forward to your Glory review we sail of her in Jan 2015!

Thank you Kathy ... I'm enjoying your review!

Tuesday – Cruise day! We had a driver booked (through the hotel) to take us to the port at 10:00. It worked well: Driver was there early, we made it through the morning traffic to arrive at the port by 10:30. Platinum check-in was easy and we waited until about 11:30 to board. Our cabin was ready right away – cabin 5295, aft vista suite. The Deck 5 wraps are different from other aft wraps on Spirit-class ships – they’re only one room, rather than separate sitting, dressing and sleeping areas. (Yes, we knew that when we booked.) However, the balcony was really nice and the cabin was just fine.

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Balcony, Cabin 5295

Boys were in an inside across the hall. We dropped off our bags, went up to have lunch on Lido, and our bags were at our cabin when we returned. We spent the rest of the afternoon until muster drill unpacking and doing some exploring. Sons found the basketball court.

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Sports deck

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Seattle Sailaway

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Space Needle

We had early dining. When we originally booked this cruise, a 6:00 dining time would have been fine with our port times – but then they had to change the itinerary to drop Ketchikan as a port and add additional time in Juneau and Victoria. And then they changed early dining from 6:00 to 5:30 for the Alaska sailings – apparently people on these cruise want to have dinner earlier. It meant we couldn’t spend nearly as much time in those ports as would have been possible, and 5:30 is really too early for me. I tried to change to YTD, but it was booked. However, we had a really good wait staff, so that helped. We also booked the steakhouse for 7:00 the night we were in Juneau, so we didn’t lose anything there.

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Boys in the dining room. BTW, Miracle has the ugliest dining room afloat, IMHO. DH describes it as "Neo-Bubonic Plague.":p However, we don't cruise for the decor.

After dinner, we walked around and then went to John Heald’s Welcome Aboard Show.

About John – I started following John’s blog and Facebook page several years ago. Last year we met him aboard Carnival Legend on a Baltic cruise. He’s really a genuinely nice person. We booked the Alaska cruise some time before we learned John would be the CD and were happy to learn we’d get a chance to sail with him again. His Welcome Aboard show is really funny.

I didn't take a lot of photos of Miracle's spaces - we sailed her five years ago. However, I did want a few shots....

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The funnel, with signal flags flying. I've always wanted to know whether the crew actually spells something out with the flags.

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In the stairwells you will see a number of glass artworks on display.

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The Fountainhead, the fountain between decks 2 and 3 forward.

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One of the seat dividers along decks 2 and 3. They use shots from the 20s and 30s, mostly New York City. I took a picture of this one because it's the RMS Majestic, a White Star liner that started out her life as the SS Bismarck, a German ship given to the British after WWI as compensation for one of the British liners lost during the war - accounts differ as to whether it was Britannic or Lusitania. She was not finished until after the war, then sailed the North Atlantic routes until the Depression. I have a wonderful promotional shot of her that probably dates from around 1923, sailing from New York Harbor - past what we now know as Ground Zero. It hangs in my office.

Wednesday – Fun day at sea! On this cruise you’re too far off Vancouver Island to get any kind of shore view, so it’s really much like any other Carnival sea day. Breakfast on Lido, cards and coffee on Promenade, trivia (I won 70’s trivia!) tea time, elegant night and showtime. Elegant night in Alaska is not very formal, but folks were dressed well. We saw all the shows on Miracle when we sailed in 2009, but enjoyed seeing them again. Tonight was “Generations.”

Oh, this is my DREAM CRUISE. And I want to see Seattle too...I don't think it's going to happen in my lifetime, so I rely on good cruisers like you to share your trip. Your pictures of Seattle are ASTOUNDING and I can only hope the rest are 1/2 as good. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Miracle. Sailed on her 4x right from our back yard! ;) Thanks for taking me along on your journey!

Love your pictures! Looking forward to the rest, thanks for posting!

Thursday – Tracy Arm. We spent our morning on our balcony watching lots of wildlife – especially whales. They were everywhere. Michele the naturalist was on the microphone a lot to tell folks about what we were seeing. At 11:00 we boarded the catamaran to go further into Tracy Arm than the ship can travel, right up to Sawyer Glacier and South Sawyer Glacier. This is not a cheap excursion, but so worth it. You sail much closer to the shore and the glaciers than the ship can sail. You sail among the icebergs. We were aboard three hours, and the views were stunning.

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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? I see tourists looking at me!

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Glacial waterfall

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View of the fjord

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Sawyer Glacier

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Float plane at Sawyer Glacier

Back aboard at 2:00. There was another tour after ours, but I think the earlier one is best. We got some lunch, then spent time viewing Tracy Arm from our balcony. (IMHO, a balcony on the Alaska tour is really worth it.)

The VIFP party was at 4:00, while we were still sailing Tracy Arm. John noticed that DH wasn’t taking any of the free drinks – like John, DH is diabetic. They spent some time comparing their dietary regimens. DH will indulge in an occasional glass of wine, but the drinks served at the party are just too sweet for him. Loved listening to “JC and the Miracles,” the full ship’s orchestra. I really miss these folks on the ships without orchestras. (More on that in my Glory review.)

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DH and John Heald, VIFP Party

The evening’s entertainment was a hypnotist, followed by “cigars under the stars” with John. We didn’t make it to either – just too tired, and the next day was an early morning in Skagway.

Well, six photos in a post just don't do Tracy Arm justice!

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Miracle in Tracy Arm

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Ice in Tracy Arm

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South Sawyer Glacier

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More South Sawyer Glacier

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Another Miracle photo

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Iceberg - dead ahead!

Love your review so far. Brought back memories of my trip to Alaska last year.

Friday – Skagway. We booked the White Pass and Yukon steam train excursion. You can book White Pass trips on your own or through an independent tour operator, but we opted for the Carnival excursion so we could be on the steam train. The tour wasn't scheduled until 11 a.m. and since we docked at 7, we had time to wander around Skagway before our tour. There isn’t much to it, but you get a pretty good feel for the Klondike gold rush. The National Park Service has several recreated sites and they tell the story of the rush very well. And oh yeah – If you need an ATM there’s a Wells Fargo Bank.

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Where you're docked. If you've followed John Heald's Facebook posts about lack of Internet, this is Mount Bugger.

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Miracle docked in Skagway

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Main Street Skagway

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Home of the Days of '98 Show

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Another Skagway building

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Train Station Interior

A side story: When I first met DH 36 years ago, I quickly learned that the three hobbies important to the family were ships, trains and shooting ranges. Now, I’ve always loved ships. Dad was a WWII Navy veteran who took me to the Philadelphia Navy Yard every Armed Forces Day and I grew up listening regularly to the soundtrack of “Victory at Sea.” I quickly adapted to DH’s love of ships and boating in general – although the original idea of taking a cruise was mine, not his. Shooting ranges? Never tried it before. Dad didn’t like guns at all. I tried shooting, wasn’t very good. To this day, when we get together at Thanksgiving DH and his brothers spend Black Friday at the shooting range while I spend Black Friday spending money. As for trains…. They were okay, but not my favorite. However, over the years I’ve come to love trains.

Before boarding the train we went to the depot where they had some snacks available. We figured that would tide us over until the train returned. We also got some great photos of all the equipment the White Pass and Yukon operates. Aside from the steam engine (Baldwin #73, built in my old stomping grounds of Philadelphia), they also operate Alcos built in Schenectady (my adopted stomping grounds) and some General Electric units. They’re all narrow gauge – they needed narrow gauge to do the incline and twists and turns this line required.

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Rotary snowblower

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The boys and Baldwin #73

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An Alco diesel unit

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GE Unit

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Passenger cars

On to the train ride itself. The ship-booked tours leave right from the pier. I know they tell you that it doesn’t matter which side you take since you’ll be on the opposite side on the way back – but yeah, you really want the left side. The train is slower going up the mountains and it makes for better pictures. You are allowed to stand on the platform between cars to take photos – they just ask that you not be platform hogs. Each car has a host to tell you about what you’re seeing out the windows, and stories about the White Pass experience in 1898. On the way up you’ll pass lots of scenic views, bridges, and tunnels. You will cross into Canada. Passports are required on this particular trip (they are not on others), but we weren’t asked to show our passports. Our host said that there are times they ask for the passports, though. My own travel belief is to have a passport. DH and I have had them for over 30 years and all of our kids have had them since they were a young age. You may not need them, but there are times when you’re going to want them. When you reach Fraser Meadows, you’ll stop briefly while they turn the train around and replenish the water supply, and the host comes through the cabin with a champagne (or sparkling cider) toast as well as a snack.

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Mountain stream

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Glacier. You know, on an Alaska cruise it starts getting difficult to remember the names of all the glaciers.

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Climbing to Fraser Meadows

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Old trestle

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If you look across the valley, you can see where we traveled.

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Celebrating at Fraser Meadows!

Since the train turns around on a loop, you go back down to Skagway on the opposite side. It’s definitely faster going back down. The train ride ends right at the cruise pier. Since we walked around Skagway before the train trip, and since we had early dining, we went back aboard the ship. However, if you’d like to spend more time in town this cruise offered the opportunity to do so.

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Stopped at Fraser Meadows

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Border crossing

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Another view of the old trestle

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Baldwin #73 at the port

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Lots of steam!

Awesome pictures - loving the review!

Kim

Thank you for your great review. We're doing Alaska next summer and I'm trying to soak up as much information as possible.

I do have a question about your hotel. How much did it cost to take the light rail into the city? Also, how long did it take? I'm trying to decide whether it's worth it to stay that far out or not. Also, how much did your driver to the cruise port cost you?

Love the pictures of the Miracle.

Thanks for the review!

Great review so far! The train pics are great. When we make it to Alaska I will have to remember this excursion.