jerseygirlinAZ

I like Buffalo and the Drums.  Won $2k on the Drums my last cruise.  Was a good night!

43 minutes ago, svmodi said:

Thanks for sharing the details. We are still a year out from our cruise but wanted to get started on researching different ports/excursions.  Just curious - when did Carnival post the Tracy Arm Fjord small boat excursion for your cruise? I just want to make sure that I don't miss out on that.

FYI, for our cruise, it was posted under San Francisco excursions for some reason.   

We were in Alaska May 29 - June 8.  Was glad we brought rain jackets as there was some rain and the jackets tended to block the wind on deck.  Also glad we brought hoodies/fleeces and were able to dress in layers.  We were also happy to have our knit caps and gloves, though you might be okay without them.

Was happy we didn't spend money on waterproof shoes.  We didn't do much hiking off the beaten path, so that worked for us. Even in the rain our feet were dry and warm.  For footwear, we brought flippies (for the pool and spa), sneakers/tennis shoes, and deck shoes (Vans for me, Crocs for the kiddo).  I did bring a pair of heels, but no one was all that fancy on our ship (Carnival Miracle).

Was happy to have binoculars as we saw a bear on the shore.  Also brought laundry pods and dryer sheets as this was the first cruise on which we did laundry (10-day).

Have fun!!!  

Thanks for posting! We sailed the Radiance to Ensenada right after the covid restart and I was unimpressed, but understood things were just getting back to normal.  

We just booked the Radiance again on a casino offer.  We'll be doing the same cruise in October.  Sorry to hear your excursion and Cucina got cancelled.  😞  We plan to do Cucina and the Steakhouse on this trip, though we always book the Steakhouse night one for the wine deals.  

2 minutes ago, bluejay555 said:

Ugh.  We had someone grabbing our luggage as soon as we got out of our taxi.  We got there about 10:30am.  

That is awesome!!!  We were there early since our check in time was 10:30, but no one grabbed our luggage, lol.  We headed to the back of the long line.  I did hear someone on board mention that there was a conveyor belt issue, so that could have been the issue.  The check in lines were much shorter during our cruise than yours, but I'm guessing that's because everyone was in the luggage line. 🙂

The only fight we've seen was in the casino, late night, on the Conquest or Paradise out of Port Canaveral or Tampa (can't remember).  This was pre-covid and security was on it in a heartbeat.  That might just be because there was more security already present in the casino?  I don't know.  

We typically cruise during the "don't cruise" times since I work in education and we have an eight-year old.   I will say that the short cruises we've taken out of Long Beach (which is our closest port) seemed to have more intoxicated passengers.  I think it's easy to buy Cheers, get off the ship in a port like Ensenada, have a drink everywhere they offer you a shot of tequila (and it's pretty much everywhere in Ensenada), and then get back on the boat and try to get your money's worth with Cheers (at least for some people).  All that drinking often leads to bad news.

Our next cruise is a four-day on the Radiance in October to Ensenada and Catalina during, you guessed it, fall break for most Arizona schools.  Almost didn't book it, but got a great casino rate and wanted to check out a Halloween themed sailing.  Am going in thinking there will be a lot of partying and drinking.  We'll just make sure our old butts are in bed by 10 p.m. or midnight, if the kiddo wants to hang at Night Owls.  

11 hours ago, thenexus2k said:

Looking forward to it as well. Just did this cruise last year and doing it again next year. Where did you stay in SF? Was the boarding process at the pier still slow?

We were on the May 29th sailing to Alaska from San Fran and, YES, the boarding was very slow.  Well, it actually wasn't so much the boarding, but the luggage drop off took almost an hour of waiting in line.  We actually missed our check in time and they let other groups go early.  No big deal though since once we dropped our luggage we basically just walked onto the ship.

Thanks for posting!  We took the same cruise, but a month earlier.  They combined the kids club groups on our cruise as well, likely because there weren't as many kids.  My daughter actually loved the kids club, but I know all kids are different.  

Agree with the arcade prizes.  We spent a lot of money for a bunch of little things, but we had fun.  We DID get lucky with the claw machine and I won three stuffies.  Packing them is always a lot of fun, lol.  

Sorry you missed Icy Strait Point.  We thought is was a nice little stop.  Agree that there wasn't much going on at Prince Rupert.  We did a different excursion in Skagway (dog sledding, gold panning, and the railroad).  Our daughter loved the sled puppies and finding gold.  It was a nice excursion.

Your pics are great!  Glad no one fell through the ice.  🙂  

On 7/7/2023 at 7:23 PM, pinto18 said:

Yep I agree. We got denied and I resubmitted for the heck of it and it got approved...

 

I'm thinking I'll resubmit and sent to the guestadmin address.

We just got a "denied" this morning for our 4-day cruise in October.  Wasn't surprised as we booked on a casino rate (free interior, $200 OBC, drinks on us in the casino).  We did add a third passenger (our daughter), but the rate was still very low.  

We DID get approved booking under a casino rate for our Alaskan cruise last month, but we upgraded our room and that cruise was much more expensive.  

FYI the peanut butter and jelly has grilled bread.  My daughter actually loved it and ate it every night.  

On 7/1/2023 at 3:19 PM, tetleytea said:

That is true about Juneau.   You can pick up/drop off people near the ship, but you cannot park.  So you have to split up your party and leave at least 1 driver with the car, until you are done with it.

 

Three stops of note that we made with the car were Glacier Gardens, Alaskan Brewery, and McDonald's.   If you're like me, I'm not interested in using limited port time for a nice, sit-down restaurant when we've already got that on the ship.   Also, a number of ravens liked to hang out right by the drive-through.  They were huge.

We, too, went to McDonalds.   (Have a seven-year old that was ready for a happy meal after being on the ship for six days.)  We also saw the ravens!  They were quite a sight.

We accidently wound up at Alaskan Brewery coming back from Shrine of St. Therese.  We plugged in what we thought was the downtown location, but the GPS took us to the brewery.  It was a nice, unplanned stop.  

We used uber earlier this month and it was about $60 each way.  

We also took uber from our hotel to the pier, which wasn't too expensive (though I can't recall the exact amount).  I know some people walk from their hotels to the pier, but I wouldn't do that unless you are close.

Not sure there will be much open in Hoonah at that time, but it is still a neat little town.  We saw an eagle nesting there earlier this month.  

If it is running, you can also take the bus to Hoonah.  I think it's $5 per person round trip.  

This is a great topic!  Here are some of my stats though I'm not sure how unique they are ...

* By next summer, I will have cruised twice on three of Carnival's ships (Miracle, Radiance, Legend).

* I've been on nine cruises ... the first in 2002, one in 2014, one in 2016, one in 2018, and the rest within the past two years.  

* I've never won any contests or challenges on a cruise; however, my daughter won a Carnival Radiance trophy on her first cruise for winning bingo at Camp Ocean.

* My husband won a jackpot on Buffalo slots the first night of one of our cruises early on in our marriage.  We got hats and other swag.  It was a good night!

We sailed Mardi Gras and Panorama and then sailed the Miracle ... twice.  Had a blast!  You'll be fine.  🙂  Enjoy!

3 hours ago, sunshower9 said:

Can't wait to see the new menus.  Really glad to hear that bitter n blanc will still be there.  I'm excited to see some changes, even though I've already chosen all of my specialty dining nights based on the old MDR menus lol. 

Lol!  My husband and I just did this at dinner tonight.

Hi fellow cruisers,

Just returned from a 10-day in Alaska on the Miracle and got an offer for a free interior room if we sail before the end of the year.  Our options are limited because we have a seven-year old in school and I work in education (and we hadn't planned on cruising again so soon).

We decided on the Radiance in October hoping to enjoy the Halloween festivities.  We normally book an ocean view or balcony, but decided to stick with the interior this time around.  Still, we like to have some light from outside.  I have an interior room with obstructed view at the front of the ship on deck 3 on hold.  Anyone have experience with these types of rooms?  It is below the main lounge showroom, which is my only concern; however, we are night owls so I don't think it would be a major concern.

Thanks!

On 6/1/2023 at 9:05 AM, Pluto_fan said:

 

Thanks for your comments...sounds like you had a fabulous day!

May I ask how you found that car rental rate?  For our visit in three weeks I've found $270 for Avis near the port, $170 for Juneau Car Rental near the airport, and $180 for a Turo rental downtown...still better for us (family of 5) than the Blue Bus, but $55 would be a lot better!

We just rented from the Avis by port last Saturday.  I was a bit concerned when we arrived because the office was closed since ship time was different than Juneau time.  At first, we thought we might have to Uber to the airport location, which was $45 when we looked it up.  

Our car was electric so we didn't need to pay for gas, which was nice.  And we were the only ones there, no crowds.  It was super easy even though it was pricier than the other locations or Turo.

7 hours ago, quack2 said:

My car rental itinerary was Airport, Mendenhall, St. Therese, Eagle Beach, Costco (just curious), Airport.

 

If I had been smarter, I would have done Glacier Gardens and Douglas Island too.

We, too, went to Costco, lol, but it was not a planned excursion.  Worker said it is the smallest Costco in the world.

On 6/1/2023 at 8:56 AM, Pluto_fan said:

Can anyone comment on parking at Mendenhall?  We are planning to pick up our car at 8am and head straight there, but from the google satellite view the parking lot looks tiny!  At 8:30 on a Sunday we should be OK, right?  Thanks for any reassurance you can provide!  🙂

We were just there last Saturday and did what you are planning. Picked up the car at 8 a.m., went right to Mendenhall, and were able to park right up front.  Hardly anyone was there that early.  It was beautiful.

12 minutes ago, luckybecky said:

Well good news! I just logged in to Carnival and have a room assigned. And it's not bunk beds! 🙂 We were upgraded from a 1A cabin to a 4E on deck 7. I'm happy with the location, and definitely happy that neither of us will be having to climb into an upper bunk -- was seriously considering Sillyjilly's solution of putting the mattress on the floor. 

 

We also got Your Time dining, which had been showing as wait listed. So all is falling into place. I was even able to get a steakhouse reservation for Mother's Day -- it's early, but still, we got in. 

 

Our first time on the Dream... looking forward to it. I'll do a review after we get back next week. 

Awesome!  Have a great time!!!  (We leave on the Miracle to Alaska in 16 days!)

Vegetable spring rolls!  I could eat them every night.

19 hours ago, csm5986142 said:

The Indian Vegetarian (and I'm not a vegetarian, I just love it that much). 

I never ate it until our last cruise in December since so many people raved about it.  Now both my husband and I will get it at least once a cruise.  So good!

This is a great idea, MistyRo.  We cruise in 21 days and my daughter loves the deck parties. Gonna have to practice with her so she'll be more confident.