Cruisingthesuitelife

Cruising on the Pearl next week (May 21-28) and wondering if I should bring along mosquito repellent. Not planning on hiking except at Mendenhall Glacier.

Personally, I don't see the harm in packing it - better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I didn't do any hiking when I went but I do recall there being a lot of mosquito's at Icy Strait. Might just have been a one off of course but I appreciated having the repellent with me.

You will definitely have a great time with Shawn and Teresa really is so lovely - they both are. I have already booked with them for next year!

When I went with them last, we did spend some time near the shore looking for bears, as well as watching many whales and the sea lions.

Have a great trip!

Had a great time cruising last week of May and doing it same time next year.

Be sure to call several times and take an average of the responses.:rolleyes:

I'm well aware of their usual inconsistencies but is it different to the mixed bag of responses OP has received on here? ... No!

I'm sure I recall from the TA webinar about recategorisation that these were treated like Junior Suites but I can't seem to remember where the information is - maybe the FAQ's. Probably best to call RCI.

EDIT: Just looked at the recategorisation reference guide and this cabin type is listed below JS, so this would seem to tie in with recalling it had JS 'benefits'.

I will be in Janeau - whale watching on 5/17. Is this a good time to see whales?

Whales are incredibly unpredictable as I am sure you appreciate! However, I went in May 2015, had a wonderful time and saw many whales.

Have a lovely time :)

I am sorry but a family tie and and great phone and book keeping skills do not a great boat Captain make. My family has a great Naval history that is remarkable but that does not qualify them to Captain a boat in small boat waters. A Boat Captain should have first and foremost the safety of their passengers at heart, and they should know the waters they are plying, An accident is one thing but lack of experience, panic in an unexpected event resulting in an abandon ship is a whole different situation. In the case of another company hitting a reef and sinking is a severe situation! The reef is a permanent placement, the tides are known, How did the Boat Captain not know the waters and reef?

With regards to Jayleen, one person's brief (at best) account of a situation that occurred does not give anything more than a passing glimpse at what happened. And no, before you say it, I don't know what happened either as I wasn't there but had it have been that serious, more than one person would have mentioned it, it would have made reviews on here, Trip Advisor or even the local paper. I guess I believe in innocent until proven guilty... not shoot first ask questions later.

I will make sure to report back when we return. The last time we saw Jaylene was in 2008 when she was the photographer on her Dad's boat. Looking forward to touching base with her and enjoying her new venture.

Oh lovely, thank you, I look forward to hearing how you got on. I must say the communication I have had with her so far for my excursion with her next year has been first rate. She has gone out of her way to offer help and when I mentioned I was getting a new camera, she offered so much advice and also said during the trip she will do her best to give me pointers from everything she has learnt over the years. To me, this is going above and beyond.

Enjoy your cruises :)

We have gone with Harv and Marv numerous times and enjoyed all of our trips. When did they sell their company? Are you talking about the purchase from the original owners which happened quite a while back? As for Jaylene, don't just rely on Cruise Critic comments, also take a look at TripAdvisor and see what others have to say. I will be going with Jaylene twice in July so I can't comment at this point.

I would be really interested to hear how you get on with your trips with Jayleen in July :)

WoW! That article reminds us of how quickly things can go wrong, especially on the water! Glad that turned out so well

.I read about the turnover on CC and I am not sure but I think it was in 2014. Some reviewers on CC felt the quality changed after the sale.

I went with them in 2015 and had a great trip, it really was brilliant and I couldn't fault any part of it from pre-trip communication to getting back to the ship after the trip.

Just found this story about Dolphin Jet Boat... http://juneauempire.com/local/2016-08-01/were-sinking-juneau-familys-fast-actions-save-lives-sea

I've used Harv & Marv's with no issue. I wasn't aware they had new owners but has there been a huge rise in negative reviews since the new owners took over? I've booked with Jayleen for next year - I have just read the one incident you are referring to and there must be more to that story as Jayleen is an accomplished captain. The communication I have had with her so far is superb, she really knows her stuff and is so happy to answer my questions and offer advice. She also has 20 5* reviews on Trip Advisor after 1 season. I'm sure things can happen to any person/company but it doesn't make them unreliable.

Thanks to all three responders. By your replies it would seem there is enough time if we don't drag our feet. I am not familiar with "self-assist disembarcation" but I will check into it.

 

By the way, when we arrive in Vancouver, where does the Canadian Customs take place? On the ship? On the pier after we disembark? At the airport? Thank you all again for the quick and helpful replies.

In 2015, I did self-assist in Vancouver. Obviously, things may have changed since then but it was so easy. You keep your cases in your cabin the night before, don't put them out. You need to make sure you can handle your luggage as there is no assistance with this. We walked off the ship around 7.20am. Customs consisted of handing our filled out form to a man who smiled, nodded and off we went! As I said, things may have changed in the last 2 years but it was a very easy process from my experience.

Sorry, there are no shortcuts that will answer your question. You can resort to auto, and you'll get to half-decent shots.

In terms of more specific settings, it depends on exactly how much light there is, and then checking your histogram, checking your image, and adjusting the settings as necessary. It depends on the focal length of the lens being use. It depends on the apertures available from the lens, and then the aperture you want to use to maximize sharpness and to select your depth of field.

 

For example.... at the "glacier" day.. I took hundreds of photos, with lots and lots of different settings, depending what I was trying to achieve. I took ultrawide shots, I took telephoto shots, I took HDR shots, I underexposed to preserve highlights, I manipulated depth of field.

 

There is no 1 line answer of, "push the glacier button on the camera when near the glaciers"

 

Tracy Arm Glacier, Alaska by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Tracy Arm Glacier by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Disney Wonder at Tracy Arm Alaska by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/747/23061962190_2efc69f820_b.jpg' alt='23061962190_2efc69f820_b.jpg'>alaska-749_DxO.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr]alaska-648.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

Just WOW!

For me, the benefit of the independent companies I choose for whale watching is that the boat used holds 6 passengers, not the usually very high numbers of people that some cruise line excursion boats can hold.

I had already seen that there were no injuries or serious damage. I certainly am not that callous to only care about how it would affect me. I was simply asking if anyone had heard anything since what I found on google wasn't much.

Wow, sorry you took my post completely the wrong way. It wasn't a slight or attack in any way, it just a comment hoping nobody was injured as that was my first thought and given that aftershocks were/are still happening, I hope it continues to be that there are no injuries or serious damage.

My first thought is just hoping that nobody was injured...

Yes, in the UK customers this weekend there is a promotion on some drinks packages, internet, spa services, specialty dining and excursions for cruises this summer. So, I would imagine that similar offers come up quite frequently for US customers too.

We did same cruise in September and it was middle of the day on way back to Barcelona

I seem to recall we had been delayed slightly the evening before, so this may have contributed to a slightly later pass through. As I said, these things do vary.

While it is a different itinerary and therefore there is no way of knowing specifically, I do feel people can offer their experiences of leaving Civitavecchia at the same time and it may well coincide or give you more of an idea. I am sure you appreciate all things can change, even the same itinerary can vary time-wise but there is no harm in actually trying to help answer your question.

I was on Brilliance for a Med Venice cruise in October last year. We left port at the same time you are scheduled to on your cruise - 7pm. We had one sea day and then our next port was Dubrovnik. During the sea day, we transited the Strait during daylight hours, if memory serves me correctly, around lunchtime or very early afternoon but I don't currently have access to my photos to reconfirm the time. On the return, this will obviously be completely different but for us it was much later, getting towards early evening but it was still light.

I hope this helps a little and have a wonderful cruise. We had a beautifully clear transit both times and even without binoculars, the views were lovely :)

Flying from the UK into Calgary and doing a self drive through the rockies for a week end of April, we then cruise from Vancouver on an inside passage cruise with NCL on 5th May.

Done lots of research and so far we are thinking as follows.

Ketchikan - Misty Fjords floatplane trip. Would like to do bear watching as well but not sure about the POW seaplane trip in May?

Juneau - happy to do Mendenhall Glacier and Mt Roberts Tram under our own steam unless anyone thinks thats a bad idea? Only in port 7am to 1.30pm on our itinerary so limited time.

Skagway - White Pass Railway and Mushers Dog Sled Camp Ride.

Icy Straight Point - Whale Watching trip with Harv and Marv?

Victoria - Not sure, any ideas welcome?

 

Our priorities are Whale and Bear Viewing and then scenic viewing so would be happy to hear any advice on our above thoughts before we start booking tours, also any advice on local tour companies to book with would be welcome as we prefer not to have to book with the cruise ship if possible.

 

Thanks in advance for any help

Harv and Marv are in Juneau. I can recommend Glacier Wind Charters in Icy Strait. How long have you got in Victoria?

I haven't stayed in either but a quick search and I found this picture of 1552 balcony and behind it you can see 1554 balcony very clearly.

http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s433/laurapeeler2/Brilliance%20of%20the%20Seas/DSCN0747_zpsf779a54b.jpg

and here is the view from 1554 down the ship:

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=317605&d=1403912540

I'm sorry that your children were so upset, you don't want that at any time, let alone on vacation.

When you raised this whilst still on the ship, what was the response from staff?

Yes, you will have long enough to do whale watching. I can personally highly recommend Glacier Wind Charters but this close to sailing, they may be fully booked but you can always call them if you book the cruise and see what they can do or if they can recommend another vendor.

I don't really want to post the number on here as its supposed to be for D+ and above, we got sent it on a card along with the luggage tags when we became D+. If you didn't get that, you could probably email C and A , or just ask to be transferred to them, and ask for the number.

 

Julie

No, I didn't get anything with the luggage tags, it was literally just that in the envelope - supposedly my original pack 'went missing'. I have tried that and they say there is no other number.