ArchieCruise

Gratuities are already assessed at 18% when buying the package. While many do tip in addition to that it isn’t expected or required.

The Havana area is the reason Havana cabins are so much more. There are also age requirements to be in that area. Your family in the family harbor area will not be able to visit you in the Havana area as it is exclusive for those that paid the premium to stay there. I haven’t stayed in any suites so I can’t answer most of those questions, but can say that we enjoyed the Panorama as a ship.

I just got off the Spirit this last week. For anything that uses a large amount of data such as video I would recommend the higher package. With that said the internet speed on the ship was horrible at best. We had the premium package and could not do any web browsing for 3 straight days and even when it did work it was slow and not very good. You should have cell coverage in Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria.

I did notice on the Spirit we just got off that they did have white table clothes in the MDR so maybe it isn’t all ships that have done away with this.

We went twice on the Carnival Spirit this last week. While it isn’t branded as the Fahrenheit 555 it has the same menu. The food was good and well above the quality found in the MDR. I got the Rib Eye one night and the Cowboy steak the other. My wife got the Lobster both nights. For a special occasion I think you will enjoy it.

I think the previous poster sailed last Christmas as their post was back in November.

I just turned Gold on my last cruise that ended yesterday. This was on the Spirit but I just walked up to the bar and ordered a drink and it was automatically discounted to $0. I don’t drink alcohol so I ordered something zero-proof and it was relatively easy. It is after 5:00pm the last night so not for brunch.

It depends. If the excursion was great I would tip more. I tipped about $15pp on my recent excursions. I don’t think lunch is expected but you can if you feel they went above and beyond.

We are on our last day. We will be stopping late this evening in Victoria for our required Canada stop. A few things of note after spending a week on the ship. The ship is small compared to the newer ships. We were on the Panorama in January and this ship is noticeably smaller. There are far fewer guests than what the larger ships hold so it hasn’t felt crowded. There is three pools on board. There is a covered pool and an uncovered pool that is available to everybody and one in the Serenity area for 21+. The pools are heated but the temperature varies by day we have noticed. One day the Serenity pool as just as warm as the hot tub. For those that like to use the hot tubs the best kept secret is the one in the Spa. This ship doesn’t have a spa package but does have a hot tub in the spa that is at no cost. There was hardly anybody ever in this area. Internet has been spotty at best. The internet went out completely on our Icy Strait Point day and was pretty much non-existent for three days. It was good that two of those days we were in port for 12 hours a day so we could use our cellular connection. Guest services was nice and when asked if there was any adjustment that was being made for the internet issues they refunded the full cost of the internet package. In Ketchikan we did a flight seeing tour to Misty Fjord that was probably our favorite excursion. Yes it is pricy but it was worth the cost.

Just got an announcement that we will not be doing Tracy Arm but going up Endicott Arm instead. With the warmer weather this week I think that there is more calving than normal and causing more ice to be in the fjord. I am glad we went on the Tracy Arm excursion from Juneau so now we can see both arms.

John Heald posted on another social media site today regarding the transpacific and addressed many of the questions regarding that sailing.

Internet has been spotty at best. A few other things to note. Food in the MDR has been sub-par. It seems to be worse than the food on the Panorama that we sailed on in January. We have reservations at the steakhouse tonight and tomorrow so hopefully the food there will be better. I know this varies by each sailing but the casino doesn’t seem too crowded on this cruise. It has been easy to find a blackjack table and at times I have been the only player at my table. As far as excursions are concerned in Icy Strait Point we rented a private van with a group of people and toured the area. It was alright and a decent day but ISP is a small town and not my favorite Alaska port. Yesterday we spent the day in Juneau and booked a day trip to Tracy Arm through Adventure Bound Alaska. It was a great excursion and definitely the highlight of the trip so far. The excursion is roughly 10 hours so an all day event but we’ll worth

I don’t normally play slots but there are a set of wheel of fortune machines against the wall away from the blackjack tables. They were $1 machines. I didn’t participate but I know that is where our slot pull was.

I haven’t been by the laundry or the arcade but they do have launderettes on the map.

Last night my DW got a massage in the spa. Yes they are overpriced, but we were able to purchase during the Mother’s Day sale so it wasn’t too badly priced. She seemed to enjoy it and left feeling refreshed. After the massage we went to dinner in the MDR with our your time dining. It was about a 10-20 minute wait for a table. When we finally got our table assignment someone was sitting at the table halfway through their meal so they found us another table. Dinner was typical Carnival food. It was decent but nothing to write home about. After dinner we went to the casino. Due to where the port of Seattle is located at the casino cannot open for a long time after departure. The casino did not end up opening until 8:40. Leaving Seattle we sailed on the west side of Vancouver island. We are in a balcony cabin towards the aft of deck 7 and the ship was moving pretty good last night. I have been on about a dozen cruises and this seems to have more rocking than most. Hopefully the rocking reduces once up in Alaska waters.