kellycambp

We took the train (gold dome service) a few years ago and LOVED it. We arrived into Seward a day early and were able to take one of the glacier/whale watching tours. We boarded the ship the next day at 11 with no line because most people arrive later in the day due to an 8 pm departure time. We were the first people to board the ship.

We did a mid-May cruise on Holland America from Seward to Vancouver a few years ago  and it was amazing. We did a fabulous glacier tour in Seward on our own and it got up close to some lesser known glaciers. It also included a prime rib buffet. The train ride from/to Anchorage is also a great experience - I recommend splurging for the Gold Dome/first class if your budget allows. 
 

We had no trouble getting into Glacier Bay though there are never any guarantees. 
 

It was a much older crowd on the ship. My 12-year-old son and I were repeatedly mistaken as staff on the first day 😆. 

We did CVS for a Caribbean cruise a few months ago and plan on going back to them for our Alaska cruise. No out-of-pocket cost and our results were emailed to us within a few hours.

I think the cruise lines are going to have to re-evaluate how they bring in their workers for these summer Alaska programs. My college-age son looked into it and I was surprised to find out that they didn’t pay for housing or airfare for their seasonal employees. Maybe that’s how they’ve always done it; I have no idea. But a lot of nice young people probably decided against going there to work for this reason.

We did this pre-Covid in Seward, Alaska. We were the first people to board at 11 am and the ship wasn’t leaving until 9 pm. We realized we forgot a few toiletries - it was easy to get off the ship, go shopping, and get back on. 

I am considering booking an cruise that includes a "free" Signature Beverage Package for 2. However, I am traveling with a 17-year-old and he obviously cannot drink alcohol. Does anyone know if HAL will allow him to have the non-alcoholic Quench Package instead or would I be the only one receiving a package? I would not normally book this type of fare but it is the cheaper than I could get it without the package. Thank you in advance.

You can also request to attend the disabled muster drill. My husband has a heart condition and didn’t feel comfortable standing outside for a long time in the heat. They held the disabled muster in the dining room.

Not a big fan of Freeport, but there is a little food stand within the cruise complex called Robinson's Seafood. It's a little hole-in-the-wall - we had excellent fried conch and there was plenty of fresh seafood. There were lots of crew members eating there. We got right back on the ship after lunch. I don't think I would venture out on my own there without booking some kind of excursion.

We were on the Dream two weeks ago. The steward approached us with the form that clearly did NOT have the both option. I requested both and he at least did not give the appearance of being upset. However, he had clearly been given more rooms to clean than what I saw on the same cruise 2 years ago. I started hearing him in the housekeeping closet around 6 am and would see him packing up, visibly exhausted, around 10 pm. I'm sure he had a break inbetween, but we were back and forth to our room a lot during the day and he was usually at work somewhere along the corridor. I'm sure all of the responses that have been posted here are correct; what I'm tired of is the lack of consistency on Carnival's part across the board.

Thank you, this is very helpful.