saffy12

Me too! I've been actively watching the FB groups for this current 1/6 sailing, looking forward to this report for the 1/20 one, before I'm there myself for the next one!!!

Tracy's crab shack in Juneau was amazing! We have seriously talked about taking a trip to Juneau again just to eat there! Literally was a shack with paper plates but rhe crab was delicious!

My friend and I literally said the same thing when we were making the decision of which cruise to take!

I may be mistaken, but my understanding is that there are limits to the size of boats that can allow passengers off. I think a boat with more than 500 passengers is not allowed to have people step on land, which is why the large ships are drive by only. Its not a firect correlation, but in order for the cruise line to make money, if they are having people step on land, they need to have less people, and therefore it is more expensive per person to get that experience. There's more to it, bit the short version is that the trips that let you step off the boat are going to be $$$.

I thought I missed another accompanying thread with "Duck, Duck" as the title, and was hoping we were playing some sort of game!

Feb 3-17, 2024.

That's interesting- they sort of ignored it all together when I asked and just confirmed our booking! But, I think I'll be OK with giving it to them when we are there. There is just something about providing it in advance that makes it feel a bit unnecessary, although I guess they could do whatever shady thing just as easily once we finish our tour with them. I'd say I'll let you know how it goes, but sounds like we will be there at the same time

For something like that, you might be better off finding your own private tour to pick you up at the shop and bring you to the airport. That way, you can ensure you are dropped off at rhe time you want. Otherwise, you likely will be spending hours killing time at the airport

Yes, I booked with them for our trip in February also (Celebrity Eclipse), and they also requested our passport numbers. I just responded back with the rest of the information they requested, and advised that I was not comfortable sharing our passport numbers, and they didn't press it any further. They did confirm our reservation still. I've always traveled with operators other than the ship's and not had a problem with them returning on time, but that's a personal risk assessment. I don't have any more concerns with them than I would with any other company, but it's odd that they wouldn't guarantee that.

Does anyone know how much the whale tail costs? Or even the wave next to it - those both might be a good souvenir of our upcoming Antartica trip! I was on Equinox 10 years ago and was fascinated watching the shows. I'm disappointed to have to pay to do it now, but still thinking that will be my souvenir from the trip. By all the pics people have posted, I'm assuming they travel ok?

It's $26.99/day for my cruise. It has consistently shown that price is a 10% discount, while the other 2 drink packages have fluctuated and had up to 40% off at times.

Agree completely! The Classic package my friend is getting is $9 a day more than the NA one I want. I do drink alcohol, but maybe 1 drink every 4 days, so it isn't worth spending more $ on it, but it's annoying that unlimited alcohol is almost the same price as my NA package!

I think French onion soup as well?

I think that this is the worst part of the whole situation! It's bad enough that you have had to deal with a toilet not working on multiple occasions, but to then be yelled at about it is too much. And, am I understanding correctly, this all happened around 2am? Plus, I wonder about the advise for guests to clean their toilet in any case - on a cruise, I do not expect to be the one cleaning toilets! That should be something my housekeeping staff does, so why are they telling the guests to do that? It's just odd all around! Glad you are otherwise enjoying your trip!

I was going to ask as well! My cruise isn't until February, but want to make sure my toilet works!

That's interesting. I noticed that mine had dropped as well, but for my upcoming cruise, Classic is $67.99 ($53.99 with the standard 20% off discount) and premium is $82.99 ($65.99 with discount). Of course, the zero proof I want is still holding steady at $26.99/day!

I have a suspicion (no data backing this up, but just my thought) that they do these sales on higher port intensive itineraries. For a Transatlantic (or the Antartica cruise I'm hoping to find a deal on) there are more sea days and therefore more time to sit and drink non-stop where they are likely to lose money on a lower priced drink package. I hope I"m wrong, as I really want a deal for our upcoming Antartica trip, but it's my suspicion with these sales

I'm also curious about this... it says any non alcoholic drink is included. Does that mean a NA beer, like odouls,would also be included? I'm off alcohol for medical reasons, but was thinking I might want to indulge in some of those. Was curious if they would be covered if I get the package

We did Alaska on the Millenium back in 2019 and LOVED it! It was a Seward - Vancouver 1 way trip. That said, we are looking to do again, and when I do make that, I plan on booking with HAL, specifically because I want to do Glacier Bay this time and they can do it where X can't. I figure it will be a good excuse to try out HAL as well. We went mid-August, and did a week on land (flew into Anchorage, drove to Denali from there) before boarding. It was unusually hot when we were there (temps in the 90s!) so didn't see much wildlife in Denali, where everything is adapted for cold and not the heat, but it was still beautiful. A highlight was a Kenai Fjords cruise out of Seward the day before we boarded the cruise ship - we saw orcas and otters and puffins and glaciers - really amazing trip! Another highlight was an excursion from Ketchikan where we took a seaplane and hiked to Anon Creek (I think that's what it was called) and were up close and personal with bears!

My understanding is that each of the 4 MDRs on the E class ships has a "theme" to them and each has a special of the day around that theme. However, you can order the food from any of the 4 at any of the MDRs, so it doesn't really matter if you eat in Tuscan or one of the others. This is unlike Tuscan Grille on a S or M class ship, where you can only get the food from that specialty restaurant by eating there. On Apex, you can eat at Normandie and still get the food from Tuscan MDR.

Viking is the line that I keep looking at and want to try. I don't like feeling like I'm being nickel and dimed, or having to pay to play. I want to pay my price and have everything included, without needing to pay more to get to the good venues. I know it's really all just perspective, but I'd rather pay more for a line with less crowds and better included food, than have to pay an upcharge to eat in a specialty restaurant or have access to the good lounge area. Food is also very important to me, and I'm not a big fan of buffet eating, so I want included quality sit down / served meals. Viking's ships and dining therefore appeal to me very much, but I haven't found one with the right itinerary / price to make the leap yet!

I think they should be - I read on one of the celebrity descriptions that the zero proof plan covers all non alcoholic beverages onbaoard, so by that standard, it should. Would be curious to learn anyone's actual experience with it to see.

Did they tell you why they didn't recommend the lamb? I'm curious what the waiter thought was wrong with it...

Thanks, yes, I've been following that, but am curious how it actually is experienced from someone on the ship, more than just seeing the menus themselves. I'm hoping that they will be adding back some more "daily specials" or other items outside of the menus to help compensate, although I recognize that is likely wishful thinking at this point!

What sort of room are you in? I'm specifically interested in regular MDR dining - not a big buffet person myself, so am not interested in OV, and will not be in Aquaclass or a suite, so I'm specifically interested in MDR options/quality. Hope you have a nice trip!