SPIRIT to ALASKA May 8 - 15 Review ... LOVED IT!!!

[LambKnuckles]

I'm a real caribbean cruisin fan but looking at your pics has me rethinking Alaska...your pics are just gorgeous!!!

 

I had never gone Cold Weather cruising before!!! And I was tentative about it... But it's great!!! My roommate did the Deadliest Catch excursion and a zipline excursion. She got COLD and WET... and it took her forever to warm up!!! She sat in the hot tub, the steam room, the sauna... and still... she just couldn't warm! But she loves going to Alaska. ...and she did finally get warm!!!

 

I will still hit the Caribbean more often, but I know I'll do Alaska again!!!

Stunning pictures, Lambie.:) Alaska is definitely on my cruise bucket list. I look forward to the rest of your review and photos. Thanks for sharing.

Heather

 

THANKS!!! and You're welcome!!! It is definitely a wonderful and awe-spiring cruise!!!!

 

 

WOW....just found this and have spent the past hour+ reading and seeing...THANK YOU. This is absolutely astounding. LOVE seeing Seattle. What gorgeous weather you had. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Spirit. LOVE Capt. Volpi too! I booked a B2B AK cruise a few years ago on the Spirit. We almost always cruise the Caribbean out of Manhattan because we live about 20 minutes from the cruise terminal and don't have to fly. Just jump in the car, out and onto the ship, but this was something I had always DREAMED of even tho any day it is below 65* I am freezing cold! :( Oh, the research I did...then we had a "severe finanacial setback" and had to cancel it. Stuff happens, we have done a few more cruises on Miracle out of NY, Spirit's sister ship, so I am not complaining, but in my heart, I will ALWAYS hope to win the lottery so I can cruise to Alaska! :p THANK YOU for allowing me to "do it" thru you. And btw, I LOVE a bit of "rock and roll" on the ship too! :) Miracle is exactly the same as the Spirit except for the colors, ESPECIALLY in the dining room! :eek::eek: So anyone "upset" about losing the Spirit, Miracle is great too! (love the Spirit class ships!) Can't wait to read the rest and thank you again! Happy future cruising!

 

THANK YOU!!! And it's GREAT to hear the Miracle will be a perfect replacement in Alaska!! WOW!!! I'm so sorry you didn't get to do your Alaska cruise -- but I, too, pray you will hit the jackpot and be able to put it back on your plans!!!

 

The rocking of a cruise... and still feeling it every so often after returning, makes me KNOW I was on a cruise!!! I love the rougher weather!!! I have been on cruises where it was a smooth as glass, even in the Atlantic. I was amazed that there could be no waves, just reflections of clouds... they were not boring cruises from an activity point of view... but I tend to appreciate the feeling of a ship!

 

I've lived upstate in Syracuse, and then over in Middletown, CT. I know your weather! I did enjoy my time in the east!!

[LambKnuckles]

Nice, thanks for all the hard work doing this review!! I cannot wait until July when we go on the Star to Alaska..........great, great job!!:D

 

I must say, those of you still to cruise Alaska... I am so JEALOUS!!! HAVE A BLAST!!! ...and I hope you wirte a review!!!

 

:( But at least Alaska and all her beauty will still be there. Guess I should start looking into the Miracle.

 

Yep... Alaska is there and now, I'm comforted by hearing the Miracle is also a wonderful ship!!!

 

I too am enjoying your review a lot. We leave this Tuesday (May 29th) on this cruise and I cant wait. Its nice to get a "early look"

 

Cheryl

 

OH!!! HAPPY HAPPY!!! I hope you enjoy Stu and Capt Volpi!!! I'm sure this weekend will be filled with last minute packing and fun!!!

[LambKnuckles]

Are you kidding. Your pictures are wonderful, you are not boring us.

 

THANK YOU!!! I tend to overdo, and just keep clicking away! But this was a once in a lifetime (that I think will have to be repeated) event. THANKS for looking and wading through them all!!!!

 

Great pictures, Lambie.

 

Thanks, G!! I'll always have these memories in photos!!

 

Me, too, loving it!! :)

Sailing on the Spirit in 19 days and the more I read your review, the more excited I get!!! :)

Thanks for doing this!

 

OH HAVE A BLAST!!! You're just rubbing it in and I LOVE IT!!! :D

 

Get excited and ENJOY!!!

[LambKnuckles]

I am even more excited for myt upcoming trip. I already have the Tracy Arm catamaran booked. (& we get to go to Glacier bay too - so I wanted to 2 persectives.)

 

OH, you're going to love it!! And I think the Tracy Arm excursion will be well worth it!! I was limited in my budget and decided on the train -- but seeing BOTH Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm... WOW!!!!

 

I am a huge long suffering Jet fan, but I love my team and tailgating so I wait like everyone else until September. (sigh) When Broadway Joe played I was a kid, but he was one of a kind!

 

I am so excited for this trip.

 

Me, too!!! I grew up on the sidelines of the Oakland Raiders. LOVE FOOTBALL!! Broadway joe was just such a big character!!! -- both in his commercials and in his prophecy!!! But, he had fun with football!!!

 

Long suffering, I understand... I moved to Texas, and became a Cowboy fan... OH BOY the UPs and DOWNs... Stick with 'em!! GO GREEN!!! GO JETS!!!

[LambKnuckles]

OK... I'll be here tonight and get the Skagway Day posted!!! It was two weeks ago TODAY!!! Our COLDEST day and windy and bitter at times!!

 

But I have the best memories from Skagway!!!

 

Happy Happy beginning of our Memorial Day Weekend!!!

[TheCalicoCat]

OK... I'll be here tonight and get the Skagway Day posted!!! It was two weeks ago TODAY!!! Our COLDEST day and windy and bitter at times!!

 

Do you think you packed well enough? I have a week to go before I pack, but...

[Nursm0m]

Lambie - such a GREAT review. Thanks for taking us along. Did you get to see the fish throwing at Pikes? Silver

 

Hi Silver,

 

I'm Jenn, one of the roomies. Not sure if she saw the throwing of the fish. While Karen, Roy, & I were on the Segway tour (a MUST!!), we got to go there and we were told that to see the good part you have to be there early in the morning when all the buyers are there. We saw a few fish go flying that afternoon but nothing like what it is in the mornings. We'll see if Lambie got to see any fish fly.

 

Jenn

[Nursm0m]

I can offer a suggestion on a great camera ... this one does HD movies as well as has auto and manual focus modes and rapid photo taking. I got it for Christmas and LOVE it.

 

Fujifilm 16MP 30x Optical Zoom Digital Camera HD movie

 

I have to agree with you Milliesmom!! I too had a new Fuji with 16mp and 30x zoom and it was FANTASTIC to have... especially when you are standing on the balcony trying to get awesome glacier pictures.

 

Jenn

[Nursm0m]

Lambie you made me think about the naturalist and she mentioned starboard a lot on our cruise too!

Can't wait to read more.

 

JaniceB (and anyone else who's interested).... I did the "Behind the Fun" tour on this trip.... The naturalist is on the bridge and interestingly enough she is standing (perched) on the Starboard side!! I recognized her voice when she starting talking while our group was on the bridge portion of our tour and had to see where she was. I honestly thought she had a perch somewhere else but nope.... she hangs out on the bridge (hands down, the BEST view!!) with a microphone and a set of binoculars.

 

Jenn

[Nursm0m]

I'm a real caribbean cruisin fan but looking at your pics has me rethinking Alaska...your pics are just gorgeous!!!

 

I have to say.... this was only my 2nd cruise ever and the ONLY reason I was on this cruise is cuz I met Roy/Lambie/Karen on my 1st cruise. Roy and I are alot closer now and he invited me with everyone else's blessing. I am a HUGE fan of the Carribbean because I am a warm weather fan (Living in Tx). I never thought the "frozen tundra" of Alaska would be tolerable but surprisingly enough.... It is!!!! If you ever have the opportunity to cruise Alaska, I highly recommend it. I think Roy and I are planning to go back up in 2014.

 

Jenn (one of the roomies)

[Nursm0m]

Do you think you packed well enough? I have a week to go before I pack, but...

 

Hello,

 

I'm interested to see what Lambie says.... I for one know that I seriously OVER packed! I was in the same room with her and could have probably learned a lesson or two. I had one large suitcase (barely made the weight for the flight up) and came back with a large, 49.8# suitcase and smaller 24# suitcase in addition. Well worth it to have options but when you fly to your port (with all the bag fees and weight restrictions), I need to learn to pack lighter. LOL

 

Jenn (one of the roomies)

[bdaddyiii]

OMG. Keep it coming we are going in May 2013.:D

[MilliesMom]

I have to agree with you Milliesmom!! I too had a new Fuji with 16mp and 30x zoom and it was FANTASTIC to have... especially when you are standing on the balcony trying to get awesome glacier pictures.

 

Jenn

 

I can't wait to use the camera on our Alaska cruise next year. I use it all the time now as I have a craft blog, a purse blog, and have created a number of videos with it too. We were amazed that it had a better zoom than my hubby's high end camera. We definitely are taking this camera instead of his to Alaska.

[silverfoxcruiser]

Hi Silver,

 

I'm Jenn, one of the roomies. Not sure if she saw the throwing of the fish. While Karen, Roy, & I were on the Segway tour (a MUST!!), we got to go there and we were told that to see the good part you have to be there early in the morning when all the buyers are there. We saw a few fish go flying that afternoon but nothing like what it is in the mornings. We'll see if Lambie got to see any fish fly.

 

Jenn

Jenn -- thank you for responding but Lambie stated quite a bit earlier that she didn't get to see this, but that you and the Segway folks did. Fun, Huh? Silver

[K.T.B.]

OK... I'll be here tonight and get the Skagway Day posted!!! It was two weeks ago TODAY!!! Our COLDEST day and windy and bitter at times!!

 

But I have the best memories from Skagway!!!

 

Happy Happy beginning of our Memorial Day Weekend!!!

 

Skagway is an AWESOME place. I look forward to seeing your visit to the Red Onion, too! :D (You did go there I hope.....)

[LambKnuckles]

I had time to eat on the Lido before I headed out to the White Pass and Yukon Train today (or some name like that)...

 

 

Let me tell you the short tale that I shared with everyone:

It was 25 degrees on the mountain peak, a mile or so into Canada... SNOW coming down fast... Wind chill, we figured was about 19... And we're abondoned... Literally...

Our engine disconnected itself from the seven cars it was pulling -- ours was the last car -- left us on the siding and off it goes... leaving us STRANDED... with some bottled water in each car, snow falling fast, white out conditions because we're high up in a cloud...

I had three Mentos in my belt pack... I panicked when I thought how would I share that with the 30+ of us in the car??? We were STRANDED and ABANDONED!!!

It was booked as a three hour tour... sound familiar... A three hour tour... Sing the song with me... Just sit right back and hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip.

Can you say Gilligan's Mountain Peak???

Now, the truth is that the excursion was WONDERFUL!!! The train is directly across from the ship. Maybe 40 feet... Easy to board and find a seat! Your ticket allows you to sit anywhere. I chose the last car. I wanted the "aft" view from the outdoor platform.

 

 

As we left sea level, the weather changed from rain to snow... Let me entertain you with some photos... Hummm... what a novel idea...

 

 

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

[LambKnuckles]

 





 



 

Can you tell how far down the valley is??? There are rapids down there. The tour guide / announcer gal told us they have never been successfully navigated...

Yes, I see how it got it's name...

 

That's Skagway down there...

 



 

 

 

[LambKnuckles]

 

 

See how close we come??? When we hung out, off the platform, we had to be careful!!!

 



 



 

We're getting higher... up into the snow elevation...

 

[LambKnuckles]

 

 

 

 

 

[LambKnuckles]

 

 

 

 

 

Here's where we can start understanding how the train ahead of us got stuck...

 

[LambKnuckles]

 

 

 

 

 

Once we hit the top, the tour guide who announced what we were seeing came on the loud speaker to tell us we would be stopped for a bit, and our engine had to go ahead and do a rescue. The train ahead of us, with an engine with a snow plow that cuts through the snow and clears the track, was STUCK... Eight cars and an engine... it was stuck!

 

 

You can see the siding that would allow the other train to return to us after we rescued it... We now became the RESCUE TRAIN!!!

 

 

 

 

[mj]

Beautiful pictures. Loved how the scenery changed as you climbed up the mountain and had more snow.

[LambKnuckles]

Here's our engine leaving us...

While we were up on the pass, at the siding, we were not allowed off the train. We were in Canada and there was no customs to clear us to deboard. So we were stuck for the total time. Our brakeman walked up and down to be sure everyone was OK... but he told us the rest of the cars were quiet and solemn... but our car was loud and laughing and had LOTS OF FUN!!! he wanted to stay with us...

 

 

We had a group from a Korean church with us. They sang "How Great Thou Art" in Korean... and "Amazing Grace" while many of the rest of us sang it in English. They sang some Korean folk songs and we sang "Twinkle Twinkle little star." (They knew that one and sang with us. They sang their national anthem, we sang ours, then we sang them simaltaneously.

 

 

We were making the best of it!!! And making friends and having fun!!!

 

 

When the engine returned, about 80 minutes later, we heard what happened.

 

 

 

 



 

 



 

 

[Cruisecrzy3]

Lambie, Lambie, Lambie......reading your reviews is like reading a well plotted, researched and written novel! I love them all! Thank you for taking the time to do this, I feel like I'm in Alaska! Without the snow and burrrr.....cold. You never have to worry about using too many pictures..they are awesome!!

 

I hope one day, to be able to cruise with you! I don't think there would be a boring moment (not that there are anyway but you know what I mean, right?) and I have no doubt I would learn a wealth of information about so many things.

 

Thank you again for your wonderful review!! :D I cannot wait to read the remaining chapters! ;)

[LambKnuckles]

The engine and first car was still stuck. It would have to be dug out by hand. The rest of the cars would be added to the front of our train, and our engine, and ours alone would bring us all down the hill...

 

Here's the little car that will take more men out to hand dig the engine...

And off we go down the hill... now a train with 13 cars and an engine!!! ... The snow is still heavy -- we can just barely see the entrance back into America!!!

Coming back down the hill... I took another photo while in one of the tunnels... I just love the action and speed you can see...