Kathy's Not-Quite-B2B 2014 Vacation: Miracle in Alaska and Glory Western Caribbean

[nybumpkin]

Thank you for your great review. We're doing Alaska next summer and I'm trying to soak up as much information as possible.

 

I do have a question about your hotel. How much did it cost to take the light rail into the city? Also, how long did it take? I'm trying to decide whether it's worth it to stay that far out or not. Also, how much did your driver to the cruise port cost you?

Hi navybaby - Here's the website for the light rail: http://www.soundtransit.org/rider-guide/link-light-rail. The fare ranges from $2.00 to $2.75 depending on how far you travel. For us, it was about a half hour ride.

 

The ride from the hotel to the pier was included in our room rate, as they had a package. When we returned after the cruise, we used the same company and it was $15 pp to go from the pier to SeaTac.

 

If I were to do it over I'd probably try to get a deal on a hotel closer to downtown. However, we loved this Hampton Inn - the staff was absolutely wonderful and the shuttle to local restaurants and the light rail station worked well.

[jimbri]

Wonderful review! Looking forward to the rest!!!

[navybaby1113]

Hi navybaby - Here's the website for the light rail: http://www.soundtransit.org/rider-guide/link-light-rail. The fare ranges from $2.00 to $2.75 depending on how far you travel. For us, it was about a half hour ride.

 

The ride from the hotel to the pier was included in our room rate, as they had a package. When we returned after the cruise, we used the same company and it was $15 pp to go from the pier to SeaTac.

 

If I were to do it over I'd probably try to get a deal on a hotel closer to downtown. However, we loved this Hampton Inn - the staff was absolutely wonderful and the shuttle to local restaurants and the light rail station worked well.

 

Thanks! Looking at prices between the Hampton Inn by SeaTac and the cheapest hotel in downtown, it will still save me about $100 a night to stay out by SeaTac. :eek:

[mcjigs]

Excited to see the rest of your review. I'm in Seattle and going on the Glory in less than 30 days, dh is very very worried about the new menu's so I'm trying to get some positive info on them for him.

 

Funny, I've lived in Seattle for 16 years and haven't made it over to Mr Rainier, though your review has me wanting to finally go, lol.

 

Next time your in Seattle, make sure to include our infamous "gum wall" :eek: at pike place. It is seriously a wall of gum, right at Pike's Place, but down a hill. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_Wall, lol

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review, fantastic so far, keep it up.

[nybumpkin]

Excited to see the rest of your review. I'm in Seattle and going on the Glory in less than 30 days, dh is very very worried about the new menu's so I'm trying to get some positive info on them for him.

 

Funny, I've lived in Seattle for 16 years and haven't made it over to Mr Rainier, though your review has me wanting to finally go, lol.

 

Next time your in Seattle, make sure to include our infamous "gum wall" :eek: at pike place. It is seriously a wall of gum, right at Pike's Place, but down a hill. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_Wall, lol

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review, fantastic so far, keep it up.

Thank you! Now that it's the weekend I should have some time to get more posted. I wouldn't worry about the new menus on Glory - I found there were plenty of choices. I did a brief review of Funship 2.0 after we returned: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2084940&highlight=funship+2+0.

 

Mt. Rainier was wonderful. I have heard of the Gum Wall, and in retrospect my sons would have liked visiting.:p

[nybumpkin]

After dinner, Steve Hites came aboard to do his “North to Alaska” show, a set of songs and stories about the gold rush. He's really a good storyteller, and we enjoyed his show. After that, we spent time on our balcony watching the view as we sailed away from Skagway.

 

 

IMG_1800 by baxted, on Flickr

Leaving the dock

 

 

IMG_1806 by baxted, on Flickr

Yet another glacier

 

 

IMG_1811 by baxted, on Flickr

Skagway at a distance

 

 

IMG_1813 by baxted, on Flickr

Leaving Skagway in our wake

[watermelonqueen99]

Loving your review! I'm hoping to surprise my hubby with an Alaska cruise for his 40th birthday in 2018, so I'm starting to research everything I can. Can't wait for more! :)

[cru-cru]

I can't wait to see your review of the Glory

 

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[nybumpkin]

I can't wait to see your review of the Glory

I've started uploading the photos and writing the review!

[nybumpkin]

Thanks! Looking at prices between the Hampton Inn by SeaTac and the cheapest hotel in downtown, it will still save me about $100 a night to stay out by SeaTac. :eek:

This morning I read an article in the Travel section of the NY Times about trying to visit Seattle on the cheap and the author ended up getting a room for 4 at a hostel for $148 a night. I know it's priced by the individual, not the room, but that seems awfully expensive for shared bathrooms and a lousy breakfast.:eek:

[BenjiRodney]

Thank for sharing, we booked the Legend's first Alaska cruise next year from Vancouver.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nybumpkin]

We arrived early but had booked a mid-morning excursion, so we took our time getting breakfast and dressing for our tour.

 

 

 

IMG_1826 by baxted, on Flickr

Our view from our balcony

 

 

We were doing the Mendenhall River Float Trip. Again we booked through Carnival – the operator is Best of Alaska Travel Adventures. We met our bus outside the pier area, then rode up through the Mendenhall Valley (the bald eagles outnumbered the seagulls) to Mendenhall Lake, below the glacier. There we suited up in rubber pants and boots as well as life jackets.

 

 

 

IMG_1831 by baxted, on Flickr

The boys suited up for rafting

 

 

IMG_1832 by baxted, on Flickr

Launching the rafts

 

 

IMG_1833 by baxted, on Flickr

The boys, forward in the raft

 

 

 

There’s a choice of a float raft oared by the guide or a paddle raft team. Since we had teens with us they put us with another family and a guide. DH and I have done white water rafting on the Hudson River in the Adirondacks – but the sons had never done any kind of rafting and we are 30 years older. It was fine for us.

 

 

 

IMG_1829 by baxted, on Flickr

A view from our launch site toward Mendenhall Galcier

[nybumpkin]

We set out across Mendenhall Lake, with great views of the glacier and Nugget Falls.

 

 

 

IMG_1838 by baxted, on Flickr

Rafts and Mendenhall Glacier

 

 

IMG_1842 by baxted, on Flickr

Nugget Falls

 

 

IMG_1844 by baxted, on Flickr

Mendenhall Glacier with one of the rafts (not ours)

 

 

IMG_1852 by baxted, on Flickr

A final view of the glacier

[nybumpkin]

Then we headed down the Mendenhall River – the total trip is about six miles. There are a couple of stretches where you shoot some serious rapids, but certainly appropriate for newbies. At the end of the trip you exit the raft, return the gear, and get a snack that included salmon and cheese. We loved the tour.

 

 

IMG_1853 by baxted, on Flickr

Entering the Mendenhall River

 

 

IMG_1863 by baxted, on Flickr

Mendenhall River

 

 

IMG_1862 by baxted, on Flickr

A Mendenhall River tributary

 

 

IMG_1861 by baxted, on Flickr

Another river view

[nybumpkin]

After we arrived back at the ship we decided to take the Mt. Roberts Tramway for the view and lunch. The tram leaves right from the pier; since it was mid-afternoon, we didn’t have to wait.

 

 

 

IMG_1871 by baxted, on Flickr

Tram approaching the pier

 

 

IMG_1873 by baxted, on Flickr

Another photo of the tram approaching the pier

 

 

At the top we enjoyed the views and had lunch – it was good, and I liked the local brew (again). We walked around some more, visited with the rescued bald eagle living there (she can’t fly any more due to injuries), then took the tram back down to the ship.

 

 

IMG_1877 by baxted, on Flickr

View from the mountain

 

 

IMG_1888 by baxted, on Flickr

Princess cruise ship from Mount Roberts

[<3_2_Cruise]

Your pictures are wonderful! I am really enjoying your review. I am taking notes for when we plan our Alaskan cruise.

[nybumpkin]

DH and sons decided to go back aboard, while I went to make some purchases – a shotglass and some smoked salmon from Taku, right on the pier. I walked around a bit (would have liked to visit Tracey’s Crab Shack – it looked good), then back aboard the ship.

 

 

IMG_1911 by baxted, on Flickr

Fish packing company

 

 

Since this was the night we chose to go to the steakhouse, we were able to experience sailaway from our balcony. After dinner, we were able to go to “Singing with the Big Band,” a great concert with a singer and ship ship’s orchestra.

 

 

IMG_1893 by baxted, on Flickr

Float plane landing in Juneau

 

 

IMG_1894 by baxted, on Flickr

SS Legacy, a tour boat

 

 

IMG_1902 by baxted, on Flickr

Waterfront with a float plane

 

 

IMG_1923 by baxted, on Flickr

Leaving Juneau

 

 

IMG_1924 by baxted, on Flickr

Juneau in our wake

[nybumpkin]

This was a pretty leisurely day – sleeping in, breakfast on Lido, cards on Promenade, etc. We went to John’s Marriage Show – he does a question and answer with the couples, nothing like the version done on most Carnival cruises. This was also the second elegant night, as well as the night the show was “Ticket to Ride.” We saw this show aboard Miracle in 2009, liked it then, and went for a repeat performance. It was just as good the second time.

[nybumpkin]

We weren’t due to arrive in Victoria until 3:00 so we again had a leisurely day. Aside from our usual routine of Lido breakfast, we went to John’s “Behind the Scenes” Q&A about ship life. Being the mom of a sailor I’m always interested in this. If you've read John's Facebook posts about this talk - yes, he was asked about his salary and whether there's a morgue on board. (Answer to the latter: yes, next to the brig.)

 

 

 

IMG_1941 by baxted, on Flickr

Miracle approaching Victoria

 

 

IMG_1947 by baxted, on Flickr

The extra generator. No more Splendor or Triumph issues....

 

 

IMG_1945 by baxted, on Flickr

Approaching Victoria

 

 

 

IMG_1942 by baxted, on Flickr

Pilot Boat

 

 

IMG_1934 by baxted, on Flickr

Main mast flags entering Victoria. The red, white and blue flag with stars at the top of the mast is the Panama flag, the country of Miracle's registry. Below on the right is the Canada flag, the port the ship is entering. Center, the yellow flag, is Quarantine, which means the ship has not been cleared by Customs and Immigration. All the way to the left is the Carnival Corporation house flag. Which leaves that red and white flag between the house flag and Quarantine - any ideas?

 

 

IMG_1938 by baxted, on Flickr

Victoria

[nybumpkin]

We had no plans for Victoria – after planning the Alaska excursions, I think I was just too planned out! It’s a lovely city, though. Originally we thought we’d walk downtown – but once we realized how much of a walk it was (DH’s comment: So, what are we going to do when we get to Bataan?), we opted to take a walk out on the breakwater near the pier. There we were rewarded with some nice views of the harbor and a really cute harbor seal.

 

 

DSCF1709 by baxted, on Flickr

View from the breakwall

 

 

IMG_1952 by baxted, on Flickr

 

Breakwall as viewed from our cabin

 

 

DSCF1721 by baxted, on Flickr

Harbor Seal

 

 

DSCF1717 by baxted, on Flickr

Awwww....

[nybumpkin]

Dinner in the dining room was really subdued. While there were a fair number of people on board there were a lot off the ship, so there were a lot of empty tables. And the waiters didn’t sing the farewell song.

 

 

IMG_1975 by baxted, on Flickr

Vancouver Island Coast

 

 

IMG_1984 by baxted, on Flickr

Leaving Victoria

 

 

IMG_1976 by baxted, on Flickr

Another leaving Victoria shot

[nybumpkin]

We had a 1:00 flight from SeaTac to Baltimore, then a flight from Baltimore to Albany. We reserved a van with the same folks who had brought us to the pier and rode to SeaTac with two women flying to Texas. We were at the airport in plenty of time and the flights home worked well – although I really didn’t need the kid in front of me who, when banking into landing at BWI, kept shouting “We’re going down!” Anyway, we were back in Albany around 11 p.m. – but given jet lag, I think it is 2 a.m. before I got to sleep. Next morning I got up, went into work, and met my new boss.

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Great review!!

 

 

Kim

[Taters]

I am enjoying your review and love the Alaska pics! Thank you for sharing.

[Crusin Karen]

Wow, that was quick! :eek: Glad you got home safely and thanks for sharing your trip with us. Looking forward to the next part! :)