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Alaska Cruise


susan1957
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For anyone who has done an Alaskan Cruise, I understand this cruise is a lot different than a Caribbean Cruise.  I have read extensively, the Alaskan  cruise reviews...just wondering....why do a lot of reviews say "these ships that go to Alaska are NOT FUN SHIPS"....???? DON'T get me wrong....we aren't looking for fall down drunk parties....but we don't go to bed at 9:00 either.....INPUT?

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My family and I had an amazing time. My husband is in his 50's, I'm in my late 30's and our daughter was 6/7, and we had a great experience. We had fun on the ship, we did the piano bar, loved the shows in the main theater. My husband did the comedy shows every night and I did the trivia. There are tons of things to be done around the ship all hours of the night.

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12 minutes ago, susan1957 said:

For anyone who has done an Alaskan Cruise, I understand this cruise is a lot different than a Caribbean Cruise.  I have read extensively, the Alaskan  cruise reviews...just wondering....why do a lot of reviews say "these ships that go to Alaska are NOT FUN SHIPS"....???? DON'T get me wrong....we aren't looking for fall down drunk parties....but we don't go to bed at 9:00 either.....INPUT?

Not sure what reviews you are reading.   I did Alaska last year on the Carnival Legend...best experience I could have wished for.   It was me (52), DD (12) a friend (60) and mom (78).

 

The views are incredible...all the entertainment is there.   Granted its less crowded at night, but we went to all the shows, comedy, casino, music etc and didn't once go to bed earlier than midnight.

 

Don't let negative reviews sway you.   If you want to do Alaska...go for it...you wont be disappointed.

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DW and I went in June of this year. Our first Alaskan cruise. It is much more relaxed than a Caribbean cruise because the cruise is all about the scenery. I personally did not partake as much because I didn’t want to miss a photo opportunity. Not to say I was a tea totatler. SP. 

The nightlife is much more subdued because it is port intensive. Get in to port early and then off on an excursion. We were in bed way earlier compared to other cruises. Hope this helps. 

Hank

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We just got off the Carnival Legend a few weeks ago. It is the second time we have done that cruise. I don't how anyone can say its not fun. It is different, you are almost always in site of land and there is a naturalist on board who constantly come over the PA with updates about whale sightings, area history, and other stuff. Instead of the warm sunny sea days you the temperatures will range from the mid 40's to the low 60. Expect rain, it rained nearly everyday for us.  The scenery is absolutely amazing, In Tracy Arm you literally have 2000' mountains on ether side of the ship, waterfall everywhere you look and beautifully  blue icebergs as you approach the glacier.  Tons of entertainment on-board.   We were doing Game of Thrones trivia when we got interrupted by a group of whales that decided to show off next to the ship. You can't go wrong with Alaska!! 

 

 

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30 minutes ago, susan1957 said:

Wow!  Thank you everyone...I am very much looking forward to this cruise!  I feel better lol...

 

We have been on 16 Carnival cruises and our cruise on the Carnival Legend to Alaska was my favorite.   We went the 2nd week of May and the mountains were still covered with snow.   It was absolutely beautiful.   Our bodies were still on East coast time, so we didn't do anything at night.   Even our daughter in her 20's was in bed by 9:00.   The good thing about that was we were up very early in the morning and got to start our excursions without rushing.   I would LOVE to go back to Alaska again!  I think you will love it!

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Alaska is an amazing cruise. As mentioned in a post above, it’s a port extensive cruise. Even though I’m 29, I’m always in bed early. It doesn’t matter if I’m at home or on vacay. I think many people on these trips want to rest up for busy days but all of the night time activities are still scheduled. It’s a trip of a lifetime. Don’t let negative reviews keep you from going on it. 

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For us, each night was much earlier to bed because we are from NC and the time change was significant.  It was an amazing cruise (We went in May) and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  We stopped first in Juneau where we did an all day excursion that included Mendenhall Glacier, whale watching and a salmon bake which was a really long day.  The next stop was Skagway where we rented a Jeep and drove up the Yukon Highway...another amazing, but long day.  By the end of that day we were pretty tired and we were ready to relax as we cruised Glacier Bay the following day.  We also ported in Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan and Victoria.  As others have said, it is very port intensive and between the time difference (from home) and the time in port we were enjoying our time asleep! 🙂

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Our Alaskan cruise had a bit of a different vibe than a warm weather cruise.  We were on HAL but I would think these things would be similar on Carnival.  We went early in the season so it was chillier on the open decks.  On a Caribbean cruise, there is a large amount of people out by the pool drinking in the sun.  You don't get this on an Alaskan cruise and I think people may also drink less in the day because it isn't hot.  Also, there was no loud deck music as I believe that there are laws in Alaska about noise pollution (I am sure someone will either know about this or correct me).  I am not a big drinker myself but I found I drank way less in the day too.  Night is different as most activities on a ship are indoors anyway but the daytime seemed a bit more mellow.  

 

Alaska was my favourite cruise by far.  If you have never been, I highly recommend.  If you are the kind of person that feels cold then go in the warmer summer months.  Expect rain and pack properly for it.  Bring a warm coat, hat and mittens as when you are seeing glaciers, it is chilly.  In end of April (first Alaska cruise of the season) we were hiking in 8 degrees Celsius in the rain but we were dressed properly.  I am from Canada and am used to the cold so if you are from a warm state you may feel it more than me.  

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On 9/13/2019 at 11:49 AM, susan1957 said:

...but we don't go to bed at 9:00 either.....INPUT?

 

I'm not a bed at 9:00 person either...except...on our Alaskan cruise the sun rose at 4-4:30 and we DID get up for sunrise. There are plenty who are still tooling around after 9, but it's a different cruise experience overall. More casual dress in the evenings, tends to be an older passenger, the pools are (usually) not usable so parties by the pool do not exist, most events are indoors - it gets COLD outside at night. We found dancing at night but nothing like the Mexico/Caribbean cruises.

 

All that said...we LOVED our Alaska cruise and hope we can go again! 

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We did an Alaskan cruise on Princess for our honeymoon in 2001, and we did an Alaskan cruise with sisters/cousins on Royal Caribbean in 2016.  Our wedding was 9/08, so 9/11 happened while we were on the ship.  That, obviously, colored the cruise.  But the airports opened again in time for our helicopter tour of the glaciers, and I can honestly say that is the most memorable and valuable shore excursion I ever booked. Our trip in 2016 soured me a bit on cruises because I felt like we were nickeled and dimed to death on activities and restaurants on the ship.  My cruise in June 2019 to the Caribbean on Carnival with my sons/spouses was so much more fun. I don't know how much of that was the itinerary or the cruise line or my own personal attitude (I had a near death experience that changed everything in Jan. 2019), so this is really just my own personal experience.

 

Alaska is absolutely beautiful and romantic and worth seeing, and seeing it by cruise is a great way to do it.  Just don't expect it to compare (for better or worse) with Caribbean cruises.  It's just different.

 

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On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 2:08 PM, GaHawkeye said:

DW and I went in June of this year. Our first Alaskan cruise. It is much more relaxed than a Caribbean cruise because the cruise is all about the scenery. I personally did not partake as much because I didn’t want to miss a photo opportunity. Not to say I was a tea totatler. SP. 

The nightlife is much more subdued because it is port intensive. Get in to port early and then off on an excursion. We were in bed way earlier compared to other cruises. Hope this helps. 

Hank

Hi, I see you cruised in June of this year. Do you mind me asking about the excursions/things you did on your itinerary? We are going in June of 2020 and I am like a sponge trying to soak up as much info as I can. We are also bringing our (17yr old at time of cruise) son with us who is actually more excited about this cruise than the Caribbean cruises he has been on...loves to take scenery pictures. Also, did you stay over in Seattle before/after your cruise? If so, where did you stay and what are some 'must see' things in Seattle?

Thank you, in advance for any information you can provide. :)

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I would be happy to share as best I can. First off, your son is going to love this trip. The scenery is breathtaking. He will no doubt take hundreds, if not thousands of pictures. Extra batteries and SD cards are very helpful. He can find more info in the Photography forums. 

We did stay in Seattle before the cruise. Arrived from Atlanta at 11:00am Sunday, so basically had 2 days to explore. We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites near the airport. Hotel was great. Used the hotel shuttle to and from airport to catch the light rail to Seattle Center. We visited Pike Market, Space Needle and Chilhully Gardens. Think glass sculptures. Very photogenic as well. On Monday we did a Harbor cruise through the Ballard locks to Lake Union. Seattle is beautiful and plenty to do.

For our excursions, we did the Glacier Exploer small boat excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord. This was booked through Carnival. Spendy, but so worth it. In Skagway, we booked with Chilkoot Charters and went up to Carcross and took the train back from Fraser to Skagway. Long day. Beautiful scenery again. We did not do an excursion in Juneau, just walked around the port area. In Ketchikan, we booked a floatplane tour with Island Wings. This was a surprise 25th anniversary gift to my DW. She knew nothing about it till I told her to get in van.  It was an awesome flight and again, spendy, but worth it. Misty Fjord National Monument was breathtaking and majestic. 

We walked around Victoria, BC. There is a lot to do there as well but we were spent. Ship was great. We were on the Legend. I believe you’ll be on the Miracle. They’re sister ships, so layout is very similar. I hope this helps. Alaska is beautiful and should be seen. 

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On 9/14/2019 at 9:46 AM, cdm289 said:

Our Alaskan cruise had a bit of a different vibe than a warm weather cruise.  We were on HAL but I would think these things would be similar on Carnival.  We went early in the season so it was chillier on the open decks.  On a Caribbean cruise, there is a large amount of people out by the pool drinking in the sun.  You don't get this on an Alaskan cruise and I think people may also drink less in the day because it isn't hot.  Also, there was no loud deck music as I believe that there are laws in Alaska about noise pollution (I am sure someone will either know about this or correct me).  I am not a big drinker myself but I found I drank way less in the day too.  Night is different as most activities on a ship are indoors anyway but the daytime seemed a bit more mellow.  

 

Alaska was my favourite cruise by far.  If you have never been, I highly recommend.  If you are the kind of person that feels cold then go in the warmer summer months.  Expect rain and pack properly for it.  Bring a warm coat, hat and mittens as when you are seeing glaciers, it is chilly.  In end of April (first Alaska cruise of the season) we were hiking in 8 degrees Celsius in the rain but we were dressed properly.  I am from Canada and am used to the cold so if you are from a warm state you may feel it more than me.  

Thanks cdm....We also are from Canada (Toronto)....so yes...we also know all about the cold!  I know it will be much different from the 12 Caribbean cruises I have done, nonetheless..I am looking forward to it.  We are going mid May...Thanks again for your detailed reply.  Much appreciated.

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16 hours ago, tjsmama said:

Hi, I see you cruised in June of this year. Do you mind me asking about the excursions/things you did on your itinerary? We are going in June of 2020 and I am like a sponge trying to soak up as much info as I can. We are also bringing our (17yr old at time of cruise) son with us who is actually more excited about this cruise than the Caribbean cruises he has been on...loves to take scenery pictures. Also, did you stay over in Seattle before/after your cruise? If so, where did you stay and what are some 'must see' things in Seattle?

Thank you, in advance for any information you can provide. 🙂

We will TOO! 6/2 on Spirit.  I have done a lot of research as we going out a week early B4 getting onto the ship, to  explore other parts of  Oregon and Washington.   Suggestions: Look on You Tube for things to do and tips on what to see in Seattle, also google it as well.  We are doing all those things, plus I want to see the troll sculpture under the bridge.  We are going to try as many as free things as possible.  We booked our excursions through https://alaskashoretours.com  .  I am sure there are a lot of tour companies, this is the one we went with d/t to high ratings. IF you book more than one excursion, ask for a discount.  So, far their communication has been wonderful and the website is very informative and easy to follow.  Photography:  We were going to take our DSLR camera and 3 lenses, however, on some of the excursions, you can not bring a bag and we will also be near water.  Went to Photo & Camera Discussion under the title of Digital Photography & Cruise Technology Board.  Found a lot of info to help me. Remember it maybe "wet" and that does not do well on the camera. Have your son start reading the forum. What a great way to get him involved with vacation. 

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