Review of Recent Alaska Trip on the Shadow

My parents just returned from the Seward>Vancouver cruise on the Shadow and I am posting for them. DH and I have been on SS a few times but we don't have the days Mom/Dad have.

Captain Cook Hotel: very nice

Train to Seward: the worst part, started at 11:45 with bus from hotel, then got on train and left at 1:15, stopped for 45 minutes twice, hard bench seats and half of the passengers had to ride backwards, some good scenery, all 200 people had to get photos taken once they pulled up to ship (digital would help here!). Did not get to room until 8, were so tired that most ordered dinner in. Said something to the CD and got "we know."

Hubbard: spectacular, Captain got really close. Turned so both sides of ship could see.

Sitka: skipped due to storm, but that meant an extra 1/2 day in Juneau, was announced well ahead of time.

Juneau: rained in town but not on ship's whale watching tour; saw a lot of whales.

Butler: delightful, was able to get them a reservation at La Champagne when signing on at 120 days didn't, ran Mom a hot rose bath after whales. Other servers just as good.

Drinks: only 2 bourbons available (Jack Daniels and Makers Mark), several single malt scotches, mixed cocktails were a mixed bag depending on who made them; Dad asked for a Cabernet one night at dinner instead of the Italian being poured and was able to get it.

Food: New menu not to their liking, not tailored to the area (i.e. salmon had salsa, no crab legs) and food was not as good as before. No always available menu. Really good prime rib one night. Not much they liked at lunch in the Restaurant. Dinner at La Champagne was same menu as Cloud (Wind?) in the Caribbean last year.

Decor: carpets dirty in a lot of areas.

Vancouver: bus driver to airport gave them short unexpected city tour with amusing commentary.

Bottom Line: they are looking at Seabourn for the next one. We are booked on the Whisper in 3 weeks so will see what's up there.

Thanks for your review of your parents Alaska cruise.Beautiful scenery and places to visit.Sad to hear about the new menu,lack of always available choice and worst of all no local specialities.Do you know whether these new arrangements apply throughout the SS fleet? Hope not.Enjoy your Whisper cruise.

Bro wry, yes, the new menu will be fleet wide If it isn't already. Will post in a few days from the Spirit.

Brimary...auto correct makes me nuts!

Brimary...auto correct makes me nuts!

Thanks look forward to your report from the Spirit.Will miss the local specialities that Head Chef used to produce from local markets.Cannot see how the same menu will be welcomed in the Arctic and the Caribbean particularly now there is no alternative menu available.

I reported on the menu change in July on our Silver Cloud trip from Copenhagen to Tower Bridge.

The "always available" was gone as of July 7, and it was fleet wide. I was told it's an attempt to standardize the menu and offerings. I guess sous vide cooking of frozen stuff.

I did find that the Restaurant in the MDR offered regional specialties.

One may still order something special in advance.

I think the menu in Le Champagne is and has been standardized for awhile. It is and has been the same menu every time we have had dinner there for the past several years.

As for lunch, we have not experienced lunch in the MDR. We always go to the buffet in La Terrazza or eat outside on the pool deck. I did find that the buffet was much scaled down on the Cloud, maybe it was proportional to the number of pax and the limited amount of space to display food.

I will be able to make a better comparison of the buffet when we sail on the Spirit again in November (we haven't been aboard the Spirit since the menu change).

I'm quite disappointed that the "always available" option has been removed from the menu. That will necessitate more attention being given to pre-planning what to eat for dinner. Almost as bad as being at home and having to plan AND prepare it.

The room service menu is also available in the MDR at meal times. We were alerted by Sujith (Hotel Director).

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The menu standardization is just a bad idea IMO. No opportunity for the chef to use local produce is very limiting. I think most real chefs would be dissatisfied with this. I understand having a base of recipes and menus that everyone uses, but you are just not going to be able to get the same quality of fresh produce anywhere in the world.

Unfortunately, food is one element of my cruise on the Shadow next year to which I am not at all looking forward. This was a completely itinerary driven booking and I plan to eat as many meals off the ship as possible which I will be able to do because of several overnight stays. It's a pity because food is usually an important part of any luxury cruise.

We sailed on the Cloud July/August on R/T Tower Bridge. Anything on the room service menu was always available in the main dining room at any time. You can also order sides such as baked potato, steamed spinach, fries and the like at any time. Salmon, chicken, and beef are always available for dinner. Lastly, if you have a special request (in our case, Sticky English Toffee Pudding) just tell the head waiter the day before.

So, if those foods are "always available", how do you know that? Will be boarding the Spirit today so I imagine it will clear soon!

duct tape, I wonder if the options were taken off the menu, but are still "available".

I guess you will let us know.

Since you are a superstar cruise passenger, everything should always be available for you.

So, if those foods are "always available", how do you know that? Will be boarding the Spirit today so I imagine it will clear soon!

Bon voyage DT, will wave in your direction from the Whisper next week.

Since you are a superstar cruise passenger, everything should always be available for you.

One should certainly hope so!

Just off Cloud on 31st of August. Every waiter in the DR told guests that in addition to the menu that the 24 hour menu is also available in the DR. You can get steaks, spaghetti and all the items which used to be on the left on the former menus and also the sorbet which is not listed. On Whisper in 3days for a month.

Spinaker2, I hope that meant tongue in cheek! [emoji3]. I am absorbing the menus and will post about them in a few days. My initial reaction is...yeah! But it may be too ambitious. Large learning curve in the Galley.

Hi Ho, Silver, will look forward to it! Enjoy!

Just off Cloud on 31st of August. Every waiter in the DR told guests that in addition to the menu that the 24 hour menu is also available in the DR. You can get steaks, spaghetti and all the items which used to be on the left on the former menus and also the sorbet which is not listed. On Whisper in 3days for a month.

Not interested in the meet & mingle?

Duct tape

Enjoy your cruise!

I really do mean that you are a superstar!

Look forward to hearing about everything after you have relaxed and have been pampered a bit.

DH and I just cleaned out the dryer vent/duct which was gross and took five hours.

We encountered some glitches.

I did use plenty of duct tape to affix the dryer exhaust to the fitting in the wall.

So we will hope to be on the cruise vicariously...

we just got back from the 8-27 Vancouver to seward trip. This was our first SS trip in 3 years after 3 in-between on SB . Overall a solid b grade. the ship is a tad tired, likely from the previous back to back Alaska trips weather etc. We had a medallion suite which was lovely,and in a strange and happy coincidence had our same butler as in the baltic.

We had our best meals in the MDR and also 3 nice ones in la terraza. La campagna was booked. Dress was fine with most wearing sport coats ,mostly with ties.

Our tours were good with only one being cancelled. Weather was mixed but a great day sailing by the Glacier. We were the only ship and the Captain got within .7 of a mile and he stayed there the spun the boat. Many whale sightings while sailing as well as the tours.

One big difference to SB was the sailaway from Vancouver it was a nice day but little fanfare etc. Crew were great but seemed to us they made little effort to identify you by name when you came to eat.

One glitch at the end happened when we got on the train to anchorage. After boarding we were told the river was too high and the train was cancelled so we reboarded the ship. They then had to hustle to find buses , bring them down from anchorage to get the peeps back to Anchorage for flights etc. They also had the logistical problem of getting the next load to Seward w/o the train. all lost about 3-4 hours. Our next trip is on SB from Aukland so SS will have to wait for another day.

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Too bad SS has no power over Mother Nature!