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Kirasha

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    lobster in the buffet

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted · Edited by Kirasha

    Before your sailing, someone had posted in one of the other lobster threads and had a video of the lobster in the buffet on one of the other ships. The tails looked fantastic. They were big and the meat was pulled out of the shell and put on top of the shell, like you'd get in a fancy restaurant. Due to the presentation, it looks like they were steamed or boiled instead of grilled.

     

    This thread?

     

    http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2026038

     

    I agree, the tails in the above thread's video look great. The thread confirms that many of the older ships have recently moved to a "lobster in the buffet only" approach too.

    Reveal Your 2014 Alaska Itinerary Plans

    in Alaska

    Posted · Edited by Kirasha

    There are typically both private and ship tours doing the same things at the same times. They all work their schedules around the train. There will be both ship and private tours on the train at all times, and none likely to be any more or less crowded than others. Since Chilkoot has their own train car, you won't really be affected by ship tour passengers on the train. Chilkoot also tries to avoid making stops at the usual view points at the same time as the big buses in order to avoid crowds.

     

    Hi Kesstral! :) The lady from Chilkoot Charters that I corresponded with told me the same thing that sherryf said above when I asked them for advice on which was better, bus first or train first. Traffic's the same, crowds the same. It was her observation that the weather/fog chances are 50/50 too, in the end. So, I went with the only supposed "con" that I could find and agree with - a few people taking the bus first indicated that there was not as much time to make any extra stops (over and above what is already scheduled) due to the fact that you need to get to Fraser on time to catch the train. Even then, this was by no means a consistent gripe (hardy anybody) but if it made the difference between bonus stops for wildlife or not on our trip, I'd rather not be under a time crunch. Plus, I wanted a little bit more time to explore Skagway as an option.

    Reveal Your 2014 Alaska Itinerary Plans

    in Alaska

    Posted

    Wed 7-May - Fly into Vancouver in the late morning, check into Fairmont Pacific Rim, late lunch at Cactus Club, have hotel take us to and picks us up from Stanley Park or just walk the seawall a little if we're tired, late dinner at Rogue Kitchen and Wetbar.

    Thu 8-May - Board NCL Pearl (sure hope the port schedule changes to move it to Canada Place instead of Ballantyne, we'll see)

    Fri 9-May - Cruising Inside Passage

    Sat 10-May - Ketchikan - Doing the self-guided walking tour, lunch at Annabelle's

    Sun 11-May - Juneau - Taku Lodge Flight and Salmon Feast for lunch (booked direct to save $$), then visiting Tracy's Crab Shack for a late afternoon snack

    Mon 12-May - Chilkoot Charters Yukon Rail & Bus Excursion (train first), walking around town if we're up to it

    Tues 13-May - Cruise Glacier Bay, drink alcoholic hot drinks on my balcony :)

    Wed 14-May - Icy Straight Point - Whale Watching with Glacier Wind Charters, then lunch at one of the ISP restaurants and some walking around that area

    Thurs 15-May - Sitka - Raptor Center in the morning, quick snack at Highliner Coffee Cafe, then Wildlife excursion by boat via Sitka Sound Tours

    Fri 16-May - At Sea

    Sat 17-May - Victoria BC - We actually get here at noon...walking to the Inner Harbor area, Royal BC museum or a ghostly walking tour in the evening if we feel up for it.

    Sun 18-May - Seattle - Self-disembark with all luggage, getting picked up by Already There Towncar Service to catch an 11:50 AM flight at SEATAC.

    Chilkoot Charters vs. Ship excursion

    in Alaska

    Posted

    renee - The benefits of going with Chilkoot versus the ship's excursion are: Your tour group will be smaller. For the White pass rail portion, your tour is in its own train car, which can mean more seats and space available to move around. For the bus portion (if you do the bus part) - you are in a smaller shuttle bus rather than the full-on buses that the ship excursions use. Shuttle bus is smaller, more maneuverable and as such can stop for wildlife in places that are too small for buses.

     

    You will find that instead of it being a lot cheaper, non-ship sponsored Alaska excursions are often better because the tour group is much smaller and the experience much more personalized.

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