ABQrobin

Balcony rooms are great, and it all depends where it is located as to whether you are above a walkway or not.... regardless, you have a great ocean view. I don't know of any balconies that aren't covered fully unless they are at the back of the ship where it may be only partial. Those are looking down onto another person's balcony and I would never book one of those. Sides are best, IMHO. We like the Cove Balconies, but regular balconies are great on all Carnival ships. We were on the Jubilee this past Feb and loved it.

Which GoPro did you get? That makes a difference. GoPros are all waterproof, you don't need a case. Unless you get the Media Mod accessory (microphone etc) which make it only splash proof only. Whale watching is okay with a GoPro but it is a wide-angle lens and so you need to be pretty close to get great footage. It is also a fixed lens and doesn't work great for macro or closeups within a few inches of lens. I have been using GoPro cameras for videos for the past 10+ years, so if you have specific questions, feel free to ask. I am now using GoPro10 and GoPro11.

okay, we all have to make choices. People died on a helicopter tour in Alaska from Juneau a few years back and yet they still do those tours. In fact, we DID that too... we knew people had died on a crash and yet we still booked it and did it and LOVED it. Everything we do has risks, every excursion has risks. We all have to make our own choices.

I agree about the salmon.... but let me explain. It was flavorless. It tasted to me like it had been sitting out a long time then thrown over the fire to cook quickly. It was cooked thru but no smoky flavor. They offered a "glaze" to go over it but I didn't want it, too sugary and I wanted to taste the salmon because I love salmon. I am sure that if I had used the glaze it would have had some flavor, and that's probably what most people do. My husband and I cook salmon at home all the time, so I am very familiar with what good salmon tastes like. As far as why was I going back for more... I wasn't but I wanted to take video of salmon on the grill and when I walked up people were there asking for more. So that is when I realized how much salmon was just laying out on racks, not over the fire at all. So I walked over and looked at the sides, just to see. It was 1pm when we arrived, so don't think it was "off hours" for the Salmon Bake. And with 5 ships in port that day, they had a constant flow of people coming in. There should have been food for everyone ready.

Well, I am the exact opposite. I take people's words with a grain of salt, and need to SEE proof of what an excursion or experience looks like. A video tells me more honestly what I need to know. So you do you, and I will do me.

I don't know who owned it before or now. I know that the guides told us that the Glacier Point was sold by the original company and bought by this new company that changed things. They said that they now own the boat that brought us there so that there is no need to go thru the middle man shuttle service like before. Everything is now owned and run by the parent company. And if you really want to know about the safety... why don't you look at Trip Advisor! You can see that they do this tour all day long, every day from late April to early Oct. Sometimes 3 groups per day. That is hundreds of people per day for almost 4 months. There are hundreds of 5star reviews.

Well, we actually DID the excursion and I can say that I felt perfectly safe in all aspects the whole 6+ hours. The most difficult thing was getting in and out of the canoe, but they gave demo of how to do it and 2 guides held the canoe still as one by one people got in and out. Other than that it was just sitting in the canoe and walking, which is pretty safe. So I don't know why you are attacking me. Watch the video and see what happens on the excursion for yourself instead of spreading secondhand rumors.

Oh, and I forgot to let you know.... the company was sold a few years ago. NEW company owns this op, and they have completely redesigned how its done. The company now owns all boats used to get to site now, as well as everything at the site. It is now one of the highest rated excursions on Carnival, Princess, and NCL. They're not going to go with this company if things haven't met their expectations and people aren't raving about it now.

I can guarantee you that we saw nothing that was unsafe. In fact, I didn't show some of their safety stuff as I was trying to keep the video informative about the excursion only.

Well, that is your opinion, not mine. The Salmon Bake was a dud in MY opinion. We've been to the Salmon Bake on an excursion in Skagway and it was EXCELLENT. Totally different experience. And as I SAID IN MY VIDEO... it may have been an off day for them but for an "all you can eat buffet" it was a fail. Several people were asking for more salmon and told it was coming in a little while but they had just put it on. I walked by the buffet of sides and most of them were empty or near empty. THAT is not acceptable when charging so much. The Whale Watching was good, but not as great as other days. Every person on our ship who did a whale watch that day said the same thing... Orcas but not that many humpbacks. So I don't think it mattered which company. Plus there were only about 20 people on the boat, not 40. This is our first excursion in Alaska that we have complained about anything! We usually have a great time and we know that some days are better than others. Geez. So have a nice day!

You are welcome! Glad to help.

Not sure why you don't want to watch a video, it doesn't cost anything. Anyhow... the Salmon Bake was not very good. We added it at the last minute and shouldn't have bothered. Food was just okay, not worth $60+ per person. And it wasted over an hour of our port time we could have used to ride the Tram. I just want people to see what it looks like, what we saw and the food (seemed to run out of items on the all-you-can-eat buffet). Just an FYI. We don't think it was worth it. Maybe it was an off day and they just ran out of salmon and sides, and didn't cook the salmon long enough to get flavor, etc. I am sure that was their excuse.

In Feb we sailed out of Galveston, and it was pouring rain on debark day. We got drenched leaving the ship and getting thru the parking lot to the shuttle. No kidding, luggage soaked, us soaked and shivering, it was horrible. It is hard to stay dry there if its raining.

I was just on the Spirit 2 weeks ago and can tell you the ship actually looks very good. The elevators need cosmetic repair, lots of pealing wallpaper, scrapes, paint repairs. Other than that, replacing mattresses maybe, and a big deep cleaning of carpets and common areas, we really didn't notice anything bad. It already has the Bonsai Sushi restaurant added, so they don't need to do that like they will be doing to the Miracle in drydock April.

I want everyone going to Juneau to watch this and learn from our mistake. Maybe it was an OFF day, but the more we talked about it afterwards, the more we think it was a total RIP_OFF! If you had a different experience, please let us know! The place gets such great reviews.....

When we did our whale watching at Icy Strait point a few years ago, the onboard crew told us we had perfect weather (drizzling rain) as the whales are more active with that type of weather. Their food source is more active with rain/clouds so that means more for whales to hunt and to eat. We just returned from another Alaska cruise but it was sunny the whole week... we saw some whales but no where near as many as the rainy cruise. Just an FYI.

Thank you so much! No, my GoPro is hand held but we have the GoPro10 which has a stabilizer in it to make it smooth. Really does make a difference! Its a great excursion, so feel free to ask any questions about it. Highly recommended for most people without mobility issues.

We just got back from Alaska last week and had the most amazing SUNNY weather all week. This is out video of Tracy Arm Fjord small boat excursion!

We love the App and use it all day long on the ship. Look up info for meals, shows, activities, etc. You can set notifications on it so you get reminded about something going on, showtimes, lots of things. Can't imagine sailing without it. Carnival has done a great job with it. (we were on Princess last year for a cruise and their app is crap,, just doesn't work right, so yes we have a comparison).

Just got back from the Spirit in Alaska a few weeks ago. We LOVE the ship. It has a full sized Bonsai Sushi and the Miracle does not. Probably everything else is the same.

This excursion was not what we had planned to do, we had booked something else.... but that one didn't have enough people sign up, so we switched to this one. WOW, are we glad we did. It is longer, and more expensive than most of the excursions, but worth every penny! What a great adventure, highly recommended. Feel free to ask any questions!!!

Depends on the port. Don't count on it though.

Yes..... up until about a month out to sailing... people cancel and also travel agents you who booked a block of rooms but not sold them will turn them back in. We have always been able to snag one of those as long as it isn't too close to sailing. BUT you won't be able to pick a room, it will be a "guaranteed room" only most likely.

Just got back and had to throw together a quick PREVIEW video before I start editing everything from the trip. We had FANTASTIC weather, sunny every day, not a drop of rain. We will have more videos, and info on the excursions coming up in a week or two.

Once you get onboard, go to the Maitre'D and tell them your request. You WILL get to eat in the MDR, its just that the computer only allows a certain number of people per time slot.