Mike2131

Mike, do you mind commenting on the ports and excursions? If you'd rather, you could email me.

I am going to check my review to see if the port reviews pulled in. My post #7 above on this thread is pretty extensive regarding excursions and a little on the ports. Was there something else you specifically wondered about or had questions on? Are there particular options that you would like to know more about?

We liked all the ports and enjoyed the sea days (also counting the scenic cruising as a sea day). Sometimes a really port intensive itinerary can start to get pretty hectic and you don't feel you have time to catch your breath much less enjoy the ship.

Enjoyed your review. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Whether a great cruise or a disappointment, I always try to post a fair and balanced review. Opinions and impressions will always vary, but I always hope that relaying what we experienced will be helpful.

Thanks for the heads uo:)

 

Enjoyed your review and helpful to another fellow first timer;)

I hope you enjoy the experience as much as we did.

Thanks for the review. We've cruised on O before so I was looking for a review of the ports rather than the ship. What did you think of the ports on this 7-day? We're looking at this cruise as a possibility for our family next year but I wondered if you actually see enough of Alaska? May not be able to do longer cruise due to scheduling issues. I'd appreciate your input.

This was our 4th Alaskan cruise, 2 of which were cruise tours. It is one of our favorites because we had never visited Wrangell or Prince Rupert. In addition, we had never cruised Tracy Arm (very scenic with glacier calving). The balance of 3 ports, 2 sea days + the day of scenic cruising was very restful. Great pacing.

Ketchikan is a nice port with a great combination of history and nature. From wildlife tours (we had done the Neet's Bay Bear Watch Tour on a previous cruise) to wilderness fly-in fishing to kayaking and canoeing to a stroll of historic Creek Street to just walking and shopping, there is something for everyone. Definitely the only real shopping port on the itinerary - if that is of interest.

Wrangell - Brown bears, black bears, eagles, and maybe whales!!! If up close and personal wildlife viewing - especially bears - is what you seek, then the Wild Bears of Anan tour is for you. This is one of the best wildlife tours I have ever taken. This is not a controlled environment. The guides are armed, but you will literally be perhaps within 6-10 feet (usually further) of wild bears. They are habituated to humans but, make no mistake, it is definitely their domain. Highest recommendation! At the bottom of my main review you should see a review of the ports. Wrangell was not one of the choices, so I put it under Petersburg.

Prince Rupert, B.C. - This was a real surprise and the Bear Reserve (Khutzeymateen?) was an excellent excursion. It is 2 hours each way by a small, very comfortable, custom designed, tour boat named the Inside Passage. Great wildlife (Brown Bears, Orcas, Humpback Whales, a Bald Eagle "show" (see my port review)), etc. Again, highly recommended.

For us, we knew from our first visit that we would be back to Alaska multiple times. For us, another draw was the RT from Seattle. Having visited Vancouver and Victoria multiple times, not visiting those ports was actually a plus for us.

It is impossible to see all of Alaska on one visit. I think it might come down to what your interests are. Alaska holds a fascination for us (and a lot of other people) so I would recommend looking at the possible itineraries and select on what comes closest to ticking all the boxes for time and budget. No matter which you select, I think you are going to have a great cruise.

for your review. We will be going on Riviera in a couple of months, and it will be our first Oceania cruise. Your review said all the things I wanted to hear! :)

I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did ours.

This was not our first cruise (15 and counting), but the initial sailing with Oceania. In a word, Outstanding! We were on the 7/7/14 Regatta 7-Night RT Alaska cruise out of Seattle and my full review was just posted in the member review section. We were so impressed that we booked another cruise on-board.

Except for expedition cruises, I think we have found our new cruise line of choice.

:confused::confused::confused::confused:

I am trying to find the rollcall for the above .I realise I may be a bit early ,but it would appear that Star Clipper Roll calls for any of the sailing ships do not exist on the Cruise Critic website .

I am new to the CC system and may have got it all wrong ,so if anyone can help by directing me to the roll call if it already exists or even if a fellow passenger reads this and can set up the Roll Call -that would be a great start.

Many thanks

Mike ( MG OCEANMAN)

Go to the Roll Call board and the first option is "All Other Cruise Lines Roll Calls" or something similar. Click on Start a New Thread, title it with the Ship, Date, Route e.g. Royal Clipper March 28, 2015 Trans-Atlantic (or what ever is appropriate). Put in you greeting that you are starting the Roll Call and away you go.

Good luck and have a great cruise.

My back up camera is a Nikon P510. It has a 42x zoom lens, is lightweight, and is easy to use. Definitely recommended.

The Owner's Suites and Vista Suites have had bathroom renovations with a step-in shower as well as the tub, but the PH suites remain tub and shower combo. Veranda cabins and below (Category A and below) have stand-up showers but no tub. Those showers are indeed a little small, but I have it on good authority that if both are reasonably slender, two can fit. The shower curtains have been improved and don't billow as much.

 

We don't like stepping over a tub either, and avoided the upper suites primarily because of the tub, until we were upgraded to one, and now like the penthouse well enough to "suffer" with the tub -- as long as we don't have to pay too much extra!

 

Of course, a physical challenge changes the situation. As long as I get the injections in my knees, I can manage it.

Just back from a 7-night Seattle RT on the Regatta. This was our first Oceania cruise and we loved the ship and the Oceania approach - so much so that we booked another cruise on-board. I am working on the full cruise review now.

We had a stern A2 and, though small, the bathroom was efficient and suitable for us. The shower was a little tighter than one would like, but the first one I remember in a long time (perhaps ever for one with only a curtain) that did not leave the floor wet when I was finished.

We just returned from a 7-night Seattle RT and one of the stops was Wrangell. Bears are a particular passion of ours and we took the Anan Bear Tour. It was absolutely phenomenal. We had brown bears on the way up to the observatory and once there we had frequent and numerous black bears (including mothers and cubs) in the creek, in the trees, and on the trails within 6-8 feet of the railing. Incredible photo ops and the photo hide by the creek was a terrific place to get shots of black bears fishing. Add in a very restricted number of visitors (limited to 64 per day) plus a large contingent of Bald Eagles converging on what the bears leave behind and it was a wonderful excursion. Highly recommended!

Yes, it is just for US Citizens, as payback for the fee we charge to Argentinians to enter the US. The fee is $160 per person, each person has to fill out the form, you pay with your credit card online. Within a day you will get an email from the site showing you have paid, you need to bring this email receipt and your ID to the proper desk when you enter Argentina, as proof you paid the fee.

Even though it is technically not a visa, it may be easier to think of it as a visa to enter Argentina.

It took forever to pay the fee (then $140 and good for 10 years) in person when we flew in to BA on 2011 on our way to Ushuaia.

Just want to share this website….I keep it open on my computer and everyday I eventually see bears.

 

http://explore.org/live-cams/player/brown-bear-salmon-cam-lower-river

Bears are our favorite. We have another couple of bear viewing tours coming up in Wrangell and Prince Rupert on an Alaskan cruise next week.

I've been reading through a lot of reviews and one thing I keep noticing is that a lot of ships/lines have a greater number of elderly people and thus activities, entertainment etc are geared towards them.

 

I'm just wondering if there are recommendations for people in their late 30's early 40's. Where more people would be in that age range?

You can get as active or sedate as you wish in Alaska. Our preference is for smaller, expedition type ships. They will tend to be higher priced (sometimes substantially higher) than mainstream sailings.

What do you want to see and do? What is your budget? Do you want to do a land tour in addition to a cruise? RT or one way? How much time do you have? When do you want to go? Lots of questions to start answering before you can begin to focus on the right cruise line and the right cruise or cruise tour.

The best cabin on an Alaska cruise is an inside for the simple reason that it gets you out of the cabin and on deck to take in your surroundings, which is something no veranda or suite passenger can achieve from their cabins.

 

A penthouse will give you a 90 to 100 degree view, an aft cabin will give you 180 degree bit being on deck will give you 270 to 360

 

Alaska is where you come for the view not the cabin

This our 4th Alaska cruise. The attraction of this cruise was 3-fold; 1) Try Oceania, 2) 2 ports we have never visited - Wrangell and Prince Rupert: 3) As close to an expedition cuise (our favorite type of cruise) that we could get in a short cruise without the high cost. The bear tours in Wrangell and Prince Rupert should be the highlights.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

For future reference -- You might have asked your TA to "negotiate" the upsell. That's what mine does. Often the price is negotiable.

I will file that away for when it comes up again - and I am sure it will.

We are sailing from Seattle on 7/7 and plan to bring 2-3 bottles on to split between the cabin and the dining room for dinner. The Oceania customer-friendly policy in this area is a big plus.

BY the time you ask the question and get answers on CC the opportunity is probably gone. Upsells are grabbed quickly -- particularly to PH suites.

 

Your TA should know if it's a good deal. If he or she does not, you have the wrong TA.

She thought the deal was OK, but not great. We are very content with our aft cabin - 7121. I know you were just aboard the Regatta and had a great time. It's our first cruise with Oceania and we are looking forward to a wonderful experience.

How many nights is your cruise? If it's 10 or more I'd take the upgrade in a heart beat. I just got off the Insignia in an A2 aft cabin and while the extended veranda was great, it doesn't make the cabin any bigger. It felt really, really small to me.

It is a 7-night cruise so the per night upgrade cost is substantial. My agent found out there were only 2 suites (probably PH3) and they were gone. The ship was overbooked, they made the switch cruise offer which we passed on, and then they were reshuffling the deck with the cabins made available when some others made the switch. I understand this is happens fairly often with Oceania. Who knows, there might be something else since we don't sail for almost 2 weeks - LOL!

We are experienced cruisers (14 and counting) but the 7/7/14 sailing RT Seattle to Alaska is our first with Oceania. We are in an A2 Aft cabin and have been offered PH upgrade for $500 pp. The size is nice (agent checking on location) and wonder if, aside from the extra room, the upgrade from our Concierge is reasonable.

We have already rejected an offer to change cruises (20% cash back + upgrade to the best suite available (not OS) on a Baltic or several Med sailings.

I am inclined to wait in case the offer improves. Advice/suggestions appreciated.

Thanks.

My sister is overweight and had a stroke years back, is it really difficult for an overweight/stroke person to enjoy, do activities on ships,shore excursions, get up on deck, etc, We're thinking about the Coral. I have the money but something just doesn't feel right/excited about this Alaska trip, can someone motivate me (as sad as that sounds, or just help out). any and all information is greatly appreciated :) Also, I noticed on the Harv/Marv website it says "find another whale watching if you can't climb a few stairs, or walk 1/2 mile, hummmmm

You don't mention what your interests are, but if your sister's health and mobility are real issues (and they seem to be), Alaska might be the wrong cruise destination. Perhaps another cruise where there are sightseeing tours that require almost no walking or are wheelchair accessible might make more sense. Many excursions in Alaska are going to have at least a small amount of walking or stair climbing. Another consideration is the pronblem of tendering in those ports that might require it. Just a thought.

Hi --

 

I have a wonderful Nikon D7100 which I love dearly. But when I fly a foreign carrier, I find that the weight of the camera plus an additional lens uses a lot of my carry-on allowance of around 11 pounds.

 

Should I consider purchasing a mirrorless camera for use in foreign travel? Somehow, it resonates with me that the smaller the sensor, the less image quality I will get. I will never put my camera and lenses in checked luggage!

 

Any solutions?

 

ZU

...carry on the camera, lenses, and anything else that is essential - meds, glasses, etc. Pack everything else. Certainly your call, but buying a whole new camera set up just to have less carry on weight does not make a lot of sense to me. If you want another camera as a back up for other uses - or are considereing a change already - then that's another conversation.

We have not taken this particular tour, but our other excursion experience with them was excellent.

I think you will reach more people who need the info there.

Have a great cruise.

I am well aware of Alaska's weather..... and the forecast for my cruise week is colder with rain every day. That's what I expected, but I am still kind of bummed. Please reassure me and tell me that I will still have a great time and see plenty of beauty :)

First of all, they might not be worth the paper they are printed on. My first cruise in Alaska was in May. They initial forecast? Very chilly and probably wet most days. Guess what? I was in shorts in Skagway with bright sun. In fact, the only rain we saw in the 10 days was a sprinkle coming into Juneau and it stopped before we completed docking.

As others noted, don't sweat it. Layer (with rainproof - but breathable - on top) and get out and enjoy. Sun, cloudy, rain, hot, chilly, it doesn't matter. The charm of Alaska is in the scenery, the wildlife, the history, and especially its people. Get out and have fun.

Have a great cruise.

#4 is coming up in early July. It will be a 7 night RT out of Seattle on the Oceania Regatta with only 3 ports - Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Prince Rupert - plus a day of scenic cruising in Tracy Arm. Wrangell and Prince Rupert will be Maiden Call ports for us. Our focus is wildlife - especially bears - so this will be a great cruise.

My very first cruise was a 10-night beginning of the season repositioning from SF to Vancouver on the old Celebrity Horizon. The second was a Celebrity cruise tour from Fairbanks-Denali-Talkeetna-Alyeska then southbound on the Summit. The third is probably my favorite, It was a Princess cruisetour from Calgary through Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper then the Rocky Mountaineer into Vancouver with an overnight in Kamloops. The cruise was northbound on the Sapphire Princess.

Alaska is just a magical place!