naturelovergirl

I'm very happy with the glass doors on the shower instead of the shower curtain (We had to have our steward replace our shower curtain last year on QE) So that makes me quite pleased.

I am less than happy about the lack of "grandeur" of the Queens Room.

The chairs and the tables are quite plain, and the room does not even hold a candle to the beauty and classy glamour of the Queens Rooms on the other ships.

I agree with @Victoria2... yes, people who love to ballroom dance love Cunard because they have a wonderful opportunity to do so.

That said, many people enjoy watching the dancers in the Queens Room as they travel on to the other things and activities on board at night.

We love hearing the incredible live-music on board with a lovely cocktail in hand.

We also enjoy walking the promenade in the evenings.

You make your evening on Cunard what you want it to be.

The experience you had on the Carnival ship is very different from the Cunard experience.

(We enjoy fun-in-the-sun cruises too... but we choose other lines when we want that kind of cruise, quite honestly.)

Cunard is much more of an elegant cruise.

For me it is the closest to what I dreamed of experiencing when I watched classic movies.

The dress code makes the ship very lovely at night. The traditional nature of Cunard is very beloved by so many who choose the line. That does not make the experience stuffy- it just makes it special for all.

When we choose Cunard we do so because of the tradition, history, and the beauty... and yes, their itineraries are great.

So if you choose them, I say embrace the tradition of Cunard and have a great time because it is different.

They say when in Rome do as the Romans do... So just change it...

When on Cunard, do as the Cunarders do.

13 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

A comment about the "ice white" gala night in Alaska. The first time I did an Alaska cruise on QE, I thought that was stupid. Glaciers are blue, not white. So in defiance (and because I already had the skirt), I wore a long turquoise skirt and bought a white top that had a little bling on it. So, like a glacier, snow on top, blue ice below. And then on board, the description was blue and/or white and/or silver. Plenty of people didn't dress in those colors anyway. 

I also wore icy blue ❄️

One way to pack light and bring a bit of bling to your smart attire nights is to bring some fun and sparkly accessories. (One of my packing light tricks)

We took advantage of this sale, booking an Alaska 2025 voyage for my parents.

Fabulous sale.

We recently returned from a family cruise with my in-laws on a different line (something we do with them each year and look forward to taking)

Although our favorite line, as a couple, is Cunard (unparalleled in beauty, relaxation, and enrichment programs), we always enjoy these fun family cruises on the other lines too. They are fun for all of the ages and personalities in the group including my young nieces. We all love hanging out together, seeing places, making memories, and, as you do on a cruise ship, eating as a family together.

This “other” line this time was chosen by other members of the family due to the itinerary- which was quite interesting. We all liked the itinerary. BUT… I have never in my life been on a cruise with such poor food. Wow. We (collectively as a family) have sailed on so many different lines and have never had a ship food experience like this.

I had read bad reviews about this particular line we just took before sailing- but my family wanted to try it out. I’m a positive but realistic person- so I went into it all knowing they had a reputation but hoping it was merely people complaining online. Goodness gracious, the bad reviews on the food were spot on.

It was interesting to return home from a cruise saying, “Yeah, I’ll never cruise that line again”

I am usually the person saying “When are we going next?”

Certainly made me appreciate Cunard, which I always do… but it also made me appreciate the family-friendly boisterous cruises we have taken on other lines.

2 hours ago, cynt said:

 

@naturelovergirl how was your excursion?  I'm researching for my July 2024 cruise.  Thx

Well

Funny story… we changed excursions before the trip… and then the other excursion was cancelled for the rainy weather on the day

So in the end we ended up with no excursion and hiked all around Ketchikan in heavy rain part of the time and drizzle the rest

Turned out to be a very fun and nature filled day of hiking and watching the salmon running

22 hours ago, kayehall said:

I don't see that offered by Celebrity.  Who did you book with?

Through the cruise ship

Keep an eye out for it in case they add it

Other excursions companies will have this as well if you are interested

We took the White Pass excursion  which included the Yukon and Bennett Lake- it was a great day!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal in Florida! 

Homemade deliciousness of recipes passed down through the generations on both sides with lots of leftovers! We tend to freeze our leftovers in vacuum seal bags. This keeps our leftovers tasting amazing in the future! Truly the gift that keeps on giving.

Today we started decorating the house for the Holidays- with lots of Christmas music playing in the background!

We just finished decorating our tree... One of those ornaments was from our recent Cunard voyage to Alaska in August (a handmade wooden whale we purchased at a gallery selling Alaskan-made crafts).

Placing the ornament on the tree made me think of our beautiful time we had, once more, on Cunard.

We are on QE at the moment- coming towards the end of our cruise to Alaska.

We have had a really lovely time. The weather, as happens in Alaska, was quite rainy at times, but that did not stop us. We had plenty of layers, rain gear, and good hiking boots.

Regarding the Open Dining- I’m on the fence about it all, honestly.

We loved choosing our time to dine- we made reservations each night for 7:15. This worked well with our itineraries.

We also were allocated some great tables for two, our personal preference. 

What you lose out on is the relationship with the dining room staff. I miss having the same waiters very much.

I have talked to people who are cruisers (but not Cunarders) and they have had a hard time in the open dining on Cunard this trip- feeling like the staff were “not personable”… I even heard people say that the wait staff had a “bad attitude”.

We never experienced those negative things. The staff were working hard and were efficient.

That said, with the traditional cruising experience, I do feel that some of the beautiful experiences in the dining room were lost not having the same staff each evening.

Enjoyed watching the sunrise in Vancouver… awaiting our Alaska sailing on QE.

We will be sailing tomorrow, and we are looking so forward to it.

Today we relax in Vancouver, go hiking at the Capilano Bridge Suspension Park, eat good food, and wait for Queen Elizabeth. 
Can’t wait to be on her again.

This is the latest news... crossing fingers... sounds promising.

https://skagwaynews.com/2023/07/25/wpyr-and-union-smart-td-reach-tentative-agreement/

Definitely like the Royal Caribbean itinerary better

Look at your hours in port

Much more value for your trip

Unless Skagway is a deal breaker port for you, I would go with Royal.

A possible strike won’t be happening immediately. Negotiations must follow the rules of the Railway Labor Act… so we must all just wait and see how the required mediation goes.

If mediation breaks down they will still have to have a 30-day cooling off period before an actual strike can happen.

So just keep watching the news.

https://alaskapublic.org/2023/07/10/skagway-rail-workers-vote-overwhelmingly-to-authorize-strike/

7 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Why do you need a tour to go to Mendenhall.  Just take a city bus.

Visit Juneau (on their social media) and city officials are encouraging visitors to find other transportation methods and not to use the city bus because locals use them- they are concerned that a huge influx of tourists using the city bus (because of the Mendenhall shuttles running out of their capacity limits) will affect the locals negatively

Here is the latest news

https://skagwaynews.com/2023/07/06/railroad-brakemen-conductors-and-engineers-authorize-leaders-to-call-strike/

NOTE

There are many steps which must happen (including a 30-day cooling off period if mediation breaks down) before a possible strike takes place

My husband loves the bran muffins on Cunard!

Several years ago- We bought a multipack of the plastic holders online with the strong metal steel loops in a variety of sizes- so no matter which line we are on, we have their particular size of the luggage tags.

They work great.

I say do all three you have- they will be amazing!!!

Here is a slightly longer article about the potential of a strike

https://www.ktoo.org/2023/06/28/amid-busy-tourist-season-workers-on-skagways-white-pass-railway-are-voting-on-a-possible-strike/

I agree @Coral

We plan to watch the news about it all- but I’m not expecting for the port to be changed for our cruise

We already have alternate plans in our back pocket in case of the strike… I’m hoping we will still be able to experience the train, but we will know what we will do if it is impossible

14 minutes ago, erniebernie said:

Naturelovergirl thanks I am looking at Ketchikan Lumberjack show. Would love to do Hunting for Halibit but dont know if its available in September ,Juneau..not to sure what there is,Skagway White Pass railway and Street Car City Tour, Sitka ..not sure what there is. Any suggestions would be grateful. techteach  I hope to book as soon as we can and will definatley look at Tripadviser. Thanx Allison

No problem

Here are the current prices for what they are offering for those things this year- just remember that Alaska is not inexpensive... but if you want to have some of the Alaska experiences you accept that you will pay. We budget for excursions and would always prefer to experience amazing things than go shopping.

I would imagine with inflation that prices will be a bit more next year- but this gives you a basic idea

Ketchikan

The Lumberjack show is $50.00 per person

The Lumberjack show paired with the crab feast of dungeness crab at the George Inlet Lodge is $150.00 per person

Hunting for Halibut is certainly being offered in August for this year and it is priced at $425.00 per person

We are going to Neets Bay with the Alaskan Bear Adventure by Land and Sea- it is sold out on Cunard now but it cost $399.00 per person

Juneau

(This year Juneau is a tender port- so we are absolutely buying a ship sponsored excursion)

Of course whale watching is very popular in Juneau

There is the Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest for $189.00 per person

Also a combo tour with whale watching and the Mendenhall Glacier for $215.00 per person

Just to go to Mendenhall Glacier is $50.00 per person

The tramway up Mount Roberts is $50.00 per person

There are also the big epic excursions like seaplanes, helicopters, and walking on glaciers... most of those are already sold out so I can't give you a price- but they are, of course, higher in price

We plan to rent a jeep to do our own thing through Cunard- the cost is $325-$420 per vehicle depending on how many doors are on the jeep

Skagway

We are doing the White Pass Rail in August

There are different options for the rail

Your best bet is to look at the White Pass Rail website and see which one fits your needs if you want to do the train

We will be doing the excursion which lasts all day and goes to Bennett which costs $310 per person

There are a wide variety of excursions which highlight the gold rush history as well as the magnificent nature- I'm seeing the lower cost of $45.00 per person to $625.00 per person for the flight seeing with dog sledding on a glacier

The street car tour in Skagway is priced at $49.00 per person

Sitka

We are choosing to be independent in Sitka 

We want to go to the National Historic Park and just explore on our own

We are renting e-bikes

Sitka has a Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest for $155.00 per person

They have a Wildlife Quest combined with a crab and salmon feast at a lodge for $249.00 per person

There is a fly fishing excursion which is sold out

Fortress of the Bear and the Alaska Raptor Center are animal rehabilitation excursions which many cruisers do- a combination of both costs $109.00 per person... a combination of both of those plus the Otter & Wildlife Quest is $215.00 per person.

There are excursions which highlight hiking, kayaking, and adventure vehicles at a variety of cost points

It is supposed to be beautiful in Sitka

The cruise ships dock many miles outside of the town- so shuttles are provided to get you into town if you are just wanting to explore on your own

Hope this helps you a bit

There are 121 excursions listed for our Alaska voyage this year.

So there are LOTS of them!

So pics probably won’t be an option. Too many.

Did you have a particular port or experience you were hoping was on the list.

Narrowing it down might help you get some answers.