snowmc

We've taken the bus and have arranged private transfers. Bus was fun....met a lot of people prior to sailing and had a great time.

I'm not familiar with the busses you mentioned (strange, cuz I've been there 10 times :) . If you want to go to Mendenhall cheaply, get a taxi and either arrange a pickup time or get their business card to call for pickup. Will be much cheaper and then you have more flexibility. Zest4travel has a post on Juneau here:

https://zest4travel.wordpress.com/2017/01/29/my-favorite-things-to-do-in-juneau-alaska/

There is also a packing list available.

Friends have gone on the tram....expensive but they loved the views from the top.

We were charged once for taking the bathrobe from the closet. Considering we never even touched it, this was impossible. Called Celebrity when we saw the charge on our credit card (this charge happened after disembarkation and after receiving our "final" bill), the charge was refunded. Mistakes happen....just be diligent.

They do upcharge for wines like Silver Oak Cabernet or Veuve Cliquot champagne. However, Their house cabs and champagnes are very drinkable.

 

As for beer, I don't recall a lot of craft beers on the menu, but they had all the standards at no charge like Bud Light, Stella Artois, Heineken, Guinness. They really aim to please. I wanted Miller Lite for my room fridge and they did not have it. However, they went to town in the first port and bought me a 12 pack of miller Lite!

That's what I call customer service! I would expect an uncharge for wines like Silver Oak and Veuve....definitely top shelf products. Nice to know they will do what is possible to keep the passenger happy.

Thank you everyone. This has been very helpful. We usually sail with Celebrity and get their premium beverage package. We do like spirits, so it is helpful to see that SB includes premium brands. For wines, we drink Sav. Blancs from New Zealand and enjoy various red wines. Nice to see the wines included are not the "grocery store" variety that many lines offer. For beers, husband likes craft style beers from around the world. I'm sure SB offers a good selection.

We are considering sailing to Alaska this summer. Does anyone have a copy of the wine and beer list available onboard? We have never sailed on Seabourn. Just curious if they offer lower quality beverages in order to get passengers to buy an upgraded package like other lines do.

Just off the main street/dock in Ketchikan (200 Main Street), Salmon Market is on the corner. Local company....good prices and they offer samples! We always buy from them. They offer quantity discounts. They also have an online store. http://www.salmonmarket.com

I would recommend Ketchikan over ISP. About the only thing to do here is the zipline, whale watching, or walking the forest trail. In Ketchikan, you can do a Misty Fjords tour by floatplane or boat. This is something not to be missed. Zest4travel has a good post on Ketchikan at https://zest4travel.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/fun-in-ketchikan/

Blackbeards Castle is now an independent boutique hotel. You can tour the gardens, but have to pay an entrance fee. The walk up there is very nice and the views are wonderful. It was a nice side trip (walking) but didn't pay to go inside.

New blog post and video on St. Thomas is available on http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com Some good information there...or just fun to dream!

Unless they contact you with different information, I would assume it will still be available. When we boarded on the Equinox on March 24th, they moved the Concierge lunch to the Sky Lounge due to a special event for United Way in the MDR. They let us know via email several days prior to sailing.

There is a post on http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com about the train with interior shots. The car will only be drafty is passengers open the windows.

We were last in ISP last May (2016). There was a humpback whale playing around right by the ship for hours. Many passengers said they had a better whale watching experience from their balconies than from their excursions. :') The whale swam all the way around the ship, but seemed to prefer the area between the ship and the shoreline.

Still...ISP is a great place to do a whale watching excursion. You will have plenty of time.

I have a packing list on my blog...http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com. We've been on 10 Alaska cruises.

Favorite shop for souvenirs is Alaska T-shirt Company in Skagway. There is also one in Juneau, but I prefer the one in Skagway.

They keep the ship at a comfortable temperature, but a light sweater is always a good idea. I've been both warm and cold in the MDR during our Alaska cruises (10 of them).

Author of http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com has cruised Alaska 10 times. There are some good reviews, plus a packing list. Check it out.

Yes....you can book right on the dock, next to the train. You can also book onboard the ship, up to the night before. Excursion desk will close around 9pm the day before. If you have onboard credit, this is an excellent way to use some of it. Enjoy the train trip. My son took his 2 year old daughter last year and they had a great time.

http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com has a quick review on this excursion in the Skagway post.

We were on the March 24th cruise...found that 100 SPF spray on worked extremely well. I don't even look like I went to the tropics. :')

Please tell Justin (Activity Manager) and Ashley that "Idaho" says hi! It will give them a laugh. lol

Are you planning to try Silk Harvest? I highly recommend it...great food and wonderful service.

Enjoy your cruise and the Equinox. Such a wonderful ship!

I have done this twice. Both trips were amazing and would love to do it again. Favorite one was the first, where we landed on an alpine lake. Super clear water and very calm.

We rode through the valley and alongside some streams. Had a chance to get off and walk around a bit about halfway through. Could not see the huskies in the distance, but could hear them. Horses are very gentle and easy to ride. It was a nice excursion. Fun to do something different.

Would you mind posting the full names of the Concierge and Captain Clubs Host? We just got off the Equinox and I forgot to grab the Officers Onboard sheet. Thanks in advance!

I was also on this sailing. Agree with debeers1....great ship and wonderful service. Justin (Activity Manager) did a very good job filling in as Cruise Director that last few days.

I will be posting a video soon on http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com highlighting the ship. We were given access to film onboard. You can "like" my Facebook page...zest4travel....notifications will go out when new posts are added. Videos of all the ports will be available soon also....currently in post production.

You have a better chance of seeing Orcas if you depart from Victoria or Vancouver, as there are resident pods that stay in the area. The further north you go, you will see transient whales...usually smaller groups of 3-5 whales. The resident pods are larger, and if several come together, you may have over 20 whales. We had a super pod of all three pods, (J, K and L pods) several years ago outside of Victoria....over 40 whales. Completely amazing.