NightOne

Came back and booked another Alaska cruise already It goes to ISP and Ketchikan plus the ports we made it to on Miracle 🙂

I don't want to run Carnival down here. Let's just say it was death by a thousand cuts and we are just not happy with Carnival anymore. This was our 18th Carnival cruise so we have a decent idea of what a Carnival cruise is past and present. Ironically we were originally booked and fully paid on the Ruby Princess sailing that went out with us. We switched to Miracle a couple of months ago because of a casino offer. Kind of wish we would have stuck with Ruby. (even with the bump at the end)

I was on the cruise. I spoke to many passengers and crew about it. (including the Captain) Not premature at all. This was Carnival's fault. An yes I am saying that crew shortage caused this to happen. That is exactly what I am saying. 🙂

She had a broken femur. Apparently it was a compound fracture. According to the Captain she is doing OK. She slipped on a spill on lido. Clearly the Captain made the right decision and we were super disappointed in missing ISP because we had an independent excursion there that we have been trying to get on for a long time. Now that I have been home a little bit and have learned that there is indeed crew shortages on all of the ships except the newest 3 I am a little bothered by the whole incident. 1. Whoever made the spill should have reported it to a crew member immediately. 2. If staffing levels were normal then there would have been more workers on lido and they would have cleaned it up immediately. This should be constantly monitored by staff as the floors can be slippery there and it is also a cleanliness issue. So essentially this is Carnival's fault for allowing this to happen. I got back my port fees just like everyone else and I don't want or expect anything additionally from Carnival but this was totally preventable. We had a good time on the cruise but there were some serious deficiencies on this sailing. I'm not going to go complaining about what I know won't get fixed anytime soon so I just came home and cancelled 3 of my 4 future Carnival bookings (only keeping Jubilee) and am not looking to book new ones. Sad situation all around 😞

Some thoughts on planning an Alaska cruise: 1. Find your flights first. I do not know where you live but roundtrip flights to Seattle and Vancouver can vary greatly depending on your starting city. Also, direct flights vs connecting flights can make it a better day of travel. If you are considering a one way price flights to/from those start/end cities. You may find the prices are too high. If any of these starting ports are drivable to you then that will make a difference as well. 2. Once you have an idea of how you can get there and for how much then focus on the itinerary and port hours. Figure out your must do ports and look for itineraries that go there. Very important: check the hours that you are in port at each place. Some itineraries do a glacier viewing for 1/2 a day and a city for the other 1/2 the day. Also, some itineraries have ridiculous stops with only 4 or 5 hours in a port. My recommendations for an itinerary for a 1st Alaska cruise would be: Glacier Bay - the "must do" for Alaska Juneau - Whale Watching / Mendenhall Glacier / Goldbelt Tram Ketchikan - Crab Fishing / Lumberjack / Salmon Watching Skagway - White Pass Railroad With all those ports and glacier bay that would mean you will have to pick Princess or Holland For maximum wildlife viewing start you cruise between July 15th and August 15th. 3. Not a deal breaker but pick a smaller ship if you can. Just less people across the board at all times. So with that advice I say you should look at HAL Koningsdam or possibly Ruby Princess out of Vancouver. Ruby is about $400pp cheaper but don't let that be the only factor. Also, another note: glaciers may or may not be the "be all end all" for you. Therefore, not going to Glacier Bay would open up a lot more itineraries for you.

I have done private tours in Aruba twice with https://chogogotours.com/ I have done private tours in Curacao twice with https://www.curacaotaxishendell.com/ Great experiences with both but Shendell has to be the best driver I have ever had anywhere thanks to his years of tour bus driving. That guy can pull in and back out of a sardine can. LOL

Premieres are the absolute worst

On slots that is $50,000 coin-in

You are talking ships ... I said cruise lines

Logged in last night after someone on FB said bookings were live. Checked out the prices and showed myself to the door. Maybe they are marketing to the Disney crowd because they aren't marketing to me. I guess I wait a couple of years on this one. I'm not paying North of 2K for a 3 night cruise to the Bahamas. Well it was fun while it lasted.

Continually wrong? Maybe in this thread which was mainly a speculation thread anyway. Elsewhere, not so much. You happy?

Actually I take it back. Apparently, it is me that doesn't have a clue what Royal is trying to accomplish with this move. 🙂 My apologies.

Still ugly when trying to do side to sides 🙂

That's true. LOL I admitted when I was wrong though. 🙂

3 Nights Friday-Monday 4 Nights Monday-Friday That's just ugly. Not adding doing an add-on to a 7 night cruise with the 3 nighter. If you are already doing a Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun 7 nighter you are just better off doing a B2B on that ship vs a whole week off for a 4 nighter. Ugly, just ugly.

You don't have a clue 😉

Pick a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay. There are only so many permits and Carnival Corp owns most of them Consider Princess and Holland America. Holland may be the better choice because of smaller ships. Norwegian has a few Glacier Bay itineraries too. Ignore the comparison between cruise lines as it is all subjective.

You are totally wrong on everything you just said. LOL

I have seen a couple of these Geiranger RT from Alesund tours on the internet but they all stay in Geiranger for like 2-3 hours. We are in port from 8am-6pm so technically an 8:30am-5:30pm could work but the times are so tight. Is there an easy and fast way to get back to Alesund immediately after docking in Geiranger (i.e. take the ferry one way and another means back)?

I called and asked whether it was faster and/or easier to buy your tickets in advance and was told it was not. (same either way)

Pearl Cafe: "Stop by for a quick bite around the clock and settle into the scenery" So 24 hours is the way I am reading this.

The Goldbelt / Mount Roberts Tram in Juneau was $35 then $45 and now they just raised it to $50 per person. Wow! Anyone have any coupons or discounts to share? There used to be a buy one get one free in the Alaska Tour Saver book in 2021/2022 but nothing in the 2023 book.

That is what I am thinking. For some reason they want to be secretive as all get out with Utopia. 🙂

I was on the phone with Bayley last night telling him that I thought he was making a mistake in that regard. LOL

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/account/cruise-planner/category/arcade?bookingId=000000&shipCode=UT&sailDate=20240715 Utopia cruise planner view went BOOM