Live Review: Explorer Alaska Cruise May 25th to June 1st (by a disabled vegetarian wi

Back for my second live cruise thread! This round, we are heading Michigan to Seattle for the Explorer Alaska itinerary leaving in Friday the 25th. We are staying two nights on Seattle at the Watertown Hotel (a Staypineapple hotel that had a decent deal on Hotels.com).

 

Things about us/our trip:

*I am a university professor/researcher, cat mom and avid book reader. Am also disabled, so tend to review accessibility of things in addition to other criteria. I am vegetarian and have Celiac disease (sensitive to cross contamination) so will also talk about food stuff a fair amount.

*My partner ("CatDad") is a policy and community based social worker, enjoys the gym and pools, and also likes food quite a bit.

*We are staying in an accessible ocean view cabin on deck 2

*In Juneau we are doing the Mendenhall Glacier/wildlife quest/whale watching excursion through RCCL

*In Skagway, we are doing the train excursion through Royal

*In Victoria, we are going to the Empress for high tea (as it seems they do a whole gluten free friendly version!!)

*We plan to hot tub, see both ice and regular shows, and eat primarily in the MDR given the food issues. CatDad will likely hit up the Windjammer and Cafe Promanade a bit

*I will do my best to post all cruise compassesand MDR menus

*Let me know if you have any questions I can answer while onboard!

 

We have boarded the plane (a 4 hour flight to SeaTac) and are very excited!

 

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Edited May 23, 2018 by CatLadyFemme

Looking forward to your review. We did the same excursions in Juneau and Skagway and really enjoyed them both. Have a great cruise!

Read your past reviews and looking foward to this

 

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OMG

 

Eagerly awaiting your posts and pictures.

 

We are sailing in August and cannot wait to hear more.

 

This will be our first Alaskan cruise and will be looking forward to everything you have to share.

 

I have no clue what to ask, and cannot wait to read more.

 

Safe travels.

 

Sue

Following, doing this cruise in August.

Made it to Seattle! The cost of a Lyft to our hotel in the University District was a bit staggering (almost $50!), but I found a good price (read, under $200 a night) fir a cute little hotel there, making it worth it.

 

We are at the Watertown Hotel by Staypineapple. They definitely went overboard with pineapple everything, but the $10 resort fee includes unlimited microwave popcorn, tea, coffee , and bottled water in your room, pineapple cupcakes and hot coffee in the afternoons, and slippers. Plus the room is super cleanand the bed is comfy, which is fantastic.

 

Tonight is dinner in Capitol Hill at the Plum Bistro with CadDad's cousin. Send good vibes for tasty food and not getting glutened!

 

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I can't even explain to you how excited I am about your review! I'm a teacher, we have 6 school days left and I have exactly two weeks until our Alaska adventure begins....this is EXACTLY what I need to get me through!

 

I am MOST curious about the weather. If you don't mind, could you post about that as you are adventuring? Packing is difficult for me anyway, but I'm having loads of trouble trying to figure out this one! Coming from Ohio means I have lots of warm clothes but still.... :D

I can't even explain to you how excited I am about your review! I'm a teacher, we have 6 school days left and I have exactly two weeks until our Alaska adventure begins....this is EXACTLY what I need to get me through!

 

I am MOST curious about the weather. If you don't mind, could you post about that as you are adventuring? Packing is difficult for me anyway, but I'm having loads of trouble trying to figure out this one! Coming from Ohio means I have lots of warm clothes but still.... :D

Absolutely. We were really worried about this. Right now in Seattle it is 80 degrees and quite warm, but some of our stops are saying 40 degrees, so I guess we'll find out! We brought lot of layers, but the warmest are just zip up fleece/hoodies, and rain jackets. Having just made it through my first Michigan winter, I couldn't bring myself to do the whole boots and heavy coats deal. Might bite me in the butt though!

 

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So glad to hear that! Can I ask how much walking you felt there was on the glacier/wildlife part of tour? I am a bit anxious about that!

Looking forward to your review. We did the same excursions in Juneau and Skagway and really enjoyed them both. Have a great cruise!

 

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So glad to hear that! Can I ask how much walking you felt there was on the glacier/wildlife part of tour? I am a bit anxious about that!

 

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On the whale watching boat trip there was plenty of seating, both inside and outside so not too much walking required. At the glacier there was some walking required, but nothing excessive as I remember. There was also a visitors center where you can sit down and relax. Hope this helps!

Looking forward to your review. We don't go until September. Enjoy

Thank you also for your hotel review. I've found that Seattle in September is crazy expensive. Looking into Pineapple now.

Safe travels!

Teri n Mike

:D

Subscribing. Looking forward to hearing as there aren't too many reviews on Explorer.

 

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We are in Seattle next Friday so anxious for any and all weather reports before we head up to AK! It is a packing nightmare as Denali has still got snow...

Hi! We are on your same cruise. We are heading to the airport today. I messed up my hip pretty badly on Tuesday, so I can now barely walk. Ugh! I am on the same excursions as you in AK so maybe we will meet! I'm also now worried about the amount of walking required in Juneau. We are doing Butchart Gardens in Victoria, but I looked online and saw that they have wheelchairs available to rent. I think I will do that there.

We’re also on this cruise in August so I’m looking forward to your review. It’s a great ship (we were on it in September). I did this cruise many years ago but am traveling this time with a friend instead of my husband. If you could post the MDR menus, that would be awesome!

 

One question i have for you, toward the end of your trip, is luggage valet in Seattle. What’s the earliest your flight can leave to use the service? Last time I was in Seattle it was 2 pm but I’m hoping it’s been moved a little earlier.

 

As a side note, we’re also staying at a Pineapple hotel; Hotel Five. I’ve read nothing but great things about these hotels so I’m looking forward to it.

We’re also on this cruise in August so I’m looking forward to your review. It’s a great ship (we were on it in September). I did this cruise many years ago but am traveling this time with a friend instead of my husband. If you could post the MDR menus, that would be awesome!

 

One question i have for you, toward the end of your trip, is luggage valet in Seattle. What’s the earliest your flight can leave to use the service? Last time I was in Seattle it was 2 pm but I’m hoping it’s been moved a little earlier.

 

As a side note, we’re also staying at a Pineapple hotel; Hotel Five. I’ve read nothing but great things about these hotels so I’m looking forward to it.

 

We did a Pacific Coastal cruise out of Seattle last September and the luggage valet would not accept flights before 2:30. Was very disappointed as we had a 1:30 flight and I thought we'd be OK, but not so.

Thank you for the review. Have a great trip. Alaska is still on my bucket list. Hope no food allergy issues hit you this week. Also, I noticed the coffee maker in the bathroom sink. I never understand how hotels think that is sanitary, but that's where it always seems to be. lol

We did a Pacific Coastal cruise out of Seattle last September and the luggage valet would not accept flights before 2:30. Was very disappointed as we had a 1:30 flight and I thought we'd be OK, but not so.

We were probably on the same cruise last Sept. I’m hoping they’ve upped the time a bit. We have a flight around 1:30.

I'm really looking forward to this review. Thank you for taking the time away from your vacation to share with us! We are doing this cruise in September so I'm eagerly devouring any info available. I don't have any specific questions. Enjoy!

Thank you for the review. Have a great trip. Alaska is still on my bucket list. Hope no food allergy issues hit you this week. Also, I noticed the coffee maker in the bathroom sink. I never understand how hotels think that is sanitary, but that's where it always seems to be. lol

 

There was an article in Travel and Leisure about this and sad some people wash there underwear in the warm water! 😩😱

 

We now return you to cruising.....

Hi! We are on your same cruise. We are heading to the airport today. I messed up my hip pretty badly on Tuesday, so I can now barely walk. Ugh! I am on the same excursions as you in AK so maybe we will meet! I'm also now worried about the amount of walking required in Juneau. We are doing Butchart Gardens in Victoria, but I looked online and saw that they have wheelchairs available to rent. I think I will do that there.

I am sorry to hear that. I had hip surgery last year, so definitely feel your pain. I will be the sassy redheaded cane user. Maybe we can sit and chill together. If it is helpful, I bring an old school ice bag with me, and have my room steward bring ice each night which is amazing for icing body parts.

 

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What? I mean, glad they are washing their underwear but ewwww.

 

This is a pod style machine at least, so that isn't an issue, but eww.

There was an article in Travel and Leisure about this and sad some people wash there underwear in the warm water! [emoji30][emoji33]

 

We now return you to cruising.....

 

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Thank you for taking the time to post about your cruise. Much appreciated. Sorry we are not giving you a particularly nice weather day here in Seattle.

Last night, we hit the vegan restaurant Plum Bistro; they were very clear that there were a ton of cross contamination risks, but that is where CatDad's cousin wanted to go, so we did. I got a delicious drink called Winter in India (CatDad got a fancy-fied Negroni), and I got the quinoa pie which I thought was less likely for gluten cross contamination due to being in its own dish. Tasty, but felt like playing roulette (did not get this though!!).

 

The highlight of the evening was Frankie and Joe's, a vegan ice cream place. Now, I am not vegan, but enjoy all ice cream...and was THRILLED to discover the whole place is gluten free!! A celiac's dream! Including GF waffle cones, GF mint chocolate brownie ice cream, etc., and no risk for cross contamination. Pluw amazingly fun flavors. I tried the ginger golden milk, salted caramel ash, and carrot cake, but settled on the danelion pistachio, and some coffee one that I was surprised I liked. So nice to be able to eat ice cream, in a cone, like a human!

 

It is hot here in Seattle; low 80s still. Definitely much warmer than I had expected, so make sure to bring sunblock and some light weight clothes.

 

Today, we are going to the Amazon Biosphere, and depending on how many spoons I have left (Google "spoon theory" if interested), to the Chihuly Gardens before dinner.

 

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