Miracle review 6/11/13!

What a fabulous cruise! I thought I'd make a few comments about highlights, must do's...

Don't fly out at the crack of dawn (from Tampa) and get to Seattle at 11:30am only to stay at a hotel near the airport. DON'T book Ramada Inn SeaTac! It's rundown. Too far from anything. DO book a hotel, at twice the price or more, close to the Pike Place Fish Market. Spend time enjoying this area. Everyone raved about it!

I used Seattle Express for transfer to the pier for $12. They team up with certain hotels so you have to use that list. The Ramada was close to the pier, taxi ride was $50! Pike Place is much farther but transfer is still only $12 with Seattle Shuttle if there's one of their hotels nearby.

DO get good binoculars! They do sell them on the ship but I can't compare prices for you.

We got lucky and had the best weather ever! Warm and no rain in the major ports! Do layer as you'll be in one place and it's warm and walk just a short way into forested areas and it's 15 degrees colder.

In Skagway I did the Scenic Yukon drive which was in a small bus. It was almost 6 hours. Mirror Lake was fabulous! There's is a "bathroom" (outhouse) stop (twice). Gross! Lots a beautiful scenery, not much wildlife our trip, Just mountain goats way up high you could see with good binoculars. Lunch was gross, corn chowder with no taste and a pepperoni sandwich with the thinest slice of pepperoni I'd ever seen on a bun, 2 tbs of egg salad on a fat piece of french bread and a fried chicken strips wrap that was indiscribably bad. The guide we had, Pete, was amazing. He lives there and is a photographer and painter as well as a nature lover. He talked non stop giving us all kinds of really good info. Close to 6 hours was a little too long for me.

Don't waste your time in Ketchican as there is so little time there. Don't book the Saxman Village tour, waste of time. A new building where you see a video, new building they call clan house. Several dances were performed, all looked alike. See about 15 totems but not explained well. I did buy an ulu there for $15.

This tour also include the 1 hr. Lumberjack show. Too kitchy for me. More like a clown act. What I saw on TV was much better.

Creek street was a lot of fun just wandering around. Ulu's were $13.

I ordered from a seafood restaurant very close to pier at 12:30. Place was packed. Only 2 cooks. By 1pm I still didn't have any food and we had to be on board at 1:30. Got a refund. Order early as it takes a while to get food. Several good places close to the pier. Everyone said it was good. As far as seafood I tolerated the tuna salad on board (which is good) and the shrimp salad from room service... (First trip I've gotten chips from room service that weren't stale!)

DO go whale watching in Juneau! I did it through Carnival and it was more than fantastic! We weren't on the boat 10 minutes and saw a gam of whales bubble feeding! The captain knows the area and the laws and is intent on your enjoyment. They had samples of different salmon, chocolates and things to try and then buy. Free hot chocolate and donut holes. Also sold hamburgers and something close to a philly steak. Beer was $6. Not crowded at all. The staff was really great. They provide great binoculars. Most fabulous part of the tour was seeing all the whales. Lasted just long enough. Plenty of wildlife, including bald eagles, sea lions, otters.

This tour also included Mendenhal glacier. Unfortunately, there was no guide to tell you any info. There is a beautiful video in the Visitor Center. There is a trail you can walk to a waterfall and many did. It's 45 min. round trip so do it immediately b/c the bus will leave you. The bus driver was one of the best parts of the tour! Lots of funny anecdotes.

There is a biologist on board--the nature-ist--who gets on the PA if whales or other wildlife is sited. The whole morning in Tracy Arm fjord she was talking about different things to see and about what you're looking at. It was cold in the fjord, the only time I donned a coat. It's amazing in there! Words can't describe it! She also had some talks with plenty of pictures in the auditorium. Really good info.

We didn't get to Victoria until 8:30 at night, there was a little rain just prior to getting there and a chance for more. Most stayed on the ship. The garden tour was cancelled due to late arrival. It was cold there too even though the TV said the temp was 80. It might have been at noon!

Ulu's on the ship, $11!

My family was on this cruise also. It was wonderful that it didn't rain in the Alaskan ports, but at 83 degrees it was a bit warm for my taste, especially when I was expecting 65 degrees.

The Tracy Arm Fjord was the surprise of the trip for me. I didn't really know what to expect but was AWED at the majestic beauty we saw. From the icy blue ice burgs to the many waterfalls. From the eagles to the harbor seals. From the amazing tall mountains to the calving glacier. It was just awesome.

In Skagway we rented jeeps from Green Jeep. A very nice woman from Green Jeep picked us up at the pier. (A word of warning if you have mobility issues; it is quite a walk from the ship to where tour companies are allowed to pick you up. There is a very nice place to sit and wait for them though once you've walked to that point.) We were taken to the Green Jeep office where we took care of the paper work and the staff was very nice and accommodating. We got our jeeps and took off up the Klondike highway into the Yukon. The scenery was just stunning. The lack of wildlife was a disappointment but they said that was probably due to the warm weather. We did see the mountain goats but they were VERY high up on the mountains. We really wanted to see some bear but too warm. It took about 6 hours to make the trip to Emerald Lake and back to Skagway. Took the shuttle ($2 per person) back to the pier.

In Juneau we had reserved a limo tour through Juneau Limo Service LLC. Our driver, Judy, met us right where we got off the ship. She took us to Mendenhall Glacier. Again we had hoped to see some wildlife and were disappointed. We did see a porcupine! The glacier is beautiful and the there is a beautiful waterfall. I wish we could have gotten closer to it but it was a 2 mile hike and we weren't up to it. The visitors center has a charge of $3 per person and is worth paying it. The 15 minute video is very nice and worth your time. We saw more mountain goats way up high in the mountains. Then Judy took us to the Cope Park. It is a lovely shaded public park with a beautiful rushing water waterfall. The sound was so relaxing and the water crystal clear. It was the original site of gold in Juneau and we tried our hand at gold panning. No gold but lots of pretty rocks. Judy dropped us down town for some shopping and picked us back up later to take us back to the ship.

Ketchikan was our favorite stop. We had reserved with Ketchikan Taxi Cab Tours. Dave and Kat were fabulous. They were very informative and friendly. They took us to Totem Bight Park. Very interesting and a lovely stroll through a section of rain forest.

We meandered through the town and they dropped us off at Creek Street to shop. We highly recommend their services. We shopped along the creek and returned to the ship via a free shuttle service.

We all had a great time in Alaska.

Thanks for taking the time to write and post your reviews.

Keith

Who was the Naturalist/Biologist onboard?

Coral: I don't remember her name. We did catch sight of a couple of humpback whale due to her announcement of where to look. She seemed to be informative but her voice was so monotone that you would get sleepy trying to listen.

Who was the Naturalist/Biologist onboard?

Michelle.

Michelle.

Interesting. She was on Carnival for many years and I thought she wasn't on Carnival (or any other line) last year. She must have returned this year.

I've been thinking about it and her voice and demeanor reminded me of that Saturday Night Live skit about the 2 ladies on NPR. LOL. I'm sure she did a fine job. Like I said I saw my two whale because she let us know they were out there. I'm appreciative.

We did the cruise on Carnival the week before yours. I was really impressed with Michelle. I don't remember the naturalist from the last Alaskan cruise we took 3 years ago at all. Michelle was constantly on the PA telling us what to look for, where she could see whales, etc. I wish I had her binoculars! We asked what brand they were and when i got home I looked them up. Very expensive pair, but that is obviously why she could see so well.

I was on this cruise too, and we had an awesome time in Ketchikan. Last time I cruised here I didn't make plans & thus didn't make good use of my time. This trip I had booked with Wild Wolf Tours - we had a great experience. Did a nice approx 1 hour walk on Lunch Creek Trail, with many stops for photos. Lots of Native American info from the tour guide Tracy and then we drove to Totem Bight. I got a picture of an eagle soaring overhead, as well as hearing an explanation of the different Totem poles and Long House. There were restrooms technically outhouses here, but the largest & cleanest I've ever seen by far. Cleaner & more pleasant than many restrooms with plumbing that I saw in Alaska.

In skagway I went with Dyea Dave Tour again - this time I got British Barry. He did a fine job and we had a good tour. Only problem was I didn't bring mosquito repellent and I still am covered with bites from that excursion. There was so much clapping of bugs going on in the van once we hit the yukon it was hard to pay attention to the sites or the information we were hearing. We stopped by a bakery, but I chose to walk a couple blocks to where a new coffee & shop & lunch place just opened. The food was good, homemade soups & sandwiches. Also an extensive selection of gluten free items, if you are looking for that then go to the lunch place near the post office with lots of flower pots outside the door. It had a fairly generic name like Yukon Bistro or cafe - I can't remember exactly.

I stopped at the Sarah Palin store just to see it again, didn't buy anything. There is a public restroom there that was nasty & dirty, and with a sign that asked for a 50cent donation for use to cover "cleaning & supplies" like paper towels. There were no paper towels & whatever cleaning supplies were purchased must have run out long ago - because it was in serious need of a scrub down. The sign touted a line about how they were not relying on the government for cleaning etc, it did not make a good case for how well private enterprise & voluntary contributions were working. I deposited the requested donation & hoped that whoever collected money from the tourists will start putting it toward cleaning & sanitation.

In Juneau I took one of the buses out to Mendenhall, and went to the visitor center. I really enjoyed the walk to the waterfall & there was a good view of the glacier even where the trail started, right at the visitor center. I heard a talk from a park ranger & saw a few fun exhibits. It was an inexpensive excursion by any measure and I enjoyed if far far more than the helicopter tour I took last year.

Went into Victoria & just walked around taking photos. I don't think I would have taken the bus into town had I known we would have less than an hour, with the last pick up at 11. They don't tell you until you are getting off the bus. By the time we boarded the bus it was 10, and due to a changed port time we had should have had an extra half hour til sailing (all on board at midnight).

We also had beautiful weather and were looking forward to the train ride in Skagway. 6 of our group paid $220.00 each for an 8 hr. trip we thought would be on the train! We were on a bus for about 7 hours and on the train for 30 minutes. Lunch was barbeque chicken in a roadside stop. Would definitely not recommend that excursion. Ketchikan we went on the Crab Boat with Capt. Derek and loved every minute of it! Highly recommend his boat excursion. Enjoyed Juneau. Docked in Victoria too late to do anything ashore and could not even gamble in the casino. The food on board was like hospital food. The dining room menu was the same each nite and would only have 1 or 1 different items. Lunch when we were on board was skimpy and did not stay open very long. I saw only one pool (Where are the other 2?). There was not very much entertainment on board at night, saw one show & towel demo. The staff and waiters could not be any better !! Room was clean and our waiter in the dining room was the very best! After getting off the ship the plane ride from Seattle to San Francisco was good, but from San Francisco to New Orleans we felt like sardines in a can. There were 2 babies that cried the entire flight. (We flew with United and will not use them again. Plane trouble in Seattle and plane trouble in Houston.) I was definitely disappointed with my cruise. I even lost 3 lbs. that week, not gained like others have said about their cruises. Carnival must have cut back their budgets on food and entertainment! Will try another cruise line next time I go on a cruise!!

The menu in the main dining room changes every night. There is one side of the menu though that has the every day offerings - the other side has the menu that changes every night. Did you see only 1 side of the menu?

Here is a link to the 7 day menu. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&ved=0CE4QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzydecocruiser.net%2Fmenus%2FMenus_D_1-7.htm&ei=mdY3UpKwI5GYigLwrYHoDw&usg=AFQjCNHZs88vtRSXw3_2MO4xspDs6EMqMw&sig2=uGvJcPUDy8BZ4gk5XFEhVA

There are no carnival cruises that offer the same menu in the dining room every night.

Thanks for the above info--we will be cruising this time next year and I've already started my research!:rolleyes: