Spirit to Alaska May 1 Glacier Bay - Observations/thoughts/pics

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures with us. I would love to do an Alaska cruise someday, but alas, my DH is a true warm weather person so it's not likely in my immediate future. I'll have to put it on my bucket list for when I retire!:)

Heather

[Gypsywych]

Hi,

 

I'll be scanning all the Fun Times this weekend and will email them to you once I have them all ready :)

 

Andrea

 

me too please! me too! We're on the Glacier Bay cruise in September. :D:D:D

 

pfrancoeur at gmail dot com

[spacepotatoes]

Thanks so much for the review and sharing your beautiful pictures! We're doing this in 2 months, though not on Carnival. You're helping us get excited about the trip :)

[Sundiego]

Thanks for an excellent review. We did a similar cruise on HAL. Your review brought back many memories! Spectacular pics :)

[CanWeGoYet?]

Thanks for posting this thread & all the great photos Andrea. It brought back lots of good memories of the cruise! And you're very welcome re: the cocktail party. I caught the end of of the informal m&g too, but by the time I had found the new location many people had already left.

 

The name badges for the party shouldn't have been that much work, but me not being printer savvy & then putting the stickies on wax paper - well live & learn. Anyway I hope the wait in getting the name badges off paper to hand to cruisers didn't slow down the festivities too badly.

 

On Glacier Bay day, DS & I found some great looking food at the chopsticks location on lido & then could find absolutely nowhere to sit! All tables taken up with people, many not eating but just watching the glacier from a comfortable location. We finally went down to deck 3 & grabbed a chair / table in the hallway. It was that or go back to our cabin to eat. We did bus our trays back to the lido afterwards though, we try to be considerate. I really think there should be some expectation that people use the tables in the lido for dining & not setting up shop all day. If there are plenty of free spots for people wanting to eat, then no problem. But clearly many many were trying to find a place to set their trays & unable to get a table.

[AndyP7]

Thanks for posting this thread & all the great photos Andrea. It brought back lots of good memories of the cruise! And you're very welcome re: the cocktail party. I caught the end of of the informal m&g too, but by the time I had found the new location many people had already left.

 

The name badges for the party shouldn't have been that much work, but me not being printer savvy & then putting the stickies on wax paper - well live & learn. Anyway I hope the wait in getting the name badges off paper to hand to cruisers didn't slow down the festivities too badly.

 

On Glacier Bay day, DS & I found some great looking food at the chopsticks location on lido & then could find absolutely nowhere to sit! All tables taken up with people, many not eating but just watching the glacier from a comfortable location. We finally went down to deck 3 & grabbed a chair / table in the hallway. It was that or go back to our cabin to eat. We did bus our trays back to the lido afterwards though, we try to be considerate. I really think there should be some expectation that people use the tables in the lido for dining & not setting up shop all day. If there are plenty of free spots for people wanting to eat, then no problem. But clearly many many were trying to find a place to set their trays & unable to get a table.

 

I thought the name badges were really cute and I actually saved mine :) Didn't slow things down at all.

 

I was trying to think about how it was that we could have such different lido experiences and then I remembered that we ordered room service on Glacier viewing day (took about 45 minutes, so apparently many others had the same idea). I think all the other days it wasn't too bad -at least during the times we went - but I can imagine on that day it would be a mob scene. In fact, I remember there was a notice posted in the Fun Times asking people not to occupy tables for card games or reading - they should have extended this to using tables for Glacier/wildlife viewing, at least during dining hours. Apparently no one from the crew monitors this. Just like the chair hogs on Caribbean cruises :(

[vivavegas]

Great review! Thanks for sharing your Alaska adventure and posting the beautiful pictures. I have a friend who is leaving in three weeks. I'll certainly share your review with her!:)

[vivavegas]

Thanks for the great review and beautiful pictures!:)

[LBumb]

good job

[belkin]

Thanks for posting, enjoyed your review and pictures.

[coastalkate]

Thanks for the great review! Brief but informative - and great pictures to boot!! Now I'm REALLY looking forward to June! :) I'm envious of all the snow you got to see, but will make do with some spring wildflowers (perhaps) in place of the snowy peaks.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to share! Kate

[travelingchef21]

Food:

All of the food was really good, buffet and MDR included. There was always enough choice and the food came out hot. For those of you looking for escargots - they were not available on the MDR menu, although I heard from my tablemates next to me at dinner, who heard through "some people" that they were available at the steakhouse. With such reliable information ;) who knows what the deal is, but someone else with firsthand knowledge might be able to help here. There were no special fish/crab/seafood offerings - menus were basically the seven day menus posted on John Heald's blog.

 

I first want to say GREAT review! I was disappointed that I did not have more time to talk with you.

Greg and I went to the Steakhouse twice. The first night we went I had escargot as my app and the second night we went, dh got it. It was very good. They served them inside mini brioche buns.

 

I plan on doing a photo review of Alaska once I get my pics off my sd card and phone. We took pics of both meals in the Steakhouse so check back on CC for more teasers for those of you planning on doing this same cruise.

[silverfoxcruiser]

Excellent job! Thank you so much! We did Alaska on HAL in July '97, and it's really concerning and frightening how much smaller and dirtier the peaks are in the Inside Passage. Our pictures show much more snow and much greater heights. Silver

[jetsfan]

Thanks Andrea for your review. We are on the Spirit 7/31 and are counting the days.

 

I just got home from the hospital and reading your review was just what I needed to help me pass the day away getting some much needed rest.

[sharecruises]

Thanks so much...I hope to see more reviews, also share them on the (very informative) Alaska board

 

I hope the other cruisers will start their own review thread...pictures pictures LOL

 

I am anxiously awaiting the fun times <grin>

 

estymeetup@aol.com

 

thanks!!

[sharecruises]

Hi When and where was your group cocktail party?

 

and your meet and greet?? how did that work out ??

 

Thanks for the info on the Past Guest etc

 

that was a very odd time for Past Guest Party LOL>>> I do think that

with all the daylight and the sort of "weird" port hours Alaska is a very different cruise from all the others

(but I can't wait LOL)

[AndyP7]

For those who have requested the Fun Times, I'm emailing them to you now. They will be coming from andypcruiser at gmail.com

 

I'll be sending them day by day due to the file size.

 

Enjoy!

 

Andrea

[AndyP7]

Thanks for the great review! Brief but informative - and great pictures to boot!! Now I'm REALLY looking forward to June! :) I'm envious of all the snow you got to see, but will make do with some spring wildflowers (perhaps) in place of the snowy peaks.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to share! Kate

 

I think one of the great things about Alaska is that the experience is always just a little bit different depending on when you go and the weather you get. I got to see lots of snow, but you'll get to see spring flowers and maybe more wildlife like deer and bears. I would love to go again later in the season just to see the difference.

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

[happy flamingo]

Please send me the fun times. Ckilene@bellsouth.net

Love your review and pictures! Thanks for taking the time to post it.

[AndyP7]

I first want to say GREAT review! I was disappointed that I did not have more time to talk with you.

Greg and I went to the Steakhouse twice. The first night we went I had escargot as my app and the second night we went, dh got it. It was very good. They served them inside mini brioche buns.

 

I plan on doing a photo review of Alaska once I get my pics off my sd card and phone. We took pics of both meals in the Steakhouse so check back on CC for more teasers for those of you planning on doing this same cruise.

 

Hi Melissa,

 

It was great to meet you. I too wish we had more time to chat. That cocktail party hour went by fast! I did the steakhouse on the Legend a few years ago and it was excellent. Look forward to seeing your pics - I know you took lots :)

 

Andrea

[AndyP7]

Excellent job! Thank you so much! We did Alaska on HAL in July '97, and it's really concerning and frightening how much smaller and dirtier the peaks are in the Inside Passage. Our pictures show much more snow and much greater heights. Silver

 

The rangers that were brought onboard on Glacier Bay day and our driver on our Whale Watching tour in Juneau talked a lot about how much the Glaciers have receded. It's sad to think that future generations may not get to experience the beauty of these glaciers. I really feel lucky to have been able to see them - the pictures don't capture how awesome they are (in the true sense of the word).

 

Andrea

[AndyP7]

Thanks Andrea for your review. We are on the Spirit 7/31 and are counting the days.

 

I just got home from the hospital and reading your review was just what I needed to help me pass the day away getting some much needed rest.

 

So sorry to hear - wishing you a speedy recovery. Cruise critic and reading reviews are a great antidote :)

 

Andrea

[AndyP7]

Hi When and where was your group cocktail party?

 

and your meet and greet?? how did that work out ??

 

Thanks for the info on the Past Guest etc

 

that was a very odd time for Past Guest Party LOL>>> I do think that

with all the daylight and the sort of "weird" port hours Alaska is a very different cruise from all the others

(but I can't wait LOL)

 

The group cocktail party was organized ahead of time by one of our roll call members and was in the afternoon of the second day (sea day) in the Dancin' Disco. We had a lot of people sign up for this - great turnout!

 

The meet and greet was scheduled for 5pm, an hour after sailaway. However, we were delayed leaving by an hour so muster drill was ending when the meet and greet was supposed to be happening. Add to that the change in dining times and we missed the meet and greet :( I heard there was still a decent turn out with about 12 people.

[CanWeGoYet?]

The group cocktail party was organized ahead of time by one of our roll call members and was in the afternoon of the second day (sea day) in the Dancin' Disco. We had a lot of people sign up for this - great turnout!

 

The meet and greet was scheduled for 5pm, an hour after sailaway. However, we were delayed leaving by an hour so muster drill was ending when the meet and greet was supposed to be happening. Add to that the change in dining times and we missed the meet and greet :( I heard there was still a decent turn out with about 12 people.

 

The informal meet & greet was affected not only by the sail away time being delayed to 5:30, but also Carnival scheduled the Friends of Dorothy meeting at the exact same time & location as the m&g. Melissa had emailed Carnival to check on which location would be best & it's too bad they didn't let us know another meet was scheduled for the Deco Foyer. Moving the meet to a different locale complicated things further for those of us who couldn't show up right at 5.

 

As for the past guest & fun farewell parties - I think I read in the fun times that both of these were around 11AM or 11:30. I skipped both, I would have gone but for me I don't feel like drinking that early in the day.

[AndyP7]

Please send me the fun times. Ckilene@bellsouth.net

Love your review and pictures! Thanks for taking the time to post it.

 

I've just emailed them to you :)