Carnival Miracle to Alaska 9/10/13 Review – Glacier Bay Itinerary

[HeatherC430]

The only night we went to MDR

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[HeatherC430]

Our steward arranged my DH's birthday card with the towel animal.

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And the next day Carnival wished him a happy birthday

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[HeatherC430]

My DH's birthday cake - through Bon Voyage

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[HeatherC430]

Last Day at Sea - Cruising the Inside Passage

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[HeatherC430]

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[HeatherC430]

Last night onboard

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[HeatherC430]

Debarkation morning in Vancouver

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[HeatherC430]

Stanley Park


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[HeatherC430]

Vancouver

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[HeatherC430]

That concludes the photos - unless someone wants more pictures or something specific I missed.

I think I'm ready for a thorough photo review after my next cruise! :)
Hope you enjoyed reading!

[HeatherC430]

[quote name='jmwg49']Thank you for posting this awesome review! We are booked on an Alaska cruise next summer! I have made notes of your excursions! I'm glad you pointed out the excursion to Mt Rainier!! I will watch for that next summer! :)[/quote]


You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed! Sign up for the GoldStar website. You can tag specific excursions you're interested in & they'll email you when additional dates become available. You had to be patient, but getting the Mt. Rainier Day trip for only $50 per person was a steal! It was a great day outside of the city if you're spending more than one day in Seattle!

P.S. I see we both cruise on 2/1! :)

[HeatherC430]

[quote name='Anyislandwilldo']Outstanding pictures Heather! Keep em coming![/quote]

Thank you! :)

[dane225]

[quote name='HeatherC430']I swear I read reviews and anything I could find about Alaska for the year prior to booking the trip. The Alaska boards are really helpful.

At one point I was desperate for picture reviews so I started this thread:
There are many great photo reviews on this link.
[URL]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1779851[/URL]

Then the 2013 Alaska cruise season started & someone started this thread: (I like to think based off my previous post :D)
[URL]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1879117[/URL]

This should keep you busy for awhile! Enjoy![/QUOTE]

Thank you!!!:)

[jlocole]

I really enjoyed your review. I am on a HAL ship with this itinerary next year so I loved your detailed port and excursion descriptions. I upgraded from an ocean view to a balcony/verandah. Taxes, etc all in about $2000 each. One definitely pays premium for Alaska.

I can't believe you only drank 2 days on board with the way day one went! When I am on vacation, I drink all day - every day. Glad our HAL cruise has the beverage card bonus included. :p

Envious of your new luggage. Pricey but fabulous.

[HeatherC430]

[quote name='jlocole']I really enjoyed your review. I am on a HAL ship with this itinerary next year so I loved your detailed port and excursion descriptions. I upgraded from an ocean view to a balcony/verandah. Taxes, etc all in about $2000 each. One definitely pays premium for Alaska.

I can't believe you only drank 2 days on board with the way day one went! When I am on vacation, I drink all day - every day. Glad our HAL cruise has the beverage card bonus included. :p

Envious of your new luggage. Pricey but fabulous.[/quote]

Thank you! You'll love the itinerary! Glacier Bay was amazing! The high price tag of Alaska was the only downfall of the trip. But, I'm really glad we went and think that it's well worth the high price tag - at least to do it once!

Trust me...drinking only 2 days onboard is very uncharacteristic of us! Our sail n' sign balance was WAY less than it typically is on a Caribbean cruise! I plan on fully taking advance of the beverage package including in our upcoming Celebrity cruise (included as the 123go promo). The fact that the drinks are "free" due to the promo means we'll absolutely be overindulging! :)

[JaniceB]

Awesome review and pictures! It really looks like you had some fantastic weather!

[dr28326]

Hubby and I are going in May. Hope the scenery is just as beautiful.

[JaniceB]

It was for my May cruise, just a little more snow dr28326.

[dr28326]

Can't wait! Costing more than we usually pay for caribbean, but getting tired of the same islands over and over.

[HeatherC430]

[quote name='dr28326']Can't wait! Costing more than we usually pay for caribbean, but getting tired of the same islands over and over.[/quote]

It's well worth the added expense (IMO). That's precisely why we booked this cruise, wanting to do something out of the norm! And that's also why I'm booked on my first Celebrity cruise (2 ports in my itinerary that Carnival doesn't cruise to: St. Croix & Grenada).

[tracyvansmith]

[quote name='HeatherC430'][B][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Ketchikan[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]During the researching phase, there were no excursions that were blatantly standing out as a must-do in Ketchikan. We had a hard time deciding which we’d like to do most. Since we spent a lot on excursions in Juneau & Skagway, we didn’t want to overspend on one of the elaborate tours in Ketchikan. We thought the Misty Fjords sounded nice and would have ideally wanted to do one of the flightseeing tours, but figured we’d pass since we already did the helicopter tour in Juneau. Anyways, we ended up booking the Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer through Carnival ($184.99 per person). I’ll preface this by saying that this tour was the only part of the cruise I would have done differently in hindsight. Not to say it wasn’t an “ok” tour, but our expectations based on the pictures online and tour description were entirely too high for what we received in return (especially for the cost) in our opinion.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]In the past, all of our excursions have always been booked directly through Carnival (we don’t mind the extra cost for peace of mind). Generally speaking, there’s always a representative waiting with the sign at the pier or dock immediately upon getting off the ship. In this case, we couldn’t find anyone. We asked someone with signs, they gave us some convoluted directions to find someone with a specific colored jacket standing outside of a Christmas in Alaska store (whom would be collecting our tickets). Luckily we found the person, and shortly were on our way to boarding the boat. It was a double decker boat. We immediately went to the top floor since that is where the viewing area was. Since we were among the first handful to board, we had our choice of seats. There were binoculars left on each set of seats for people to use. This tour was operated by Allen Marine Tours. It lasted 4.5 hours. Typically that amount of time is a shorter excursion for us. Not in this case. We felt like the tour was never going to end. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]So, we wait in our seats until the boat is fully loaded (past the time in which we were scheduled to depart I might add). The boat gets going, some people sat in the few seats they had outside. There was enough room for 3-4 people to sit on the bench outside on the viewing deck. Once we got moving, it didn’t take long before they realized it was too cold & windy to be sitting outside and they came inside. My DH & I are looking out the window enjoying the scenery. At one point I said to him…”we’ll go outside when there’s something to see”. In my mind, I thought there were supposed to be all these great viewing opportunities based on the pictures. Little did I know the scenery we were viewing was going to be pretty much the same the duration of the trip.[/SIZE][/FONT]


[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]I will say that it was nice that they came around with different tastes of “snacks” during the course of the cruise. Early we had some sort of cookie, the followed by soup (we passed on the soup) mid-way through, and at the end we had smoked tuna on a cracker. Each was just enough for a taste. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Once we actually got to the Misty Fjords, we did go outside and take some pictures. Not to sound like a complainer, but the day was full of sunshine (which has it benefits) so there was no “mist” like we had expected. Also, all the pictures showed this area where there were waterfalls – no waterfalls because it was dry that season. So as we saw it…it was more like this is where the waterfall normally is, but today you’re just seeing this big rock. The part at had me most upset was the fact that the description says you see harbor seals (which is one of the main things I was looking forward to on this trip). They show pictures of the seals, sitting on a rock, close enough for you to almost reach out and touch them. That my friend was not the case! So we slow down the boat to an area where these seals apparently frequent. Everyone rushes outside. The issue was we were so far away you literally could not even see if there were seals there. It didn’t matter how much I zoomed in on my camera, you couldn’t see the seals. What a disappointment. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]About an hour into the trip as we looked around in our seats, we saw a middle-aged woman chugging a beer. My DH looked at me and said “I think she has the right idea”. He immediately went down below and bought us both an Alaskan beer (at $6 each). There was a snack bar below where you could buy drinks & food. After about another 4-5 beers each, the excursion became a little more tolerable. Mid-way through, we couldn’t help but notice others sitting around us, literally sleeping with their mouths wide open. We laughed realizing it wasn’t just us. Even the old people on the tour weren’t entertained by this. Also, its worth mentioned that a woman spoke over the intercom the entire trip. Some of what she spoke about was interesting, however, 4 plus hours of talking got to be a little much and you couldn’t help but tune her out at some point. As the end of the tour drew near, we went downstairs to find a seat (so we could debark the boat as quickly as possible). It was that bad. And we weren’t the only one. As the boat pulled into the slip, there was literally a line of people waiting to get off.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Disclaimer: It is possible that others could have totally enjoyed this excursion. My DH & I may be biased because we have our own speed boat and frequently take weekend trips to a lake surrounded by mountains and picturesque scenery (in West Virginia) many times throughout the summer months. To us, the sights were on bar with that experience we’re so accustomed to. Our expectations out of our Alaska cruise were to see new and different things we can’t close to home. Now I realize the fjords in Alaska and mountains/trees in West Virginia are very different, however I’m just comparing the viewing experiences in our opinion. To us, the boat ride could have been several hours shorter and the sights would have been virtually the same. Also, at almost $400 for the two of us combined, we would have expected a little more excitement or viewing opportunities. This tour is on par with $50-75 tours we’ve taken in the past on other cruises. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]After the excursion, I was anxious to stroll around Creek Street and checkout some of the shops. From the reviews I had read and pictures posted on CC, I had high hopes of this little shopping area. To our dismay, half of the shops were closed! I’m not sure if this was because it was the end of the tourist season, or perhaps it was after 5 on a Sunday? In any case, we went into the shops that were still open, and then made our way back to the ship.[/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

Best tour I have had in Ketchikan is the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's tour.

[Jaxgal]

Wow...what a great review and pictures. I am really looking forward to this cruise end of April/start of May! Thanks for sharing!

[HeatherC430]

[quote name='Jaxgal']Wow...what a great review and pictures. I am really looking forward to this cruise end of April/start of May! Thanks for sharing![/quote]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Let me know if you have any questions!

[luv2sail7]

What a great review and you and your DH make such a cute couple. Love your sense of humor as well. I have done many cruises on Carnival, Princess and Royal. While we enjoyed all of those lines, we Love Love Love Celebrity and their drink package. I have 4 cruises booked this year with the promo. I have a feeling you will love it. And thanks for all the time you put in on this review as it's making me more excited about our cruise to Alaska in September. :)

[bride123105]

Interesting to see some green in Glacier Bay. I went in May and it was fog city.