Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #701 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Although I don't use the Canyon Ranch Spa I'd say it's a beautiful facility. See for yourself... It wasn't open yet but there was a staircase leading down to deck 12 so I had to follow Nice staircase! Treatment rooms The Spa ladies were prepping for business so I left them to it. I tried my room key in the door to the Thermal Loungers (back upstairs) with the nice sea view but it didn't open. When I asked the receptionist why she said it is only open to Suite Guests on Port days-and I was fresh out of those. But now I know for the future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare donswife Posted February 9, 2016 #702 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Oh my! I just found this thread, so I have some catching up to do! As you journeyed home, I was embarking on our first Princess cruise, on the CB out of Houston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare perfect match Posted February 9, 2016 #703 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Thanks, Norris, for the great ship photos. My favorite from today's offerings is the one of you and Carol at dinner in Luminae. It looked as if you were having a wonderful time. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane2357 Posted February 9, 2016 #704 Share Posted February 9, 2016 So I have been looking at Princess, X and HAL Alaska cruises for part of the day. Looking first at suites on each (Neptune on HAL and Sky on Millie if they exist) Best X itinerary for us is on the Millennium-but there's no grass. Will let you know as thing develop. Solstice is an option if we have to have grass. Anyone sailed Millennium? Since Solstice-ization? Norris We are booked on Millie for Alaska this May - shortly after she comes out of a dry dock - and we are very excited by her itinerary. We are also doing a 6 night post cruise tour and will end up in Fairbanks. :D During dry dock they will be adding the deck 12 movie area - which I happen to think looks like fun. However - as you know - there is no grass on the M class of ship. I LOVE M class ship in a way different than I love the S class. Our next 2 cruises (Alaska and Panama Canal) are on M class ships - booked for the itineraries. M class ships are smaller - without the WOW factor glitz and glitter of the S class but with a more intimate feel that we love. Same great X service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #705 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Thanks, Norris, for the great ship photos. My favorite from today's offerings is the one of you and Carol at dinner in Luminae. It looked as if you were having a wonderful time. :D I guess in this case "the camera doesn't lie"! We were indeed happy campers on the Silhouette. The week flew by. Todays photos will include more dazzling ship interiors. Stay tuned! Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #706 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Oh my! I just found this thread, so I have some catching up to do! As you journeyed home, I was embarking on our first Princess cruise, on the CB out of Houston. Never too late to join us here! Welcome aboard. I did the Caribbean Princess out of Houston January 2014. Great itinerary. Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #707 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Next to the spa is the gym which opens at 6 a.m and closes at 11p.m I took just a few pics today as I planned to return on Saturday to workout. It was before 8 a.m and the place was already busy We'll come back to the gym later and I'll show you some of the non-cardio apparatus. My wandering takes me away from the busy gym and back into the Solarium where I had forgotten to show you the hot tubs... * Lounger hogs also work the Solarium but I am happy to report that when passing by during busy times I saw a "pool butler" removing towels, books etc that were used by the Hogs. If you are a guilty Hog and reading this-what's the matter with you? Quit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPYRCRUISER Posted February 9, 2016 #708 Share Posted February 9, 2016 DH is also an early riser. As a lifelong dairy farmer it's a habit he can't break. He will be glad to know there will be coffee available at 5AM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #709 Share Posted February 9, 2016 We are booked on Millie for Alaska this May - shortly after she comes out of a dry dock - and we are very excited by her itinerary. We are also doing a 6 night post cruise tour and will end up in Fairbanks. :D During dry dock they will be adding the deck 12 movie area - which I happen to think looks like fun. However - as you know - there is no grass on the M class of ship. I LOVE M class ship in a way different than I love the S class. Our next 2 cruises (Alaska and Panama Canal) are on M class ships - booked for the itineraries. M class ships are smaller - without the WOW factor glitz and glitter of the S class but with a more intimate feel that we love. Same great X service. Jane, thanks for the response re the Millie. The 6 day land tour sounds great but not something we can do until we are retired (sigh) Movies on deck? Princess has that (30 foot screen) and a lot of people enjoy it. Cheers! Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #710 Share Posted February 9, 2016 DH is also an early riser. As a lifelong dairy farmer it's a habit he can't break. He will be glad to know there will be coffee available at 5AM. Yes, the coffee in the buffet is 24/7 and a good brand too-Lavazza. Thanks for stopping by. Welcome! Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nashna Posted February 9, 2016 #711 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Norris... I love the idea of the lawn. However, with one very bad knee there is no way I can rise like a Phoenix from the turf. Do you know if chairs are provided in the area? Thanks for sharing your journey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #712 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Norris... I love the idea of the lawn. However, with one very bad knee there is no way I can rise like a Phoenix from the turf. Do you know if chairs are provided in the area? Thanks for sharing your journey! Nashna, no furniture allowed on the lawn but available along the border.... Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #713 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I walk back through the Solarium towards the pool-nice furniture! Next time I will try this hammock!! If you have forgotten to bring sunscreen or have any swim needs you can shop here. If you want to practice snorkeling for an upcoming excursion they have snorkel gear. There are no fish in the swimming pools though so don't get your hopes up. More cool pool furniture There's shade if you want it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #714 Share Posted February 9, 2016 There are plenty of loungers provided... It's always nice to see recycling encouraged As I am only one deck below the Oceanview Cafe I pop up for a double espresso at Il Secondo Baccio (the 2nd kiss)- you have to love an espresso bar in a buffet. Another nice touch! (coffee included in my beverage package) Time to meet Carol at Blu for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #715 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I'll spare you shots of the same food you have already seen as we ordered much the same again today. One interesting thing- we both ordered Mango Madness smoothies and they brought out banana ones- yellow color versus orange. We asked for them to be changed and the waiter argued that they were mango. We said but they look and taste like banana. He said that the person who makes them uses banana. Say what? I raised my eyebrows and rolled my eyes like a pair of craps dice. We stuck to our guns even though we were feeling an Alice in Wonderland moment coming on. The waiter went back to the kitchen and returned- "we are out of mangos!" That would have been enough of an answer when we questioned the banana flavor and appearance. The waiter's name was something,something....Einstein. We asked the Maitre 'd in Blu if he could have the waiter stretched over the Muesli table and be flogged with stalks of asparagus. He went to the kitchen and returned red-faced-"we are out of asparagus, sir". I let it go. I took a few pics during another yummy Blu breakfast. Believe it or not but I actually have something planned this morning! There's a Q & A with the Captain in the Silhouette Theater at 10.30 that I am keen to go to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #716 Share Posted February 9, 2016 After breakfast I hit the smoking section near the elevators, Deck 5 aft, portside. Then down to the cabin. Where are we? A fruit plate has been dropped off by the Butler In the hallway I meet up with Su (L) and Andrew ® our room stewards As I have time to kill I grab a few more photos before the Captain's Q & A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagoffee Posted February 9, 2016 #717 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Morris, I notice you have breakfast in the Blu instead of the Luminae most days. I assume you preferred Blu? What is it that you liked better? If you are going to cover it later please feel free to just say you are covering it later. Thanks. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #718 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I'm down on deck 3 where our favorite piece of ship art stands. Forgot your snorkel? You can get one here. The Passport Bar Stairs to deck 4 Decks 4 & 5 above Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheriffJoe Posted February 9, 2016 #719 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Doing both is best Anne! We are aiming Northbound this time as we did on Diamond Princess for a couple of reasons. We start with a shorter flight of 5 hours to Vancouver vs 7 hours to Anchorage. We have the option of going to Victoria and Butchart gardens on a day trip. The hotel we stay in takes our luggage to the ship so we don't have to. We get to sail out of a dazzling harbor and the Van weather has been warm 80's no rain both times we have been there "recently" (i.e within the 4.5 years we have been cruising-we have been to Van before all that) We get a sea day on the 2nd day in good weather-Carol loves her sea days. We get to the Glaciers last, rather than first on the Southbound trip We end up in Alaska, in Anchorage, a nice town for the cruise wind-down and flight home. We haven't sailed in July but I imagine more kids then vs late August but that's not a major reason to avoid July. Ideally we should be going in May when there is a chance of snow still in the mountains as we want to do the Alaskan dog-sled ride excursion. In August it will be run over dirt and meadow so not quite so "dream like". We are visiting Houston in May. Regardless, Alaska is excursion heaven as far as we are concerned and the Princess website is the best we've found for showing you what you are signing up for, even breaking the tour down into how far you walk and on what kind of terrain. It also has videos of the tour highlights and customer interviews (which I know aren't going to say "it was crap") In looking through half a dozen cruiseship websites over the past year Princess has the model site for speed and ease of use. It shows you which cabins are already sold- I picked a couple of suites on the HAL site and it came back with "already sold" after I hit submit-if it's sold don't show it!! Hope this helps. Norris Bimmer Hello again and we too love Glacier Bay but prefer to sail Solstice so we book a flightseeing tour of Glacier Bay out of Skagway....the flights are MUCH better than sailing in anyway as you see dozens more glaciers and get much closer to them....we like to have our lawn and eat the Glacier too so we sail Solstice and flight see Glacier Park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #720 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Morris, I notice you have breakfast in the Blu instead of the Luminae most days. I assume you preferred Blu? What is it that you liked better? If you are going to cover it later please feel free to just say you are covering it later.Thanks. Jim Jim- Blu for a bigger menu and better quality food, in our opinion. Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ma Bell Posted February 9, 2016 #721 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Great review and really lovely photos, thanks for posting!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #722 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Bimmer Hello again and we too love Glacier Bay but prefer to sail Solstice so we book a flightseeing tour of Glacier Bay out of Skagway....the flights are MUCH better than sailing in anyway as you see dozens more glaciers and get much closer to them....we like to have our lawn and eat the Glacier too so we sail Solstice and flight see Glacier Park! Hi Joe, is that via helicopter from Skagway? The red ones? How long are you in the air and what's the name of the vendor? On a ship we are there from morning to mid afternoon. A National Park Ranger comes aboard and narrates what we are seeing over the PA, often poetically. Waiters wheel a cart around the upper decks serving hot chocolate and hot liquor drinks like Irish coffee (Mexican coffee, French etc) Lawn and Glacier has a nice ring to it! Thank you for the idea. Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #723 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Great review and really lovely photos, thanks for posting!:) Thanks Ma! Nice to welcome a new face. I'm glad you are enjoying and following along! Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheriffJoe Posted February 9, 2016 #724 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) Hi Joe, is that via helicopter from Skagway? The red ones? How long are you in the air and what's the name of the vendor? On a ship we are there from morning to mid afternoon. A National Park Ranger comes aboard and narrates what we are seeing over the PA, often poetically. Waiters wheel a cart around the upper decks serving hot chocolate and hot liquor drinks like Irish coffee (Mexican coffee, French etc) Lawn and Glacier has a nice ring to it! Thank you for the idea. Norris There are several options for your flight, here is a link....just spoke with the owner/pilot last week to secure our ressies for May 31st! http://www.mountainflyingservice.com/haines-skagway-glacier-bay-flightseeing-tours Flight line and office is a 10 minute walk from the cruise dock....perfect scenario..oh and its planes, not helicopters....much less expensive then a helo... Edited February 9, 2016 by SheriffJoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted February 9, 2016 Author #725 Share Posted February 9, 2016 There are several options for your flight, here is a link....just spoke with the owner/pilot last week to secure our ressies for May 31st! http://www.mountainflyingservice.com/haines-skagway-glacier-bay-flightseeing-tours Flight line and office is a 10 minute walk from the cruise dock....perfect scenario..oh and its planes, not helicopters....much less expensive then a helo... Thanks Joe, I'll bookmark this. #3 looks good plus the snowfield landing and walk around for an extra $75. Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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