Will the Carnival Spirit have a naturalist on board?

[geovet]

Our next cruise to Alaska will go to Tracy Arm Fjord.  Do they have a naturalist on board for this cruise itinerary?

 

Thanks

[vbscoot]

We had one August 2021 on the Miracle 

[nwcruiselover]

There was one on the Splendor in July and August of 2022.

[geovet]

Were they Galcier bay cruise or Tracy arm?  

Edited March 7, 2023 by geovet

[nwcruiselover]

Tracy Arm.  I’m not sure any of Carnival’s Alaska cruises are going to Glacier Bay.

[BlerkOne]

When in Glacier Bay, Park Rangers board the ship. For the next few years, Carnival won't be cruising Glacier Bay - other Carnival brands are, however.

 

For the rest of Alaska, yes, Carnival has a naturalist.

[alias47]

We were on the Spirit last June, there was a naturalist onboard, who mostly did various talks and made the occasional PA announcement if something was spotted. 

[Elaine5715]

We had one on the Splendor last August.  She was terrible.  Pretty sure Wikipedia was more informative.  She actually started by saying "I am not an expert but (hey they hired me)".

[ontheweb]

7 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

We had one on the Splendor last August.  She was terrible.  Pretty sure Wikipedia was more informative.  She actually started by saying "I am not an expert but (hey they hired me)".

Oh, my God, that does not inspire confidence!

 

We sailed Alaska inside passage with Princess. The naturalist they had onboard was simply wonderful.

[nwcruiselover]

9 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

We had one on the Splendor last August.  She was terrible.  Pretty sure Wikipedia was more informative.  She actually started by saying "I am not an expert but (hey they hired me)".

I was on the Splendor twice last summer (July and August) and had the same naturalist.  She is a college student studying in Fairbanks who was doing this as a summer job.  They also had her in the “Liar’s Club.”

[maryann2]

5 minutes ago, nwcruiselover said:

I was on the Splendor twice last summer (July and August) and had the same naturalist.  She is a college student studying in Fairbanks who was doing this as a summer job.  They also had her in the “Liar’s Club.”

The Liar's Club was hilarious Nancy.

[kona_wahine]

Yes, he was on our whole cruise. When we were heading towards Victoria he would keep an eye out and come over the loud speaker (well, the whole cruise, but that’s when I remember the most as I was listening for him in the room) and let us know where to look for wildlife. I think his name was Dan. 

[ABQrobin]

Hopefully the Naturalist issues will be resolved this season.  I think they had some issues booking them last year.  In 2016 we had a great one on the Legend, but this last summer on Splendor we had some kooky lady who was trying to sell her book about her life who spent more time rambling about herself than talking about wildlife.  She was horrible.  If we hadn't had a great one the first Alaska trip, I would think that was the norm.... obviously, it is not.

[ProgRockCruiser]

Oh yikes, someone walking around naked all the time, no thanks.

 

😲

 

Oh, you said Naturalist, not Naturist.

 

😉

[n6uqqq]

1 hour ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

Oh yikes, someone walking around naked all the time, no thanks.

 

😲

 

Oh, you said Naturalist, not Naturist.

 

😉

That's only on the big nude charter cruises 🤣

[ouse456]

Speaking of naturists, I saw a fair number of naturists in the fitness center men's locker room on the last Carnival cruise that I went on.

[jb58]

They had a bunch of naturists on the Pride in January

[kona_wahine]

Sounds more like a carribean cruise than an Alaska cruise!! 🤣 brrrrrrr!

[Cruising_Addict]

No one is psychic and can tell you if there will be one on your cruise. But I can tell you I have done two cruises to Alaska and there was a naturalist on board both times. I don’t believe they board just for the fjord cruising, either. They are on for the whole cruise. They do presentations during the cruise and occasionally will point out sea life when you are sailing to your next port. 

[geneparmesan]

On 3/6/2023 at 10:21 PM, alias47 said:

We were on the Spirit last June, there was a naturalist onboard, who mostly did various talks and made the occasional PA announcement if something was spotted. 

Interesting, I was on the Spirit last May, and we did not have one. I believe we were the second or third Alaska sailing of the season, so maybe they hadn't found one yet. 

[BlerkOne]

52 minutes ago, geneparmesan said:

Interesting, I was on the Spirit last May, and we did not have one. I believe we were the second or third Alaska sailing of the season, so maybe they hadn't found one yet. 

They usually contract months ahead. Perhaps the C word interfered.

 

Must not be a bad life - alternating between Alaska, Hawaii, and sometimes South America

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, geneparmesan said:

Interesting, I was on the Spirit last May, and we did not have one. I believe we were the second or third Alaska sailing of the season, so maybe they hadn't found one yet. 

That is not good. An excellent naturalist really adds much to an Alaskan cruise. We had one on a Princess Alaska cruise who really added an incredible amount to our experience.

[LuvCruiSun]

There was a naturalist on board Spirit last August. His name is Chris. He’s a marine biologist and people really liked him. I didn’t attend any of his presentations, but he did a great job pointing out wildlife and providing information along the way. 

[Wennfred]

We had a naturalist onboard Spirit back in September, not sure if he actually went out in the wild like Mark Harris onboard Princess, Mark is the real deal as he also shows you pictures in the wild, if you ever come across this naturalist, you don’t want to miss his presentations.

 

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by Wennfred

[BlerkOne]

Last Carnival Alaska cruise we were on had Dirk. I fully expect there will be a naturalist on our Alaska cruise this year (and again next year).