Tell Me All About the Carnival Alaska Experience!

[MistyRo76]

We just booked our first Alaska cruise for next August and we couldn't be more excited! It'll be me, my DH and our 10-year-old daughter. There may be other family and friends join us on this one too! I am a seasoned Carnival cruiser - but all of my cruises (except for 1 Mexican Riveria cruise from Long Beach) have been Bahamas/Caribbean cruises. Alaska is out of my wheelhouse! 

What can we expect on the ship to be the same as a regular Carnival cruise and what can we expect to be different? Is evening attire, especially on elegant night, similar to what you'd see on a Caribbean Carnival cruise? Are there any different onboard activities, parties, foods, demonstrations, etc.? Or will the overall vibe still feel like the Caribbean just without the Caribbean weather! Of course, the main attraction is Alaska itself - but just curious how the ship will feel comparatively.

[bdeluca03]

I've done the 7 day trip on both Spirit in 2022 and Luminosa in 2023. Overall, Alaska has the elegant night, etc. but it's not the feel of a Caribbean Cruise as average age is 65+ with dinner starting at 5 PM, I believe.

For example I took my mom for her 65th birthday last year and many times at 8 PM or so at night in the Piano Bar, we'd be the only customers at the Piano Bar on the Luminosa. 

 

 

[kctwinmommy]

It's great, but definitely different than a Caribbean one. You won't have as many deck parties and such, it's more subdued, but it's wonderful. We went with our son 8 years ago and there were still plenty of kids onboard, so he had people to hang out with. But really, this cruise is much more about the ports and sites, not just sitting in a bar, IMO.

 

As far as attire, you will see it a little more relaxed, less people really dressing up. People are often packing so much to bring already, they're not always wanting to get dressed up. I also get cold easily, so there were plenty of nights I didn't want to be in a dress of any kind.

 

However, it's still one of the best cruises we've done. I always tell people, do what you want, don't say "Oh, maybe next time." We only planned to do Alaska once (I know others do it more than that). So we did the amazing things we wanted to - like helicopter onto a glacier, which was a once in a lifetime thing for us!

 

I will say, my husband and I joked that some of the talent on board isn't quite their best. We said it must be the cruise where the new entertainers go, or those who couldn't quite cut it on the Caribbean cruises. Just not as great of singers or dancers, IMO. But again, that's not the reason we go on a cruise.

 

You will have a great time if you just remember, it's not a Caribbean cruise, it's different, and definitely a wonderful place to see.

[jsglow]

It's way more the same than different @MistyRo76. As indicated above, it skews a bit older but I would say not as much as a Journeys or a European cruise does. For all intents, the onboard offerings will be the same; albeit regionally appropriate. Said another way, a Jamaican steel drum guy on Lido would just feel weird. What I don't know is if Carnival engages a naturalist. Their lectures are always great.

 

And enjoy my favorite Alaskan hobby. You know how watching dock runners can be entertaining? Well we northerners (and by the way, you 'barely' qualify!) enjoy watching the Floridians with their 'matchy matchy' winter coats they bought just for the trip. 😆

[TrqoisWtrs]

3 hours ago, MistyRo76 said:

What can we expect on the ship to be the same as a regular Carnival cruise and what can we expect to be different?

I just loved the view out my balcony - completely different than seeing Caribbean islands! 

 

3 hours ago, jsglow said:

What I don't know is if Carnival engages a naturalist. Their lectures are always great.

They do.  My cruise had lectures and then 2 park rangers got on for the day of glacier cruising.  They were on the shipwide intercom from the bridge and talked us thru the area we were in, letting us know where wildlife has been spotted etc.  Another fun thing is people will just park in chairs facing the windows and spend hours there with binoculars.  You will love it.

 

 

[rudechuck]

Just did this last year on the Spirit.  The only thing I would add is that if you're on the Spirit, it's the only ship with Soul Play, which is a free of charge painting class/activity.  My wife really enjoyed that.  Agree with all the rest.  There is a naturalist, they have a few other activities (I specifically remember axe throwing - foam/velcro axes, not real ones - on the Lido deck).  There was a local Alaskan singer/story teller.

[Elaine5715]

4 hours ago, jsglow said:

It's way more the same than different @MistyRo76. As indicated above, it skews a bit older but I would say not as much as a Journeys or a European cruise does. For all intents, the onboard offerings will be the same; albeit regionally appropriate. Said another way, a Jamaican steel drum guy on Lido would just feel weird. What I don't know is if Carnival engages a naturalist. Their lectures are always great.

 

And enjoy my favorite Alaskan hobby. You know how watching dock runners can be entertaining? Well we northerners (and by the way, you 'barely' qualify!) enjoy watching the Floridians with their 'matchy matchy' winter coats they bought just for the trip. 😆

We had "naturalists" on my Alaskan cruises but they were college students reading out of Wikipedia, 

[Ferry_Watcher]

When you arrive at Pier 91 (Seattle), please have a paper copy of your boarding pass, along with your passport (or gov't issued birth certificate) ready to be looked at.

 

You give your luggage to a porter, or walk your luggage down to the luggage drop off area under the covered awning near the entrance of the terminal building.  The day Carnival sails they are the only ship at the pier, so all the luggage collected will go on to the Carnival ship. If you have any type of 'priority', that will kick in once you enter the building.  While you are outside the building, everyone lines up in the one line to have your boarding pass and citizenship looked at (more of a 'show and go').  

 

Sometimes there are long lines, other times it just flows like clockwork.  Just roll with however your particular check-in day brings.

[May1cruiser]

We have a cruise this May. Any suggestions for hotels near port? Arriving two days early and will explore before and make sure airlines have ample time for any issues. excited for a different itinerary!!

 

[jsglow]

32 minutes ago, May1cruiser said:

We have a cruise this May. Any suggestions for hotels near port? Arriving two days early and will explore before and make sure airlines have ample time for any issues. excited for a different itinerary!!

 

We're fans of the Mediterranean Inn just off Mercer. We've never stayed their pre-cruise but did stay there 2-3 times when our son lived in Queen Anne in the days prior to moving further north and having a spare bedroom. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

30 minutes ago, May1cruiser said:

We have a cruise this May. Any suggestions for hotels near port? Arriving two days early and will explore before and make sure airlines have ample time for any issues. excited for a different itinerary!!

 

 

Pier 91 is located in a working seaport just slightly north of the DT Seattle core.  Unfortunately, there really isn't any hotels nearby.  I would look at the West Coast Departure threads and see if there is a hotel either DT Seattle, or near Lake Union or Seattle Center that fits your budget. 

 

Seattle hotels tend to be expensive during the summer months.  I suggest folks look at Mayflower Hotel, others like the Mediterranean Inn, still others like Inn at the Market.  And then there are the chain hotels.  There is a balance between price and location.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/315-west-coast-departures/

 

 

https://mayflowerpark.com/

 

https://www.mediterranean-inn.com/

 

[bdeluca03]

40 minutes ago, May1cruiser said:

We have a cruise this May. Any suggestions for hotels near port? Arriving two days early and will explore before and make sure airlines have ample time for any issues. excited for a different itinerary!!

 

I'd recommend anywhere in Downtown Seattle, etc. as it's only two miles from Pier 91 to Downtown Seattle/Pike Place Market so it will come down to preferences on whether you have hotel miles, credit card points, etc. to use or after to pay cash for a room.

Personally, I live in Pike Place Market (1st and Stewart) at Hotel Thompson - which is a great hotel but at $500 a night, I might skip it for another hotel if paying cash, etc.

[bdeluca03]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

We had "naturalists" on my Alaskan cruises but they were college students reading out of Wikipedia, 

 

Yes our naturalist on the Luminosa was Emily who IG goes by Emily_The_Naturalist and might have some content worth exploring.

[maryann2]

19 minutes ago, bdeluca03 said:

 

Yes our naturalist on the Luminosa was Emily who IG goes by Emily_The_Naturalist and might have some content worth exploring.

Our naturalist on the Splendor in 2022 was Emily too.

She really was funny in The Liar's Club.

[kctwinmommy]

4 hours ago, cruisin*tigger said:

I just loved the view out my balcony - completely different than seeing Caribbean islands! 

 

 

OK, I do agree, although it does get repetitive. But it is beautiful! However, one night, my husband was just laying in bed, it was like 10-11 at night, still somewhat light out, and I was like "OMG! You've got to see this!" And he jumps up to look and I was like "Sorry, it's just the same beautiful scenery we've been seeing for days." LOL! I just had to mess with him.

[vwgolf2]

I'll add a British perspective, not that it should be much different. We cruised Alaska from Seattle in August 2019 on board the Legend and still believe it's the best cruise we've been on (we've done 24 cruises). The scenery is stunning and we saw more wildlife than we'd ever hoped for: bears, whales, eagles etc. Coupled with a great three days in Seattle (we stayed at the Waterfront Hotel) it was one of my favourite ever holidays!

[CruiseCriticAaron]

Cruise Critic sailed Carnival Spirit to Alaska in 2022 and found a lot to like about the experience! Here's the two pieces I wrote (lots of photos in both).

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/is-carnival-the-best-cheap-cruise-to-alaska

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/sailing-on-carnival-cruise-line-in-alaska-live-from-carnival-spirit