Not-quite-Live < limited > cruise journal: QE (Q427) Alaska cruise: 10 night, 30 Aug – 9 Sep 2024 plus Vancouver pre & post

[mking8288]

The twin niece's in the mid 30's among the dozen of youngest pax onboard and we saw 1 baby in a stroller ... waiting to see if they like and will consider cruising again, mostly left the parents to do things on their own, until meal times & going ashore.  Wondering what they see and attracting them to disappear on a ship with, maybe 2,200 ? pax. 

 

@cruiseny4life time to pickup 100 CCL shares and look into your TA discount/perks, and maybe, one of these months, do a B2B with Cunard going east and NCL return westbound. That's our thinking ahead.  As our solo party goer and her posse, we all know she's following and behaving, and going to report on the cookies & sweets - 6 full days including today to learn things first hand.

[D&N]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Now where is all the themed clothing? Is a white shirt just good enough for a white themed gala night? Cunard might want to work on that name....not so sure it's exactly...ummm appropriate in this day and age in the States, at least.

 

Anyhow!! if I ever do cruise Cunard (which your live is making more a possibility, given the food photos), I'll certainly be decked out in all-white. If it's a theme, you gotta own it. Cunarders, do better! Own that theme. Yikes. I suppose this means *I* could actually be the most dressed up on a theme night, given I'll be taking that theme and making it all my own. Now to find a white suit, tie, vest, and pants. Do gents don top hats? Is that allowed? I could see a nice white top hat with a baby blue band being quite nice with baby blue trim on the very white suit.

That isn't really the intention. First and foremost it's a Gala Night and they give specific guidance, particularly for men relating to acceptable formal wear. They then suggest embellishing the formal wear to suit the theme.

Unless you are entitled to wear a white military or maritime dress uniform it's unlikely you should be dressed all in white. Colour themes are more targeted at ladies, for men the intention is accessories.

Having typed all that, unfortunately in reality you'd probably not be out of place. I've seen all sorts of mainly or all white outfits in videos of Ice White Gala nights. The latest one could only be described as a white clown suit. It appears the wearer was allowed entrance to the MDR.

 

You may feel my comments are very stuffy/snobby but it's alright, I know I can just look away, and it's unlikely we'll be on a ship with an Ice White Gala. We have our own problems; Roaring 20s and Masquerade can be quite awful too!

[Sugar Magnolia]

6 hours ago, dexddd said:

He had a picture early on, think first tea, with clump of stuff, was that the stuff?

Could be clotted cream…could be mayo 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

55 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Carnival's food and service on Cunard is definitely above & beyond NCL's current service & food-wise, leaving dirty Harry (their brand's COO) below deck in crew dining.  Hot chocolate, not in an envelope w hot water to mix yourself. Sliced fruits definitely not Walmart sourced.

I was impressed with the buffet on the Discovery Princess. Yvonne’s pics from her Princess experience reinforced to me that the once shiny NCL needs much scrubbing. 
 

[mking8288]

Trains left and helicopters airborne (no, not medevacs) and seaplanes skates up, now the long match 😀 

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

18 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

@cruiseny4life time to pickup 100 CCL shares and look into your TA discount/perks, and maybe, one of these months, do a B2B with Cunard going east and NCL return westbound. That's our thinking ahead.  As our solo party goer and her posse, we all know she's following and behaving, and going to report on the cookies & sweets - 6 full days including today to learn things first hand.

Alas, I gave up the travel agent thing. Didn't have time, so it's no more. I'm afraid I'll be paying full freight, which I did before since we have the whole Haven addiction. There were some really great discounts, but none of these were available in the Haven. A B2B could be interesting - certainly some very, very, very different cultures between NCL and Cunard, eh? 

[NE John]

5 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

White night? Cunard might want to work on that name....not so sure it's exactly...ummm appropriate in this day and age in the States, at least.

The theme night is called “Ice White” night, named for the icy white glaciers. But since glaciers have some blue too, one can add a blue accessory. The dress code is not just a “white night” like other cruise ships host. 
Theme night suggestions are optional but there still is an overall dress code for those nights of either tux or dark suit. As @mking8288 stated, it seemed like 70%++ of men adhered to the Dress Code. 
Also, our OP has done a great job of introducing Cunard to those who may never would have thought about  this line before. Yes, it’s certainly more dressed up than NCL but not snobby. There is a big British influence on Cunard ships though that is certainly different than other cruise lines. 
 

 

Edited September 3 by NE John

[mking8288]

Our bags (daypack) are packed and ready to go ... leaving on a sea(jet)plane (for some) 

 

But we better be back again, all abroad is 7:30 PM 

 

It's 11:30 and ready to do a private Summit & City tour.  Stories & photos later.  No 4G services, only 3G and internet isn't good. 

 

On plan B, mobile data via Red Bulk Mobile eSim.

 

 

[*Miss G*]

35 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Our bags (daypack) are packed and ready to go ... leaving on a sea(jet)plane (for some) 

Oh, thank goodness. A new theme song. I was afraid I was going to have to unfriend you if that Annie song got stuck in my head!
 

Enjoying all the pictures and reading your reports.  Looking forward to hearing the thoughts from your entourage!

[The Traveling Man]

6 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Ok - doing multiple posts here to keep myself constrained. @The Traveling Man doesn't appreciate my high post count, so gotta do him favors.

???

Post all you want to.  I am a bit envious, though of your total post count (as well as that of several others).  You have managed in 2-1/2 years to register three times as many posts as I have in nine years.

[mking8288]

3G signal

[mking8288]

Here comes this morning' photos, now that we have Starlink WiFi again.

 

 

 

 

 

Always have the contact info, just in case of emergency or delays 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

Today's gangway is on Deck 3 Mid - 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

Skagway has a small year-round population and no need for 5G services unless it's cruise ship seasons. Today, networks overwhelmed again, dropping to 4G LTE and 3G only, and servers overloaded.

 

There is free WiFi here near the restrooms, before reaching the red trains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

Here comes this morning' photos, now that we have Starlink WiFi again.

 

I am sure you have heard by now that a damaged undersea fiber optic cable has caused internet outage in Sitka. Repairs likely won't be completed when you arrive, but Starlink swoops in to save the day.

 

[mking8288]

Top Gun pilots flying sightseeing helicopters, coming into the LZ fast & low while banking ... far end of the local airport runway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearby, another train track to the ship ...

 

[mking8288]

Yukon Summit Drive & City Tour, private shared in mini-bus vs. White Pass Train 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 4 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Source of water & hydro-electricity for Skagway 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look closely and you see the White Pass railroad track

 

 

Suspension bridge, abandoned but was designed to withstand eartquake damages

 

 

 

 

 

Best viewed on iPad or HD monitor ... your free wallpapers & screen background 😁

Edited September 4 by mking8288

[mking8288]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,300 ft. Summit workout - cycling 

 

Cloud 9 🤗

Edited September 4 by mking8288

[mking8288]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful scenery & photo stops that you just don't get to experience on the train.  

 

Thank you, Tom - our excellent driver-guide that was originally from Wisconsin and moved here 20 years ago to settle.

Edited September 4 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Now turning around & passing by the US CBP checkpoint ahead ... 

 

 

 

 

The waterfalls 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 4 by mking8288

[We2Cruzers]

So glad I found your posts.  We are boarding in Vancouver on Sept. 9, so your pictures give us a sneak preview.  Wonderful!

[Seas2mountains]

Pssst… @cruiseny4life, please keep adding your comments and asking questions. 
 

The responses (and your comments) are very informative and entertaining.  😀 Good thing you are back at work so you can resume with CC. 

 

I thought the same as you did about the dinner menu. But the appearance of the food looked more appealing to me than the written description. I thought, why didn’t they explain it better?

 

Thank you, @mking8288  I’ll go back to just reading and enjoying this review. 

[mking8288]

Skagway Overlook 

 

Airport

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bear- proofing

 

 

Landslide 

 

Main Street

 

 

 

[mking8288]

Oops - sorry, photo posts duplicated, poor internet ... unless Host can help to clean it up, will just clutter up.