LONG Carnival Spirit Glacier Bay Review & Shore Excursions Overview

[mcbrides]

Let me start off by saying that my family has cruised quite a bit, and this was our very favorite cruise by far. In discussing the trip, we have agreed it was likely our best family vacation ever. It was just wonderful! I’m so envious of those of you that are planning right now, or getting ready to leave. I’m already looking for our next trip to Alaska.

 

Just a little bit of background about our group--there were 6 of us. This cruise was planned for my parent’s 40th wedding anniversary. They are 58 & 59. Also on the trip were myself my husband (28, 29), and my brother and his girlfriend (38, 29). I LOVE to plan vacations, so I kind of took the reins on reading up about Alaska, reviewing everything I could on the cruise boards, etc. As some of you have commented, so much of the fun is in the planning. And there is so much to be learned from researching, which I really feel makes your vacation even better. We booked the trip in June 2005, and I spent a lot of time reading the boards, checking out tour groups, etc up until around January 2006. I booked most of our excursions in January 2006. Ok, enough about me . . .

 

VANCOUVER: We arrived Tuesday, May 9, the day before cruising, and checked into our hotel, the airport Hampton Inn-Richmond. We had hotel points to stay here, and the hotel itself was very nice, very close to the airport, great free breakfast, etc. There is also free internet at the hotel business center, which was good for checking the weather updates. I had planned a Vancouver pre-cruise tour for Wednesday, May 10 with Wild BC tours, but we decided to cancel this tour. Instead, we rented a car (using points) and toured downtown Vancouver on our own the afternoon of May 9. We decided we didn’t need to pay the extra money to drive the same routes again with a tour group. However, Wild BC Tours was very responsive, and they do small, personalized tours. If we return to Vancouver, I would use them for a group tour. http://www.wildbc.com We did drive out to North Vancouver, and saw the areas of Stanley Park, the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain, but we decided not to go to these attractions—mostly a time issue. We were cruising around right in the middle of 5 pm traffic (which by the way there are no freeways in downtown Vancouver) so the traffic was horrendous. Our nerves were frayed from navigating the one-way streets, and we returned back to our hotel that evening. We ate snacks and had some local beer at a little pub down the street, and really enjoyed the service and atmosphere. We returned to the hotel early to get a good nights sleep.

 

Oh, by the way, it is very true that Canada makes a big stink about previous DUI offenses in the US. My brother had a misdemeanor DUI back in the early 90’s, and the Canadian customs people were waiting for him when he came through customs! He had to spend several hours being grilled and answering questions, etc, before finally being asked to choke up an extra $200.00 for a “short-term” visa. I think it’s crazy, but that is just my opinion. I think if we had thought this would be a problem, there is a way to avoid this debacle by contacting Canadian customs before hand. This was not a good start to our welcome into Canada, but thankfully things did get better . . .

 

EMBARKATION: We used a shuttle service (can’t remember the name right now) from our Hampton Inn hotel to Canada Place. I think it was around $12 pp, and the driver gave us a little mini-tour and narration on the way. We arrived about 11:00 a.m. to a swarm of people trying to get on the same buses we were getting off (I’m assuming they were leaving their ships and returning home), so it was mass chaos. It was very hard to see who was in charge, what to do with your luggage, etc. Finally we got some answers from an official looking man (no one from Carnival) and found ourselves in the line for U.S. customs. Embarkation was basically as I expected—pretty slow, kind of frustrating, but finally . . . we were on board! They did begin boarding early, and I would say we were on the boat about 12:30 or so, having a cocktail. The weather was beautiful in Vancouver that day, and you could see the seaplanes taking off from the deck as we waited for sail-away.

 

Once on board, I had several things I wanted to do immediately. I made reservations for the Supper Club, Nouveau, as soon as possible. We wanted to eat there the night the ship stayed in Ketchikan because we knew we would be missing our regular seating (early seating 5:45 p.m.) I also checked our dining room seating location, and made appointments at the spa. We received our luggage about 4ish.

 

Sail away was great that evening. Dinner was nice, and we all went to my parent’s balcony cabin (very big!) and enjoyed the views.

 

 

FIRST SEA DAY: INSIDE PASSAGE

This day was just great. We did have some semi-rough water in the morning, but we had hit smooth sailing by the afternoon, and we had just fabulous views from our rooms. The route was all inside the island areas, so the seas were calm. I had a facial this day, which I didn’t think was that great.

 

Formal night was this evening. Our three guys rented tuxes, which wound up being a really great value (they wore them 3 nights, both formal nights, and for our dinner at Nouveau, and the cost was $85.00). Predictably, we took many pictures at the various set-ups. Formal night had the prime rib (very good) and lobster (also very good). I can't remember if the lemon custard was served this night, but it was my favorite dessert. Almost like creme brulee. yum!

 

JUNEAU:

The morning sailing into Juneau was probably our favorite sailing time. We were in the Granville Channel, and there were so many whales, birds, eagles, and other marine life. We just sat on the balcony with binoculars and took it all in.

 

We were scheduled to arrive in Juneau at 2 pm, but we actually got there about 12:30. We weren’t able to get off the ship until around 1:30 or so because there was a delay in getting the ramps set up. But it was nice to be in port with a little extra time.

 

We walked around Juneau for a little while and found some necessities (a tripod for my brother’s video camera, etc). We had arrangements to do the Mendenhall Glacier helicopter tour with TEMSCO, with a pick up at 2:45 p.m. They were prompt in picking us up, and the drive to the TEMSCO air base was about 25 minutes or so. The girl that drove us had just arrived in Alaska, and she told us a great deal of the labor comes from out of state to help with the tourist season. So, basically, she didn’t know much about Alaska, TEMSCO, etc.

 

The de-briefing and preparation before flying with TEMSCO was fine. But, I just really felt like it was a cattle-herding, money-making machine, with little interest in making sure the passengers really had a great experience. Three helicopters took off right after another and followed each other to the landing spot on Mendenhall. Our pilot was very good at flying, but didn’t talk much. He also was from out of state, this was his first tour of the year, and he didn’t know much about Alaska. Once you land, all three helicopters empty their passengers, and there are “guides” to show the total group of about 18 or so around the glacier. The helicopters take off and return to base, and they pick up another group of people. When the helicopters return, they drop off the new group, and you re-board. Basically the helicopters operate like a shuttle service. On the glacier there were about 10 TEMSCO employees, and one person that talked about Mendenhall. The rest of the “guides” followed the group around to take pictures, but seemed to have more fun joking around with each other. We were shuffled around for about 20-30 minutes. I was really hoping for an amazing experience here, but it just didn’t happen. It was a unique experience to land on the glacier, but the whole cattle herding feel was a total disappointment. In a nutshell, if I could do it again, I would not go with TEMSCO for the glacier landing. Perhaps their tours with the Pilot’s Choice or Dog Sledding are better? Landing on a glacier was something we all wanted to experience, and yes, it was neat, but definitely not my favorite tour. Ok, on to the rest of the day . . .

 

We had arranged with Harv & Marv’s Whale Watching (http://www.harvandmarvs.com or http://www.alaskawhalewatch.com) to have a pick up at TEMSCO at 4:30 pm. This saved time from shuttling back to town because Auke Bay is in the same direction as the airport area. We absolutely LOVED our whale tour with Harv & Marv's, and I have posted a review of just this excursion as well. Everyone in our group agreed it was our #1 rated excursion, and we did a lot of the top-recommended trips. (We also did the Mendenhall glacier helicopter landing, Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, Orca's Cove Kayaking, and Misty Fjords Seaplane).

 

After a short drive to Auke Bay, the "Harvodaam" was waiting, stocked with snacks, drinks, binoculars for everyone on board, etc. The boat is very new, very comfortable, heated (which wasn't necessary on our tour b/c the weather was great), and has a bathroom etc. "Harv" is really Pete Nelson, but everyone refers to him as "Harv". He and "Marv" are both long-time resident of Juneau. Harv was so full of information. We loved how excited Harv would get when we spotted wildlife. He obviously loves his job, and that enthusiasm is contagious. We saw many, many whales--some very close! Humpbacks, Orca, sea lions, harbor seals, bald eagles . . . . It was a great afternoon! Harv worked very hard for us and he knows so much about the sealife. He was great to visit with about the marine and other wildlife, as well as about life in Juneau. We even were treated to homemade cookies from Eileen Beedle—Marv’s wife.

 

What I liked best about the tour was the small group (max of 6 passengers) and personal attention. I also really liked the idea that we were supporting Juneau residents in the tourism market. The main concern I read about on these boards regarding the smaller whale tours dealt with possible motion sickness due to the smaller boat. I am prone to motion sickness, and had absolutely no problems at all. The waters in Auke Bay are relatively calm--so I wouldn not recommend anyone make their decision about a whale tour based on a concern about seasickness due to the size of the boat. The concerns with having a smaller boat are, in my opinion, really not necessary. We zipped all around for 3.5 hours, and saw such amazing things. We loved this tour and this company! Anyone considering a whale watching tour in Juneau will not regret booking with Harv & Marv's. They were fantastic

 

Just as a side note, in the many, many months of reading posts on this board, I have noticed some tension about the differences between the smaller "6-pack" boats and some of the larger whale watch tours like Capt. Larry. I'm not sure of the reason, but there have definitely been some "choice" words in several postings. From being there and seeing all the boats operating in Auke Bay (yes, we saw Allen Marine's big boat, Capt Larry's mid-size boats, and the smaller 6-pack boats), there are plenty of tourists to support both small and large whale watching tours. Hopefully some of the derogatory remarks about the smaller boats will stop. The small boats are extremely fast, extremely safe, and they are giving their own personal tour in the exact same water, showing off the state they are also proud of. I am so happy we chose to go with a small tour company, but as others are making their decision, just chose what fits best with your groups's preference and your schedule.

 

After this tour, Harv & Marv’s recommened several dinner spots (Thane Ore House, Twisted Fish), but we ultimately decided to hit the Alaska Bar instead. What a great recommendation from these boards. The Alaska Bar has all the local brews on tap, and there was a live bluegrass band playing. I really wish we could have stayed longer because this place was not “touristy” at all. The people were very friendly, even though we were clearly the only tourists there! There was even a husky that roamed the bar and made friends with the people. Loved this place!

 

We didn't eat dinner on the boat because we weren't scheduled to leave until 11 pm. We ordered room service and watched the sail away from the balcony.

 

GLACIER BAY: We were sailing into Glacier Bay around 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning, but it wasn’t until closer to 11 am or so that the scenery really got spectacular. We also had a bit of a delay while in Glacier Bay as someone on the ship had to be flown off with the Coast Guard. I’m guessing there was some kind of medical emergency, but we didn’t get any information. We did have great views of the chopper coming in to pick that person up.

 

Marjorie Glacier was fantastic. We had a bright sunny day, so we saw a fair amount of calving. It is just an awesome sight to see, hear, feel such an amazing place.

 

I think this is the night the ship had the “old time” photos available, where you dress up and they print the pictures on “Wanted” paper, etc. We all did this, and the pictures were so cute. It was kind of cheesy, but we heard lots of people commenting that they wished they had done this photo. I would recommend getting in line early because it went kind of slow. I’m glad we did it though!

 

SKAGWAY: We had booked an excursion with Packer Expeditions for this day that I was really excited about. They normally operate a heli/hike/train excursion, but due to all the snow Skagway received in May, they offered to do a heli/snowshoe/train trip. This meant we would fly via helicopter and be dropped off to snowshoe to a great lookout point for Laughton Glacier. We would then snowshoe to the train depot and ride back down to Skagway. Unfortunately, we had very cruddy weather, drizzle, fog, etc, and the helicopter portion couldn’t operate that morning. Although we really wanted to do the train, we were leery of doing the trip in so much fog—mostly because of what I read on these boards about visibility. We asked Packer Expeditions for their suggestion on an alternative trip, and they spoke highly of the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari. After a quick discussion about our options, we booked this tour.

 

We had several hours to kill before the tour began, so we hit some of the shops in Skagway. The town is very commercialized, with lots of jewelry stores. Kind of disappointing. We went to the National Park Service and watched some of the films available there to get some background history abou the area, which was worthwile. Then we returned to the pier to meet for our excursion.

 

There were only about 15 of us on the trip, which made for a fairly personal experience. I think the tour can take up to 40 or so. Glacier Point is very remote, and you get there via a fast catamaran. We had great guides that gave good historical information about Haines, Skagway, Alaska, etc, and both had been working on the tour for several years. They obviously love Alaska and the job they are doing. After arriving at Glacier Point, you get suited up and take a short hike to the canoes. Although the canoes do have motors on them, there is some paddling involved to get the canoes out in deep enough water to operate the motors. Because we were early in the season, we had extra, extra paddling to do. My dad did not love this. :) The weather stayed kind of crummy, with some rain most of the time. But we were bundled up and warm, and I think it just kind of added to the experience. This tour was a great way to get another view of glaciers in a very up-close manner. We have wonderful pictures of this day. On the way back to Skagway, they served a very good boxed lunch, and water, tea, coffee. This tour is well-run, and I would recommend it. I’m sad we didn’t get to ride the train and hear about the history of its origination, but maybe next time!

 

This evening we had another formal night which was nice. We then changed clothes and hit the karoke bar. It was such fun!

 

KETCHIKAN:

We were in Ketchikan from 11 am – 7 pm. We had booked a combo Orca’s Cove kayaking and Misty Fjords Seaplane excursion with http://www.kayakketchikan.com. We had a few hours to pick up trinkets and gifts before meeting our Orca’s Cove group.

 

A Kayak Ketchikan representative met us near the ship and we walked about ½ mile to the shop. (It would be nice if there was a shuttle for people who have trouble with walking, but our family was fine with it) We met Greg, one of the owners, who was extremely fun and friendly. He is from Australia and he kayaked the Inside Passage around 15 or so years ago, and decided to stay in Ketchikan. We boarded a fast boat that took us out to Orca’s Cove. I loved the kayaking and the wildlife viewing. I was a little disappointed that our guide did not do much in the way of narration. She is a Ketchikan local, but just didn't spend much time talking to the group. It seemed kind of hard to keep us all in one spot though. It kind of felt like we were just floating and paddling around (maybe that was the point??). I really wanted to learn more about what we were looking at, etc. But we did have several encounters with seals, and we observed several humpbacks/blows/tails from afar. The cove area where you paddle is pretty calm, and you basically paddle around this island that is home to many, many bald eagles. This was probably our best bald eagle viewing--close up, taking off, landing, soaring, groups, nests, etc. Our trip would have been "spectacular" if we had been provided a little more narration/explanation from the guide. All in all, I woudl recommend this tour, but I would probably set out that you either want to "free" paddle around, or you would prefer a more "guided" narration. The company is very well run and responsive.

 

After kayaking, we boarded the Sea Spree and there was a salmon picnic waiting for us. We were famished after kayaking and skipping lunch, so we ate up and visited with Greg about Ketchikan. Greg only allows 2 pilots to land near his boat (the Sea Spree) and do the combo tour. Steve with Sea Wind Aviation is one of them. http://www.seawindaviation.com.

The Misty Fjords seaplane was great! We all also agreed it was a much, much better flight experience than the glacier landing. Misty Fjords was much more scenic in my opinion, there was more flight time, and I thought the narration, personal attention was far superior. Steve was terrific. He landed in the bottom of a fjord right by a little island and had plenty of time to get out and walk around, take pictures, etc. As we were leaving Misty Fjors, we saw where all the other planes were landing--in this big area of ocean, where 3-4 planes were landing at a time. Our landing was totally secluded and just beautiful. If you are prone to motion sickness, I would definitely sit up near the front of the plane, and probably take some precautions, like Bonine, Ginger tabs, etc. Our day was very clear, but there can be some motion in the smaller planes.

 

As I have mentioned before, both Steve from Sea Wind Aviation and Greg, the owner of Kayak Ketchikan, are locals of Ketchikan. I think it's great to support the local tour groups if possible, so if you're needing another push to decide who to book with, both of these groups would be top choices.

 

This evening we ate at Nouveau. It was absolutely superb. Although the regular dining room experience was nice, and the food there better than I expected, the Supper Club experience is truly phenomenal. Great food, great music, great service. It would highly recommend paying the extra surcharge ($30) and eating here. We had an 8:30 reservation, but savored the meal and the service and didn't leave until after 11 pm.

 

LAST SEA DAY: INSIDE PASSAGE: We had a little bit of rough water on the way back into the area inside Vancouver Island. But again, it smoothed out and we enjoyed our last day just sitting on the balcony and enjoying ourselves.

 

CARNIVAL SPIRIT: The Spirit is just beautiful. Very polished, clean, very friendly staff—for the most part. It is very classy. We all had balcony cabins, which were so, so wonderful. I would guess we spent the majority of our cruise time on the balconies. As I mentioned earlier, my parents had a really large balcony, and we all comfortably fit out there with many chairs, etc. We took an IPOD and speakers so we could play some soft music.

 

We had a dinner table for 6 in the back of the dining room by the window. Our waitress was not very friendly, which was disappointing because we always enjoy getting to know the dining staff. But she was efficient. We really liked our assistant waiter. The food was consistently good, and the desserts were always wonderful.

 

We used our balconies much more than the common areas. We usually had the made-to order omelets or eggs from the Lido deck and took the food back to my parent’s room to eat together and watch the scenery from the balcony. We also usually did the same for lunch, although we ate in the dining room once for lunch. I think the Lido food was very good, and the variety was nice. There is a deli where you can get grilled sandwiches, bagel and salmon, etc. We mostly did that for lunch, along with the salad bar.

 

We used the gym most days to work out. There is great equipment, and the gym is right at the front of the ship with lots of windows, so you don’t miss much since you can see very pretty well from that area.

 

I had a facial at the spa, which I would not recommend. I was a little unimpressed with the spa staff. They made a really big mistake with several of our appointments, and didn’t seem that interested in making it right. Many of the spa staff spent time chatting with each other instead of working with guests . . . but I didn’t concern myself too much with this. My brother and his girlfriend both had massages, and they reported that the massage therapists were excellent!

 

Our room steward was great. Talk about invisible service. He was so fun and friendly when we did see him, but mostly it just seemed like our room was magically clean! He did a wonderful job.

 

All in all, just a fabulous vacation. I really cannot wait to go back. I’ll do my best to answer any questions for those of you still wanting more information.

 

Stasha

[NancyIL]

Thank you for a wonderful review, Stasha!

[Suntan Sailer]

Good to hear all around! I can't wait the 2 and a half months we have left (well going to Yellowstone in 3 weeks so that should hold us over till August).

 

Could you give me a bit more info on issues with DUIs in Canada (I too am going with a brother that has a few DUIs.) I would like to know what there is to expect as this is the first time I have heard of this.

 

-Suntan

[glaswurst]

I was surprised by the DUI information too as were my fellow posters

on Celebrity's Summit 7/1/06 cruise. You might want to look up:

 

drunkdrivingdefense.com

 

It explains who might have problems coming into Canada and a link

to the Canadian Consulate's website.

 

Diane

[mason525]

Macbride-

Would you mind answering some questions regarding your brother's experience? Did he fly into Vancouver? Did he use a passport for id? My brother has a fairly recent (less than 5 yrs.) conviction & the Canadian website seems to indicate that there is no way that he can enter. Thanks for alerting me to this problem & for any help you can offer. Meg

[lizabet623]

McBrides

 

Thank you for you review. I am on the Northbound cruise May 31. Your review has made me "ready" to be on my way.

 

Thanks again

 

Elizabeth

[tapia]

Wow, thank you so much for your wonderful review!

 

Besides the paddling, did you like the Glacier Point Wilderness trip?

 

I know your other trip was cancelled, but would you say this was fantastic??

 

Are you going to post pics? I'd love to see!

[TamaLee]

mcbrides - can you please tell me a little more about The Alaska Bar in Juneau? Did they also server food there? Sounds like it would be a fun way to have drinks and dinner.

[Perseids]

I was surprised by the DUI information too as were my fellow posters

on Celebrity's Summit 7/1/06 cruise. You might want to look up:

 

drunkdrivingdefense.com

 

It explains who might have problems coming into Canada and a link

to the Canadian Consulate's website.

 

Diane

 

I called my TA and quizzed her abt this... as I was stupid several years back :(. This post certainly caused me some concern now that we are down to just a few days.

She said there would be no problem. She said that if you had DUI along with other offenses it might be an issue or if you were a 'habitual' offender or something. But that an isolated incident should be no cause for concern. She said that if that was the case that the ship would only be about half full.. hehehe

[mcbrides]

Meg: Yes, he flew into Vancouver and had a passport for ID. My brother and husband flew in several hours after my parents and me, so I wasn't right there with him to relay first hand details. Apparently, he was summoned right when he got to Candadian customs, as they had "flagged" him somehow. As a result, both he and my husband were detained for approximately 1-2 hours (felt like forever! We were circling the airport waiting to pick them up). I guess they interviewed by brother and husband separately, asking about their stay in Canada, their relationship to each other, any past arrest, etc. Ultimately, they issued him a "temporary visa" for 8 days--it expired May 18, and we flew home May 17. It cost im additional $200.

 

The customs people told him there is some way to take care of this in advance if you request "special permission" or something and just make it clear you are coming into Canada for whatever purpose and you disclose whatever offense might give you problems. I'm not sure if you would have to pay the additional money for the temporary visa or not? I would probably try to google some information on-line, or at the very least try to get in touch with someone in Canadian customs directly so you can be prepared. My brother did not have "habitual offenses" either. He had a DUI during law school in the early 90's. If you have concerns about someone in your party, I would recommend reading up and contacting the Canadian consulate to avoid any delays. Especially if you fly in the day of your cruise. Luckily we fly in a day early so the delays at immigration didn't hurt our cruise embarkation.

 

Tapia: I really enjoyed the Glacier Point excursion. The paddling didn't really bother me at all. We would paddle for bit, then rest . . . then repeat it. I don't think you'll be disappointed in this tour. I just really wish we had had more time in Skagway because the fog lifted quite a bit by the afternoon, and we all really wanted to do the train.

 

TamaLee: You can do a search on "Alaska Bar" on the board and get some more information. We only went there because I had read about the place on cruisecritic. I didn't see anyone eating or notice a menu. I'm pretty sure it's just a "bar". It's right across the street from the Red Dog Saloon, which I believe does serve food. The Alaska Bar is less touristy. We really enjoyed the few hours we spent there.

[tapia]

Tapia: I really enjoyed the Glacier Point excursion. The paddling didn't really bother me at all. We would paddle for bit, then rest . . . then repeat it. I don't think you'll be disappointed in this tour. I just really wish we had had more time in Skagway because the fog lifted quite a bit by the afternoon, and we all really wanted to do the train.

 

Thank you for the advice and great review!

 

Can I ask why all you really wanted was the train? Why did you pick it?

[daynajo]

Thank you mcbrides for the great review.

I can hardly wait to get on the cruise.

We leave May 31 on the Spirit.

 

Thank you again

 

Dayna and John

[mason525]

Mcbrides- Thanks again for your prompt & detailed response. My brother's problem is different in that his DUI was less than 5 yrs ago & the temporary resident permit is supposed to take 6 months to process. Yikes. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks. Meg

[mcbrides]

"Can I ask why all you really wanted was the train? Why did you pick it?"

 

Tapia: I'm not sure if I follow your question above, but I'll try to respond. In our group of 6, most of us really were interested in the history of Skagway and doing the train. But, we all preferred to do it only 1 way, which is one of the reasons we were excited about the heli/snowshoe/train trip. When that was cancelled, we decided not to do the train at all because of all the fog and concerns about visibility.

 

If you're considering the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, I really think you'll enjoy it. We picked it based on the recommendation of Packer Expeditions--the cancelled tour--and I had also read good reviews of the trip on these boards. An ideal day (aside from our original planned tour!) would have been to return from the Glacier Point trip and then have time to do the train that afternoon because the fog lifted around 1:30 or so. But our all aboard was at 4 pm, and there just wasn't enough time in the day. All the more reason for a repeat trip!

[vfb2girls]

So what I gather then about your brother was this was at the airport? I am wondering how it works when you disembark in Vancouver from your cruise. We are doing a southbound cruise from Whittier that ends up in Vancouver and the day that we get off the ship we are heading directly back to the airport to leave for home. My husband has had offenses but they were done back in the early 80's before he grew up and became a responsible citizen so now I am wondering if customs is going to let him back in the US. I would think that it would be easier to get back in to the US then it would be to get into Canada. This whole thing has me kind of worried now.

[Suntan Sailer]

So what I gather then about your brother was this was at the airport? I am wondering how it works when you disembark in Vancouver from your cruise. We are doing a southbound cruise from Whittier that ends up in Vancouver and the day that we get off the ship we are heading directly back to the airport to leave for home. My husband has had offenses but they were done back in the early 80's before he grew up and became a responsible citizen so now I am wondering if customs is going to let him back in the US. I would think that it would be easier to get back in to the US then it would be to get into Canada. This whole thing has me kind of worried now.

 

I know what you mean, except my brother-in-law has not had a chance to grow up and become responsible (I believe he has 2 DUIs both within the last 2-4 years). We too are scheduled for the Southbound and I am wondering what implications this has for him. I certianly hope this doesn't mean he has to stay home.

 

-Suntan

[vfb2girls]

Actually after I talked it over with my husband we just figured we would wing it, being that his offenses were back in the early 80's. If worse comes to worse we will just have to shell out the money otherwise with the way our trip is set up we would not be able to leave Vancouver, and since I have been to Vancouver several times I can't think of a nicer place to be stuck in.

[tapia]

"Can I ask why all you really wanted was the train? Why did you pick it?"

 

Tapia: I'm not sure if I follow your question above, but I'll try to respond. In our group of 6, most of us really were interested in the history of Skagway and doing the train. But, we all preferred to do it only 1 way, which is one of the reasons we were excited about the heli/snowshoe/train trip. When that was cancelled, we decided not to do the train at all because of all the fog and concerns about visibility.

 

If you're considering the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, I really think you'll enjoy it. We picked it based on the recommendation of Packer Expeditions--the cancelled tour--and I had also read good reviews of the trip on these boards. An ideal day (aside from our original planned tour!) would have been to return from the Glacier Point trip and then have time to do the train that afternoon because the fog lifted around 1:30 or so. But our all aboard was at 4 pm, and there just wasn't enough time in the day. All the more reason for a repeat trip!

 

Thank you for answering--that was EXACTLY what I was looking for!

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I don't wish to hijack McBride's (Stasha's) very excellent thread regarding her recent cruise to Alaska. But some posters have expressed concerns about Canada's policy towards visitors with DUI records. So I went to the Canadian Consulate General's website in Detroit, and this is what I found.

 

http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/can-am/detroit/home_page/alaska_dui-en.asp

 

Stasha, thank you for a very detailed and helpful review.

[OutdoorsPro]

The rest of the “guides” followed the group around to take pictures, but seemed to have more fun joking around with each other. We were shuffled around for about 20-30 minutes. I was really hoping for an amazing experience here, but it just didn’t happen. It was a unique experience to land on the glacier, but the whole cattle herding feel was a total disappointment. In a nutshell, if I could do it again, I would not go with TEMSCO for the glacier landing. Perhaps their tours with the Pilot’s Choice or Dog Sledding are better?

 

I have to say that you DID sign up for the half-hour glacier landing. What more did you expect? How far did you think you'd be able to go in a half hour?

 

As one of those glacier guides last year, i wanted to say something about your comments.

 

First, the way it works is that every half your, up to 13 hours a day, one guide takes the guests on the initial part of the tour while the rest of them take a short break (unless there are passengers who need more attention). After about ten minutes or so, when the group is set free, the other guides come out to help with photos and answer questions.

 

Glaciers are incredibly dangerous places. There are holes one could fall into (moulins) where absolutely NO rescue is possible! The guides primary job is to keep guests safe. This is often exceedingly difficult for two reasons: some guests simply refuse to accept that it's dangerous and act accordingly, while others run far and wide resulting in the need for a guide to take off after them.

 

It's a long, tiring day which is usually very wet and very cold.

 

And yes, the single most difficult part of the job is getting the guests "herded" back to the base area before the next flight of helicopters (with their spinning blades of death) come in.

 

If you wanted more time on the glaciers, with less of a "hearded" feel to them and a more personal experience, the pilot's choice or dog sledding would have been a better choice (there are also much longer "trekking" tours); however, most people aren't willing to pay that much, so will take the less expensive tour and many will complain when they get exactly what was described.

 

BTW, if you wonder why so many people are shuttled through Temsco and other helicopter companies, try looking up what it costs to own and operate those state-of-the-art helicopters. There are two alternatives: High volume or much, much higher prices.

 

I'm sorry that you felt rushed and herded. Really, the only reason that happens is because so many of your fellow travellers act like unruly children.

 

I've been guiding professionally on trails, rivers, glaciers and mountains going on six years now. I will NEVER be a glacier guide again because of how irresponsible and childish so many people act in such a dangerous place. Sad, because i love glaciers more than most places.

 

Do you happen to remember the names of your guides on the Mendenhall and at Glacier Point?

 

Oh yeah, glad you loved GP. It's one of my favorite places in the world. I've spent many a day and night there.

[K.T.B.]

Stasha, great review! I've got one of my own if you're interested. :) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=352724

 

Anyway, like you, we were in the back part of the dining room as well, but for the late seating. I know exactly what waitperson you're talking about... The thing is, from what I could see, she was far more "bouncy" for her diners at the late seating. When they did their song and dance routines, she hopped up on one of the empty tables and danced!

[mcbrides]

Kevin: I actually just read you're review. It made me laugh! I thought maybe I should complain to Carnival that my camera would not take pictures fast enough to capture the whales! :) Glad to hear you also had a wonderful time. I would second your recommendation for an extension cord or power strip. We had way too many gadgets to charge, plug in, etc, with only 1 outlet.

 

OutdoorsPro: It seems the gist of your post is "you get what you pay for". That is true, so I guess my expectations were just too high. I posted my opinions of this particular glacier tour so others can make their decision fully informed about what they can/cannot expect from this excursion. I'm sure your comments on my experience will help others see a different side of the glacier tours. Our group attempted to upgrade to the dog sledding tour before leaving on this vacation, but TEMSCO's dogsled camp did not open until May 15 (we were there May 12). We also attempted to upgrade to the Pilot's Choice tour, but we were told the ship's have the exclusive contract on the Pilot's Choice tour. Since we booked direct through TEMSCO, we were not able to upgrade to the Pilot's Choice unless we cancelled our direct booking (with cancellation fees) and rebooked through Carnival. BTW, I did not observe any passengers acting childish, but I can see where that might occur and be very dangerous.

 

I don't recall ever hearing the name of any of our guides on Mendenhall. Our Glacier Point guides were Ryan & Stacy. They were great.

[Suntan Sailer]

Just a quick one, does the Spirit have illuminated clocks in the cabins? If memory serves the Carnival ship we went on in the Caribean did not.

 

If not I will have to pack one, nothing worse than waking half way up in the middle of the night and not being able to see what time it is.

 

-Suntan

[K.T.B.]

Just a quick one, does the Spirit have illuminated clocks in the cabins? If memory serves the Carnival ship we went on in the Caribean did not.

 

If not I will have to pack one, nothing worse than waking half way up in the middle of the night and not being able to see what time it is.

 

-Suntan

You'll need to bring a clock.

[mcbrides]

I don't recall a clock anywhere in the cabin. There are several "ship" channels that show the time. We actually watched these channels pretty frequently. One shows the ship's sailing path, and one is a broadcast from a camera on the bow of the ship. I wish we had brought a clock, although you have to stay on top of the time changes!