16 Day Land Tour & Cruise on The Celebrity Summit Review

[diz148]

Thanks for doing such a great report. I always have intentions but I get caught up in all the stuff and don't journal so never get trip reports done.

 

 

I am so jealous you're going. After 2 years of planning I still can't believe it's over. You're going to have a great time.

 

I'm really glad the review is helping you. I'll be posting the next section either tonight or tomorrow morning. As I'm looking at the thunderstorm outside, it may have to be tomorrow morning...

[tapia]

Tapia,

 

We'd make a great team! With your detail and organization and my story telling ability, we could become the next Hemingway!

 

I love your review and looking forward to reading about your Kenia Fjords tour...

 

Larry

 

 

LOL, maybe you, but not me! I'm just trying to remember all the details--I wrote down some when I was there--but, boy is it hard to remember certain names. (see my next passage for my brain-scatter-activity)

[tapia]

Before I start this part, I just want to say again how gorgeous our rooms at Saltwater were. When we were driving up to the place before you see it, DH got a little scared about where we were going. But, even he was SUPER thrilled. There were windows lining one side of the room the entire length of the wall (which was large). We also had 2 queen size beds in the room. Actually, now that I think back on it, one of them could have been a double bed. The beds were facing on opposite walls, but diagonally from each other. It’s hard to get an idea of how big the room was, but it was huge for 2 people. The only part that was small was the shower. VERY small. My poor father had a tight squeeze, but was okay.

Okay, onto June 28th. Breakfast at Saltwater was expanded continental. There were bowls of fruit (freshly made that morning—I saw some of it happen), English Muffins, hot chocolate, coffee, and some other things. It was nice. I decided to take some Dramamine—BIG mistake. I was so tired & groggy, which hasn’t happened to be before. I’ll just stay with the patch from now on—no side effects there.

We booked our Kenai Fjords trip through Saltwater to be on a smaller boat to have a better experience. We met our captain and first mate at the little coffee shop and then went on our way. The boat was very nice—there was an inside area (completely covered) and viewing from all the sides. On the way out we saw a whale—our first. It was grea and I took lots of pictures. We stayed there a little while and then made our way to Golgate (I think—I may have gotten the first letter wrong, but I remember it was Colgate, like the toothpaste, with the C being something else) glacier.

I was able to sit next to the captain with DH and we had a long talk with him on the way about sealife, various birds, and just heard him talk about the area. I find it interesting that a lot of the people we met in Alaska have been there X amount of years, but weren’t born there.—just a side note.

At one point, we turned and saw one seal / porpoise tanning on a rock. I was super excited and started taking lots of pictures. Then 1 minute later we came upon a group of rocks with about 30 seals / porpoises tanning—it made my excitement even higher. I kept wondering what amazing things we were going to see next. On our trip, we saw otters, puffins, and other wildlife.

An observation: We also saw some of the larger provider’s boats during our trip—PACKED with people. I seriously can’t believe the amount of people they fit on those things. We were able to easily walk back and forth across the boat to see things from different angles and those people were lucky to have a railing spot. I was so glad to have been on a smaller vessel with a more private tour.

Another reason I wanted to book with Saltwater is that we were able to stay at the face of the glacier longer than the ½ hour allotted by the larger boats. While the larger boats have to keep more of a schedule, we could detour and see more things.

Just so you know, it was FREEZING the entire time! It was very hard to stay outside, even with the wind. I was wearing underarmor pants (get them, they are wonderful and necessary), warm pants over it, my waterproof boots, a tank top, a sweatshirt over that, and then my jacket with fleece liner. I also had gloves and ear covers on. Then I put a hat on over that. I was still cold, but at least my head, ears, and body were warm. I just ended up with my nose, eyes, and mouth being cold. Too bad I didn’t find a way to cover those!

The only thing I wasn’t thrilled with during the trip is that we had to pick up kayakers along the way. (One of Saltwater’s boats broke down, so we had to take an hour to do this. It didn’t cut into our time and wasn’t fun, but I guess necessary and not a big deal.)

I would highly recommend that kind of trip to anyone going—it was a great experience.

Originally I had booked the crab pot for 7:30 that night and I was planning to go back to Saltwater and change. But, we heard they had no dress-code and you needed no reservation. So, after we got done, we walked around town a little and went to the Crab Pot for dinner around 6. We, of course, had crab (seasoned). It was very good—pricey, but good.

I also found out from a local that Ray’s uses frozen seafood, not fresh. That really astonished me—I guess something to keep in mind for all of you. We also heard Chinooks was good, but we didn’t make it there.

After dinner, we just headed back to Saltwater (via PJ’s taxi—right on time as always) and hung out on the decks there and the beach. I took a book down to the deck and hung out a while reading while DH walked on the beach a while. It really is gorgeous there. I wish we stayed longer in Seward.

[ecpc1302]

Thank you for your review, I've enjoyed it. We are leaving Sunday and after Wasilla/Palmer and hiking Matanuska glacier we will be spending 3 nights in Seward. I have e-mailed Renee and she has been a wonderful resource.

Elsie:cool:

[fun2travel]

tapia,

 

What a wonderful review!

 

Couple questions for you please.

 

PJ's taxi. Did you arrange to use her services for a full day, or just schedule the individual pickups and dropoffs? Any idea if you did use her all day how much we might expect to spend for 3?

 

Saltwater Lodge Kenai trip. I am wondering if your small boat was very rough on the water versus some of the larger ships that do the tour. Also maybe you would know, we want to do a whale watch trip in Icy Strait Point with FISHES ( 2 hour). Would this trip with Saltwater be very different? Not sure if it is duplication, or if we should do both.

 

Thanks so much and I look forward to the next installment!

[tapia]

tapia,

 

What a wonderful review!

 

Couple questions for you please.

 

PJ's taxi. Did you arrange to use her services for a full day, or just schedule the individual pickups and dropoffs? Any idea if you did use her all day how much we might expect to spend for 3?

 

Saltwater Lodge Kenai trip. I am wondering if your small boat was very rough on the water versus some of the larger ships that do the tour. Also maybe you would know, we want to do a whale watch trip in Icy Strait Point with FISHES ( 2 hour). Would this trip with Saltwater be very different? Not sure if it is duplication, or if we should do both.

 

Thanks so much and I look forward to the next installment!

 

Some answers--PJs Taxi--I arranged specific drop offs and pickups and then paid at the end of the day. I'd e-mail her and ask -- PJS_Taxi@yahoo.com I'm sure she'll give you any answers.

 

Saltwater--it was not as rough as the Ketchikan fishing trip or as the Icy Strait trip (we went with Keith from Tech). All in all I really didn't think it was that rough at all. Since I've never been with the bigger boats on Kenai Fjors, I really can't answer. As far as the whales & the Kenai Fjords trip--the whales in Icy Strait is just going after whales. You're not going to see any Fjords like we did on the Kenai Trip. We also had lunch in front of 2 glaciers--it was beautiful.

 

I'm hoping to do the new installment soon, I've just been very busy with work and home stuff...

 

Hope I answered your questions. Let me know if you have more.

 

Thanks!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for taking the time to write a wonderful and in depth review.

[NancyIL]

We booked our Kenai Fjords trip through Saltwater to be on a smaller boat to have a better experience. We met our captain and first mate at the little coffee shop and then went on our way. The boat was very nice—there was an inside area (completely covered) and viewing from all the sides. On the way out we saw a whale—our first. It was grea and I took lots of pictures. We stayed there a little while and then made our way to Golgate (I think—I may have gotten the first letter wrong, but I remember it was Colgate, like the toothpaste, with the C being something else) glacier.

 

You were close - it's Holgate. :) Our Kenai Fjords cruise went to Aialik Glacier.

We also saw some of the larger provider’s boats during our trip—PACKED with people. I seriously can’t believe the amount of people they fit on those things. We were able to easily walk back and forth across the boat to see things from different angles and those people were lucky to have a railing spot. I was so glad to have been on a smaller vessel with a more private tour

 

Our Renown boat wasn't full, according to the captain, but it sure felt full to me! I imagine that's what the cruiselines' whale watching boats are like in Juneau vs. Orca Enterprises' smaller boats, or the 6-pack boat we were on with Alaskan Marine Adventures. We enjoyed our cruise with Renown, but it was definitely crowded when everyone went outside to see something special.

 

I also found out from a local that Ray’s uses frozen seafood, not fresh. That really astonished me—I guess something to keep in mind for all of you. We also heard Chinooks was good, but we didn’t make it there.

We ate dinner at Ray's after our Kenai Fjords cruise, and had a great meal - much better than the previous night's dinner at Apollo's. If the fish was frozen - we couldn't tell. I asked for restaurant recommendations when I checked into the Holiday Inn Express. The woman at the desk recommended Ray's but said she thought Chinook's was overpriced for what you got.

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review!

[tapia]

You were close - it's Holgate. :) Our Kenai Fjords cruise went to Aialik Glacier.

 

Damn, knew I was close! Thanks!

 

As far as Rays--the comment on the seafood was from a local. I never went there, so I have no personal experience--just thought I'd pass it along.

[tapia]

June 29th: Board the Ship

We got up early to breakfast again at Saltwater—same things on the menu. It was a good continental breakfast. We had to check out by 10, so we were out of the rooms by 10:30 (not too bad) and took PJs taxi to the boat docks. We knew we couldn’t check in until after 2pm, but we figured we could drop our luggage off there. By pure stroke of luck, they said we could board at 11am! It was only 5 minutes later, so we stayed and boarded right away—easiest embarkation ever. I told DM & DF we’d meet them in the buffet and headed up the stairs with DH. Only after they were gone I looked and the buffet didn’t open until noon. We decided to kill some time exploring. The ship is beautiful. It has a very open feel and the staff is very friendly. Even at this early hour, the staff kept welcoming us aboard every time we saw a member and they always said hello—very friendly. So, upon exploring we found the basketball court. DH then became extremely excited and we played a quick game of HORSE (which I won—we had to kill time, right?). After we met DF & DM in the lunch buffet. This was fantastic—better than the other lines I’ve been on. I was SUPER excited for the pasta-making station. Also, the Caesar salad making station was a favorite too, but I didn’t have it a lot because of the other great things.

Since we got on so early, we then decided to make reservations at the Normanie for Skagway (I knew we were going to be too late getting back on the ship for our early seating). This was very easy to do because they have representatives at a lot of sections on the ship to call in reservations.

Then I thought I’d head to the spa—hey, if I could be a spa model and get a free service, it sounded good to me! I found out that they do not have spa models for the tours, but use one of the tour members for one thing. Otherwise, you really don’t see treatments going on, as I have previously. Stay to do the tour, it’s quite interesting. I did learn on the tour the Rasul was broken, so I don’t have anything to report on that. I did do a treatment though—more on that later. I also think the Summit’s gym is top-notch. It’s huge and they offer classes (some a slight amount of money, but most not).

By the time we got done with that, I went to check out my room and our luggage had arrived. I finally unpacked after a week of living out of my suitcase—that felt great. By then we just relaxed a bit, showered, changed, and then headed down for the early seating dinner. It is open seating the first night, but we were all hungry by the time 6pm rolled around. It was very good and I liked our wait staff the first night. Everyone was very welcoming. Some tips: You can order fresh berries - raspberries, blueberries, strawberries -- with whipped cream every night for desert. You also can order NY Strip Steak any night or every night. Shrimp cocktail is on the every night menu—no need to ask in advance. Half way through our cruise they ran out of the big shrimp and used smaller ones—still great.

The first night’s show was a variety show of different performances to come in the week. I liked it a lot. They had two people that did acrobatic-type work—they were amazing. Also, they had Celebrity singers & dancers perform. All in all, I think it was a good first night show and a nice introduction to the ship. We were pretty tired, so at that point, we just went back to sleep.

Now I’m going to break a little bit to discuss my room and some additional ‘tips’ I found helpful before I boarded:

Room:

I knew that for Alaska, I wanted an Aft Cabin. Since I know those rooms go really quickly, I had my travel agent (who is wonderful, by the way) call and I called also the day rates were supposed to come out to book cabins. (the second the phone lines opened) I ended up actually getting the ones I wanted (after a lot of persistence telling them I should be able to book). Lesson here: Call the day everything comes out to get what you want. I’ve also found a lot of people are worried about prices dropping after final payment and want last minute fares. With celebrity, I booked this cabin the day rates came out and then had my price adjusted two times by my TA after final payment to credit me rate reductions. She was very on top of getting me those price adjustments and sent me a bottle of champagne for the trip.

If you’re asking if it was worth it: It SO was. I never ever want to cruise again without an aft cabin. The views are just amazing. I did feel vibrations 1 night, but it didn’t bother me—just like the sound of the ocean. Also, DH thought it rocked more in the back of the ship, but it didn’t seem like it to me. I LOVED it.

Rest of the ship: The staff was VERY friendly and courteous. For example, when I was on Princess, the staff didn’t go out of their way to talk to you. But, on the Summit I would get a hello how are you every where I turned.

I’ll also rate the activities / food each day if I remember them.

Some additional things I learned: You can get over-the-counter seasickness meds at customer service or the purser's desk. Free, dispensed a couple of tablets at a time. Also, if you see that they are doing a Internet class, you an get free internet for 30 minutes (you just have to sit though the class). I didn’t see that happen during this cruise though. Since it’s so expensive, this would be worth it.

Next day was Hubbard.

[tapia]

June 30th: Hubbard Glacier (Cruising)

Sadly, this is one of my ‘regret’ days. It was too foggy to see anything and it was pouring. We couldn’t see calfing or even hear it. My big regret / upset of the trip. Yes, the day was scenic, but not what I thought it would be.

I did a couple of other things this day. The first was a culinary demonstration. Let me say—do NOT miss this. Also, if you can, be the one who volunteers to be the helper. It was fantastic. Well, I like food and cooking, so it was good for me. But, if you just like to eat, I’d still go to this great show because of the food quality. Hey, if you like Martinis, go to that too!

So, they make filet and I won’t get into any details, but the pastry chef made cake and a dessert. Then the girl who helped invited a friend to the table and they ate it. As we were all drooling waiters came around with tastes of each. I had 2—it was that good.

So, I digressed a little—in the middle of cooking, you have to wait about 5-10 minutes for it to actually cook. During this time we had a martini demonstration where the guy threw the bottles around and everything. He had great skills. Anyway, I ended up with one of the 2 martinis. Can you believe 1 lady actually turned down the chocolate martini? If you aren’t lucky enough (or eyeing the glass enough) to get one of the 2, they pass around samples of these as well.

They also had someone explain silverware in the middle and what fork to use when—me, I just work my way in from the outside.

I also went to the art auction this day. While on the ship the art guy holds a couple of lectures and 2 art auctions. Both the auctions are on the “sea days.” Hint: When he says to trust him, do so!

Today for lunch I also checked out the Aqua Spa Café. Some great stuff there & a lot of people don’t even bother looking. I found some days of the trip it was PACKED over in the buffet and then there was no one in the aqua spa café. Sometimes they have pretty cool stuff. Check it out.

Another food-related tip (many know this already): In the cova you pay for coffees, hot chocolate, etc, but the pastries and cookies are free!

My one big regret of the cruise was not being able to see anything this day. I put away my disappointment though because there are so many nicer things to see. If I had my druthers I would have planned this trip for 2 weeks later. But, hey, I had an amazing time. I did not let it ruin my vacation 1 bit!

[tapia]

July 1st: Juneau from 10-8: Mendenhall Glacier

We got off the ship early and first had to get tickets to a bus ($2 round trip all day) just to get to the town area. Once we got here, we paid the $12 a person (round trip) to get to Mendenhall and back. It was easy enough to do since we were the first people off the ship and we had about a 5 minute wait for the bus to appear to take us back to town.

We didn’t do Mt. Roberts Tram because it was too foggy—good thing I didn’t prebook.

Mendenhall—it was gorgeous. We took a little hike down to see it and climbed around a bit. I’m not even sure what trails we ended up with (even after I got maps), but I totally recommend at least doing the Photo Point Trail.

Something to note: the visitor’s center is not free. So, if you climb up all those stairs to go to the center, be aware you’ll be paying some money to get in. (it is research money though) The view is nice though. Also, there are some elevators if one needs.

I also used this site for trail maps: http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/mendenhall/trails.html

I LOVE how it’s always light here. My S3IS worked perfectly. I’m sorry, I know I haven’t spoken a lot about my camera as I said I would before, but if you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them.

We then looked at shops and went back to the ship—it was a nice and relaxing day. (It’s too bad I didn’t spread these days out—we needed them!)

I also made myself an appointment for the Ocean Wrap on this day. It was a nice seaweed wrap (which they let you try on the spa tour). Then afterwards while you relax (basically in a waterbed) while wrapped you get a massage on your hands and feet. Then you shower everything off and get a full body massage. I would so do it again. Ruth was the woman I had and she was incredible. From someone who gets treatments at home, I can’t rave enough. Also, just so everyone’s aware: spa services have the gratuity built in already, but you can add more.

We also had a martini tasting right before dinner--$10 for the ‘tray.’ It was 6 different martinis (smaller sized) and was very good. We ordered this so close to dinner the guy actually put it at our table for us to finish! Yum.

[tapia]

Sorry for the bold / not bold, but I seem to be having some glitches :-(

 

Please ignore it :-)

[tapia]

July 2nd: Skagway 7-8:30: Train Ride & Bus Back

I booked the Carcross Bus & Rail excursion with Chilkoot Charters & Tours. Website: http://www.skagwaysbesttour.com/summitgold.htm. After I booked they sent me a ticket with these instructions:

PICKUP INSTRUCTIONS:

Ore Dock - proceed to the red weather shelter just across the footbridge.

Railroad Dock or Broadway Dock – proceed to the end of the pier and go through the security gate. WAIT for your driver/guide who will be driving a vehicle or carrying a sign with our business name “CHILKOOT CHARTERS & TOURS.” You will be picked up at 7:30 AM.

DO NOT attempt to board the train at the dock as its destination is different than yours.

U.S. AND CANADIAN CITIZENS MUST CARRY A PASSPORT OR BIRTH CERTIFICATE WITH PHOTO ID. GUESTS OF OTHER NATIONALITIES MUST BRING THEIR PASSPORT.

Also, this was the itinerary they sent me: Skagway/White Pass Summit/Fraser/Lake Bennett/Carcross. The 4 1/2 hours on the train is actual travel time. There is a 1 1/2 hour layover at Lake Bennett for lunch at the Bennett Depot dining hall. There are also Parks Canada interpretive displays throughout the depot itself and on the viewing platform. The rail trip to Carcross is 6 hours in total, and the Emerald Lake to Skagway portion by bus is an additional 2 1/2 hours.

Review of the trip: When we got off the ship there was a big sign right outside the gate of the dock—very easy to find and we took off within 5 minutes of waiting for some others to get off.

It was GORGEOUS. We were the 20th trip of people to go all the way to Carcross since they expanded the line.

There were only 6 of us in our car and the car ahead of us carried the employees and the one behind of us was empty. So, it was nice to have a train for ourselves.

There are platforms between each car—1 section for the car your in and 1 for the one in front of you. So, I guess if it’s crowded the people in front of you could block your pictures. Since our train was empty, I got to spend a lot of time on the platform—it was great. I got some amazing pictures—if I flip press the next button of my camera, I got a round of pictures that make it look like the train’s moving into the tunnel. I just put my camera in sports mode, didn’t move, and held the button down.

The people were very pleasant getting to Lake Bennett and explained everything. I liked the crew that boarded in Lake Bennett and took us to Carcross a little better because they stayed in the car with us, explaining things and answering questions. They knew a lot about the area—one of the guy’s parents used to live in a cabin on the side too. Oh, and they got the bears out for us! All were great, but the crew from Lake Bennett to Carcross was superb.

I’m sure some of you are asking if going all the way to Carcross was worth it? I think it was. When we stopped at Lake Benet and ate (not edible food by the way) some people got off and had to wait about 1 hour extra for a train back. Just in the extra part we saw 2 black bears (one in a tree and one was originally in the middle of the tracks when the conductor called back to us). The scenery isn’t as splendid as was seen in the first part though, but there are things to see. Also, I have to say that the ice cream in Carcross was fabulous—DF is still talking about it! The reason I booked the longer trip was to see Emerald Lake—that and the desert were both big highlights!

Also, it’s very interesting taking the bus back, in effect seeing things from a different perspective. I highly recommend doing this.

We went to the Normandie for dinner this night since we got back too late for our early seating. We did not have the wine-with-every course, but now I wish I did. After attending the food and wine tasting in the Normandie later in the cruise, I could tell they knew what they were doing. If you like wine, I’d love someone to report back on this.

The food and experience were spectacular and gourmet, while the people were friendly, pleasant, and we were treated like royalty. A couple of highlights—the Caesar salad is made table-side. For those who were reading about Marx earlier—this is a perfect time to go to the Normandie on the ship and skip going to Marx in Anchorage. It was great and made just as well. Also, DF ordered the steak diane which was made tableside. He couldn’t stop raving about this either. I had the Goat Cheese appetizer. Let me tell you, I was really weary on ordering this, but it was recommended so I decided to try it. DO IT. YUM! Also, they bring around a cheese cart after dinner. If I knew it was coming, I would have TRIED to save room. I could have had just wine and cheese ALL night. YUM! Dinner was $30 per person + a 15% tip. We tipped more. Tons of people were waiting on us the entire time. Even though I know this is part of going to this restaurant, we had a great time here.

On a side note: I met a guy at the high tea the last sea day we were on the ship. The said the only place good is the Normandie and he would only eat there and have pasteries from the Cova all day. The tea was okay, but he was actually loosing weight on the cruise because of this. Now, I know people do have their own opinions, but I’m just going to offer mine. The Normandie was great and being treated like royalty was great, but I wasn’t about to expect that every night of a cruise. In the main dining room the food was very good—I enjoyed it a lot. But, someone is not about to come out and cook food in front of you. Also, in the Normandie the staff to client ratio is MUCH lower than your waiter, assistant waiter, and sommelier have in the dining room, so they are able to service you better. I thought our dining room staff was GREAT and the service was OUTSTANDING. But, in the Normandie it was a step up from that. It was nice to have once, but certainly not necessary throughout the cruise.

Since I’m not sure which night it was, I’m going to put the ventriloquist here. Personally, I find these guys sometimes a bit boring, but this guy was outstanding. Do NOT miss going this night—he was hilarious!

[Splashduo]

tapia---just want to thank you for your great reviews! We are booked on the SB Summit Sept 7 with cruisetour #1 starting Sept 3, so reading your notes is getting me so hyped about going that I'm already packing!!! As soon as the dogs are fed each morning I head to the computer to see what tapia has added!! Thanks so much! Anticipation is a big part of the fun, and you have been an even bigger part of that---our hero!

[tapia]

tapia---just want to thank you for your great reviews! We are booked on the SB Summit Sept 7 with cruisetour #1 starting Sept 3, so reading your notes is getting me so hyped about going that I'm already packing!!! As soon as the dogs are fed each morning I head to the computer to see what tapia has added!! Thanks so much! Anticipation is a big part of the fun, and you have been an even bigger part of that---our hero!

 

Wow, what a GREAT note to wake up to. Thank you so much for the great compliment. Thank you!!!! That's why I'm writing :-)

[tapia]

July 3rd: Icy Strait Point 7-4: Whale Watching w/Keith @ Teck Outfitters

Website: http://teckkoutfitters.com/

I was very excited to go whale watching, but still slightly nervous about getting seasick. Keith assured me we’d be in calm waters, so I wasn’t too bad. It was pretty calm, but I’m glad I was wearing the patch. (which I wore the whole cruise and didn’t get seasick once)

He has a 32 foot cruiser and there was an inside section with a top area above the inside, it was great. The main level was only exposed in the back for viewing and at the top you can view from all angles.

They were amazing, amazing! Keith picked us up exactly where he said he’d be and drove us to his boat. His wife drove us back. (Also stopping to get Moccasins with Kathy who is GREAT at it and I LOVE them. I pre-ordered them in my size and they were amazing! Be sure to request colors—I didn’t, but loved what I got. I can see this could be a problem with some.)

The whales were really close to us the whole time—a mamma and baby and then another whale—we just followed them around. It was amazing. The upper deck was great and open and just the 4 of us were on board. It was fantastic. We saw another boat with passengers from the ship (ship-sponsored) and it was PACKED. 3 floors of nothing but people EVERYWHERE. Crazy! Teck took us exactly where we wanted to go and found the whales for us. Then we followed them around guessing where they would surface—fun in itself. These animals are just so large and great to watch, my breath was taken away doing it.

 

 

 

 

On a side note: I'm going to be a bit busy today - Monday. I will try & get another entry in, but it may have to wait until Monday. Have a nice weekend!

[kehlx2]

tapia---just want to thank you for your great reviews! We are booked on the SB Summit Sept 7 with cruisetour #1 starting Sept 3, so reading your notes is getting me so hyped about going that I'm already packing!!! As soon as the dogs are fed each morning I head to the computer to see what tapia has added!! Thanks so much! Anticipation is a big part of the fun, and you have been an even bigger part of that---our hero!

 

Splashduo..take good care of the Summit--we will be getting on as you get off..:D

[Splashduo]

Syl--count on it! I shall make a point of inspecting her from bow to stern (looking for fun, of course). Ain't this a kick in the pants?? I feel so thrilled and blessed to have an opportunity like this. This is the dream of a lifetime, isn't it?

 

Susie

[tapia]

It was just so amazing to go and be there. I still can't believe it's over!

[kehlx2]

Syl--count on it! I shall make a point of inspecting her from bow to stern (looking for fun, of course). Ain't this a kick in the pants?? I feel so thrilled and blessed to have an opportunity like this. This is the dream of a lifetime, isn't it?

 

Susie

 

Yep a dream for sure..we have both wanted to go up to Alaska..although we might have to go again for a land tour also..;) --also talked DH into taking our EARLY Aus/NZ cruise also--(for our 50th Anniversary--but 3½ yrs early--while our health is good..)--so TWO DREAMS. :D

[tapia]

July 4th: Ketchikan 9-7: Fishing w/Ken @ Northern Lights

Kind of a rainy dreary day. Since we had fishing starting at noon, we decided to walk around town a bit and possibly shop.

I got a great gold-nugget ring which I love and wear all the time, so it was worth the drenching rain to wonder around. Since so many people recommended Anabelles, we headed over there. We each had the soup and then split 2 appetizers (crab cakes being one of them). Also had 2 bud lights (4 people ate total). The soup was very good, the rest was okay—def not my favorite place to eat during this trip. The bill came to $77! I would have rather had the free food on the ship!

I also stopped at Ketchikandies and got some of the chocolate covered oreos—whoever said to get those on this board—THANK YOU—YUM!!!!!!! Also, got some chocolate covered pretzels—those were great too. Anyone going who wants to ship me some, feel free!!!

This was by far the most built-up town and it was a pleasure to walk around, even in the rain.

Before noon I went by our gangplank and took a walk around looking for Ken, our guide to fishing that day. http://www.ketchikanfishing.net/cruise.htm. I was very nervous about getting in a boat because I get a little seasick, but Ken reassured me that everything would be okay. He told me that he would meet me at my gangplank at noon with a sign with my name on it. Then he also gave me a number to call in case he wasn’t there, which made me very comfortable. Since he wasn’t there yet, I sought sanctuary under an awning for a closed gold shop and waited. He was slightly late and I was glad to have his cell phone number and called him to make sure I was in the right place. It ended up that the people before us forgot to bring cash, so they had to get back on their ship to get it. People, please remember so other people don’t have to wait. Anyway, it wasn’t a problem and he was there soon enough. We walked right down a gang plank onto his boat. (20 feet from where we got off our boat) A section of his boat was covered, which was great since it was still pouring. But, boy oh boy—the water was ROUGH until we got to our destination.

When we finally got there, we started ‘trolling.’ I’m not a big fisherman, so for those who don’t know what that is—it’s where you stick polls in the water off the back of the boat and move around really slow hoping the fish bites a pool. So, while we were trolling and the guys were focused on the polls, I was looking around a bit and saw an eagle—it was really cool, so I pointed it out and Ken told me to look at the “eagle tree” instead. I swear, there were 3 HUGE trees PACKED to the GILLS with Eagles on them---it was an amazing sight!

So, after I calmed down from that, we kept trolling around—maybe for 2 hours and just caught nothing. Then we stopped to pick up 2 additional passengers who booked for the later part of our trip. All of a sudden, we started catching King Salmon. All of us got one except for DF—he claims he has horrible luck L But, it was still fun. I have a great picture of me holding my King Salmon!

After that, we then were taken back to the dock. I filled out a form to filet & ship my salmon back and ordered some extra from the same place. Two days later DH’s grandfather received our fish in a container with dry ice. Everything was packed perfectly. It was GREAT!

I got back on the ship after that and took a nice hot shower and went down for dinner. A nice way to end the day.

 

 

Side note: No fireworks because of the rain though :-(

[OBSANDY]

Did I miss it or do you have any pictures posted anywhere?Weare planning our Alaska next June.Thanks Sandy

[tapia]

Did I miss it or do you have any pictures posted anywhere?Weare planning our Alaska next June.Thanks Sandy

 

Sorry, no you didn't miss them. I will be uploading shortly though. Maybe tonight if I can :-)

[tapia]

July 5th: Inside Passage Cruising

I woke up and just looked outside. It was gorgeous out there. Scenery on both sides of us and it was just beautiful. I could have sat on my balcony all day with a blanket and hot chocolate. What an amazing experience and it was great to see all the land unspoiled by anything else.

We had breakfast upstairs at the buffet—what amazing waffles by the way!!!! Thank you for whomever on the board made sure I didn’t miss them! Since it was such a great sight, we stayed at the aft of the ship to watch the scenery while eating breakfast.

A few days earlier I convinced DM to go to the wine & food pairing with me today. So, a short while later we left to go (it was pretty early). We sat at a table for 6 at the Normandie and 2 other couples joined us (both very nice). We then sat though a great explanation of wine and food (much better than many others I’ve been too). Also, on the last ship I was on (Princess) I went to an event like this and once you were done with your glass, you were done. So, I assumed it was the same way here. But, the couple next to me finished their glass VERY quickly and all of a sudden someone came over and refilled their glass. I thought this was very interesting so I started drinking what I wanted to. If you ask me, $9.95 for 4 bottomless glasses of wine is a GREAT deal. I drank more than 4 glasses. It was entertaining, interesting, and I learned a lot. I highly recommend going.

I arranged to meet DH at the room an hour after the wine tasting started (little did I know that it went for 1 hour & 45 minutes). He played basketball in the meantime, but wasn’t too thrilled with my “tardiness.” So, keep in mind that it’s longer than 1 hour. A short while later, we went to the art auction. (probably not a great combination—drinking and then spending money) DH & I found some pieces we both liked (which is pretty hard for us) and bought a few pieces of art to decorate our house. The prices were great and I really did enjoy the host. We also made an appointment to meet with the people right after dinner, arranged to frame the art, and had it shipped home. (except 2 pieces which we carried to our hotel in Vancouver, on the plane, and back to home) The reason we had to carry some pieces was because the gallery had only a few left, they were ‘specials,’ and came with the frame. [They do let you know this prior to bidding.]

We then went to the room to pack. It was just so sad that we were leaving the ship and ending that portion of our trip. I tried not to think about it as I packed everything up so I would be ready to put our bags outside at the appropriate time.

I went on my balcony again before dinner and it wasn’t that cold out there. It was gorgeous to look at all the majestic beauty of mother nature. *sigh* I wish I was back there right now. Also, since I had an aft balcony, I could see the 3 other ships following us. What a sight!

Dinner was great, as always and I came back to the room stuffed. I glanced up and there was the most gorgeous sunset setting on the 3 other ships behind us. I took a few pictures and marveled at the sight a minute—it did take my breath away.