Just back from Carnival Spirit!

[mtd1]

:p Just back from Carnival Spirit and boy was it great! The weather was great! It only rained a little on Monday the 23rd while in Ketchikan. Just a few highlights as we just got in 2 hours ago and I'm very tired(time changes plus our plane left Vancouver last night at 11:15, transfer in Houston, and arrived in New Orleans at 8:30 this morning). I'll write more later and post some pics as I have a few tales to tell (esp. the one about the whale breach and orca jump) and met lots of new friends! Our cruise critics bunch had lunch together twice! :)

I booked only independently--much cheaper!!:D

Big Bear B & B in Anchorage

Alaskan Leopard Comedy Tour for transport to Whittier

Captain Davey in Sitka

Juneau-Coastal Helicopters-glacier and dog sledding

Harv and Marv -whale watching

Skagwag-Avis rental car

Ketchikan-Island Wings- fjord tour

Vancouver-LandSea Tour of North Shore 5 1/2 hrs

I would recommend any and all of these companies to anyone!

I wish I'd had more money and time to do more.

Later,

mtd1

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Wonderful! I can't wait to hear more. We're also booked with Captain Davey and Island Wings.

 

Looking forward to your pictures and review?

 

Thanks!

Jayne

[Italy52]

Welcome home, glad to hear you had a great cruise. Will be doing the Harv & Marv excursion next May--looking forward to your review, pictures, and tips.

[Xiabelle]

Glad you had a good time, sounds like you had better weather than us the week before!

[Frequent Floater]

Thanks for posting upon your return.

I head out tomorrow for our pre cruise so was glad to see you had a wonderful time.

Nice that you got to meet up with the roll call. Jspirit did eme while in Sitka to update how much fun they were having..

Looking forward to any info you post before we leave.

[qiangf2]

welcome back. glad to hear you had a great time

[Krazy Kruizers]

Can't wait to read your review and see your pictures.

[mtd1]

We flew into Anchorage on Tuesday the 17th and spent the night at Big Bear Bed and Breakfast. Carol Ross the owner outdid herself with a huge Alaskan breakfast for everyone. We made new friends with the other guests that were from Minnesota. After breakfast we took a cab to the Alaskan Heritage Center ($20) and returned downtown on the free shuttle provided by the Center. We walked around Anchorage and then took the public bus back to the B & B for our luggage and was picked up by the Alaskan Leopard Comedy Tour bus for transport down to Whitttier to the Spirit ship. It was entertaining as well as a tour and transportation to our ship. I'd highly recommend it to anyone. Did not take us long to get checked in and on board the Spirit. Our luggage was at our room within an hour. :)

Check some of our pictures of the first day. http://albums.koffeephoto.com/album/vXwDYc9Xgn5bJc7L9L7Uxyxm

(Be sure to click on show the titles and slide show to see what each photo is)

[jspirit]

We just got back too after 2 days in Vancouver and like you had the most amazing time!

Loved seeing your photos... but now I know why they turned out so well after seeing the camera that your dh used! Nice camera!

We were at the Alaskan Conservation Centre probably a day before you and also saw the black bear up in the tree. We got a picture of him but can hardly see him. With your camera, it shows so well! Thanks for sharing!

Please continue with your review! It is so much fun to re-live everything!

Weren't we so lucky with the great weather?

[mtd1]

Here is the link for some pics of day 2:

http://albums.koffeephoto.com/album/gzBkFpuNeAGvpjJA5E3_CP-B

:p We got up early to see our ship cruising Prince William Sound and College Fjord. The captain turned the ship around so each side of the ship could see.

 

We met all our Cruise Critic friends after the muster drill in front of the pizza counter on Lido deck and then we went to the dining room to enjoy lunch together.

:D We had such a good time!

 

That night was also the first formal night.

[Italy52]

I have Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 7---every time I try to access your photos my system shuts down. I tell the message box to allow the items and it just throws me out. Is anyone else having that problem? Does anyone know what I need to do in order to view the pictures?

[mtd1]

Sitka:

We made our way down to Club Cool to get in line for tender tickets. Our son had won $300 at the casino and purchased a fishing trip thru Carnival so he was taken off the ship right away to his booked trip (all of the other excursions I booked independently;) ) (his pictures are included in the koffeephotos too). Luckily we were at Club Cool early enough to get on the first tender to Sitka :rolleyes: (Other cruisers weren't so lucky and didn't get off till the 23rd or after tender). Sitting across from us on the tender boat was a nice couple that we introduced ourselves to and we became immediate friends with Tom and Janna from the Dallas area. We walked together thru town and the park to the Raptor Center and back and got some wonderful pictures. (Since we had a tour planned we had to separate after lunch but we met up later in the evening on board to plan other things during the cruise.)

My son was back from his fishing trip with Marcellus of A Whale of a Tale Charters and we met Captain Davey under the covered area by the main pier. Two local people were on the boat with us. I have to say that this was one of the best of our excursions/tours of the entire trip. Captain Davey's love of this area is evident and he made sure we were getting our monies' worth from him and his boat. :D YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY IF YOU BOOK A TRIP WITH HIM! Just look at the wonderful things we saw and took pictures of! And these are just some of the pictures we took!

:) After our trip we got in line with everyone else to wait to be tendered back to the ship after a wonderful day!:)

http://albums.koffeephoto.com/album/-oItztDRC-jeToqi1ZEXl8LG

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I'm really enjoying your review and photos! Thanks so much for sharing. :D

 

Luckily we were at Club Cool early enough to get on the first tender to Sitka :rolleyes: (Other cruisers weren't so lucky and didn't get off till the 23rd or after tender).

 

How early did you get there to get tickets for the first tender? Our excursion with Captain Davey is an hour after we're scheduled to arrive. I thought that might be too early, but his wife assured me that he wouldn't leave without us. Still, we'd like to get off as early as possible.

 

Also curious after jspirit's comment about the camera--what camera did your DH use?

 

Thanks!

Jayne

 

:)

[mtd1]

I'm really enjoying your review and photos! Thanks so much for sharing. :D

 

 

 

How early did you get there to get tickets for the first tender? Our excursion with Captain Davey is an hour after we're scheduled to arrive. I thought that might be too early, but his wife assured me that he wouldn't leave without us. Still, we'd like to get off as early as possible.

 

We got into the club around 8 :confused: (for 8:30 port time) but there were already people sitting in there. We talked with a few others there and as soon as we saw the Carnival guy come in, lined up. Make sure to line up in front of the table in front of where the band sets up. The Carnival guy will come in and sit there. You will get your sticker and go sit in the lobby area and they will call your tender number to go line up. If you get there early enough and get a 1 or 2 tender sticker you should be at the pier in plenty of time. Only one person in your group needs to get in line. That person can get all the stickers for your group.

Also curious after jspirit's comment about the camera--what camera did your DH use?

 

We actually have 2 :o !-----:rolleyes: but thats a whole nother story!

It's a Nikon D200. The other camera is a Nikon D50 (bought from friends).

 

Thanks!

Jayne

 

:)

Hope this helps!

Therese

[mtd1]

I'm really enjoying your review and photos! Thanks so much for sharing. :D

 

 

 

How early did you get there to get tickets for the first tender? Our excursion with Captain Davey is an hour after we're scheduled to arrive. I thought that might be too early, but his wife assured me that he wouldn't leave without us. Still, we'd like to get off as early as possible.

 

We got into the club around 8 :confused: (for 8:30 port time) but there were already people sitting in there. We talked with a few others there and as soon as we saw the Carnival guy come in, lined up. Make sure to line up in front of the table in front of where the band sets up. The Carnival guy will come in and sit there. You will get your sticker and go sit in the lobby area and they will call your tender number to go line up. If you get there early enough and get a 1 or 2 tender sticker you should be at the pier in plenty of time. Only one person in your group needs to get in line. That person can get all the stickers for your group.

Also curious after jspirit's comment about the camera--what camera did your DH use?

 

We actually have 2 :o !-----:rolleyes: but thats a whole nother story!

It's a Nikon D200. The other camera is a Nikon D50 (bought from friends).

 

Thanks!

Jayne

 

:)

Hope this helps!

Therese

[mtd1]

Sorry--Don't know how it double posted and don't know how to delete it!

[kellywhitehills]

Wow you have some really nice photos...Love reading about your trip...My husband and I have decided to do a fishing trip when we go back next year!..Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us.

[mtd1]

We were off the ship before 8 because I was determined to see Mendenhall Glacier before our other 2 tours. I went to one of the booths set up in the parking lot and paid for a bus ride out to the glacier. I thought it was the blue bus but it was the white one--oh well--turned out to be the best one for us anyway! The driver was a local older gentleman who was very informative and fun too. Got lots of eagle sightings on the way and some local history too. Stayed at Mendenhall for a little over an hour (wanted to take the back trail but not enough time--my son did go up to the point where he bridge was washed out and took some neat pictures before heading back). We took the next bus back to town so we could be on time for our first tour.

Coastal Helicopters picked us up right outside the Info Center Zone B at 11:15. Our tour was from 11:30 to 2:00. This was what I had come to Alaska for! (OK everything in Alaska was what I came for BUT if I couldn't do anything else this was the one thing I was going to do hell or high water!) AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED! We were given waterproof pants and boots to fit over our shoes at the Coastal office and gloves to borrow if we didn't bring some. I gave my son my gloves and borrowed some bright blue ones (he wouldn't be caught dead with fuzzy bright blue ones on!) The views were not only breathtaking but sooo unique! My son and my husband both took wonderful pictures not only from the heli but on the glacier and sleds too. It was interesting that as we took off we went from green to way up and it was all frozen. As we flew into the dog camp it was so neat to see it go from ant size to real life size.

There were 5 of us on the tour. 3 of us and another couple. The other couple went with the lady musher who was a teacher and had just started dog sledding within the last 7 years. We had Sebastian who has been a musher for quite a while (I should have had a tape player to record all the info--darn it!) and has been in the last 4 Iditarod races. (I even got to put on his coat and racing number! How cool is that! See pictures!) He finished the race in 10 days last year and told us that the winner finished in 9 days. Sebastian is from Whitehorse. We each got a turn to ride on the sled bars and brake as needed. Most of the dogs at the camp are his--around 60 of the 80+ dogs. Each dog had his/her own harness that was labelled with their name. Each also had their own tether line and dog house. (I had heard reports from other cruisers about some of the dog camps not being well taken care of but this outfit was and you could tell it by the way the dogs looked and acted.

Sebastian told us that the way to tell if a dog was pulling his/her weight was to look at their tails. If they were pulling correctly their tail would be level or down. If the dog tail was up the dog was not pulling and doing his/her job.

My husband asked about staying on the trail that was already made and Sebnastian changed the dog formation (from paired to single line in front) to test out a new trail on the ice field with us. It waqs sooo cool! WELL--it ended too soon for me. I could have stayed all day. The helicopter came back---darn it! and took us back to civilization and our next tour!

We had about an hour till Harv and Marv picked us up so we went on board and got a bite to eat.

Eileen's sister picked us up in front of the Mt Roberts tram and took us to Auke Bay Marina to Pete's boat for our tour. Another couple from the Spirit were on the tour with us. We enjoyed our trip although we could only find 1 humpback and 3 orcas. I stayed inside the boat with our binoculars while my son and husband got up in the front to take pictures. Our boat stayed in the middle of the 2--orcas to the right and humpback whale tothe left. I decied to watch the humpback--seems like everybody else was watching the orcas. The humpbach was right in front of another tour boat-a large one--when all of a sudden!!!! It breached. I was watching and said OH Oh Oh :confused: did you take a picture:confused: ???!!! :eek: Well my husband had turned to take a look at the orcas and only got the splash it made---Everybody else was watching the orcas. Pete didn't see it at all. He even radioed a couple of the other boats but NO ONE HAD GOTTEN A PICTURE! :eek: What a bummer and with 2 cameras!!! Right after that I glanced in the direction of the orcas and just then the big male orca jumped straight up and back down into the water. I gasped! Of course no one was watching the orcas anymore but watching the humpback whale. Boy! Was I disappointed! We went to see the seals at the buoy and then our time was up. Eileen's sister was there to take us back to the ship but on the way back stopped at the fish plant to let us get out and take some more eagle pictures.

My son and I went to go get something to eat. First we tried the Twisted Fish but it would have been over an hour wait so we went to the Red Dog Saloon. It was ok but I'd have rathered the Twisted Fish.

My son's pictures in Juneau-

http://albums.koffeephoto.com/album/0-qqo0UkTyyTnNBiuHBGWzcg

My husband's pictures-(had to delete a bunch too many to post)

http://albums.koffeephoto.com/album/LGRxoU5NOS22eGt48ZwDmOcQ

Enjoy--:)

Therese

[mtd1]

We ate breakfast with our new friends Tom and Janna Branch. We were off the ship by 8 and walked into town to the Avis office. I waited for Avis to open while the others went to the Visitor Center down the street. We upgraded to a van and headed out. (My son John had stayed up late on the ship so he crawled in the backseat and slept)

Our first stop was the grave yard. We went up behind the grave yard to a trail that lead up to a beautiful waterfall where we took some lovely :) pictures. Between my husband Dave and our new friend Tom, it was like dueling cameras to see who could get the best shot. (Tom's camera is a Canon and Dave's is a Nikon.)

Then we headed out on the Klondike Hwy. It was awesome. We went until we got to Emerald Lake and then headed back. Saw some fake goats on the side of the mountain and the desert too. Saw some of our Cruise critics at the General store in Caribou Crossing too. (My son decided to wake up - funny he missed everything till now)

As we headed back I kept getting an open door signal on the dash. We reclosed every side door as we were moving to no ayail. I pulled over on a straight stretch of highway so Tom could close the only door left to close--the back door of the van. As soon as he got out I was "OH OH LOOK" !! A baby bear ran out in front of the van across the highway.

Guess what! Dave, Tom and John run after the bear with each a camera in hand. :eek: John starts to run down the ravine after the baby bear and I start hyperventilating and honking the horn and screaming "NO NO! The moma bear's gonna get you!"

WELLLL they came back and guess what---No picture of the baby bear. I guess I should be grateful the moma bear didn't eat them huh?

I guess I should have known better since we didn't get pictures of the whale breaching or the orca jumping either.

Glad I have a good memory-------

[mtd1]

We ate breakfast with our new friends Tom and Janna Branch. We were off the ship by 8 and walked into town to the Avis office. I waited for Avis to open while the others went to the Visitor Center down the street. We upgraded to a van and headed out. (My son John had stayed up late on the ship so he crawled in the backseat and slept)

Our first stop was the grave yard. We went up behind the grave yard to a trail that lead up to a beautiful waterfall where we took some lovely :) pictures. Between my husband Dave and our new friend Tom, it was like dueling cameras to see who could get the best shot. (Tom's camera is a Canon and Dave's is a Nikon.)

Then we headed out on the Klondike Hwy. It was awesome. We went until we got to Emerald Lake and then headed back. Saw some fake goats on the side of the mountain and the desert too. Saw some of our Cruise critics at the General store in Caribou Crossing too. (My son decided to wake up - funny he missed everything till now)

As we headed back I kept getting an open door signal on the dash. We reclosed every side door as we were moving to no ayail. I pulled over on a straight stretch of highway so Tom could close the only door left to close--the back door of the van. As soon as he got out I was "OH OH LOOK" !! A baby bear ran out in front of the van across the highway.

Guess what! Dave, Tom and John run after the bear with each a camera in hand. :eek: John starts to run down the ravine after the baby bear and I start hyperventilating and honking the horn and screaming "NO NO! The moma bear's gonna get you!"

WELLLL they came back and guess what---No picture of the baby bear. I guess I should be grateful the moma bear didn't eat them huh?

I guess I should have known better since we didn't get pictures of the whale breaching or the orca jumping either.

Glad I have a good memory-------

SORRY! I FORGOT THE PICTURE LINK:

http://albums.koffeephoto.com/album/NaFCZhErQTiyBnNC_pCt3RYK

HOPE YOU ENJOY THE PICTURES!

[jspirit]

1557-59 : not a sea otter - more like a sea lion. Are you getting crittered - out?!

Great pics, again!

[mtd1]

1557-59 : not a sea otter - more like a sea lion. Are you getting crittered - out?!

Great pics, again!

Sorry--corrected it!

[Cholly]

How was the weather?? What were the temps? We leave on Friday and are loving your review!!!

[majorherrin]

Sounds like a great trip. We leave on Aug 15. Can you tell me how the weather was?

My wife is having a dificult time deciding what to bring to wear. She has never been to Alaske (I lived there before). Can you help her out with her delimia?

 

Thanks

 

Major

[Toninutt]

I was also on that cruise and the temperatures were delightful! It only sprinkled a little in Sitka, but did rain on and off in Ketchikan. The only time I was chilly was on the ship on our day at sea in College Fjord, I wore a scarf. In the other ports, I wore a knit hooded jacket with my unlined vinyl rain jacket over, which I took off in a couple of ports. The weather could not have been nicer, and I prepared for the worst because of tracking the weather channel on the computer. I guess I would say the temps were in the high 60's.