1st time cruiser back from Alaska.....

[bettyonboard]

I will try to keep this very short, and then just answer anyones questions...

I did the tour#6 SB on the Summit.

Stayed two nights at the Sophie Station Hotel. Awesome service, awesome room service, great breakfast buffet. Had a one bedroom, full kitchen, sofa loveseat, two t.v.'s.

Went on the riverboat tour. Great tour because we were on the smaller of the "boats". The biggest one was almost standing room only with people. It didn't look comfortable. We were. Snacked on smoked salmon, and coffee and donuts. The tour of the fishing village is nice if you like a brief history lesson. Floatplanes flying by, beautiful log cabins along the river. Susan Butcher's family. It was a great time.

We had Julie from Austraila! SHE IS AWESOME,FRIENDLY,FANTASTIC!!!

We went on the gold mine tour. Reminded me of something out of Disneyland, but it was fun, and we did find gold in our pan.

Stopped by the pipeline, nice too. great picture oportunity.

The train to Denali was FANTASTIC. We sat on the right, but it doesn't matter. great views! I didn't care for staying at the Mckinnly Village lodge, just a personal preference. I thought the staff was tired, a little edgy. The lodge is nice and rustic, not crappy, just was not my favorite. The food was good. The seafood chowder was great. We also stayed at the Talkeetna Lodge. It is Beautiful! We had a second floor, window looking towards the MT. One thing I would highly not recomend is the ATV ride from Black Diamond booked through the cruise line. What a complete disgrace of a professional attitude! They were late picking us up, didnt take us directly to our tour, instead put us through a two hour drop off and pick up of other guests from other hotels to other tours! After finally getting to my destination, a lady behind the desk ripped off a piece of paper, and wrote, "full refund and the date" and handed it to me and said, "Heres your refund!" I was pissed to say the least. After I got back to my hotel, Julie my TD handled it quick and effecient and professionally. I had a email from celebrity before I even got home, apologizing, and granting my $185.00 refund. The bus ride into Denali, was fantastic. We saw every animal there is including a bald eagle and a lynx. A pack of wolves, moose, bears and cubs. Just amazing! (Sorry not as detailed, and quick typing)

Arrived at Seward. Fast and easy boarding. We had CC and no lines. Being a first time cruiser, I really have no opinions of what should be and should not, so here is my opinion. Hope I dont start a raging fight on these boards...

The ship is beautiful. The crew was ALWAYS saying hi, and very friendly. I had room 8107, panorama deck I think. Awesome room. I would recomend spending the extra for the port side and a balcony. To me, personally it was very worth the views alone. Fresh roses in my bathroom every other day, and fresh flowers on my desk. Marylou was friendly and "sneaky" with the turning down of the sheets and the chocolates on the pillow. There were few things I thought she could have done better at, but dont get me wrong, she was great! "F.B.I" as he is called in the martini bar is funny! He is great to talk to and I could sit with him for hours. He makes a mean whiskey sour! I thought some of the decor on the shipp looked a little "worn", but nothing to make a trip go sour. No pod problems. Lyle the activities director that does the bingo, needs to call the balls a little faster. And his jokes...not so funny. Nice guy, just bingo is not for him. ;) Had a good time, won $108.00. Worth his slowness I guess. The food was sooo good I gained 13lbs. (That was over the two weeks, land/sea) I went to the Normandie. Awesome food, great service, just not my thing. A little too slow for me. I would still recomend trying it. Pedro our waiter at dinner.....the best Celebrity could ever hire in a lifetime!!!!!!!! He deserves every award he could be given. He was great! Our table was the best on the ship. We had fantastic tablemates, and have made friends with all! We laughed and dined until they turned the lights up on us, basically telling us dinner is done!:D

Did well at the casino. Had a great time shopping. Food great. The only thing I would avoid is all those pictures they take at ports. It is great for some, just a little overkill.

We did the rental car for $39.00 and $14.00 in gas in Skagway. EVERYONE should do this!!! Emerald Lake is gorgous! Capt. Larry's whale watching tour...I would have paid double! He got us up close to them and they were jumping far out of the water! Floatplane with Michelle at Island Wings...great! I hate flying, and went into a full on crying panic attack before getting on her plane. With my fear, and the recent crashes, I was freaked! BUT, and I say BUT, I would recomend her! Once I got in to the "best seat in the plane" according to her. and got the headset on, and calmed down, it was a good flight. She is professional, relaxing, knowledable, and patient. I actually looked out my two windows and took amazing pictures. Once in the air with her I felt safe in her hands, She lands and lets you get out and explore. We had beautiful weather and could see for miles and miles. If your apprenhensive like me, I say go for it. I dont regret it for a minute. Oh, and Hubbard Glacier, let me brag....we got sooooooo extremely close we could almost touch it. The capt took us right up to it! We were NOT miles from it at all, we were so close it was crazy close!!!! The only port I did not like was Icy Straight, but that is just me, nothing wrong with it, just a few locals telling us how much they hate the ships coming in. Doesnt make you feel welcome. But I DO UNDERSTAND thier point, and dont disagree with them. Not trying to start a war here. Other than the things directly on the dock, to do, it didnt apeal to me. The zip line looked great, but I did not try it.

The shows on the ship were ok, I could take them or leave them.

Oh, lets cover the dress code. I only saw one pair of jeans in the dining room. I had second seating. Everyone looked great. Not that many tux's, but a lot of the dark suits and ties. Ladies looked great. I did notice that up in the "casual" restaurant, even at dinner, there were people in shorts. Some that should not be in shorts. Let me say that I am the one who said if you dress in a chicken suit, I dont care, it wont ruin my dinner. So dress how you want, but the majority followed dress code. Let me end by saying that I had the BEST table mates that anyone could ask for. It was sad because a lot of tables were empty after the second night. We were spoiled!

I would recomend the Summit. If your lucky to get Julie on the land tour, your in for a treat! Get a Whisky Sour from F.B. I, and eat until they roll you to your room. Rent a car whenever possible and get away from the "Disneyland touristy Crap", and see the real Alaska.

[NancyIL]

Welcome back, and thanks for your review!

[mikaula]

So glad you had a great time. Welcome to the world of cruising. Now you'll be addicted to it like the rest of us :)

[tjbarney]

Great review! Who did you book your rental car through in Skagway? Also what vehicle was it and was it in good shape? Thanks!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home.

 

Thanks for your review.

[bettyonboard]

I opened up the phone book and called the 800#. I had the car reserved literally months ahead of time. For only $39.00! I saw that people were printing coupons off the internet for a $69.00 deal. I thought something would be wrong with my price, but it was $39.00 for a small economical car. Sorry I dont know the make of it. There was just two of us so it was very comfortable, and my BF is 6'2. He drove and was comfortable. After driving to Emerald lake and back, we put $14.00 in gas in it! What a cheap excursion. Dont go through the local office, call the 800#. Good Luck!