Looking forward to the cruise! Anyone going! Anyone have any suggestions and /or comments!

My wife and I will be on the Carnival Spirit for the Alaskan cruise scheduled for August 7-14, 2002. This is our first cruise and we are both excited and nervous.

I haven't sailed Alaska on Carnival, however I have sailed Alaska four times. Some advice I would have is always keep looking around. You never know when you will see some wildlife such as whales, porpoise, moose or bear. If you are bringing a regular camera and not digital bring more film than you think you will need. You will be taking many more pictures than you normally take. When you are in near the glaciers or out on the water have a filter on your camera lense to cut down on glare.

Most important relax and enjoy the beauty of Alaska. You are in for a great cruise.

tHANK YOU! gREAT TO GET SOME HELPFUL INFO! pLEASE LET ME KNOW ABOUT YOUR CRUISE! ooPS! i THINK i WILL TAKE A FLASH LIGHT! jUST HEARED ON THE NEWS ABOUT THE hOLLAND/aMERICA LINE HAD A BLACK OUT OR SOMETHING IN aLASKA. aNYWAY ENJOY YOUR TRIP ! TALK TO YOU AGAIN! @-}-}--

i KNOW i AM TALKING TO MYSELF! wELL THAT IS NOTHING NEW!
wEATHER IN aNCHORAGE sHOWERS 59 f
i LIKE THE COOLER WEATHER LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT BUT NOT THE RAIN ~ JUST A LITTLE RAIN BUT NOT BUCKETS OR "cATS-N-dOGS"
nORTH TO aLASKA >>>>>>>>>> aUGUST 28 HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Juneau, Alaska
Rain 56 F
Cloudy with periods of rain!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Juneau, Alaska
Rain 56 F
Cloudy with periods of rain!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The rain in Alaska is usually not buckets (though that's not impossible), more often drizzle or light rain. Take raincoats/slickers, and rain pants (or rainsuits instead of both of the above), plus an umbrella to use on shore. Expect to get wet, and then if you get nice days it will be all that much better! Enjoy!!!
My mother, who has traveled much of the world, still says Alaska is the most beautiful place she has ever been.
Karen

Thanks for the comment! POrtland, OR 76 F Fair.
Yes we will be ready for rain!

Karen's mother is right. Alaska is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Alaska is never the same twice. With the changing of the glaciers and never know what kind of wildlife you might see anywhere it always amazes me. Some of the best things I have done in Alaska is fly out and walk on a glacier and doing a whale watch out of Juneau and Seward. Kayaking out of Ketchikan or taking a harbor tour in Ketchikan is also very interesting. The views from Whitepass Railway are unbelievable. The various museums and tours showing the history of Alaska are very interesting. The calvings of the glaciers are an awesome sight.

Enjoy Alaska.

ANCHORAGE 57 F CLOUDY

Anchorage ~~~ Cloudy 64F
Occasional showers/////////
End of week mix of sun and clouds!!!!

My wife and I just completed our seven-day cruise aboard the Carnival Spirit (August 7-14, 2002). This was our first cruise and we had such a wonderful time we plan to go on a regular basis from now on.

Registration began Wednesday morning at the Convention Center in Anchorage from 8:00 to 12:00. We arrived at 9:00 and the lines were not that long. In less than twenty minutes we completed the registration process and received boarding passes for the 12:30 shuttle to Seward, Alaska. The first shuttle left at 12:00 and shuttles ran the rest of the afternoon. The ride to Seward was nice and the box lunch was not bad either. Embarkation went smoothly, the security inspections were a breeze!

We had an outside cabin on the port side of the Riviera Deck and the view from our window was fantastic. Our steward was Rafael, and our head waitress was Timea and her assistant was Sandor (both of them are from Hungary).

The meals were great, our cabin was very nice, and the shows were as good or better than Las Vegas. The weather was cold and rainy until the last day of our cruise. Once we entered International waters the sky cleared and on Tuesday, August 13, 2002, it the high was 64 and everyone was enjoying the sun deck!

We went on three shore excursions; the Mendenhall glacier and wildlife quest (whale watching) tour ($125.00 per person) in Juneau, the Klondike Gold Dredge (panned for gold) tour ($34.00 per person) in Skagway, and the Totem Bight and City Tour ($35.00 per person) in Ketchikan. The whale watching trip was our favorite and it was worth the price because we were able to se four humpback whales, many harbor seals, and an eagle.

We are sure that you will have a great time aboard the Carnival Spirit seeing the beautiful sights of Alaska.

Thanks for your informative update. I was looking forward to hearing from you before our trip. I'm so glad to hear that the boarding was a breeze. I'm not to good at just standing for long periods of time. We are excited! Nice to hear you enjoyed yourselves. I was also interested in the shore excursions! I was also thinking that if all goes well we will go next year to another place of interest. Thank you again, Mr Potato Head.

Did you need formal or dressy evening wear for dinner? Was it cold cold or just nice with warm clothes. Any suggestions?

Bon Voyage! The day is almost here! Bring on the wonders of Alaska. We are ready!!!

All I can say now is that it was F A N T A S T I C ! I will write a more detial discription soon. I'm still getting my land legs back. I loved every minute. I give my rating 5 star.