Been inspired by this thread, never thought I'd be one for a cruise but really given it some thought after comments on here.
Booking a 4 night Northern Europe cruise in a sunset sky suite with celebrity cruises to see how much we like it. Don't think there's any way we wouldn't, all I like to do on holiday is drink and eat anyway (like one of the gluttonous bastards someone referenced above!)
Going in August, if we like this will definitely do the Fjords, but definitely won't splash out for The Retreat I don't think for 7 nights!
Good luck, hope you love it as much as we do, I will tell you, people either love it or hate it. Unfortunately for our kids / bank manager we loved it. We have done over 500 nights so far and got a further 20 night cruise up the Norwegian coast booked for July, with a 61 nighter from Auckland to Tokyo in January.
Been inspired by this thread, never thought I'd be one for a cruise but really given it some thought after comments on here.
Booking a 4 night Northern Europe cruise in a sunset sky suite with celebrity cruises to see how much we like it. Don't think there's any way we wouldn't, all I like to do on holiday is drink and eat anyway (like one of the gluttonous bastards someone referenced above!)
Going in August, if we like this will definitely do the Fjords, but definitely won't splash out for The Retreat I don't think for 7 nights!
Good luck, hope you love it as much as we do, I will tell you, people either love it or hate it. Unfortunately for our kids / bank manager we loved it. We have done over 500 nights so far and got a further 20 night cruise up the Norwegian coast booked for July, with a 61 nighter from Auckland to Tokyo in January.
Wow! I think I could afford to stay in a broom cupboard on the 61 nighter! I hope you have an amazing time!
It was indeed a Carnival cruise where 24 got banned.
Touch wood - will be getting off MSC Virtuosa as you get on CLB74, last summer we booked 10 - 17 May Norwegian Fiords cruise on it - I saw Cruise 1st were doing this visit on 17th May, these visits are a good idea. Did a visit to a Cunard ship where you get a tour and a meal - discovered Cunard wasnt for us from it !
And Allure of the Seas will be fantastic. Only been on Independence of the Seas with Royal Carribean and that was great, but Allure will be at a whole extra level !
Yes we done fjords on Virtuosa last year. Surprised they let us on the Virtuosa for the day seeing as we've already been on. But looking forward to getting on for the day. Although I've just checked and 17th to 24th is £700 all inclusive on an inside.
Been inspired by this thread, never thought I'd be one for a cruise but really given it some thought after comments on here.
Booking a 4 night Northern Europe cruise in a sunset sky suite with celebrity cruises to see how much we like it. Don't think there's any way we wouldn't, all I like to do on holiday is drink and eat anyway (like one of the gluttonous bastards someone referenced above!)
Going in August, if we like this will definitely do the Fjords, but definitely won't splash out for The Retreat I don't think for 7 nights!
Currently on this cruise, inspired by the thread. My god I'm having a good time. Food in the Retreat (Luminae) is as good as what I've had on land. The service from the staff is unbelievable and I'm currently absolutely pickled from chain smashing cosmopolitans and long island/Tokyo iced teas last night. Amazing!
Never been on a cruise before this year. We did the Norwegian fjords on Iona (P&O) in July. I have to admit, we really enjoyed it. Much more than I expected. Not perfect of course, and I think there are things we now know that would be useful if we did it again.
We’re thinking we might do another one in a couple of years time.
Never been on a cruise before this year. We did the Norwegian fjords on Iona (P&O) in July. I have to admit, we really enjoyed it. Much more than I expected. Not perfect of course, and I think there are things we now know that would be useful if we did it again.
We’re thinking we might do another one in a couple of years time.
I think I suffer from Cabin Fever as I can’t remain in a confined environment for any length of time whether at home, working or on holiday. Worked for P&O for some years and only ever took a weekend pre-launch Channel cruise on the old Oriana. Rest of my family for whom I could get discount cruises went every year and loved them, even if they did put on three stone in weight every year!
Never been on a cruise before this year. We did the Norwegian fjords on Iona (P&O) in July. I have to admit, we really enjoyed it. Much more than I expected. Not perfect of course, and I think there are things we now know that would be useful if we did it again.
We’re thinking we might do another one in a couple of years time.
What would you do differently Rom?
1) Maybe an adults only cruise? Nothing against kids, but seemed like quite a lot of resources were put into entertaining ankle biters. 2) Definitely would take more advantage of externally offered trips and activities. For some reason, we just walked past all the tourist centres at each stop - I guess we thought they’d just offer what was offered via the cruise - but apparently there were lots of other things to do including free stuff. At Haugesund (I think) most of us had a free day, but while we wandered round the town, which was ok, my sister and brother-in-law went for a lovely walk up a mountain to where there were a load of wild horses wandering about. Gratis and lovely apparently. The cruise don’t tell you about this sort of thing because they can’t make money out of it. It just never occurred to us until my sister told us about it. 3) We went with a lot of family (18 of us in total) which was really nice in a lot of ways, but as our party included my wheelchair-bound father-in-law, and no disrespect to him, but it might’ve been nice if some of the rest of the family could’ve helped out a bit on that front. Ladyromford, her mum and I ended up dealing with him the whole week. So I’d probably want to go with fewer people. 4) Partly due to the above, we didn’t make as much use of as many venues as I would’ve liked. I’d definitely try a few more out if we weren’t bound by family responsibilities. 5) Premium drinks package was essential for us! Any cocktail, better choice of drinks, large glasses of wine, better wine, order more than one drink at a time. Didn’t realise how much difference that made until we compared standard to premium in real time! I’m not a heavy drinker by any stretch of the imagination, but this was a great call, so I’d purchase this ahead of time next time. 6) Might go cold turkey on the internet next time. Didn’t need it that much. (Not sure about this one though…) 7) I’d also make sure I booked my parking at Southampton 35 days in advance, because for some unfathomable reason, they don’t send you a reminder nearer the date despite not being able to book it earlier, and if you forget, you have to book independently for twice the price. 😡
There are things that are minor negatives, like the time waiting around for lifts on board (with a wheelchair it’s double frustrating because you don’t have a choice). The quality of some of the entertainment is pretty poor - we saw a dreadful comedian and some pretty substandard singers. (although to be fair, there were a couple of really decent bands.) But there’s not too much you can do about these things.
Reading it back, it sounds like I didn’t enjoy it, but I really did! Little changes like these would just be like filing down some rough edges! 😎
Never been on a cruise before this year. We did the Norwegian fjords on Iona (P&O) in July. I have to admit, we really enjoyed it. Much more than I expected. Not perfect of course, and I think there are things we now know that would be useful if we did it again.
We’re thinking we might do another one in a couple of years time.
What would you do differently Rom?
1) Maybe an adults only cruise? Nothing against kids, but seemed like quite a lot of resources were put into entertaining ankle biters. 2) Definitely would take more advantage of externally offered trips and activities. For some reason, we just walked past all the tourist centres at each stop - I guess we thought they’d just offer what was offered via the cruise - but apparently there were lots of other things to do including free stuff. At Haugesund (I think) most of us had a free day, but while we wandered round the town, which was ok, my sister and brother-in-law went for a lovely walk up a mountain to where there were a load of wild horses wandering about. Gratis and lovely apparently. The cruise don’t tell you about this sort of thing because they can’t make money out of it. It just never occurred to us until my sister told us about it. 3) We went with a lot of family (18 of us in total) which was really nice in a lot of ways, but as our party included my wheelchair-bound father-in-law, and no disrespect to him, but it might’ve been nice if some of the rest of the family could’ve helped out a bit on that front. Ladyromford, her mum and I ended up dealing with him the whole week. So I’d probably want to go with fewer people. 4) Partly due to the above, we didn’t make as much use of as many venues as I would’ve liked. I’d definitely try a few more out if we weren’t bound by family responsibilities. 5) Premium drinks package was essential for us! Any cocktail, better choice of drinks, large glasses of wine, better wine, order more than one drink at a time. Didn’t realise how much difference that made until we compared standard to premium in real time! I’m not a heavy drinker by any stretch of the imagination, but this was a great call, so I’d purchase this ahead of time next time. 6) Might go cold turkey on the internet next time. Didn’t need it that much. (Not sure about this one though…) 7) I’d also make sure I booked my parking at Southampton 35 days in advance, because for some unfathomable reason, they don’t send you a reminder nearer the date despite not being able to book it earlier, and if you forget, you have to book independently for twice the price. 😡
There are things that are minor negatives, like the time waiting around for lifts on board (with a wheelchair it’s double frustrating because you don’t have a choice). The quality of some of the entertainment is pretty poor - we saw a dreadful comedian and some pretty substandard singers. (although to be fair, there were a couple of really decent bands.) But there’s not too much you can do about these things.
Reading it back, it sounds like I didn’t enjoy it, but I really did! Little changes like these would just be like filing down some rough edges! 😎
I can concur with a lot of that. We had our first cruise at the end of January (Caribbean) and were in a group of six (me, Mrs M, our youngest and his wife, plus his wife's mum and dad who we get on really well with) - felt about right in terms of numbers and we had a real laugh. Not sure I would want to do it just as a couple, irrespective of how much I love my wife!
Premium drinks package is, I agree, a must - we did it and was well worth the relatively small extra. We did drink a lot! In terms of shore excursions, we mainly did our own thing - my son and his missus have been on cruises a few times before and he did all the research in advance, and it was just a case of getting a taxi/water taxi and saying "take us here". The cruise was also adults only!
I've been back about a week from cruising Alaska on the Queen Elizabeth. Absolutely loved it. A definite contender for my best holiday ever. If anyone has cruised Norway and enjoyed it (there seem to be a few on here), I'd definitely recommend Alaska; it's similar but much bigger and better. For example, we saw one glacier in Norway and it was quite a trek to get within reasonable viewing distance. We must have seen a dozen in Alaska and there are places where you can see two or more without leaving your ship. In Norway I saw one Eagle (White Tailed), in Alaska there were Eagles (Piebald) everyday. We saw Humpback Whales bubble-net feeding - this is a learned behaviour that, at the moment, can only be witnessed in Alaska. Also saw a Brown Bear swimming between two islands. As trips go, this one was incredible.
I've been back about a week from cruising Alaska on the Queen Elizabeth. Absolutely loved it. A definite contender for my best holiday ever. If anyone has cruised Norway and enjoyed it (there seem to be a few on here), I'd definitely recommend Alaska; it's similar but much bigger and better. For example, we saw one glacier in Norway and it was quite a trek to get within reasonable viewing distance. We must have seen a dozen in Alaska and there are places where you can see two or more without leaving your ship. In Norway I saw one Eagle (White Tailed), in Alaska there were Eagles (Piebald) everyday. We saw Humpback Whales bubble-net feeding - this is a learned behaviour that, at the moment, can only be witnessed in Alaska. Also saw a Brown Bear swimming between two islands. As trips go, this one was incredible.
Out of interest what is the weather like in Alaska this time of year?. We've tended to go only to hot countries.
Also has anyone cruised around South America and if so any recommendations?. Cheers
We got really lucky with the weather. We'd been told to pack with expectations of rain and mist. In much the same way that, say, Ireland and Wales are famous for their dampness being off the Atlantic coast, Alaska assumes a similar position off the Pacific coast, giving Alaska various precipitation records for North America. We did see some beautiful early morning mists but they tended to clear by breakfast time and most days were sunny and warm enough to go out in t-shirts. Indeed Mrs Stig and I were even able to do some sunbathing on our balcony and courtesy of a red and peeling conk I am now claiming to be the first person to get sunburn in Alaska.
In short, I'd think the advice to make sure you have a good raincoat and to dress in layers probably holds good. But I don't think that means you have to brace yourself for an arctic chill every day.
We got really lucky with the weather. We'd been told to pack with expectations of rain and mist. In much the same way that, say, Ireland and Wales are famous for their dampness being off the Atlantic coast, Alaska assumes a similar position off the Pacific coast, giving Alaska various precipitation records for North America. We did see some beautiful early morning mists but they tended to clear by breakfast time and most days were sunny and warm enough to go out in t-shirts. Indeed Mrs Stig and I were even able to do some sunbathing on our balcony and courtesy of a red and peeling conk I am now claiming to be the first person to get sunburn in Alaska.
In short, I'd think the advice to make sure you have a good raincoat and to dress in layers probably holds good. But I don't think that means you have to brace yourself for an arctic chill every day.
Sounds amazing. Planning to go with family either 2026 or 2027. Starting to do my homework over who to go with, how long, best cabin locations, stop offs/timing etc… if you have any tips /do’s and don’t etc do PM me if you get a chance.
We got really lucky with the weather. We'd been told to pack with expectations of rain and mist. In much the same way that, say, Ireland and Wales are famous for their dampness being off the Atlantic coast, Alaska assumes a similar position off the Pacific coast, giving Alaska various precipitation records for North America. We did see some beautiful early morning mists but they tended to clear by breakfast time and most days were sunny and warm enough to go out in t-shirts. Indeed Mrs Stig and I were even able to do some sunbathing on our balcony and courtesy of a red and peeling conk I am now claiming to be the first person to get sunburn in Alaska.
In short, I'd think the advice to make sure you have a good raincoat and to dress in layers probably holds good. But I don't think that means you have to brace yourself for an arctic chill every day.
Me and my wife were the last people to consider going on a cruise. We did the Fjords in May. It was brilliant. Saga, so a lot of oldies but it was great. We sailed from Dover on... Thursday we played Wycombe in play off semi final. Managed to watch whole game on Charlton TV. The next morning I got a call from my brother when at sea and my mum had died so it was a weird time really. That said, I did draw a lot of enjoyment from being on a cruise. Stunning ship, stunning scenery and stunning weather. Charlton won to so a lot of happy memories from this cruise despite it always being where I was when my mum died. Will definitely do another. Northern lights to Norway is next on list.
I've been back about a week from cruising Alaska on the Queen Elizabeth. Absolutely loved it. A definite contender for my best holiday ever. If anyone has cruised Norway and enjoyed it (there seem to be a few on here), I'd definitely recommend Alaska; it's similar but much bigger and better. For example, we saw one glacier in Norway and it was quite a trek to get within reasonable viewing distance. We must have seen a dozen in Alaska and there are places where you can see two or more without leaving your ship. In Norway I saw one Eagle (White Tailed), in Alaska there were Eagles (Piebald) everyday. We saw Humpback Whales bubble-net feeding - this is a learned behaviour that, at the moment, can only be witnessed in Alaska. Also saw a Brown Bear swimming between two islands. As trips go, this one was incredible.
Hi Stig, sounds incredible, which travel company did you use?
I've been back about a week from cruising Alaska on the Queen Elizabeth. Absolutely loved it. A definite contender for my best holiday ever. If anyone has cruised Norway and enjoyed it (there seem to be a few on here), I'd definitely recommend Alaska; it's similar but much bigger and better. For example, we saw one glacier in Norway and it was quite a trek to get within reasonable viewing distance. We must have seen a dozen in Alaska and there are places where you can see two or more without leaving your ship. In Norway I saw one Eagle (White Tailed), in Alaska there were Eagles (Piebald) everyday. We saw Humpback Whales bubble-net feeding - this is a learned behaviour that, at the moment, can only be witnessed in Alaska. Also saw a Brown Bear swimming between two islands. As trips go, this one was incredible.
Hi Stig, sounds incredible, which travel company did you use?
It certainly was. We booked direct with Cunard. The basic cruse seems pretty reasonable in comparison to other cruise companies offerings, but the drinks packages are well expensive. Fortunately Mrs Stig and I don't drink (if only) 😉.
Before you book your trip, have a good think about what you want to get out of it and why Alaska may or may not be the place for you. If you want to see absolutely stunning, unrivalled landscapes or if you want to see the sort of large scale wildlife (Whales, Bears, Eagles, Sea Otters) that are difficult or impossible to see in Europe, then Alaska will be perfect. But remember, it's a lot of money and a long way to go for what essentially is a wilderness. If you have no more than a passing interest in the stuff above, you’d probably be better off getting a more local cruise out of Southampton of Tilbury.
2. Consider whether Alaska is right for your family
There weren’t many kids on our boat, but the only one I spoke to was bored rigid. He was a bright kid and gave me a very detailed explanation of why some ice is blue and other ice is white, but he just wasn’t interested in gawping at the scenery. So, whilst I stood on the deck with his family, locked in amazement at the beauty of the twin glaciers at Tracey Arm Fjord, he was busy hassling his mum to go back to the cabin so he could play on her iPad. Kids of today have very short attention spans, consider what yours are like before wasting such natural splendour on them.
3. Think about the type of ship you want to be on
We chose Cunard because they specifically make a thing about the wildlife and because the staff to passenger ratios on their boats are better than many other companies (you can find this stuff out on the web). I also knew that the Queen Elizabeth was smaller and more nimble than many other cruse ships and would go deeper into the fjords. Other companies compete on price, for example I believe Carnival are cheaper but seeing how they were packed on in Seattle I was glad to breeze through in our line whilst their queue snaked it’s way back and forth across the terminal. That said, I’m sure there are pros and cons with all those companies. The con with Cunard is definitely the bar prices. I was particularly annoyed that their definition of a pint is 16oz. I see elsewhere in America this varies between 16oz and 18oz, whereas a proper British 568ml pint is 20oz. I expect most of these companies it’s the same, but I don’t expect so many to pour a 'pint' of Guinness quite so badly.
4. Stay over in Seattle or Vancouver
Most cruises seem to start and finish in one of these cities. We stayed in Seattle for a couple of nights and wasn't disappointed. It just seemed too much of an opportunity to pass through without seeing anything and I’m so glad we did. Most of the hotels there seem to be big skyscraper type things. If you want something more relaxing I can thoroughly recommend The Bacon Manor Bed and Breakfast which is a beautiful old building in a nice residential area in the Capital Hill district. Very relaxing.
5. If going to Seattle get an ORCA pass
These offer fantastic value. Get one from the Airport Station (Light Link Rail), don’t be paying for cabs. You buy the card for $3 then you top it up with the number of days you want on it. $4.50 per day for unlimited use of their local transport.
6. You’ll probably need plenty shore experiences
I can’t speak for the whole of Alaska, but the small towns where our boat docked were all pretty samey. Lots of tourist shops with the obligatory overpriced theme pub (that said, the Sourdough Bar in Ketchikan was brilliant). I’d imagine it would get a bit dull if you just did the town thing at every port. The shore experiences we booked were excellent. To Charlton fans I’d obviously recommend a trip on the White Pass Railway, but a flight on a float plane was the highlight for me - it should be though, it cost enough but it’s been on my bucket list for years. I also did three different wildlife spotting boat trips. That might be a bit much for most people, but I primarily went for the wildlife. Whilst we did see the advertised stuff, we saw lots of other wildlife too. In fact the Whale Watching trip might have been better named the Eagle Tour, the Sea Otter trip might have been rebranded the Sea Lion and Deer tour and whilst the Ocean Raft adventure might have been better called Whale Watching. I noticed as well that American (or perhaps Cunard) hospitality was far better than anything here. All the tours had complimentary drinks and snacks.
7. Carry your passport
We were told that we wouldn’t need it to get back on the boat, but a couple of times Port Security asked us for ‘A Government Issued Photo Pass’ as well as our cabin passes. A passport always seemed the easiest way of meeting this demand. Though to be fair, I did one day offer up my UK Drivers Licence and they did accept that. For peace of mind though, I’d still think it’s better to have your passport on you.
8. Remember that you’ll pay more than advertised for everything
There’s two parts to this, firstly prices are almost always displayed before tax, secondly there’s a heavy tipping culture. Whatever you think the bill is, remember that it is likely to be more. Other than being a minor annoyance, this might not matter so much in the big scheme of things. Face it, you’ll be paying enough on the cruise that a few dollars extra on your bar bill won’t make that much difference. However, if you’re in a shop weighing up whether or not to buy something that tax thing may be the difference between it being a bargain or not.
9. Go to Victoria if you can
Without a doubt the cleanest, friendliest city I’ve ever been to. That isn’t to knock the other places on the cruise which were all good in these respects, but Victoria was exceptional. And anyway, who doesn’t want to be able to make the boast that they’ve been on ‘a day trip to Canada’. If you do go there, I can thoroughly recommend Drakes Bar which had a brilliant range of ales and was easily the best drinking establishment we visited.
10. Savour every moment
It really is a fantastic place to go. Assuming you satisfied question 1 and 2 above, I’m sure you’ll have a brilliant time. Enjoy!
11 Don’t got back to work straight away when you get home
It’s a long distance to travel east. I’d be amazed if many people can do it without getting jet lag.
Comments
Surprised they let us on the Virtuosa for the day seeing as we've already been on.
But looking forward to getting on for the day.
Although I've just checked and 17th to 24th is £700 all inclusive on an inside.
2) Definitely would take more advantage of externally offered trips and activities. For some reason, we just walked past all the tourist centres at each stop - I guess we thought they’d just offer what was offered via the cruise - but apparently there were lots of other things to do including free stuff. At Haugesund (I think) most of us had a free day, but while we wandered round the town, which was ok, my sister and brother-in-law went for a lovely walk up a mountain to where there were a load of wild horses wandering about. Gratis and lovely apparently. The cruise don’t tell you about this sort of thing because they can’t make money out of it. It just never occurred to us until my sister told us about it.
3) We went with a lot of family (18 of us in total) which was really nice in a lot of ways, but as our party included my wheelchair-bound father-in-law, and no disrespect to him, but it might’ve been nice if some of the rest of the family could’ve helped out a bit on that front. Ladyromford, her mum and I ended up dealing with him the whole week. So I’d probably want to go with fewer people.
4) Partly due to the above, we didn’t make as much use of as many venues as I would’ve liked. I’d definitely try a few more out if we weren’t bound by family responsibilities.
5) Premium drinks package was essential for us! Any cocktail, better choice of drinks, large glasses of wine, better wine, order more than one drink at a time. Didn’t realise how much difference that made until we compared standard to premium in real time! I’m not a heavy drinker by any stretch of the imagination, but this was a great call, so I’d purchase this ahead of time next time.
6) Might go cold turkey on the internet next time. Didn’t need it that much. (Not sure about this one though…)
7) I’d also make sure I booked my parking at Southampton 35 days in advance, because for some unfathomable reason, they don’t send you a reminder nearer the date despite not being able to book it earlier, and if you forget, you have to book independently for twice the price. 😡
There are things that are minor negatives, like the time waiting around for lifts on board (with a wheelchair it’s double frustrating because you don’t have a choice). The quality of some of the entertainment is pretty poor - we saw a dreadful comedian and some pretty substandard singers. (although to be fair, there were a couple of really decent bands.)
But there’s not too much you can do about these things.
Reading it back, it sounds like I didn’t enjoy it, but I really did! Little changes like these would just be like filing down some rough edges!
😎
Also has anyone cruised around South America and if so any recommendations?. Cheers
In short, I'd think the advice to make sure you have a good raincoat and to dress in layers probably holds good. But I don't think that means you have to brace yourself for an arctic chill every day.
1. Think about why you want to go to Alaska
Before you book your trip, have a good think about what you want to get out of it and why Alaska may or may not be the place for you. If you want to see absolutely stunning, unrivalled landscapes or if you want to see the sort of large scale wildlife (Whales, Bears, Eagles, Sea Otters) that are difficult or impossible to see in Europe, then Alaska will be perfect. But remember, it's a lot of money and a long way to go for what essentially is a wilderness. If you have no more than a passing interest in the stuff above, you’d probably be better off getting a more local cruise out of Southampton of Tilbury.
2. Consider whether Alaska is right for your family
There weren’t many kids on our boat, but the only one I spoke to was bored rigid. He was a bright kid and gave me a very detailed explanation of why some ice is blue and other ice is white, but he just wasn’t interested in gawping at the scenery. So, whilst I stood on the deck with his family, locked in amazement at the beauty of the twin glaciers at Tracey Arm Fjord, he was busy hassling his mum to go back to the cabin so he could play on her iPad. Kids of today have very short attention spans, consider what yours are like before wasting such natural splendour on them.
3. Think about the type of ship you want to be on
We chose Cunard because they specifically make a thing about the wildlife and because the staff to passenger ratios on their boats are better than many other companies (you can find this stuff out on the web). I also knew that the Queen Elizabeth was smaller and more nimble than many other cruse ships and would go deeper into the fjords. Other companies compete on price, for example I believe Carnival are cheaper but seeing how they were packed on in Seattle I was glad to breeze through in our line whilst their queue snaked it’s way back and forth across the terminal. That said, I’m sure there are pros and cons with all those companies. The con with Cunard is definitely the bar prices. I was particularly annoyed that their definition of a pint is 16oz. I see elsewhere in America this varies between 16oz and 18oz, whereas a proper British 568ml pint is 20oz. I expect most of these companies it’s the same, but I don’t expect so many to pour a 'pint' of Guinness quite so badly.4. Stay over in Seattle or Vancouver
Most cruises seem to start and finish in one of these cities. We stayed in Seattle for a couple of nights and wasn't disappointed. It just seemed too much of an opportunity to pass through without seeing anything and I’m so glad we did. Most of the hotels there seem to be big skyscraper type things. If you want something more relaxing I can thoroughly recommend The Bacon Manor Bed and Breakfast which is a beautiful old building in a nice residential area in the Capital Hill district. Very relaxing.
5. If going to Seattle get an ORCA pass
These offer fantastic value. Get one from the Airport Station (Light Link Rail), don’t be paying for cabs. You buy the card for $3 then you top it up with the number of days you want on it. $4.50 per day for unlimited use of their local transport.
6. You’ll probably need plenty shore experiences
I can’t speak for the whole of Alaska, but the small towns where our boat docked were all pretty samey. Lots of tourist shops with the obligatory overpriced theme pub (that said, the Sourdough Bar in Ketchikan was brilliant). I’d imagine it would get a bit dull if you just did the town thing at every port. The shore experiences we booked were excellent. To Charlton fans I’d obviously recommend a trip on the White Pass Railway, but a flight on a float plane was the highlight for me - it should be though, it cost enough but it’s been on my bucket list for years. I also did three different wildlife spotting boat trips. That might be a bit much for most people, but I primarily went for the wildlife. Whilst we did see the advertised stuff, we saw lots of other wildlife too. In fact the Whale Watching trip might have been better named the Eagle Tour, the Sea Otter trip might have been rebranded the Sea Lion and Deer tour and whilst the Ocean Raft adventure might have been better called Whale Watching. I noticed as well that American (or perhaps Cunard) hospitality was far better than anything here. All the tours had complimentary drinks and snacks.7. Carry your passport
We were told that we wouldn’t need it to get back on the boat, but a couple of times Port Security asked us for ‘A Government Issued Photo Pass’ as well as our cabin passes. A passport always seemed the easiest way of meeting this demand. Though to be fair, I did one day offer up my UK Drivers Licence and they did accept that. For peace of mind though, I’d still think it’s better to have your passport on you.
8. Remember that you’ll pay more than advertised for everything
There’s two parts to this, firstly prices are almost always displayed before tax, secondly there’s a heavy tipping culture. Whatever you think the bill is, remember that it is likely to be more. Other than being a minor annoyance, this might not matter so much in the big scheme of things. Face it, you’ll be paying enough on the cruise that a few dollars extra on your bar bill won’t make that much difference. However, if you’re in a shop weighing up whether or not to buy something that tax thing may be the difference between it being a bargain or not.
9. Go to Victoria if you can
Without a doubt the cleanest, friendliest city I’ve ever been to. That isn’t to knock the other places on the cruise which were all good in these respects, but Victoria was exceptional. And anyway, who doesn’t want to be able to make the boast that they’ve been on ‘a day trip to Canada’. If you do go there, I can thoroughly recommend Drakes Bar which had a brilliant range of ales and was easily the best drinking establishment we visited.
10. Savour every moment
It really is a fantastic place to go. Assuming you satisfied question 1 and 2 above, I’m sure you’ll have a brilliant time. Enjoy!
11 Don’t got back to work straight away when you get home
It’s a long distance to travel east. I’d be amazed if many people can do it without getting jet lag.