I've been on one and thought it was awesome. Left from Seattle and stopped at Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Prince Rupert. Had a chance to get out and see a monster glacier in Juneau. Went to a salmon fishery. There are tons o things you can do while you are off the boat. I never got bored even once. Sometimes I'd just go to the front of the ship and read a book for an hour or two. The weather can be dicey.....50's and it drizzles/rains a lot.
But the scenery is off the charts amazing.
If you're one of those who goes stir crazy if they aren't going a mile a minute on vacation, I'd recommend doing something else. But if you like to REALLY relax and just chill, it's fantastic if you ask me.
We traveled with a large group and it was great. You always have someone you can hang with, but you can certainly do your own thing too.
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I've been on one and thought it was awesome. Left from Seattle and stopped at Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Prince Rupert. Had a chance to get out and see a monster glacier in Juneau. Went to a salmon fishery. There are tons o things you can do while you are off the boat. I never got bored even once. Sometimes I'd just go to the front of the ship and read a book for an hour or two. The weather can be dicey.....50's and it drizzles/rains a lot.
But the scenery is off the charts amazing.
If you're one of those who goes stir crazy if they aren't going a mile a minute on vacation, I'd recommend doing something else. But if you like to REALLY relax and just chill, it's fantastic if you ask me.
We traveled with a large group and it was great. You always have someone you can hang with, but you can certainly do your own thing too.
All very good advice about the carribean cruises and dl36 hit the nail on the head. First time i flushed that toilet i thought i would never see my balls again!!!
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All very good advice about the carribean cruises and dl36 hit the nail on the head. First time i flushed that toilet i thought i would never see my balls again!!!
One other item. They will give you a "credit card" for all of your expenses on board (dinner upgrades, drinks, massages, etc.). A buddy of mine doesn't drink beer so he was paying $7 - $10 a drink depending on what he had (he tends to more top shelf booze). It can get expensive.
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One other item. They will give you a "credit card" for all of your expenses on board (dinner upgrades, drinks, massages, etc.). A buddy of mine doesn't drink beer so he was paying $7 - $10 a drink depending on what he had (he tends to more top shelf booze). It can get expensive.
My wife and I have been on 2 cruises, a 14 day Western Mediterranean on Norwegian for our honeymoon and a 7 day Eastern Caribbean on Carnival. Whatever you do plan your own shit, don't book anything on the boat and if you're a drinker find a way to sneak alcohol on. I prefer cruises to all-inclusive Caribbean resorts because the food and entertainment are infinitely better. I always find a way to sneak alcohol on so I don't really care about the no free drinks. I'm not a person who can sit by a pool or on a beach all day every day. I enjoy seeing the world.
The casinos usually have terrible odds vs the house but there is nothing like tourists at a poker table even if the rake is ridiculous.
HOW do you sneak alcohol on board??
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Quote Originally Posted by LeafsNeedD:
My wife and I have been on 2 cruises, a 14 day Western Mediterranean on Norwegian for our honeymoon and a 7 day Eastern Caribbean on Carnival. Whatever you do plan your own shit, don't book anything on the boat and if you're a drinker find a way to sneak alcohol on. I prefer cruises to all-inclusive Caribbean resorts because the food and entertainment are infinitely better. I always find a way to sneak alcohol on so I don't really care about the no free drinks. I'm not a person who can sit by a pool or on a beach all day every day. I enjoy seeing the world.
The casinos usually have terrible odds vs the house but there is nothing like tourists at a poker table even if the rake is ridiculous.
I live in the hot sweaty south so June or September are months I like because it's cool compared to here but not so cold as earlier in the spring or late in the fall, season is really only 4 months .Enjoy
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Quote Originally Posted by Larry_Legend:
So what month do you suggest to go?
I live in the hot sweaty south so June or September are months I like because it's cool compared to here but not so cold as earlier in the spring or late in the fall, season is really only 4 months .Enjoy
The way I did it was we bought these things called rum runners. They are plastic bottles which can be folded , they are kind of like a ziploc bags except with a cap that screws on tight and they can hold up to 16 oz of liquor. When you port you can buy bottles at the duty free for cheap. I paid $20 for a 1 litre bottle of grey goose and then transferred it to the rum runners. I was purposely wearing cargo shorts so I could sneak them back. When you walk through the metal detector you will not beep because they are made of plastic. Worked at every port no problem. Just google rum runners and you can buy them online.
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Quote Originally Posted by Larry_Legend:
HOW do you sneak alcohol on board??
The way I did it was we bought these things called rum runners. They are plastic bottles which can be folded , they are kind of like a ziploc bags except with a cap that screws on tight and they can hold up to 16 oz of liquor. When you port you can buy bottles at the duty free for cheap. I paid $20 for a 1 litre bottle of grey goose and then transferred it to the rum runners. I was purposely wearing cargo shorts so I could sneak them back. When you walk through the metal detector you will not beep because they are made of plastic. Worked at every port no problem. Just google rum runners and you can buy them online.
We went in July and had decent weather to be honest.
And one of the people we were with actually brought a plastic flask and filled it up in Seattle before we got on the boat. At least that is what I thought. I honestly don't know what they do to check your luggage when you are boarding.
My gal and I drank like fish and our bill when we got off the boat was just short of $700. Turned out to be just short of $100 a day....not terrible when you consider we spent $50 last night on dinner and 2 beers each.
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Quote Originally Posted by Larry_Legend:
So what month do you suggest to go?
We went in July and had decent weather to be honest.
And one of the people we were with actually brought a plastic flask and filled it up in Seattle before we got on the boat. At least that is what I thought. I honestly don't know what they do to check your luggage when you are boarding.
My gal and I drank like fish and our bill when we got off the boat was just short of $700. Turned out to be just short of $100 a day....not terrible when you consider we spent $50 last night on dinner and 2 beers each.
I've done it several ways. On Norwegian it was a 14 day cruise .... I used Rum Runners for the first boarding. We were in Europe for this cruise so most of the ports were much fancier than what you find in the Carribean so you'd get off on various decks depending on the port. After about 2 days we realized they only had the x-ray machines on 1 of the 3 decks you get off on. This was great for me because i'm primarily a beer drinker and would just have my wife bring her extra large purses on these days and stock them with beer. I also used the large plastic pop bottles usually like ginger ale for darker liquor or large water bottles that look like they're half drank and just carry them in your hand for vodka/white rum/etc.
On Carnival they have a service where you can pre-order bottles to your room at reasonable (as far as what Canadians pay) rates. Think it was $35 for a 40 oz of rye/whiskey. Figured this was better than going through the pain in the ass of the rum runners. In the Caribbean you're usually getting out right onto the dock so the x-ray machines are always on that level. I used the pop/water bottle method here too with no problems.
I've probably snuck alcohol on at various ports 7-10 times and never have been caught. If you do get caught they just hold it for you and you pick it up the last night of the cruise so no big deal. I think they just count on people being dumb and use the x-ray machines as a deterrent.
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Quote Originally Posted by Larry_Legend:
HOW do you sneak alcohol on board??
I've done it several ways. On Norwegian it was a 14 day cruise .... I used Rum Runners for the first boarding. We were in Europe for this cruise so most of the ports were much fancier than what you find in the Carribean so you'd get off on various decks depending on the port. After about 2 days we realized they only had the x-ray machines on 1 of the 3 decks you get off on. This was great for me because i'm primarily a beer drinker and would just have my wife bring her extra large purses on these days and stock them with beer. I also used the large plastic pop bottles usually like ginger ale for darker liquor or large water bottles that look like they're half drank and just carry them in your hand for vodka/white rum/etc.
On Carnival they have a service where you can pre-order bottles to your room at reasonable (as far as what Canadians pay) rates. Think it was $35 for a 40 oz of rye/whiskey. Figured this was better than going through the pain in the ass of the rum runners. In the Caribbean you're usually getting out right onto the dock so the x-ray machines are always on that level. I used the pop/water bottle method here too with no problems.
I've probably snuck alcohol on at various ports 7-10 times and never have been caught. If you do get caught they just hold it for you and you pick it up the last night of the cruise so no big deal. I think they just count on people being dumb and use the x-ray machines as a deterrent.
I've been on 6 cruises doing Royal Caribbean's Alaska cruise the June before last. This is a summer trip all the way as the weather is expected to be best only a few months each summer. Even then plan on a rainy gray day or two. The stops we had were Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Fjord and Victoria British Columbia. Juneau, Skagway and to a lesser extent Victoria were the typical touristy shop kind of places. They were much smaller places than I'd imagined.
We went on a helicopter trip to a glacier in Juneau, that was $600 for the wife and I. We did a train trip in Skagway which was scenic. We saw no wildlife except a few eagles. We watched a rockslide which was cool. EVERYWHERE there are mountains that are crumbling. It gets old fast. The ship was as described by several others earlier in this thread. Cruises are a fun vacation. I personally enjoy a smaller ship. Too much walking otherwise.
it's a fun trip but I personally like the Caribbean. I like the swimming, the people, the slow pace and the weather. If your lady wants Alaska, you'll enjoy it. Like anything, doing it once is worthwhile.
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I've been on 6 cruises doing Royal Caribbean's Alaska cruise the June before last. This is a summer trip all the way as the weather is expected to be best only a few months each summer. Even then plan on a rainy gray day or two. The stops we had were Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Fjord and Victoria British Columbia. Juneau, Skagway and to a lesser extent Victoria were the typical touristy shop kind of places. They were much smaller places than I'd imagined.
We went on a helicopter trip to a glacier in Juneau, that was $600 for the wife and I. We did a train trip in Skagway which was scenic. We saw no wildlife except a few eagles. We watched a rockslide which was cool. EVERYWHERE there are mountains that are crumbling. It gets old fast. The ship was as described by several others earlier in this thread. Cruises are a fun vacation. I personally enjoy a smaller ship. Too much walking otherwise.
it's a fun trip but I personally like the Caribbean. I like the swimming, the people, the slow pace and the weather. If your lady wants Alaska, you'll enjoy it. Like anything, doing it once is worthwhile.
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