Just back from Alaska
 

I returned today from a 7 day cruise to Alaska on RCCL's Vision of the Seas. Took the White Pass and Yukon Railway excursion in Skagway, Whale Watching in Juneau and Kayaking in Ketchikan. If any of you are taking a cruise to Alaska and have any questions, I'll be glad to answer.

Going on a cruise later this month. I'm wondering what types of clothes should I plan on packing. Would shorts be fine or should I plan on dressing a bit warmer?

The weather was fairly mild. During the day the temperature was around 50-55 degrees farenheit and mostly overcast skies. We had a little rain, but also a fair amount of sunshine. Some people wore shorts, especially inside the ship. On the outside decks, we usually needed sweaters or light jackets because of the wind. Hope this helps.

I have problems with my legs and ankles, somewhat a problem to really keep up with the crowd. Would you recommend an Alaskan cruise for me?

Juliann, I would definately recommend this cruise for you. As with any cruise, you can do as much or as little as you are able to. Unlike some other routes where the object is to get to a port to see the town, much of the thrill of an Alaskan cruise is the beauty that you see from the ship. The inside passage as well as the glaciers are breathtaking. From the ship as we cruised we saw orcas (killer whales), seals, porpoises, bald eagles and even bears. On an Alaska cruise, much of the cruising is done close to land, so you can see wildlife on land as well as in the water. <BR> <BR>In terms of excursions in port, there are a number of options for great excursions that don't require walking including the White Pass and Yukon Railway in Skagway.

Juliann, I would definately recommend this cruise for you. As with any cruise, you can do as much or as little as you are able to. Unlike some other routes where the object is to get to a port to see the town, much of the thrill of an Alaskan cruise is the beauty that you see from the ship. The inside passage as well as the glaciers are breathtaking. From the ship as we cruised we saw orcas (killer whales), seals, porpoises, bald eagles and even bears. On an Alaska cruise, much of the cruising is done close to land, so you can see wildlife on land as well as in the water. <BR> <BR>In terms of excursions in port, there are a number of options for great excursions that don't require walking including the White Pass and Yukon Railway in Skagway.

Hi, <BR>Our original cruise to Alaska was just cancelled. (Celebrity Line/Infinity cruise ship). We have rebooked on the Vision of the Seas RCCL. Want to know how you would rate services, food, entertainment and cabin. It will be my parents first cruise and a family get together aboard. Appreciate any inputs on this. Thanks, Kathy

Food: The food and service in the main dining room was excellent. Very good variety and quality. They do an especially good job with fish. The food in the cafeteria, The Windjammer, was mediocre. Not horrible, but sort of like a cheap Las Vegas buffet. <BR>For snacks, there is a snack bar called the Solarium that serves pizza, burgers, hot dogs and fries, and it was quite good for what it was. <BR> <BR>Entertainment: The headliner entertainment was excellent. One night Susan Anton performed and she was unexpectantly really good. Another night they had a violinist/fiddler who was also excellent. She is an Italian now living in the US, and was a regular on the Ed Sullivan show, Johnny Carson etc. Very entertaining. The third headliner was a ventriloquist, Ronn Lucus, who I recognized from t.v. He has performed for several presidents at the Kennedy Center and was very good. <BR> <BR>The Las Vegas style entertainment was of fair quality. They put on two full shows which were entertaining, but the voices and dancing were not outstanding. <BR> <BR>The cruise director also hosts other types of entainment such as the "newlywed game" which were fun to watch as well. <BR> <BR>Our cabin (oceanview) was very nice and really efficiently layed out with ample closet and drawer space. <BR> <BR>There are alot of other amenities on the ship that we enjoyed including a library and fully equipped card/games room. <BR> <BR>The one suggestion I would make is that the tap water in the cabins which they say is drinkable is highly chlorinated tasting. They have bottles water in the cabin, but it costs $3.50 (plus tax and service charge) per medium size bottle. We were told about this and took a few bottles of water onto the ship with us which did us until we arrived into the first port, where we bought more.

To Kathy, Why was your Celebrity/Inifinty cruise cancelled? <BR>Am considering sailing Celebrity to Alaska in September..would like to know if there was a particular reason for the cancellation of your cruise...thanks!

Susan, as far as I know the Infinity's June 8 and 15 sailings were cancelled because of a malfunctioning "ball-bearing unit in the ship's starboard propulsion system."

Thanks April, I was on the phone w/ an Orbitz travel agent just a bit ago & she was to be on that Inifinty cruise, small world, huh?! Anyway, she said that Celebrity is giving them a full refund, plus 50% off any other cruise.

Actually Susan, the passengers who were to be on the June 8th sailing were given a full refund and a free future cruise. The June 15th passengers were given 50% off a future cruise.

Allen - I am taking an Alaska cruise on 8/24 and I am deciding on my excursions. The cruise line is Princess. I am looking at the same excursions? Do you recommend them? What else would you recommend?

Okay, <BR><BR>Something is wrong with the facts here -- I was on the Infinity sailing to Alaska on June 7 -- are you talking about next year that's been cancelled. Just a little confused...

Please check the dates posted when replying. The cruise that was cancelled was for 2001 as were all the posts relating to it.<BR>This is an old post brought up from the vault!