It's been 2 weeks since the Alaska cruise & I want to thank Misscraps for
sharing info re her experiences on the ship (Carnival Spirit) which I found to be
extremely helpful.
Earned the cruise courtesy of Venetian promotion (last yr).
I think the AL cruise season for this yr is just about over. However I would
be willing to share my experiences with anyone who might be interested.
VP on the ship was no better than 95% on only one machine of extremely ugly
deuces ($5). Cruise had a bunch who were Tropicana high rollers & I assume they
were the ones playing the $ & up VP as most of the VP machines were taken
when the casino was open. (I didn't play any VP.) There was no play requirement
for the Tropicana guests. I upgraded so I was on the same floor as they were &
had a thoroughly enjoyable time though the pace was a bit slow for me.
Chose the cruise (round-trip Vancouver) because I wanted to spend time in
Canada on both ends of trip vs a one-way from Vancouver - Anchorage. Also cruise
had fewer port stops than others & that suited us fine. We spent an entire day
cruising in Glacier Bay. Didn't know until park rangers came on board that
permits are required for Glacier Bay & that Carnival only got 3 for the season
so this might be a consideration for those who wouldn't mind giving up shopping
for sightseeing. Personally we didn't see that much wildlife or glaciers. A
few years ago, we took a trip to Jasper/Banff NP in Alberta which got us on top
of & at the base of glaciers & had a lot more wildlife at closer ranges.
Shopping was a lot better as the cruise was the next-to-last for the season,
prices were much better than expected. Best bargains were in Skagway. Had expected
to spend time shopping in Canada but spent only one day in Victoria. Since
exchange rate is $1.37 Canadian/$ US, didn't feel like shopping much compared to
what we used to get. Spent 2 days before & 2 days after in WA state (see next
post).
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