PEB

I always bring a postcard, hat and coffee cup from the ship for myself. I buy t-shirts in some of the ports for myself and my kids. I try and find sometype of toy on the ship for the grandkids.

I always bring a postcard, hat and coffee cup from the ship for myself. I buy t-shirts in some of the ports for myself and my kids. I try and find sometype of toy on the ship for the grandkids.

I have been on 12 cruises on 5 different cruise lines so far. I have been on American Hawaii, Princess, Celebrity, Carnival and NCL.

I do not think that any poll that is posted in a magazine is very accurate. Many people do not answer the polls. I also feel that a poll such as the one in Porthole means nothing to me. I go by what I like and not what others may like. I did read the results and some I agree with some I do not. I do sell cruises and from what I have heard from our customers and friends that have cruised NCL, it doesn't surprise me that they did not make any of the categories. I have not heard anything totally negative but than I have not heard anything that was outstanding either. It still comes down to I will go with whatever cruise I want to take.

I have done back to back cruises on the same ship. I have done back to back East and West Caribbean and I have done back to back going to the same ports. One advantage is sometimes you may get a price break on the second sailing. Another advantage is you only pay for air once. If you are going to different ports each sailing that is an advantage in that you see different things. If you are going to the same ports you do not have to rush in the ports the first sailing because you know you will be back shortly and can see more at that time. Another advantage is you get to know the ship real well and find the places you like onboard. The crew gets to know your likes and dislikes real well. The disadvantages are that you will be seeing the same meals and the same shows. The advantage to this is if you found a meal you didn't like you don't order it next time and if you found a meal you did like you can order it. You also do not have to worry about missing a show you can see it the second sailing.

If you are bringing a regular camera instead of digital bring a LOT more film than you would normally bring. You will be surprised at how many pictures you will take. A few suggestions for tours would be a whale watch out of Juneau. A suggestion for this would be with Orca Enterprises Capt Larry. The ships use big boats with a lot of people Capt Larry only takes 20 to 25 people per trip and many of the naturalists from the ships use him. Another tour, but it can be expensive, would be a helicopter flight and land on a glacier. It is expensive but worth every penny A trip on the White Pass Railway is a tour that has some unbelievable views. Visiting the totem Parks in Ketchikan can be very interesting. When you are in among the glaciers keep your eye on the water line. If you start to see small splashes like someone dropped little rocks look at the face of the glacier over that spot. That is where the face of the glacier is breaking and you will see some great calving. Do NOT try to spot calving by listening to the sounds it will not work. Whenever you are looking over the water keep an eye open for water spouts. These will be where the whales are. A humpback whale will blow water 30 to 40 feet in the air. Keep an eye out for Dalls Porpoise they enjoy jumping off the ships wake. You will see eagles all over. When looking at the mountainsides keep an eye out for white spots moving these are mountain goats and they will be high up many times. You say the cruise is in May so there will be thousands of waterfalls to see. Bring binoculars.

Due to the fact that I have to make arrangements for someone to fill in for me when gone from work I usually book a cruise 6 months or more in advance. I think if you want a specific room on a ship you should book in advance so you can get the room you want, otherwise book when you feel comfortable with the price. We normally book a guarantee so it is rare we know what room we will be in. We have booked a specific room on a few occasions.

I have had many inside cabins. What you will find is you will not spend much time in your cabin. Other than the TV there really is nothing to look at. You will find it nice and dark for sleeping, you will also find if you take a nap you will have no clue what time it is because it will be dark. Make sure you have a clock to look at to keep track of time.

It depends on where we are cruising. When in the Caribbean we took very few pictures. In Hawaii we took a couple hundred. In Alaska the most we have taken was 45 rolls of 36 pics and three video tapes. The least we have taken in Alaska is 20 rolls of 36 pics and three video tapes. Alaska is always changing and with all the wildlife, whale watching and glaciers constantly changing we go through a lot of film there.

My favorite itinerary is from Vanvouver up to Ankorage.

We have been fortunate to have good weather on all our cruises. We did have rain a few times during the night and once for a short time, maybe 15 minutes worth, while in Grand Cayman and a heavy downpour while boarding in Miami.

My favorite port would be Juneau Alaska so I can fly out and land on a glacier and do some whale watching with Capt Larry.

Our first cruise was taken to see a total eclipse. I had absolutly no interest in cruising and was more or lessed bugged until I agreed to cruise. We took the cruise only because the cruise line said it would move the ship to find open sky. Well the ship did have to move to find open sky for the eclipse and we had a great time and were hooked on cruising.

Princess has kids programs but it is not what they are known for and they do limit the number of kids per sailing. RCCL is a good all around family cruise line. Carnival is known for its kids programs and the newer big ships do have a good all around atmosphere for families. Most the newer ships should be fairly easy for people to get around in wheelchairs or the handicapped scooters. The problems are not so much in the ability to get around the ship as it is to get around the passengers. I have seen people in scooters on the ships but not sure if they were their own scooter or one they rented through someplace. I do know there are places that supply these type of things for passengers on a cruise. Your TA should be able to help you with that.

The one thing I do on every cruise is keep a journal from the begining of planning our cruise until we return home from the cruise. I than type it all in word and keep copies on disk for reference later on. After all we do not always remember everything accurately after a few years.

I don't have any funny stories but we have had several interesting tablemates. On our first cruise to Alaska we had the Indonesian Ambassador and his wife who were living in Washington DC at the time. A very nice couple and they were celebrating their anniversary at the time. We had some tablemates who were from Vancouver BC on our Panama Canal cruise who were born and raised in China. It was quite interesting listening to the stories of how they grew up. They were very active people also and we still keep in touch by email.

We have large round brightly colored nametags that we purchased at Wal-Mart, we also have brightly colored nametags that I made and lamenated and we have brightly colored luggage straps that we purchased. Between the three things they stand out pretty well in all that luggage.