Hello CD's: We plan to go on to family cruise with adult children from Vancouver to Alaska in last week of July or first week of August. Thinking of 2 day stay in Vancouver, 7 day cruise and fly back from Alaska to Edmonton. Invite suggestions, dos and donts. Thanks

These cruises are good if you like the Oceans, the coastal scenery, the wilderness and the calm and serene voyages and a lot of salt on your lips when you kiss. But the minute you step outside your cabin, you will hear the hustling and bustling and you will find that NO ONE ever sleeps as it runs round the clock.

As regards food, I was NOT satisfied with a cruise when they totally ignore the Asians/Indians.

The Customer service is VERY POOR. They don't want to hear any complaints. I did not have any. Since I had to live on board eating grass, I made myself a vegetarian and carried on as one through out the trip. So, don't even think of curry and rice or dream about it till you get back on to terra firma.

You will love the scenery and all of the other side trips that they will take you through, if you have booked them with the travel agent, make sure that you have it written some where on your tickets and you get the trips you paid for.

Most of these ships are virus borne and you never know when they get activated and why? If you get into such a situation, please do write a will before you go to bed. Hope you don't encounter a puke bucket and a very bad situation and if they did not tell you that they had a RUN of NOROVIRUS, on the previous trip of theirs, then YOU cannot cancel out of the trip. They will not pay for any cancellation. And if you board on your trip, and you encounter the VIRUS, you took the chance and the only way out of the place is AIR LIFTING. Hope the Virus does not spread in our Canadian Cold weathers. I think it is based upon the circulation of air and heat on board the ship.

One more thing, we were a group of SEVEN People who traveled on that trip. They wanted our credit card numbers before the start at the check in, and since we were in a hurry to see the cabins etc., one person got all of the keys and distributed them to all of us and stood by with his credit card at the check in and at the end of the trip he got the surprise bill of Six Hundred Dollars plus,(Which we divvied up later) for the TIPS that they forced us to pay, though it was an all expense paid TRIP. (A Total Package) Later on we came to know that they maids, the stewards, the cooks and may be the Captain too are not paid well and they look forward to getting these tips to make ends meet.

(NO WONDER THE SHIPS DON'T GET CLEANED THE WAY IT SHOULD HAVE GOT CLEANED)
May be they try to paint over the virus.

Please don't get discouraged, but these are the facts we did not know and inferred after the trip. We enjoyed it thoroughly, except me who looked for a healthy salad each meal. But there were other things to munch upon to load up. Also we ran into a bunch of passengers, who were there with us, had a GLASS welded to their palm of their hands. When I asked them they said, IT WAS AN ALL YOU CAN DRINK Trip. That makes sense. That is the kind of shipping company that we bought our trip from. We did not know about all of these till after we boarded these big boats.

Ignore the other horror stories. they all circulate all the time. Any more than 100 dollars a day with food and board, plus a 15 % tip should be the max. A band and a comedian and a few good movies is all we got got as a side attraction. No other incidents that marred our trip. All of this was as anticipated and expected. No Duty free shop on board. All in all it was a nice trip and a nice break.


FH.

I did the Alaska cruise with family a couple of years back and it was one of the most exotic experiences for us. We took the round trip shore line trip from Vancouver. With mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, it was worth every cent.

We took the Celebrity cruises and I should say we were spoiled with the food options. All kinds of food varieties including Indian as well and even being a vegetarian, I have nothing to complain.

There are quite a few costs involved as FH mentioned but these are told upfront and you need to be aware of these things in advance. We did not have any issues with health but it is certainly worth carrying some medicines.

I suggest you book a room with a balcony, though you may not be there for long due to wind, it is still worth it. The crowd is mainly middle aged and up and your teenage kids may have a hard time. It is certainly not fun for them to watch the mountains for a week. There were 3 stops along the way and a lot of activities both indoor and outdoor. You may need to check these and book them in advance. 2 days in Vancouver may not be enough.

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Originally posted by chemical engineer

Hello CD's: We plan to go on to family cruise with adult children from Vancouver to Alaska in last week of July or first week of August. Thinking of 2 day stay in Vancouver, 7 day cruise and fly back from Alaska to Edmonton. Invite suggestions, dos and donts. Thanks

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The feedback I have got from desi friends and relatives is that, the Alaska cruise is over-rated. They found it monotonous after a while and they were mostly at sea.

Personally, I like nature, so I am sure I would enjoy it.

We have booked two room suite. Interestingly they call it villa. We are a family of four adults. Cruise cost is $15350 for 7 days from Vancouver. Food is no problem. We are used to all tastes. We have been to Vancouver a few times. So two days is fine.
Thanks all for your input.