Richard Simmons Alaska Cruise

eshanks5 · November 22, 2003

A friend and I are taking Richard's cruise to Alaske May 12-19,2004. It sails to and from Vancoouver on the Carnival Spirit. If anyone can tell me about the ship,or about cruising to Alaska,any helpful hints will be appreciated. We have an extended balcony cabin. I have never had a vacation where I don't lay in the sun and swim all day- so this is a big change for me! Thanks

jbond · November 22, 2003

We did Alaska on RCI Legend of the Seas, Seward to Vancouver. It is a very different cruise, definitely no sunbathing. The scenery is very dramatic and seeing whales, seal and bald eagles is a very definite kick. Alaska is also full of history and I really enjoyed listening to the stories and see the artifacts that I had only read about. We did a guided tour in each port. We thought that they were very good value, but they also gave us the ability to see a lot in a short time and we had great tour guides who were very knowledgable.

To see our tours you can check out Legend of the Seas - Alaska The album titles will tell you the ports.

Shari2 · November 22, 2003

Eileen...this sounds like such a fun cruise. Hope you write a review about the cruise, and also, let us know how Richard is in person!!

GottaCruz · November 24, 2003

eshanks5,

Between your extended balcony cabin and Richard Simmons, it sounds like a really great time . I'm also looking forward to hearing what Richard is really like in person. :D :P B) :)

PEB · November 24, 2003

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.

DaCruzNut · November 24, 2003

The last time Richard Simmons was in charge of a "diet/exercise" cruise, the ship started out at 110,000 grt and was only 98,000 grt by the time it got back.....