Cruise ship congestion

[JohnC6]

We are in Madeira near Funchal. This morning, we went in to book a whale/dolphin trip for tomorrow. It made me laugh when , after I told the lady we had a trip with them in 2015 she classed us as a 'returning customer'.Magic Dolphin Tours. and gave us 10% discount..lol. We didn't even see a gull on that trip, let alone a whale or dolphin, so they asked if we could come back another day..no charge,so we did and saw both whales..pilot whales and dolphins.Apart from that the crew were excellent re info. too. I've recommended them to anyone we know who is coming here.

After booking it, down at the marina, we walked into town and it was absolutely heaving.It wasn't like this back in 2015. It was about 1.00pm and the hotel shuttle bus wasn't due to pick up until 3.00pm. We couldn't put up with it. It was quite stressful.My wife got talking to a couple who told her they were off one of the cruise ships..P&O's .. 'Azura' and when my wife asked her if it was a good ship the lady said.."it's alright' in a downbeat tone.Dear me.

After 20 minutes battling the crowded streets, many are narrow, even the very wide prom was heaving..we headed to the bus station and used public transport to get back to the hotel.. Between them the two cruise ships had a 7000 passenger capacity so that if even only half of them went into Funchal that's 3500 hitting the streets. They don't spend in cafes or restaurants because their meals are payed for onboard. Dubrovnick has restricted the number of cruise ships at any one time to try and reduce congestion. Here are some cities that have taken action

These cruise ports don’t want you. Here’s why – and where to go instead - The Points Guy

Your desire to visit top tourist hotspots by sea might be at odds with the wishes of local residents, who would rather you come by land and keep your ships far from their shores.

thepointsguy.com

Dubrovnick took action back in. 2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/trave...ap-croatia-overtourism-two-dock-a8565166.html

We're on all inclusive and It's great. I know we've basically paid but we aren't asked for a room number each time we buy a drink., etc. It's breakfast-lunch- snacks and evening meal. Great hotel... Riu.

 

[Clive K]

We stayed close to the old town, Funchall last autumn. There were up to four cruise ships moored up each day, but I didn't notice any congestion in the narrow street where all the interesting restaurants are. It may have been too far for the passengers to walk given that they embark over a mile away and have to travel through an uninteresting part of the town to get to the good bit. It is a small island with relatively few options, but if you hire a car then it is possible to find places off the beaten track.

There are issues with the cruise ships in some resorts / destinations and it is easy to see why. The authentic charm and attractions soon get overtaken by staged shows and fake experiences. When several thousand people disembark in some small town several times a week their money is seen as a commodity to harvest.

 

[Nod]

They don't spend in cafes or restaurants because their meals are payed for onboard.

Similar to many (not all!) all inclusive guests!

Cruisers also often have a limited time in a resort - either get a whistle stop tour round the highlights or grab a cup of coffee near the drop-off/pick-up point for the ship. In the meantime, small cities get their streets clogged up so visitors who want to spend money can't get anywhere.

 

[JonathanRyan]

Ah yes, cruise ships......terrible for both the environment and the places they visit.

It really is quite an odd sort of tourism that takes people to wonderfully beautiful unspoilt places and spoils them.

You can look up just how bad each particular ship is here https://foe.org/projects/cruise-ships/

 

[ancient_mariner]

Similar to many (not all!) all inclusive guests!

Indeed, all-inclusive kills trade for local restaurants and cafes. We've tried it once, but made sure we ate out a few times in the local town to at least give them a little benefit as well as getting local cuisine instead of just hotel food. I understand the attraction for tourists, but it's not great for resorts.

 

[JohnC6]

Similar to many (not all!) all inclusive guests!

Cruisers also often have a limited time in a resort - either get a whistle stop tour round the highlights or grab a cup of coffee near the drop-off/pick-up point for the ship. In the meantime, small cities get their streets clogged up so visitors who want to spend money can't get anywhere.

We discussed that aspect...all inclusive..and came to the conclusion that as the hotel. is a 30 minute bus trip to Funchal and no amenities close by, they'd have to. We actuallly planned on having lunch in Funchal but there'd have been no joy in that in those circumstances. We couldn't get out of there quickly enough. It wasn't like that back in 2015.

We go to a hotel in Tenerife a few times a year and it has shops, ,cafes,supermarkets on hand. That hotel is just B&B + evening meal and the usual poolside bar/snacks. We'd always see guests in the supermarket, the cafe sit-in/takeaway , and they'd take sandwiches/cake back to the hotel for lunch to eat on the balcony or often eat in a cafe. We often have lunch in a very-well regarded cafe run by a Scottish couple..what with my wife coming from Scotland...lol. We've even taken letters back home for them for posting because the mail from there to the UK takes forever.

Anyway, I take your point . We saw a group from one of the ships being led round the cobbled back streets with a guide at the front who gave them information on what they were seeing. What makes me smile about these 'cruise groups' , as in this case today, is the guide walking at the front holding a 3' ft. pole with a flag on so he/ she can be seen and no-one gets lost. We were in Skiathos town/harbour one year, and a group..quite a large one from a ship, walked by having just left the ship and they were in couples, in line..like a snake ...and as they went by I couldn't help but shout..." Left,left, left, right left..close up at the back" ....quite a few laughed and one chap. saluted me..lol. I just couldn't be subject to that level of organisation.We like to do our own thing

 

[JohnC6]

Ah yes, cruise ships......terrible for both the environment and the places they visit.

It really is quite an odd sort of tourism that takes people to wonderfully beautiful unspoilt places and spoils them.

You can look up just how bad each particular ship is here https://foe.org/projects/cruise-ships/

Terrible. One of those ships in Funchal is sailing to Miami next. A heck of a way.

years ago, I recall reading about a passenger on a cruise ship videoing staff throwing full bin liners of rubbish overboard at night. . He sent it to the US authorities and the company was heavily fined and I'm sure action was also taken against whoever was responsible for waste disposal. Ie..the officer i/c the department.

I've found it. It was the Princess Line. They are expensive..very upmarket. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1993/04/16/cruise-line-goes-overboard-on-trash/

This,too..back in 1999.. https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/jul/22/janemartinson

A catalogue of environmental abuse.https://foe.org/cruise-history-violations/

 

[David_Mug]

Sitting in reception at my opticians a few years ago I noticed that the receptionsts were talking about their holidays, one just having returned from a cruise.

"Were you on one of those huge ships we see on the telly adverts" said one.

"Oh yes" said the other, "It was absolutely massive. It makes you realise how deep the ocean is that such a thing can float on it."

Wow.

 

[F1.2]

My idea of hell , staying on a ship with 7000+ other people, NO thanks even if it was free.

 

[dekeyboy]

My idea of hell, would be spending an hour with some of the people, who comment on subjects, non photographical. And just for good measure, let's stick an article in from 1999. You assume nothing has changed since then. Not all cruise companies are the same. My wife and i love cruising and that won't change. Just because you haven't tried something, does not mean you wouldn't enjoy it, unless of course you are still trying to save this dying planet.

 

[JohnC6]

My idea of hell , staying on a ship with 7000+ other people, NO thanks even if it was free.

Agree. We have been on a few but back in the day when there were 800-1800 passengers. The first one was just 800. I think there's some risk of picking up viruses,too..norovirus ,especially and bouts of food poisoning. That's a heck of a lot of people.

 

[JohnC6]

My idea of hell, would be spending an hour with some of the people, who comment on subjects, non photographical. And just for good measure, let's stick an article in from 1999. You assume nothing has changed since then. Not all cruise companies are the same. My wife and i love cruising and that won't change. Just because you haven't tried something, does not mean you wouldn't enjoy it, unless of course you are still trying to save this dying planet.

We really enjoyed our cruises..Caribbean and Alaska but the ships have become massive,now. You wouldn't know you were at sea if you didn't go out on deck..lol.

My wife still yearns for a Norwegian cruise.. Fred Olsen ? Smaller ships,I think.

As I post, a very large cruise ship has just gone by the hotel..really close, en-route to the port...Funchal. Costa Line. We'll be close to it soon. as we're going on the whale/dolphin trip departing at 1030.

Costa Fascinosa. Route. https://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruisesoncostafascinosa-20nov2025.html

https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruise/costa/costa-fascinosa?source=134374&suppressTabs=1&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23015168061&gbraid=0AAAAADlvVIZdh_y29uSl1XQQSqgd_YPV1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIub_02faMkQMVRMp5BB3zDh1zEAAYASAAEgI1TfD_BwE

 

[LCPete]

To be honest a cruise isn’t our sort of thing either the idea of being in a ship with that many people
But everyone is different and I wouldn’t criticise someone for being different
We have just spent 2 weeks being bounced around in a jeep in the South Luangwa National Park but it was incredible but not everyone would want the heat and lack of comfort but we loved it

 

[Clive K]

We discussed that aspect...all inclusive..and came to the conclusion that as the hotel. is a 30 minute bus trip to Funchal and no amenities close by, they'd have to. We actuallly planned on having lunch in Funchal but there'd have been no joy in that in those circumstances. We couldn't get out of there quickly enough. It wasn't like that back in 2015.

We go to a hotel in Tenerife a few times a year and it has shops, ,cafes,supermarkets on hand. That hotel is just B&B + evening meal and the usual poolside bar/snacks. We'd always see guests in the supermarket, the cafe sit-in/takeaway , and they'd take sandwiches/cake back to the hotel for lunch to eat on the balcony or often eat in a cafe. We often have lunch in a very-well regarded cafe run by a Scottish couple..what with my wife coming from Scotland...lol. We've even taken letters back home for them for posting because the mail from there to the UK takes forever.

Anyway, I take your point . We saw a group from one of the ships being led round the cobbled back streets with a guide at the front who gave them information on what they were seeing. What makes me smile about these 'cruise groups' , as in this case today, is the guide walking at the front holding a 3' ft. pole with a flag on so he/ she can be seen and no-one gets lost. We were in Skiathos town/harbour one year, and a group..quite a large one from a ship, walked by having just left the ship and they were in couples, in line..like a snake ...and as they went by I couldn't help but shout..." Left,left, left, right left..close up at the back" ....quite a few laughed and one chap. saluted me..lol. I just couldn't be subject to that level of organisation.We like to do our own thing

We stayed bed and breakfast in a four star hotel in Funchal that was bargain basement prices out of season. Ten minute's walk to the market, old town and chair lift station. We ate out every day lunch and dinner and hired a car for three days to explore the island independently. Not all Funchal hotels are 30 minutes bus ride from the town. Try googling Turim Santa Maria hotel.

 

[Jelster]

We did a Carribean cruise on the Azura, and it was a great ship, but that was 14 years ago....

 

[boogie man]

We were in Funchal earlier this year. We like to go away for my wife’s birthday but as it’s in January it can get pricey finding somewhere warm at that time of year. Madeira had really good weather and wasn’t too pricey. We saw the cruise liners coming in but there wasn’t any real congestion in town, that we noticed anyway.

We loved the two gardens at the top of the cable car ride, in fact we loved Madeira generally and would happily go back at some point. The only downside for me was the roller coaster landing at the airport… especially as the wind was gusting right near the limit for landing. The pilot did brilliantly getting the plane down, otherwise we would’ve had to have diverted to Tenerife. My wife used to be an air hostess many moons ago and happily informed me (after we’d landed thank god! ) that Funchal was once considered the second most dangerous landing place for commercial flights in the world.

 

[Mr Bump]

Cruise ships are odd things i know a few folk who love the whole thing and wont do anything else now, for me its my idea of hell

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

... for me its my idea of hell

Me too.

My sister, on the other hand, loves the things and for several years has taken at least one trip a year. She claims she isn't going next year but I'll wait until January 1st 2027 before I'll believe it!

 

[Box Brownie]

Broadly speaking I see cruises as a holiday akin to going somewhere like Ibiza i.e. not for us.

The one exception I would like to make if I could ever afford it would be a specialised trip to Antarctica, where there are perhaps a maximum of 30-40 passengers and the purpose of the trip in to enjoy the wildlife and the wonders to see & photograph.

Oh, I just thought........a river cruise might just appeal but again that is based on only limited number of passengers e.g less than 100???

 

[Clive K]

Madeira through an Olympus XA

Funchall Restaurants Web by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr


Madeira Boats XA by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr

Funchal Old Town Web by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr

Hotel Window View Web by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr

Madeira Waterfall XA by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr

 

[JohnC6]

To be honest a cruise isn’t our sort of thing either the idea of being in a ship with that many people
But everyone is different and I wouldn’t criticise someone for being different
We have just spent 2 weeks being bounced around in a jeep in the South Luangwa National Park but it was incredible but not everyone would want the heat and lack of comfort but we loved it

We don't do "lack of comfort", Pete..... It sounds a great trip. Hope you post photos. I've just watched a Youtube video of it and shown it to my wife. Not sure we'd take to ..quote..'sleeping under the stars'...lol. That was just one night.. Mosquito nets around the bed ?..Mmmm. Also, I've just checked flight times and . It takes about 14 hours with stop-overs. I do envy you such a trip but my wife doesn't think we'd cope too well......

 

[JohnC6]

We stayed bed and breakfast in a four star hotel in Funchal that was bargain basement prices out of season. Ten minute's walk to the market, old town and chair lift station. We ate out every day lunch and dinner and hired a car for three days to explore the island independently. Not all Funchal hotels are 30 minutes bus ride from the town. Try googling Turim Santa Maria hotel.

Googled that, Clive. Looks very nice. Our holidays now are with Tui and Jet2. We go full board, don't hire a car but do trips. We've been here before and went to the market and Old Town. . I assume you mean the indoor one with slabs full of fish. Some really ugly species..lol. There's a balcony from where you can get an overview if it's the same one. We went to Pico do Areeio ...Portugese Defence Ministry radar dome, often above the clouds and that private trip took us to the village of Santana, too, We went to the Botanic Gardens...up the mountain and settled for watching people on the wood toboggans. I can't go up in the cable car re my irrational fear of heights. I photographed them this afternoon after the whale trip..no dolphins. I suppose you could say that this acrophobia is irrational. Having said that I always get a plane window seat to take photos of clouds at 37,000ft..As they say..'Go figure'. lol.

This is our hotel. The meals/snacks areb excelent . Lovely staff, superb full sea/balcony room. https://www.riu.com/en/hotel/portugal/madeira/hotel-riu-madeira

A case of horses for courses,I suppose. To be fair, in the pastbwe did hire a car but still stayed full board.

 

[JohnC6]

Broadly speaking I see cruises as a holiday akin to going somewhere like Ibiza i.e. not for us.

The one exception I would like to make if I could ever afford it would be a specialised trip to Antarctica, where there are perhaps a maximum of 30-40 passengers and the purpose of the trip in to enjoy the wildlife and the wonders to see & photograph.

Oh, I just thought........a river cruise might just appeal but again that is based on only limited number of passengers e.g less than 100???

My. wife would like to do a Rhine cruise but, as you say, a small number of passengers and, as we know, 'there's nowt as queer as folk' so if you get stuck with someone at a table..I assume people generally stick to the same table, it could spoil the trip if you don't gel. Apart from that, It's just too cramped for me.

 

[Earley Man]

Sitting in reception at my opticians a few years ago I noticed that the receptionsts were talking about their holidays, one just having returned from a cruise.

"Were you on one of those huge ships we see on the telly adverts" said one.

"Oh yes" said the other, "It was absolutely massive. It makes you realise how deep the ocean is that such a thing can float on it."

Wow.

It makes you realise how deep the ocean is that such a thing can float on it."

 

[LCPete]

We don't do "lack of comfort", Pete..... It sounds a great trip. Hope you post photos. I've just watched a Youtube video of it and shown it to my wife. Not sure we'd take to ..quote..'sleeping under the stars'...lol. That was just one night.. Mosquito nets around the bed ?..Mmmm. Also, I've just checked flight times and . It takes about 14 hours with stop-overs. I do envy you such a trip but my wife doesn't think we'd cope too well......

Thanks John travelling was a slog took 36 hours almost 2 days to get there due to long wait at Dubai but was worth it was incredible
Will post pictures, at the moment am figuring out editing my wifes 4 K video she got some great footage
Saw Leopard catch a warthog piglet and 5 Lions bring down a Buffalo
I didn’t get bitten once , puzzling in a way as I do get bitten when I go to the local river and peat bog

 

[boogie man]

Cruise ships are odd things i know a few folk who love the whole thing and wont do anything else now, for me its my idea of hell

I think it very much depends where the ship goes. We’ve done a couple of cruises and found them interesting. The best one for us was from Vancouver going up the coast to Alaska… some of the sights, like the glaciers calving, you’d only ever see properly from the sea. I wouldn’t be so bothered about trips like going round the Med and would much rather see those countries via a land based visit.

 

[Clive K]

Regards river cruises: I would think that you could see and experience more by flying out, hiring a car and staying in interesting places on route.

 

[Nod]

Saw Leopard catch a warthog piglet and 5 Lions bring down a Buffalo
I didn’t get bitten once ,

Probably a good thing!!!

 

[LCPete]

Probably a good thing!!!

Oh yes

 

[Nod]

More seriously on the bitten subject, I use Avon Skin So Soft and don't get bitten. Mrs Nod does through SSS but not through her Jungle Formula DEET based stuff.

 

[Clive K]

More seriously on the bitten subject, I use Avon Skin So Soft and don't get bitten. Mrs Nod does through SSS but not through her Jungle Formula DEET based stuff.

Does it deter lions?

 

[LCPete]

More seriously on the bitten subject, I use Avon Skin So Soft and don't get bitten. Mrs Nod does through SSS but not through her Jungle Formula DEET based stuff.

Oh yes the Deet based stuff does work but it’s horrible to use , am going to try the Deet free next summer, we used the Deet free Incognito cream free on holiday, my wife did get bitten a few times though

 

[JohnC6]

Thanks John travelling was a slog took 36 hours almost 2 days to get there due to long wait at Dubai but was worth it was incredible
Will post pictures, at the moment am figuring out editing my wifes 4 K video she got some great footage
Saw Leopard catch a warthog piglet and 5 Lions bring down a Buffalo
I didn’t get bitten once , puzzling in a way as I do get bitten when I go to the local river and peat bog

My wife wouldn't cope with watching kills tbh. I have to say that. I would struggle,too. I gave up watching David Attenborough wildlife documentaries after they filmed a zebra,on the ground, head up, looking back at lions eating its rear. That image has haunted me for a long time.

There's a short-eared fluffy white cat here called Mia..it was a stray..and it does 'meet and greet' with guests..lol. It goes to reception when it's hungry. It meets and greets my wife most days and they gave a chat... She's said to tell you that she appreciates it's how the natural. world is but..no..she couldn't watch that. She'd want to run to the warthog and save it and shoo the lions away from the buffalo. Good luck with that,then......lol.


Re mosquitos. James O'Brien,LBC. Radio presenter, has a good slot every Thursday 12-1.00pm called. 'Mystery Hour'. People call in with a question..something that baffles them and sometime through the programme, those who knows the answer will call in, quite often, experts in various fields. Last week, someone asked why are some people bitten by mosquitos..it's only the females that bite, and some not ? . A caller said that mozzies do have preferences ..eg blood type. 'O'. the obese/overweight, those who recently drank alcohol...that's related to generating CO2 and also pregnant women..sorry..people. but he also said that the immune system of some people, like yourself, I assume, does not recognise the mosquito/insect saliva contents..ie... anti-coagulants and other proteins, and, consequently, fails to react by releasing histamine which is the cause of the redness, swelling and itching .

 

[LCPete]

My wife wouldn't cope with watching kills tbh. I have to say that. I would struggle,too. I gave up watching David Attenborough wildlife documentaries after they filmed a zebra,on the ground, head up, looking back at lions eating its rear. That image has haunted me for a long time.

There's a short-eared fluffy white cat here called Mia..it was a stray..and it does 'meet and greet' with guests..lol. It goes to reception when it's hungry. It meets and greets my wife most days and they gave a chat... She's said to tell you that she appreciates it's how the natural. world is but..no..she couldn't watch that. She'd want to run to the warthog and save it and shoo the lions away from the buffalo. Good luck with that,then......lol.


Re mosquitos. James O'Brien,LBC. Radio presenter, has a good slot every Thursday 12-1.00pm called. 'Mystery Hour'. People call in with a question..something that baffles them and sometime through the programme, those who knows the answer will call in, quite often, experts in various fields. Last week, someone asked why are some people bitten by mosquitos..it's only the females that bite, and some not ? . A caller said that mozzies do have preferences ..eg blood type. 'O'. the obese/overweight, those who recently drank alcohol...that's related to generating CO2 and also pregnant women..sorry..people. but he also said that the immune system of some people, like yourself, I assume, does not recognise the mosquito/insect saliva contents..ie... anti-coagulants and other proteins, and, consequently, fails to react by releasing histamine which is the cause of the redness, swelling and itching .

Yes understand about the kills with big cats, the Leopard killed the piglet quickly but the Lions on the Buffalo was hard to watch, my other half couldn’t bear to film it so do understand
I guess it’s nature, the guide told us that the Lions do normally quickly suffocate their prey but with Buffalo they can’t as they are too big
Interesting about the mozzies I didn’t know that and it sounds like I may have been bitten but not realised because my system didn’t react
We did take anti malarial medication, Malerone though

 

[JohnC6]

I think it very much depends where the ship goes. We’ve done a couple of cruises and found them interesting. The best one for us was from Vancouver going up the coast to Alaska… some of the sights, like the glaciers calving, you’d only ever see properly from the sea. I wouldn’t be so bothered about trips like going round the Med and would much rather see those countries via a land based visit.

We also did the Alaska trip in 2001 ,with Celebrity Cruises from Vancouver to Seward. An Orca mom/calf swam alongside in Prince William Sound..They were just a couple of metres, if that, from the ship and we were on the move. A lot of passengers went to the side rail to look down on them.We went on a train into the mountains ..White Pass route,Yukon...going through a cutting with snow either side even though it was May. We went over a 'long-bend' viaduct, quite high off the ground, and we could see the loco on the bend ahead from the rear coaches.We passed a huge rock slab under which are still the remains of some gold prospectors who were caught out as it slid down the mountainside ..that was in the 1890's . We also saw the Hubbard glacier. Looked much closer than it really was. I asked a crew member and he said it was about 3 miles away.

It's the best cruise we've been on and would highly recommend it. At Juneau we were berthed close to the ship that the singer, Jane McDonald, had been working on and seen by millions on the TV documentary about cruise ships and it launched her solo career. That was 'Celebrity Galaxy'. 1800-2,400 passengers. We were on 'Celebrity Constellation'.

 

[JohnC6]

Regards river cruises: I would think that you could see and experience more by flying out, hiring a car and staying in interesting places on route.

Clive. Our hotel link is now live. Post..22. I've just noted it wasn't live. I have no idea why that sometimes happens. I was rushing..for a late evening meal and didn't check..Mrs JC was 'urging 'haste'...lol...

Re Continental river cruises. Exactly my thoughts. Infact, when I lived in Germany, some of us used the local ferries to hop on and off along the Rhein, have lunch somewhere and back home. It was cheap and still is.

 

[welshwizard645]

The only boat trip I can cope with is the 2 hour crossing from Dover to Dunkerque with DFDS; I know Dover to Calais is shorter and quicker but the Dunkerque boats (ex Norfolk Line) are much nicer - their breakfasts are excellent. Longer than that I feel like a caged animal, and I am not a people person.

 

[mj4456]

We visit Madeira twice a year, hotel near the ferry terminal in October ish and then up to the lido area in March ish, AI in March but we still got out often to eat in town to favourite restaurants, some huge cruise ships in whilst we were there 2 weeks ago but on those days we might just have a quiet day in the sun or wander around the areas off the main streets, we find most off the boats are off on bus tours for the day and back on board to eat at night, minority being led around town to end up in the food market to empty their pockets.

 

[moggi1964]

I worked on cruise ships in 1981/82; the Sun Princess and a brief trip on the Canberra. Loved the Sun and hated the Canberra.

Ships were a lot smaller back then compared to now and had less of an impact on places they visited. I remember the places we visited in Alaska such as Skagway, Ketchikan and Sitka were nowhere near as 'Disneyland' as they are now. Sad really.

I remember I used to see bags of rubbish being dumped out of the gun port doors of a night. Seems it was the thing to do back then; thankfully not now.

My wife, son, dog and I moved back to the UK in 2015 from the USA. We took the Queen Mary 2 instead of flying. She is a big vessel but to be honest we never felt like it was crowded at all. A wonderful trip, fantastic food and entertainment and an enormous wine bill Worth every penny (the cost without the wine bill was very reasonable).

 

[boogie man]

We also did the Alaska trip in 2001 ,with Celebrity Cruises from Vancouver to Seward. An Orca mom/calf swam alongside in Prince William Sound..They were just a couple of metres, if that, from the ship and we were on the move. A lot of passengers went to the side rail to look down on them.We went on a train into the mountains ..White Pass route,Yukon...going through a cutting with snow either side even though it was May. We went over a 'long-bend' viaduct, quite high off the ground, and we could see the loco on the bend ahead from the rear coaches.We passed a huge rock slab under which are still the remains of some gold prospectors who were caught out as it slid down the mountainside ..that was in the 1890's . We also saw the Hubbard glacier. Looked much closer than it really was. I asked a crew member and he said it was about 3 miles away.

It's the best cruise we've been on and would highly recommend it. At Juneau we were berthed close to the ship that the singer, Jane McDonald, had been working on and seen by millions on the TV documentary about cruise ships and it launched her solo career. That was 'Celebrity Galaxy'. 1800-2,400 passengers. We were on 'Celebrity Constellation'.

We went with Holland America. The ship was very comfortable and the food was excellent but the entertainment wasn’t great… even worse it had all finished by about 9pm. They obviously expected the passengers to all be tucked up in bed with a cup of cocoa by 9.30. I’m no youngster (I’m in my 70s) but even I don’t pack in that early.

We did similar excursions to yourself by the sound of it, we really enjoyed the White Pass Railway trip too. Another trip we liked was getting a seaplane that flew up over one of the glaciers (I can’t remember the name off the top of my head) and then landed at a camp in the mountains. They served freshly caught salmon for lunch, just simply grilled over charcoal. It was seriously the best fish I’ve ever tasted.