Alaska, NCL Wind or Celebrity Galaxy

[Mr. Mortgage]

This question is for those of you who have done Alaska ports and cruises.
I need to make a decision concerning which ship to cruise on next July.
My choice is either the NCL Wind or Celebrity Galaxy. In the past I have sailed
on the Windward and the Mercury, so I am familiar with all the usual about the
cruise lines and amenities etc. My question concerns the itineraries. Based on
the itineraries below which would you chose and please give the reasons for your
choice.

Thanks
Richard

NCL Wind

Day 1 Depart 5:30
Day 2 Cruise Inside Passage
Day 3 Cruise Sawyer Glacier
Day 4 Skagway 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Day 5 Haines 6:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Day 6 Juneau 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Day 7 Ketchikan 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Day 8 Cruise Inside Passage

Galaxy

Day 1 Depart 5:45
Day 2 Cruise Inside Passage
Day 3 Juneau 10:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Day 4 Skagway 7:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Day 5 Haines 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Day 6 Cruise Hubbard Glacier
Day 7 Ketchikan 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Day 8 Cruise Inside Passage

[Doug McDonald]

>
> NCL Wind
>
> Day 1 Depart 5:30
> Day 2 Cruise Inside Passage
> Day 3 Cruise Sawyer Glacier
> Day 4 Skagway 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
> Day 5 Haines 6:30 PM - 11:00 PM
> Day 6 Juneau 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM
> Day 7 Ketchikan 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
> Day 8 Cruise Inside Passage
>
> Galaxy
>
> Day 1 Depart 5:45
> Day 2 Cruise Inside Passage
> Day 3 Juneau 10:00 AM - 11:00 PM
> Day 4 Skagway 7:00 AM - 4:30 PM
> Day 5 Haines 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
> Day 6 Cruise Hubbard Glacier
> Day 7 Ketchikan 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
> Day 8 Cruise Inside Passage

There is something extremely strange on those lists.

Where is the ship between 4:30 or 5:00 PM on Day 4 and
6:00 or 6:30 PM on day 5?

Or do they count "days" as changing at 6:00 PM??? I guess
that might explain it.

Doug McDonald

[Ray Goldenberg]

On Mon, 06 Sep 1999 14:32:34 -0500, Doug McDonald
<mcdo...@scs.uiuc.edu> wrote:

>Where is the ship between 4:30 or 5:00 PM on Day 4 and
>6:00 or 6:30 PM on day 5?
>
>Or do they count "days" as changing at 6:00 PM??? I guess
>that might explain it.

Hi Doug,

Now you know it is a long ways between Skagway and Haines. <vbg>
Actually, cruises will usually visit Haines and Skagway the same day.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

[Pam Scheer]

Doug McDonald <mcdo...@scs.uiuc.edu> wrote in message
news:37D416D2...@scs.uiuc.edu...

>
> >
> > NCL Wind
> >
> > Day 1 Depart 5:30
> > Day 2 Cruise Inside Passage
> > Day 3 Cruise Sawyer Glacier
> > Day 4 Skagway 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
> > Day 5 Haines 6:30 PM - 11:00 PM
> > Day 6 Juneau 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM
> > Day 7 Ketchikan 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
> > Day 8 Cruise Inside Passage
> >
> > Galaxy
> >
> > Day 1 Depart 5:45
> > Day 2 Cruise Inside Passage
> > Day 3 Juneau 10:00 AM - 11:00 PM
> > Day 4 Skagway 7:00 AM - 4:30 PM
> > Day 5 Haines 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
> > Day 6 Cruise Hubbard Glacier
> > Day 7 Ketchikan 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
> > Day 8 Cruise Inside Passage
>
> There is something extremely strange on those lists.
>

> Where is the ship between 4:30 or 5:00 PM on Day 4 and
> 6:00 or 6:30 PM on day 5?
>
> Or do they count "days" as changing at 6:00 PM??? I guess
> that might explain it.
>

> Doug McDonald

Obviously, some errors here. Skagway and Haines are on the same day (they
are 14 nautical miles apart) - day 4. Hubbard Glacier is day 5, Ketchikan
is day 6, Inside Passage is day 7, and debarkation is day 8.
At least that's the way it was on the Galaxy this past June

Pam Scheer (loved the Galaxy , but 45 days to the Sun Princess)

[Mr. Mortgage]

OK OK OK, Skagway and Haines are the same day.
So how about answering the question in the original post.

Based on the itineraries below which would you chose and
please give the reasons for your choice.

Thanks
Richard

Pam Scheer wrote in message <7r1d00$5h7o$1...@newssvr03-int.news.prodigy.com>...

[reeltime]

No sure about the Galaxy, but the Wind seemed to be the ship using tenders.
We were just on the Veendam which docked at each port. So if using tenders
is a problem for you maybe the galaxy docks. We never noticed any Celebrity
ships at all the week of 8/23-8/30. We did notice the wind simply because
my mom asked how come that ship was anchored out there and we along with another
HAL ship and the Crown Princess were docked. She wanted to know how the people
got off the ship.
Mary

[Pam Scheer]

Mr. Mortgage <Mortga...@usa.net> wrote in message
news:7r1eo2$vle$1...@nntp1.atl.mindspring.net...

> OK OK OK, Skagway and Haines are the same day.
> So how about answering the question in the original post.
> Based on the itineraries below which would you chose and
> please give the reasons for your choice.
>
> Thanks
> Richard

Richard:
The 2 itineraries seem almost he same, except for 3 obvious differences:

Amount of time in Juneau - I'd suggest the Galaxy for the longer time in
Juneau - enough to do something in the evening. We took an after dinner
trip up Mt Roberts, and it was just beautiful at that time of day.

Arrival time in Ketchikan - with the Galaxy, you won't be able to get in
any morning touring, since arrival isn't until 11:00. On the other hand, it
will probably be raining there, so this may not matter. Shopping (which is
supposed to be best in Ketchikan) goes on all day long - just carry an
umbrella.

Sawyer Glacier vs, Hubbard Glacier - have to defer to someone else on
that one, since I have no experience with either one - we were lucky enough
to get Glacier Bay, instead.

Ira J. Scheer

[D S]

My husband and I went on the Norwegian Wind last August. They used the
Tenders to get us off at one of the ports. We were told that the ships
took turns. No problem!

We really enjoyed the food, the crew and the entertainment. The ship
stayed at Margies glacier longer then usual, so we could take pictures
and watch pieces fall into the water.

I'm am taking the Hawaii cruise on the same ship this month, (Sept.
20th).

Happy sailing! I don't think you will be disappointed with NCL Wind.
Diane