Cruise Casinos - Gambling at Sea

A little history about gambling on the water and many pointers about cruise ship gambling.  A little background never hurts the odds!!

• History
• Rules of the Games 
• Black Jack 
• Roulette
• Poker
• Craps
• Slots

If you plan to gamble, it is probably a good idea to be familiar with the rules and odds.  The luck of the Irish may not be sufficient!

Spa Anyone?

If you want to know what the inside of the Royal Caribbean Spa looks like, here is a short video.

Take Time to See the Sights

Advice from Alaska Cruise Tours Online:

If you spend only one night at a land location, you will find yourself rushed through the various sights, and will feel as though you didn't get an adequate chance to explore. Don't overbook your shore tours. Allow yourself plenty of time to explore on your own, do some shopping, or just relax.

Taking too many excursions in a port will likely leave you feeling as though you missed something. Tours often take longer than scheduled, so allow at least 1-1/2 hours between excursions. Book your shore excursions early. Some cruise lines allow you to book your shore excursions some time before your cruise begins. Take advantage of this to avoid long lines and disappointments.

It is especially important to do so with excursions that have strictly limited participation, such as those that involve flight-seeing. Seek out tours not promoted by the cruise line. You are not limited in your choices of excursions to just those offered by your cruise line. Often, you can find something that will be much more to your liking than the standard options. Get on the web and do your own research.

Land Tours

There are many land tours which are not connected with a specific cruise line.  And, often the price is lower than what you might get if you book through the cruise line.  However, the tours need to be compared as they do not all cover the same itinerary.  Some individual land tours that sound interesting have been listed on this blog.  But, there are many more. 

Be sure to take a look at some of these tour groups and tour sites for ideas: 

Shore Excursions Group

Alaska org - Juneau
Alaska org - Skagway
Alaskan Tours - Juneau
Alaskan Tours - Skagway
Day Tours in Victoria

Glacier Discovery

Helicopter Glacier Discovery 

Leave all traces of civilization behind and experience the infinite beauty of Alaska's remote glaciers.

Lift off from the historic Skagway waterfront and head into a rugged region of sheer mountains, majestic valleys and massive glaciers. Jagged peaks towering over the Chilkat Glacier, cascading waterfalls, surrounding the Ferebee Glacier, or the spectacular river of ice known as the Meade Glacier, may be among the wonders you encounter.

Flight routes and landing zones are selected daily to ensure that you receive the best that the area has to offer. Once you have reached your destination, you will be given the rare opportunity to explore one of Mother Nature's greatest marvels. Enjoy the walking tour of a lifetime as our experienced glacier guides answer all of your questions and show you examples of the awesome forces of nature at work.

Tour includes approximately 40 minutes in the aircraft and 40 minutes on the glacier. Times will vary due to weather and glacier conditions. Space is limited.

Cost: $321.00 per person

Source: Shore Excursions Group

Skagway and White Pass Land Tour

Skagway City and White Pass Summit 

The highlight of your Alaskan experience will begin with a guided mini-coach tour of Skagway’s Historic District. Your guide will explain why Skagway was known as the toughest town on earth during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-99. You will visit historic points of interest such as the Klondike Gold Rush Cemetery (AKA Skagway's Boot Hill), where you will learn of the gunfight between Frank Reid and Soapy Smith, the most famous shootout since the OK Corral.

A stop will also be made at the Scenic Skagway Overlook where your guide will take your picture with the town below, the mountains in the background, and your cruise ship in the harbor.

As you journey up the scenic Klondike Highway you will parallel to the historic White Pass Trail much of the way to the 3,292 foot summit. Along this glacier carved valley are glaciers, thundering waterfalls, majestic mountain vistas and pristine wilderness. Once at the summit, you will descend into the daunting Tormented Valley in British Columbia, Canada. It is this area which inspired the classic authors Robert Service and Jack London. The Tormented Valley is an eco-tone; here two separate ecosystems transform to become the other. After visiting this area of 300 - 400 year old trees known as “Krummholz,” many of which are no taller than chest-high, you will return to Skagway.

During your tour various photo stops will be made to help you maximize your Alaskan experience. Please Note: This tour will be crossing the Canadian border and then back across the US border. As of June 1, 2009 all U.S. and Canadian citizens who are 16 and older traveling between the U.S. and Canada by land, will be required to present a valid passport (or government authorized "enhanced" drivers license.) We recommend you bring a photo I.D. as well. U.S. and Canadian citizens who are 15 years old or younger may travel with a certified birth certificate. People of all other citizenships are required to have a photo I.D., a passport, and visa (If required). All minors must be accompanied by a legal guardian.

Cost: $52.00 per person, tour not available on Sunday.

Source: Cruise Excursions Group

Juneau Land Tour

Juneau City and Mendenhall Glacier Tour
Juneau is one of the most unique state Capitals in the entire United States. Although Juneau isn’t an island, it is land locked and you can only get to it by air or sea. Your tour begins in the historical downtown district. You will drive through downtown where you will see the streets lined with gift shops, jewelry shops, king crab shacks and local fish restaurants. The tour will take you right by the Governor’s Mansion, Alaska State Capitol and world famous Red Dog Saloon.
 
Departing the downtown area, you will make your way north to the valley area and the Mendenhall Glacier. Along the way you will see boat harbors full of Alaskan fishing boats, boathouses and the Mendenhall Wetland Refuge. On clear days you can see the majestic Chilkat Mountains in the distance.

Once you arrive at the National Park, you will have some time to walk around the Visitor Center, which has an elevated view of the glacier. The Visitor’s Center hosts exhibits as well as a short film about the Juneau Ice Fields. Admission to the visitor center is included in the price of the tour.

For those guests feeling more adventurous, there are several short hiking paths and walking trails around the lake area including Photo Point Trail, which winds along Mendenhall Lake to an unobstructed view of the glacier face. At the appointed time, meet your guide for the trip back to town.

The tour comes to an end with a stop at famous Douglas Island, a historic mining community, for photo opportunities and panoramic views across the ocean to downtown Juneau. You will then arrive back to the main cruise ship terminal.

Tour cost: Adults: $39.00; Children 2-12: $31.00

Source: Shore Excursions Group

Victoria Bus Tour

Victoria Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off Bus

Discover the sights of Victoria on an open-air bus or classic turn of the century trolley bus. The 90-minute sightseeing tour with on-board commentary gives you a quick way to see the main attractions of this beautiful city. Even better --you can hop on and off the buses at any of the 22 stops giving you the opportunity to see the sights at your own pace! Victoria proves a gentle blend of colonial England and up-to-date Western Canada. 

The capital city of British Columbia, Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. Named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and the Dominion of Canada, Victoria is one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest, with British settlement beginning in 1841. The city has retained a large number of its historic buildings, in particular its two most famous landmarks, the British Columbia Parliament Buildings (home of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia) and the Empress hotel. The city's Chinatown is the second oldest in North America after San Francisco's. 

Whether you want to visit the major attractions, spend time shopping, or visit one of the many fine restaurants – this is the tour for you! During peak season one of the buses will be at each stop within 20 minutes so you can move quickly to your next destination.

Price: $30.00 per person NOTE: I THINK THIS TOUR BUS IS NOW OUT OF BUSINESS.

Source: Shore Excursions Group

Photographing Your Cruise

The key to taking photographs on a cruise is that you have to be prepared to work in a lot of different lighting situations: on deck in very bright sunlight, indoors by dim available light, and in both good and bad weather. One of the nice things about shooting digital on a cruise is that most cruise ships have a computer lab or cyber café where you can download and print your images and email them home (via satellite connection) or burn them on to a CD.

One of the blessings of cruising is that you can bring a ton of gear and it's as near as your cabin. If you are a DSLR shooter, bring a pair of zooms (a wide-angle-to-normal and a telephoto zoom) and an accessory flash. If you're making an inland passage or are cruising in an island group like the Bahamas, you'll have many opportunities to photograph scenery from on deck. Coming into port is an especially exciting time, but it happens quickly and often at dawn, so be up early and bring everything you need.

Work from the upper decks and use a wide lens to include the bow or side of the ship for scale and perspective. On breezy days there will be a windward (windy) and leeward (calm) side to the ship; if the scenery is equally nice, shoot from the latter. Most ships publish a daily calendar that is slipped under your door each night by seagoing elves; it lists the next day's events and helps you plan your day's shooting. On a ship, you don't have to worry about not being included in pictures; the ship's photographers will capture your group's every waking moment and post the photos for sale each evening.

Source: Fodors

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Elaine's suggestions:

1. Have at least 8GB of card storage (at 10 megapixels, it will hold nearly 2000 photos)

2. Bring two rechargeable batteries or a handful of disposable ones.

3. Don't forget the battery charger, if you use rechargeable batteries.

4. Although the article above speaks about being able to download photos at a cyber cafe, the computer use charges on ships are horrendous, so don't plan on using the services of the ship.

5. If you have a video camera, considering adding it to your equipment.  Again, bring storage media, battery charger, etc.

6. Have some sort of carrying case which protects your equipment but is not bulky.

7. If you use an SLR camera, bring your telephoto and wide angle lenses.

8. Take many many photos and delete the ones that aren't so good as you go.

9. If you have an iPad or other small laptop, you can use it to download your photos daily, making a second copy just in case your photo card gets corrupted or your camera falls overboard!!!

10. If you don't use your camera much, practice with your camera before the trip so you can quickly snap that photo; get the best photo in bright sun or low light; use the close up and distance settings;  generally understand all the settings of the camera.