bhageerah

Really interesting article! I wasn't surprised to read about the absolute ban on crew fraternizing with passengers, but I was surprised to read about how getting romantically involved with your fellow crew members is not only allowed, it's basically encouraged! I guess it makes sense. You're "stuck" with these people for six to ten months, so I can see how they'd want to reduce the... umm... tensions that might otherwise build up.
Still, with the way the author said relationships on board tend to be like "dog years" and get hyper-accelerated, makes you wonder about the potential inter-crew drama that might unfold with it.

Sitting at the doctor's office and came across the most interesting article. Thought I would share. Take away from it whatever you will. The most interesting thing to me was the fear of "chicken or beef". No wonder RC rates low for you know what! ?? still can't let it go!
http://nationalpost.com/travel/secret-codes-and-subliminal-messages-a-look-inside-the-worlds-biggest-cruise-ship

For example ..... I'm going through a parking lot earlier here in Cumberland, MD and I find a license tag with something very familiar.....
My brain went straight to "My Time Dining". (Of course, I deleted part of the tag for safety reasons)
Let see who can come up with things that remind them of cruising ..... no cheating, no using Google Images

Now I know why I book down by the prop.....

I am currently booked on an Alaskan cruise and already can not wait, I just want you to know that you just made my illness much worse!! Great pictures and great post!  Thank you! Great job!  

We just completed our 6th cruise and wanted to offer a general observation.  We love Royal and generally think they do things well in all areas.  However we come back amazed every time how many conversations we overhear that someone didn't know something was available to them on the ship.  For example the last night of the cruise someone eating in the main dining room for the first time.  They didn't know they could order an extra entree if they wanted one or if they have a food allergy the staff will do everything they can to meet their menu needs.  I understand why the company always host a port shopping event early each cruise, to increase their profits.  However I would think the could build brand loyalty by hosting a "newbie" event to offer insights into the ship and the great variety of items available during the cruise.  Maybe they alrady do,but as a still relative newbie we didn't see it on the cruise compass.
Royal shoould recognize that the script for the " newbie show " is already written for them with this blog and all of its great contributors.  We have found so much great information here we always feel at home on whatever ship we are sailing.  We really feel like we are giving back when we can answer a fellow cruisers question.  We also point them here so for their next cruise they will more informed which I think leads to a better cruise experience.

The 500+ point gap between D+ and Pinnacle means we will probably die of old age first. Anyone who can cruise that much deserves the perks.

Day 5 - Icy Straight Point (Hoonah)
This port is NOT on the Alaska Group Cruise

This is a relatively new port of call and it is run by the local native population.  They restrict access to a single ship at a time and they have restricted shops and stores so you won’t find the same old Jewelry and souvenir shops like in other ports.  Many cruisers feel this creates a more authentic Alaskan experience while others state its boring because there is limited shopping with only some local native items available.  


This was the home of a fish packaging plant which contributed to the local economy.  The village of Hoonah is a 30 minute walk away or there are shuttle buses that operate.  The zip line here claims to be the longest in the world (Labadee claims to be the longest over water).  This is one of the more popular ports for whale watching and some boats guarantee seeing whales.  




My excursion at this port was Whale Watching.  We saw many but if I had to do it again I would seek a smaller boat that can get closer to the action.  We tended to stay back a bit due to being on a larger less maneuverable boat.





Some people complain they don’t see the whole whale.  A full breach where a whale jumps into the air is rare.  Most of the time you can see them go through several breathing cycles evidenced by the spout of misty air being exhaled before they dive deep and then swallow large volumes of water with fish in their massive mouths as they swim towards the surface.  Our guides reported that the bubble feeding we saw was also rare this time of year.  This is where several whales work together to contain a school of fish and drive them into a tight group so that all the whales can feed.

Throughout this cruise we frequently were able to spot eagles in the trees.  The onboard naturalist had told us to watch for “golf balls in the trees”.  That remark stayed with me and sure enough the first thing you would spot is the little white head standing out against the trees.

We also saw other sea life at this port.


After the whale watching excursion I wandered around the port area before re-boarding the ship.


Walking back to the ship from the packaging plant where the whale excursion boats depart from:





This was our shortest port of call.  We had six hours in this port.  Since only a single ship can be in port at any time we split the day with a sister ship the Celebrity Infinity doing a round trip out of Vancouver.  As we slid out of port the Infinity slid in behind us.  

Day 3 - Juneau
This is a port of call on the Alaska Group Cruise.
Heading to the upper decks I discovered we were no longer in open ocean but back in a passage.  Having sailed the Caribbean many times this is one thing that really sets Alaskan cruises apart.  

Much of the time you are surrounded by land.  Not just land but mountains.  On Caribbean cruises you only see land when you are in port, the rest of the time its mostly water all around you.

There would eventually be four other ships in port with us today.  We were the 3rd to arrive.

The float plane is a quintessential element of Alaska and we would see them at almost every port.  

From my balcony I could watch them come and go from the sea plane base next to us.




At the Mount Roberts Tramway I discovered the local price is the same as that charged on board or in advance.   I didn’t do it this time because I had an excursion booked and by this point in the cruise I had knew I would do an Alaskan cruise again another year.  I had to leave some stuff for the next trip!

Given that it’s the same price I’ll leave this as a game day decision based on weather.  If its rainy or cloudy I’m not sure I’d go.  
Walking around Juneau the port area is kind of touristy but fun.

Close to the ships there are a lot of jewelry and souvenir stores so in a sense it’s not much different than a Caribbean port.   To experience Alaska you need to venture past the port and excursions are the way to do that.  Plan a healthy excursion budget if you can.  Today my excursion was a helicopter trip onto Mendenhall Glacier with a guided walk on it.
We took a 20 minute bus ride to the heliport.  There we watched a little video about our trip, took in some safety information about the helicopter and they fitted us with glacier covers for our footwear that would give us traction on the glacier.  They just slipped over the hiking boots I was wearing.
Based on weight they assigned us seating positions and we marched outside single file to staging areas waiting for our helicopters to arrive with the previous passengers returning from their trip.



It’s one thing to see these impressive glaciers from a distance but flying over them you get to see them from a very different perspective.



Coming in for our landing on the glacier we started to see it up close.

As instructed we got out of the helicopter with the blades still spinning above us and went to meet the guides waiting for us there.

There were three helicopters that flew in formation and landed together.  Here are two of them.

The helicopters rose into the sky to get the next wave of passengers leaving us on the glacier with our guides.


Our guide showed us her “push up” method of sampling the glacier run off water.  Trust me, that water is COLD!  

Melt water creates cracks and crevices on the surface of the glacier.

From a distance when looking at a glacier you can see dirty streaks where it has scraped along the side of a hill or mountain but up close you get see that dirt trail is full of large rocks and even some very large boulders.


The state flag:

The familiar thump thump thump of helicopters returning told us our time on the glacier was nearing its end.

Our guides helped us re-board with the blades spinning above us.


Taking off we flew towards the front of the glacier and the lake that many people view it from.


At $350 pp it was not an inexpensive excursion but worth every penny.  I would see many glaciers in the distance on this cruise and having walked on a glacier and seeing one up close that knowledge and experience came flooding back with every glacier I would see.  

The Millennium was the first in its class and she has three sister ships.  First launched in 2000 at 91,000 GT with a passenger capacity of 2,138 she isn’t a large ship by any stretch but she is well maintained.  
As I boarded the ship they offered sparkling wine and mimosa.  




The Martini Bar with it’s frozen bar top would become well visited on this cruise.  Despite it’s name it offers just about any kind of beverage.


I had booked a Suite GTY and was assigned an S1 Sky Suite.  There are two sky suites on Millennium class that are unique.  They are right beside the aft Penthouse Suites on port and starboard and they have an adjoining door inside the cabin to the penthouse.  They are designed to function as an extra bedroom for folks booking the Penthouse Suite who need a little more room for an extra guest.  When not needed in that capacity they become available as an S1 Sky suite.  As such these sky suites are decorated just like the Penthouse suites and are a little larger than the standard S1 Sky suites.












The Millennium offers a spacious pool deck with several hot tubs.




There are plenty of areas to take in the beauty of Alaska on this class of ship.




Aft there is an outdoor TV and seating area.

For an Alaskan cruise they offer towels and fleece blankets.







There is also an indoor solarium which would be very popular on this cruise.  It’s adult only except between 4-6pm when kids are allowed.  That’s a good thing because the outdoor pools and hot tubs were just warm, certainly not hot.  I tried an outdoor hot tub once on this cruise.  Just once.  From that point on I used the solarium.




Forward on deck 11 is the multi-purpose Cosmos lounge with excellent views forward.



Leaving the lounge you can head to the outside deck area.










Mille has dry docked a few times over the years and has some very nice decor.




Like RCI ships there are specialty restaurants.



Luminae is a suite only restaurant and where I would eat almost all of my meals.




Blu is the restaurant for Aqua class guests


Somehow I made a wrong turn and found the gym

Despite being 17 years old it a very nice ship.  It’s not brand new and it doesn’t have an ice rink or zip lines or bumper cars but it was perfect for Alaska.



While we were still tied up in the Seward port a Humpback whale came into the port and began feeding.





The Windjammer like buffet area is the Oceanview Cafe and Grill and it has an aft bar and seating area called the Oceanview Bar.





Heading out of port and into the ocean just after 10pm we were treated to an awesome sunset as we headed South towards our next day at Hubbard Glacier.



On board the Millie was a naturalist.  At evening talks in the main theater he would explain what to look for tomorrow and what to expect.  On this sailing we also had Captain Dave and his wife from the Aleutian Ballad.  This crab boat was one of those featured in the early seasons of the “The Deadliest Catch”.  He has since converted that boat in an excursion for cruise ships passengers.  He was an amazing guest speaker and his talks in the main theater became must see events.  Even the informal Q & A session with his wife in the Cosmos lounge was great.
What an amazing first day.  A fantastic train ride followed by boarding and seeing whales right from the ship before we even left port.  Then a spectacular 10pm sunset.  As RCI likes to tweet, on this cruise I would find myself frequently in Section O, Row M, Seat G many times. 

Guess what !  Royal is now charging for some of the shows in the main theater !
My cruise planner for my upcoming Allure sailing has an option for an "insider" view of Mama Mia ! for $79 PER PERSON.  This special "event" includes a cocktail, a photograph. preferred seating (whatever that means) and a meet and greet with the cast members.
What a joke !  I wouldn't even watch Mama Mia ! when it was free I'm SURE as he** not going to pay $79 PP (plus gratuity, I'm SURE) to see a bunch of cruise line singers and dancers perform.  It's even $79 for children - not that I would take a child to this show in the first place....
Are there going to be "free" showings of Mama Mia ! on this sailing ?  Hard to tell.  The only option for reserving this show in my Cruise Planner was the paid version but that MAY mean that you will be unable to make a reservation for anything except for the paid version.  There may still be free, unreserved performances.  I just don't know at this point.
It seems that this new paid option is showing up on many sailings (new CC thread) and everyone seems universally outraged.  I sure hope they end up with empty theaters for these paid performances or this may be something we will be seeing more of.
This is just a bridge WAAAYTOOO far as far as I'm concerned.  When they start charging for this second-rate entertainment they've gone waaay off the deep end.

If you have a balcony cabin, you can pretty much go topless or bottomless whenever the fancy hits you.  However, I just wouldn't recommend doing that on a day the ship is in a port. 

Most cruise lines do have upcharges now.  For example on Carnival's last investor call they stated their greatest source of new revenue is from on board upcharges.  
I have a different perspective on 'nickel & dime'.  As cruise lines have introduced new concepts such as specialty dining or Voom internet there remain guests that don't want or need it.  On my current 19 night B2B I'm quite happy with MDR food for the last 2 weeks.  To make specialty dining free they have to increase base fares, nothing is 'free'.  Why should I pay higher base fares for others who want specialty dining?   Why should people who don't want to be connected pay more so I get 'free' internet?   
You can cruise and have an awesome experience on RCI without buying anything extra.  There are people who want more and people who don't.  
At least RCI hasn't created a totally chaotic boarding process then created a paid program to avoid it like another line has.  
 

Thought I would start this thread for fun.  We just got off a ship that I won't name (would not want @twangster to accuse me of blasphemy again ?) and I found myself missing RC desperately. So here goes...
You know that you are loyal to Royal when:
1. You catch yourself constantly referring to the buffet on the unnamed non RC ship as Windjammer. 
2. Every ship you see in the distance looks like an Oasis class ship to you.
3. You stare longingly at every RC ship that you are docked next to and wish you were on it instead. Then you snap pics of it for @Matt's Friday photos even though you are not sailing RC.
4. You catch yourself comparing every single little thing to RC and thinking RC does it better.  Then you start promoting RC to the rest of your sailing party and some crew members. ?
5. You find yourself wanting your sailing to end so you can quickly get on to your next RC cruise! March can't come soon enough!
 
How about the rest of you who love RC? How did you know? 

I would be very happy with Charleston, SC. A nice easy 5 hour ride from home!

Enchantment is coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry Texas! 

Looks like Majesty is moving to Tampa
Here is deployment as it looks today...

Here is what will happen after redeployment...

I am staying home from work on 11-07 so if they announce 2019-2020 cruises I can go further in debt to Royal.

I have, I did not make huge deal out of it, she had no idea what was going on, but her kids knew something was coming!  I waited until formal night and told the person that was taking our pictures what my intentions were and to please catch it on film, which she was more than happy to do.  After she was done taking the pictures of all of us she gave me the nod and I got down on my knee and asked her to marry me.  I liked it because it caught everything on film including her expression when she realized what was really going on.  

I was looking on another website and this was posted.......interesting and informative!  
 
http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/277322/big-interview-michael-bayley-president-and-chief-executive-of-royal-caribbean-international

To be fair, she was in the front seat that (as far as I can tell from all these videos) has no visible seat belt or other restraints. I suppose there might (must?) be a lap belt, but compared to the regular seatbelt you can see the boyfriend has on...

At the end of the day, if you made the wise decision to board a Royal ship, its all good!
 
 

I have, I did not make huge deal out of it, she had no idea what was going on, but her kids knew something was coming!  I waited until formal night and told the person that was taking our pictures what my intentions were and to please catch it on film, which she was more than happy to do.  After she was done taking the pictures of all of us she gave me the nod and I got down on my knee and asked her to marry me.  I liked it because it caught everything on film including her expression when she realized what was really going on.  

I have, I did not make huge deal out of it, she had no idea what was going on, but her kids knew something was coming!  I waited until formal night and told the person that was taking our pictures what my intentions were and to please catch it on film, which she was more than happy to do.  After she was done taking the pictures of all of us she gave me the nod and I got down on my knee and asked her to marry me.  I liked it because it caught everything on film including her expression when she realized what was really going on.