KJ1231

Got an email yesterday letting us know that Glacier Bay NP has been replaced by Skagway for our 5/15/2020 Radiance sailing. Disappointed, to say the least!!

I'm not certain that turning off the WiFi or turning off the phone will do it. If I'm not mistaken, the device remains registered on the ships network until you explicitly "logoff". I know I had to do this more than a few times before it became habit. This also prevents you from turning your phone on and "stealing" the connection back whe nyou didn't mean to. And, YES, you can share.

We had our 3yo and 2yo grandchildren with us on our last cruise. The first two nights we did My Time Dining altogether (9 of us) and the wait staff was great! They know how to handle the little ones. That said - they still get rammy after an hour or so. The remaining 3 nights my daughter would take them to the Windjammer to eat and then take them to be watched while we ate. We didn't have to rush to beat the rammy phase and the kids loved being with the other kids. Win-win!

Unless things have changed you may need an additional step. From any device go to your web browser and go to www.logout.com. This will disconnect your device from the network and assure you can get the other device connected. I have had issues connecting a device when another was already using the access code.

I synch my watch and phone to ship time as we're leaving ship and aim for 30-60 minutes early depending on where we'll be in port. Has a ship ever left early? You need to know how far away you are from the ship and the minimum time to get back (walk, cab, etc). I only have 4 cruises under my belt but reading this thread you might be afraid to take a non-RC excursion (we've done 2 and loved them and were something RC did not offer) or race back to the ship hours early just so you don't miss the ship. Bottom line - know where you are at all times and how long it will take you to get back to the gangplank. For example, there can be "state" security to re-board before you get to the ship.

There were 8 of us - lots of bags - and he was awesome - loaded all bags on 1 cart that got split between 2 cars. May have been slightly excessive but when we bypassed 100's in line at customs I felt a little generous. Large group, lots of bags and in the car and out of there in record time!

We did the Radiance southbound last year (2018) and liked it so much that we recently booked the northbound for May 2020 and taking 2 youngest, 18 & 21 this time. For us it is definitely the itinerary. And we enjoy the smaller ships 🙂 If I were to do Ovation it would only be the itinerary that includes Glacier Bay. If I'm not mistaken - Ovation only stops at Juneau and Skagway. Radiance also stops at Icy Strait. For some that's not a great port however we had a great time there and look forward to stopping again.

Also helps if you know how to make it! Have friends that are bartenders who will make any drink you ask for IF you can tell them how to make it.

No - we left our bags out the night before. As soon as we got to the baggage area we grabbed a porter. He loaded about 12 bags for the 8 of us and whisked us off to customs where the wait was less than 5 minutes. He then took the bags to the lower lever of the parking garage. We brought the 2 cars down and the porter them up and we were on our way. Well worth the $60 ($40 from me; $20 from my son-in-law) considering the long line to get through customs.

Sorry - did not notice...

I was set to book a 14-day Alaska cruise with HA for 2020 but when they released their itineraries they dropped the additional ports (Homer, Kodiak, Sitka in addition to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, etc.) that made it attractive. We're doing Radiance again. 4 cruises - all with RC. My in-laws were the ones who chose RC for the 1st one, not us. To be honest, if not for this website we may have tried others. I am a firm believer in not reinventing the wheel. I take advantage of other people experimenting and providing honest feedback. If it ain't broke, don't fix it....

We were on the same cruise as @rjac . There were 8 of us and lots of bags. When disembarking we grabbed a porter and bypassed everyone in customs. There was one person in line in front of us. If you disembark early it my not be a big deal. If later, I know it saved us at least 30 minutes and well worth the extra $$ I tipped the porter. He'll watch your bags while you bring the car down, too! It was less than 30 minutes from the time we swiped our sea pass card to get off the ship til we were in the car and ready to go!

Which cabin?

But do they cut off their nose to spite their face? We spent $500for 4 of us on a food and culture tour in Bermuda last week. The gent that led the tour was great and as a restaurant owner himself admitted that they don't expect to make a fortune from the folks on the cruise. They know people will tend to eat and drink alcohol on the ship since it's already paid for. Their hope is that a percentage of the cruisers like Bermuda enough that next time they would fly in and stay longer. From Philadelphia I can be in Bermuda in less than 2 hours. We will go back but probably not via cruise ship unless part of a much longer itinerary. I could fly to Bermuda on a Saturday and have 4 full days in Bermuda and come home Thursday morning. (Same schedule as the 5 night cruise we did) That said, those cities/towns need to factor in how many people return via plane, stay longer and spend much more because of the sampling they got during a cruise.

Sounds like a plan. There will be at least 4 of us so we can rotate in pairs 🙂 Recent Cruise Compass (5/17/19) says Express Departure folks could disembark around 7 so plan to line up around 6:30?