HeWhoWaits

On last week's Ovation cruise, other than the long lines to debark and re-board in Juneau due to the delayed arrival (caused by a crew-member medical evacuation), we didn't feel like any waits were unusually long for a ship carrying over 4000 passengers. Guess it's really a matter of perspective.

We completed the form prior to embarkation on Ovation. We did not need to show evidence to board in Seattle. Onboard, there were reminders to fill out the form before arriving in Victoria. We did not need to show evidence to leave the ship in Victoria. YMMV

We didn't receive any information about this in advance, but mid-cruise last week on Ovation we received information about it in our stateroom. You can give them your flight information and they will check you in for the flight and deliver your checked bags to the airport. Your boarding passes and tags for the luggage are delivered to your stateroom early in the evening. Any baggage fees are billed to your SeaPass account very late on the last night. For our checked bags, the last time we touched them prior to baggage claim in Raleigh was putting in the hallway at 7:00 p.m. Very convenient.

This has probably been covered in another thread, but just getting back to the world of the internet and this is the first thread I've checked. On Day 2 (at sea), a crew member fell down a flight of stairs and broke his femur. The original plan was to evacuate him on Day 3 when we arrived in Juneau at noon. Later in the day, the medical staff determined that the need to evacuate was more urgent so we turned around and traveled back three-plus hours to get to the south side of Prince Rupert Island where the Canadian Coast Guard helicopter could pick him up and transport him to a hospital. In all, the process of reversing course and evacuating took about five hours. Then we had to resume course and the ship was unable to make up the time, arriving in Juneau at about 8:00 p.m. The real cluster happened when EVERYONE was trying to get off the ship at the same time, causing a long line to debark and again when EVERYONE was trying to get back onboard at the same time, causing an even longer line made slower by the port police checking every person's ID.

As noted, I never reported this because we stayed off the grid. Took me the second try using the magic phrase rather than my assumption that "Jay" had to be spoken. The item of extreme value, or not, is greatly appreciated as a souvenir of the trip.

See post made following our return. We were off the grid entirely.

I retrieved the extremely expensive, or not, prize at La Patisserie on Day 3. I had figured it out on Day 2 and had the great pleasure of meeting Mark and Jennifer but when I asked about retrieving the item using your name, I was told that Mr. Jay said you have to give us the password. Since I wasn't using Voom, I decided to wait until we arrived in Juneau to check the hint again. Because our arrival in Juneau was significantly delayed by a medical evacuation on Day 2, I stopped by to tell them that I wouldn't be back until the next morning to give them the password but told them I was sure that the only requirement said to mention "my name." The very literal clue that they were seeking was the words "my name" not the name of our illustrious co-poster.

Your ArriveCAN form is for just that - arrival into Canada. Once you're in Vancouver there is no new arrival into Canada requiring another form.

It is required for closed-loop cruises, even if you don't intend to leave the ship in Canada. The current requirement is to complete the trip-specific form prior to embarkation (but not more than 72 hours before said embarkation).

This isn't a block cruise for us but it will make it easier to plan the next block on a specific desired ship. After our last cruise currently scheduled, we'll be one 7-night suite away from that block.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/05/18/how-use-the-arrivecan-app-your-alaska-cruise

YMMV We booked a cruise departing July 4 (7 weeks out) last night and the C&A discount brought the price of a JS down from double the price for a Superior Ocean View Balcony to about one-and-one-half the price (factoring in the reduced price for the SOV Balcony).

The one time we had a "repeat offender" it was stopped with a simple statement: We understand that there is a survey. We will fill it out. Just be aware that every time you mention the survey starting NOW, the score for your department will go down. Never heard another word about the survey from that individual.

Jersey attitude at play there.

Added what will be our first cruise that visits Coco Cay. All part of planning to get a crystal block on a particular ship. Freedom OTS July 4, 2022

Top two blocks being the target is reasonable. Only a perfect rating as the target is not reasonable. I'm okay with giving a 9/10 for very good service. 10/10 requires something exceptional.

Thanks for sharing the updated offer sheets, @twangster.

The safest bet for boarding together if this is important would be to all show up together at the latest boarding window. Coming early is less likely to work in the ports where they are being strict about times. Being "late" can be a reality caused by transportation delays so they know they have to allow some flexibility on that end.

Correct. "Perfect" is the only acceptable score. 4/5 or 9/10 is considered failure. I believe some of them would consider 99/100 failure if the scale was 0 to 100. When a survey follows up on rating something less than perfect with a question about why I have a standard response. Example: Please tell us why you were not highly satisfied. "I chose satisfied because I got what I expected. Highly satisfied requires something special and is reserved for exceptional service. You should be happy with a response of satisfied. I do not operate under an everybody-gets-a-trophy mentality. If you want a highly satisfied rating, do MORE than the standard expectation. By the way, once you do MORE a couple times, that becomes the new expectation and continuing to provide that level of service will return you to a response of satisfied."

I saw those too. Notice I didn't recommend any of those so-called "limousine service" companies.

The lifeboats are more spacious than the crew cabins. Add a toilet and shower and it might be considered an upgrade.

We booked Premier Airport Shuttle to a downtown hotel for $50.60 for two people. They give the option to prepay a gratuity with the booking or to pay a cash gratuity at the time of service.

Eat fast. Then get another one.

Funnel cake is worth going out in the rain!

We're all still dealing with changes to cruising that may not match our expectations, which are based on previous experiences without the restrictions required by our current world situation. I'm just happy to be getting onboard Ovation on Friday. If it's "not quite as good as my previous cruises" it will still be a cruise. If the experience is at the same percentage level vs. "normal" expectations as everything else in our lives, we will still have a great trip. It takes ten minutes to get a drink instead of seven? Okay. Fifteen minutes to get that late-night slice at Sorrento's rather than ten? So what? The drive-thru at Taco Bell last night took twenty minutes whereas it usually takes less than ten. That's the current reality we live with.