SolariumSnoozer

We took the train to Seward in August 2022. Make sure you have your Royal luggage tags attached to your bags. In our case there was a truck carrying all the cruise luggage. The luggage goes right onto the ship and is waiting by your cabin. The train arrives late morning so book an excursion in Seward, we did a wildlife cruise. As @steverk mentioned, take the gold class service.

I always checkout and in my towels on the ship and if I need to just exchange them on Coco Cay. The first and last time I tried checking out towels on Coco Cay, they didn't have scanners so they had to fill out paperwork to give me a towel. This takes longer and is also prone to error. I do not want to have to wait on the guest service line at the end of a cruise to explain why I shouldn't be charged for towels. Whenever I turn in all my towels, end of the day or end of the cruise, I just confirm my account is zero.

We sailed on Radiance from Seward to Vancouver last August. Disembarkation was the easiest I have ever had. Royal provided a declaration card in your cabin for you to fill out. As we disembarked, all Canadian customs did was collect that declaration card. No-one looked at our passports or ArriveCan documentation. I assume Canadian customs had cleared the ship prior to arrival as Royal had all the necessary documentation. Flying out of Vancouver is no different than any other international travel except that you clear US customs in Vancouver. I would plan some extra time for this as the lines can be long. We have Global Entry which worked well and saved a lot of time, but I did notice that the main security/custom line was very long.

I like the idea of providing receipts for Diamond drinks. On our last cruise to Alaska, my wife and I ordered a drink during dinner and used our Diamond vouchers. The next evening, after a long port day we stopped in the schooner bar for our first drinks of the day. When the bartender handed my wife her drink he told her she only had 2 Diamond vouchers remaining. We eventually figured out that Royal had applied our dinner drinks from the previous evening to the next day. In this case it wasn't an issue, we weren't going to use all of Diamond vouchers being very tired from a long port day so we didn't say anything but I could see this being an issue under different circumstances.

We also booked a Mendenhall glacier/whale watching excursion. Ours was titled Alaska's whales, glaciers & Rainforest Trails. I highly recommend this excursion, it was a small group and therefore a smaller whale watching boat that allowed the captain to get closer to the whales. Here is a link with a couple of pictures from our trip:

All things being equal, I would always prefer a balcony. Having said that, My wife and I sailed the southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver this past August. I booked a balcony and paid what I considered a significant premium over an ocean view for this privilege and we did not use the balcony nearly enough to justify the premium. There are some things to consider, first, this was our first and maybe only Alaska trip so we maximized our time in port. We booked excursions everyday and explored the ports/towns after our excursions ended. These cruises are port intensive, 4 port days, with a lot of time in port. We were off the ship before 9:00 AM each day and didn't get back on until almost all aboard time. Second, we were also very lucky in that the weather was beautiful, warm and sunny everyday, so it was very easy, even preferred, to be exploring in port or out on the deck for long periods of time. I am sure we would have used the balcony a lot more if we hadn't booked as many excursions, if we had visited these ports previously or if the weather had not been so cooperative and the balcony offered sheltering from rain and wind. Everyone cruises differently so only you can decide how much an upgrade is worth to you, but based upon my experience I wouldn't pay a large premium for the privilege of a balcony. Hope this helps.

Like everything Royal, there isn't necessarily consistency from ship to ship. My experience says you will have no issues, but others have said they have had mixed experiences. I would definitely try to use the card and if the barista questions you explain nicely why you didn't finish using the card on Quantum. Worst case, save the card for your next cruise.

Interesting, I have also had the ship name and date on some cards but still never had an issue, Definitely makes me think twice about purchasing the coffee card in the future. Sorry you had that issue.

I have used the coffee card across multiple cruises numerous times and never had an issue. This year alone I used one card on Anthem, Mariner and Radiance. The important issue to remember about using the coffee card is to confirm with the server how many punches your order will be before the order is made. This eliminates surprises/arguments and allows you to maximize your use.

Thought I would add my two cents: Got off Radiance of the Seas on August 26 (turns out right as Jenna got on). The cruise was a 7 day southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver. This was my 12th cruise on Royal Caribbean but my first time in Alaska. Main takeaway: As cruises go, this was our worst Royal cruise ever However, it had no effect on our vacation. Alaska was fantastic and I WOULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN. What was wrong with the cruise: Wifi and internet were awful. I knew the internet would be slow so I only purchased surf and stream for one device and shared it with my wife. None of our devices would stay on WiFi. We were constantly having to rejoin the WiFi network and if we wanted internet we would have to log into our account over and over again. At times, we couldn’t even use the WiFi to look at the menus. There was also no WiFi in our stateroom, we had to leave the stateroom to do anything. It was beyond frustrating. The bartenders were awful. Every drink we ordered was half to three quarters full and not prepared well. We were using our diamond drinks, so we didn’t complain too much but it was an issue. i am guessing that the crew was very inexperienced. There were way too many little forgetful errors. Received clean towels but no wash clothes, items ordered at dinner were never delivered, etc. Little things like this happen on every cruise but this just seemed to happen multiple times a day. It did not appear to be the crew’s lack of effort or caring either. The crew worked hard and when you asked or reminded them about something they appeared genuinely.apologetic and reacted immediately. The entertainment was awful, we found time to attend 2 shows but never went back. Bottom line, the cruise experience was not up to the Royal standard we have come to expect. in May 2023, I would not expect an improvement in WiFi, internet access or entertainment but I would expect a different crew and hopefully one with more experience. Why didn’t it matter? Because you are in Alaska. We weren’t on the ship that much, it really was just a place to sleep and eat and you really don’t have to count on the ship for entertainment or activities. At the end of most days we were so tired we would prepare for the next and go to sleep. The sights are unbelievable, everyone says the pictures don’t do it justice and they are correct. I believe you should pick the cruise that permits you to accomplish the things you want to do and see in Alaska. Why did we pick Radiance? We wanted to do a land portion first, including Denali and we wanted to take the Alaskan railroad. The Seward to Vancouver cruise completed our itinerary perfectly. Our ports are the same as yours but the same excursion in May are likely to be different than in August. Not better or worse just different. We stopped in Juneau and our excursion was a whale watching tour and then a short hike to Mendenhall Glacier. I highly recommend this excursion. In Skagway we.took a canoe ride to Davidson glacier. In Icy Strait Point we went on a Spasski River bear and wildlife search. Finally in Ketchikan, we went on a Misty Fjord flight seeing tour. Happy to answer any questions.

Just got off Radisnce last Friday. I checked in the day it opened and provided all the information except pictures. I added the pictures two days before embarkation, right after our COVID tests were negative. When we got to the ship we were told there no pictures and they took new ones. So my conclusion is the app will let you enter information almost right up to boarding but there is no guarantee it will be transferred to the database used on embarkation day so enter the information as soon as possible.

No, each time you visit the towel station they will scan your sea pass card and record the number of towels you take or return. You can and will visit the towel station multiple times on your cruise. I have never been turned away from the towel station because I have taken too many towels. You will be charged at the end of the cruise for any towels that are not returned. I have seen errors occur so I try to make a point of asking the attendant how many towels are still assigned to my sea pass when I return towels, especially as the cruise nears its conclusion. I have gotten towels at the towel station on Coco Cay. However, they didn't have a sea pass reader so they had to manually record the information. I was concerned that this provided too much room for error, so I take towels with me off the ship. If the towels get wet or sandy you can exchange them at the Coco Cay towel station for clean ones and as long as its an even exchange they do not record anything. Hope this helps.

Generally yes, it has been my experience that the key provides one time per cruise for each activity

I have only used MEI to book cruises for Royal. I have used @michelle([email protected]) and would strongly recommend her. I do see Disney on her profile and general emails.

Just got off the ship in ship in Nassau a couple weeks ago and did not have to show a negative test or a visa. There are signs when you get off the ship that say you must have proof of vaccination, either your vaccine card or a picture on your phone. The Royal attendant who scanned me off the ship told me this fact before we exited so I went back to my stateroom and took a picture of my vaccine cards with my phone. When we checked in for our day pass they did require this proof.

We were on Anthem presidents week and reserved MyTime dining. American and Silk (deck 4) served early dining and then switched to MyTime dining at 6:45. I'm sorry but I don't know how The Grande and Chic (deck 3) were configured.

@dancernlthank you for writing this blog, I always appreciate when people take the time out of their vacation to share. One day I hope to give it a try. It turns out we were on this cruise with you so I will share my experience with iFly and North Star. Complementary booking for iFly, North Star and bumper cars are available but go very quickly. The App only allowed us to make 1 reservation (per passenger) per cruise. Reservations for iFly should be made as soon as possible because based upon my experience each reservation time only has room for 4 people, so there really wasn’t a lot of availability. Royal reserved the sea days at the end of the cruise for the pay reservations, so the complementary times were earlier in the cruise. When you get in the tunnel an iFly trainer is with you the entire time to coach you and ensure your safety. The complementary reservation provides the guest 1 minute of “fly” time in the tunnel while the paid reservation provides two 1-minute sessions of “fly” time. If you have never done iFly before, it can take a while to get the hang of it, so a second immediate opportunity is nice, but it comes with the $50 price tag. I only did the complementary reservation; however, the pay reservations were available much later in the cruise and I can’t say for sure if they even sold out. We were told the complementary North Star reservations just rose vertically over the ship, it did not swing off to the sides of the ship. To get the longer North Star ride you had to reserve the paid version of $30. Each North Star ride was carrying 10 guests. We did both the complementary and paid version. When we showed up for iFly, North Star and bumper cars we had made reservations in the App, but the attendants all made us show them our reservations on our phones. They must have access to the reservations on their systems but weren’t using them. I don’t know why but everyone had to stop, pull out their phones, find the calendar in the APP and then show the attendant the reservation to get onto the attraction. I would think scanning a guest’s SeaPass card would have been more efficient.

Last time Royal raised gratuities they provided you an opportunity to prepay them before you sailed and lock in the lower rate. If you didn't prepay, you paid the new rate on board. Here is the letter I received from Royal in December 2017: We are excited to welcome you onboard for your upcoming Royal Caribbean vacation! As you prepare to set sail, we wanted to notify you of an update to our daily gratuity charges. As of January 2, 2018, Royal Caribbean will be increasing the automatic daily gratuity charge from $13.50 to $14.50 per guest, per day for regular staterooms and from $16.50 to $17.50 per guest, per day for suites. The daily gratuity is shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams. We’d like to extend the opportunity to pre-pay your gratuities before your sail date at the current rate. If you’d like to pay onboard, your gratuity charge applied will be at the new rate. Other onboard gratuity policies remain the same: an 18% gratuity is automatically added to bar service beverages, spa services, room service and mini bar items, and will be itemized on your receipt. To pre-pay your gratuities, please log onto www.RoyalCaribbean.com, contact your travel agent, or call 1-866-562-7625. We can’t wait to welcome you onboard. Sincerely, Royal Caribbean International

The crown and anchor on-board benefits provide a 50% off Johnny Rocket shake. Every cruise we take advantage of this offer and never order any food. We have never been told we have to pay the cover price. Sometimes we take the shakes to go in plastic cups and other times we sit and drink them at the restaurant which is better because then the shake is served in glasses. We just did this last week on Anthem, but of course on Anthem its JR Express. My only advice is alert the server you want to use your on-board offer when you place the order. While they can apply the offer after the bill is printed it is more difficult for them to correct.

Last year I called Royal regarding this same question. I was told that if you purchased they key prior to the date when they removed room service and 25% dining you would still receive this perk on your letter on board. We sailed Oasis over New Years and still received the perk. I'm sorry I don't remember the exact cutoff purchase date, you might have to call Royal to find out.

Yes, back toward breezy bay, here is a link to the map: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/perfect-day-cococay-map

In my experience, the weigh everyone. On CocCay, the weigh you at the bottom of the stairs for the water slides each time. Even my 100 lb dripping wet daughter had to get on the scale when the weight limit is 300 lbs. I also don't recall a numeric display, just a green/red light.

Just sailed Oasis out of Miami over New Years. Royal wanted everyone off the ship by 9:30 which gives you plenty of time to get to the airport. Miami airport is only about 20 minutes away from the port.

Per @Matt, book your entertainment as soon as you get on the ship, everything will be available then. On an Oasis class ship there are a lot of choices so review the Cruise Compasses here on the blog to determine what entertainment is offered and when. Shows in the Main theatre, Aqua Theatre, Ice Skating show in Studio B and the comedy club all require reservation. The smaller the venue the more difficult to get in. The comedy club is by far the smallest venue and on our recent Oasis cruise I did not see any standby people get in. The main theater is the largest venue and had plenty of extra seating for every show we attended. Book the aqua show for early in your cruise because it is the most likely to have cancellation issues from weather or rough seas, this way you will have more opportunities to see the show. If it is important to you, pay attention to which shows are for everyone (e) and which are for only vaccinated guests (v).

I have been on two cruises since the restart and the drink card was not offered. I have not heard anyone else mention they have seen the card offered. I believe Royal was discontinuing the card even before Covid. My cruise in February 2020, just before the shutdown, also did not offer the drink card.