vanelli56

12 minutes ago, Yo2slick said:

That's what I was looking for right there.  My wife and I just use one card but our kids are cruising with us and I didn't realize it would separate those charges.  Being that they are adults now that will make life easier.  Thank you! 

Not a problem. Yep, just have your adult children load their CC's during the online/app check-in. 

Typically the people at the port checking your docs will verify the last 4 digits on the cards used for your onboard accounts. (typically) lol. 

36 minutes ago, Yo2slick said:

So if I understand this correctly, if my son used his seapass to buy something that charge would go directly to the card he has on file?  

During Check-in if you use the same CC for all guests, anything charged on the ship will be billed to that CC. 

If you use different CC's for each guest checked in, charges to the individual seapass card will go the the appropriate CC associated with each guest. 

Ovation of the Seas is supposed to be in Skagway today I believe. With the rock slide, can anyone confirm if they did make the port call? If so, did they tender or was their another dock available. 

We leave on her this coming friday, so just checking on the status. 

Thanks for any insight. 

11 hours ago, Tahoemom said:

Thanks for this great write up! We are about to head out on the 6/24 sailing on the Ovation and this will be our first time on RC.  Sounds like the recommendation is to show up super early? (we also have an 11am slot)  Also - happy to do more reading on this forum (just recently discovered it).  Is there a specific area to learn more about the embarkation experience?

Welcome to the forum. RCL is a great cruise line with great ships. Looks like you'll be boarding in less then 24 hrs. and I am sure you are excited! We board on July 1... so we'll probably be passing you at the pier!

If you browse around enough on here, you will find some reviews for people that have come and gone from the pier in Seattle. Usually they are just a part of an overall review. I have been looking for the same information, and find tidbits here and there. Youtube also has some vids as well. 

This will be my first time out of Seattle... but have done about 6 cruises with RCL out of Florida, and can tell you they have it down to a science on the east coast. From what I have read... the Seattle terminal is not as fluid as other terminals... but also not the worst. So my expectations are tempered a little bit but I'll be interested in seeing how it compares myself. 

If you get a chance to let us know how you thought embarkation went tomorrow, with any tips/tricks... that would be awesome! 

Enjoy your cruise and have a great time!  

I was about to say... if you are trashed... not a great idea and they might not let you. I'm sure also you cant walk up and say, 'Hold my beer'... and attempt said activities. But, also, they are not asking you to walk a line or anything before hand anyway. So, go have fun!!! Just not tooooo much fun.

Recently booked this cruise. Looking forward to getting back to Coco Cay! 

So I was looking into the iHealth testing and it shows the proctored service as 'sold out'.

I find that the lotion goes a lot further then the spray on. So, I bring one bottle of lotion sun screen (50 SPF and waterproof) and that will most likely cover 2 to 4 people for a week depending on other factors. But then we bring 1 bottle of spray on per person as our quick and easy re-application if needed. We dont like using the spray in our room or even on our balcony because it gets everywhere and causes a mess; and if you try to do it in the bath/shower, it can get really slippery. (ask me how I know) lol. 

19 hours ago, James_Mc said:

Hi guys, 

I'll be taking my first cruise aboard Independence OTS on Dec 6. I was wondering if there are places onboard where I can sit and enjoy a quality cigar and a drink. I'll be bringing a few from my own humidor and was planning to visit a shop in Nassau. 

About the only place you can enjoy one on the ship is the designated smoking area on the pool deck. 

Don't expect any high-end cigars in any of the shops near the docks in Nassau. But you can make your way up to Graycliff and tour their facility and purchase some from there.  

@JeffB thanks for the update. 

Not trying to start a vax / anti-vax debate.... but in all my reading I still have not found a coherent response to the question: If you are vaccinated, why do you feel 'at risk' around un-vaccinated? 

I completely understand the argument that an un-vaxxed person can spread it to another un-vaxxed person, etc... but given the guidance RCL just issued about segregating the groups for certain events and dining, that just seems a little bit overboard. (look... I made a pun!)  

Any news regarding a ruling or motions??

19 minutes ago, Biff215 said:

Didn’t have time to stay and watch the story, but Good Morning America ran it at the top of the show and referred to it as “chaos”.

 GMA says 'chaos'... everyone remotely interested in the cruising world looking for said chaos...

1 hour ago, danv3 said:

This is the way.  

16 hours ago, cruisinghawg said:

If you are vaccinated why worry.  

^^^^THIS^^^^^
If you are fully vaccinated on a cruise, why would you worry about the people around you and if they have or have not vaccinated? 

I totally understand the optics of how the media is going to spin it as soon as one person tests positive on a cruise. I am just wondering how it will look if they report an outbreak on a fully vaccinated cruise.... vs. an outbreak on a mixed cruise with both vax and unvaxxed. I know either way the media will spin it to make it sound bad... but I think that the public would start to question things a lot more if there were positive cases reported on a vaxxed only cruise. 

I use the walmart vs. target analogy all the time to describe the difference between the two cruise lines. i.e... you can get the same goods and or services from either... but the service, facilities, and the customer base is slightly different... along with the price to reflect that. 

 I've done 3 Carnival cruises and 4 RCL cruises.... and given the choice I would pick RCL every time. But also... would I not go on a carnival cruise with friends and family just because it was 'Carnival'??  not at all... I'd pack my bag just the same, no matter what cruise line... its still a cruise and you will still have fun. 

But, overall.... on RCL it seems everything is just a little bit better.... the food, the service, your ship mates, etc.... but just like everything else... your mileage may vary from ship to ship and company to company. 

I'd be willing to bet, once the Carnival Mardi Gras starts sailing.... there will be quite a few RCL members giving her a test drive. 

(I know I want to check her out.)

On 4/1/2021 at 7:42 PM, GaryAA said:

We are still holding on to our August Ovation booking for now but will probably cancel soon. We have another one booked in August 22. I was really hoping the August 21 cruise would sail at half capacity, that would have been nice.

 

 

 

You might have a slightly better chance in August.... ours was early July. 

Either way... fingers crossed for all cruising to start up sooner rather then later. 

Well.... Alaska is off the table for us... we thought about holding out to the bitter end and hope that there was still a chance for AK to be a go.... but there was just too many signs saying it most likely wont happen... even with all the pressure on the CDC. Also... what kind of cruise would it really be with all the potential restrictions and rules etc. 
So we bit the bullet and have lifted ours to 2022.

The countdown is on again.... for the 3rd time. 

Agreed with the above statements.... we've been twice to Coco Cay and the layout is so well done that you never feel overly crowded. We haven't gone to the water park, and have heard mixed things about the crowds there, which really leads me to believe that the water park crowds can vary greatly depending on the time year, the ship, the make up of the passengers, etc. 
Such as, if its summer vacation with a ship full of families, prob going to be a little more crowded than in the middle of winter with schools in session. 

But also.... time of day can vary greatly.... I think @Matt did a review or video a while back about that. (I think it was matt anyway). But I remember them saying that it seemed that after lunch, the lines at the water park were non-existent as everyone wants to go ASAP as soon as the ship docks... and then after lunch people start to get tired or start to go back to the ship, etc.  

Also, welcome to the board!

Both are awesome.... you cant go wrong with either choice. 
If you haven't been on either one, you wont be disappointed. 

Personally, I'm a sucker for getting the most bang for my buck... so if it was me, I would go with the cheaper of the two options as you will basically be getting the same experience with both ships in general. Plus then you can use that savings for another cruise or as fun money while on the cruise.

But, as mentioned before... take into account all in costs as well... such as transportation to and from the port. That could sway your decision depending on your location. 

Enjoy and keep your fingers crossed for cruising to get started again soon.  

I like the change of pace from the usual placement and size. While I think they could of done something more creative and possibly keep some of the classic elements... it seems RCL doesn't move to far from the norm, too fast.... despite them being trail blazers in mega ships. Go figure? 

10 hours ago, twangster said:

After taking the Alaskan Railroad to get from Anchorage to Seward I said I would go back and just ride the train around.  I haven't done that (yet) nor have I planned how it would actually work in terms of destinations and lodging between trains.  However it is a very solid choice.

We've started tossing around the idea of flying up and spending a week exploring ourselves. 

So Royal is expecting to have an 'update' tomorrow, the 12th, regarding the Canada situation.... one would hope and wish they would just go ahead and give everyone on effected cruises the same options to cancel, refund, credit, and/or L&S just as if the cruises were officially cancelled. But I have a feeling the update is going to be just more hot air about how they are reviewing all options and will keep us up to date with more info in the future.... blah blah blah. 

Been emailing our TA about L&S already..... told her that if they do officially cancel... here's the option for L&S we'd like to move to. 

But we'll see what Royal has to say about it tomorrow.