vanelli56

Now, we'll still prob. have to wait weeks and weeks for RCL to respond with cancellations. 

On 12/8/2020 at 8:28 AM, coneyraven said:

In the First Photo ....

Caption This ....

What is the girl on the far right thinking?

Most likely the same thing her friend is thinking.... except her friend looks way more excited! LOL

• Bloody Mary for 1st breakfast
• Irish Coffee for 2nd breakfast
• VRB (vodka redbull) for the lull 
• Long island iced tea for 1st lunch
• pina colada for 2nd lunch
• (water... lots of water)
• Coconut mojito 
• lava flow for the down time
• Wine with first dinner
• beer with 2nd dinner
• ask bartender to surprise me before entertainment
• (water.... lots of water.... and more water)
• old fashioned 
• gatorade
• sleep.... shower... repeat. 
• CHEERS!

I can pack my bags and be at Port Canaveral in about 5 hours... lets do this!  

Pro Tip: if you are on an Oasis class ship that also has a Wonderland restaurant (i.e. Harmony OTS) .... they have a Bar above the dining area that you can get drinks from without actually having to go and dine at wonderland. Our bartender knew what he was doing!!!! We had the UDP and made it a point to go see him almost every night! Made us some of the best drinks on and off menu!! A definite hidden gem of a place to get drinks. 

Also.... Wonderland was a very neat experience too! (if you are into new and different things) But if you are the kind of person that gets Chicken tenders and fries, everywhere you go... best not waste your money on the dinner. Otherwise, well worth it and cant wait to go again!  

Just FYI, while cruise planner sales are usually region and sail date specific... just wanted to let people know who are booked for Alaska in 2021, you should check your cruise planner for discounts. Just looked myself... and the DBP went from 57 down to $43, Voom for 2 devices went from $27 ( I think) down to  $18. 

So these are real discounts on the prices and not that fake banner sale price with funny %off math they show all the time. 

Went ahead and scooped up some items with the Bonus OBC we had from our cancelled cruises earlier this year. 

Forgot the deck we were on... but it was about halfway up in Central Park.  No issues at all.  

Been on 3 of the oasis class ships,  and can only remember one time feeling the boat move. 

8 minutes ago, whoa said:

We're set to sail on Harmony, November 1st. I have a sense that RCL wants to use that date going forward as an experiment and phase-in period going forward with reduced passenger capacity as well as an opportunity to institute new health protocols.

The idea of possibly cruising again is exciting and yet scary at the same time given that we would be their "guinea pigs".

Completely understand that thought process.. and I think each person has to weigh that in their decision to cruise or not.... personally.... sign me up! lol

But I think we all hope things get back to some form of normality soon. 

7 minutes ago, cruisellama said:

All guessing too.  I was following the Celebrity website and noticed this morning that Nov/Dec dates dropped off the site.  Yesterday, they were still marketing some Nov/Dec 20 cruises.  I posted a message, went back to the website and voila!,  Nov and Dec 2020 are still on the site.  Not sure if I had a bad cookie, if there was a error on the site, or an oops -  Immediately raised my skepticism.   

I was spying the MSC site, and had a similar thing happen... could not get the Nov. seaside cruises to pull up from them. But other travel sites still showed it. So it made me wonder.  

Wanted to bring this back up and get peoples thoughts now with more information available such as rapid covid testing, some cruise lines starting to sail in Europe, CDC travel updates, etc. 

Currently with most RCL cruises cancelled until Nov. 1, when would you think we will hear about the next round of cancellations... or even better, a statement about confirming some cruises will actually happen as part of a phased in approach? As of today... that would put us about 60 days out for sailings. 

I am starting to think that we might have a chance for a small number of sailings to happen between different cruise lines. I think its just a matter of having one carrier make that call... and the rest will follow. (fingers crossed)

21 hours ago, Joe01 said:

I really think it's foolish to cancel sailings which are 5+ months away. You never know what could happen. I thought back in May/June that it would be several months until I got my life back since things were moving so slowly in Scotland but by the end of July and into August, I've pretty much got my full life back.

I also think that the situation in the USA shouldn't dictate what happens in the rest of the world - could Royal not try cruises in Europe, Asia or even Australia? Some income and ships going is better than none. Definitely way safer to cruise from any European port than it is to cruise from the US at the moment but most companies seem to interpret CDC rules as worldwide when they only apply to sailings from the USA.

Good morning Joe. Regarding about being safer in Europe vs. US... Not sure I completely agree... but I can only speak from what I see and read/hear in the US. I would say honestly its all optics motivated by the hyper elevated political environment we all live in, advanced by a media that will do all it can to get clicks, views, and likes.... along with an upcoming election here in the states. Basically.... the news will hype anything to get attention. I say all this, along with the anecdotal stuff I have heard... Personally, yes I have heard of people dying in my neighborhood from covid, but each one was already in poor health. I've also heard of people that got hit head on in a car crash... and they were added to the covid death numbers. Also talked to people at my place of business that have tested positive along with their kids, and they said they literally never felt a single symptom at all. So, while I am sure each persons view and experience is different... I just think with all the conflicting information (right or wrong, true or misleading) makes it extremely difficult for everyone to make good decisions. 

With allllllllll that being said..... Dang I wish we could cruise!

Personally, as soon as it sounds like they are starting back up.... I'm going to call my TA and say.... 'SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!!"

Take care everyone. 

~Cheers  

18 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We faced these exact questions two years ago when the Seaside first came out.  As cruisers who are mainly loyal to Royal and suite snobs, I couldn't believe the prices of YC and the perks that came with it.  We booked a sailing over the summer of 2018 because we were waiting for Symphony to show up and there were no Royal sailings at the time that appealed to us.  My detailed thoughts are here.

Quick summary: The Seaside is definitely not Royal and YC is most definitely not Royal Suite Class.  Even the Balcony rooms in YC are comparable to a JS at best.  The food quality in the Top Sail restaurant was good, but does not hold candle to Coastal Kitchen.  The lounge was nice though and their YC sundeck is way better than Royal because there is dining up there.  That was probably the only thing that YC does better than Royal.  Shows were not great.  Once you see one, you've seen pretty much all.  It was an fair substitute, but not something that we would do again.

Been reading your review you linked... so far I'm about half way through. Thanks for sharing. 

Also, thanks for everyone's input so far. 

As I am sure most everyone on here is the same as me... wondering when we can get back on a cruise???? (Particularly a RCL ship) While we wait with bated breath, cruising came up in a conversation with some friends the other day about possibly booking a short trip as soon as things get going again. This group of friends have been together on 2 cruises before... one on CCL and one on RCL. (And I have been on 3 other RCL cruises with an Alaska one booked for 2021). But for this trip in question, one of our friends has FCC with C**nival cruise lines (C**nival is a bad word in my house) :-) But for a short quick trip, I would gladly go just for the heck of it. It would most likely be a small group of friends, mainly looking to drink and have some fun.... so CCL really fits the bill for a short trip and that 'party' vibe. 

 Now I know you are asking.... "Why am I talking about CCL when the title clearly mentioned MSC???" Just stay with me for a moment.... I'm getting there. (Besides, we all know you are 'working from home (cough cough), in your PJ's, reading cruise formus') :-)

While browsing potential trips with CCL, I broadened up my search parameters and noticed new sailings from MSC out of Port Canaveral. I've never really even considered them due to mixed reviews in the past and various other reasons. BUT... in this most recent search I see they have moved some ships around (To port canaveral) and also have their private island available similar to RCL Coco Cay. As I dove deeper and deeper into the depths of MSC reviews on youtube... I came across their 'Yacht Club' rooms and area of the ship. Personally, I'm a frugal type cruiser that is happy in an inside or perhaps splurge on a Balcony if the price is right. But I've never even considered a suite style room on either a RCL or CCL ship, just because I feel the value is not there for me personally. BUT.... here's where I am going with this.... The MSC Yacht club area really seems to be a 'ship within a ship' area. Private dining, lounge, bar, sundeck, pool, etc. etc. And they have all categories of staterooms that you can choose from within the YC class. (Inside, balcony, suite, grand suite, grand suite Plus, super grand suite plus plus, super grand suite plus plus super awesome extra gold platinum, etc.) Just kidding on some of those... but you get the idea. 

With that being said... their inside YC cabin is a similar price point to a Jr. Suite or even a XL balcony on an RCL ship (Give or take, depending on the cruise and ship, etc). So my thinking is that as a value standpoint getting an inside cabin with suite level perks, and a fully private area on the ship (Thinking about the whole covid-19 thing)... might be a potential adventure I am willing to try out. (yes, slightly more then what I would typically spend for a cabin.... but I can see added value for what MSC is offering at this price point). 

Anyone on here have any thoughts on the newer MSC ships (Particularly the Seaside) and booking in the Yacht Club rooms, and how it may compare to what I know and love with Royal?

Cliff notes: 

Sweet perks (pun intended) 

Private ship within a ship area (thinking covid)

Wont break the bank (thinking about my wallet)

Sample a new/different ship & cruise line (variety is the spice of life)

New private island (thinking about the Coco Cay Competition) 

So.... with that literary challenge behind you.... tell me your thoughts

I'm thinking of booking a Yacht Club room on the MSC Seaside.....Change my mind!

20 hours ago, Baked Alaska said:

Okay, so stupid question coming up (but I know I'm not the only one wondering), why would you keep two Chase cards? Why not just keep the Sapphire if that is where you are utiltimately going to redeem your points? 

Not a stupid question at all.... 

If I remember the points tiers correctly... the Sapphire only gives 1 point for anything outside of its bonus/restaurants/travel categories of purchases. The Chase freedom card gives a flat 1.5 points on everything. So, the freedom card is kind of my default card if a purchase does not fall into a special category for more points on the sapphire or discover IT cards. 

That... plus it had a decent sign up bonus at the time.... so I figured why not. :-)

Example for this month.... Discover has 5% back on restaurants... so 99.9% of my discover charges this month are restaurants. (Typically I would use the Sapphire otherwise at 2%)

Sapphire is 2% on travel and restaurants normally, but lately they have added gas and groceries as a bonus category. So this month all my gas and groceries are on the sapphire. (worth 2.5% if redeemed for travel thru their portal)

And the Chase freedom has been for everything else, such as amazon and any other random purchases for 1.5%. 

Lately I have not been keeping the points and just redeeming cash back, which has been getting us anywhere from $15-$30 dollars back a month. 

And yes.... we ALWAYS ALWAYS pay off our cards each month. I was a slave to Credit card debt in my 20's and early 30's.... NEVER AGAIN! I do this to try to get back some of that interest I gave them over the years! LOL (I'll most likely never get it all back, but every little bit helps!)

And to be honest... rotating 3 cards and remembering each can be a chore sometimes, but i'm also the kind of person that picks up that penny on the sidewalk too. So, why not take the free money. :-)

~Cheers

I rotate between the Chase Sapphire preferred, Chase Freedom Unlimited, and Discover It cards. As mentioned above about the Sapphire reserve, it has a large annual fee, while the preferred has a more reasonable annual fee. It includes a decent points structure for purchases and redemption, and also provides travel insurance. So it is my go to for booking travel. Plus they have a dedicated travel site that you can book thru, and sometimes find deals... but not always. 

I stack that with the freedom unlimited card for other purchases to gain points that can be transferred to the sapphire card if needed. 

I use the discover card for their 5% cash back category purchases when they don't apply to the Chase cards.

9 hours ago, Baked Alaska said:

Which airline? I have credits with United. What will happen to your tickets if you cruise is cancelled? Will it go back to credits?

Flying with Delta airline one way,  and Alaska Air coming back.  

If the cruise is canceled we can change our flights and rebook them for another date is how the agent explained. 

I just pulled the trigger on flights to and from Sea-Tac for our July 2nd cruise on Ovation. We had credits with the airline(s) from our cancelled cruise/flights from earlier this year. The rates were so low right now that we actually will have some decent credit left over with one airline. Plus they are still offering no change fees for flights booked thru the end of the month. So, while I would typically wait to book, I think more and more carriers are going to start winding down there grace and generosity, so wanted to take advantage of a benefit that I hope we dont need!

With all that being said, we are coming from the east coast and split our trip between using Delta and Alaska air. Better flight selection by doing that, otherwise the stops vs. the cost were getting a little out of hand. What I found is that since we are travelling right around the 4th of July holiday, prices really spiked the closer we got to the 4th. So our game plan is to fly in on Wednesday and hang out in seattle on thursday, cruise friday - friday. Then when we get back to Seattle, we are opting to stay overnight and then leave on Saturday morning and catch a non-stop back. All other flights on friday were either too early, or overnight with huge layovers. And they only would get us back home a couple of hours earlier then catching the saturday flight anyway. 

I mention ALLLL that just to say that perhaps with all the unknows right now... dont rule out staying an extra night and flying saturday.

I'll echo some of the responses already posted here....the short answer is... typically no time limit, and getting a bottle of H2O is usually no issue. 

The long response and recommendation is to get to know your bartenders. Find a couple of your favorite spots and hang out with them there. They will take care of you, give great service, and look out for you. 

Case in point.... last year on Harmony for a guys cruise, we would frequent the Schooner Bar. After a couple days our lovely bar tender would see us coming, and have bottles of water ready and basically have the vodka bottle handy and ready to pour. But more importantly... there was 'one night'... where our group was having fun... but one person in particular was having a LOT of fun. And the sweet bar tender basically let us know to slow him down, and made him drink at least 2 bottles of water before she would serve him again. And she did it in such a great way as to not embarrass anyone... and still kept everyone having a great time. She let us know that if he got officially 'Cut-off'... he would be cut off for 24 hours and she didn't want him to ruin his next day. We made sure to thank her for that... and in fact did have a great time the rest of the week. We made sure to tip her out at the end of the week with a nice envelope of cash. 

Point being... have fun and enjoy your drink package. Don't go crazy... and if you have a night that you plan on getting plastered... do it at a bar where you have gotten to know your bartender well. 

Cheers.

~KCCO~

Keep Calm and Cruise on  

Research and planning ahead will pay off huge!

Great source of info is also past Cruise Compasses. Matt has a link to a bunch on this site. 

While it may seem very overwhelming due to the size of the ship, once you learn to navigate to and from the different areas, you'll realize that the bulk of the ship is cabin space, and there are only a handful of areas that you really utilize. And each person's utilization rate of those areas will vary greatly. i.e. some people may never leave the solarium when on the upper decks, while others may never step foot in there more than once. 

PS... one trick of the trade... if you need to go from one end of the ship to the other quickly.... the jogging track is GREAT for that. (Just mind the correct direction)

Enjoy!

3 minutes ago, Kcusack89 said:

Really?! We got ours last week from our TA but actually gotan email from royal today with the credit too so did my brother in law.

Finally right after only giving us $800 the last time

Yep... really.  Lol

This was for a forced cancelation so we opted for the 125% Fcc. We recieved our taxes and fees refund a couple weeks ago, and got caught up in the wave of Fcc the other week that almost all of them were wrong.  

We are expecting a Fcc of $2560 total.  The first round we only got about $1000 total.  (500 each). 

Fast forward to today,  the email explained is the same certificate from before,  just reflecting the accurate and updated total.  (Not additional). Total today, $2008 ($1004 each). 

(Sigh)

Luckily it's no rush for us.... just frustration.  

Also waiting on a missing $125-ish credit card refund for another cabin,  that somehow was not included in last week's credit card refund from royal.  

(Double frustration) 

Update.... 

Updated email for corrected FCC came thru today...... 

Still completely wrong after a 2nd try.  

(Face palm)

15 hours ago, mathbees said:

I thought of an interesting twist to this...  They could start with a video in your room that displays a QR code for the app (everyone in the cabin would have to scan saying they watched the video).  Then you have to go to your muster station and scan a QR code there, too (again, all would have to be present and scan... they could even have it set up so that staff checked that the face matches for security purposes).  This completes the eMuster drill... But it launches a shipwide scavenger hunt.  Each QR code gives you new clues to another location (also with QR codes). 

A couple of points, at least from my point of view... 1) I would be able to hear and understand the video.  I often have trouble hearing the shipwide announcements, especially in open areas. 2) This would make the eMuster fun for people.  3) It would give them validation that people are completing the eMuster

But, as @twangster mentioned, it would need to be approved through the powers that be.  One can hope.  Especially that the prize at the end was a drink of the day... 

Exactly my thought. 

Just like you can e-sign waivers from your cabin TV... have a way to sign that you have watched the video... then you have to go check in at your muster station and scan in individually/in-person. Perhaps in a certain time frame from watching the video? 

But I agree with a lot of the comments above... you usually cant hear or understand due to the crowds during muster. If the main point is to know WHERE to go... just prove you know where to go. Done and done. But alas... its never that simple. lol

19 hours ago, bornidentity said:

well my July 31st (last day of suspension) alaska cruise was officially cancelled which really sucks, however we were on phone for 45 minutes and they easily L&S'ed to July 2021, really sucks but at least we got on a next year sailing before they sold out, and actually got a free 7 night cruise with our excess FCC. silver lining.

We were supposed to be going on Ovation OTS today.... it was cancelled so we moved it to July 31 of this year with our fingers crossed.... But, prior to it being cancelled... we did the L&S to July of next year. (We opted for the July 2nd departure) Hopefully we can enjoy some 4th of July celebrations in Alaska next year. We also will have a good chunk of FCC left over to supplement another cruise eventually.

1 hour ago, CJS2766 said:

Hello all! I have always cruised the Caribbean (ie. East, West, South) Now, I am looking for something different. I am looking into a Alaska cruise for the near future. I have some questions though that I'm hoping you Alaska cruise veterans can answer for me:

1. I see that the Alaska cruises are only a few months during the year. What is the best month to cruise Alaska?

2. While these cruises tend to be during the Spring/Summer months, how cool/warm does it get? Just have no clue what to pack? Shorts/bathing suit or jackets/gloves and warmer clothing.

3. Is there a preferred ship to cruise Alaska? If so? Which one?

4. What are the must see/must do things in Alaska? (Excursions??)

5. Wife and I LOVE seafood. What is the best place/port for crab, seafood, etc...

Those are just a few for right now. I'm sure I will have more though. Thanks all!

Carlos

We are in the same boat as you.. pun intended.

Been to the Caribbean multiple times, and wanted a change. We are supposed to be on the Ovation of the Seas tomorrow 5/22 for our Alaska cruise... but alas; THE RONA's!!! 

This site was invaluable to our research over the past year leading up to what should of been our cruise. 

Personally, we like the newer more modern ships, hence our choice of the Ovation. With lots of help from this site and also youtube, we were going to rent a car at both ports of call, Juneau and Skagway. This would allow us see and do a couple of the main attractions (Glacier, salmon bake, Klondike Hwy, breweries, etc.) on our own time and allow us to explore some more on our own.

From everything I have heard and read... asking when is the best time and what is the best ship is like asking, would you like a free $100 bill, or 2 x $50 bills? There is no wrong answer and you will have a great time either way. But I completely understand where you are coming from.... I obsessed over finding the best way to maximize our first time there. We ended up shifting our cruise to next year... so now I have a whole new year to review and obsess again. 

If I remember correctly... I think @twangster has done some fairly recent trip reports on here. (great reads, highly recommend)

Good luck on your research 

I've read elsewhere that a good travel agent can handle this for you. If its all the same names on the cruise and FCC... they should just be able to apply all the FCC's to the same booking. May take a few phone calls to get worked out though. 

Good luck and hope it gets worked out for you. 

Welcome to the board.