ScooterScott22

I’ll agree that the switch to Star Class and the perks will be a great trade off for the change in sleeping arrangements/shared space. As far as the sibling in-fighting it gives you one more “distraction” with Star Class. Anytime you see things seem to be escalating just ask “Do you think we should ask (insert genie’s name) to (get us some/arrange reservations for)?

The “best viewing times” might be a little open ended so just sharing the Northstar rides with an associated charge should be only when the ship is at the glacier. The charge was $50. @twangster can always provide more details.

There are way to many things to do and hotels in central florida to ever give an exact place/event that will appeal to an individual and their budget via an Internet forum. So the question is kind of vague. For hotels you have everything to choose from, starting at the Waldorf-Astoria or Four Seasons down to simple low cost options. That said, there are also some items that might help begin planning or for other people to give suggestions. I’ll start with a few key details about your travel and give some general big buckets to start from. First thing is defining - overnight stay. If you are truly just doing an overnight that probably entails arriving in the evening from your travels. With boarding starting in the mid morning then you likely will benefit from just getting a hotel, getting a good nights sleep and then coordinating travel to the port. If an evening arrival is the case, then there are really two viable options. Grab a hotel at or near the airport and travel over to the port in the AM, OR travel over to the port after arrival and get a hotel near near the coast. That will allow you to relax some in the morning, or pick up some last minute items and then head over to check-in. If you are planning on arriving early enough to have a full day before boarding then you have a few more options. - One option, an probably the most viable, is to head to the coast/port area. You have the beach, space center, dinner at the port watching ships sail away all as options. Plus you have a short trip in the morning to the port itself. - Some folks like to do a day in Orlando parks. Since most of the theme parks are about 1-1 1/2 hour drive to the port it is pretty easy. If you don’t want to do a park ticket they have shopping and dining areas that the general public can access. There are plenty of low key attractions (Gatorland, etc.) Also there are a few outlet malls (and regular malls) for those that want to just shop. There are also special events and things start rolling at Daytona in February so that might be an option depending on you actual dates and interest. Those are just some thoughts, happy planning!

Since this is an “older” thread, does any one have a list of the current broadway shows by ship?

I don’t disagree that for the cost of Star Class this is not really an unreasonable request and is truly viable for some guest as you mentioned. My comment, jokingly, was that it doesn’t seem terribly helpful for most. I don’t care what they touch and yes laundry gets done so they are touching everything anyway. If the OP wanted it done so they can go do something else, the problem is they have to orient themselves to where things were placed. I may like certain things together (socks and underclothes) or in a top drawer vs bottom drawer so aside from just finding things does it make sense to me. Not a big deal for me, or most people, but could be frustrating.

“Good morning Reyno, can you tell me where I might find my underpants?”

Not sure but the water parks in Orlando probably have a larger pool of worker/staff. (Pun intended!). With the ships having limited time in port and potentially days with no ships at all the staff is probably smaller and not likely to accommodate extended hours as easily. They can always add more staff but that is not likely for a single day so they will probably wait until the workload increased.

Being in central Florida we were sailing DCL for many years and tried the Oasis a little while back. Pleasantly surprised and then just did our first Star class late May in a Grand Loft Suite on Ovation. Just guessing, but I’m willing to bet that you will find things are pretty similar in many ways. Star class really is a great experience and with access to all the activities the ship has to offer you should have a great time. If you have any specifics comparing the two lines, contrasting DCL’s concierge vs Star class message me or post here. There are pluses and minuses to every ship but for us the Quantuum class was a really nice balance of everything.

We are still watching and waiting here in Florida but have most prep done. Still hoping for the turn. Wanted to add that thoughts and prayers of course to those impacted. Remember as cruise passengers, many on this board frequent the islands, we can assist directly. There was a cruise report on this board or another about scheduling a volunteer experience during your port stop. Also your tourist dollars contribute to their economy. So even if you normally stay on the ship even a few minutes shopping/spending can be helpful. Some of the experiences are as simple as walking dogs at the animal shelter. I believe the family that wrote about their experience used the HopeFloats group but another is Together for the Good. After reading that experience we plan on doing that on a future cruise.

Sorry wanted to link it - https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/15125-js-no-longer-have-access-to-ck/

There is a discussion in the rumors section about this topic. You may want to follow this one -

Current models have the storm just off the coast on Monday and into central Florida early Tuesday. If that timeline holds then expect the port will likely be shutdown all of Monday. Hotels may take guest as long as you arrive before the storm but usually operate on limited services. With the state of emergency officially declared you can likely rearrange or cancel the hotel without extra charges or fees.

I can’t think of anything interesting for you to do so I’ll offer to go in your place so you won’t be bored!

We came from a background of cruising with DCL but started with Royal recently and were very happy with sailing the Ovation this past May. Price was a factor but we have also grown to enjoy some of the things that Royal can offer. There are some differences between the lines and one may edge out the other on specific items but things are more similar than expected. There are so many things to do on the ship It should not be an issue in finding thing even they don’t join trivia. There are also some great spots just to relax and chill. Some of the art displays can be fun also. (There is a sequence in the butterfly pic to make them react.). Our son is 11 and enjoyed many of the activities, especially the bumper cars. The specialty dining won me over. We have not done Alaska on any other ship but we did have good views of the glaciers and the trip up the fjord to Dawes glacier is nice and at times seems like you can reach out and touch the shore. The chance to go in the NorthStar is also a bonus on Ovation. If you have any specific questions between the lines fell free to ask. Happy planning!

Clarifying as the pp is referencing a different experience. This is a trip to the glacier, probably by helicopter, Right? We did a different glacier but similar trip earlier this year during our Juneau stop. Jacket and pants are probably most likely. Since it can be warm in the sun but cool if it clouds up a packable outer layer works best. You probably could do jeans but as the snow gets churned up by the sled it can get on the seats, so waterproof or resistant is probably better. On our excursion our family took turns as passenger and driver so you may not have to be in the seat the whole time. Since you are on snowpack boots or waterproof shoes can help but they most likely will provide you with boots that go over whatever foot wear you have on. Attached is a pic of the musher we were with and what they had on since they are living at the camp it is the best reference.

@Rui you referenced what about DCL a pp did not like and I was wondering about your experience with them. Have you done a number of cruises with the and any concierge? The reason I ask is there are many similarities and there are also quite a few differences. We have done a number of cruises with DCL, including concierge, but are transitioning more to Royal recently. Head to head comparison they are too close to really draw a big difference. That is until you factor in cost (at any stateroom category) and the perks of Star Class. Both lines have very similar experiences overall, guest rooms (for the most part), dining quality (Royal wins on specialty options), entertainment (DCL wins on shows but RC wins for activities on the big ships), etc. so much will be based on your own preferences. In the top room/class categories there are some small items that DCL edges a win with their concierge but the Star Class really blows away concierge with what they do and what they provide. Specialty dining, unlimited drinks, laundry (yes that one is a big difference in my mind), priority seating at shows are all way above what Disney is willing to do for its concierge rooms. You didn’t have any specifics mentioned in your op so if you have specific questions comparing the two lines, we are more than happy to try and answer. There are some great folks on here that know a lot more about Star Class and Royal but I am happy to deal with the more direct comparison between the two lines. The parting advice I can give is - DCL either draws in the, or exists because of the neurotics and everyone goes crazy trying to book everything as far in advance as possible. Star class is truly different, you can still plan ahead and book in advance but with the genie you can be a little less obsessive. Relax some and enjoy! Happy cruising!

That is pretty close to what was shared from a crew member. In his old job role he was the person that passed the passports and belongings to the port officials in those situations.

Thanks for the chart @CGTLH. The number of strips also dictates the type of on board accommodations the crew member gets. For example I think three strips or above get a private room, while two or below have shared. I don’t recall all the details but if someone has that info it would be great.

Our first Star Class was not long ago and one future is booked, can’t wait! We were on Ovation so some similarity’s and differences so I’ll share a couple details. There are plenty of great resources on this thread and board so I really want to corroborate some items, most of all there can be slight differences. About the suite lounge, it is the same location and I did go there a few times but it seem to be all that that advantageous. We had plenty to eat and drink so there was not much use to go there for those items. The view is similar to the Star class suites so no reason to go there for a different view. The genie can do everything the concierge host can do, and then some. We also had a high number of top tier guests, probably not as many as you will experience, so it never seemed too bad but the few times I did go it was early or late. As for coffee, the Ovation does not have a Starbucks but does have the specialty coffee shop. I never asked for morning delivery since I like to get up and get out most mornings. We were never charged for drinks or food items. My son even went and got stuff on his own and only had to show the card. We did the escape room, iFly, sushi class we did not get charged for any of those items. A couple of tours were offered and we did the bridge tour. Our sushi class ran long so our genie moved us out of the suites bridge tour and got us in with another group. We did the climbing, bumper cars a few times and our son did the trapeze. The genie walked us to the front of the line in each situation. There was a sign at bumper cars for Star Class so I guess we could have just used that but it wasn’t necessary since our genie was around. Have fun!

The closest we have ever booked was three days out. As mentioned, it was an off season so that helps. We are just over an hour from the port so the logistics work out. We asked, and the rep said the reservation really has to be done 24 hours before the cruise to facilitate the manifest paperwork. If you want to cruise in those last few days you have to do the research. Not only that but if you are doing it in the last few days you will likely have to call and speak to someone directly.

We were a little +/- on the food at the solarium on Ovation. It was fine but we had others that were better. Our son was 11 and was there for dinner with no issues.

Our long cruises have varied in both length and number of ports. Last wast the 11 day on Ovation with the 4 true port days and 2 glacier days. We have done Norway/Iceland/Scotland 12 days that had 7 port days. Our favorite was Panama Canal repo (West to East) 14 days with 4 port days plus the canal transit day which was all on the ship. There was so much time to relax it was really nice. Will be doing a trans Atlantic in a couple months. Longer is always better, if I could choose I would like a few port days but not too many. Luckily that has been the trend on our longer cruises. The most port intensive one did start to feel a little rushed for a vacation but we overnighted in Reykjavik which helped. We were able to do a full day tour that day and got back to the ship near midnight so it wasn’t rushed at all.

We have not tried our Roku but we have streamed the Stanley Cup playoffs from my laptop on both RCCL and DCL. It is not the easiest thing to accomplish but it is possible. If it is regular shows I personally wouldn’t do it and just enjoy the cruise.

The water temps are very well monitored and can have impacts on the weather, particularly tropical storms. The water temps are never that low in the Bahamas. Here is a chart for typical water temps.

On our last cruise our genie was previously a Loyalty Ambassador and shared a few details about pins. Except for the name specific pins, they can be requested form the LA desk. If you want yours after leveling up, you can request and it will be mailed. As mentioned by @WAAAYTOOO most of the time it will be provided when you board on your next cruise at that level.