Katy

@Matt Ha, despite having moved to northern New Jersey in 2010, I actually have never been to Hoboken! @YOLO The reason we chose the August 21 date originally was that I was in a job where my busiest time of year was in the summer, and I was not able to take vacation time until the end of August. I have since changed jobs and no longer have the same summer travel restrictions. However, due to my kids' summer camp schedules, the beginning of August or end of July might be better than the beginning of July, but we certainly don't have to wait until the end of August anymore. The Ovation sailing we are booked on has ports of call at Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, with one day sailing through Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier. @AshleyDillo Awesome points about the extra activities available on Ovation. That's originally why we chose the ship. I do love the idea of, if we love it, doing another trip with a land and sea component. I am very interested in going to Denali! @Flacruiser99 and @carlosalonsor Good to know that I shouldn't write off Victoria. I should know better. Last summer we went on a cruise around the Baltic and initially were least excited about our stop in Tallinn, Estonia. However, for most members of my family, it ended up being their favorite port, and we thoroughly enjoyed our day there.

We are a family of four who are booked on Ovation of the Seas August 21, 2020. My two boys will be 15 and 13 at the time. Alaska has been on my bucket list since I was a kid. We have previously only cruised DCL, but decided to try Royal for Alaska because of the huge price differential and because my kids seemed to be aging out of DCL, although we all loved the service and enjoyed a lot of things about the line. Our goal in Alaska is to hike and spend time in the wilderness, enjoy the beauty, and see the glaciers. I booked Ovation last year during the Black Friday sale, so I'm very happy with the price we got. We also were able to get one of the junior suites that has a pull-down bed, which is important for us -- kids will be much happier if they are not sharing a bed. However, I'm now debating whether to keep this itinerary or try to change it for something else. My concerns now: Glacier Bay -- now that Royal is going to Glacier Bay, having an itinerary that goes there is very appealing to me. I was hoping our itinerary would change to include Glacier Bay when they announced the news earlier this summer, but so far no changes have been made. Seattle -- I am wondering if we'd be happier with a round-trip cruise that departed/returned from Vancouver because it would allow more time in Alaska. The Victoria port seems nice but unmemorable. An extra stop in Alaska sounds appealing. Huge ship -- There definitely seems like a lot of fun things to do on the ship itself, but I think in Alaska I'm more interested in the destination than the ports. Is the size of the ship going to hinder what we're able to see on the glacier cruising days? There are some advantages to staying with what we have: We have a stateroom we like at a price we are very happy with and there is some appeal to getting to do this in 2020 -- carpe diem, why postpone for another year? This does not have to be the only trip I take to Alaska in my life. If we enjoy it and wish we could see more, we could always go back. Ship may be fun for the kids. We are kind of a bookish/nerdy family--our favorite thing to do on ships is usually trivia sessions -- but I can see the kids having a lot of fun with things like the rock climbing/IFly/escape room on the ship. On our DCL cruises, my younger son liked exploring the ship a lot and the older one liked finding a cozy porthole where he could sit and read and look out at the sea. If we changed itineraries, I think I would try to book something as soon as 2021 itineraries were released, probably a roundtrip out of Vancouver but maybe a northbound/southbound starting in/ending in Vancouver. But maybe I'm overthinking?!?! Thoughts/advice is welcome!

@alamode123 But part of the appeal of cruising, for my family at least, is that it forces everyone--teens and parents alike--offline! I hope Royal does end up with something similar to other cruise lines that will let you message other passengers on the ship without having to enable full internet access.

Booked a 7-night Alaskan Glacier cruise on Ovation of the Seas on August 21, 2020.

Hello everyone! I'm new to the boards and new to Royal Caribbean. (Well, almost new. I did a 3-night on the Sovereign of the Seas back in 1998!) My husband and two sons (ages 11 and 13) have done four cruises on Disney Cruise Line, including our most recent cruise around the Baltic Sea in August. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to visit Alaska, so we decided it was time to book an Alaska cruise. With our kids getting older, we felt there was less for them to do on Disney cruises so were less interested in paying Disney prices. We decided to book a 7-night Seattle roundtrip on the Ovation of the Seas in August 2020. I feel like there is so much for me to learn about Royal Caribbean before then, but luckily I have time. Looking forward to getting to know you all!