KJones

I stand corrected! Thanks @WAAAYTOOOfor the insights!

You shouldn't have a problem just walking up and getting a table at any of the restaurants that are open at that time.

If you get upgraded to Star Class close to departure date, they'll refund the specialty dining onboard so no issues there.

Make sure it's an official government stamp and not a tourist booth "passport stamp," as those could technically invalidate your passport.

The only advantage is price. Onboard you'll pay around $23 per class (includes gratuity). So you'll get a good deal with a 3-pass even if you only go to 2 classes (last I checked the 3-class was less than $40). You can't sign up for classes ahead of time, you have to do that onboard. There will be sign-up sheets in the fitness center and you can usually sign up for the whole week.
An old cruise compasses from a similar sailing might be useful if you want to get an idea of what the schedule might be.

Personally, I would see about cancelling the ship insurance and only go the 3rd party route (I use Allianz). 3rd party policies usually have more/better coverage than those promoted by the cruise lines, particularly for medical and emergency transport. They'll also cover flights, which I don't think RC's policy does.

@Randon1234Yes you can get a whole pizza, but you may have to wait a bit.

44 minutes ago, jp1 said:

Transfer of Available Spend for use onboard the Ship

Should you have any residual Available Spend at the cut-off date for making purchases utilizing Cruise Planner, such Available Spend will be automatically converted back to US$ for spend onboard your booked cruise.

The rate of exchange applied will be the same rate that applied to your original purchase utilizing Onboard Spend. Where however no purchase has been made utilizing your Available Spend, the original amount of Promotional OBC awarded to you in US$ shall be transferred to your onboard account to spend onboard.

 

Please note that Promotional OBC is non-transferable, not redeemable for cash, and will expire if not used by 10:00 PM on the final night of your cruise.

If you don't use all the OBC pre-cruise, it will transfer to onboard. If you don't spend it all by the end of your sailing, you forfeit the balance.

Sometimes they hold back spots so guests can book onboard, so you might not be completely out of luck. Just keep checking the CP, people might cancel.

We opted for whale watching at ISP through Hoonah Travel Adventures. The port is small and is privately owned/operated by the local tribe. The Adventure Center on the map had some excursions for sale - but it may have just been for the Adventure Park and zipline. Private tour companies picked up at the Excursion Hub, and as previously mentioned everyone there was had already booked. There is also a shuttle that takes guests to Hoonah.

Icy-Strait-Point-Map.pdf

Moose Tooth Pizza is fantastic.

Bears - Hoonah Travel Adventures at Icy Strait had a bear excursion. We opted for a whale watch tour with them so I will say they are a great company (tour guide was the best of all our excursions, small capacity excursions) but can't comment on the bear specific tour.

Souvenirs - I always pick up a cloth tote bag from my travels. Doesn't take up much space, won't get damaged, and I can recall the fun adventures each time it gets used. We also pick up a christmas ornament along the way.

Yes, the card will work for chai lattes. In my experience on Radiance in September, a 12oz chai counted as 1 punch, a 16oz as 2 punches (I imagine a 20oz would have been 3). So the best bang for your buck would be to order 12oz.

RE: cake - you can pre-order a cake ahead of time through Royal Gifts (and other goodies too!).

2 hours ago, SeaSomm said:

Try Turo. It's like Airbnb for people who rent out their personal cars, often for less than conventional car rental companies. You may find that there is a van available close to you.

Does Turo do one-way rentals? OP is looking to leave the car in Vancouver...

I think you can also avoid it by scheduling dinner for 6:45 or so if you have MTD - you'll be after the early seating's "show" and too early for the late seating's.

43 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

I have read reports of people who had reservations at Maya Chan on days when the sargassum was bad - they will usually notify you ahead of time and offer a refund if you want to cancel. 

They do! When we were there last in 2019 the emailed us to ask if we wanted a refund, even offering to let us go and see how it was before deciding if we wanted to stay. We ended up staying, but transportation to/from port would have been at no cost to us had we decided on the refund after arriving.

Ask at the dining room when you board to try to switch to early dining. If you can't and you stick with MTD, tell your waiter that you have a show that night and they'll try to speed up service.

This thread addresses what you're asking:

We haven't minded being on a lower deck, we'll pretty much take any room that's not under the pool deck. You're still high enough above the water line that you can't really see the waves crashing against the boat from the window, IIRC. A lower deck makes you that much closer to the gangways, and depending on which end of the ship, also closer to the MDR so you can just walk up a flight or two of stairs, which is great for port intensive itineraries. Of course that means farther away from the pool deck & WJ.

Personally wouldn't take a flight before noon out of FCO. Call the airline and tell them to book you on a different flight.

@twangsterThat would certainly help us here out west... but isn't the Mississippi already at a historical low? So maybe a win-win-lose?

5 hours ago, jp1 said:

How do I request a mattress topper?

Ask your stateroom attendant and they'll add one if it's available.

I've used Verizon Travel Pass on several international trips. Super easy to use, and includes coverage for the vast majority of countries (though level of cell reception naturally varies due to infrastructure differences). It's $5-10 per 24hr period so if you have 2 port days in a row and you time it right, you could get service in both ports for the price of a single "day." You'll get a text saying that it's been activated once you turn cellular service on. I don't recall getting one that would let you know your 24hrs was almost up (which would be nice, but not necessary). Don't think I used it in Labadee, but had no problems in Aruba and Curacao. You should be fine.

You can check previous cruise compasses to get an idea of when they might be:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass

A member of my family also received one... but they don't have any sailings currently booked