fireclan

We're on this one, too after a 3 day land tour. Looking forward to the cruise but dreading the flight from the East Coast.

Spin Classes?  I used to be addicted to the "Hokey Pokey"  but then I turned myself around.

We're on this one, too after a 3 day land tour. Looking forward to the cruise but dreading the flight from the East Coast.

I'll be joining you!

There is nothing that cruising veterans enjoy more than an enthusiastic and interested new cruiser ! [Well, maybe we also enjoy getting tips on computer glitches where cruise planner purchases have been mispriced and we can take advantage !  😇🤣]. So ask as many questions as you have !  Love of cruising is contagious and we’re all infected !

counting down only 641 days to go! 😁
first time going on a cruise, any helpful info would be great. 
wondering if the drink package is worth the money or if buying per drink is the better way to go?
 

Wanted to start up the roll call for this sailing! Really looking forward to this one! 

Adding this itinerary to the Roll Calls. We are booked on this cruise after 7 nights Alaska Land Tour. Looking forward to it!

Fly Southwest to take advantage of two included suitcases. In second suitcase pack a blow up mattress, air pump and linens. 
 
The grass sprinklers come on at 5am outside terminal A.
I may have learned this the hard way. 

Thanks for trying to steer this thread back from the ridiculous direction it suddenly took...👍

Thanks for trying to steer this thread back from the ridiculous direction it suddenly took...👍

So, a promise is a promise, and now that I'm back from my cruise to the Norwegian fjords on Anthem of the Seas, here are some pics that may help you make a decision @berkeleykel.
 
First up is cabin 6560. This is officially classed as an obstructed balcony cabin but is one of the least obstructed ones. The first three are taken standing at the rail of the balcony while docking in Vigo. Looking towards the front of the ship and straight out there is virtually no obstruction; looking to the rear of the ship, the view is completely obstructed by the davit holding up the lifeboat. I have seen reports that the same cabin on the opposite side of the ship is also largely unobstructed (I'd guess a mirror image). While 6560 is a 2-berth cabin, its opposite number is a 3-berth.



These three are taken sitting on one of the chairs on the balcony (I didn't exactly pick the best port to shoot these ones, I'm afraid. If you just try and imagine a more picturesque port, you'll see that the water would be visible from this position).



And this last one is taken from deep inside the cabin.

On now to cabin 6654. This is also classed as an obstructed balcony cabin but it is one of the very few "square" cabins, along with 6658 and their opposite numbers on the other side of the ship, as well as the four immediately above them on deck 7, which are actually classed as large balcony cabins but which essentially have the same view, just being a little bit higher up above the lifeboats. We absolutely loved this cabin because of the layout; it felt more spacious than it actually was. Top bonus was the balcony, which was wider than your average balcony but not deeper, so to my mind, the view out from these cabins is excellent, except for if you're looking straight down. The con was that you only get an armchair rather than a sofa, which made no difference to us but might to others.




 


And, lastly, we have 7260, a large balcony cabin that I won through Royal Up (my original booking was an OV GTY).





One thing really worth bearing in mind with the large balcony cabins is the direction they are facing. Ours faced aft, so it was sheltered from the wind, but somebody from another forum that I met while cruising Odyssey last year had one that faced towards the front of the ship, so it effectively became a wind tunnel and was too windy for them to use when the ship was moving.
As to my personal opinion, I didn't feel that we had a particularly better view from the large balcony than we did from our other two so, to me, it would not be worth paying extra for a large balcony over a normal balcony on a scenic cruise. However, if you really do want a large balcony and assuming an armchair will do instead of a sofa, I would seriously consider one of the "square" cabins on deck 7: 7254, 7258, 7654 and 7658.
I hope you find this useful. If there's anything else you'd like to ask about the ship, please feel free and I'll do my best to answer. 😊
 
 

Here are some places for politics.

Thanks for trying to steer this thread back from the ridiculous direction it suddenly took...👍

Getting back to the actual subject matter, an update:
After a couple more phone calls...and enlisting the help of someone in the Executive Offices, everything is finally settled.  My son-in-law's name is spelled correctly in RCCL's records, his C&A number is attached to his reservation and his Set Sail Pass accurately shows his status as "Diamond".

Just fund your own drink package.  To avoid the worry, take the price of the drink package, extend it out by the length of your cruise, then multiply by 1.18 for gratuities.  Double that number for your cabin mate.  Put that amount in an account or under your mattress or whatever.  Then just order all the drinks you want without worry.  At the end total up your drinks and pay yourself the left over.  If you ended up exceeding the amount, then you'll know that you should get DBP.  Generally I think that those who are unsure will do better self funding and paying a la carte.  Those that know they need it, are usually right.

I wasn't able to get a pic from a similar angle but I can tell you that the scenery in Norway is absolutely stunning.
To whet your appetite, these are from the top of the Loen Skylift in Olden. You can Anthem in the first one.


 

I get the Icon excitement, I'm really anxious to seeing her as well but if calculating bang-for-your buck then I think the Hawaii->Vancouver reposition is a no-brainer. Don't know if I balcony is a must for you but you could save a little more even on Ovation by doing an inside with a virtual balcony. How much would you use a balcony on the 5 sea days anyway with not much to look at? Excursions in Hawaii are expensive, maybe not quite as high as Alaskan cruises, but they're up there. So with your savings you could spend more toward experiences or even a dining package onboard. 
As a disclaimer, I'm on the April 2024 sailing from Hawaii and really looking forward to it. I have never been to Hawaii and have been wanting to get back to Vancouver so this one checked the boxes for me. I know I won't get to see all of Hawaii, but it'll be a good taste for me and will give me an idea of where i might want to go for a land trip in the future. I love sea days and having been on Ovation's sister Anthem for a 9-nighter, I'm really looking forward to relaxing on those sea days in 270 and the solarium.
As for it being rough... it's impossible to predict. I had always heard the North Atlantic was rough until I went on my Canada/NE cruise and it was one of the smoothest sailings I've been on. The Gulf of Mexico can be rocky too if a spring storm or something blows through. Just no way to know this far out. 

Was considering it til I saw that price tag O.O $2300 for an interior...on Mariner?!
Unless Jean Luc Picard is tucking me in every night that seems excessively not worth it...

Only with the Pepto Bismo shake.  
Conjures memories of work when our station had one of those "all nighter" nights.  In between calls a stop at the Krystal for an order of 50 Krystal Burgers with cheese and 10 orders of fries for the engine, truck & rescue crew. Wonderful back in the day, I took it all in stride. Today, would probably kill me. 🤣

It's crazy that despite all the evidence to the contrary, that people still believe that the US government would never think to misuse the means to collect data or the data that they've collected through legitimate reasons.  I'm probably not as serious about my privacy as I could be, but understand and respect those that are much more cautious than I even if it's done just on principle alone.

I am a market researcher for another company.  Like previously mentioned that feedback tab is for the website. I manage one for my company's website as well.  I just went and looked at Royal's and the question they are asking is an NPS or Net Promoter Score question.  They say how satisfied are you with the website, but really what it is asking and what they are reporting to the Royal exec's is how likely are you to recommend Royal Caribbean to others, based upon your experience with the website.  
The way the analysis is done on this type of question is if you answer a 9 or 10 you are a Promoter, 6-8 you are Neutral, 0-5 you are a Detractor.  So if you think changes and updates need to be made to the website put a 0-5.  If you think its okay, but don't really need changes put a 6-8. If you think it is amazing put 9 or 10. 
That's how it works anytime you see that scale on a survey for any company by the way.  
As someone who runs surveys and moderates focus groups I can say that there is a group of people in a company who looks at that data and tries to be your advocate within the company.  Now getting the executives to listen to the results of the data we collect and make changes based off it is another story.... 

Just disembarked this morning and it could not have been quicker or easier.  No separate line for BC.  Dan and I went to the same agent; he, with his passport and me with my BC +drivers license.  Barely even slowed down as we walked past.
I will add….both the embarkation and disembarkation from Serenade (Tampa) were amazing !  We were at the front of both lines both getting on and off the ship.  This is primarily a function of being EARLY.  We were the first GenPop to get on the ship when boarding and the first in GenPop to disembark.  The on/off processes are very organized and timely.  I can’t say enough about the efficiency of the terminal folks at Tampa.  I thought Port Canaveral had their s**t together but Tampa was even better.  So pleased with everything at Tampa.