BTE

I totally get your question.  When I booked my 1st Alaska cruise I approached it on that basis - if I'm going to do Alaska once, all my research said to do it right and put a little more effort into booking it one way.  
I prefer the Southbound one-way in a large part due to the train.  What an amazing way to set the tone for the cruise.  Then there are the extra ports plus longer times in some of them.   To be fair I have not done a Northbound one way.  Ending in Vancouver is easy.  Cheap transfer to airport or a great city to explore post cruise if you wish.  
When I booked the RCLBlog group cruise out of Seattle I thought I was settling for a lesser Alaskan experience (based on my research).  I was wrong.  It was a great Alaska cruise and not just because of the group.  
Let me put it this way - if I could, I'd go one-way more than Seattle.  As a repeat Alaska cruiser or for anyone who is intimidated by the logistics of a one way, a Seattle round trip provides a great Alaskan experience.  My next and 4th Alaska cruise is Seattle based (for now).  
If you can, either way, add a few days to explore Seattle, Anchorage and/or Vancouver.  You won't be disappointed.  
There is no wrong way to cruise Alaska.   YOLO, book it.  
 
 
 

Let's talk Passports and Documents
Even though I do tell clients what they need to bring with them to board a ship sometimes life
gets in the way and they forget or find out last minute they don't have what they need.  My rule of thumb
is when I make final payment OR you make your final payment CHECK your passport or Documents
and make sure they are in order.  if not you still have some time>  Trust me - I have had to run to DC
and get a last minute passport for my husband because we could not find his current passport or His
birth certificate and it cost me $500 but I did get it 4 days before sailing so it can be done, lol
Don't make my mistake. 

Here below is what is actually written on your cruise document from ROYAL with links too.

Before You Leave: Required Travel Documents and Identification
It is the guest's responsibility to obtain all valid travel documents for their vacation. These valid travel documents such as passports, visas,
inoculation certificate and family legal documents are required for boarding and re-entry into the United States and other countries. Guests should
check with their travel agent and/or government authority to determine the travel documents needed for each destination, including the port of
embarkation.
Documentation and Immigration Requirements
· Guests are highly encouraged to travel with a valid passport, even when not required
· For your protection, we recommend that your passport expiration date does not occur within six (6) months of the sailing return date.
· Some foreign ports of call require a visa. Please contact the Embassy (Consular Services) of each country on your sailing itinerary or the visa
service of your choice for specific visa requirements, information, forms and fees for your nationality. Royal Caribbean suggests the visa provider,
CIBT at www.visacentral.com/royalcaribbean or 1.800.858.8579 (identify yourself as a Royal Caribbean guest for discounted rates).
· The spelling of the guest(s) name as booked for a cruise must match exactly as their valid passport or proof of citizenship / identification during
ship check-in formalities.
· Certain countries may have specific travel requirements for your itinerary. Please check any one of the websites below to understand what is necessary for your vacation.
· All guests (including children) must present a valid passport when sailing on U.S. Open Loop voyages. These are voyages that commence in a
U.S. port, travel within the Western Hemisphere, and end at a different U.S. port. When traveling on these sailings, please take extra caution in
understanding the specific documentation requirements.
· All guests (including children) require specific travel documents that may include either a passport or other documentation, such as a
government-issued birth certificate and laminated government issued picture ID denoting photo, name and date of birth, when traveling on U.S.
Closed Loop voyages. These are voyages that commence and end in the same U.S. port without leaving the western hemisphere. Please note that
Baptismal papers, hospital certificates of birth, voter registration cards or Social Security cards are not considered proof of citizenship. Please view
the websites below for more information.
· Should the last names of the parent and minor child traveling with them differ, the parent is required to present the child's valid passport and visa (if
required) and the child's birth certificate (original, a notarized copy or a certified copy). The name of the parent(s) and the child must be linked
through legal documentation.
· Adults who are not the parent or legal guardian of a minor traveling with them must present an original notarized letter signed by the child's
parent(s), authorizing the adult to take the child on the specific cruise, supervise the child and allow emergency medical treatment to be
administered.
· Guests on consecutive sailings must ensure they have the proper travel documents for their entire cruise vacation and for any port within their
itinerary(s).
Please refer to one of the following websites for details on documentation requirements as it relates to your itinerary:
· WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative):
· Royal Caribbean’s Recommended Visa and Passport Provider:
· Alien Registration Card
· Royal Caribbean International
Website: www.getyouhome.gov
Website: www.visacentral.com/royalcaribbean
Website: http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/greencard_renewal.html
Website: www.RoyalCaribbean.com
This booking is governed by the terms and conditions of the Cruise/Cruisetour Ticket Contract. A copy of the most current version of that

Trust me - its a daily ??? what the heck is going on scenario - but somehow it all seems to balance out
hang in there guys and yes, always question when it does not look right

Yesterday I experienced a trip delay returning on a cruise and I thought it would make an interesting "lessons learned" post.
My 4 night cruise on Brilliance of the Seas left Tampa on time and on schedule.  It was a great cruise with a group of friends and we all enjoyed it.  When we finished our day in Cozumel and re-boarded the ship none of us knew how mother nature had her own plans for our return to Tampa despite calm seas and smooth sailing.
Fog.  Heavy fog.  
To reach the pier in Tampa you need to pass under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  In 1980 during severe weather a freighter struct the original bridge sending a section of the bridge crashing into the bay killing 35 people.  As such, Tampa and it's pilots don't take chances when it comes to weather.
We arrived to the Tampa pilot station six hours ahead of schedule in an attempt to beat the fog but the fog beat us, arriving earlier than forecast.
Our attempt to beat the fog and arrive early didn't come without cost.  Running any boat, vessel, craft or ship at full speed consumes a massive amount of fuel compared to running at a nominal cruising speed.  Royal spent tens of thousands of dollars on fuel and it's an example how Royal does try to do the best thing for everyone involved even if it costs them significant sums of money.
Waking up early on debark day I noted our speed was zero but we were still outside of Tampa Bay. Oh boy, here we go.  Up on deck 12 I could see several cargo and tanker ships hanging around with us in the fog.  Beyond the lights of the other ships you couldn't see much of anything.  Fog.
The Captain informed us that the channel into the port was closed by the Coast Guard and we would need to wait until the channel opened and a pilot could come out to board the ship.  The initial estimate was a 2:30pm arrival at the pier.
Not long after the Captain informed us that he just got word that another cruise ship got stuck in port the day before and couldn't leave due to the fog.  The channel through Tampa Bay is narrow and only one cruise ship can occupy it at a time, two ships cannot pass each other in the channel.  It takes 2 to 3 hours for a ship to transit the channel.  We had no choice but to wait for that ship to depart and clear the bay before could begin our entrance to the bay.  Estimated arrival now 5:30pm.  
Lesson 1 - Don't book early flights.
While sitting around an airport for a day doesn't sound that attractive you need to understand the risk that comes with booking an early flight.  Delays happens for a number of reasons most of which are no one's fault and unavoidable.  Weather delays happen, some ports like Tampa or Galveston are more likely to experience delays at certain times of the year.  Do some research before booking that flight.  Delays can occur for many reasons beyond weather.  
In my case, I had booked a 6:30pm flight home because it was cheapest, like $175 cheaper than the 10:30am direct flight.  Over the weeks before the cruise I kept looking at that knowing I could pay the difference on Southwest and grab the earlier direct flight but if someone said to me "I'll give you $175 and all you need to do is stay at an airport for 8 hours" I'd take that deal every time.
I knew I could get some work done using the free airport wifi so my plan was to get off the ship early and spend the day working from the airport knowing if there was a delay, I could be relaxed and not stressed out.  Not only did I save money but the later flight also saved me a bunch of stress during this experience.
Lesson 2 - Travel Insurance.  This is a perfect example of how travel insurance needs to be high on anyone's list to consider. 
Our group of about 70 included folks with travel insurance and some "self insured" as they put it.  Some people were out $400 or $500 per person to rebook next day airfare and they had to pay for a hotel and meals on top of that.  For a couple that can be over $1,000.  For a family of four that could be over $2,000.  Those with insurance will get some, if not all of that back.  Those without just lost a whole lot of money.
However know your travel insurance coverage and limits.  My annual travel insurance policy was chosen primarily for medical coverage.  It has some trip interruption coverage but it doesn't have great reimbursement for delays of this nature.  
Lesson 3 - If you have travel insurance, know how to use it.
A lot of people in our group had insurance but had no idea what to do in the hour of need.  What is their phone number? What is the policy number?  What is covered and what isn't?  How much is covered?  Do you need pre-approval? What documentation is required?  The ship had letters pre-printed and available at guest services stating there was a weather delay and some insurance companies will need that documentation for a claim to proceed.  
If you buy insurance that's great, but know what to do when you need to use it.
Lesson 4 - They keep the food and beverages flowing.  
No need to worry about your extra time on board, they have ample food for such events and lined up more activities to keep us busy.  Most people took it all in stride and rolled with it.  It was quite enjoyable, much like any sea day.
Lesson 5 - Listen to announcements and pay attention. 
On the last night of the cruise many people put their luggage tags on their bag and place them in the hallway.  Bags are collected by the crew and prepared to be offloaded once the ship reaches the pier.  It takes time for the pier personnel to offload thousands of bags.  There is a reason why bag tags have numbers and bags are offloaded in order so that numbers can be called only when those bags will be ready and waiting in the terminal.  
During an event like this there a natural tendency to want to get off as soon as the ship arrives but cruise terminals cannot hold thousands of people waiting hours for luggage to be offloaded.  
Of course what occurred once we did finally reach the pier?  Hundreds of guests ignored the announcements, made a stampede to exit during the "self assist" time and found themselves having to stand outside the terminal waiting for up to 2 hours for their luggage, with no where to sit and no food or water.  If they had listened to the announcements they could have been sitting comfortably on the ship with access to restrooms, food and beverages. Instead they made the self-assist process more chaotic and accomplished nothing but misery for themselves in the process. 
Listen to the announcements, follow instructions.  
Lesson 6 - You can't fight mother nature. 
It's not the crew's fault, it's not the Captains fault, it's not the cruise line's fault. Don't be one of those people making an already difficult situation any worse.   Even if you are one of those people who choose to ignore the lessons above, at the end of the day becoming ugly or snarky with the crew or terminal employees accomplishes nothing.  Sit back, take a deep breathe and relax.  Life will go on and it will all work out in the end.  Put a smile on in the face of adversity.  Be kind to other's and don't get everyone else spun up.  Staying calm and friendly helps other's stay calm and friendly.  If you are stressed out, it will make your spouse and/or kids stressed out.  If you are calm and smiling through it, your loved ones will be more relaxed.  Do it for them.
Lesson 7 - If you don't buy insurance you've only got yourself to blame.
Accept the fact that you saved some money by not buying insurance.  You took a gamble and lost.  The money saved by not buying insurance may take a small bite out of your losses.  No cruise line can change factors beyond their control.  It's not their fault.  You took the chance and lost.  Accept responsibility and move on.  
Me?  I got lucky.  A lot of factors combined to work out in my favor.  I had booked a later flight.  I have travel insurance.  I always use self-assist.  Customs was fast.  Taxi's were waiting.   TSA Pre lines had no wait.  Southwest did an amazing job getting my luggage on the plane checking in at 38 minutes before departure.  The stars aligned for me perfectly and I didn't need to make a claim against my insurance policy.  I was fortunate but in a small group of lucky guests.

In Tennessee they just apply them to your years of service. My wife taught 31 years but her sick days gave her 32 years that her retirement check is based off

Recap of Bonaire and Aruba. Part 2
With anticipation we pulled into Aruba for a 15 hour port of call.  After a room service breakfast we headed out early for a horseback riding adventure. Very efficiently we went from the Acadia theater to a van and was wisked away to a ranch on the Eastern side of the island. After a short but thorough briefing, I mounted Bacardi and 1 we hit the trail.  It was a blast going through Aruba's arid land scape with 20 foot high cactus.  We eventually made our way to the coast with us riding by the crashing surf as high as 20 feet.  Our stop was a beautiful beach before a ride back to the ranch. This was a five star excursion!
Back to the ship to eat and change and out we went on our own to find a beach. We took a taxi to Asanti beach which is way North in the hopes to get away from the tourists but even that was crowded. It was an Aruban holiday so that may have brought out a lot of local families. After a few hours in the sun we had to figure a way back to the ship. The taxi there was $29 at holiday rates so we contemplated public transportation but a small tour bus came by offering $5 rides to the cruise port so we hoped on. It was a tour in progress so we spent a relaxing 40 minutes learning about the island and going by all the local and tourist beaches.
Of all the Islands on this trip, Aruba is by far the biggest vacation spot. The hotel rooms alone dwarf the other stops by tenfold. That's good and bad depending on your preferred experience you want when you sail. 
All told it was 11 hours off the ship so we dragged ourselves into the windjammer for dinner. We are definitely MDR folk so we just treated it like that.  Bread and starters first, some conversation then the main course, then dessert. It was fun to set it up that way.
We finished the evening wearing our bathrobes to the jacuzzi and then reading in the solarium overlooking the lights of Aruba.
Honestly, we went to bed before the ship left and never heard or felt anything. 
Sea day today. Time to book our next cruise!
 
 

In Tennessee they just apply them to your years of service. My wife taught 31 years but her sick days gave her 32 years that her retirement check is based off

Blessings to your family. Here are our plans:
Harmony, April
Navigator, May
Navigator, June
Adventure, July
Mariner, August B2B2B
Explorer, December
Navigator, December side by side.

So what happened to September, October and November! LOL?

Will be writing up our great day in Bonaire later but woke up and wanted to share  sunrise over Aruba. (It is called a live blog) ?
Note that a port side room to the ABC islands really is full of activity as you look over the downtowns at each stop. 

Most of my travelling is to see my only grandchild who turns 7 months on 1/27 whom lives 12 hours from me. I usually also go to Santa Rosa beach for a couple of long weekends & than 1 week every October. I have 2 cruises scheduled for this year also. Here's what I know so far. Since my wife retired & I have extra vacation to use this year I get to travel more. ?
1/27    Allure of the seas
3/6      Santa Rosa Beach
Late March / Early April   Oklahoma to see grandson
Late May       Oklahoma to see grandson
Late June / Early July      Oklahoma to see grandson 
8/9      Ovation of the seas
Oct      Santa Rosa Beach
Thanksgiving      Oklahoma
Christmas            Oklahoma 
Now that I put it all on paper I think I'll be on the road  LOL
 

And don't forget to keep anything you'll need for the next morning in your room like a change of clothes or you might have to disembark in your PJ's.  Not that there's anything wrong with that....

Usually 11pm.
Technically you don't have to put luggage out if you plan to use self-assist and carry it all off yourself.

Welcome. I just joined the blogs recently as I hadn't been on a cruise in awhile & everyone here is great in helping & providing valuable insight!

This slightly delayed recap of a port day in Curacao just shows that it was a jam packed day of fun and sun!
First off, Curacao has rocketted up the charts as one of my favorite ports. Theb15 minute walk to the city center  is as nice as I have found. Your start out along the water and go through an old stone fort converted into ships. Definitely go up the walls for a nice view of the harbor. After  that you make your across the historic floating bridge and into city center. We spent the morning on our own looking at the architecture and finding the old continuous used synagogue in the Western hemsphire. The building was first used in 1732. There was a $10 charge to walk the grounds, and visit the museum. We also had a half hour talk from the rabbi on the history. 
After a quick lunch on board we met our excursion that took us to the limestone caves. The caves where nice but the tour guide pointing out all the sites to and from the other side of the island was even more enjoyable. Ziza, our guide, was a bundle of joy and energy. The second part of the tour was a guided exploration of the city center with Ziza. The hour plus walk was the highlight of the excursion. I will let the photos speak for adventure!
Back on board we enjoyed a rack of lamb and chicken parmesan in the MDR and then had our traditional slow walk around the outside promonade on deck 4. There is something special being up on the helipad at last light. 
There was no headliner of production show tonight so it was an early night for us. We love the shows so always are disappointed when there isn't one. 
Tomorrow, err today is Bonaire and we just got cleared. Time for snorkeling! @Camilla I will get the kids area phots today!

I guess if you always purchased internet than the Key might be worth the cost with the other perks but to me it's out priced at (per person / per day) as I like to go on a cruise & unplug from anything internet related because I'm already on my laptop / phone if I'm awake. This gives me a chance to unplug for a week.

Well I went from not cruising for 8 years Jan 2011 to booking a cruise in Dec for Jan 2019. Than I put a deposit down on 1/9 for a cruise in Aug 2019 & today I put a deposit down for one in Feb 2020. My wife asked was I getting carried away all of the sudden LOL but she didn't say no.
Upcoming cruises
Allure          1/27/2019
Ovation       8/9/2019
Adventure   2/1/2020
Guess I'll just work on planning excursions ect.. for the last 2 & hold off booking anything else for now. Thanks to Michelle - MEI Travel.
 

Some of us are anxiously tracking the development of the Royal Caribbean app.  I thought it would be a good idea to track the features and updates in this spreadsheet.  With the spreadsheet in Google Sheets format, other like-minded ones can also contribute.  Updates can be found via the changelog when the app is updated.  However, app users may notice a capability that may not have been specifically announced for the ship they're sailing on.
Column A contains the features.
Cells B1-Z1 contain the ship names.
Feel free to add new features as they're announced.

Hey everyone!
My husband got the video assembled of our Christmas cruise to the Caribbean, and it’s up on YouTube. It’s about 19 minutes long, so grab some popcorn.
 

The primary rationale is for "traditional" means of check-in.
1. You have to hand the info over to pier agent.  While you can hand them a phone, paper is certainly easier for their set up. Not to mention having to worry about phone being unlocked.
2. The pier agent usually marks the check-in sheet to indicate you've actually checked in.  

Me too!

As long as I can get a drink, I really don't care what time I have access to my room ?

Final thoughts: 
I really loved the Symphony. She is very similar to Harmony, but I love these Oasis class ships and was glad we chose to go on this trip. These are not complaints, but more observations: 
1.  The chair hogs were out in full force. I know this is something difficult for RC to manage as if someone is in the pool and have there stuff on a chair I think that is fine. But when people just leave a towel on the chair and are off eating lunch or doing whatever that is just rude to the other guests. 
2.  There was a huge company group of about 1200 people on this cruise. Many times they had different areas of the ship reserved and off limits to everyone else such as the boardwalk one night, the solarium one night, and others. I know RC is in the business of making money and I am sure this company paid a good amount to reserve these spots. It is just a bummer for everyone else on the ship when you go to do something to find out it’s closed. 
3.  The food and service in the MDR I thought was a little worse than what I experienced on Harmony last year. 
Those are not complaints as I didn’t let any of it ruin my vacation and I still had an amazing time and would book this ship again. It is now time though to really start planning our Alaska cruise in July. I am looking forward to being on a smaller ship(radiance) to see the difference between that and the Oasis Class. If you are thinking of booking this ship, YOLO, DO IT! 

It's time and I am jazzed! I start this blog on the front sun deck area up front deck 12. It's my second blog and hope to share enough info to help others and just maybe entertain. 
We embark from San Juan in about 5 hours which has lent itself to be a very relaxed time. We arrived at the port at noon and from handing the bags to the porters to walking on board was ten minutes max. I assume we slid in right after the call of all those that were waiting for the ship to be cleared to board. The windjammer seemed  quieter possibly again because there is so much time before the muster drill. No sense of a rush to get food before they close. 
We are coming back to Freedom from our first trip on an Oasis size ship. Honestly I was surprised that my first impression was that this ship seemed small. I remember how I thought Freedom was gigantic just last year. Well,  not to fear, after walking around during the past few hours, it is feeling large again.  Plus it helps being next to the Disney Wonder which is a good deal smaller. 
I will recap the full day later but will leave you with some pre departure thoughts.
- San Juan airport was very busy with the taxi line being about a 30 minute wait. No Uber from the airport. 
- We stayed at a nice boutique hotel, the San Geronimo, but it's more european style than American. It is less than a mile to the port and about a mile and a half to the center of old San Juan. 
- fortunate enough to have been here for the San Sebastian festival in old San Juan. Good music and fun but very crowded. 
Hope you enjoy following and feel free to ask questions. I will try to track the answers down!