NJCruisers

What works for my wife is squeezing my hand/arm hard enough to leave bruises and draw blood with her fingernails
All kidding aside, she is in absolute terror during take off and landings.   I’m not quite sure how she manages to find the courage to fly, but she does.  While I can’t say I understand the fear, I can see it in her eyes and I know there is nothing I can say to take it away….I worked on jets in the military, but she doesn’t care at all when I explain what’s going on.  I’ve learned that all I can do is be there for her.
I hope you are able to find a way to conquer the fear.  I know it’s a tangible thing.
 

I'm a very nervous flier and I took meds for a few years before giving them up.
I took various derivatives of Xanax. I found I felt indifferent as opposed to scared. Some of the meds would also leave me quite tired and I'd find myself kind of blacking out. I was coherent and with it, but after the flight I'd have memory gaps of what happened. This isn't a bad thing, but my wife needed me to be helpful on a flight and not a vegetable, so I had to give it up.
I'm still scared, but what's helped me is reminding myself how this flight was completed safely yesterday, the day before that, the month before that, et al.
I hate that I'm so nervous (especially on takeoff), but I promised myself I wouldn't let it stop me. I may not enjoy it, but I can deal with it if it allows me to go to places like Alaska because of how amazing these places are.  

If you go the medication route, try a dose before you fly to see how you handle it. It can make you more miserable during and after the flight.
 
Distractions are your best bet. Load up your favorite phone/tablet with lots of shows/movies. The minute you sit in your seat, start watching.

Our Radiance menu in June out of Alaska was identical to our Liberty menu in February to the Caribbean. They had issues getting a couple items on the Alaska cruise (no duck or lamb in MDR, but Chops had lamb), and they were replaced with something similar. 

We love trying new things, we definitely prefer the MDR to the Windjammer but honestly I enjoy not having to cook (& do the dishes!) on vacation so it's all good 🙂 
Thanks for the reply.

Well may when they come back up they will have that $19 a day drink package error

We love trying new things, we definitely prefer the MDR to the Windjammer but honestly I enjoy not having to cook (& do the dishes!) on vacation so it's all good 🙂 
Thanks for the reply.

There are some options almost always available while featured items change daily.  I don't know about Alaska, but sometimes on Mediterranean cruises there are some special items based on the itinerary.  
Generally, all MDR menus have a core offering with some differences based on location.  For example, cruises out of Southampton have a British-oriented menu, as does the Windjammer.  It is an adjustment for American guests!

The menu does change with the region (Americas, Mediterranean, Europe, Asia), but stays the same for sailings within that region. 
 
I'm almost positive that Alaska sailings and Caribbean sailings will share the same MDR menu. 

Sept 30, no more vaccine or ArriveCAN requirement to enter Canada
 
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-canada-to-drop-covid-19-vaccine-requirement-for-entering-country-on/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Our TA does everything but cruise planner; air, hotel, cruise, insurance, transfers, and pre-cruise 3rd party excursions. We do pay a fee for air. For our next cruise TA arranged Air2Sea reservations.

Your travel agent is there to manage your cruise reservation, so expect to manage everything else on your own.
Hotels, railroad/airplane, rental car is all on you and that's primarily because those companies do not pay travel agents commission. I'd also argue you're probably better suited to handle those kind of reservations since people are generally more comfortable booking hotels or flights on their own to begin with.
The TA can certainly provide a suggestion or two if you're struggling with an aspect of it, but that's about it.
The one exception is if you book a hotel or flight through Royal Caribbean. Then, a TA can book it for you since they can book it through the cruise line.

TA handles anything dealing with the cruise booking itself. Anything you buy via the cruise planner is yours to handle. 

Once you book at that price you are locked in. Unless they cancel or you cancel. They hope to have it on all ships before the summer of 2023. 
The person who talked about increased price has nothing to do with Starlink. Sailings will always fluctuate in price, it may increase or decrease based on tons of factors.

I've only been on a few cruises but I'm excited for Radiance. We no longer have kids traveling with us & we are planning on busy days in Alaska. I think it's big enough for this trip for sure. We are traveling with others who have never cruised before so they won't have anything to compare it to. 

Yes, I am originally from NYC myself but made the move to NJ almost 25 years ago. Ironically I've never taken a cruise from here. I've done 1 out of Florida and 2 out of Puerto Rico. Alaska is definitely a big deal, I hate to fly and I'm already nervous about it! I love planning vacations though. 
Aruba & Curacao are both amazing, I've been to both of them twice. Curacao was so fun to just walk around town on our own and explore. We did a beach excursion through the ship in the morning, went back and had lunch on the ship then toured Curacao. We had drinks at that place by the Queen Emma Bridge and just watched it for like an hour before heading back to the ship.
We did Trikes Aruba and toured the island in the morning then spent the day at the beach & had a fabulous dinner at Barefoot Aruba.  
You will love it there!

We stayed at this hotel and it was great. Close walk to restaurants too. We used Uber to get to the ship and we were there in about 5 minutes. 
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/sjucohh-the-condado-plaza-hilton/

I like the quick hit ones. Usually the max bet is under $2, which means I can play for awhile. I want to hit big but I also want to play awhile. 

Awesome.  We have the same itinerary (Vancouver to Seward).  We booked flights through RCL's Air2Sea (Air Canada via Montreal and American Airlines on the return from Seward).   We are going to book a 3 day land-tour afterwards that will end up in Anchorage.   It appears that Jenna DeLaurentis went on the same cruise recently and has also written a great guide. Here's a link to her guide: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/alaska-cruises  and here's the link to the beginning of her vlog: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/08/27/radiance-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-1-embarkation-vancouver.  Both are full of good info. 

Look for something that is in a price range you feel comfortable with.  On Amazon, you have 30 days to return with full refund including shipping, so if you don't like the fit or feel, you can send them back. I look for shoes with lots (in the thousands or at least high hundreds) of reviews and then read the reviews and see the questions page.  You can tell if they are true to size or have a "weakness" in the design. Then get them weeks if not months before and start breaking them in. 
I have a pair of hiking shoes that I really like but they are bulky. I will wear them on the plane, so I don't have to pack them. I will pack some Top-Sider type shoes that I can slip on and walk around the ship. They will work with most anything including my Khaki, golf shirt, sports coat (will also wear it on the plane) for formal night.

I can see how it could feel stressful, but here's how I look at the drink package (and why I always get it) - (a) it's more than just alcohol, as it's a good way to get coffees, bottled waters (which are handy for excursions too), and sodas, and (b) it's a good way to try new drinks...if you don't like what you got, cast it aside and get another. It's a low-risk way to expand your cocktail horizons. While I usually have no problem breaking even when I factor everything (beyond just alcohol) in to it, I end up not being too concerned because it is a good way to try new stuff. 

Make sure you tell your CC you are cruising.  They love turning off CC the 2nd or 3rd day at sea when RCCL starts hitting them with hold funds/auths against your on board account....and then you are at sea...and its hard to straighten out until you have solid cell service for calls and text messaging.

If doing regular dining and / or have the same table and waiters; I take a picture of the names of the waiters plaque. So I have the correct spelling of their names.

Thank you for clarifying that, I had no idea. Just from researching (not only this board) I've seen people say that TA's take care of everything so I just thought that meant the entire vacation.
I love researching trips and learning all I can but I'm not so great with figuring out flights for different couples from different states. Luckily I have a daughter that travels much more than I do to help me with the process 🙂 

Thank you, I booked it. Hoping to score a better deal but I still have plenty of time to stay on top of things.