deep1

This is all part of really one big booking nightmare. I booked a cluster of cruises. Somewhere in the mix of RCL cancelling and even me having to cancel. FCCs were issued instead of stated refunds as promised. Its those FCC's that have been repeatedly problematic.  I have spent about 30 hours on the phone and days even with online agents. Each time I was hopeful we had a fix they reissued and re used the FCC's wrong.  Just got off the phone.  The new invoice does indeed reflect "missing FCC's". The invoice was sent before I had been given an explanation that those "missing ones" are going to be reissued finally in my name. Supposedly this should bring this ongoing saga to a close. In the past I was told that same thing and instead they were reissued to my Fiance's kids who will not be cruising in the forseeable future. Fingers crossed. They should have notified me this (what I was told) was happening rather than just shift chunk of money without letting me know. 
I can't get really angry at agents minimally trained and or reading fro a script. That really reverts back to management not equipping the agents with better training. Oh well. On the C+A ongoing story. I just need to remain persistent and get with a loyalty Ambassador on the next cruise... I hope one day it gets worked out but if it doesn't its not the end of the world... 

I have in the past. But....  That was after final payment date. I'm paid in full but dont need to be til like August,,,, Here's a fun update: I called back to see if FCC was indeed the only choice.  Turns out the first agent never did the reprice! It got shelved when we got arguing about FCC to begin with. New agent did verify it had to be FCC but while doing the reprice he found discounts the other agent and I missed and saved me quite a bit. Then as a courtesy he made my Fiance's daughter's FCCs usable by me... 🙂 I've made note on here that very often I have to make multiple calls to get something done right... 
 

I have in the past. But....  That was after final payment date. I'm paid in full but dont need to be til like August,,,, Here's a fun update: I called back to see if FCC was indeed the only choice.  Turns out the first agent never did the reprice! It got shelved when we got arguing about FCC to begin with. New agent did verify it had to be FCC but while doing the reprice he found discounts the other agent and I missed and saved me quite a bit. Then as a courtesy he made my Fiance's daughter's FCCs usable by me... 🙂 I've made note on here that very often I have to make multiple calls to get something done right... 
 

I have in the past. But....  That was after final payment date. I'm paid in full but dont need to be til like August,,,, Here's a fun update: I called back to see if FCC was indeed the only choice.  Turns out the first agent never did the reprice! It got shelved when we got arguing about FCC to begin with. New agent did verify it had to be FCC but while doing the reprice he found discounts the other agent and I missed and saved me quite a bit. Then as a courtesy he made my Fiance's daughter's FCCs usable by me... 🙂 I've made note on here that very often I have to make multiple calls to get something done right... 
 

That sounds like that will be quite the anniversary! Congratulations 🎉 

We had our 2020 early August Seward to Vancouver cruise lifted and shifted twice and in February I went to book the train, completely sold out the day of the cruise and only the regular tickets available the day before, no gold star available. We booked the day before train and a night at a hotel in seward, which was also almost booked up. I read there are more ships going to alaska this summer than ever before, so whatever you do, book early, it may already be too late. I think I booked the train and room in February and there wasn't much left. Anchorage was also pretty booked up, some hotels already sold out, the same hotels I had booked in 2020 with no problem. After going on 3 pandemic cruises ranging from 25-50% capacity I've gotten complacent, looks like this summer in Alaska will look nothing like our recent sailings.

Fiance' was looking over my shoulder at an excursion that would kill a few hours after cruise before flying home. "Book it"!!!! She's easily amused... 
 

I'm sure most everyone here has had some phone agent issues  , at least for those who use them.  Back in November we had a positive test for COVID and had to cancel a cruise on Symphony. They knew the situation and it was to be a refund.  A couple days later I received a notification that they were issuing FCCs instead. That wouldn't work because our two teens would not be joining us on any near future cruises. So it began. Mind you it was supposed to be a refund not a  FCC. We went at it for nearly 10 hours between holds and supervisors and this and that! I thought we had it straightened out.  The next day I saw the FCC's still in place. Back to the frint lines. They offered up transferring the FCC's to my name and frustrated I said ok. That set off another 6 hour marathon that involved calling my Fiance' at work and the kids in school to get permissions!!!!!!!  We did a couple sailings since  and just booked Oasis in the fall for just us adults.  Went to use  the FCC's. Mine fine... Fiance's fine... Kids that were supposedly transferred? Nope!!!   Three hours on phone a few nights ago. Them wanting to call the fiancee and kids again???? My language deteriorated quickly and they assured me it would be fixed before I woke. Didn't happen. I tossed a note on social media message form but no reply. Back on phone. 2 hrs getting nowhere. Cut off while transferring to supervisor. No call back despite them having my call back number. Second time cut off but did get a call back assuring me  it was fixed. I checked.... nope.  I planned to call today, but at 4 AM eastern daylight time here came an answer to the message I left on social media page. By 5 AM it seemed we were all set. Not quote but with another call of an hour we are $36 dollars from being right.  Close enough.
Sorry the description is so long but it pales in comparison to the 23 hours I personally invested in getting this right.  I'm no stranger to running into incompetence (poor training) with some reps but usually I find a sharp one in short order. I lost track of how many people I worked with on this mess in that time but I can say I never found a songle knowledgable  sharp crayon in that whole box. The closest I found was the social media rep who though very slow eventually got most of this fixed...  In the past it seemed if I cycled through 4 or 5 reps I'd hit on one that was really good. This involved something like 10-15 with none being particularly well versed. I try to be polite and get to know the reps. In the past most were working remote  but at least in the states. More and more I'm running into them being based much farther away. I'm not casting asperions at their education or those countries but that geographic divide and them having to be put on hold for hours is really making things harder than they need be.  I mentioned that it used to be if I talked to 4-5 reps one was usually very well versed and could get stuff done. I don't see that or at least this time I didn't. Does anyone have tricks as to how to connect with the better trained reps in the current climate? If you find one is there some way to be able to get back to that one in the future? 
Am I missing the boat not using a travel agent? 

Sure does.

Some may, but MEI-Travel does not.
 

A good TA can not only answer questions and help with coordinating travel and excursions…but can also make suggestions based upon their experience and client feedback. They either know the current conditions and restrictions for most places, or they can find out a lot easier with their contacts in the business. The really good ones who deal with multiple clients on a regular basis (not a part-time friend or family member who dabbles as a TA) can make sure you get the best deal, the best advice and have the answers you need to make the best decisions for you and your family. Their goal is to help you have the best vacation possible…so that you become a repeat customer and tell others of your experience. And it costs you nothing.

This is a brand new and much needed feature- because so many people have questions on it and I could never be of any use on it. .

I had an Indy 5 night go from 4 of us in an oceanview Booked at next cruise)  to two balconies and about 275 in OBC. Today I saved $29 on a 7 night on Oasis.... 😄

Highest spot I can get to... Wave at the peon little land people and laugh maniacly.... Now if I'm in the mood to really embarass my Fiance'  I may break into songing the Popeye theme while pretending to steer... 🤣 Hey, I don't drink any more so I gotta have fun... 

I had an Indy 5 night go from 4 of us in an oceanview Booked at next cruise)  to two balconies and about 275 in OBC. Today I saved $29 on a 7 night on Oasis.... 😄

I had an Indy 5 night go from 4 of us in an oceanview Booked at next cruise)  to two balconies and about 275 in OBC. Today I saved $29 on a 7 night on Oasis.... 😄

For your questions, in the past bookings for the hotels/train could be made thru RCI.  Others may be able to answer about now.  Also,  we check out TripAdvisor for reviews on tours.  Typically the tours RCI offers are also offered independently, so if you look around for one with the same description, (if planning to book thru RCI), you can usually find reviews on the tours in AK.
For the trip from Anchorage to Seward, we booked a rental car, one way, for that drive.  We booked the car a year in advance, and we were glad we did, because the cost was twice as high the year of the sailing.  We loved that drive.  Allowed us to stop along the way and hike, stay overnight at a B&B, and pull over anytime we wanted to take photos of the gorgeous scenery, which we did...alot.  Some time in the future, we will book the train, just to try it out.  
For us, the highlights of our trips have been whale watching in Icy Strait Point as well as Juneau (both were great), and a rental car for the drive out to the Yukon (your mileage may vary right now, depending on if CA still insists on a test before driving across the border for the day trip...where you see NO ONE 😂).  We have a car rented there, because my sister and aunt aren't very mobile, so we will keep it and stay on our side of the border, if CA doesn't relax the rules between now and then.
We have sailed in late May, and find that to be our preference.  Very long days of sun, accompanied by moderate weather for the most part.  We may try September sometime to see if we can catch the northern lights, but May is a favorite of ours.

I did the Halibut hunt in Ketchikan Alaska in 2017 on our cruise.  There was just six of us on the boat and we caught lots of Halibut.  I told our guide I would be using their shipping service to ship my catch home.  My fishing partners had planned to have their catches cooked but after we got back, they were told the cook was sick and couldn't cook the catch.  So they all donated their catch's to me and I had them shipped home...Halibut makes the best fish taco's.   Going back in June on the Serenade of the Seas and already have the Halibut Hunt booked on the 1st of July 2022 and I will be shipping my catch home again.  Hope I can get my fishing partners catches again!!!
 

While my husband did not like sailing from Canada (there is a lot of extra “stuff” dealing with passports), when we sailed from Vancouver we were able to stay another six days there and make our Alaska/BC trip the most amazing vacations we’ve ever had! For excursions, we loved the Whale / sea lion watching and day trips to the Yukon Territory (we did a private tour, it seemed like it was way better than the train as we got to stop often along the way). And we prefer early June for Alaska - chilly to mild, but not truly cold usually. 
 

 
 


 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/shoreExcursions/downloadBrochure/ might help give an idea.
For the rest of the questions I can't really quote what Royal has to offer. Many years back when we did Alaska it had the land tour booked with it. Only deviation was at the end when we broke off from the group. The morning we would have had one last stop then motor coach to Seward, we opted to take the train in the early morning. At the time we had to book the train on our own.

For us, I try to pick a cruise that takes us to locations we've not yet visited.  Cruising the Caribbean on Royal it's very difficult to find such a place.  I've seen enough of Labadee, The Bahamas and US Virgin Islands.  So, the centerpiece of the cruise, is the cruise itself.  Knowing that makes the choice easier.
We also prefer ships that have the conventional full-size Promenade.  Odyssey was a beautiful new ship, but it had an abbreviated Promenade.  I miss the fun atmosphere of mingling in a large Promenade.  If the ships resume parades, it would not be the same on the little Promenades. 

We always base our cruises off the age of ship, destinations and ship class. Nearly every cruise to date has been on ships sub 3 years old, mostly brand new and destinations which are suited to us. Basically we just follow the new ships around the world, lol.

We are doing Bayonne for that very reason this season. My main home is in Palm Beach Gardens so FLL ,MIA and Canaveral are all in easy range... 
 

For me it's the embarkation port. I'm a short distance from Bayonne so it's an easy drive and park in the garage. I usually sail solo and I love the Anthem from NJ in the winter. So many enclosed spaces to escape the first and last days. Then, the Oasis in spring and fall. Even Adventure sailing from Bayonne in May. When I have family and friends sailing, we may do an Alaska...but most love the convenience of driving to and from Bayonne. I'm flying to Fort Lauderdale to try the Wonder next month...but I really like FLL and the convenience to the port. 

‘Everyday’ cruises, we look at ships sailing from all the ports we prefer, then look at itineraries and ship, and price JS and above. We then select based on a combination of ship, itinerary and price, with ship and price having the edge over itinerary. So for these, embarkation port, then ship, and itinerary/price, in that order.
For special sailings, like the retirement cruise we will be planning for 2024, we want to sail one way back from Europe, after spending a week to 10 days on land first.  We will only consider Quantum class, Oasis class, Icon class, and Celebrity Edge class.  Since we have whittled the choices down to those classes, we will choose the sailing based on itinerary first, then price for a JS or larger cabin.  For special longer sailings, class of ship, then itinerary, then price.