DDaley

The pictures can never do it justice! If you can stand the cold and lack of gorgeous sunny days on your vacation, I highly recommend it, just beautiful scenery every direction you look. Even in the midst of all-day rain! 

Disembarkation
Woke up about 6:30 yesterday and saw people were already disembarking in Seattle! We finished our packing and grabbed one last breakfast in the Windjammiér (aka The Jammy). As usual, it was a madhouse with suitcases everywhere and people eating their weight in their last free eggs and bacon. Even saw a family bagging up 10+ croissants and cold cuts for their voyage which I thought was a pretty smart idea! We always bring tumblers for bringing our cocktails to port but making your own sammie is a new one (probably wouldn’t fly in the Caribbean where they have you declare your fruits/vegetables). 
We booked Seattle Express for the return trip to the airport (suggested here on the boards!) and I would definitely recommend them. Lyft/Uber was running around $60-$80 and we paid $25 each for the shuttle. Aside from price, ride-share users have to cart their luggage pretty far outside the terminal area before they can pick you up, our bus was right at the end of the baggage collection area. 
We left our cabin at 8:15 and were on the shuttle by 8:45. TSA at SeaTac is insane, make sure you show up as early as you can, the security line took us from 9:20-10:40 or so!  Probably the worst TSA I have ever encountered and SFO and HNL have done me dirty plenty of times. 


Goodbye Quantum!! Will be back with some final thoughts on this class and itinerary. 

It turned into a partly cloudy day a little later, not too bad at all! We were able to get in some time in the Solarium this afternoon and the pool was even bearable. 
We went to the Top Tier event this morning, it was especially cool because it was in the 270 and they showed us an awesome robot tv screen demo at the end that really showcases their spinning and fluid motion.



After that we headed to our 11:30am iFly reservation. It was so much fun! It was a lot more effort than I assumed but such an exhilarating feeling! We liked our teacher Harry a lot. We ended up buying a 3 pack of images for $49.99 which we can pick up tomorrow. It took till my second try to focus and think oh so thiiis is the feeling of free fall.. there is so much going on with the instructor signaling you and also trying to remember to hold your body a certain way.



We hit up bingo this afternoon. One woman won games 1 and 3! 



We were greeted by our first towel friend after the single morning cleaning. Our attendant Sandi is so friendly and has brought us ice consistently! 

Izumi tonight and then the Sequins and Feathers production show. 

Getting cold out here! Snagged this extra blanket from a cabinet above the bed. 

The Space Needle was so much more impressive than I was picturing! I basically knew it was a nice view from the top of the tower but I didn’t know how cool the space is. The top level observation deck has angled glass walls looking down at the city with an open air top and the lower level has a rotating base and a glass floor! The view from here was amazing and we spotted Quantum again up at Smith Cove at Pier 91! 


I spy Mt Rainier!


The first of many Christmas ornaments bought in each port! 

From there we walked back to the hotel to grab our bags and check out. The Uber to the pier took about 15 minutes and embarkation was a breeze. 




Currently writing to you from my THIRD wait in the Guest Services line today; first because we only had one card on the door on arrival, second because then my husband’s new card didn't actually charge anything, back again because now our TWO cards don’t work and we were charged our most recent drinks despite having two drink packages! Please hope this is our last venture here! SHIP is BEAAAUTIFUL otherwise! 




Found a mini duck!!!!


 

The pictures can never do it justice! If you can stand the cold and lack of gorgeous sunny days on your vacation, I highly recommend it, just beautiful scenery every direction you look. Even in the midst of all-day rain! 

Completely agree on Quantum. This was our first try on this class and it really feels like it’s missing something when it comes to those big interior spaces, and the Via feels almost forgotten hidden behind the aft elevators. I did truly love sitting in the 270, though. Those huge windows facing the wake were hard to take my eyes off of! I really liked the Top Tier event being held in there and being accompanied by the full band. 

Welcome back! Disembarkation is the worst day ever, but I'm grateful you took us along. I've not been to AK yet, but your pics really whet my interest! Thanks for posting!

Disembarkation
Woke up about 6:30 yesterday and saw people were already disembarking in Seattle! We finished our packing and grabbed one last breakfast in the Windjammiér (aka The Jammy). As usual, it was a madhouse with suitcases everywhere and people eating their weight in their last free eggs and bacon. Even saw a family bagging up 10+ croissants and cold cuts for their voyage which I thought was a pretty smart idea! We always bring tumblers for bringing our cocktails to port but making your own sammie is a new one (probably wouldn’t fly in the Caribbean where they have you declare your fruits/vegetables). 
We booked Seattle Express for the return trip to the airport (suggested here on the boards!) and I would definitely recommend them. Lyft/Uber was running around $60-$80 and we paid $25 each for the shuttle. Aside from price, ride-share users have to cart their luggage pretty far outside the terminal area before they can pick you up, our bus was right at the end of the baggage collection area. 
We left our cabin at 8:15 and were on the shuttle by 8:45. TSA at SeaTac is insane, make sure you show up as early as you can, the security line took us from 9:20-10:40 or so!  Probably the worst TSA I have ever encountered and SFO and HNL have done me dirty plenty of times. 


Goodbye Quantum!! Will be back with some final thoughts on this class and itinerary. 

Our excursion in Victoria didn’t get back till 9:45pm on Sunday night! We got into port around 4:30 and were bussed to AdrenaLine Zipline Adventure Tours in Sooke at 5:30. Because the tour was going to end in the dark, our helmets were outfitted with headlamps that we turned on near the end. 
It was so fun! It’s an 8-zipline canopy tour and they offered a “Big Zip” excursion through the cruise line as well. The difference being that Big Zip was just one run at 2400ft long that they got to try twice. We went to the top of the mountain and came down the 8 different lines and suspension bridge, the longest line being 1000ft. 
Pulling into Victoria, we saw at least 10 seaplanes taking off and landing! 





Views were lovely while they lasted!


Guide performs “the wet noodle"



Ended in the dark! You can see the tiny red light where this line started in the distance. 


It was a 45 minute journey outside of Victoria. Overall we really enjoyed this tour! Great guides always making the difference. 
When we got back to the ship, they had kept the WJ open late so we were able to grab something other than Sorrento’s, which was so nice. All week the WJ had been closing at 8:30! It was Mexican night and I can never resist a make your own nachos offering. 
We did some late night packing as we pulled away from Victoria and called it a night. 

Blustery sea day today and the ship is a-rockin’! 
Hot, unsubstantiated gossip is that the stabilizers are out of commission which is what made both our sea days so crazy. 
Yesterday in Juneau was so amazing. Everywhere you looked there were tiny waterfalls running down mountainsides from the previous day’s 4 inches of rain. Since we got in 3 hours ahead of schedule, we were able to walk the city before meeting up for our tour. 












We stopped by the Red Dog Saloon and tried a Duck Fart shot (as found on the boards) which was pretty delicious. We also had “really expensive shit” drinks and some lunch, the brisket sandwich was our fave.

What an amazing trip and such fun to travel along with you @DDaley  !! Sure the weather could have been a little better but it sure did make us appreciate our day in Juneau that much more, AND you’re in Alaska. We had planned and packed for rainy weather all week. We especially enjoyed the cooler temps after enduring the last 2 months of TX heat. 

Thanks so much for all of the amazing pics and fun commentary along the way. I will certainly make note of that Zipline tour. We did a similar experience with many multiple descending zips in Costa Rica back in 2003 and was so much fun. 
 
Quantum was a new class of ship for us and I am still processing how I feel about them. I was extremely excited to finally get on but I don’t think that I was overly thrilled with the layout and design. I much prefer the larger promenade space on almost all other ships as this one seemed very crowded all of the time. Even our world record TA on Symphony this year NEVER really felt crowded at any point.  The other REALLY disappointing aspect was the Casino. They really need get it updated and SOON. My wife and other family members however enjoyed the payouts on some of the older slot machines this time. 😍😆
What a fun time. Thanks again for letting us come along on your Alaskan Adventure!!

Disembarkation
Woke up about 6:30 yesterday and saw people were already disembarking in Seattle! We finished our packing and grabbed one last breakfast in the Windjammiér (aka The Jammy). As usual, it was a madhouse with suitcases everywhere and people eating their weight in their last free eggs and bacon. Even saw a family bagging up 10+ croissants and cold cuts for their voyage which I thought was a pretty smart idea! We always bring tumblers for bringing our cocktails to port but making your own sammie is a new one (probably wouldn’t fly in the Caribbean where they have you declare your fruits/vegetables). 
We booked Seattle Express for the return trip to the airport (suggested here on the boards!) and I would definitely recommend them. Lyft/Uber was running around $60-$80 and we paid $25 each for the shuttle. Aside from price, ride-share users have to cart their luggage pretty far outside the terminal area before they can pick you up, our bus was right at the end of the baggage collection area. 
We left our cabin at 8:15 and were on the shuttle by 8:45. TSA at SeaTac is insane, make sure you show up as early as you can, the security line took us from 9:20-10:40 or so!  Probably the worst TSA I have ever encountered and SFO and HNL have done me dirty plenty of times. 


Goodbye Quantum!! Will be back with some final thoughts on this class and itinerary. 

Disembarkation
Woke up about 6:30 yesterday and saw people were already disembarking in Seattle! We finished our packing and grabbed one last breakfast in the Windjammiér (aka The Jammy). As usual, it was a madhouse with suitcases everywhere and people eating their weight in their last free eggs and bacon. Even saw a family bagging up 10+ croissants and cold cuts for their voyage which I thought was a pretty smart idea! We always bring tumblers for bringing our cocktails to port but making your own sammie is a new one (probably wouldn’t fly in the Caribbean where they have you declare your fruits/vegetables). 
We booked Seattle Express for the return trip to the airport (suggested here on the boards!) and I would definitely recommend them. Lyft/Uber was running around $60-$80 and we paid $25 each for the shuttle. Aside from price, ride-share users have to cart their luggage pretty far outside the terminal area before they can pick you up, our bus was right at the end of the baggage collection area. 
We left our cabin at 8:15 and were on the shuttle by 8:45. TSA at SeaTac is insane, make sure you show up as early as you can, the security line took us from 9:20-10:40 or so!  Probably the worst TSA I have ever encountered and SFO and HNL have done me dirty plenty of times. 


Goodbye Quantum!! Will be back with some final thoughts on this class and itinerary. 

Our excursion in Victoria didn’t get back till 9:45pm on Sunday night! We got into port around 4:30 and were bussed to AdrenaLine Zipline Adventure Tours in Sooke at 5:30. Because the tour was going to end in the dark, our helmets were outfitted with headlamps that we turned on near the end. 
It was so fun! It’s an 8-zipline canopy tour and they offered a “Big Zip” excursion through the cruise line as well. The difference being that Big Zip was just one run at 2400ft long that they got to try twice. We went to the top of the mountain and came down the 8 different lines and suspension bridge, the longest line being 1000ft. 
Pulling into Victoria, we saw at least 10 seaplanes taking off and landing! 





Views were lovely while they lasted!


Guide performs “the wet noodle"



Ended in the dark! You can see the tiny red light where this line started in the distance. 


It was a 45 minute journey outside of Victoria. Overall we really enjoyed this tour! Great guides always making the difference. 
When we got back to the ship, they had kept the WJ open late so we were able to grab something other than Sorrento’s, which was so nice. All week the WJ had been closing at 8:30! It was Mexican night and I can never resist a make your own nachos offering. 
We did some late night packing as we pulled away from Victoria and called it a night. 

Our excursion in Victoria didn’t get back till 9:45pm on Sunday night! We got into port around 4:30 and were bussed to AdrenaLine Zipline Adventure Tours in Sooke at 5:30. Because the tour was going to end in the dark, our helmets were outfitted with headlamps that we turned on near the end. 
It was so fun! It’s an 8-zipline canopy tour and they offered a “Big Zip” excursion through the cruise line as well. The difference being that Big Zip was just one run at 2400ft long that they got to try twice. We went to the top of the mountain and came down the 8 different lines and suspension bridge, the longest line being 1000ft. 
Pulling into Victoria, we saw at least 10 seaplanes taking off and landing! 





Views were lovely while they lasted!


Guide performs “the wet noodle"



Ended in the dark! You can see the tiny red light where this line started in the distance. 


It was a 45 minute journey outside of Victoria. Overall we really enjoyed this tour! Great guides always making the difference. 
When we got back to the ship, they had kept the WJ open late so we were able to grab something other than Sorrento’s, which was so nice. All week the WJ had been closing at 8:30! It was Mexican night and I can never resist a make your own nachos offering. 
We did some late night packing as we pulled away from Victoria and called it a night. 

Our excursion in Victoria didn’t get back till 9:45pm on Sunday night! We got into port around 4:30 and were bussed to AdrenaLine Zipline Adventure Tours in Sooke at 5:30. Because the tour was going to end in the dark, our helmets were outfitted with headlamps that we turned on near the end. 
It was so fun! It’s an 8-zipline canopy tour and they offered a “Big Zip” excursion through the cruise line as well. The difference being that Big Zip was just one run at 2400ft long that they got to try twice. We went to the top of the mountain and came down the 8 different lines and suspension bridge, the longest line being 1000ft. 
Pulling into Victoria, we saw at least 10 seaplanes taking off and landing! 





Views were lovely while they lasted!


Guide performs “the wet noodle"



Ended in the dark! You can see the tiny red light where this line started in the distance. 


It was a 45 minute journey outside of Victoria. Overall we really enjoyed this tour! Great guides always making the difference. 
When we got back to the ship, they had kept the WJ open late so we were able to grab something other than Sorrento’s, which was so nice. All week the WJ had been closing at 8:30! It was Mexican night and I can never resist a make your own nachos offering. 
We did some late night packing as we pulled away from Victoria and called it a night. 

Our excursion in Victoria didn’t get back till 9:45pm on Sunday night! We got into port around 4:30 and were bussed to AdrenaLine Zipline Adventure Tours in Sooke at 5:30. Because the tour was going to end in the dark, our helmets were outfitted with headlamps that we turned on near the end. 
It was so fun! It’s an 8-zipline canopy tour and they offered a “Big Zip” excursion through the cruise line as well. The difference being that Big Zip was just one run at 2400ft long that they got to try twice. We went to the top of the mountain and came down the 8 different lines and suspension bridge, the longest line being 1000ft. 
Pulling into Victoria, we saw at least 10 seaplanes taking off and landing! 





Views were lovely while they lasted!


Guide performs “the wet noodle"



Ended in the dark! You can see the tiny red light where this line started in the distance. 


It was a 45 minute journey outside of Victoria. Overall we really enjoyed this tour! Great guides always making the difference. 
When we got back to the ship, they had kept the WJ open late so we were able to grab something other than Sorrento’s, which was so nice. All week the WJ had been closing at 8:30! It was Mexican night and I can never resist a make your own nachos offering. 
We did some late night packing as we pulled away from Victoria and called it a night. 

But we're Delightfully unfrugal ... 
 
We're also idiots. So there's that too ....

Is our White Whale of Moby Dick proportions? IDK .. are you counting our financial well-being? Who cares! YOLO!!   Who: SweetPea and Batman, two crazy mutual enablers who found ❤️ about 23 (24, 25?) years ago. Married for most of those. Don't ask me our anniversary. I once proudly told Batman my new ATM PIN, proclaiming, "Get it?!  It's our anniversary backwards!"   Spoiler: it wasn't.    I've not heard the end of it since.    What: Our White Whale. Why, you ask? We had 3,462.7 cruises in the Owner's Panoramic canceled during the Covid. Seriously. By March 578th, 2020, I'd had enough, just like the rest of the world. This was bound to happen sooner or later. I made sure of it.    When: September 24-October 1, 2023. Too short and will be over too quick, but the ship is our destination so who cares?! (Our itinerary is mundane and boring. We'll only be getting off the ship for PDCC.)   Where: Oasis of the Seas (C'mon now. There are only 2 OPs in the entire fleet, so there's a very good chance you'd win that coin toss.)   Why: Why not?!! Besides, flying sucks and we can drive to the port! And by drive, i mean be driven. Because who drives on vacation? Is that even a thing?!   How: Selling one pickled middle-aged kidney on the dark web. Let's face it, there's a difference between a kidney from a 20-year old athlete and one from a 50-something whose kidney is going to be (a-hem) grape-flavored. Clearly what I'm trying to say is that you could probably book two Star Class rooms with the 20-year-old kidney. Our cost wasn't *that* bad, but should still leave you questioning whether you'd consider us sound financial advisors.    Crown&Anchor Level: Brown.    I briefly considered making a parody pin that said "Not Pinnacle" with the "not" in very, very small font. I think it'd have been an excellent conversation starter.    Pre-cruise Diet: Poor. I planned to lose 30 pounds. I only have 33 to go. Forget that noise.   So here we go on our 3.5-year-in-the-making adventure. If you know us, I'm taking a very liberal definition of the term "adventure" here. As in, you shouldn't expect FlowRider reviews from us. That would only happen if they privacy-tented the entire wave pool and literally no one else could see us. I've seen this new TikTok thing all the cool kids are talking about, and going viral for all the wrong reasons would send me into a Brendan Fraser Whale-spin without the need of a fat suit.    (Perhaps i should tell you about the time i managed to ATV my way into the middle of a sugar cane field in St. Kitts where the excursion leader pulled me aside and quietly asked if I'd consider a private lesson before allowing the group to continue. That was 20 years and 30 pounds ago and my grace and agility has not aged like the fine wine I enjoy so much. --- That was for the kids in the back who didn't get my grape- flavored kidney joke earlier.)   This is our first cruise post-shutdown. We wanted to feel like we were going on vacation, not checking in for a clinical procedure. So we sat out all mandates. We both found them too stressful and opted to wait until the craziness was well on its way to over before we even remotely considered cruising again. This is one of the reasons we're going to the poorhouse post-cruise. I booked this pretty late and didn't partake in opening day prices. However, i got worried this was Oasis's last season in NJ so i bit the bullet and made several payments Batman wouldn't notice so our final bill was more in line with what I thought he could stomach. I can't be the only benevolently devious spouse to do so. If you've done something like this yourself, blink twice.   (And, Mindy, if you're reading: You're a SAINT!)   For the record, i caught Batman in a good mood one night and asked him the max he'd pay for a week-long cruise in Star Class. Unsurprisingly, it was a *bit* less than the cost of this one. So this is just between us RC Blog family, right? Good thing he thinks this website is Royal.blog.Carribean.me.live.com/reports which he always forgets to find later ....    And to any dudes reading, please remember: there is no such idiom as "Bros before blogs." That does not and will never exist.... if i can help it.    So, as long as Batman never does find this blog ... Continue to follow along to learn the riveting answers to such burning questions as: how will Anthem Star Class compare to Oasis Star Class? Will we prefer O Class to Q Class in general? Is this Deck 17 we keep reading about an actual Nirvana? What else has the pandemic stolen from us in pre v post shutdown changes? Will we ever want to return to Norwegian Haven? And ultimately, will selling a functioning kidney be worth the experience?   Come with us! We'll find out together!

Once I was on a ship with high winds and waves.  The captain announced that he had to pull in the stabilizers otherwise they could be damaged. Yes, as we walked down the hallways, we were going from side to side.  No way you could walk a straight line. 

I did laser tag on Freedom; it was really fun, but I did horribly. 🤣
Love the blanket as a full robe look. 

Laser tag in the Seaplex this morning! Husband beat everyone, I came in 11th hahah
This was a lot more fun than I thought! They were pumping in fog and the inflatable course was pretty intricate with lots of fun cut outs for sneak attacks. 

Sonic Odyssey last night was so cool! I’m so glad we snuck it in before dinner because it turned out to be our favorite of the three production shows we’ve seen on this cruise. Mega percussion, giant triple banger guitar, huuuge theatre-wide harp, what’s not to like? 


After the show we had about 40 minutes and snuck in another un-tried activity in the Seaplex. Line went pretty quickly and we only ended up 5 minutes late to Wonderland. 


Wonderland was interesting. Haha, I am glad we went but it was definitely a one-and-done visit. Stand outs were the dumpling soup, potted shrimp and the short rib main course. The smoked whiskey drink on their menu was my husband’s favorite ship-wide! 
I took exactly one picture while there - the baby veggies in the garden.

Still on our way to Victoria this morning. Check this classic balcony look! 

 
 
 

It’s finally calmed down a bit and we have partly sunny skies! 


Currently balcony hanging before Sonic Odyssey at 6:30. Then Wonderland! 

Sonic Odyssey last night was so cool! I’m so glad we snuck it in before dinner because it turned out to be our favorite of the three production shows we’ve seen on this cruise. Mega percussion, giant triple banger guitar, huuuge theatre-wide harp, what’s not to like? 


After the show we had about 40 minutes and snuck in another un-tried activity in the Seaplex. Line went pretty quickly and we only ended up 5 minutes late to Wonderland. 


Wonderland was interesting. Haha, I am glad we went but it was definitely a one-and-done visit. Stand outs were the dumpling soup, potted shrimp and the short rib main course. The smoked whiskey drink on their menu was my husband’s favorite ship-wide! 
I took exactly one picture while there - the baby veggies in the garden.

Still on our way to Victoria this morning. Check this classic balcony look!