KaydenDeen

One last thought...
This entire blog was posted during a sea day while sailing on Independence of the Seas near Cuba as we make our way to Labadee tomorrow.  This demonstrates how good Voom is on RCI ships.  

I don't recall ever seeing photographs more profound than these, Twangster.  I don't want you to swell your head too much, but you are truly an incredible artist.

ISP for wildlife and a more authentic Alaska experience.
Sitka for a larger town (as Alaska goes) experience.
ISP sits in an area known for marine wildlife and bears.  The port area is operated by a native cooperative and currently only allows one ship at a time.  There is plenty to do but most of it involves outdoor activities and wildlife tours but there is a pretty cool zip line.  What's lacking are the t-shirt and chinese trinket shops peddling more of the same souvenirs found at other Alaska ports (the native co-op bans those stores).  If you were planning on doing only one whale watching excursion during the whole cruise this is one of the best ports for it.
Sitka has a significant Russia influence as it was once a significant area for Russia commerce back when the land was owned by Russia.  As Alaska goes it's a fairly large city-borough so there are more restaurants and a "downtown".  It's a beautiful area rich in history but more of an urban setting (for Alaska).  If shopping is a higher priority Sitka offers more than ISP.
Here are some trip reports:
ISP
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/12630-ovation-goes-north-way-north-to-alaska-11-nights-may-13-2019/&do=findComment&comment=124366
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9160-radiance-of-the-seas-alaska-southbound-83118/&do=findComment&comment=83835
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5211-alaska-recap-celebrity-millennium-june-2017/&do=findComment&comment=51846
Sitka
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/12630-ovation-goes-north-way-north-to-alaska-11-nights-may-13-2019/&do=findComment&comment=125207
Personally I love ISP but I booked a Quantum cruise that includes Sitka primarily because I've only been there once and Quantum is cheaper for the win.

I posted a thread on this many months ago.  It's the format of the new "My Royal Cruises" web interface compared to the old Cruise Planner.
I happen to have two Harmony cruises booked, one before the new GUI is implemented and one after. 
With no sales going on...
Old Cruise Planner price for UDP today:

For my 2022 Harmony cruise:

Price difference is $0.10.
 
 
 
The problem is people don't pay attention and just click, click, click.  
It's not bait & switch, it's not a global conspiracy.  They are changing the display of pricing since it was never clear before if gratuity was included so people were confused and some thought they had to add more gratuity while in the restaurant.  Now it's very clear.
Will some people make a mistake when they bought it during a sale in the old interface?  Probably, that's why posts were created months ago to warn people to pay attention to the details.
 

So glad to hear that! We also are booked with her for next May. Cannot wait! Have a wonderful trip, and may your whale-watching cruise be exceptional! ?

@barbeygthank you!  The one you recommended was what I was looking for, it sounds perfect!  I've booked it, thank you!!!
 
For my fellow cruisers they had 4 openings left if anyone interested!!  
https://jayleensalaska.com
 
 

I would definitely call and get the bigger onboard credit. First of all, "Royal Up" is run by a third party and will more than likely have no additional information about your reservation. And second of all, your bid may not get accepted any way - might as well get more onboard credit while you can!  ?

My bid for this saturday on Jewel from Limassol just got accepted. First time we have had luck with RoyalUp. ?

My husband was a Coast Guard search and rescue pilot for 20 years and saw too many helicopter and small plane accidents so we don't do those.  When we were in Ketchikan we just rented a car and drove ourselves to the bear viewing area, this way we could stay as long as we wanted. Then we went to the other end of town for the totem park.  It was so nice to be on our own schedule.  

Global warming.  Wait for it...

Bids on my Anthem cruise opened on June 17th for a Aug 1st sailing.
Given the ship is operating at 50% capacity I figured I'd have a decent chance of snagging a JS and was indeed successful with the minimum bid amount (£125 per person)
 
Regards
 
Neil

I consistently find the best prices on excursions between sales.  I find random price drops and jump on them.  It takes some work (checking daily for something you're interested in), but when I've gotten these deals I've never seen the price go that low again.  It's worth checking frequently.

Ketchikan. Just. No. It's just street after street of the same shops you see in EVERY port - very difficult to find anything authentic (btw, I feel the same way about Juneau but at least it's bigger so more space to walk around and far more places to eat). We did go kayaking our first time in Ketchikan and the salmon were nearly jumping into our kayak.  The second time there we didn't book an excursion and I just disliked it a lot.

My pleasure. We are currently in the process of booking right now ourselves. ? I ❤️ smaller boat whale-watching excursions. Such a different experience from the bigger boats. ? And nothing quite like the sound of a humpback blowing as he/she surfaces, or the rush from seeing a breach. Hope you have a fantastic trip! 

We sailed with Glacier Winds in ISP, and I highly recommend them. As a matter of fact, we will be booking with them again next time. ? Small boat trip, very personable captain. We had a great time.
https://www.g-wind.com/about-us/
And before Covid cancelled our AK trip in 2020, we had Jayleen scheduled in Juneau. Had reserched, and she had excellent reviews. All funds were promptly refunded when we had to cancel. Here is her site:
https://jayleensalaska.com
 
We would book with her again after our experience with service.

At best you have claim that shopping at a grocery store is an essential activity, and even there you would be subject to rules for public health reasons, which, yes, could include needing to provide vaccination against some infectious disease should the protection of public health warrant it in such circumstances. Cruising most certainly is not.

And speaking of petulant children kicking and screaming... probably a particularly poor choice to include such an analogy with your particular argument. ?

Gentle reminder about what “freedom of speech” actually covers:
https://xkcd.com/1357/
 
NCL saying their first amendment rights were violated is complete and utter BS. Sounds like their lawyers need to go back to third-grade Social Studies and pass the class this time.

We just received the Royal Up email today for our Sept 4 sailing on Adventure.
We are currently booked in a Balcony Guarantee and have not been assigned a room yet.
 
The Royal Up offers consisted of:
Two For One Upgrade - 2 Ocean View Balcony Staterooms - min bid $850 pp Grand Suite - 2 Bedroom - min bid $700 pp Grand Suite - min bid $300 pp Junior Suite - min bid $150 pp Spacious Ocean View Balcony - min bid $20 pp  
We decided to see how low they will accept.  We bid the minimum of $300 pp on the Grand Suite and went $250 pp for the Junior Suite.
We considered bidding the minimum for the Junior, but for some reason we latched on to the figure of $250 pp. ?‍♂️
 
I'll follow up with any rejection or acceptance emails.
 
On a humorous note, my wife figures we're screwed for future cruises if they accept the minimum for a Grand Suite. ?
 
 
 
 

So for those curious about RoyalUp Bids after Covid, I am pretty sure mine was just accepted. I was in an Inside Stateroom and bid the minimum on most every category, with the exception of the Spacious Interior & Ultra Spacious OV that I bid considerably higher than the minimum. All my bids are now expired except for my bid for an OV Balcony. It was for $50/pp which was the minimum bid. I only added it last night as I suspected many of the categories I bid on are rooms that the cruiseline is keeping empty (categories that were never available). My bids for the 2 categories above were more than I bid for the balcony.
Now just waiting for confirmation and new room assignment. We leave on Friday.
 

For our first cruise in 2019 we booked an Ocean View.  We received the email and bid on a Balcony, Panoramic Ocean View, and. Junior Suite.  These were the only options we were given, and as I recall, we bid the minimum on each. 
 
Our bid for the Balcony was accepted. 

Howdy!  nice to meet you - It Means awesomesauce, lol - welcome to the boards

new here what does MEI 
mean? ?

I looked at COSTCO, they offer a really nice "shop card" and some other perks.
I did booked a very pricey Europe cruise with RC on my own in 2019.   What a headache.
Than 2020 happen 
I love the advice on this site so I took it and signed up with MEI.  Poor Kelley got stuck with me.
She is on vacation right now, did not know, but still took the time to answer my questions. ?
I have not regretted it and have really enjoyed her help and guidance.
I'm in the process of trying to get my family and friends to book with her.
 

Had excellent whale and dolphin watching while we were eating dinner at Izumi one night and Geovanni's on another. 

Thanks, @twangster! 
Your Alaskan holiday is exactly what I had pictured for us. Im not concerned about the ship activities- I just want to see Alaska in all it’s glory. I’ve never heard anybody say anything negative about their experiences there. I’m headed there with high expectations and I have a good feeling that this is going to be a trip of a lifetime. 
 
Thanks again for all your help and inspiration.