wordell1

I definitely saw some people do it on my last cruise, but you cannot drop off at your cabin.  It didn't seem like a good idea.

I doubt it..unless someone happens to bring some with them, I don't see RC supplying them. Congrats on 11 months!  I celebrated 14 months on my last cruise! A cruise isn't the easiest place to be sober, so remember to have an escape plan if you start feeling uncomfortable...take a stroll around the running track, go grab a slice of pizza or do whatever you feel comfortable with. I thought i was going to be fine after more than a year sober, but there were definitely a few times where I had to step away. Sorry,  didn't mean to sound preachy..just giving some well meaning advice. Have a great time on your trip!  

Sloths loved cabash the best. He did not join us for the monkeys. He stood outside the cage. This was a super fun day! Enjoy!!




 

Did I say this ship is huge? The elevators a bit tough up here? The staff is a cut above as far as our room hosts and #CK staff. The concierges have warmed and honestly they are amazing. I think I rather like their approach, keep at arms length but when invited in they are at Dudley level. 
The Suite Sun Deck is hot, and hardly ever crowded. Very nice staff there also. 
Kiddo was in the water all day, we all were. My skin is olive as I am Latina, kiddo takes after her Polish dad and is practically see through, lol. So much spf but her face still burned, we called her red panda!
We hid more ducks, found none. Played mini golf and have tucked in for some much needed sleep. This ship is so crowded, but so beautiful. I'm so glad I didn't book Icon as I like big boats.....but not this big 🙂
I definitely will not travel this late into the summer again, not on purpose...unless it's the inaugural of the Utopia. I'm actually happy that's only 4 nights now.
 

As you can tell from the family photos, I’d be fine using the combo body wash/shampoo/conditioner/dishwasher fluid/engine degreaser, but the rest of the family has hair that requires a bit more care!
The seas were a bit rough last night and early this morning as we are exposed to the open Pacific en route to Sitka. I have the sea sickness patch, and that really seems to work well. The biggest worry I had coming into the cruise was sea sickness, but we’ve all done ok so far!
Currently hanging out in Vintages before we get into port. @PPPJJ-GCVAB I’ll try to take a few more pictures of the ship!

Day 2 - Sea Day
Today was fun - didn’t take a ton of pictures though. 
Started the day with breakfast in the MDR, which was very good. Need to remember to ask for the pastry basket next time. 
We tried our luck at another general knowledge trivia game and came in third this time.
Got some coffee from cafe latitude. I bought the coffee card prior to sailing, and I just assumed it would be added to my sea pass card like the kids’ soda package. Nope, there was a physical card in our cabin that we had totally ignored. The guy at the cafe was super nice and gave us a new card after looking us up on the list. Had a nice relaxing time reading in vintages and watching out the window. The younger kids have had a blast in the Optix teen club. They’ve mostly been playing video games with other teens. 
There was a slot pull event for the Facebook group, which was a lot of fun, even though we picked the coldest machine in history. $420 in a wheel of fortune game and no one got to spin the wheel! Everyone walked away empty handed, but it was a great time. 
We played bingo in the Colony Club - three rounds without sniffing a Bingo!
I sat in the Centrum and watched the classical guitar player for a bit while the rest of the family did their own thing. 
Towel animals in the cabins were awesome. The plushie behind the towel animal is named Catthew (get it,? if Matt is short for Matthew than Cat must be short for Catthew).

Got dressed up for dinner and went back to the Colony Club for flag trivia - we got 18/20 and finished around fourth. 
On the way to dinner, we got some professional photos taken. Then we saw a family taking mirror selfies, which looked like a good idea. It didn’t work so well, though.Someone from the crew saw us attempting this and offered to take our picture the old fashioned way. As he took a bunch of family photos for us, I noticed he had a bunch of stripes on his sleeve. He was probably much too important and busy for that, but I really appreciated him offering to help us out.
He wasn’t a great photographer, but the picture did turn out substantially better!
Dinner was at Chops, which was very good. The lack of vegetarian options was disappointing though. It would be nice if there was one main without meat. 
The onboard show, Now and Forever, is kind of weird. It’s a jukebox musical, but without any plot and with some very strange song choices. The ending medley from Mama Mia was entertaining though. It left me wishing they’d just put on that show.
Another weird thing that surfaced yesterday - there was only body wash in our shower. No shampoo or conditioner. Is that normal? We ended up buying some from the hair salon, but I was shocked not to have it in our cabin. 
Tomorrow is our first port stop in Sitka!

Dinner at #CK again. Sorry we were engaged in the basketball game and I forgot about some pictures. The court below is growing on me. We had some great commentary during dinner. Dinner in CK is pretty empty. Our server said they are averaging only about 80 people a night. 

I must have missed a post somewhere.  Was this the All Access Tour ?
Do they still take you to the crew quarters and galley/dining room /bar ?  We had the AAT many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We actually did get to visit the Captains quarters but it wasn’t part of the tour.  Dan asked the Captain a question and he ended up taking us to his quarters to provide the answer.

Kraken Lava Flo in hand, resting in the best seat in the house...suite sun deck over the water. This is a nice spot, just beautiful!:

And just to jump on the teacher gratitude train when I started in a city police department in 1990 I was one of the only females. Before I cut my teeth so to speak they put me in the school's to teach D.A.R.E. No, I couldn't take it. The administration treated the teachers in a way I could not stomach, it was stifling their love of the kids. Then there was the politics....please the teachers used to tell me " you're so brave" I would tell them NO YOU ARE I couldn't do that job.
Such an amazing and mostly thankless calling. Not here, not this family!! Thank you teachers for showing up for our kiddos every day! You are a blessing!!!

Trying to peek in the Captains cabin, lol! 
Theater guy was nice and the girl costume person was animated and fun. Some small information sheets. Very nice morning, so glad we did it.
We skipped breakfast, so much food. Had lunch at #CK I had the chicken soup again and everyone's favorite pasta dish. Cabash crab crusted flounder no sauce.  The Kraken drink will be our dessert. Kiddo says she feels fat, just gees. 🤦‍♀️ um...whatever!



 

 

 

Help!? What is the Kraken frozen drink everyone is so crazy about? I want to have one of something special...thank you!
Tour was really informative. Holy Hannah I needed to see that. I am humbled at my spoiled self. The staff works so hard below deck. 15 people, half had to return to cabins to get pants. No one reads directions on vacation 
I was impressed at the care they (the staff) took with us.
Galleys, provisions, freezers, storage, recycling, laundry, crew uniforms, corridor 95, engine computer room, bridge, theater behind the stage.  Just a perfect tour. 2cd officer was knowledgeable and super kind.
The internet is so good.....

Thought of @asquared17 when I saw the cases of almond milk, had to snap a photo for her. Just wow that bridge officer was very engaging. Bridge wings have windshield wipers.. 




















 

Day 1 - Embarkation 
Last night we stayed at the Le Soleil hotel. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was fine. Both rooms had a king bed and a pullout couch, so there was enough room for the kids. 

We started off the day at Tim Horton’s as it seemed like an appropriate thing to do our first morning in Canada. 

 
The walk to the cruise terminal wasn’t bad at all, but it was a little difficult to figure out where we were supposed to go at first (turned out it was one level below the main level). There were two other ships anchored with us - Holland America’s Noordam and Celebrity Eclipse. Despite some huge crowds, things moved impressively quickly. We were on the ship about an hour after arriving at the terminal. 


Lunch at Windjammer was pretty good - it surpassed my low expectations. 

We had some time to kill, so we played the general knowledge trivia game in the Schooner Bar, and we won! The prize was a fairly nice bracelet from one of the shops. 
After that, we went to the helipad to watch sailaway  I got some pretty good photos of the other ships leaving  


Also got a pretty good family photo while sailing under the Lion’s Gate bridge.

Dinner tonight was in the MDR. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, as I’m fairly particular (my wife would say snobby) about food. Being from Maryland, I had to try the crab cake. It wasn’t really a crab cake, but it was still pretty good. I really liked the Old Bay cream sauce too. 
I had the Chicken Saag for the main, because I love Indian food, but I rarely get a chance to eat it. The dish was very good - it had a spicy kick to it that wasn’t overpowering. 
After dinner we pressed our luck with another trivia game (in the Colony Club this time) on world landmarks. We got 19/20 correct (because I couldn’t remember what country Rapa Nui/Easter Island was part of). Another team got them all correct, so we finished in second place. 
Overall we had a great first day on the ship, and it was a fantastic way for my wife and I to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary!

It’s always a good sign for a trip when I feel simultaneously like I’ve over-packed a crazy amount and also like I’m probably forgetting a bunch of important things. 
We woke up this morning to a text from Air Canada that our flight was delayed 40 min. That extra sleep would have been nice, but we still had plenty of time to make our connection.  
I did get a pretty cool picture of the F1 circuit as we landed in Montreal for our layover. 
Once we finally landed in Vancouver, the taxi queue was really long, and several of the minivan cab drivers said they couldn’t fit all 5 of us and our luggage. Finally one guy said he could do it, and we ended up having plenty of room. 
We haven’t seen too much of Vancouver, as we were completely beat and just wanted to get dinner and crash. From what we did see, it is truly beautiful, with mountains and water everywhere you look. 
The cruise terminal is right downtown, and it’s only a few blocks from our hotel. I think we’re going to try to walk our bags down there tomorrow morning for boarding, rather than messing with a cab again. 
I may just be tired from the long day of travel, but this cracked me up. 

I've been on the fence as to whether or not I wanted to try to live blog my first cruise, but I figured I'd give it a shot. 
We booked this cruise through a TA we've worked with on land-based vacations over the past few years. We basically had no idea what to look for (cruise line or ship) other than the fact that we wanted to see Alaska. Thanks to the whole Royal Caribbean Blog community for helping me get at least a little bit knowledgeable on what to expect. I've devoured live blogs, forum questions, and blog posts to try to learn more, and I really appreciate everyone who shares their experiences!
There will be 5 of us on the trip - my wife and our 3 kids (16, 13, 12) in connecting balcony cabins. I didn't try for RU, because we wanted to keep the cabins together. Hopefully the kids don't kill each other sharing a room. 
We fly out of Philadelphia at 9:30 tomorrow morning, which is going to require a 5:30am departure from home. That's actually better than it was when we booked the flights - originally it left at 6:30am! 
We have a night in Vancouver before the cruise, and then two nights after we debark. Hoping to get a chance to see some of the city! 
I didn't end up booking any excursions in the three port stops (Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchikan) - the ones we were interested in were crazy expensive for all 5 of us. We're planning to walk around the towns and maybe do some hiking. 
We have the 3-night specialty dining package, so we're looking forward to trying out Chops, Giovanni's table,and Izumi. We also booked the sushi-making class for the 16yo, my wife, and I (the other two don't eat sushi). 
I'll try to update this regularly during the cruise, but no promises!

Found a duck on the boardwalk, hiding mine tomorrow after all access tour. Spoke to loyalty ambassador regarding my block, it should be delivered on Thursday. 
Here are the official numbers provided by Noorina our suites concierge.
2198 crew
6936 passengers
Pinnacles 14, D+ 105, D 266, Emerald 170, Platinum 502, Gold 1556
First time on Royal...drum roll please, 4323
WOW!

Really how does luggage get lost like that? 6800 people that's how. I'm glad we only do carry on!
I figured out the huge Star suites, they are entered on 18 of course but not at the end of our hallway, they are around the front off the elevators. @CK great again tonight. Not crowded at all, they were stopping by tables asking people to make additional reservations. 

Do do, do do, do do do do, what was that movie, rhymes with straws......@asquared17 where are you?

 

Day at the Beach Club!  Cabash is very happy, he wants to always come here. I said only if the price is right! Wait what, did we change roles?
Appetizers, they brought it all. Kiddo had burger and lobster sandwich. We had Ceasars salads (no pics) cabash lobster me grouper. Fresh and fantastic! Fruit for dessert, a little fan to keep away the insects.  I'm really thinking things will get better from here. There had to be a catalyst for yesterday... we will never know but something was way off. I'm moving on from it and enjoying the rest of this trip. Sorry my pictures aren't that great.






 
 

So far today is beautiful. I am hoping and thinking this was a one off for the Sky experience. Tonight is Voices, will see if the reserved area is just as small. I will most likely sit somewhere else but now I'm curious. We are thankful to be the only ship on the Island today. This day started out a little rainy but is glorious now. Lunch was crazy good, and a nurse shark with her baby swam by us, I'm pretty sure they asked for @asquared17. 
We skipped breakfast and came out here around 9:30. It did take a hot second to get an elevator this morning, windjammer guests with food were going up to go down. The elevators getting to 18 continue to be a hot mess. I would have walked down but 18 decks would have made me dizzy. All good we took @asquared17 advice and walked right to the beach club. It's a beautiful way to spend the day on the island. Some pics to follow. Today is definitely redeeming from yesterday's strange affair.

@OCSC Mike I truly hope it is just this sailing, maybe people were scolded at a staff meeting or something. #CK I have zero complaints about besides the new location, but say la vee! Still making the most of our sailing, I'm so glad I didn't win the RUB, getting around even this morning is a bit tough. I'm looking for only positives today! I found the 3rd guy!!
 

I'm pretty sure Nick Weir, the SVP of Royal entertainment has become deaf so he has instructed all ships to crank up the volume.  Royal shows on many ships are so loud.  While I tend to enjoy the productions, the unnecessary volume is unpleasant.  I pack ear plugs for the shows now.  

Good morning Coco Cay day. Yay, 6,800 people exiting the ship! Kiddo at the gym already so we will head on out when she gets back. 
Cabin observations: 
15 steps to get upstairs
The TV upstairs seems either closer to the bed or bigger. It took a minute to acclimate myself as I felt like I was in the first row in a theater with a huge screen. It doesn't go back into the ceiling, the stateroom representative tried as well, it's down and staying that way. 
I do like the ability to set the temperature and lights via the app. Of course it does not work with the TV. 
The bed I believe splits. I can feel the two beds pushed together and bed is hard I'm sure because it's newer. My DCL bed was so much more comfortable. Of course this cabin is better as a whole, no comparison. 
Chris is the cruise director.
 

Wow, just amazing photos! Thank you so much for posting!
My wife and I have been trying to decide between Alaska and the Mediterranean the last year or so. Both "bucket list" cruises, but sooo hard to decide which to try to do first! Currently waiting for NOV/DEC for the schedule release to see which Oasis class ship is assigned to the Med in 2025 (hoping for Symphony)... that may help us make the decision! We'll likely target Ovation and one of the Seattle roundtrip itineraries when we sail Alaska. Thanks again!