sammy79

We are heading out on our first Alaskan adventure in less than a week! I booked this cruise last June, two months before getting married/going on our honeymoon to Greece and somehow at the time, all I could think was “we’re going to Alaaaaska!” 🥳 The days have flown by and suddenly this once-mystical seeming month of September 2023 is upon us and we’re finally going to get to see some majestic Alaskan scenery before all the glaciers melt completely.
I am most excited to sit out on my balcony and see waterfalls streaming down mountains, and check things off my Alaskan wildlife checklist (which includes a bear, eagle, otter and whale)!
Itinerary
This 7-night sailing makes four port stops. We were originally slated to visit Skagway on Day 4 but got it swapped for ISP due to the (un)available dock space in Skagway after a landslide last year. I was so sad since I had White Pass Railroad tickets at an amazing price, I so wanted to ride it after seeing it on an episode of Mighty Trains on Smithsonian channel. Guess it means we’ll just have to make it back to Alaska again in the future! (PS. Where my Mighty Cruise Ships fans at??? Best show on TV)
Day 1 - Monday - Departs Seattle, WA
Day 2 - Tuesday - Cruising
Day 3 - Wednesday - Sitka, AK
Day 4 - Thursday - Icy Strait Point, Hoonah, AK
Day 5 - Friday - Dawes Glacier & Juneau, AK
Day 6 - Saturday - Cruising
Day 7 - Sunday - Victoria, BC 🇨🇦
Day 8 - Returns to Seattle
Who’s Going - my husband (Adrian) and I (Daryl)
Cabin
Back slumming it in an Ocean View Balcony on the 12th deck (12254). Alaska is wayyy pricier than the Caribbean so I couldn’t swing a JS this time as it has been consistently priced about $2k more than our balcony. I need that money for lavish excursions!!
Pre-Purchases
As usual, I had to stalk the DBP for awhile before purchasing, we finally got it at $62.99, the lowest price I have seen since the pandemic! I am guessing sales aren’t great on our sailing since others on September dates have reported $68 as the sale price.
We have two specialty dinners booked at Izumi and Wonderland on nights 2 and 4. I am still thinking about adding Jamie’s on night 6... should I give in? It just doesn’t seem worth $49 each. We ate there on Navigator but that was back when it was priced around $32 which seems more reasonable for the fare. I can’t wait to see what Wonderland is all about! I am sure it’s a one-and-done, but figured we have to try it out since it will be the first ship we’ve be on that has it as an option. If all else fails, at least we’ll finally get to taste The World as a consolation prize. 
We have a two-device Voom plan this time, we will see how speeds compare to sailing in the Caribbean. I am going to try my best to keep the live-ness up on this blog!  
Pre-Cruise
We are flying in a day early simply because it’s a Sunday and my husband and I will already have the day off. There were about 5 safe options that could’ve gotten us up the coast from San Diego on the morning of embarkation but since neither of us have been to Seattle, getting to see a new city was a bonus! We used A2S and got the tickets for $120 each on the day booking opened, now my Google flight tracker says the same exact flight costs $838 per person!!
We’re staying at the Holiday Inn Downtown because it’s close to the Space Needle and was one of few hotels available because of 2 large Seattle conferences that start Monday. I booked it last October so I have to assume people trying to find a hotel right now are scrambling. Everything I want to see seems walkable from this location!
While in Seattle we are planning on seeing Pike Place Market, walking the waterfront, riding the Wings Over Washington ride (one of my favorite DCA attractions is Soarin’) and visiting the aquarium. I have Space Needle tickets booked for embarkation morning at 10am, mostly since it should be a lot quieter than the alternative options on Sunday afternoon. This is also nice because I was planning on riding the North Star first thing on boarding to see the city but it’s still broken down and will be until Quantum’s next dry dock. 
 
 
Feel free to ask any Quantum/Alaska itinerary questions. Having sailed only Freedom, Oasis, Navigator and Brilliance we are so excited to try out this new (to us) class of ship! Of course these boards/RCblog have proved valuable in getting me up to speed on Quantum class so I would love to help out future cruisers any way I can. 
Been watching this countdown since it was in the mid-400’s!! Ahhhhh!

 

Wow I'm surprised at the response to this. 
I cruise in Europe on RC and tipping the bar staff on European cruises is just not done by the vast majority of cruisers.  I've been curious about this so have been sitting at bars and watched the interaction on a few recent cruises in Europe and 99% of drinks are without tip.
I'm on Harmony next month and I'll definitely be watching to see if I see more cash tips to bar staff, I expect to see a lot more as tipping is a larger part of US culture.
As for queue jumping. I don't expect, nor want, my bar staff to skip other people for me that's not why I tip.
When on a cruise I'm super chill waiting at a bar chatting to staff and other patrons while waiting for a drink is also part of the experience. 
I don't think I've ever seen a bar 4 deep on a cruise. Usually when bars get busy the staff phone in for more help and staff are sent from quieter bars to help out.  Last thing RC want is people standing at a bar getting annoyed with each other and fighting to be served. So I'm surprised at the comments. 

I don't agree that people shouldn't take vacations if they cannot afford to tip extra. If people did that, the crew/staff would get nothing. I try not to count other people's money, that I am not actually paid to count 🤣.
Crew chose to work for, very important to say that slaves don't make wages, less than ideal pay. I think if you can afford to, do what you can afford. Everyone makes a choice, and they have to live with them.
 

We are now on board, and our luggage is also on board! Thank you all for coming along with us again. 🙂

Some final thoughts…the food 
Don’t have much left to say here. You already know. Nothing was terrible, but nothing was great either. That pretty much sums up MDR and WJ for me. Kids and Hubby enjoyed it. They said their tastes are less refined 🤣
If it was just Hubby and I, we probably would booked either the UDP or at least a 3 night to break it up a bit. But with 4 of us, that was just too much and not worth it. I spoke to another couple in Chops this morning and they are not MDR people. They had the UDP, and they confirmed what I already thought. That on this ship, there is not enough specialty to make that worthwhile for 9 nights. This ship only has Chops, Giovanni’s, and Sabor. 

Some final thoughts…the crew
Each and every crew member that we have come across on this sailing has been fantastic! Some are overworked, you can tell. But that is not their fault, that is corporate cost cutting that has lead to that. More than one crew member has told us that as a result of recent changes, it does not leave them as much time to interact with guests, etc. But they are all doing their best, it shows. 
Our dining room team has been wonderful. Our assistant waiter is also the WJ “washy washy” guy. He is so funny. Each evening, I look forward to his smile and conversations with him. That is probably one of the highlights of my MDR experience lol
The suite concierge on board this sailing, Lorena, is a gem. So kind and attentive, and efficient. She has taken care of everything that we asked her for. Each night in the lounge, she is barely at her desk. She is always up and chatting with guests. The Diamond concierge, Jayson, is the same. We did not get to interact with him as much but from what I have heard, he and Lorena are both fantastic. They alternate between the two lounges. One month each. That seems to be what most of the concierges are doing these days. 

Some final thoughts…Itinerary 
All 4 of us loved this itinerary!! Completely loved it! Not one single complaint other than we wished we had longer at certain locations. 
We all had different favourite ports this sailing for different reasons. My favourite was Boston, followed closely by Bar Harbor, Portland, Saint John, and then Halifax. My top “Wow! I am speechless” port was probably at the sea caves in St Martins. My favourite eating port was probably a toss up between Boston and Portland. 
Hubby really loved Bar Harbor. That was his favourite. And he and the girls really loved Peggy’s Cove. D17 is a city girl like me, so one of her favourites was also Boston. D15 being a nature girl, loved Cadillac Mountain, the sea caves, and yesterday at Peggy’s cove. 
I would 100% do this itinerary again. And I would 100% do it again on a non-Oasis/QN class ship. Reason being that because it is so port intensive, and you are literally out all day in port, the evenings you just want to chill. I would have not liked to have to dress up for dinner, and catch some show at the theatre, Aqua Theater, or whatever each evening.
This sailing just reaffirms our decision to do the Western Med on Voyager next year instead of Oasis. The small ships have less entertainment, but for port intensive itineraries, I like that. It takes away the pressure to have to do something, or feel like you are missing something. Most nights all 4 of us just had dinner and came back to the room to relax and process the day. It was different than our usual cruising routine, but perfect for the type of sailing that this was. 

A few random things…
We found out from our room attendant that D+ actually gets one free bag of laundry per D+ adult. So for us, that would have been two bags. We did one two days ago and he reminded us today that we can do another. However, today was such a busy time in port that we didn’t have a chance to put another bag together. We literally left at 8am for our excursion, came back at 5pm and headed straight to the show, and then dinner. But good reminder for those who are D+ that it’s one bag per adult member. 
On this sailing, I would say that we made  good use of our D+ benefits. We used several drink vouchers each day. Kids got quite a few non-alcoholic drinks as well. We got one bag of laundry, could have had two. And we always get the free photos. So as much as in grumpy at the cutbacks, they still have some pretty good perks for D+ members.

Another view from Splashaway Bay

Not sure how Hubby is doing out there with the FlowRider but I sure as heck am not going to check on him 😂
 

What is a beaver tail????????🤔

Surveys are read by management on the ship.
The cuts are being introduced at the corporate level and corporate doesn't read the surveys, just the overall CSAT summary scores comparing one ship to another.  
Vent away on the surveys just understand whose eyes you are talking to.  My guess is ship personnel aren't fond of the cuts either as they are customer facing and have to deal with the venting while corporate cherry picks the summaries and turns them into pats on the back justifying their cuts.  "We cut and and cut and the scores aren't that bad so let's cut some more!"

Well Royal needs to understand truth hurts, we as passengers pay a price sometimes hefty one which means quality of experience with main dining to the buffet to any other venue needs to be on point.  Each has their own opinions on taste; however, but lack of selection, quality, presentation, and those entrees coming out not even hot isn't acceptable at all.  Then when a curve ball thrown extra charge for this or that, it becomes discouraging.  Remember those days of cruising just fantasizing about a certain meal or food you couldn't wait for with that favorite 🍸or so many good options that couldn't decide.  Now it's a different story because of their cutting corners with nickel and dime and just lacks the WOW factor.  Speciality dining packages have drastically increased as well.  Days of gaining weight on cruise are long gone.....
Lately i have been eating more in port which gives to destination economy and i have much enjoyable meal.
Maybe Mr Liberty and Mr Bailey should try being on a cruise over a period of time and see some of the struggles we endure.  Episode Undercover Boss cruise food edition ....
 

I do think we need to speak up, otherwise it won't change. I wasn't a fan of the MDR or WJ before the new menus and I'm still not a fan now. I feel like the WJ has too many reduced offerings. And the MDR isn't consistent. I sailed Mariner in Jan 2019 and was blown away by both. I understood it being lacking a little during the restart, even in 2021 it was okay. By 2022 it was worthless 😪 😔 😢. I did find it to be more than okay on Freedom in April but I also went in with such low expectations that if it was just hot, it would be acceptable.
I don't think it was bad of you and I don't think it has anything to do with being a suite snob. You have a refined pallette. Your taste are personal, you enjoy the truffle 😂, the MDR feeds the masses. There is no "wow" in the food, the wine helped you vocalize the truth.

It was the perfect storm…..5 nights of MDR and WJ coupled with your frustration and 💥 💥 On a serious note, good for you! 🙌🙌 By speaking up you have given them an opportunity to hear your concerns first hand vs reading them in the post cruise survey.  There are so many thoughts running through my head but I will leave it there.  

It seems strange that we are spending so much money eating in ports. We never eat in ports usually. 
I know 😉😂

 
You’re welcome! Let me know if you have any other questions that I did not answer already. 🙂
We are enjoying this cruise a lot! It’s been a lot of laughs and bickering, classic family good times. But this is very different from our usual Caribbean cruises and I think we all find that difference a bit more refreshing. Also, we knew what we were getting into so we set our expectations accordingly. 
Hubby is getting better. Practice makes perfect. He has his blue band now the last few cruises so he enjoys that a lot more. It’s more quiet when you can go to the stand up sessions. 
 
Omg! Something really bad happened tonight. I am going to tell you guys something and hopefully you all don’t think less of me. My family was mortified 😂
The suite snob was good. She stayed in the closet while I ate my dinner, made polite conversation with everyone, had two glasses of wine, and then at the very end, one of head waiters came around to check on us. We told him all was good and that our servers were awesome, which they are. Then he asked about the food. 3 of us said everything was great. I could not lie.
He asked me and I told him that everything is fine, and the service is fantastic. Then he said he is aiming for 10/10 on food and service. Well…I was at this point smiling and nodding. But he kept pressing asking me what I thought about the food. I could not keep the suite snob in the closet.
I went on a long rant/vent, while smiling the whole time, about how we have been sailing since 2002 and the MDR is not as it used to be. Told him how their cost cutting has lead to everything being just mid and no “wow” factor with any of the dishes. I tried hard to reassure him that it does not reflect on their dining room whatsoever, that I understand completely this is a corporate problem, and the “problem” is way bigger than he can fix.
Then he called the executive chef on his phone to come speak to us because he said he felt like the chef needed to hear this feedback as well. At this point the kids were so embarrassed they made an excuse to leave. I felt terrible too, but at the same time, I think all the frustration from the changes over the last few years just came out, and I might have lost my filter a bit after two glasses of wine and the martini I had in the suite lounge.
Anyway, in the end, they said they want to hear this type of feedback, because like what else are they going to say? And I told him, in the end, I know there is not much they can do because the problem starts with Mr. Liberty and corporate. And then he asked for my cabin number. Omg 🤦🏻‍♀️ sorry 😬

That’s where we are stuck. 3 of us like buffets, 1 of us don’t. It’s funny because in my younger days, I loved buffets. But now, it’s just not my scene.

Just a thought on Suite comparisons . . . I’ve done small RC ships in a suite,  star class, and whatever is a CL suite class.  I’ve sailed Celebrity in a suite, and Disney in a suite.  Disney offers by far the least in terms of perks with the largest upcharge (except perhaps on the Wish which I have not sailed).  I have not noticed any change in the quality of the suite experience on RC smaller ships.  Star class is a somewhat reduced experience for a higher price, but I have felt the other suite classes on the big ships are like they were before the pandemic.  Star class is such a premium product that you would think the experience would be kept at the WOW level.  Regardless, Celebrity is a great product for adults focused on dining and relaxing.  It does not compete with Oasis class or Quantum class with kids in my view.
I do, however, think the prices on Coco Cay are absurd.  I have that villa suite booked on the Harmony for fall 2024.  The Beach Club is over $300 per person, the water park was $188 last I looked, and a Beach Club cabana at around 4k.  I paid far less than 4k per person for the cruise and it is star class for 8 nights, making the cabana more per person per day than the cruise!

@SMOKEY0202 put it so well. I am frugal in so many other areas of my life because I enjoy the larger cabin and suite experience. Whenever I sail in a regular cabin I find myself missing some of the perks. BUT the suite product is disintegrating it seems under Mr. Liberty and it stings when I pay for something and get a minimized version of it for the same monies or more. I sent an email to Carlos Jimenez in charge of the guest experience asking a simple question that I wanted a concrete answer for, that was 15 August. Not even the courtesy of a response, nothing. Even if it was lovely to hear from you thanks for being a frequent cruiser with us but go pound salt. Nothing, not a peep. I save Mr. Bayley emails for the most important things like where is my FCC? I personally don't feel the Royal warmth I once did, it's sad but I understand they are in business to provide a product. 
I just can't help feeling it was better previously. Oh well, here's hoping the money man finds his heart. 
@Lovetocruise2002 Flowrider widow 🤣🤣

With the continuous inconsistency across the Royal Fleet and prices continue to increase, it's becomes more to explore other options.
I did 2 Celebrity cruises recently and honestly thoroughly enjoyed it.  With status match, perks were great and large OBC to use, cruise actually was cheaper.  
Some things i refuse to sacrifice when cruising, but each has to decide what's best for their family when it comes to cruising on ship size and offerings. There is never a perfect cruise out there, but none of us want to feel like nickel and dimed when this could be your only cruise for the entire year.
It doesn't matter whether you cruise once a year or numerous times, you want a rewarding experience without stupid nonsense from cruise lines with inconsistency being told NO but other ship does it which could leave a bad "taste" over the situation.  In the end, cruising is about all of us, friends, family, new friends and the memories we make.
 
 
 

💯 this! Some of the recent changes to suite perks have become more annoying than anything else.  And when guests are paying a premium the last thing they want is to feel nickel and dimed over lost perks with minimal cost associated with them or in the case of the kettle, “bring your own”.  Make sure you address this on your post cruise survey. 

Ok, I am going to sound like a suite snob here, so apologies and scroll on if anyone doesn’t want to hear my vent. I should not have to pay a ton and sail in a suite, and have to bring my own kettle. That is just simply annoying and it’s the principle of it all. Never mind the fact that I don’t have space in my luggage for a kettle. That is why this whole situation bugs me. 
 
I think so. I have seen quite a few kettles on the naughty table in the past.
 

🤣  Hahvahd is in Cambridge. You have to pahk the cah in a completely different paht of Massachusetts to go there.

We always, always, always tip as we go.  We have learned over the years that you can never depend on having the same staff from day-to-day or meal-to-meal.  We’ve had room stewards change in the middle of a sailing.  You just never know so we tip as we go along…at every meal and with very drink we receive.  On our last B2B (SY) our room steward changed decks on the second leg of our B2B.  Good thing we had tipped her before the end of leg #1.
The last thing I want to do when trying to “wrap things up” is go try and find someone to give them a tip.

After dinner we caught the last half of the production show, In the Air. It was typical of what you would see on Freedom class ships. Going to call it quite tonight and settle in for bed. Our plan is to get off the ship asap tomorrow morning as we self booked an excursion and the meeting time is 9am for that, at the New England Aquarium.  Fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow as it looks like it might be touch and go with the rain.