caitlynambrai

We have approached the different restaurants and asked for a discount onboard - we usually get 20-30% discount.

The discounts and sales will depend on a lot of factors. Firstly, the first day might be the only time you will see someone trying to sell anything in regard to single lunches and dinners. Do not anticipate any dining deals on the UDP or 3N package. The discount for any restaurant a la carte on CP is still going to be cheaper than any onboard sales and guarantees you a spot. 

Hi all!
After having our flight home cancelled twice and spending two additional days in Seattle, we are back home.  Here is my report on the Alaskan cruise and the Ovation!
Embarkation
Our check in time was 11am and we showed up at 9:20 am to find at least 30 people in front of us.  After listening in on conversations, it was apparent that most of the people in front and back of us were not entirely prepared to check in.  Oh well, their loss.  Thanks to this Forum, we were prepared and when the gates opened, we were on the ship by 11:10 am.  Easy peezy.  MY SUGGESTION for easier boarding....just print everything and have them in order. Set Sail, vaccine records, covid test, just have physical documents ready.  Internet was intermittent and people trying to check in with screen shots were having trouble.
FOOD!
I start with food because that is our thing and the first thing we did other than making reservations was eating at the Windjammer!  Food was overall a 9 out of 10.  
Windjammer - only ate there for one lunch and 5 breakfasts.  Breakfast could use some variation but food was hot, looked good, and filled our tummies with overall joy.
Izumi's - ate lunch and dinner there.  Rolls were overwhelming.  Sashimi plate was excellent for cruise sushi!  Fried chicken appetizer was yummy. I though 2 times was enough for Izumi though.
Wonderland - food was overall imaginative, fun, and tasty.  Some stand out dishes included desserts and the liquid lobster.  Would not go more than once per cruise, but would definitely go every cruise.
Chops - Solid steakhouse.  Good wine selection.  Bone-in ribeye is outstanding.  Lobster bisque and mushroom soup were outstanding! Ate there twice.
Jaime's Italian - OUR FAVORITE.  I am a classically trained chef turned lawyer.  Fresh made pasta was exactly what sold us here!  The sauces were tasty and in the correct proportion to pasta unlike Americanized Italian places.  Funny, Jaime's is British-Italian, but the food here tasted closer to what we have eaten in Italy than most places.  Stand out dishes included Pavlova dessert, ALL pastas, Meat plank, and burrata cheese!
MDR - This is the only place where I experienced service issues but I will address those later.  Food was overall okay.  Above average.  Nothing stood out, nothing was bad.  Oh...order the Baked Alaska! Last time I had Baked Alaska and Cherries Jubilee was in 1984 LOL.
Room Service - prompt, hot, edible.  
Hot Dog Stand - good enough to satisfy cravings.
Sorrentos - Not bad at all.
Fish and Ships - fried to order and worth at least one trip.  By the way, I am not sure this works for all ships, but UDP worked here for fried lobster tails and premium items.
Cafe Two70 - Nice change of breakfast pace and quiet place to enjoy breakfast, enjoy incredible views, and play some card games or board games with the kids after breakfast.
La Patisserie - Not quite Starbucks, but got me going in the right direction every morning and every evening.
Solarium Bistro - It was okay.  I was happy.
DRINKS!
Since I watched many bartenders open new bottles of liquor and paid attention to them making my drinks, I can say that the drinks were not watered down, but not exactly super strong, except for limoncello!!!  Wine selections were nice considering this was a cruise ship.  Cocktails were tasty.  We loved the Bahama Mama and anything with KRAKEN! 
Service
Guest services lines were a little long at times.  I am always up at 4am and go to sleep at 11:00 pm so this was not an issue for me.  The ONLY issue we had was that the pre-purchased Arcade credits were not properly applied to our kids' sea passes and there is no way to figure out arcade balances other than stopping by Guest Services or manual computations.
Service at all specialty restaurants and bars was excellent.  MDR service wasn't bad.  It was slower than I would expect, but I am not one to eat in 45 minutes and run off.  A 90 minute full service meal is more than acceptable.
Ship Condition
Did I mention that the Princess Ruby ship in front of us was rust stained and looked dilapidated?  Ovation was immaculate!  Enough said.
Activities and Entertainment
Enjoyed all of the shows and trivia.  We did Flowrider, Ripcord, Bumper cars, Northstar....pretty much did everything.  I highly recommend Northstar at a port and not at sea.  We did it twice, once at port in Seattle and once at sea.  Nothing much to see at sea.  Ripcord by iFly was simply AMAZING.  Do it.  All ages.  Do it.
Internet
We had one surf and stream and one basic.  Get basic.  Either way, internet is slightly better than DSL from 2005.  
Complaints
A. Stupid people.
B. Dumb people.
C. Some public toilets did not flush automatically and were inconvenient when I forced my kids to poop outside the room in the public restrooms.
D. Nothing to do from 4am to 6am.  
E. Too much to do from 8am to 11pm.
F. Either Pixels has two different versions, or I fell asleep at the first one.  My friends showed me pictures of the second showing and it looked quite different than ours.
G. Make Solarium pools aged 25 plus please!  Too many teenagers and college kids.  It was gross.  Spent more time in the indoor pool with little kids and enjoyed it more.
HIGHLIGHTS, KEY TAKEWAYS and TIPS
1. Got to meet Chris Wong.  Nice guy.
2. Stop gambling while you are ahead.  I made out with winnings of about $370 from penny slots.  Not bad.
3. Take advantage of the trivia games in between activities and meals.  It is a waste of time to go back to your room for 30 minutes and come back out.
4. If you get the Food packages, RESERVE AS SOON AS YOU BOARD!  We saw too many people complain about wait lists because no reservations.
5. If you are unsure of the Deluxe Beverage Package....I drink one glass of wine or beer a month.  Period.  On the cruise, I had at least 4 cocktails, one beer, one glass of wine, and 3 specialty Americano or Lattes each day.  On top of that, I had one soda a day and took back 4 bottles of water to the room each day.  It is worth the money to get a package.
6. Find the secret spots early.  The outside seating at Windjammer ALWAYS had seating, and we spent breakfast there while the ship's back was turned facing Dawes Glacier.  Trust me.  Also, Deck 5 next the the Art Gallery, but aways from the smoking section...chairs facing the ocean and unusually warmer than most places on the ship considering its outside seating.  Grab a glass of wine from the Wine bar and sit here to relax.  Quiet and peaceful.
7. READ THIS ONE. Finding whales and other sea life....Watch the TV channel that tells you where you are and shows the ship's front camera.  While watching, you will often see streaks of water (wake) left behind by dolphins, orcas, or whale....then grab your binoculars and look outside, you will see them passing!  Great way to find sea life.
8. BIGGEST TIP FOR ALASKA RIGHT NOW! DO NOT OVER PACK.  We each had one carry one rolling suit case and a back pack.  Wore suits and dresses on formal nights.  You do not need all of that clothing.  You simply do not.  Pay $35 to have underwear and T-shirts washed.  Its cheaper than checking in suitcases on the plane.  Plus, our flights home were cancelled twice and we were lugging around our luggage alot of that time.  Thank God we packed light.  You do not need all of that clothing.  
HUGE THANKS TO ALL OF YOU AND MATT for making this trip so amazing despite Covid, anxiety, the long wait, staffing shortages (which we experienced none), and despite raining the entire 13 days we were in Alaska or Seattle.  Thank you!

UPDATE: They repaid the whole amount 4 days after this post 🙂

Sabor hit the spot. It’s too bad there plans to get rid of it as the Oasis ships do upgrades, it actually pairs very nicely on a hot day in the Boardwalk. Our server who promised the spicy margarita took care of it and it was spicy and tasted good - exactly what I was in the mood for. We had chips with guacamole, pico, and habanero spicy green thing he brought which was really good and spiced up the guac and salsa nicely. For starters, the snapper ceviche was cold and citrusy with lots of lime, and the queso Fundido had a bacon flavor. We had two tacos and one tampiqueno steak and all were good. The tortillas were soft and warm, but the sauce type sides for the tacos weren’t as appealing as the good fresh pico on the table, so I used that instead. It was all build your own tacos 🌮. One more order of churros and we took some time to walk around. My kids wanted to take a weird video of me alone riding on the carousel bench , but it was kind of busy so we have to shelf that until later - maybe when more little kids have turned in for the night. Bionic bar had no line for the first time, so we checked it out. I wasn’t in the mood for a cocktail after the margarita, so we had it make a coke over ice and added “shaking” at the request of the kids who were hoping for a big fizzy disaster 😂. 
I don’t know if the bionic bar trend is sticking around, but it was a fun novelty / I wouldn’t go back for something simple, but if you have a certain way you like a mixed cocktail - it’s probably easier to program the robot to make it exactly that way, rather than trying to explain to a live bartender at a busy loud bar. More later - we are going to get some pool deck time, it’s actually not as busy as I would have thought, although it is 2 pm. 

As an update, looks like the cups are back, or at least they are on the Allure. I saw someone post a pic on a Facebook group. 

Thank you to all who responded, I’ve never even seen the Ocean before let alone been on a cruise so I’m excited  ( and woefully out of my element) for both!

Just an update..our OnPoint test was accepted with no issues. 

My issue isn't the hard liqour, I'm always specific with my requests (my wife is Tito's, I'm Bombay Sapphire), but it's the beer selection.  I've railed on this in the past, but it's definitely a pain point for me.  It would be nice to have an occasional IPA offering, or a seasonal brew.  But we just keep getting the Bud, Bud Light, Miller Light, Corona, Coors Light, etc.  There's a whole world of beer out there and there's plenty of good commercial beer to stock up with.  Yeah, the Pubs sometimes have other choices, but those choices have remained stagnant for years and I don't always want to be in the Pub.  A few years ago, the pub on Serenade had an IPA, I may have single handedly wiped out what they had in stock.
 I'll be happy to become the Royal Beer Guy if they need some help.🍻

In the terminal all checked in.  Waiting for the suite folks to be called then I guess we are up next.  Getting close. 

Days Eleven: Willow
Today was our last day here so I woke up early to play with my cousins. We played a couple board games then had breakfast. 
It was time for our final excursion: sled dogs! We got to play with all of their 62 dogs. Lots of them enjoyed getting up on their hind two legs and dancing with us. There was this dog named Patsy who’s the great x22 granddaughter of Balto and Togo. She was the sweetest out of all of them. If you ever go, be sure to look out for Tenzing, he bites anything hanging off of you and almost stole my scarf.



After we played with them for a bit, it was time to mush! Since it’s summer, we weren’t on sleds and instead had the dogs hooked up to a UTV. I got to stand in the back the whole time. It was really cool to see these dogs run and funny thinking my own dog was sleeping at home. Once we were done mushing, we played with the puppies! They were adorable, but one of them tried to eat my hair. I even got to hold one. We got hamburgers or hotdogs, chips, and cookies included with the whole experience for lunch. It was amazing and if you’re ever in Willow, you should definitely give Snowhook Adventure Guides of Alaska a try. 


Once we got back to my cousin’s house we played on their trampoline for a little bit. Then we tried out their ATVs. I didn’t drive, but it was pretty cool to ride with my dad. I think I’ve been on every mode of transportation this trip. It was time for the inevitable packing. Somehow we made it all fit, even with our souvenirs. We played a couple more board games then said bye. Before we left I made sure to get myself a sled dog. Plush of course. Then we were on our flight and headed back home.  Shortly after we took off, my mom opened the window shade one last time and above the clouds, we saw for our first time Denali.  We are now members of the 30% club, meaning only 30% of visitors to that area actually get to the see the mountain.  Clearly it's a very elusive and exclusive mountain.


So I started this blog to find out what there was in Alaska for teenagers. In Optix, they go with the flow and do whatever everyone wants to do. You can almost always look for something fun to do there when they’re open of course. There’s also tons of activities onboard and off board for anyone. I’d definitely do it again. 
And a big thanks to everyone who made this blog happen. My mom for having the idea, my dad for posting it, my brother for pictures, my family and friends for encouragement, and most of all to you, my reader, cause without you, none of this would really matter so thank you for taking the time to read my blog. 
Thanks for tuning in to my Alaska Adventure!
 
 

Day Seven: Hubbard Glacier 
It’s the last day of the cruise, but don’t worry, it’s not the end of my adventure or of my blog just yet. We tried to wake up early but I slept till 8 am. We got bundled up then went outside to see the glacier from the ship. It was pretty cold but the glacier looked so cool. There were pieces of ice floating all around in the water. There was this one piece that looked like a swan. Ice bird instead ice berg! We then got a quick breakfast and went back outside to get some more pictures with it. 

After we had seen every possible angle of the glacier my mom and I went to do some scrapbooking. It was only thirty minutes long so we only had time to get the supplies and make a little scrapbook out of the scrapbooking paper. It was fun and seems like a good idea to keep memories. 
Earlier this week we signed up for the egg drop. Now it was finally time to build it. We had a design that had a paper cup with balloons all around it and a parachute on top. We went to the ninth floor in the Centrum for the competition and if we had been launching straight down the egg would’ve been fine. Sadly they made us launch over a bar and it tipped and the egg fell out. 

We went to get lunch and on the way I found another duck! This one looked like a Wonder Woman duck and she was hiding by a ship map. Afterward we went to do a riddle contest. We only missed two questions but still lost. We stayed to do another trivia and got smoothies. The smoothies were amazing, but each was seven bucks so if you get one, enjoy it. I sure did, my strawberry one was amazing. 

My brother and I left in the middle of the trivia to go rock climb. Neither of us had rock climbed in a while so we couldn’t make it all the way to the top, but I think I did pretty good for it being my first time. 
We all met back in the cabin and got fancied up again. Since it was the last night there wasn’t any photos though. We went to a variety show that had two songs by the orchestra, a tango dance, and comedy. It was really good and all the performers were really talented. 

Next it was time for dinner. I had a Caesar salad, turkey, and apple blossom a la mode. It was all amazing, but I didn’t have time to stay for dessert so my brother brought it to me at teen karaoke. A friend and I sung “If I Had A Million Dollars” together. It was really fun and my dessert was still warm when I got to it. 

I went to play some ping pong with a friend and my brother. None of us were really good at it but we had tons of fun. I’m pretty sure we hit it on the floor more than on the table. At least it was entertaining. 

We went back to Optix one last time. We got out Twister and played a couple rounds though we weren’t really sure who won. We played a bit of foosball then had to leave. We got back to the room and helped finish packing till about 1:00 in the morning then we were out like a light. 

Stay tuned for my Alaska Adventure!

Off to to start the cruise ship arc! Can't believe we're finally doing this 😆

Just validating that once active, it will remain active in Royal’s system.  My son gets the soda package.  The cup from a 4 day on Navigator out of LA worked just fine on a 7 Harmony out of PC.  The west coast cruise ended on a Friday and the east coast started on Sunday.  Since it was inside the time window, it didn’t matter that he changed ships, or even that he went from the pacific to Atlantic.  LOL! 

The chips on the cups make them work for up to 14 days from the first use (longer if the cruise is longer than 14 nights.. On B2Bs that add up to 14 days or less, you can purchase the soda package for the first cruise and it will work the entire time.

Just venting about a minor irritation. I know there are other sites that let you narrow down your exact travel window, but I'd prefer to do it on RC's official website. I actually find the whole "search for a cruise" process really clunky and frustrating on RC's site (I know, I know, Royal IT...). What if I'm considering different room types? Go back and start over. What if I'm considering 1 vs 2 rooms. Go back and start over. Why do I often have to click twice on the page where you choose the floor for your room (once for floor and then "select")? And why can't the number of days selection be part of the other choices? Do many people really just choose a 3-5 day cruise with no other considerations?
Ugh.

I'm with you on this!

The website for a large business is bad. Its to even start where it needs to be fixed or doesn't make sense or needs to be changed. 

Only Quantum class have a galley attached to the pub.  It's left over from the relationship with Michael Schwartz.  Oasis class had 150 Central Park with Michael Schwartz menus while Quantum class had the gastropub with food from Michael Schwartz.
When the relationship ended 150 CP reverted to a similar but Royal menu and the pubs on Quantum class changed over to a Royal menu in the pubs.  
No other pubs in the fleet have a galley attached to the pubs so they don't have food for purchase including Oasis class.  
You can however always carry food into the pub.  The most common is pizza from Sorrento's or cafe Promenade.  I see that often and am guilty of doing it myself.   The wings from room service are cheaper than the wings in Playmakers.  Both are great, the PM option includes hot wings (spicy hot).  The room service version are good but not spicy hot.

I believe they added chicken wings to the room service menu, but Allure doesn't have Playmakers but on ships that do, that's where you can order them.

Lavender Vodka Martini:
2 generous oz. Vodka (I personally like Tito’s) 
1 oz. Monin lavender syrup (buy it on Amazon)
1 oz. Sour mix (some brands call it whiskey sour mix).  If you have “sweet and sour” mix just do 1/2 oz.
Shake over ice and try not to drink too many of these!
Some people garnish with a lime wedge or a mint leaf, but I don’t think either detract from or enhance the flavor.
Feel free to tweak the proportions to your liking!   This version is sweet but not super sweet.

Just got my upgrade to Crown Loft Suite. I am super happy as I paid about half of what it normally costs. 

This is the only  the information received on itinerary:  
Our original plan for Independence of the Seas was to begin offering sailings departing from Miami beginning July 2021. However, Odyssey of the Seas will now take its place and sail from Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately, this means your sailing will be cancelled.
However, the good news is, Odyssey of the Seas will offer similar itineraries, so we’ll automatically move you to the corresponding Odyssey of the Seas sailing beginning June 6th, 2021 to help make the transition easier. This way, you’ll still have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful destinations you were looking forward to!

I heard Indy is getting moved over ?
 

Right now it's Southeast of Bermuda still heading toward Freeport.  (You can check on sites like cruisemapper.com or marinetraffic.com)   Carnival Mardi Gras is about 2 days ahead of it.   Rumor was it was going to Port Canaveral for Vaccines (J&J) after a brief stop in Freeport, then to Port Everglades at some point (Based on the rumored July sailing schedule, which still isn't bookable probably because they haven't been completely solidified yet).
Sometime after Odyssey arrives in Florida would be the "test" cruise, followed by alternating southern Caribbean 8 night and west Caribbean 6 night.   All of that is speculation and probably will change 10 times.   Don't get set on the idea that any of these will actually happen as the app lists them, although it's likely this is what RC *wants* to happen.