Jacqui

On 12/16/2021 at 1:34 PM, Jill said:

You can always put down a refundable deposit while you decide what to do. The prices will only go up with each passing day/week

That's what I was thinking.  When I did a mock booking, it came up as a non-refundable deposit, but I'll have to see if there's an option to change it further in the booking process.

On 12/14/2021 at 11:32 AM, Jill said:

We’re doing Radiance Southbound with a 3 night land tour to Denali before the cruise this coming May. It’s likely our only trip to Alaska so making the most of it. 
 

Alaska is a totally different experience than the Caribbean. I’m going for Alaska not the ship. Caribbean sailings on oasis class ships usually have 3 full sea days and yes, you need stuff to do. Not so much with Alaska. 
 

I will recommend that if you choose the one way itinerary that you book SOON! I booked our May cruise literally the day they were announced. I got an aft corner junior suite and that category sold out so quickly that I was never eligible for any price drops. Not only that, but this sailing has NEVER been included in ANY cruise planner sales. That’s proof how popular this itinerary is. 
 

 

Thanks for the tip!  We will do balcony so there should be a little more availability, but it did still seem limited when I looked.  I'll talk to my husband soon to see if he has any preferences and make sure he definitely wants to do this given that the next few years are a bit up in the air when it comes to some personal stuff.  Hopefully it'll all work out for us!  He's been wanting to do an Alaska cruise for many years now.

9 minutes ago, not easy being green said:

I personally vote for a smaller ship, it can get places where the larger ships cannot get into/dock.  We are on the Radiance of the Seas doing a pre tour and then sailing.  We have been trying this for the last 3 years, and hopefully 2023/third time is a charm.  It also helps if you check the way you are sailing so if you have a view you can see more out the window and or balcony or just being on deck.  

Also larger ships have more to do, and we are going to Alaska for the scenery not for all the bells and whistles  

Thanks for the input.  I am torn for these reasons.  I know the smaller ships can get to places the bigger ones can't, but at the same time I worry about the smaller ships being outdated and not have as much to do/less dining options and such.  I was spoiled with Symphony being my first Royal cruise this past October so now I'm used to having a brand new ship with tons to do .  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's opinions but I have a feeling it'll lean towards the smaller ships.

I'm thinking of possibly doing an Alaska cruise in 2023.  Most likely in June if we do decide to go.  I'm curious of others' opinions on ship and itinerary.  Which ship (enchantment, ovation, quantum, or radiance) do you prefer and why?  What itinerary or ports do you recommend and why?  Seattle is probably the easiest and cheapest to get to and from, but I'm open to any start or end ports.  Thanks!

It's like a credit card.  I put it in my cross body purse when I carried it but we ended up buying lanyards from the RC store on like the 2nd day of our cruise and it was definitely worth it.  Felt like I was back in middle school wearing it around though lol.

22 hours ago, DunwoodyDad said:

At the end of the day, does it really matter other than maybe the casino opening?  To me, once I’m onboard I sort of don’t care when it actually leaves port. I just got an 1130 boarding time for Freedom (12/27) so am pretty excited about that. 

To an extent, I agree with this.  However, it was kind of annoying having a 7pm sail away, which ended up slightly delayed, and then the only nighttime broadway show being night 1 at 7:45pm.  We didn't get to fully enjoy sail away because we had to run to the show.  The show was great, but it was poor planning on Royal's part in my opinion.

In addition to spreading people out during the check in process, we noticed on our Symphony cruise out of Miami last month that we were the last ship to leave port.  We watched the ships from other cruise lines go before us, so the overall schedule out of the port likely plays a role too.

I was on Symphony 3 weeks ago and never made reservations for Windjammer.  Our sailing was about 40% capacity.  Windjammer was a bit full most of the time but employees were eager to help you find a seat and made sure to clean tables quickly so we never had an issue.

You don't officially know til you board.  There will be a sheet with all show times in your room with the cruise compass for day 1.  You can always try to find someone from a sailing prior to yours and ask them to send you their schedule.  If it's close to your sailing, it likely won't change much.

On 11/14/2021 at 4:19 PM, Marlena said:

I'm hearing a lot of people complain about an absolutely chaotic boarding experience in Miami recently getting on symphony. No specific lines for times, just 1 HUGE line and noone checking arrival times. Anyone sail recently or on now and have experience with this?

We sailed Symphony 3 weeks ago and it was a super easy check in.  There were separate lines outside the terminal for each time slot.  It was a little confusing where to go, but there were employees out there you could ask where to go.  They did check our time before letting us in the 12pm line.  We got in line early for our 12pm check in and they actually started letting us in early, around 11:30ish I think.  We had drinks in our hands by 11:55.

On 11/12/2021 at 2:20 PM, PG Cruiser said:

I booked this excursion too last September.  I booked it again for my sailing on the Oasis this month.  I promised my friends I'd get them flavored rhums from Topper's and I liked the cheese place... ha ha

I bought a bottle of the peach habanero rum from Toppers.  Pretty much every flavor we tried was good though!

We stopped in St. Maarten on our cruise on Symphony 3 weeks ago.  We did the double decker bus tour which went through both sides of the island.  We didn't see anything concerning, but I think our stops were mostly on the Dutch side.

We had just surf on our cruise 3 weeks ago.  I was able to upload pictures and videos to facebook but it took hours for a full batch of 80 photos.  I tried posting an instagram story (video) one day and gave up on that because it just kept spinning.

We were on Symphony 3 weeks ago and my husband's passport expires in March.  He didn't even get any questions about it.  I did have him take his birth certificate just in case, but he didn't end up needing it.  We went to St. Thomas and St. Maarten.  Might still be worthwhile to take the birth certificates just in case.  Better safe than sorry.

From what I've seen, the best deals are on port days.  On Symphony a few weeks ago, we weren't able to stop at cococay due to weather and they ran a 20% off promotion for massages.  That was also our last day of the cruise so they might have had deals regardless.

13 hours ago, Jill said:

I also noticed that I have the BEST hair days on cruises from the RO water. Apparently my hair likes “naked” water! Lol 

Yes!  My hair loved the water on the cruise.  Felt so clean and didn't get nearly as greasy as usual.

On 11/2/2021 at 11:57 PM, Karahvacatimes said:

Comedians Landry and Gary Caouette had us and the entire audience in stitches for the entire show!  Might see them again on this sailing.

 

We were on last week's sailing and they had a special 18+ show on the last night in the royal theater that was soooo much better (in our opinion) than the adult show we saw in the attic.  Definitely go if they have that this week!

It was just posted in the blog today.  Week of Nov 29th!

2 hours ago, Sweety said:

I am waiting for the new schedule to come out as well. I always book next cruise. The deposit is cheaper. I am going on a cruise in December 2021, I will book if the schedule is out.

We just got off Symphony this past Saturday but obviously the 2023 sailings aren't available yet so next cruise wasn't an option.  We likely won't be able to cruise again til 2023.

2 hours ago, Baked Alaska said:

Book ASAP. Suites go fast. Even if you don't book a suite, book EARLY. Prices go up, up, up. If they do go down, you can always cancel and re-book. Get a TA. You'll be much happier. You can still control everything else. They do the legwork (phone calls, etc.) for your rebookings. @Sharla s our TA, and I can't say enough good things about her. 

Thanks, that's what I thought.  We will be doing balcony, but I'm sure those go fairly quick also.  I'm more concerned about the price though.  I want to get the best price possible especially since Alaska tends to be a bit more expensive to begin with.

2 hours ago, barbeyg said:

Each time we have booked AK, the sailings were added in November.  So, anytime this month, if the historical trend continues.  

Awesome!  I'll keep checking.

Anyone know when the Alaska cruises will be available for the 2023 season?  Is it generally cheaper to book as soon as they become available?

Past cruises on Symphony have only had 2 showings of Hairspray.  One around 7:45 on night 1 and one at around 3 on day 2.  Definitely not ideal and I could see a smaller ship only having 1 showtime if a ship as big as Symphony only has 2 showtimes.

2 hours ago, barjpoe said:

the Solarium Bistro is in the front so try and ask for table near the windows so you may see something

Thanks, I'll try!  I'm hoping it won't be too crowded and we can be done within an hour and a half, but it would be good to try for a window table just in case!

20 hours ago, Jill said:

I think we’re going to shoot for a 7:45 dinner at Hooked. Hopefully the hairstyle holds up during sail away Seeing the Miami skyline lit up might be fun! 

I originally had dinner booked for 7:45 but my husband preferred dinner before sail away so I switched to 5:30 at the Solarium Bistro.  7 pm sail away is definitely not ideal lol