Done

They had a sign on the closed cabin hallway doors that the rooms would be available at 2:00pm. They announced their availability around 1:30 pm. BTW - while we were on the ship by 11:30 am, the muster station checkin wasn't available until noon. We watched the videos while eating lunch and when the cabin availability was announced we did the muster station checkin. The lines at some of the muster stations were quite long but most guests decided going to their cabins was a higher priority, the lines cleared and we breezed through muster checkin.

Maybe because we ate at Chops day 1 and then the Windjammer after that tainted our experience. However, the unhealthy behavior by other guests put us off to buffets of any kind from now on. We don't know what goes on in the galley behind closed doors but sometimes ignorance is bliss!

We bought waterproof hiking boots and while we wore them I do not think we needed them. Even walking about Ketchikan in the rain really didn't require hiking boots. It is really a function of your excursions. We were either on a bus, a train or a boat cabin (whale watching) for most of the time we spent on excursions. If you are planning some serious hiking then yes, boots would be good.

I am curious if the crew are required to wear masks when in the crew only sections of the ship such as their lounge, crew dining room, etc..

Just an FYI - We attended the Captain's Corner question and answer talk this past week and received this information.

Just back from Ovation and not a fan of the buffets. We ate a dinner at the Windjammer early into our back to back cruises and it was not good. I felt the selection of different items has been reduced and the food was barely warm. I also saw a lady dishing up food for a wheelchair bound person. She got some sauce on her fingers. She licked it off and used that same hand to pick up the serving tongs at the next station. The line at the Solarium Bistro was always crazy long for breakfast and lunch and I felt it was a mini version of the Windjammer. I will say the salad station was never that busy. We avoided the buffets to eat after day 3 I think. We ate our subsequent meals at the main dining room, Cafe270, Chops or Jamie's where the food is served to us. Another plus was the portion control. You can always get seconds on any item but we rarely need any more than what the served. I didn't get to the midpoint of the cruise feeling stuffed to the gills.

Just returned from Alaskan cruise on Ovation. I wore jeans and long sleeved tee shirts to formal nights and I did not feel out of place. I splurged and wore a polo shirt and jeans to Chops.

When checkin opened for our Aug 12 cruise on Ovation the Check In link( the smart phone app) on the Daily Planner page said checkin was closed yet clicking on the person icon at the top of the screen did offer a checkin link started the checkin process.

As long as you are not sailing to Canada or Bermuda. Those countries still have the 2 day test restriction RC has to enforce.

8/7/2022 According to Cruisehive.com the dock at Skagway has been closed for the remainder of the 2022 season: Another rockslide adjacent to the popular White Pass Railroad Dock in Skagway, Alaska, has caused damage and led to the full closure of the dock, which is expected to remain closed for the rest of the 2022 sailing season. This is the third rockslide in recent weeks, and officials are concerned about the possibility of more – and more severe – rockslides to come. Some ships are still able to visit the charming community by utilizing other docks or arranging to tender passengers from an anchored position without using the at-risk dock.

I do wish there was a definitive place to get answers besides, "Keep calling customer service until you get the answer you want."

The Best Price Guarantee policy was presented in the past with the Cruise With Confidence policies. I searched the RC website and found this information What is the Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee Program? A Spot a better price on your booked cruise? Our Best Price Guarantee lets you take advantage of a better price within 48 hours from the time you booked— just give us a call or use our online form. You’ll receive the difference as a non-refundable onboard credit inside final payment or rate adjustment outside final payment. For more information on the Cruise with Confidence Best Price Guarantee for sailings booked on or before March 31, 2022, that depart on or before September 30, 2022, click here. I read this to mean the Best Price Guarantee has been changed from what is used to be. I also clicked on the link they suggested and found this: If I move forward with the Cruise with Confidence Best Price Guarantee, when will I get my onboard credit? A The Cruise with Confidence Best Price Guarantee program allows guests to take advantage of better rates up to 48 hours prior to sail date! Guests must have booked on or before March 31, 2022, for sailings that depart before September 30, 2022 and they can request the difference of their booked rates versus any rate reduction. The difference in pricing will be added to the booking as an onboard credit, inside final payment, and it’ll be applied within 14 business days, and a new confirmation will be generated with the Onboard Credit value. I read this as the former best price guarantee was rolled into Cruise With Confidence policies and has been subsequently discontinued.

We learned the hard way our airline would not let us check our luggage or issue boarding passes more than 3 hours prior to our flight. We needed to wait for 90 minutes or so. We had to find a spot in the unsecured lobby area to hangout. All the restaurants/bars at the airport were in the secure area

Be sure to check the port/country COVID restrictions. NCL currently says AFTER September 3rd, unvaccinated guests 12 and older will not be able to board ships to Bermuda, Canada and Grand Cayman. Vaccinated guests 12 and older will still need negative COVID test results within 2 days of embarkation. Those are host country restrictions.

I too have email issues and the automated system they offer on the phone always says a travel agent booked the voyage and I need to stay on the line to speak with a support person. It used to work but now it takes a human (and sometimes several tries) to get an invoice. I now make the support person stay on the line until I receive the invoice.

The only people? That is a very broad generalization? I am sure you can offer proof of that,

However, in thinking about the PVSA a little more, it was placed into effect in 1886. In 1886 travel by ship was the main form of travel to distant places. It was also used for US travel up and down the coasts as well as riverboat travel. Times have surely changed and maybe it is time to revisit the law in today's reality. Not repeal but modify it to be better in line with the current times.

I am not disputing that.

Welcome to social media

Here! Here!

it is still 2 days for pre-cruise testing if going to Bermuda or Canada.

We (the USA) did this to ourselves. The Passenger Vessel Services Act requires a ship visiting US ports to stop at or originate from a foreign port. For Alaskan cruises, Canada is the only real option and make us (US citizens) subject to their health protocols.

A previous post said they didn't need to eave the ship. From everything I have read you do now. We are starting a B2B next week and lucky to be in the same cabin for both sailings. We'll find out if that is true for Seattle. I also have read since the pandemic restart you do not have access to your cabin until all are allowed to enter them. Pre-pandemic you did. I was told the extra deep clean done now is the reason. All anecdotal info.

Were are not sport bar people. We walked in and out of Playmaker's on Symphony without stopping. I didn't know they served food

A few years ago we found we could drop off carry on bags in the main theater. We only did it once.