Swar

There still is at least one island that the casino opens while in Port - cant remember either (never been to Bermuda, so it's not that one I'm thinking of). I think slots and game tables were open on at least one of the @10 times we've stopped by Coco Cay this year. Alaska allows gambling while cruising and not in international waters - just not in Ports.

Great surf and stream 2 weeks ago on Symphony OTS. Ok service on all other Caribbean cruises. Terrible service on Alaska cruises.

You can also go to any slot machine, establish a pin, do a room transfer, and cash out the vouchers for $$$. No fee.

or a slot machine. Always check for free play within the first two days. At least $2 up to $56 for me.

I always tip for every drink, soda, water, or coffee. Sometimes I tip a $20 or so on embarkation day to two of the bars I will frequent. Rarely have to wait for a drink.

The father may have to ask for the "room key only" pass. It is basically a blank card with access. Cannot be used for any other purpose. Give the kid his Seapass on a lanyard. Worse case, Seapass only has the last three room digits. If a Seapass is lost, Customer Service will give new ones out with a new code.

They probably will not "give" it to you. You may be able to pay for an upgrade. Usually, the Customer Service people are swamped on the first day. I have even seen signs posted that no upgrades are available. Saying that - you never know. One video suggested asking for an upgrade on the second day of a cruise.

Loved 150 on Symphony. Now my favorite place for dinner. Until the next cruise at least.

Generally, you can book specialty dining before embarkation. Not if you have a dinning package though. P.S. not sure if Izumi has an exemption

Each cruise/ship is a bit different. Usually, 10:30 is the earliest. Sometimes as late as 2 P.M. Maybe go into the "Roll Calls" section of the blog and ask there. You can do it for your particular cruise and others before and after your date.

We are not Wonderland friendly. Going to be forced into it On Harmony, in October, because DIL is into "eclectic" dining. Too fru fru for us, but some people love it.

We have never been turned away from the earliest boarding time when purchasing The Key. However, it does say these days that you get The Key privileges during your boarding window. You may miss the Chop's Lunch if you are forced to board at a later time. That is a good enough reason to let your father on early. Many of the "ushers" do not even know the rules and will usually let Key people enter at any time.

If you buy it after @4 PM or so, on the last sailing day of the first cruise - you walk it out the door. If you have a port stop on that day - you will probably just keep it. I am not as sure about alcohol purchased earlier.

There is no rhythm or reason to most of the offers. The offers you get for gambling on a particular cruise are spelled out (the casino host has a print out). The offers you get on the Club Royale site just seem to pop in. We currently have 11 offers in our 2 accounts. Anywhere from $300 to 8 day balcony offers. We have done @14 Club Royale cruises since October and have 12 planned by March 2023. Not big gamblers, but consistent.

Starbucks does not take the Diamond vouchers also.

turf and turf are excellent filet steaks. Worth a visit. As with all sit down restaurants, waiters will ask about allergies. You can also go to the restaurant (at least a day before dining) and discuss with restaurant management. If they have the ingredients - they will usually accommodate you. They have even brought us meal items from other specialty restaurants.

We actually like the Hooked steaks better than Chops. We do surf and turf and split a whole lobster. I only wear shorts on Caribbean cruises. I did the tux thing for a bit, but not anymore. Nice shirt and no swimwear for dinner.

Maybe more like this?

Denali was incredible. Saw a moose deliver twins. The Ranger dog area was pretty neat also. The road to the cabins has been washed out and it may be a couple of years to repair it. Flying to the cabins is the only known option. We had clear views of Mt. Denali for a lot of the train ride up - beautiful.

My alcohol flasks.

We did a 6 day DIY before our cruise out of Seward in May. Landed in Anchorage, took a Uber to a BNB (recommend you stay as close to downtown as possible), Did a Princess Train the next day to Denali, stayed two nights in a Princess Hotel there. Then train back to Anchorage, Uber to Girdwood for two days. Then train to Seward the day before cruise. Train fare was @$600 total. Did not go up to Fairbanks, but the train does go there. P.S. Girdwood was my favorite. Best restaurant I've ever been to and the Alyeska Ski Tram is incredible. We stayed in BNBs and not the resort there. https://doublemuskyinn.com/ https://www.alyeskaresort.com/ https://girdwood.com/

I agreed with almost everything you said except for the above quote. I look at this blog as an information site. I want disgruntled and happy RCL cruisers to post here. However, I don't like the one and done drive-bys either. Come here, share your experiences, so that we can enhance each other's experiences. P.S. Who the heck goes back and comments on a out of date, ten month old topic?

Just priced an Allianz Basic Plan for two. $285 out the door. We mainly do Club Royale cruises and don't need reimbursement for the actual trip. Planning 10+ trips between now and March. Sounds like a no-brainer.

We did five cruises on BOTS earlier this year and have three lined up for December. We had a fairly good experience and got pretty good RoyalUps. Sorry for the bad spots on your cruise. We stopped going to the MDR several months ago because of the sameness of the meals and the long dining times. We usually do Windjammer, Solarium, and a three specialty dining package. If there is a Playmakers that is perfect.

Just take a random downlaoded picture of a test and use it for all cruises. Kind of a silly requirement. I found the pictures below that seem to fit the bill. Cruise on...or use the positive one to get out of a cruise. P.S. sarcastic post. I would never encourage anyone to avoid following the policy.