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Peter D

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Everything posted by Peter D

  1. They do make make Dark n' Stormy as you mentioned. I have never asked for a can of the ginger beer by itself, but I think they would undoubtedly give you a can of it under the deluxe drink package.
  2. I have never been in any of them, but as I look at the deck plan, 8500 as the front-facing cabin, and I would think it would give you a good view of both starboard and port sides. I just did a quick Youtube search for radiance of seas 8500, 8502, and 8002. The search returned many views of these cabins for Radiance or sister ships Brilliance and Serenade. Here is a good one for Serenade of Seas (should be identical to Radiance) that features both forward facing and side facing cabins. The forward facing cabin seems to have two windows vs one window on side cabins. Conventional thinking on the Alaska cruises (whether true or not) is that starboard side for northbound cruises and port side for southbound cruises are preferred, but front facing is probably very nice as well. Basically, there are a lot of great views from the ship on the Alaska cruise and where ever you are, you will have something to look at. For what it is worth, a balcony room is very nice and might be able to suit your family needs. If views from your cabin are important, there is no comparison between the balcony rooms and these ocean view rooms. Balconies have superior views.
  3. Its a sandwich I get every time its available on a sailing, but it is definitely variable in quality. That said, on my Symphony cruise in March and Radiance cruise in May, they were both superb.
  4. The two most bothersome protocols are the 2 day testing and the vaccination mandates. I have many friends and family would love to cruise, but will not do so under these current rules. I do not agree. What I am looking for with 'return to normal' is for Covid to be treated the same aboard cruise ships as it is in every other industry/business. 'Return to normal' also means 'Learning to live with the disease' which is what everyone did for every other disease prior to 2020. The days of Covid being treated as special given all the medical advances is what needs to end.
  5. For me, its the exact opposite. I've done 5 cruises since July 2021 and have one final shutdown/FCC/lift-shift related cruise happening in August and then nothing else booked until mid 2023. Over the last few post cruise surveys, I have shared my thoughts to Royal on the protocols/requirements and that this August cruise will be my last cruise while the protocols are in place. I currently have two booked in 2023 and one booked in 2024, but I have had enough of it all and will not go on them if protocols are still in place. I certainly hope things change sooner than later.
  6. It should already be there for an August 18th sailing. if you can see the sailing on the app, then you should be able to access it.
  7. If you go on the app for your sailing, you can go to the dining and select main dining->menu, and you can see the menu for each day. You can also go to the dining tab and see the menu for all specialty dining.
  8. The seaport has tons of restaurants and bars. There are also several hotels in the immediate area. As I live in the area, I have never stayed at any of the hotels near the port, but a quick search shows many. Hampton Inn Boston Seaport District appears to be the closest to the cruise terminal. Hyatt Place/Boston Seaport District and Renaissance Waterfront Boston are also very close. While Marriott Long Wharf is not as close to Seaport, it is within walking distance of Aquarium, North End, and Faneuil Hall.
  9. I think you got bad advice. it has been 2 days for over a year, I am sure that it is still 2 days.
  10. Is the best price guarantee still available or did that go away with cruise with confidence program?
  11. We are doing our first cruise in August with CK as an option. How does it work with regards to seating times? Do you make a reservation on day one for the entire week or is it more a 'my time dining' format and dinner time changes every day? What do you do with MDR seating? Right now I have a traditional time on the books, but should that also be changed to 'my time dining' as we will definitely not be going there everyday? I like the flexibility of going to one or the other depending on menu option.
  12. The port is not that large, so after you park your car, (presumably in parking garage), you can wait outside the building for the drop off and enter the building together. You will not have any problem with it.
  13. For the Voom question, each Diamond Plus person is eligible for 2 free nights worth of discount off the voom package when purchased onboard. Typically that is ~$52-$54 per person off the full voyage plan, as long as you each get single device plans. if you get two device plan, you will only get one $$ discount. For me, I always wait until at least morning of Day 2 for the internet, because I don't like paying full price on embarkation day. I am pretty sure there is no diamond plus discount for the UDP/Voom combo while onboard. You just get the 30% off UDP per person, and the separate Voom discount mentioned above.
  14. I agree its a trivial effort, but my issue has more to do with need to give my personal medical information to a foreign government. I did it, because i wanted to go to Alaska, but I was not happy to do so. I will be happy when they drop it, and I will not be going back to Canada until they do.
  15. Calls grow to ditch ArriveCan app now that COVID-19 travel mandates ending | Calgary Sun This would be nice. The system seems pointless at this point seeing Canada is dropping vaccination mandate for domestic and international travel (for Canadians). Hopefully this comes just in time for the Alaska trips and fall east coast trips.
  16. We used the Diamond Plus free Wash/fold on our last Radiance cruise in May. We asked the room steward for a wash/fold laundry bag, and he provided us with the plastic version mentioned above, and the wash/fold form (also above, not ala carte pricing form). I would estimate that the plastic bag is about 5-7 gallon bag. Royal returned the clothes in the paper bag. I think the plastic bag is frequently (always?) hanging in the closet, so as long as you are using the wash/fold form, I would have no problem using that bag as well.
  17. For 14 days, I would typically pack this standard attire plan (including sleepwear and bathing suit). I plan to wear things like jeans and sweatshirts multiple days, but plan for clean underwear, socks and shirts every day. Anything that can get wet, I make sure I have additional items to allow time for wet to dry. I would also plan for a couple pairs of shoes/sneakers/boots. As for ship laundry, we do use the wash and fold service for underwear, socks, shirts, shorts (maybe jeans). It costs $35 per bag (discounted or free for Diamond/Diamond +). Not sure of the cost for other laundering services. Your other option is laundry off ship after 7 nights. If this ship goes to Seward, the laundromat is about 1.5 miles from the ship and there is free shuttle service. Call it a shore excursion .
  18. I suppose that is true with the 'Always included' booking option. As I look at the booking options, there is a cruise only booking option where the Elite tier benefits might be of value. The premium drink package is more extensive on Celebrity, but it seems more comparable with the Royal drink options. 11_24_Beverag-Flyer-Branding-update.indd (celebritycruises.com)
  19. Yes, you can drink at Playmakers, but the food is not complimentary.
  20. When we did our crossing from Seattle into Vancouver, the border agent did not ask to see any ArriveCan information. My mother attempted to show the agent, and was told 'I already have that'. The real question around the ArriveCan is if people do not have it, what will the agent do at this point?
  21. As a beach alternative. Last time we were there, we went to Warwick Long Bay beach. It's a very nice beach similar to Horseshoe Bay, but it was not nearly as crowded. Further, there are paths/trails that we walk back toward Horseshoe Bay and saw the other smaller beaches on the way, which was fun also. My recollection was the walk was about a mile beach to beach and while uneven paths, it was not bad at all and I'd definitely do it again. We also took the boat/ferry from Cruise port dock to St George on other side of island. The boat ride can be rough, and there are instances where the ocean conditions cause them to cancel ferries. We took the town bus back to the port. In fact, the town bus is very easy to use for transportation around the island and you can get an unlimited pass.
  22. We have a suite on Oasis in August. As this will be a first time for us, we are planning to go to CK as much as possible to try it out. As always, we will preview the menu and go on nights that interest us. MDR will be there next time.....
  23. We were on Symphony back in March while at CocoCay with Independence. While at the floating bar, the bartenders also just asked for cabin number. There was nothing preventing a person from picking a random cabin from either ship. If the cruise line is not going to require the card every time, then they should have given you the benefit of the doubt from the very beginning. It's surprising and disappointing that guest services would not make it right, because they typically do.
  24. Depending on when you get to Seward, you might want to consider one of the Kenai Fjord boat tours. We did one after our northbound to Seward couple weeks ago and it was well worth it. They generally leave between 10a-12noon, so it might not fit into your timing before all aboard, but if you can do it, I recommend it.
  25. Here is a link I found for the Celebrity benefits. https://secure.viewer.zmags.com/publication/a54eb4aa#/a54eb4aa/1 I'd say they are comparable to the old Diamond/Diamond Plus benefit for RCL. The drinks are unlimited for 'happy hour' from 5-7pm.
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