CruisingNewb

@foxrunnerIf you need more info on Ovation Alaska sailing, you can always search my posts from this year (June/July). Ovation is a GREAT ship. Loved every minute. Have very few complaints about our experience. I also detail food and activity stuff quite a bit. You will have a great time!

Yep. HUGE difference. If the cruise departs Saturday, August 13, 2022, at 4:00 pm, the testing window begins on Thursday, August 11, 2022, at 12:00 am (midnight). Meaning, you have 64 hours to test, not 48 hours. Now that the window is three (3) days, you can add another 24 hours to that example above. Meaning, you have 88 hours before boarding to test negative. That is 3.52 "days" if one were to technical about it.

Yep. Pixels required reservations. And you need to show up early for a good seat.

1. Royal Theater shows are no reservations for the general cruising public. Our ship was near full capacity and we did not have any trouble getting good seats. We usually arrived at the show about 30 minutes prior, but 45 minutes might be better. 2. Pixels will show up once on board. 3. Once on board, you should have very little problems getting your preferred reservations for specialty dining unless you wait too long to book. I don't have an answer as to when "too long" is, but I know we got ALL of our preferred dining reservation times. I also know that every restaurant we went to had a stand by list that was at least one page long. So don't wait. Again, if you are on board early, you shouldn't have any problems. I imagine that Jamie's will open the outside seating, if not already open. When we sailed, the weather was too bad for them to open up the additional outside seating.

Brooklyn is...okay. If you have enough time between now and the cruise, make reservations for Peter Luger's. We spent the day in Brooklyn and to be honest, Peter Luger's was the main highlight. Everything else was more or less the same as any other borough. Oh and taxis to brooklyn are expensive. Try ride share options or subway. Subway was our top choice for travel in NYC.

1. Ask Steward for a corkscrew. 2. Get a glass of wine from any bar or restaurant. Bring the glass back to the room. 3. Pour a glass of YOUR wine into the glass. 4. Drink it anywhere your heart desires except for those areas not open to the public. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until bottle(s) are empty. 6. Buy more bottles on the ship. 7. Repeat steps 3 through 6.

There are menus of both venues virtually everywhere on the internet. Look for the most recent ones. You will love Jamie's and Chops. For your friends, why not entice them to get a Chops plus one package. It will be cheaper than ala carte pricing.

I did a Manhattan bus tour years ago. I don't recall it being more than 3 hours and we got 45 minutes at one of the big museums and 45 minutes at the Empire State Building. Having said that, I cannot answer your question because I don't know any details of the tour you are referring. I have been in Manhattan several times and can tell you that if you have 5 hours to spare, you can easily see a couple of things on foot and within 3 hours. If you aren't dealing with luggage, then I suggest a walking/subway self-guided tour. Go see the Empire State Building (although I liked Rockefeller Center views better), have a hot dog or Halal Guys off a cart, have a slice of pizza. OR--do the Empire State Building and then take the subway (about 15 minutes) to Greenwich Village and try Russ and Daughters Bagels. Right next door to Russ and Daughters is the world famous Katz Deli (one of my go to places).

My wife and I went on our first cruise 12 years ago. Her birth certificate, driver's license, passport, credit cards, marriage license, all had different derivations of her name(s). We took all of them and needed all of them to board.

Lol. Carry on bags could mean the ones that fit the airline definitions. In that case, we had "carry on bags" with us until we left them with the porter at the terminal.

Glitch. Also, is day 5 a port day for you? Are you looking at the lunch tab or the dinner tab? Specialty dining usually closed for lunch on port days.

Your question is a bit ambiguous. Yes, there is a location where you can "drop off" luggage for the porters to load onto the ship. Said luggage will be outside your stateroom and waiting for you. No, there is no designated location on the ship where you can "drop off" luggage.

Honestly, I didn't think it was bad at all. The biggest piece of advice I can give anyone about this terminal is that ride share and most shuttles can only take you to a certain point at the terminal. The walk from drop off is NOT bad at all. I think it took us all but 7 minutes, if that. If I remember correctly, some shuttles can take you a bit closer to the terminal building, but because of foot traffic, supply truck traffic, and other traffic, I say just walk it. Also, the bathroom facilities outside the building are limited. There are 2 bathrooms on the Royal Caribbean side where the line begins. If you read any of my posts, once 10:45am rolled around, it took us all but 20 minutes or so before we were on the ship with cocktail in hand.

Ketchikan is a great addition to your itinerary! Endicott/Dawes is a 4 hour (at best) stop inside the strait and for viewing only. Although we LOVED the Dawes Glacier because we were early risers and sat at the outdoor seating of the Windjammer to view while eating, another port day might have been cool too. Too many people complained on the Endicott/Dawes day because by the time they woke up, we were already leaving the strait. LOL

Yes. It is normal that they do not let you specify the restaurant for your courtesy reservation. Once on board, you can use that place holder and insert the restaurant of your choice.

Well, we were completely off of the ship in June around 9:15ish and our flight was for 5:30. We didn't fly home until 2 and a half days later. Moral of the story, don't think those 2 to 3 hours are plentiful. They may not be. Also, when we finally got a flight home, we left the hotel at 11 am. The train ride to the airport was supposed to by 25 minutes (we did it 4 times and knew it well). Our flight was for 3pm. We got to the gate at 2:30 because there was a baseball game AND a soccer game going on and the trains were full and/or breaking down from extra use. Certainly not relaxing.

Disembarkation is easy peasy. I don't know what your definition of "relaxing" is, but for us, it meant being prepared. So with that in mind, we woke up early (by 6am), got breakfast, took our final showers and packed PJ's in our backpacks, left the room by 7:30, got our final lattes, and then sat for about 45 minutes in the Royal Theater until we were called get get the hell off of the ship. I will say this, we were off of the ship as part of the second to the last group to disembark, but by the time our shuttle to the airport arrived, the ship was pretty much empty and the doors closed by 10:00.

This is a fan site. You know, fan? Under your logic, I guess Johnny Depp has all of his passionate fans on his payroll. LOL. You still have not rebutted my issues with your OP statements which were clearly false. To reiterate just one, Northstar is free on port days. You alleged that all activities cost money. This is one reason for such negative feedback. I apologize for my tone but seriously, logic and reason must be at the core of the conversation.

Yes. Multiple means many. Venue means place. In the vein of this thread entitled "Unlimited Dining Reservations..." venue means specialty restaurant. Oh man...that sounds snarky. Unlimited means as many times as you can go, so book as many specialty restaurants as you can everyday that you want. Does that make sense?

Our Royal approved excursions showed up on the app. Not our non-Royal self booked ones.

On Ovation, we always took back at least 2 bottles of water from the bars and stored them in the "fridge." They are plenty cold for us. Not 38 degrees cold, but for sure at least 45 degrees. One thing that we did was not open it often and have one of our tumblers with ice in the "fridge."

You are a good man BigKarl. You did your due diligence, say no more and enjoy the price now. Gorge yourself on steaks LOL

While I agree that it seems pricey, when you take the average cost of a decent steak house, $77 is not bad. Here are 2 examples: Outback (I do not enjoy this place): Shrimp on the Barbie appetizer = $12 Caesar Salad = $11 Ribeye Steak = $26.50 Sides (Asparagus, Creamed Spinach, and Fries) = $15 Cheesecake = $7 TOTAL = $71.50 plus tax Prime Steak (Bellagio - MY FAV): Shrimp Cocktail = $30 Caesar Salad = $22 Ribeye = $85 Sides (Asparagus, Creamed Spinach, and Fries) = 58 Desserts = $??? TOTAL (without dessert) = $195 plus tax

$99 a night/person for a 7 day? THAT IS AWESOME!

I offer my apologies for any offense taken. I was not intending to be in attack mode. Hopefully, you took the substance of my comments and thought about them through. It is one thing to state something was not personally agreeable with you @Kathkartand it is entirely something else to make false or misunderstood facts. We are here trying to guide and offer personal opinions and facts for the betterment of new cruisers and even experienced cruisers. If someone posts that the MDR breakfast is only offered at 8:00am, which is false, then others may read that and think its true. I truly hope that one way or another, you give cruising, and specifically Royal Caribbean, another chance, with some of the comments, suggestions, and advice provided for here.