5arbusto

Hi- I will be sailing on Ovation to Alaska in late August and our last port will be Victoria BC. I've been so pre-occupied with the ports in the Alaska that I'm just looking into things to do in Victoria now. It seems that the big attraction is Butchart Gardens and would like to have first hand input on those that have been there on a port day. we will be in port from about 9-6. For context, my wife and I are in our 40s and my kids are 9 and 12 year old and we will also have 2 active senior citizens with us. a very diverse group with different interests and activity tolerance. Our group [more like my daughter & wife] is the type that can't do an all day trip in port.... i would say 4-5 hours would be our max time limit. It will be late August, so are the flowers/garden [specifically the roses] in full bloom? is it the right season to go? how many hours do people general spend time there? is it super crowded. Im debating on going to Butchart garden vs exploring downtown and the wharf. if we do butchart garden we would probably just visit the garden [3-4 hours] and then grab lunch somewhere in town and then head back to the ship. the alternative would be to explore the city... I really want to check out the parliament bldg and the fisherman's wharf [maybe ride on water taxi]. maybe do a carriage ride or the hop on hop off bus. is butchart garden a must see... is it worth the time and energy to go all the way out there and back?

A big deciding factor for us on when to have dinner will be the start times for the shows onboard. our previous cruise was on the oasis of the seas which was huge and jam packed. There were lines for everything. So in order to get good seats for shows, people had to line up 20 minutes before the doors open. I imagine that this summer, the ships will be at full capacity again so crowds will be a factor so we will need to be done with dinner 30 min before the show. i read that show times are coordinated around traditional dining time. Is that true? what show times have you seen on your cruises?

What was your dinner time? I heard various early dinner time. I’ve seen people mention 5, 5:30,and 6pm. 5pm seems too early. Is there a way to find out the early dinner time on my specific cruise? I cant find it anywhere on website or cruise planner. Is the only option is to call royal? Will they have that info is it something they release later along with the show times? anybody sailed on ovation before and know what time early traditional dinner was on that ship?

We have a party of 6. How many seats are at the tables? will 6 people fill up a table? if traditonal dining doesnt work out… can we change to MTD? in regards to MTD, in our last cruise we did this and it was hard to get a consistent dinner reservation time during the popular times of 6:30-8. Any suggestions to get your desired time?

Hi everybody We'll be sailing on our second cruise this summer and was thinking about trying out traditional dining. we love the idea of having the same wait staff and establishing a rapport with them. our previous cruise was to the western med with a lot of port days so my time dining made sense. for this summer, we will be going to alaska on ovation of the seas with several sea days so we thought it would be a great time to try out traditional dining. Our family usually eat pretty quick [ about 45min] and my question is, does the wait staff go at the pace of our table or have to keep pace with the general dining room? also can you get your food out of order.... ie get entrees first and then appetizers? or would we need to wait for appetizers to go out first and then they serve entree. i think the dinner time is slotted for 2hrs and are afraid that dinner will be dragged too long for us. also what time is the early dining time for ovation of the seas.... is it 5:30 or 6pm? thanks in advance.

Our original excursion had the train going pass whitepass into Fraser,BC where the Klondike hwy also converge so that we can get on a shuttle to head back to skagway. it seems that canada’s protocol has caused the wpyr to cancel all train rides pass the border. So all trains stop and turn around at white pass (at border) now. it seems pretty definite for the 2022 season on the white pass train website.

I just got a notice that the iconic train in skagway will not go into canada but will stop and turn around at white pass. So trip is cut short to 40 miles rd trip for 2.5 hrs. i originally booked excursion of train one way and bus/shuttle back with stops along the way for pictures. However with train stopping now at white pass… there’s no longer a bus option because there is no road access for the bus at that junction. my question for those who have been to skagway is would you recommend the train ride (rd trip to white pass) or the small bus tour (rd trip) to the canadian border Also, im an avid photographer so which would give me better photo opportunities

Fyi… just got a notice that the iconic train in skagway will not go into canada but will stop and turn around at white pass. So trip is cut short to 40 miles rd trip for 2.5 hrs. i originally booked excursion of train one way and bus/shuttle back with stops along the way. However with train stopping now at white pass… there’s no longer a bus option because there is no access for them at that junction. my question for those who have been to skagway is would you recommend the train ride (rd trip to white pass) or the small bus tour (rd trip) to the canadian border Also, im an avid photographer so which would give me better photo opportunities?

Hi- I'm looking at the ovation of the seas itinerary to alaska [rd trip from seattle] for aug 12th and aug 19th. 'm debating btwn the 2 sailing dates. what throws me for a loop is that the aug 19th sailing specifically says sailing the inside passage while the aug 12th simply mentioned a sea day. when i look at the other itineraries for the other dates in july/august, it specifically mentioned "sailing inside passage." does that mean the aug 12th doesn't sail the inside passage? or does it mean aug 19th spends more time sailing the inside passage rather stopping off at ketchikan? am i just reading too much into it? its just so strange for that itinerary to omit the phrase "sailing inside passage." Like i said, i'm debating btwn the 2 sailing dates and i really want to sail the inside passage. as for the aug 12th date, the times in port are also strange to me. it seems that all port times are in the afternoon into the late evening. just wondering how that will affect excursions and if local businesses [diners/saloons/ stores etc] will be open that late. also they are only in victoria for 5 hrs. while the aug 19th has a more sensible time at port, it doesn't stop at ketchikan. would appreciate any insights.