melski94

I would never expect a good Maryland crab cake outside of Maryland or at least the east coast.  I wouldn't say budget cuts because many places make bad Maryland crab cakes.  I probably will never order the lobster roll at Hooked either. I just think certain regional foods are better had in that region. 
Personally, I hate the lobster.  Its too rubbery.  Do I expect them to keep fresh lobsters so I can have a good lobster tail?  Of course not!  I don't believe that is due to budget cuts. I just think there has to be a practical side of the business when serving thousands of people.  Its not the same as your local high end restaurant but I think it is more like decent convention or wedding style food.
I find that there is always something I like on the menu.  If I don't like my choice, I can ask my waiter for something else, which isn't something that can happen at a land restaurant.

I would never expect a good Maryland crab cake outside of Maryland or at least the east coast.  I wouldn't say budget cuts because many places make bad Maryland crab cakes.  I probably will never order the lobster roll at Hooked either. I just think certain regional foods are better had in that region. 
Personally, I hate the lobster.  Its too rubbery.  Do I expect them to keep fresh lobsters so I can have a good lobster tail?  Of course not!  I don't believe that is due to budget cuts. I just think there has to be a practical side of the business when serving thousands of people.  Its not the same as your local high end restaurant but I think it is more like decent convention or wedding style food.
I find that there is always something I like on the menu.  If I don't like my choice, I can ask my waiter for something else, which isn't something that can happen at a land restaurant.

I would never expect a good Maryland crab cake outside of Maryland or at least the east coast.  I wouldn't say budget cuts because many places make bad Maryland crab cakes.  I probably will never order the lobster roll at Hooked either. I just think certain regional foods are better had in that region. 
Personally, I hate the lobster.  Its too rubbery.  Do I expect them to keep fresh lobsters so I can have a good lobster tail?  Of course not!  I don't believe that is due to budget cuts. I just think there has to be a practical side of the business when serving thousands of people.  Its not the same as your local high end restaurant but I think it is more like decent convention or wedding style food.
I find that there is always something I like on the menu.  If I don't like my choice, I can ask my waiter for something else, which isn't something that can happen at a land restaurant.

The captain told us to get up early to see whales on our way into Juneau. We were not disappointed. We saw lots of fins and splashes as well as some seals and something that appeared to be an otter, although we couldn't be positive. I had us booked for the Guides Choice Hike to Mendenhall Glacier. We had a large group so they split us into 3 groups so they were small enough to enjoy as there were only 12 of us. We hiked the west side of the glacier. The moss covered forest was beautiful enough but as we climbed we got amazing views of the glacier. Our guide told us many stories and stopped to give us information on flora and the glacier. We were provided with packs that had ponchos, water and granola bars as well as walking sticks. No ponchos were needed. We had some sprinkles of rain but it wasn't a big deal. The weather actually felt perfect. There were restroom facilities at the trailhead. The hike was around 6 miles long and was a bit strenuous at parts. The guide offered to drop us off in town or at the ship. We all took advantage of checking out the shops downtown. There is a shuttle back to the ship but we decided to walk back. It really isn't too far and the weather and scenery were great. I accidentally walked right up to some caribou. They ended up frolicking along side us for a little while. I wasn't expecting that wildlife adventure. We took advantage of being on the ship a little early and grabbed some food at the Windjammer before going out to look for pier runners.  It appears the only runner was the dock worker who drove in very quickly and got disapproving looks from ship staff as he got in his forklift to remove the gangways. We went to bed at nearly midnight with a sunset-like glow still in the sky.

The Voom has not been cooperating for posting photos for me so to save my sanity they will be few and far between unfortunately. May upload more when I return home.

Welcome to the boards. I like doing something private with my family of 6. I typically book a private guide but I don't know what they would have for that area...I look at Trip Advisor for that.  I thinking having some type of private tour is the way to  go with that many kids.  Matt's blog post about Private Journeys was very intriguing and would make me look into it. I don't know at what point you need to book it vs get info from it but I would explore the idea.  I have never booked it myself but I would consider it on our next cruise.

I love reading the different perspectives of the same cruise.  Everyone has their unique experiences and it will be fun to follow along! 

My son was exhausted from his early flight and coming from the East coast the 3 hour difference caught up to him so he went to bed.  I saw the makings of a sunset through the overcast and found the deck 4 outer decks the only place to catch it.

It was very cool and we had a strong wind so they closed the upper decks and helipad access.  I grabbed this photo of the pool deck as I sought places to capture the sunset.

Since I have the drink package my route between photo locations somehow included a bar along the path.  Here is the Promenade as I made my way back down to deck 4.

I am trying a new camera this cruise and decided to push the limits a bit to see what I could away with.  This is a 1/3 second shutter speed trying to create some motion blur in the waves while hoping for a clear and steady picture of the ship.  I think it turned out pretty good.

Same trick looking aft.

As the sun continued to set there were some lovely pastel colors presented in the mountains surrounding us on both sides of this passage between Canada to our North and America to our South.  Combined with varying levels of cloud coverage it was very pretty.  This was shortly after 9pm.

Back inside I happened across "The Tavern" in the Boleros area on other ships.  This is kind of a sports bar at times but also used for things like Karaoke.

To the pub for a beer and some pub music.

I ventured back outside and again did some experimenting with my camera.  By this point the moon was out and combined with gaps in the cloud coverage it created some dramatic scenes.

I ran into the @cookingyo s at the Schooner Bar and sat with them for a while.  It was getting late and time for bed so I hopped in an elevator and made my way back to my cabin.  Saturday already.

Day one complete.

And I can confirm that Twangster is not a robot. He is a nice human.

We had a busy sea day. There was a flurry of activities, all day long. We started with breakfast at the Windjammer and then walked the decks for a bit. It was very windy and cold as one would expect. We went to a lecture about Juneau which was a bit dry. Next up we went to the Cruise Critic meet up. Only 13 people of 27 showed up so most won prizes. I got to meet a fellow RCBlog follower there that I hadn't run into yet so it was fun. They had refreshment available. We ran over to Family Feud after that and it was packed. We had to stand in the back. We grabbed a bit of lunch and popped outside on deck 4 aft and found it to be more pleasant than our morning stroll. It was at that time we had our first whale sighting. They seemed to be surrounding us in the distance. We then went to the RCBlog Welcome Party where we met a few more from our group. The Flowrider was up and running after that so we went and watched a few crazy guys surf in the freezing cold.  The Pub Crawl took place a little later. Annette warned the bars ahead of time so the would be prepared for us and I heard one bartender warn the next stop when we were heading out. The evening consisted of watching a movie,  eating dinner and watching Finish That Lyric game show. I found that it was hard to see the mo e on the outside screen when it was light out. Tomorrow begins the port fun in Juneau.

I love reading the different perspectives of the same cruise.  Everyone has their unique experiences and it will be fun to follow along! 

Customs is really easy.  There used to be a form to fill out but our last cruise there out of Ft. Lauderdale there was nothing to fill out.  We just handed the customs agent our passports.
Here is a general walk thru although Tampa may be different. If you need to fill out paperwork, your room attendant will leave it on your bed with the regular disembarkation stuff.  Want an earlier or later number for luggage tags, ask your room attendant if he can get you one.  Have your seapass card out as they check you off the ship. Follow the long line off the ship, there will be greeters telling you where to go.  Look for your luggage (assuming you didn't self disembark), then make your way to the customs lines.  There may be different lines for US citizens, non US citizens and suite guests. Get in the right line with your luggage.  There could be sniffing dogs who are looking for fruit (do not bring unpackaged food off the ship).  See customs with your passport or birth certificate. He may ask you questions or may not. Just be truthful with your answers but for what you are buying it won't be that bad. 
There are limits to the amount of liquor you can bring back plus they like food items in containers (spices in a jar not a baggie).
 
 

Need I mention that on Oasis or Harmony, you won't have to bundle up for the cruise.  I just remember @Lovetocruise2002 looking very cold in those pictures!  When I cruise, I just want to be warm!  That alone is worth the extra $100 per person for Oasis!

Need I mention that on Oasis or Harmony, you won't have to bundle up for the cruise.  I just remember @Lovetocruise2002 looking very cold in those pictures!  When I cruise, I just want to be warm!  That alone is worth the extra $100 per person for Oasis!

Is SJ a half day port? It was on my Harmony cruise.  We thought El Morro was fun but not sure I'd pay extra for that port.  
You are making me think I should start looking at refundable deposits for my cruise!

Need I mention that on Oasis or Harmony, you won't have to bundle up for the cruise.  I just remember @Lovetocruise2002 looking very cold in those pictures!  When I cruise, I just want to be warm!  That alone is worth the extra $100 per person for Oasis!

I'm also thinking Oasis or Harmony in March 2020 but spring break dates won't be out until November.  Our Spring Break are usually either the 3rd or 4th week of March and I'm hoping for the 3rd week. Oasis for $150 less per person is very appealing as that money can go a long way towards shore excursions, etc.  Adding waterslides is a huge bonus for us but not having the Ultimate Abyss could be a dealbreaker for DD7.  
To make Cococay "worth it" for me, I'd feel like I need to pay for the water park which could be expensive for my family of 6. I've seen prices all over but I assume that during spring break it would be on the more expensive side. 
The plus side is that there is no wrong decision!
 
 

I love reading the different perspectives of the same cruise.  Everyone has their unique experiences and it will be fun to follow along! 

Exactly!  Ocean waves are created by weather which is constantly changing and waves can travel hundreds of miles so the waves may or may not be created by your immediate weather.  
I have 4 kids: 2 never get sick but 2 are more prone to motion sickness (car, plane and only with bigger waves on a cruise).  I always pack over the counter medicine.  While they don't need it every day of the cruise, they usually need it for 1-2 days as we've always seen bigger waves at some point in the cruise.  Better to have it and not need it!

Exactly!  Ocean waves are created by weather which is constantly changing and waves can travel hundreds of miles so the waves may or may not be created by your immediate weather.  
I have 4 kids: 2 never get sick but 2 are more prone to motion sickness (car, plane and only with bigger waves on a cruise).  I always pack over the counter medicine.  While they don't need it every day of the cruise, they usually need it for 1-2 days as we've always seen bigger waves at some point in the cruise.  Better to have it and not need it!

Wow!  So glad everything is ok with your hubby.  While I'm sure the cruise is very low on the priority list, its probably a relief to have the travel insurance.  Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery so you can enjoy a well deserved trip.

We'll be on Independence in November and the negative reviews won't stop us.  We also have been on Liberty after the dry dock during spring break and never experienced the crowds as described.  Maybe the crowds are just normal to us as we cruise during school breaks and the 3rd and 4th person occupancy rate is higher than non-school break times. I sometimes use the negative reviews as a lesson on what not to do.  I tend to be realistic as nothing is perfect on any cruise but the bad isn't really all that bad.
 
 

We'll be on Independence in November and the negative reviews won't stop us.  We also have been on Liberty after the dry dock during spring break and never experienced the crowds as described.  Maybe the crowds are just normal to us as we cruise during school breaks and the 3rd and 4th person occupancy rate is higher than non-school break times. I sometimes use the negative reviews as a lesson on what not to do.  I tend to be realistic as nothing is perfect on any cruise but the bad isn't really all that bad.
 
 

We'll be on Independence in November and the negative reviews won't stop us.  We also have been on Liberty after the dry dock during spring break and never experienced the crowds as described.  Maybe the crowds are just normal to us as we cruise during school breaks and the 3rd and 4th person occupancy rate is higher than non-school break times. I sometimes use the negative reviews as a lesson on what not to do.  I tend to be realistic as nothing is perfect on any cruise but the bad isn't really all that bad.
 
 

I've seen it offered onboard.  The price is about the same price as your cruise planner sale price for Surf and Stream.