The end of U.S. government Covid-19 cruise ship protocols is here.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced the end of its voluntary Covid-19 program. As of July 18, 2022, the program is no longer in effect; rather, the CDC will provide general guidance to help cruise lines continue providing a safe and healthy environment for all passengers and crew members.   

The CDC will now take a general approach to providing health and safety guidance to the cruising sector, similar to how it provides guidance to all other travel sectors.   

In regards to cruise line protocols, it's important to emphasize that nothing has changed yet.

Most cruise lines protocols still include vaccination and testing requirements; however, the cruise lines now have the freedom to choose their own protocols with the end of the voluntary Covid-19 program.  

This new phase of pandemic guidance is a welcome change for the cruise lines, as the CDC will not replace the voluntary program with any other program.

This is a step towards a new normal for the cruise industry, which had been strictly regulated by the CDC since the onset of the pandemic. 

Cruise Industry Reaction

Shortly after the CDC made the announcement, the cruise industry had an overall positive reaction to the news. 

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the association that represents the cruise industry, released a statement fully supporting the CDC's decision to end the program.

The association gave the following statement in response to the change: "The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and its member cruise lines welcome the decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to end the CDC COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships Operating in U.S. Waters in favor of a set of guidelines for public health operations on cruise ships."

The association said it looks forward to reviewing the new guidance details that will be posted on the CDC website in the coming days.

CLIA continued, "This is an important step forward in the CDC aligning the guidelines for cruises with those it has established for other travel, hospitality, and entertainment sectors."

Finally, the association shared, "The sunsetting of the CDC Program, effective 18 July 2022, is a testament to the effectiveness of the industry’s comprehensive and robust protocols. In fact, cruising has become one of the safest forms of travel and among the most successful industries in mitigating the spread and severity of COVID-19, resulting in few passengers or crew becoming seriously ill or requiring hospitalization compared to hospital statistics for landside patients."

Voluntary Program Details

The CDC’s Voluntary Covid-19 was implemented at the expiration of the Conditional Sail Order, which expired in January 2022. During this time, the new omicron variant had been running rampant throughout the U.S. and cruise lines were navigating the spread of a more contagious variant both on land and at sea.

Today’s expiration of the program marks the start of a new era for the cruise lines, in which they can establish their own set of health and safety protocols.

Under the CDC's voluntary Covid-19 program, cruise lines had the option to opt into 3 different programs voluntarily: Not Highly Vaccinated, Highly Vaccinated and Vaccination Standard of Excellence. 

Royal Caribbean joined the ‘highly-vaccinated program’, which required 95% of passengers on each sailing to be fully vaccinated. The program also required that 95% of the cruise ship’s crew be fully vaccinated as well. The highly vaccinated program, along with its policies and protocols, went into effect on February 25, 2022. 

By adapting the highly vaccinated program, passengers onboard Royal Caribbean’s sailings were no longer required to wear masks onboard. Instead, the cruise lines shifted to masks being optional for passengers.

This was a welcomed change for Royal Caribbean cruisers, as masks were previously required indoors during any period in which passengers were not eating or drinking actively.

The CDC required cruise lines that opted into the program to provide vaccination status for each participating cruise ship. The 95% threshold for vaccination was also required for every single voyage on each participating cruise ship.

Participating ships were also required to document, surveillance and report onboard Covid-19 cases for each sailing to the CDC. Using this data, the CDC established a color-coding system to designate the spread of Covid-19 on each ship, which was published on a public dashboard. 

The end of the CDC's voluntary Covid-19 program reflects the travel industry's overall shift towards managing Covid-19 as a new normal.

Cruising to Alaska is one of the best ways to see everything this stunning state has to offer. From May to September, cruise ships will sail through the Inside Passage and through the beautiful, icy fjords of Alaska. 

Packing for a cruise to Alaska is vastly different than packing for a Caribbean cruise. For obvious reasons, the weather and scenery are complete opposites. You’ll trade sugary sand beaches in the Caribbean for snow-capped mountains and glaciers in Alaska. 

The weather in Alaska is undeniably best in the summer during the cruise season with more daylight, less rain and warmer temperatures. However, you can still experience rain, snow and chilly temperatures throughout the year. 

I’ve sailed to Alaska three times. The first time I sailed to Alaska was from Seward to Vancouver in July. The second cruise was roundtrip from Seattle to Alaska in August. The most recent time I sailed to Alaska was a round-trip cruise from Vancouver in May. 

Two of my three cruises had typical Alaska weather with chilly temperatures and rain showers throughout the week. I would say my first cruise in July was the coldest weather while my most recent cruise in May was slightly warmer, but still cold.

Read more: When is the best time to cruise to Alaska?

My husband and I lucked out with great weather when we cruised in August 2021 with 70 degree days and sunny skies all week. We were told multiple times that our good weather was unusually warm for Alaska, so I think this was just good luck.

Essentially, packing for Alaska will require some planning and preparation. Ensuring you pack layers and versatile clothing will be key for a successful cruise week. 

If you’re looking for outfit ideas for your upcoming Alaska cruise, look no further! Here’s our Alaska cruise outfit guide to help you perfectly plan both practical and versatile outfits.

Focus on Layers

When you start picking your cruise outfits for Alaska, focus on packing pieces that can be layered together. Focusing on layers will let you maximize your suitcase space, which is important since warmer clothes will be bulkier. With layers, you can also mix-and-match outfits depending on both weather and activities.  

Read more: 50 tips for planning your Alaska cruise

For women, this could include packing leggings and dark jeans as outfit staples. Leggings are extremely versatile for an Alaskan cruise; from active excursions to exploring an Alaskan town in the rain, you won't regret packing black leggings. If it's super cold, you can even layer 2 pairs of leggings for extra warmth.

Also, leggings can be worn with a long tunic, a cozy plaid shirt, an oversized sweater or fuzzy sherpa.

Leggings or dark jeans can easily be layered with a jean jacket to provide extra warmth. A jean jacket is a great piece to bring and can be worn while exploring ports for warmth or as a casual jacket onboard the ship. I prefer to wear a jean jacket on travel days since the airplane is normally cold.

When it comes to layering for men, versatile pieces that can be layered together will be the best option for Alaskan cruise outfits. 

For men, dark jeans and khaki pants can be a great option to wear both during the day and also onboard for dinners. When planning outfits for your Alaska cruise, it’s good to consider whether the pants you pack can be used for dinner outfits as well.

Long-sleeve knit or plaid shirts can also layer well under a rain jacket, providing both warmth and versatility. Half-zips are another great piece to consider packing because these layer well with an outdoor jacket but can also be worn with khakis onboard the ship. 

Prepare for Rain

As much as you can hope for incredible weather during an Alaskan cruise, you should be prepared to experience rain throughout your vacation. Alaskan weather consists of gloomy clouds, foggy skies and chilly rain, even in the summer. 

Packing a waterproof rain jacket is a must for your Alaskan cruise, along with an umbrella. I prefer to pack a black rain jacket because it goes with everything. 

If you are sailing at the very beginning or end of the Alaskan season, you might want to consider packing a waterproof coat with a warmer lining, like sherpa or fleece. A light puffer jacket would travel well for an Alaskan cruise as well. 

If you don’t pack a rain jacket and find that the Alaskan weather is too cold for you to handle, every port will be selling fleece-lined, waterproof jackets that are embroidered with 'Alaska'. These also make a great souvenir because they are reasonably priced, some are sold as low as $9.99. 

Here's an example of the souvenir jacket you can snag in the ports if you would rather purchase a coat during your cruise. I would guess at least 15% of the people on our cruise were wearing a jacket like this by the end of the week.

Don’t Forget Boots

When planning your Alaskan cruise outfits, you’ll absolutely want to consider which waterproof boots you’re packing. Unless the forecast is showing sunshine all week, these are essential for your Alaskan cruise.

You’ll want to make sure these boots are comfortable for walking and any other excursions you might have planned. 

For women, this could include Chelsea rain boots or classic Sperry boots. Both of these are perfect options for an Alaskan cruise and pair well with leggings and rain jackets. Hunter rain boots could also be a good option depending on how much space you have in your suitcase.

Men will also want to pack a waterproof pair of boots that can be worn during the day, such as Timberland Waterproof Boots. If you have any active excursions or you want to go hiking, you should consider packing comfortable hiking boots or duck boots that would pair well with your outdoor gear. 

Hats, Scarves and Mittens

Imagine sailing through the Alaskan fjords and getting up so close to a glacier that you can hear the ice cracking and falling into the sea. It’s unbelievable to see the natural beauty of Alaska when you cruise; but your ears and hands won’t be enjoying the scenery as much unless you’ve packed properly.

As such, be sure to pack a pair of gloves and a hat for your Alaskan cruise, as your hands and ears will be cold both in-port and on the ship when sailing the Inside Passage. 

For women, a cute hat or warm headband is a perfect accessory for your Alaskan cruise! If it’s looking particularly cold, you can even pack a stylish scarf that you can wear throughout the week. 

For men, a beanie paired with a light scarf will be a great addition to your Alaskan wardrobe. A puffer jacket or vest can also be a versatile piece to add more flexibility to your wardrobe, especially if the weather is colder than anticipated.

Consider that you will likely be on the top deck of your cruise ship for whale watching or sailing through the Inside Passage, so it’s best to have a pair of gloves too. I had to buy a pair of gloves on my last Alaskan cruise because my hands were much colder than I expected.

Dinner Outfits

Packing for any cruise requires a little consideration about what to wear each night onboard the ship for dinners and shows. 

In my experience on Alaskan cruises, people are less concerned about what they wear at dinner each night because they’ve had a long day exploring the ports. The ship isn’t necessarily the destination as much because Alaska’s beauty and wilderness is really the draw for these cruises. 

As such, you will probably need to pack a few nice outfits to wear at night when you go to dinner or one of the shows. If this isn’t your thing, you can always enjoy a casual dinner at the buffet and not worry about packing separate dinner outfits. 

For women, I suggest packing a few dresses or jumpsuits for dinner. I love wearing a jumpsuit at dinner because it's comfortable, warm and easily styled for formal night.

A sleeved midi dress or long-sleeve dress is perfect for evenings at sea. Typically, you only need one pair of nice heels, wedges or sandals to wear for dinners at sea, so I prefer a classic pair of nude or black heels.

If you like to go all-out for formal night, you can definitely pack a more glitzy gown; however, this takes up more space in your luggage. With all of the warm winter clothes that are usually packed for an Alaskan cruise, you might not have as much room in your suitcase. 

For men, dinner outfits should also be a consideration, a pair of slacks paired with a button-up shirt and dress shoes is a great outfit for most nights at dinner. A blazer is another good versatile piece that can be worn in the evenings onboard your Alaskan cruise. 

Men can also consider bringing a more formal outfit; but again, this will take up more luggage space that might be better utilized by packing warmer clothes and boots. 

Final Thoughts

Nothing's worse than unpacking your suitcase in your stateroom and feeling like you've packed horribly for the upcoming week. With unpredictable weather these days, it's even more important to plan ahead and be purposeful with the outfits you choose to bring on your Alaskan cruise.

Properly planning for your Alaskan cruise will ensure that you've packed the essential pieces that will keep your outfits warm and comfortable throughout the day (that is, unless you're hoping to have a vacation shopping spree!).

More Alaska cruise tips:

• What is the best month to cruise to Alaska?
• How to choose the right Alaska cruise itinerary
• Best time to cruise to Alaska
• Best things to do on an Alaska cruise

Have you ever seen a group with matching bright orange t-shirts on your Royal Caribbean cruise? If so, you likely had volunteers and families from Autism on the Seas on your cruise. 

These volunteers help families with special needs children and adults have an incredible Royal Caribbean cruise by providing assistive services and care. 

Photo Credit: Autism on the Seas Facebook

Autism on the Seas is an organization that has a longstanding partnership with Royal Caribbean to operate regularly on cruise itineraries around the world. In fact, Autism on the Seas, founded in 2007, is a leading developmental disability service supplier to the cruise industry. 

The goal of this program is to provide the highest quality of assisted care to ensure families have a truly relaxing and rejuvenating vacation. 

Photo Credit: Autism on the Seas Facebook

Volunteers from Autism on the Seas make it possible for these families to have a vacation like no other by providing attentive, personalized care throughout their cruise.

While most cruisers have never heard of this awesome program, we are excited to share an insider perspective through one volunteer’s personal experience.

Meet Sydney: Volunteer on Autism on the Seas

As Royal Caribbean Blog fans, you might remember my cruising buddy, Sydney, from a recent Radiance of the Seas live blog to Alaska. Sydney and I were roommates on Semester of the Sea back in college, sailing 100 days to 4 continents while taking classes. 

When we sailed to Alaska, Sydney told me about her upcoming volunteer opportunity on Enchantment of the Seas. I couldn’t wait to share her experience with the program - even though I’ve cruised more than 30 times with Royal Caribbean, I had never heard of Autism on the Seas.

As you can imagine, volunteers for Autism on the Seas need to be highly qualified to provide the necessary and attentive care to those with special needs. Sydney first learned of the program back in college and was excited to apply, but she wasn’t accepted initially due to not having enough experience. 

The program encouraged her to apply again in the future, especially if she completed her master’s and had more experience in the special needs field. 

After Sydney graduated with her degree in Psychology & Childhood Studies, she completed her master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis on Autism Spectrum Disorder from George Mason University. 

With more experience under her belt, Sydney reapplied to be a volunteer and was accepted. Once accepted, she applied to multiple itineraries and was offered a contract for a sailing on Enchantment of the Seas. 

This sailing was a 6-night Bermuda cruise with two overnights in Kings Wharf, Bermuda. 

Since Sydney was accepted into the program, she can now continue applying for future volunteer opportunities with the program.

How Autism on the Seas Helps All Special Needs Families

Just like we all need some vacation time, families who have special needs children also undeniably deserve to have an amazing cruise experience. Unfortunately for these families, it’s inherently more difficult to have a relaxing vacation when you have a child who requires special care. 

The program is not limited to autism, as any disability or special need is welcome to the program. There is no age limit, although most families have children or young adults. 

Photo Credit: Autism on the Seas Facebook

Autism on the Seas helps families by providing assistance on many cruise lines, but most commonly partners with Royal Caribbean. Families book their cruises through Autism on the Seas, which acts as a travel agency by organizing and planning everything for families.

Since this was Sydney’s first cruise with the program, she was assigned as a general volunteer to really get to know the program. Families are also able to request a one-on-one volunteer if they feel that would be more beneficial. While general volunteers float across families as needed, one-on-one volunteers are assigned to a single family and assist throughout the entire cruise. 

Volunteers offer respite sessions throughout the cruise, which allows parents to drop off their participants in a safe space. This gives parents and family members the opportunity to have some alone time.

The program provides assistance for three meals a day where volunteers are present to provide aid to families.

During sea days, two respite sessions are offered for around two hours each. Port days offer one respite session in addition to staff-supported shore excursions. The respite sessions are hosted in a safe space on the cruise ship; on Sydney’s specific cruise, this was in the conference center onboard.

Sydney’s Volunteer Preparation

In the months leading up to the cruise, Sydney was able to download the Autism on the Seas app to complete necessary training. The app had a checklist of tasks to complete as well. 

Transportation and accommodations before the cruise are not provided for volunteers, although volunteers get their cruise fare covered through the program. Because of this, Sydney applied exclusively for cruises that left from Baltimore since that is the closest port to her home in Virginia. 

Like any other Royal Caribbean cruiser, Sydney needed a negative Covid-19 test result before boarding. 

Read more: Guide to pre-cruise Covid test

The night before boarding, Sydney received an unexpected call that one of the other volunteers tested positive for her pre-departure test. That staff member was originally assigned to be a one-on-one volunteer with a specific family. 

Because she was unable to cruise now, Sydney was told by the program director that she would now be placed with the family and provide one-on-one care for the cruise.

On the day of embarkation, Autism on the Seas volunteers had a three-hour training to complete before meeting with the families. Those traveling with Autism on the Seas receive priority boarding as a perk and volunteers help families with luggage and embarkation. Families also receive priority disembarkation, which is staff assisted. 

Most families on this cruise had to reschedule multiple times due to the pandemic; therefore, this was a highly anticipated vacation by the five families cruising with Autism on the Seas this week. 

Cruising Support for Families 

Sydney said on the first night, before the first respite session, all of the volunteers decorated the conference center to be a welcoming, fun, and comfortable space for the kids. The program provides specific activities catering to each child’s needs and interests, making it a very personalized experience for each family. 

Kids are encouraged to spend respite sessions however they want. For example, if they want to be on their tablets during this time, that’s fine. Sydney said the volunteers are not there to teach anything, but rather provide care in a safe space. 

During evening respite sessions, the parents are able to attend the nightly entertainment in reserved seating while their children are under the volunteers’ care. The volunteers also help with activities throughout the cruise, like staff-assisted pool time.

Because Enchantment of the Seas is an older and smaller ship, the only ship activities in the schedule included rock climbing and trampoline jumping. 

Unfortunately, these were both under maintenance during Sydney’s cruise, so the volunteers had to get creative with assisted activities. Adventure Ocean staff even joined a few of the respite sessions to help the kids make slime and host a basketball tournament. 

While in Bermuda, the program offered a staff-assisted excursion to the beach. This allowed the parents and families to relax while volunteers spent time with the kids in and out of the water. Sydney said it warmed her heart seeing her assigned family having a truly relaxing beach day because she was providing care for their child. 

Before the cruise ended, the program hosted a Silent Hush Party with Royal Caribbean’s nightclub DJ. With headphones available for everyone, Sydney loved how this private event was available for the families. 

On the final night of the cruise, all of the individuals with Autism on the Seas received an award.  

Royal Caribbean Staff Elevate Experience

During her cruise, Sydney was blown away by the service provided from Royal Caribbean’s crew and staff. In fact, Sydney was so impressed with their attentive care that she wondered if crew members receive training on handling special needs children and certain situations onboard.

Most of the crew knew about the program and what it offers. Sydney said once the crew members spotted the program’s notorious orange t-shirts, many of them were excited to take care of the families and provide exceptional assistance. 

During dinner, Sydney said the waitstaff provided extremely personal service to the families as they learned more specifically about each family’s needs. 

Photo Credit: Autism on the Seas Facebook

For example, the waiters learned that Sydney’s family had a child who loved to play with straws - by the second night, the dinner table had plenty of straws for him to play with. Once the waiters knew the child hated condiments on his meals, Sydney said they were sure to respect this every night.

If one of the kids had a meltdown or made a mess, Sydney said the crew members would step in and provide assistance wherever they could. They offered additional support by going above and beyond. Sydney said their exceptional service made it easier to do her job as a volunteer. 

Photo Credit: Autism on the Seas Facebook

On the last night of her cruise, Sydney’s waiter was overcome with emotion and brought to tears when it was time to say goodbye. He was so grateful to meet everyone, especially learning more about the program and providing their dining service each night.

He even opened up about his niece in India that is diagnosed with Autism and could not wait to tell his sister about this program when connecting to WiFi again. 

Sydney mentioned that a common theme throughout the week was people coming up to her and opening up about a family member diagnosed with autism and how they would thrive with this program. She hopes more families learn about all the program has to offer.

Volunteer Arrangements and Daily Schedule

Autism on the Seas volunteers normally cruise in an inside cabin with one other volunteer, who could be either the same or opposite gender. 

Before the pandemic, the volunteers were normally assigned in a cabin with three other roommates. To reduce some of the risk, volunteers are only assigned one roommate currently. 

In Sydney’s experience, most volunteers with Autism on the Seas had cruised multiple times with the program, which shows how rewarding the experience can be for staffers.

Sydney was assigned a roommate of the same gender, who she described as very sweet and easy-going. All volunteers welcomed Sydney as a newcomer to the program and were eager to share their prior experiences. 

Volunteers typically work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with free time here and there. During the free time, volunteers can do whatever they want. As such, volunteers enjoyed the cruise ship most evenings by grabbing a drink at one of the lounges. Volunteers can also get off the ship at port during their free time.

Most nights, Sydney was tired from working all day, so she opted to rest when she was able. 

Her and her roommate also had a medical scare when they both started feeling rundown. Sydney brought a COVID home test onboard, which came back negative.

The program leader also requested that the medical staff test both her and her roommate the following day, which was promptly done by the ship doctor coming to their cabin, and confirming that neither had Covid. 

Because everyone is a volunteer, all of the staff members were passionate to provide attentive care to the families. Sydney said it was obvious that all staff members wanted to be there, which is a key part of making this program successful. 

Sydney’s Final Thoughts

With her love of travel and extensive experience with special needs children, Sydney was eager to volunteer with Autism on the Seas. 

She found her volunteer experience to be both eye-opening and extremely rewarding. Although the days were intensive, very long and a lot of work, Sydney said she’s grateful she had the opportunity to volunteer. 

With the bright orange t-shirts, it’s hard to miss the volunteers working during a cruise. Sydney hopes more Royal Caribbean cruisers know about the program in the future, as she was often approached with people asking questions and staring while she was caring for the child. 

Because these families are looking to have a normal cruise experience like everyone else, she’s hoping more people learn about the program and understand all it has to offer. 

By the end of the cruise, Sydney said the families told the volunteers they were angels on earth. They were over the moon with their cruise experience and so grateful for Autism on the Seas, saying they will never cruise without the program again.

Sydney said hearing this made the long days worth it, as she knew she was making a difference and helping each family member make lifelong memories.

To learn more: https://autismontheseas.com

To donate: https://autismontheseas.com/donate

One of the most popular Royal Caribbean cruise ships for a quick getaway is Mariner of the Seas, which currently offers 5 and 8-night sailings from Port Canaveral, Florida. 

Royal Caribbean’s ships are known for featuring onboard thrills that are sure to leave you wowed - and Mariner of the Seas is no exception. If you are considering a cruise on Mariner of the Seas, look no further than our planning and overview guide. 

You will find everything you need to know about Mariner of the Seas to ensure you are prepared to have your best cruise vacation yet.

Mariner of the Seas Overview

As the final ship built in Royal Caribbean’s Voyager class, Mariner of the Seas first hit the seas in 2003. During her debut, Mariner of the Seas was one of the first cruise ships to feature a rock climbing wall on the ship’s funnel and an ice skating rink onboard. 

At launch, Mariner of the Seas was one of the largest cruise ships in the world. While no longer the case, Mariner of the Seas is a perfect ship for weekend getaways. At 139,000 tons, Mariner of the Seas is considered a midsized cruise ship. The ship features 15 decks and holds nearly 4,000 passengers at full capacity.

One of the prominent features of Mariner of the Seas is its dazzling promenade deck, which spans the length of the ship and features shops, restaurants and bars. 

In 2018, Mariner of the Seas underwent an astonishing $120 million refurbishment. The ship was retrofitted with some of Royal Caribbean’s most popular thrills, like the SkyPad, Perfect Storm slide and Flowrider. The refurbishment also included the addition of new specialty restaurants and exciting dining options for cruisers.  

In fact, this huge upgrade was fueled by Royal Caribbean identifying a new trend in the cruising market: millennials looking for quick getaways. As such, Mariner's refurbishment was carefully planned to add countless onboard thrills for a cruise ship sailing to tropical locations, which is a game-changing experience for those wanting a short getaway vacation.

Mariner of the Seas Pool Deck

You won’t need to be docked in port to feel like you’re relaxing in a tropical oasis. Cruisers will find plenty of opportunities to relax, take in the sun and unwind with a cocktail on Mariner of the Seas' pool deck.

The top deck of Mariner of the Seas has two main pools with multiple hot tubs surrounded by sun loungers. Most of the time, you can find reggae-style music playing on the pool deck. There are 2 decks of chairs that surround the pool, so you can choose to be right next to the pool or on the top deck overlooking the open sea.

A large movie screen shines above the pool deck and plays everything from music videos to cinema hits under the stars. 

A double decker pool bar is nestled near the pool for easy access - perfect for those relaxing on a lounger. On the upper deck near the pool bar, guests can find trendy couches and even comfy, padded chairs. 

If you are looking for some diner-style grub, you can dine at Johnny Rockets on the upper pool deck (for a fixed-price fee). Those looking for a quick and complimentary snack can grab a hot dog from Boardwalk Dog House. You can build your own hot dog with multiple topping options and plenty of meats to choose from. 

Sweets lovers will love the all-you-can-eat ice cream machine on the pool deck. Nothing could be better than a cool, creamy cone on a hot vacation day!

At the front of the pool deck is the adults-only Solarium. Only guests who are 16 years and older can enjoy the Solarium, which makes this a wonderful place to indulge in some quiet time. 

Daybeds with canopies can also be found in the Solarium, which are complimentary. These are posh and comfortable spots to relax.

The Solarium features a pool surrounded by padded loungers and two hot tubs. Those looking to grab a drink will appreciate the convenience of the Solarium Bar, situated perfectly between the two hot tubs. 

While some cruise ships feature Solariums that are covered by glass domes, guests can enjoy direct sunlight onboard Mariner of the Seas in this space. 

Mariner of the Seas Dining Options

If one thing’s certain on your cruise, it's that you won’t go hungry onboard Mariner of the Seas. With a combination of both complimentary and specialty dining options, you won’t have time to likely try all of the food available onboard!

Whether you choose to dine only at complimentary venues or treat yourself to an upgraded dining experience in one of the specialty restaurants, there’re endless options for grabbing a bite to eat. 

Complimentary dining onboard Mariner of the Seas include the following:

Main Dining Room: Like all of Royal Caribbean’s ships, the main dining room offers complimentary meals in a classic sit-down style. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all served daily in the main dining rooms. 

Windjammer Marketplace: Another staple on Royal Caribbean’s cruise ships. The Windjammer servers up breakfast, lunch and dinner in buffet style. There’s infinite options here from burgers and pizza to international cuisine like curry. 

Cafe Promenade: Located in the central Royal Promenade, guests can find complimentary coffee, tea, pastries, snacks, pizza and sandwiches 24 hours a day. Perfect for your late night cravings!

Boardwalk Dog House: The first-ever food truck at sea serves up gourmet hot dogs for everyone to enjoy. Everything from sausages to hot dogs are available including a variety of condiments, salads and sides. 

Specialty dining is also plentiful onboard Mariner of the Seas. Some guests prefer to dine only at complimentary venues while others appreciate the quality and service afforded through the specialty dining options. These restaurants serve the highest quality food available onboard, although guests will have to spend extra to visit these venues.

As the name suggests, specialty restaurants focus on serving one type of cuisine and doing it exceptionally well. If you’re looking to have a special celebration or indulge in a romantic dinner, consider booking a reservation at one of these restaurants.

Specialty dining options onboard Mariner of the Seas include the following options:

Chops Grille: Styled as an American Steakhouse, Chops Grille specializes in serving hand-cut meat with appetizers like Maine lobster, sides like gruyere cheese tater tots and desserts like tangy key lime pie. 

Jamie’s Italian: Thanks to a partnership with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, Jamie’s Italian transforms classic Italian dishes into a trendy Tuscan-inspired experience. Homemade pasta and an epic meat plank can be polished off with indulgent tiramisu. 

Izumi Hibachi & Sushi: Everything from fresh sushi to delicious teppanyaki is served at Izumi. This Asian-inspired dining option offers a variety of hot and cold appetizers, entrees and desserts. With a full hibachi experience, you will leave feeling both full and wowed. 

Chef’s Table: One of the most premium dining options onboard, Chef’s Table provides an intimate opportunity for guests to enjoy a 6-course meal crafted personally by the ship’s chef. A white cloth dinner table spotlights a multitude of delicate cuisine offerings. 

Playmakers Sports Bar and Grill: Located in the Royal Promenade, this sports bar offers your game-day favorite bar snacks and drinks. You can enjoy a signature Playmakers burger and finish off with a five-scoop Touchdown Sundae or warm, gooey Campfire Cookie. 

Johnny Rockets: This 1950s diner-style restaurant offers American style favorites like burgers, fries, onion rings and milkshakes. 

Ben & Jerry’s: Offering plenty of iconic ice cream flavors, Ben & Jerry’s is available for purchase in the Royal Promenade and serves up cones, sundaes and milkshakes. 

Mariner of the Seas Bars and Lounges

Cruising with Royal Caribbean means you will find a seemingly endless number of places to grab a cocktail. You can't say you went on a cruise unless you indulged in a fruity vacation drink! Mariner of the Seas has a huge variety of bars and lounges, each offering a slightly different vibe. 

Each night, you can find live music happening inside Mariner's bars and lounges onboard. The bars and lounges also host plenty of activities including trivia, crafting, karaoke and more. 

Bars onboard Mariner of the Seas include:

• Schooner Bar (Piano Bar)
• The Bamboo Room
• Wig & Gravel Pub
• Britto Pool Bar
• Solarium Bar
• Sky Bar 
• Ellington’s Jazz Club
• Viking Crown
• Boleros (Latin-themed nightclub and bar)
• Connoisseur Club 
• The Plaza Bar
• Cloud Nine
• Casino Royale Bar
• Star Lounge

For the best panoramic view, The Crown Lounge is the perfect spot to grab a cocktail. You can enjoy 180-degree views of the pool deck and open sea. On the other hand, Boleros is a great spot for live music and dancing. The Star Lounge is a transformative space that hosts everything from game shows to karaoke and nightly dancing. 

One of the most unique features on Mariner of the Seas is The Bamboo Room. This Polynesian-themed tiki bar is located in the Royal Promenade and serves up spirited sips with exotic fruits and spices. The throwback vibes and crazy good cocktails are not to be missed. 

Things to do on Mariner of the Seas

I’ve sailed on Mariner of the Seas three times and each time was a wonderful and unique experience. This cruise ship is perfectly sized - not too big and not too small - and definitely offers a little something that everyone can enjoy. 

Even before her recent refurbishment, Mariner of the Seas had plenty of activities to keep cruisers busy; during her initial debut, she was the best that the cruise industry had to offer. After Royal Caribbean added some of its signature features during refurbishment, Mariner of the Seas now has enough amenities and onboard thrills to rival some of the newest mega ships at sea.

When you first look at Mariner of the Seas, you can’t miss the colorful Perfect Storm waterslides on the top deck. Made of two twisting slides, Typhoon and Cyclone sit three stories above the top deck and allow cruisers to go for a daring, dueling race from the top. You’ll even jet off the side of the ship while twisting and turning down the slides.

Centrally located is the SkyPad, which offers cruisers a virtual reality experience while jumping on a gravity-defying bungee trampoline. The SkyClimber is nestled nearby and features an enclosed climbing structure. 

The sports deck is located on the back of the ship and packed with plenty of opportunities to be active, including a rock climbing wall, mini golf course, laser tag, basketball court and Flowrider surf simulator. There are also hammocks and swings that fill in the surrounding areas - the perfect spot to catch your breath.

Deck 15 is home to Royal Caribbean’s newest escape challenge called The Observatorium while Studio B Ice Skating is located on Deck 3. Additionally, guests can enjoy outdoor movies, the casino, trivia, board games, fitness classes, dance lessons, ping pong and crafting. 

Adventure Ocean

Those cruising with kids on Mariner of the Seas will definitely want to check out Adventure Ocean. This is Royal Caribbean’s childcare program that accommodates even the littlest cruisers starting from 6 months old and all the way up to 17 year olds. 

Adventure Ocean on Mariner of the Seas focuses on giving kids the freedom and flexibility to follow their interests. Everything from craft stations to video games and science experiences are available for kids participating in Adventure Ocean. This is a great opportunity for your kids to have supervised fun and socialize with other cruising kids. 

The Adventure Ocean program is broken into 4 different age groups. This allows kids to have the most suitable programming based on age and developmental skills. Additionally, Teens have access to The Living Room, which is a trendy lounge meant to be a space for organized events or simply a fun spot for teens to meet and hang out. 

The breakdown is as follows:

• Babies (6-36 mo)
• Aquanauts (3-5 yrs)
• Explorers (6-8 yrs)
• Voyagers (9-12 yrs)
• Teens (13-17 yrs)

Adventure Ocean is complimentary for ages 3 and up, however there is also a $7 hourly charge that applies after 10PM. Nursery drop-off is also an extra charge for babies up to 36 months. 

Entertainment

When it comes to entertainment, Mariner of the Seas has two main venues: the Royal Theater and Studio B Ice Rink. 

The Royal Theater will host a variety of shows that are sure to leave guests wowed. From comedians to musicians and magicians, the evening shows are dazzling. Mariner of the Seas has one big production show called Gallery of Dreams, which tells the story of a young artist who travels the world and brings his sketches to life. 

Studio B also has one main production show called Ice Under the Big Top, a fierce and spectacular ice skating show featuring acrobatics, clowns and romantic antics. 

{"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/znrlWYCKL_8.jpg?itok=yX0_1CT8","video_url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znrlWYCKL_8","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}

Themed parties, live music and club DJs also keep the entertainment flowing throughout the day on Mariner of the Seas at a variety of venues.

Wellness and Relaxation

Mariner of the Seas features Royal Caribbean’s signature Vitality Spa and Fitness Center. Cruisers can indulge in a variety of spa treatments and attend various seminars in the Vitality Spa. Everything from massages to anti-aging treatments, wraps and acupuncture are available for purchase. 

Spa treatments are available for purchase both onboard and before boarding in the cruise planner. Guests can choose from a variety of treatments that vary based on length and technique. Of note, spa pricing is dynamic based on the sailing day and port. Sea days are inherently more expensive because of increased demand while port days usually offer discounted services. 

The Fitness Center is attached to the Vitality Spa and houses plenty of exercise equipment for complimentary use. Classes are also offered for an extra cost and include pilates, spin, sculpting and yoga. Cardio and strength training courses are available at no cost while spin and yoga are not complementary. 

Deck 12 also offers an outdoor running track for those looking to either run or walk along the top deck. 

Mariner of the Seas Staterooms

When you are booking your cruise on Mariner of the Seas, you’ll want to understand the different types of cabins available - and there’s a lot to choose from! Layouts and size can differ greatly onboard, so a little research can help you be prepared for what to expect when you board Mariner of the Seas. It’s also important to choose a cabin that fits your budget and your travel needs. 

Some people book staterooms with the intent of only using their cabin as a place to sleep and shower. Others like to use their stateroom more than that for relaxing and rejuvenating - the choice is yours. 

Regardless of which stateroom you choose, all cabins onboard Mariner of the Seas come with basic living amenities like a bed, shower, vanity and television. You will also find a chair or couch, closet, nightstands and cooler. North American and European outlets are standard in the cabin, although you will probably find it useful to have some sort of electronics or USD extender. 

Interior Cabins

Interior (or inside) cabins are the most basic staterooms available onboard Mariner of the Seas. These cabins do not have any sort of window, meaning you won’t get any natural light. These cabins have all the necessities you need for sleeping and showering. While smaller in space, you will find ample storage. \

Interior cabins provide an excellent value option for budget travelers or those looking to splurge on dining, drinking and exploring on excursions. You can also nap at any time of the day!

Interior Promenade

One of the most unique features of Mariner of the Seas is the central promenade. A twist on the standard interior cabin is upgrading to an interior promenade cabin.

These are technically inside cabins with the same amenities, but feature a window overlooking the ship’s bustling promenade. 

Oceanview Cabins

One step above interior cabins is oceanview cabins. While similar in size, oceanview cabins have a porthole window that gives cruisers views of the sea. There are plenty of oceanview cabins around Mariner of the Seas that can be found in a variety of locations on the ship.

Balcony Cabins

The most picturesque cabin on any cruise ship is one with a balcony and Mariner of the Seas is no exception. These cabins each come with a private balcony overlooking the sea. Each balcony comes with 2 chairs and a small table. These are more expensive than oceanview and interior cabins, but you can still snag a balcony cabin for a reasonable cost. 

Suites

The biggest and most luxurious cabins onboard Mariner of the Seas are the suites. These will give you the most space on board with some amazing amenities included, like access to the ship’s concierge lounge and priority boarding.

Onboard Mariner of the Seas, guests can book 1 and 2- bedroom Grand Suites, along with the Owners Suites and Royal Suites with Balcony. These incredible cabins will cost a premium, but offer the best accommodations onboard Mariner of the Seas. 

Royal Caribbean announced that the cruise line has extended its health protocols for European departures.

Health protocols have been extended for European sailings that depart on or before July 31, 2022. Travel advisors and passengers were notified of the update this week. 

The existing protocols have been extended without any notable changes to vaccine, testing and onboard health requirements.

Vaccine Requirements

Royal Caribbean requires all guests 12 years and older to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Guests must provide proof of vaccination with the final dose being administered no later than 14 days before sailing. 

Guests must have received their most recent vaccine dose no more than 9 months (270 days) ago. This includes either a booster dose or the final dose of the original vaccine series (or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson).

For clarification purposes, Royal Caribbean states that guests who have received a booster vaccine dose will qualify as up to date regardless of the amount of time that has passed since the dose was administered. 

Vaccines must be on the list of EMA-approved vaccines, which include Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Nuvaxovid.

Children age 11 years old and under do not require Covid-19 vaccinations to cruise. Those aged 5 to 11 can choose to provide vaccination proof to be considered up to date for their sailing and follow health protocols of up to date guests. Children who have received only one dose of a vaccine will not qualify as fully vaccinated (unless they received Johnson & Johnson). 

The health protocols also encourage guests to be “up to date” on their Covid-19 vaccination per the European Medicines Agency (EMA). 

Of note, for sailings departing from Stockholm, the age requirement states that all guests 18 years and older are required to be fully vaccinated. 

Testing Requirements

All guests are required to present a negative Covid-19 test prior to boarding European departures. 

• Fully vaccinated guests must show a negative result for a PCR or antigen test no more than 2 days prior to boarding
• Unvaccinated guests must show a negative result for a PCR or antigen test no more than 1 day prior to boarding. 

Royal Caribbean continues to recommend that guests traveling from the United States take advantage of eMed antigen testing kits that provide supervised virtual video visits and can be accessed 24/7. 

Notably, guests traveling back to the United States are no longer required to present a negative Covid-19 test prior to flight departures. 

Depending on the departure port, testing requirements can vary slightly, so it's best to confirm country-specific policies before sailing. 

Onboard Testing

Royal Caribbean requires that unvaccinated guests (by EMA standards) or those not up-to-date with their vaccines will require additional testing during European sailings.

• Onboard testing will be at the expense of guests if they are 12 years or older and considered to be unvaccinated or not up-to-date. Tests are $55 USD each
• For unvaccinated guests age 6-11 years old who require testing, onboard testing will be complimentary
• Guests who are 2 years and younger will not require any testing
• Guests will receive registration information once onboard. Guests 12 years or older (6 years and older for Italian ports) will have additional requirements during the cruise. Additionally, these guests might be required to test prior to disembarking depending on country requirements

Masks

Royal Caribbean states that masks for fully vaccinated guests are optional onboard. The cruise line continues to recommend masks for unvaccinated children while onboard.

Guests under 2 years old will not be required to wear a mask at any time. 

In terminals, masks are optional unless required by the country’s local policies and regulations. 

Some destination ports might have masking requirements in place, which will need to be followed by guests. 

Policies remain subject to change. 

While I absolutely love cruising and traveling, we all know that sometimes things don’t go exactly as we planned. Sometimes we try things that just don’t live up to our expectations. Other times, we are wowed by something that we never had on our radar.

Royal Caribbean’s cruise ships are built to appeal to a wide demographic, so we aren’t necessarily meant to love everything a cruise ship has to offer. 

Traveling can also just be unpredictable - I’ve definitely had my fair share of travel woes over the years.

Take for instance the time my family flew all the way to Brazil to meet up with me on my Semester at Sea - just in time for the Brazilian embassy to go on strike and hold our passports hostage. I’ll also never forget the time I traveled 9 hours inland for a safari in Senegal only to see zero animals in the wild. 

With cruising back in full force, I’ve been reflecting on my Royal Caribbean cruising experience over the years. After 30 cruises, there are certainly things that I won’t be doing in the future after learning some valuable lessons. 

Here’s a list of everything that I tried on a Royal Caribbean cruise that I won’t do again.

Booking an excursion every day

In our early days of cruising, we would have an excursion planned for every single port day. After doing this a few times, we all decided that an excursion each day was simply too much. 

Most of the time, we had to get up earlier than we wanted to on vacation so we could have breakfast and get ready in time. We’d be in the sun all day doing whatever fun activity we had planned. By the time we got back to the ship, we would be exhausted!

Of course, having some excursions planned can really maximize time in port. Excursions definitely have a time and place.

I just don’t think we will be booking back-to-back excursions anymore. Not only is this very expensive to book multiple Royal Caribbean excursions, but it doesn’t allow for flexibility. Sometimes it’s nice to have a slow start to your morning and not have any plans set in stone. It’s good to have rest days, even if it means being on your own schedule. 

Having a stateroom at the very front of the ship

When I sailed to Hawaii with my family, we were offered an upgrade to a 2-bedroom suite onboard the cruise ship. We were so excited to have a huge room because we normally cruise in inside cabins.  

Our Hawaii stateroom was absolutely gorgeous. It had a separate bedroom for kids down a long curvy hallway. We also had our own bathroom, which was so nice. It felt like cruising in luxury!

But we learned immediately why no one had booked it. The hallway to our bedroom was so curvy because it wrapped around the very front of the ship. Maybe we just had bad luck with rough seas, but we were all sick every night that the ship was sailing. 

We heard that the Pacific Ocean is often more rocky than the Atlantic or Mediterranean, so we really should have done some thinking about that before jumping on the upgrade offer.

I won’t be booking a cabin at the very front and top of the ship, regardless of how good of a deal it is! It isn’t worth it to be seasick every night, regardless of how beautiful the stateroom is. 

Not making dinner reservations

This seems to be a problem that’s getting progressively worse with cruising. On a recent Harmony of the Seas cruise, we didn’t make any reservations for dinner because we wanted to have some flexibility. We had booked My Time Dining, so we thought we could eat whenever we wanted.

That was clearly not the case. Apparently, everyone had booked dinner reservations prior to coming onboard. My Time Dining used to mean we could just show up and be seated whenever we wanted. Now, everyone makes reservations for My Time Dining and if you don’t have one, you’ll be waiting in line before getting seated.

We were panicked at first, as my dad prefers to eat earlier than most people. The hostess was able to get us a set table each night for the early dining time, which resolved our issue thankfully. 

But, we learned a valuable lesson! We won’t be winging it with reservations on future cruises, especially on Oasis Class ships.

Taking a red eye flight the night before a cruise

We never fly into a port the same day as our cruise, but my husband and I found ourselves stuck with a red eye flight that landed in the early morning on our cruise departing. 

We were sailing right after Christmas on Jewel of the Seas from San Juan. We booked a direct flight from Minneapolis to San Juan that landed at 6 a.m. on the morning of the cruise. This flight was reasonably priced on Sun Country for $200, but every other airline was charging astronomical prices for non-direct flights. 

I was so stressed about the possibility of a delay that I had a hard time getting excited about the cruise. Even though it seemed like the best flight option, I was so worried about having a delay or cancellation that would prevent us from boarding our cruise. 

In the future, I will continue to spend extra if it means we can get into a port the day before the cruise. It’s not worth risking your cruise entirely, even if it saves a bit of money!

Wasting time at the spa giveaway

One time, we got roped into attending a spa giveaway in our early days of cruising. It was during the set sail party too, so we were hoping it would be worthwhile to miss the departure views of the ship sailing off. 

We should have known that nothing onboard is really free once you get on the cruise ship, as Royal Caribbean wants you to spend money onboard. 

My sister is notoriously lucky and won the "giveaway." We were all thrilled for her, clapping and cheering when they called her name. We were obviously thinking it was going to be a really nice prize.

Of course, it was far from a free spa treatment or service. The prize was something like, “Spend $300 and save $100 on a spa treatment if you book by Day 2.” This is probably a decent deal if you were already going to spend money at the spa, but we didn’t have any plans to spend money there in the first place. 

As such, we’ve never gone back to a spa giveaway on our Royal Caribbean cruises - or any other giveaway for that matter! We would rather spend our time on other activities that we enjoy more, like hot tubbing in the Solarium with a cocktail in hand.

Splurging on a spa treatment

Since we are on the topic of going to the spa, I won’t be returning for any spa treatment on future Royal Caribbean cruises. 

I know some people have great experiences with going to the spa and that’s a big part of their vacation. I am not really a spa person to begin with; I don’t get my nails or hair done often and rarely have massages. 

I had never had a spa treatment on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship before, but I was feeling proud that I had survived my husband’s deployment and wanted to treat myself to a massage. I had woken up with a sore neck after our ship hit some rough waters, so what better time to indulge!

The treatment was $200, which is half of what the entire 7-night cruise cost. That was a tough pill to swallow, but I figured this was a special treat to myself and not something I do often.

Halfway through the hot stone massage, the masseuse told me I had a mass on my shoulder. I was confused and asked her if she meant that I had a knot, as this was the reason I came to the spa in the first place. 

She said no, it wasn’t a knot, and I needed to go to the doctor back home for a biopsy to be done on the mass. She even stated, “Early detection is good.”  

I was absolutely shocked and flabbergasted. I broke down in tears with the stress overwhelming me. I wondered how I was supposed to enjoy the rest of my vacation with this looming thought. 

She then asked if I wanted to schedule a consultation with the acupuncturist to help with my anxiety. I was so disheartened by the experience that I left in tears. I’m a naturally anxious person, so she probably couldn’t have said this to a worse person. 

Luckily, I spoke to the spa manager and she was deeply sorry about the issue. She offered me a full refund and assured me that this should have never happened. Of course, I just had bad luck that this happened. I am sure the masseuse had good intentions, but she isn’t a medical professional.

After this unfortunate experience, I won’t be treating myself to anything at the spa again. 

Sliding down the waterslides

My last few cruises had brand-new waterslides that I was excited to try out. Both times, we had to wait in short lines but I was excited to try them out. 

As I flung myself down the entrance of the slide, it seemed that I was barely putzing my way down the waterslide. I don’t know if that’s the intent of the slides and perhaps smaller cruisers have a more exhilarating time. 

I guess I don’t really know what I was expecting, but I won’t be spending my time trying the waterslides anymore. These are definitely aimed at kids, but are meant to be family friendly for cruisers of all ages. 

Even though I didn’t have to wait long, I would have been bummed if I had waited in a long line to have an underwhelming experience. 

Going on a cruise ship that docks in Canada? You're going to need to use Canada's mandatory app.

It’s currently a requirement to use the government’s ArriveCAN platform in order to enter the country for an upcoming Alaskan cruise. For cruises that depart and return to Canada, you will need to complete the form before boarding your cruise ship. 

You will also need to complete a form for any Alaskan cruise that includes a port stop in Canada, even if you do not plan to get off the ship.

ArriveCAN is a free, digital platform that requires travelers to enter upcoming travel plans and upload any COVID-19 vaccination certificates. You must create an account and submit the necessary travel information within 72 hours of your arrival into Canada. 

Anyone arriving to Canada by road, air, rail or marine vessel is required to provide travel information to the government through ArriveCAN. 

ArriveCAN is an app that you can download to your smartphone and submit upcoming travel to Canada. After creating an account and entering your travel information, you will instantly receive a QR code that verifies you have provided the necessary details for any upcoming trips.

Your ArriveCAN forms must be completed before you board any international flight that enters Canada. You will be required to show the QR code in order to board your Canada-bound flight. Additionally, crossing the land border through road or railway will also require the use of ArriveCAN. 

In addition, you must submit another ArriveCAN before boarding your cruise if your itinerary includes a return trip to Canada.

I sailed onboard Radiance of the Seas for the first Alaskan sailing of the season and everyone was caught off guard that a second ArriveCAN form was required. We thought we could use the same form required for the air arrival, but the port authorities required us to submit a second marine-entry form. 

Below is a step-by-step guide for how to complete the ArriveCAN form for an upcoming cruise. 

Download the App

To start, you’ll want to download the ArriveCAN app to your phone or tablet to enter your upcoming travel information. This is how you will generate the QR code needed to board your flight, cross the border and board your cruise ship. 

The app is available to download for iOS and Android devices. 

Although the ArriveCAN app will be the easiest way to complete the forms, you can also access the platform online through their website.

Create an Account

After downloading the app, you’ll be prompted to create an account. Again, you can also do this online through the ArriveCAN website. 

The account will require a password and email. Make sure this is an email you have access to while traveling, as you’ll receive confirmation of your completed forms. The app will also generate the QR code. 

Start a Form

Unless you live in Canada, you will be required to complete TWO forms for ArriveCAN. First, you’ll need to complete a form for your arrival into the country. Second, you will need to complete a form for entering the country by marine vessel (which includes cruise ships). 

Anyone that is entering Canada on a cruise ship from Alaska will need to complete the marine form. This includes one-way cruises from Alaska to Canada and round-trip cruises from Canada. 

You can only start your ArriveCAN form within 72 hours of your upcoming cruise embarks, so be sure you add this to your pre-cruise planning list. You will not have access to the form if your cruise is outside of 72 hours.

Reason for Travel

When you start a new form, you’ll be prompted to select your reason for traveling. Select ‘Discretionary/optional travel’, as this includes tourism. 

This option is only available if you’re a fully vaccinated foreign national. For those cruising to Alaska from Canada, vaccination is a requirement so this shouldn’t come as a surprise. 

Entry into Canada

The ArriveCAN form will next ask how you are entering Canada, whether by air, marine or by land. 

In this case, you will want to select ‘Entry by marine’ specifically for your Alaskan cruise because your cruise ship will technically be entering the country from the United States.

As we mentioned earlier, you should have already completed a separate form prior to your arrival in Canada, whether you arrive by air, rail or road. 

Marine Trip Details

ArriveCAN will next ask you to enter marine trip details, which includes the country of original departure, date of embarkation, port of entry and date of arrival. 

The country of original departure will be Canada if you are departing from Canada. Those cruising from Alaska will select the United States of America here. 

The date of embarkation will be the start date of your cruise. 

For port of entry, this will be the first port of arrival in Canada on your itinerary. For example, if you are cruising into Vancouver, you can select Vancouver Cruise Ship Operations. 

Date of arrival is the day you will be entering your first Canadian port. If your itinerary is a round trip from Vancouver or one-way from Alaska to Canada, this will likely be the last day of your cruise.

If you stop in Canada before the last day of your cruise, such as Victoria, Canada, you will want to use that date for the arrival date. 

Cruise Trip Details

The ArriveCAN will now ask if you are traveling on a cruise ship, in which you will select ‘Yes’. 

You will need to provide your cruise ship’s name, which should be available in the dropdown selection. It is also optional to provide your stateroom number(s) for your travel group. 

Finally, the ArriveCAN form will ask whether your cruise is terminating in Canada. If you are disembarking in a Canadian port, you will want to select ‘yes’. Cruises that simply stop in Canada during the sailing will want to select ‘no’. 

Contact Information

The form will next ask you to provide a phone number for your Primary Phone Number. There’s also a spot to provide a secondary phone number. 

You will also need to select whether your official language is ‘English’ or ‘French’. 

Traveler Information

ArriveCAN will now require you to select or add a traveler to your profile. You are able to add up to 8 travelers on the same trip as long as the people traveling together will be at the same locations. 

When entering traveler information, you will need to include your passport information, date of birth and name for each traveler. 

Proof of Vaccination

After entering your passport information for all travelers, you will be prompted to provide proof of vaccination. Currently, it’s a requirement to be fully vaccinated and provide proof for leisure travel to Canada.

The ArriveCAN app will ask you to enter information regarding your vaccination, including information regarding the first and second dose. The app will ask which vaccine you received (Pfizer, Moderna, etc), the country where the vaccine was administered, and the date of each vaccine dose you’ve received. 

Finally, you will be asked to upload proof of your vaccination. This can be a JPEG, JPG, PNG or PDF. You can also use your phone’s camera to take a photo of the vaccination receipt. 

You can upload one picture that proves you’ve received both doses or two separate photos that confirm each dose of the vaccine you received. If you only upload one photo, it will ask if you to confirm if you need to upload a second picture. For example, if you uploaded a picture of your CDC card and it shows both doses, you can select ‘No’ that you do not need to upload a second photo. 

Requirements for Travel 

The ArriveCAN app will now ask if you understand the requirements for travel that the Canadian government currently requires. For example, the first bullet on the list states that travelers who are fully-vaccinated with accepted vaccines and any accompanying children under 12 are no longer required to provide proof of a negative test result before entry. 

This section covers other requirements for travel for those under 5 and travelers who recently recovered from COVID-19. 

Additionally, fully-vaccinated travelers arriving in Canada no longer need to provide a suitable quarantine plan. 

Select ‘I Understand’ after reading through the requirements. 

Travel History

ArriveCAN will now ask if you or anyone traveling with you has recently visited any countries other than Canada in the last 14 days. 

For those who traveled from the United States, you will select ‘Yes’ and then select the arrow, in which you can enter the United States of America. 

You might also be prompted to provide an address in Canada, which could be the accommodations or address of the location you’re staying before embarking. 

Last Step: COVID-19 Self-Assessment

Finally, the last step of your form!

The ArriveCAN app will ask if you’ve had any COVID-19 symptoms that include fever, cough or difficulty breathing. You’ll want to select ‘no’ here unless you’re experiencing any symptoms.

After finishing the COVID-19 self-assessment, you will be ready to submit your form. 

Submission

After submitting, the ArriveCAN app will upload your documentation and required information into its system.

Once this is complete, you will receive a QR code in the app that can be used for boarding your Alaskan cruise. You will also receive an email confirmation that you have successfully completed the forms for your upcoming travels. 

In the ArriveCAN app homepage, you can also find the trip summary and the e-receipt of your trip. This will pull up the QR code if you need it again.

If you made a mistake on the form, you can also delete the trip and resubmit the necessary information. 

It’s the final day of our 7-night Alaska cruise! Can’t believe the week went so fast.

Today we’ve been at sea - sailing through the Inside Passage and making our way back to Vancouver.

The seas were rough last night so Sydney put on her patch and slept a solid 12 hours. She woke up feeling a little dizzy and had blurred vision, but she said she didn’t have any seasickness.

We saw lots of people onboard with patches behind their ears and heard of others who were seasick with the choppy waters.

I worked a little this morning while Sydney slept in. Surprisingly, the Internet connection was strong so I took advantage of this opportunity. I was worried once we went back into the Inside Passage that the Internet would drop again.

Covid Test Onboard

Since the connection was strong, I also decided to do my eMed Covid test in the cabin. I didn’t have any issues with the connection and got my negative test result quickly.

I wanted to take the test onboard the ship in case I had an unexpected positive result. In this case, I’m covered by Royal Caribbean’s Cruising with Confidence policy. It felt like the best option since there aren't really any testing options onboard for those of us needing one for travel requirements. 

I saw multiple people taking their covid tests onboard today, so I think there were a lot of us with the same idea. It also makes the disembarkation day much easier without having to worry about taking the test at the airport last minute.

I brought the Abbott home test, but there were other tests that people used as well. I know one couple who used their FlowFlex covid test and did their proctored test through www.azova.com. I saw another couple using the orange branded covid tests who said they followed the proctor link on the box too.

I didn’t realize you could have other tests proctored, but it appears that’s not the case. Both of these couples I met purchased tests in Alaska since they didn’t bring tests onboard and paid online for a proctor ($20)

Breakfast + Spa

We had a time change last night, so the 11:00 AM closing of the Windjammer crept up on us.

I waited in line to talk to the Internet representative to make sure I was on the list of passengers getting refunded for 2 days of internet that didn’t work. He processed the refund on the spot, which was nice. I saw a few others taking their covid tests in the Internet cafe area during this time too.

With coffee in hand, we made our way to the top deck to grab a quick bite to eat before they closed down the restaurant. Sydney and I made our way to the spa to try out the thermal suite!

Upon entry, we were given a locker and bathrobes to use throughout the spa.

We first started in the thermal chairs and made our way into the steam room, sauna and aromatic room.

It was pretty quiet in the thermal suite and that doesn’t exact fit our vibe. We have a hard time relaxing for an extended time because we like to be on the go. We are always laughing and chatting, so we struggled to be quiet.

It was fun to try everything out, but I am not sure if it’s something that I would pay to do just because I am not necessarily a spa person.

Egg Drop Challenge

This one was a first, but our ship had an egg drop contest! What a concept.

Teams enrolled on the first sea day and had one week to create an egg contraption. If your contraption successfully protected the egg from an atrium drop and the egg didn’t crack, your team won a prize.

The atrium was pretty busy with spectators. The entire floor and furniture surrounding the bar was covered to protect any scrambled eggs.

Some teams got really creative with how to protect their egg. Others clearly didn’t think about the impact of gravity, drag and force when their contraption plopped right to the ground. The very first drop got caught in some atrium wiring, which was pretty funny.

The cruise director, sporting a hard helmet for the ultimate egg protection, was having a great time hosting the event. One egg splattered all over the bar, which I am sure the bartender did not appreciate.

This was a fun event and we both enjoyed watching everyone try to protect their precious egg. I am wondering if this will be a new cruising tradition or if it was just a one-time thing?

Afternoon Activities

By late afternoon, Sydney had a card date with our ‘ship mom’ from dinner and I had a little bit of work to get done.

They enjoyed a few rounds of Phase 10. The ship finally entered back into the Inside Passage during this time, so the ocean was a sheet of glass again.

I was feeling deep gratitude for the Internet finally working reliably, which allowed me to get some time sensitive things done, including the covid test. I even created a hotspot with my computer so Sydney and I could have multiple devices connected at once. 

We still had our swimsuits on from the spa earlier today, so we made our way to the Solarium for the hot tub. Unfortunately, there is only one small hot tub in the Solarium and it’s been packed almost every time we’ve tried to use it.

We did grab a snack at the Windjammer since we had forgotten to grab lunch.

Sydney and I ran into our new ship friends, Mimi and her grandson Bret (who is our age), and we invited them to join us in the outdoor hot tub.

These hot tubs haven’t been as crowded, but the outdoor weather also hasn’t cooperated much. It was misting and rainy out, but we enjoyed the hot tub and getting to chat.

Final Dinner in the Dining Room

Tonight was our final night in the dining room. The menu tonight featured options of fish & chips, prime rib, roasted turkey, cheese tortellini and lamb.

I had one last bowl of French onion soup and Sydney had the lentil soup as a starter. She said the lentil soup was super good.

For dinner, Sydney had the cheese tortellini and I had the roasted turkey. These weren’t our favorite meals of the cruise, but they were good!

Dessert was a showstopper for me with the pavlova and caramel brownie, which was topped with a marshmallow meringue. It was super sweet - exactly as I like it! Two desserts is the best way to end a cruise. 

It’s always sad to say goodbye to new friends on the final evening. Sydney and I have been blessed with great servers who took good care of us. We also connected with so many people on this cruise and loved seeing familiar faces around.

Packing and Cruising with a Carry-On

Another sad part of the last cruise night is packing up your suitcase for the journey home tomorrow. Sydney and I had gotten pretty comfortable in our cabin over the last week, so it seemed like a tornado came through when we started to pack. 

Sydney heads to Seattle and Hawaii for the next week to continue her Masters Celebration adventure. I head to Minnesota tomorrow for a quick stop for my best friend’s baby shower before flying back to Florida on Saturday.

I opted to pack for this cruise using just a carry-on, which made it really easy to pack tonight. I used some packing cubes to utilize my small packing space. I think this made a big difference!

I had a few outfits that I didn’t even wear while other pieces were worn heavily. I had to purchase a sweater because I didn’t have something warm enough to wear with my leggings. I also bought some gloves in the first port.

Layering was key for me. I packed pieces that could be worn for dinner and during the day, like dark jeans and a jean jacket. I brought 3 dresses for dinners and then wore my dark jeans with various tops the other nights. Some days I didn’t even change for dinner.

I packed just one swimsuit, which was plenty for our hot tub visits. Casual clothes included sweat pants, a golf skirt, long sleeve t-shirt and a crewneck sweatshirt. I packed a pair of overalls, which I only wore once so I probably could have left that behind and opt for a heavier coat instead.

For the trip, I only packed 3 pairs of shoes, which included rain boots, dinner shoes and tennis shoes. I wish I had packed some slip-in shoes to wear around the ship, so I did buy a $5 pair of slippers from Old Navy in Vancouver to wear. I might leave these behind if I can’t pack them last minute tomorrow.

All of my cosmetics and toiletries I carried in my backpack with me. I still had room for my laptops, umbrella and 2 covid tests.

I really limited myself to just the essentials for this trip. It’s nice to not have so much clutter. Packing lightly forces you to only wear what you have packed because you don't have many options. I also think packing cubes made it easier because I can compress my outfits into time little dense cubes.

Granted, I think packing in a carry-on would be much easier for warmer climates. I also don't think I could do any trips longer than 10 days in a carry-on without doing some laundry. 

Disembarkation + Final Thoughts

Tomorrow we will get off the ship around 9:30 AM and my flight is at 2:00 PM. I plan to head straight to the airport and hopefully have a painless travel day.

Sydney is taking the Amtrak bus to Seattle before flying to Hawaii on her next big adventure.

We are both sad that our friend-cruise is coming to an end. It was so nice to be able to travel again, especially together.

Our friendship is really special and having this much time together again at sea was wonderful. We loved our time on the cruise and getting to meet such nice people was really a highlight.

Radiance of the Seas feels like she’s been well maintained and the crew are doing their best to get the ship back to a well-oiled machine. We had a few hiccups, but everything was handled with excellent service. I think this is to be expected with any cruise ship returning to service. We've met a lot of crew members onboard who are working for the first time onboard a ship.

That's the end of my live blog for Alaska. Until next time, happy cruising!

Hi from the choppy Alaskan seas! It’s Day 6 of our 7-night cruise, so our time onboard Radiance of the Seas is coming to an end. I can't believe tomorrow is our last day. A week onboard a cruise always goes way faster than any other week at home, right?

Although we didn’t have a port today, we sailed through Tracy’s Arm Fjord early this morning. We set our alarms for 6:30 AM to make sure we didn’t miss any of the scenery.

The sight of the fjord in the distance was stunning as we woke up and waited in line for coffee.

There’s been a line each morning at Latitudes, but it seems to move fairly quick. I heard a few grumbles from the people behind me about the line each morning; however, I don't think it's been that bad. 

I love my morning latte, so it's a great way to start the day for me. 

With coffee in hand, Sydney and I made our way to the helicopter pad so we could go to the very front of the ship.

Tracy’s Arm Fjord

The helicopter pad was fairly busy with other cruisers - I was surprised to see so many people already out there since it was barely 7:00 AM. It was frigid cold at the front of the ship and I was wishing I had warn my warmer pants.

In the distance, we could see the ship making its way towards the glacier. This was further than my ship was able to make it last summer (due to icing), so I was already excited to see new scenery. 

It was too cold being at the very front of the ship, so we went up a few decks to 13 to watch the ship continue sailing through the fjord. The railing here was solid and covered, so it was less windy as well. 

The scenery is unreal; if you’re sailing through the fjord on an upcoming cruise, you’ll definitely want to set your alarm. I overheard a couple saying they had missed the fjord on their last cruise because they were staying in an inside cabin and didn’t know the scenery was so beautiful.

We took lots of pictures of the mountains and sipped our coffee. What a Wednesday morning! 

The ship inched closer and closer to a line of ice in front of the glacier. Obviously cruise ships aren’t meant to be ice-breaking ships, so we just sailed right up to the ice barrier. We could see the glacier in the distance and I was shocked to see how blue the glacier was.

The ship started to do a donut spin and then slowly made its way back to the sea and out of the fjord. Coming from Florida, it was fun to be bundled up on the deck and take in such a drastic change of scenery. 

Main Dining Room Breakfast

We decided to have breakfast in the dining room since we were already up. Tomorrow is a sea day, so we have no alarms set - we figured it was a good time to do another breakfast in the dining room.

The host sat us at a table with a window, which was incredible. We commenced the beautiful morning with mimosas - as one should! This was a perfect way to use a daily drink voucher too.

Sydney and I split a plate of French toast to start and each had a breakfast burrito. I think it was even better than the one I had the first morning! Sydney loved the burrito too.

With tummies full, our early morning wake up call made us sleepy. We opted to head back to the cabin for a mid-morning nap.

Unfortunately, the Internet was still down so I wasn’t able to get connected to anything. I had scheduled a meeting at work for 10:00 AM, but that had to be cancelled with no Internet or cell service to save the day.

Of course, most people aren’t as worried about the Internet as I am. With the live blog and other remote work that needs to be done, I’m more reliant on it working. 

During the nap, I received a call from guest services asking about our excursion experience in Ketchikan. I explained how the trolley left early without us, but we were given options from the excursion staff. He was very kind and helpful, expressing his apologies for that happening.

The Captain also made an announcement that woke us up again from our nap. He explained that no announcements can be made in the fjord to protect the wildlife there, so that’s why the cruise ship is very quiet while sailing towards the glacier. He also said we would have choppy seas tonight before making our way to the Inside Passage again. 

I really like about the Captain of this cruise- he is the most personable cruise ship captain that I’ve ever had. Each day, he acknowledges the crew members who are celebrating birthdays on the ship. He’s very down to Earth and I really enjoy his communication with us.

Hot Stone Massage Experience

I had my massage booked for 12:45 PM, so Sydney and I went upstairs to grab a snack at the Windjammer. She had plans to play cards with our dinner friends during my massage.

I have never had a massage on a cruise ship before; in fact, I can count on one hand the number of massages I’ve had in my life.

Since I have neck and shoulder pain from computer work, the spa manager recommended the hot stone massage. I went with her recommendation and hoped for the best.

I was taken into a little relaxation room to fill out some forms. The room was safari themed with large chase loungers. It was a little cheesy, but comfortable. 

My therapist met with me and talked to me about where I was having some discomfort. She also recommended that I do a seaweed wrap for another $200, but I politely declined and said the hot stone massage was a splurge.

The room had floor to ceiling windows. The massage felt wonderful everywhere with the hot stones. I had only been booked for 50 minutes - and the time felt like it flew by.

I did speak to the spa manager after my massage about a small concern I had regarding the session - she was very helpful and resolved the issue quickly. I greatly appreciated how she handled my concern with both empathy and professionalism.

In fact, for the inconvenience, she offered that Sydney and I could access the Thermal Spa for today and tomorrow. We are excited to try that tomorrow on our last day of the cruise.

Royal Caribbean Service

This cruise has had more kinks than others I’ve taken recently. I am sure with an older ship just returning to service after 2 years, this is bound to happen.

I think it’s important to be flexible and remember that traveling isn’t always perfect, especially as the travel industry works on its full comeback from the pandemic.

Royal Caribbean has been providing outstanding service and support when issues arise, such as the Internet not working, our shore excursion leaving without us, and my concern at the spa.

These are all minor issues for me, but it does remind me why I am loyal to a company that I believe values customer service and strives for excellence.

In fact, I received a second call today regarding our shore excursion experience and they confirmed we received a full refund for our tour. This was really generous of Royal Caribbean because we still enjoyed the lumberjack show even though we missed the trolley. 

Solarium Wave Pool

Sydney and I decided that we wanted to go to the hot tub after my massage, so we made our way to the Solarium.

Well, apparently everyone else had the same idea because there were 10 people crammed into the tiny hot tub. The pool was actually pretty comfortable, but just as we got in, the seas became a little choppy.

The Solarium pool was slowly becoming a makeshift wave pool. We tried to use the hot tubs outside, but it was cold and rainy so we only lasted maybe 2 minutes.

I grabbed a drink at the bar and we lounged for a bit in the chairs, but the choppy seas seemed to continue. The pool waves became more intense, so the lifeguards closed off the Solarium pool.

It was almost time to get ready for dinner, so Sydney and I made our way back to the cabin to freshen up for formal night.

Evening Activities

With just a carry-on for this cruise, I didn’t have too much room for formal attire. I’ve seen over the years that most people don’t dress very formal anyway - and it can take up so much room in your luggage. I chose to pack a simple black dress for both formal nights.

Sydney was started to feel a little seasick since she has a sensitive tummy, so she wasn’t very hungry. She heard that green apples were supposed to ease motion sickness, so our waiter brought her a plate of green apples to have before dinner. 

For dinner tonight, Sydney and I both ordered both the caprese salad and I asked for the onion tart as well. I ordered the beef tenderloin while Sydney tried the eggplant parmesan.

To her surprise, the motion sickness patch (and maybe the magical green apple) did start to work by the end of dinner and she was feeling better.

For dessert, I ordered the molten chocolate cake. I’ve loved this dessert for years and years - I’m glad it’s continued to be served! It was decadent tonight and I forgot to snap a picture.

Baked Alaska was on the menu tonight, which is very fitting of course for this cruise. Here's a picture of our dinner neighbor's dessert for good measure. 

One of the best parts of dinner was seeing all the whales out in the ocean. We saw so many that were spouting water and breaching. Apparently, whales like to breach during choppy waters so that might explain all of the activity. 

Some of the whales were so close to our ship and we could see their fins popping over the white caps. I love seeing everyone run to the windows and react to the whales breaching.

By the end of dinner, the seas had calmed down and we even saw a rainbow out in the distance. It was a perfect way to end dinner.

Since we had napped today, we had a bit more energy to make it to the show tonight. We sat with our dinner friends and enjoyed a variety show that featured a comedian and musician. 

Back in our cabin, we found disembarkation information and luggage tags - a sign of the times that the cruise is coming to an end.

Tomorrow’s Plans

To my surprise, the Internet came back up this evening. It’s been consistently working tonight, so that hopefully means that I can get a few work things done tomorrow during our sea day.

I am sure you're all sick of the Internet updates, but it does seem to be playing a role in our daily activities. At one point today, I saw 10 people waiting to speak to the VOOM Internet desk! I guess they are planning to provide a mass refund for the days that the Internet was down, so that is great.

I haven’t seen this reflected on my shipboard account, so I will need to get that settled tomorrow if it isn’t updated.

We have no alarms set tomorrow! I think we might try to have lunch in the main dining room, as that’s a first for me. I will be interested to see what's offered for lunch compared to breakfast and dinner options. 

There is also an egg-dropping contraption contest tomorrow. Sydney and I are pretty curious about what that could possibly entail, so we are hoping to check that out. I am sure it will be a hoot!

We are also planning to try the Thermal Spa sometime in the morning before meeting our dinner friends for a game of cards!

The last day of the cruise means I need to pack and hopefully take my covid test onboard if the Internet cooperates… but we all know how that’s been going.

Good night from Alaska and our little towel friend!

It’s Day 5 of my 7-night Alaska sailing onboard Radiance of the Seas on our voyage through Alaska's Inside Passage. 

I am happy to report the Internet appears to be back up and working! I’d like to officially lower my Internet reliability rating from a 6/10 to 3/10 based on the last few days.

Word on the street is that everyone will be getting a refund for 3 days because of the issues we’ve had. For the amount of time I have wasted trying to get connected, that feels justified.

Our morning today started at 6:30 AM again. Jet lag continues to be our friend as we get up early and start the day! The rough seas had thankfully calmed down by the time we were asleep, which is what the captain had told us would happen.

They weren't horrible last night and certainly not the worst I've experienced. In fact, the location of our inside cabin was fantastic for the waves last night. We had booked an inside guarantee cabin for this cruise, so we really lucked out with our stateroom since we didn’t choose this location.

I grabbed a coffee and we made our way to the Solarium. Since the Internet was still down, I started to panic about my sea day plans of working remotely. I connected to my phone’s LTE and created a hotspot to get a few things done.

Everyone else was clearly waiting for the ship Internet to work again because I had 2 people ask me if the WiFi was back on.

As I sipped my coffee and caught up on emails, Park Cafe had some tasty looking breakfast sandwiches, so I grabbed one of those while Sydney went to the Windjammer for breakfast.

The scenery was cloudy and overcast with Skagway being tucked away in the mountains.

Walking to Skagway

After breakfast and finishing up some work tasks, we bundled up and went ashore in Skagway.

There were 2 other ships docked in town today; for a city with a population of 1,200, this would be a huge influx of people!

It was cold and drizzly again as we walked off the ship and made our way to the city.

There were some golf-cart type vehicles that were offering rides, but this seemed to be mostly for older passengers and those with mobility issues. We opted to walk since the signage implied it was only 5 minutes to town.

Let me tell you - it was not 5 minutes to town.

We walked at least 20 minutes before we were in the city. Radiance of the Seas was docked behind another cruise ship, but even that walk would be longer than 5 minutes.

Stray Skagway Thoughts

As we walked along the port, we could see where the Skagway train starts, which is right at the start of the town.

Tickets were $133 if purchased in the port area. That was a little pricey for us. Also, the scenery from the ship was already so stunning, we decided to skip. We’ve heard great things about the train from cruisers who’ve done it in the past.

Word on the street is that one of the trains broke down today and passengers were issued a full refund. Guess we dodged a bullet.

The Skagway train crosses into Canada normally. Apparently, this year the train won’t be able to cross the border because of Covid movement restrictions. I am sure the ArriveCAN process for that would be horrendous anyway, so it’s in everyone’s best interest that it doesn’t cross.

When I came to Skagway 12 years ago, we did the Sled Dog Training Camp tour. This was amazing and I would highly recommend, especially for dog lovers and families. It was fascinating seeing how the huskies are raised and trained.

Broadway Street 

As we made our way into town towards Broadway Street, we immediately appreciated how quaint and charming it was. My dad suggested we go to the famous Red Onion Saloon, so we walked past that and saw it was pretty busy.

The town is very small and filled with shops along both sides of the street. You won’t need to look very far for jewelry if you’re in the market for some new bling! There are tons of jewelry shops around town that are eager to get you inside.

We started to notice a few people eating these huge bear claws. Sydney and I followed the aroma of cinnamon and sugar to Klondike Doughboy.

For $7, we indulged in a warm, doughy fry bread covered in cinnamon sugar. It was huge and easily shareable. This was the place to go in town, as it was pretty busy with cruisers.

Next, we wanted to check out the local supermarket to see how the locals live.

We were surprised to see reasonably comparative prices to what we have back home. But, we were shocked to see how sparse the fresh produce selection was.

Internet Hunt

Trying to find reliable Internet has become an unexpected storyline for this cruise.

Sydney and I saw there was one coffee shop in town, so we figured we would be able to get some WiFi there if we needed. At the very least, I was hoping to get a few things done for work.

I have 3 part-time jobs that I work remotely, including blogging for RoyalCaribbeanBlog. I’ve been lucky to have reliable Internet on my cruises earlier this year, so I didn’t anticipate any issues.

I prefer to be totally disconnected when cruising; but, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling during my husband’s deployment, which means I need to do work here and there to make sure I stay gainfully employed.

Anyway, the cafe did not have WiFi (is this becoming a recurring theme?). I had 3 people ask me whether the cafe had Internet, so everyone seemed to be in the same boat.

I guess this was a lesson learned that Internet should not be relied upon when cruising to Alaska.

I was able to get a few things done while Sydney made all the friends. We first met some crew members from the Norwegian ship who thought for the entire conversation that we were crew members too.

We also met a really sweet older couple who asked us more about our Semester at Sea voyage. They were interested in becoming Lifelong Learners  (cruisers who just join the voyage for fun but don’t take courses), so Sydney gave them her information to stay in touch.

It was pretty chilly and we had gone through pretty much the entire town by this point. We sampled some popcorn, tried the Klondike Doughboy and window-shopped in jewelry stores.

We also did some souvenir shopping right before we made our way back to the ship.

Afternoon Relaxation

The walk back to the ship took 20 minutes and it was raining more by this point. We were chilled and hungry, ready to head up to the Windjammer for lunch.

I felt better about the Internet debacle by this point because I was able to get in touch with my bosses and update them on the situation. Feeling a bit drained, I was ready for a relaxation afternoon.

Sydney and I have yet to find cozy hot cocktails on the ship. I’ve asked a few times and the best response was ‘We can make you a cocktail without ice?!”.

That one made us laugh.

Instead, we went back to the cabin to put on our swimsuits for the hot tub. We stopped at Latitudes and ordered some hot chocolate and asked for shots of Bailey’s in each. We created our own hot toddies!

The Solarium wasn’t very busy, which was great since the pool deck hot tubs were busier. We relaxed for a bit in the hot tub with our boozy hot chocolates.

Dinner in the Dining Room

The afternoon went by pretty quickly and before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner.

I challenged myself to do this cruise with only a carry-on and tonight I was feeling like my dinner outfit options were a little sparse.

Luckily, this is a cruise where people are busy all day on excursions and exploring, so there’s a wide range of attire in the dining room. I’ve been sporting some dark jeans the last few nights, as I saved my dresses for the formal nights mostly.

We started the meal with strawberry blondes, which were cocktails from the bar menu.

Dinner tonight had a really good menu in my opinion! I ordered the pork tacos for an appetizer, which is a favorite of mine, and the chicken cordon blu. I swapped the french fries for mashed potatoes and loved this as a comfort meal. 

Sydney opted for Caesar salad for a starter and requested a ‘DIY dinner option’ of tomato soup from the appetizer list and grilled cheese from the kid’s menu.

We’ve been really enjoying our new friends each night at dinner to the table next to us. While we aren’t sitting together, our tables are virtually right next to one another.

They loved Sydney’s idea of soup and grilled cheese, so they ordered the same.

For dessert, I ordered the Tres Leches while Sydney had the apple blossom. I wasn’t sure if I would like this cake, but it was delicious. The apple blossom seems to be a home-run dessert on every cruise I’ve taken, so I might opt for that the next 2 nights as well.

Tonight’s entertainment was a singer who gave tribute to Whitney Houston with shows at both 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM. We’ve both been tired by the end of the night, so we called it a night a little early.

It’s funny to see a lot of the older cruisers stay up late for the dancing and entertainment while we seem to be wiped by the end of the day.

Pre-Departure Covid Testing

We came back to our cabin to find a sheet that had information about covid testing upon arrival back in Canada. I'm slowly losing hope that this pre-departure testing to return to the US will be dropped before Friday.

If you're flying from Canada back to the US, you currently will need to show proof of a negative covid test. The test can be taken within 1 day of traveling. 

This is rumored to be changing soon, but I seem to have great luck of cruising right before changes happen (like my February cruise that missed the optional mask guidance by one day).

Our dinner friends said they totally forgot this was a requirement, but the concierge in the suites lounge has arranged for them to get tested at the airport before their flight.  

I brought my Abbott home tests to hopefully take the last day on the ship, but the unreliable Internet will determine if that happens. 

My strategy is to take the proctored test onboard the ship before disembarking. If I happen to get an unexpected positive result, then I am covered under Royal Caribbean's Cruising with Confidence policy. However, the Internet connection could prove to change my plans. 
 

Tracy’s Arm Fjord

Tomorrow, we are sailing through Tracy’s Arm Fjord in the early morning from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM. We have our alarm set and are looking forward to the glacier.

Last summer, Luke and I weren’t able to see the glacier because it was too icy for the ship to get there safely. We were able to get close and sail by icebergs - that was actually our favorite day of our Alaska cruise last summer.

We are expected to have better weather tomorrow luckily! I am hoping we can make it to see Sawyer Glacier, but I know the scenery through the fjord is incredible too.

I will be looking out for the specialty drinks tomorrow morning on the pool deck as we sail through!

Also, I booked myself a massage for tomorrow afternoon. Sydney has made plans to play cards with our dinner friends during my massage. I decided to treat myself for (almost!!) making it through my first deployment as a military spouse.

That’s all for today from Skagway!