leisuretraveler223

5 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

If no one in your party of ten has mobility issues and you don't pack too much luggage walking from the Alaska Railroad Seward train station to the Seward cruise terminal is walkable.

 

Did you book directly with the Alaska Railroad?  If so your train will end at the ARR Seward rail station.  If you booked this transfer directly with Celebrity (hence it is Celebrity chartered train service) the train takes a very small rail line spur and ends at the Seward cruise terminal.

Thank you.  It sounds like we should be able to walk it.  We did not book through Celebrity. Their train was leaving later in the day. We opted for the earlier departure.  Also found booking through the railroad was a much better deal as we were able to book the premium dome car at a lower price than the standard service through Celebrity!

Party of ten sailing out of Seward in July. Taking Alaska Railroad down to Seward.  Does anyone have any good intel on getting from the train to the ship?  Is it a manageable walk? Do I need to book transportation?

It’s been quite some time since I sailed on Celebrity. If you do not have a drink package, and you purchase a drink from a bar or elsewhere, do they still make you sign a chit every time? Or do you just hand them your card and get it back?

2 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

The ARR tracks are the same whether folks book Gold Star or Adventure -- the cars are different, but the tracks are the same.   The scenery is the same, just the cars are different.  We live in Fairbanks, Alaska, and when we see passenger trains the cars are often a mixture of domed and "regular' cars.  

 

The one (and most likely only time) we have ever driven to a cruise port was when we drove down to Seward to board the Millennium for a B2B Seward to Vancouver and back.  At the end of that B2B I remember finishing breakfast in Luminae and watching the ARR chartered train leave from the Seward cruise terminal for the Anchorage airport.  It seems to me that the cars were all the "regular" (not domed) cars, but I am not positive.

 

The ARR passenger service is surprisingly expensive.  It is essentially a freight carrier.  The cost to fly from Fairbanks to Anchorage, even in first class, is much cheaper than spending the day to take the train down.  The flight is about 50 minutes, but the train is the entire day.

The issue is these are two separate trains. If I book the Alaska Railroad, or anyone else, it's the train leaving at 6:45am and offers the option for Gold Leaf Service.  Celebrity lists a train at 11:30am, but does not have various levels.  If this is a train entirely chartered by Celebrity, is it possibly there is only one level of service?

20 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

It is the same train and same route.   The 11:30 may be a charter. 

The difference usually on their regular trains the Dome Seats  "Gold Star" (upstairs) are sold at a premium. 

 

 

 

Regular seats are Adventure Class

 

So is there an option for the Gold Star seating through Celebrity?  It doesn’t seem to show it.  Has anyone actually booked the Gold Star on the chartered train and how did you do so?

Sailing out of Seward in July and booked Alaska Railroad, Gold Star Dome for our party of ten.  Only thing is, the train leaves SUPER early (6:45am).  Celebrity is offering a nondescript train transfer leaving at a much more humane 11:30 am.  The price is basically the same, but I can’t find a good description of the train.  Is it the same train, same route?

Anyone have any experience with this?

Probably a basic question and I feel a little dumb that I can't find the answer. Do Haven bookings include specialty dining? Or is that still an additional fee?

I was in Labadee Friday, no concerns at all. 

2 hours ago, ajtaylor29 said:

Which is important to remember because the time in ports will be different (Aruba and Curacao) so if you've booked private excursions you need to make sure you coordinate the local time vs. ship time!

As a general rule of thumb, the ship will stay on ships time if local time moves ahead, but will adjust if local time moves back. That way if someone leaves the ship and starts looking at the incorrect time, they will think it's LATER than it is and will be back earlier.  Ships are much more likely to adjust their time on a western itinerary, so  no one making the same mistake will think they have an extra hour and get back to the ship late.

1 hour ago, mets123 said:

How was the seafood restaurant? My wife wants lobster rolls for lunch one day and I am trying to determine if it's worth the trip.

I didn't check out Hooked. I'm sure the lobster roll is good. It's actually really hard to screw up lobster!

Frustrating experience:  Night one, about 8:30 pm, we wander into Sugar Beach and decide to get some indulgence for our sweet tooth.  I go to the counter with a small bag of candy that totals a whopping $7.  I go to pay for it and there's a problem.  Something wrong with my account.  Twenty minuted I'm stuck there as they are calling who knows where to try and figure it out.  Meanwhile, there is a line building behind me and I'm like "forget it, I don't want it that bad", but they literally have my card and I can't get it back.  

Finally, they come back and say I need to go to guest services and fix my account.  Really?  It's 9pm on night one of an 8 day cruise, we are literally at sea for the next 48 hours, and I've got a hard stop over $7?  of course, at 9pm of day one guest services is a train wreck, so I waited until the next morning, and when I finally got there, everything was fine. They couldn't figure out what the issue was the night before. Grrr.....

Just now, FionaMG said:

 

I guess they must have got a new delivery of decent sized ones since we were on on the 10th of February sailing. Once the shell was off it was the teeniest tiny lobster tail I have ever seen on any of my cruises. I was so shocked I even forgot to take a picture.

Just as well DH wasn't really hungry that night! 😂

That's what I've been accustomed to in the past, but these were absolutely the same tail that you could order from the Chops selections for $16.99.

Being from Massachusetts, I don't really lose my mind over lobster, and kinda chuckle when others do. I mean, it's good, but it's not some rarity any more. You can buy lobster tails in just about every grocery store across the country. Watching people gorge themselves on piles of tiny previously freezer-burned and overcooked scrawny tails soaking in butter always seemed kind of hysterical. One decent tail is really enough.

2 minutes ago, crusin1112 said:

Glad to hear you enjoyed the shows!  I loved the ice shows on Harmony so im sure i will enjoy this one as well.  What kind of theme nights did they have?  The usual 70's and 90's night im sure. 

White night and Caribbean night were noted on the planner in advance.  I believe they also had an 80s night (or at least an 80s dance party on the promenade).  

Enjoyed Labadee.  While we were all in suites, we skipped Barefoot Beach Club. I've been before and I don't love it. I prefer the beach on the other side (Adrenaline Beach, I believe). Barefoot Beach Club is fine, but it's just kind of a small beach and cove and I just don't love the feel.

Water was great and there were plenty of loungers.

One wish:  There are a lot of fun things for kids at Labadee, and lots of water areas to be.  They have one floating tiki bar in the water off Adrenaline Beach. There is no reason for kids to be out there. It's a crowded bar on a float that says "no jumping".  I do not think it would be unreasonable for them to say that is an adults only area.  Just the floating tiki bar, not the whole beach.

The ship was BUSY!  This is probably my tenth time on an Oasis class vessel since Oasis launched.  I've been on as a solo, a couple, a large family and a group. I've been on over holidays, and all seasons. I've been on when it was close to or at capacity (although that is a somewhat ethereal number).  But I've never found everything as busy as I did this time.  

Every bar seemed to always be full.  Even the Suite Lounge was crazy.  In the past, I found the Suite Lounge was busy immediately preceding the two fixed dining times, but this time, it was basically packed from a little before 5 until 7:30 every night. Had to wait for tables every time we went there.

I don't really get it. There are only so many rooms, and only so many people, Why everything seemed so busy this time was a little head scratcher.  Even the suite sun deck, which historically always seemed to be under utilized, was pretty much full every day.

Not a complaint as much as a general observation.

1 minute ago, crusin1112 said:

Glad to hear you had fun!  Going next month on Symphony to Aruba, Curacao and Labadee.  Cant wait!  It will be my first time in Aruba and Curacao.  How was the aqua show (Hiro i believe) and Hairspray? 

Hiro was very good. Albeit a little longer than I felt it needed to be. It's about 50 minutes and it was cool, but honestly felt like I could've seen it all in about 25-30 minutes.

Didn't make it to Hairspray, but did see 1977, the ice show and that was FANTASTIC!  I'm not a big figure skating enthusiast, but to sit close and watch them was really impressive. Great music too!

Traveled in a group of four. My wife and myself and another couple. We were in a crown loft, they were in a grand suite.  Enjoyed the suite deck, suite lounge and other suite perks. But dined in MDR every night and were perfectly happy with it.

Looked at Coastal Kitchen Menus every day, but honestly liked the wider variety in MDR.  Coastal was great for breakfast several days.

Lots of talk about MDR food, but I think overall it is  much as it has been for the past five years- order the right items and you'll be happy.  Items that are made well in "large format" come out great.  So the prime rib, fried chicken, beef tenderloin, lasagna, soups, and most of the sides were excellent.  Sadly as has always been the case, pork chops were overcooked and dry (easy to do if you don't have a really nice piece of pork), and the seafood for the most part was ho-hum, but what do you expect when it's all frozen?

One major bright spot was the lobster tail.  Yes, they limit you to one and then have an uncharge, but these are MUCH better tails than the scrawny little ones they used to serve.  One lobster tail is plenty, if you're hungry, order something else to go with it.

Had a really enjoyable 8 day trip on Symphony.  Will share my thoughts in replies and welcome any questions.

I take a different approach.

I do not buy travel insurance.  There isn't a single right answer, but rather it depends on the individual and the circumstances.  I look at a number of possibilites:

First, I have a plan through MedJet Assist for medical transport if necessary.  It's a multi-year plan that covers me anywhere in the world. So, I've got the potential expense and logistical hassle of getting home covered.

Second, my current health insurance will reimburse me for medical expenses incurred while traveling, so long as I'm not in an area the US State Department has advised against traveling.  Now the critical component to this is "reimbursement", I'm going to have to foot the bill and they will pay me back.  Now, I own a business and have access to a very large amount of credit, so I can float even a large medical expense until I'm reimbursed.  Look into what your current insurance covers and consider the possibilities.

What I do not insure against is any "loss of trip" eventuality.  I travel regularly, probably in the neighborhood of twice a month, sometimes a long weekend, sometimes a week or more.  If I suddenly have to cancel a trip last minute, or cut a trip short, I might lose the cost of the trip, and I might be disappointed, but I'm no poorer. In other words, there is no huge risk or exposed liability there.  I like to say that I "self insure" in this way.  In the past ten years, I've had to cancel two trips last minute- two out of probably 150-170.  I lost about $4,000 between the two events.  Or, about $25 lost for every trip taken in that time frame.  So I have DEFINITELY made out better not buying that type of insurance for all my travels.

Now, things may change.  If professional circumstances, family issues or even health concerns suddenly increase the probability of having to cancel, I might reconsider this and hedge my bets a little differently.

There are two thought processes around travel insurance: one is "peace of mind". Some people feel better knowing they are covered.  There is some value in this, but keep in mind it's also the emotional string the insurers always pull on to sell their product.  "Peace of mind" is valuable, but how valuable is very subjective.  The other view of any insurance product (travel, homeowners, life, liability,etc.) is that it is an INVESTMENT tool.  From this view, travel insurance is almost universally considered a bad investment.

So, it's not for me, but it's a calculated decision. I encourage everyone to consider what they are insuring and why, and do what is best for them.

Based on the title, this is NOT how I thought this thread was going to unravel.

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

Yes that was mentioned above by @RobInMN.  

I do remember smoking vs non-smoking sections in airplanes.  And in restaurants.

I think most of the people here would have absolutely lost their minds if they ever tried to take a commercial flight in the 70s or early 80s.

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

I am just asking the very simple(?) question - can they switch the casinos?  That would not eliminate smoking, just distribute it differently.

And there is an equally simple answer: Yes they can. But it doesn't matter, as they have chosen not to.  You can waste all the time you want speculating about this and it won't make any difference.

So I in turn as a simple question- is this a deal-breaker for you?  If so, easy choice is pick another line.  If not, then let it go.  Share your thoughts on your post-cruise survey and move on.

Okay, so just to be clear. They have actually EXPANDED the non-smoking portion of the casino to now include a physically separate room.  Got it.

I'm an ex-smoker (twenty years!) and certainly don't need any extra smoke in my life, but I think the smokiness of the non-smoking half of the Oasis class casinos has been ridiculously overstated on these boards for years.  Can you smell smoke? Yes.  Is the non-smoking side in fact "smoky"?  No, not really.  Do I wish Royal would just follow the lead of sister line Celebrity and get rid of all indoor smoking? Absolutely!  Sadly, Royal still draws a clientele that evidently includes a lot more smokers.

Good thing is, there are lots of lines with lots of differences.  I suggest that if this is a deal breaker for you you just look at another line. Trying to reason that you know Royal's business model better than they do is a bit of hubris.

Has something changed?  In my previous trips on Symphony, one side was smoking, one was non-smoking. They were the same size.

I just received an email with a $200 e-gift card.  In looking at the FAQs, it says I can use it towards my on-board expense account by visiting guest services.  Has anyone done this?  It seems like the most practical way for me to use it since my cruise is so close and I don't have anything else to pre-purchase.

I tried to use it towards our drink packages by canceling and rebooking, but it doesn't let you use it for only a portion of the cost. i.e. I enter the gift card as a payment option and it declines because it's not big enough for the total.