vistapat

On 11/25/2018 at 10:37 AM, John&LaLa said:

 

Um, you should have gotten it on Liberty.   I guess you can call C&A and request one.  

I did call C&A yesterday and a very polite woman answered and, (after a bit of a hold while she checked on something), they will mail us the block.  She also mentioned that I should have gotten it on the ship.  If we're still cruising at 210 I'll do better😀.  At least seeing this thread jogged my aged memory!

Pat

I just booked shore excursions on Saturday for two ports on our August Alaska cruise on Ovation.  From having been checking the prices all along, I know that one excursion was 15% off the original price and the other was 20% off.  I will keep checking between now and the cruise, but I'm really happy with what I have so far.  We will save a total of $142 dollars - not too shabby.

Pat

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

This is why I suggest to people to check with the Loyalty Ambassador when they expect a block on a cruise.

Honestly, it slipped my mind until I saw this thread again.  But I wish I had remembered - lots easier to get straightened out on the ship than via phone, especially during the holiday season.

Pat

Thanks, John.  I'll be polite about it😁.

Pat

We got to 140 points exactly at the end of our Liberty cruise last week.  When should we expect to receive the crystal block?

Pat

2 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Just got off the Symphony and they checked everyones sea pass card every night from 4:30 to 8 for 12 nights.  No problem during the day but they are really checking everyone at night, 

Had the same experience on Liberty last week.  They only checked one night that we saw, but they were definitely checking every single card.

Pat

Just off the Roatan, Belize, Cozumel itinerary, and those were the correct formal nights.  Day 2 (first sea day) and Day 6 (Cozumel).

Pat

I worked for me too - but unfortunately, the ship was Liberty and I got a ton of Carnival Liberty threads also.  Ah well, but I did get only "Liberty"😕.

I've already done check-in and printed docs for our November 11th cruise on Liberty.  I tried to get in just to see what would happen, and got the glitch response.  I was using Firefox.  If you have access to Microsoft Edge, that's what usually works for me when nothing else does.

Pat

We gave up tuxedos 6 cruises ago, dh wears khakis and a button-down, no tie or jacket and I wear a nice dress (not even semi-formal)

We were on Liberty in May, and will be on her again in November. This is the exact clothing we wore, and will wear again, and never felt either under- or overdressed.

Pat

I've addressed why we prefer transfers, but thanks for your input. :)

And it's only a $4pp difference compared to the shuttle.

Understood. But since your travel agent hasn't worked with you on it, and Royal won't let you book direct, and it's getting close, we were merely trying to suggest some alternatives. That said, I agree that previous poster was very rude and condescending.

Best of luck, from another control freak.

Pat

Houston Hobby/Galveston. I really haven't found anything comparable in price for two people yet.

You will definitely find recommendations for transfer companies from Hobby to Galveston on the Gulf Coast Departures board. I can almost promise what you find will be cheaper than the cruise transfers.

Pat

What is your airport/port? You might be better off with a cab or uber! Really depends on how far from the airport your hotel or port is.

This is a valid point. It really does depend upon your port, but in many cases the cost for a cab, let alone Lyft or Uber, is the same for two people as the cruise line charges for each. (You did realize that the costs you saw on Royal were per person?) In my opinion there are definitely ports where a cruise transfer is best, but most of them are in Europe, and Northern Europe at that. If you go to the departure ports board or the ports of call board for your embarkation port, you will find lots of good recommendations for private transfer companies that fellow cruisers have used and can vouch for. You should still have time to make arrangements.

Best of luck to you - I agree it's getting a little close for comfort.

Any recent reports of folks having "corkage free" stickers on wine bottles that were ship provided?

No corkage fee for a bottle with a sticker for us on Serenade in December, 2017.

Pat

As far as I know—I stand to be corrected—Hobby has only one terminal. I used to work for the Houston Airport System but that was 2003 so do your own research. Hobby is pretty good as far as passenger throughput. Small airport. It’s a straight shot up 45 from Galveston and isn’t that far off the Interstate. Houston Traffic is legendarily bad but on a weekend debark, you’re primary obstacle may be construction; not congestion. I would look into investing on the TSA express pass. It’s like $85 bucks for 5 years and you get preferred security clearance.

 

As for the Galveston Cruise Terminal; I have nothing to compare it to but I was horrified both times I left out of there. It seems incredibly spartan, needlessly cumbersome, and above all else, the officials seem to be doctrinaire in their methods. I did the same itinerary as you did and another where we just went to, of course— Cozumel. There didn’t seem to be any difference in the customs clearances.

Yes, Hobby has only one terminal. I was actually referring to Terminals 1 and 2 at Galveston. The traffic officers were holding up those trying to get to Terminal 2 in favor of those going to Terminal 1. She waited in traffic about 15 minutes. Since she's doing us a favor ferrying us to/from Galveston, I'm trying to get information as to what is the best time for her to pick us up.

Thanks, Pat

Some random thoughts:

 

• Ovation of the Seas is an amazing ship, and I personally feel will be one of the best ships to visit Alaska. High technology, lots of fun things on board... but the itinerary is lacking. If you're doing this trip to actually see more of Alaska, don't choose the Ovation itinerary.
  
• close your eyes, take out your credit card while not looking at the bill, and do a helicopter tour at one of the ports... lifetime memory. Absolutely and totally awesome.
  

Agree about Radiance vs. Ovation. We are going on our sixth Alaska cruise next summer on Ovation, purely for the ship rather than the itinerary, which I agree is limited. We will enjoy the ports and the experience, but will spend more time on the ship than we might have otherwise. Our first Alaska cruise was a one-way, and was by far the best we have ever taken. College Fjord - oh, my!

Hubby has finally persuaded me to take a helicopter tour to a glacier this time. I may have to make Bob (Clarea) my insurance beneficiary;p!

Pat

We're currently at 133, and will hit 140 on completion of our November cruise on Liberty. Would we be eligible for a block during that cruise, or after, or not until next cruise?

Pat

Also changed our minds and went for a three night dining package for our November Liberty cruise. Sixty dollars per person. That's a meal in any specialty restaurant for $20.00 per person. Unheard of!

Pat

Thank you, Karen. When we were on Liberty last May, our daughter got caught up in a big traffic jam where traffic officers were letting cars into Terminal 1 and just holding up those going to Terminal 2. We are trying to work it out this time so that she has the minimum of frustration and yet we still get to Hobby in plenty of time for our 1:15 flight. Hopefully, our experience with customs will be as seamless as yours.

Pat

Mine is Oasis 11/25/18.

 

Email fine print reads the sale is for "select sailings departing 9/15/18 - 2/28/19"

And yet ........8/30/19.

Pat

We're going to be on Liberty in November, and this will be our first time on the Cozumel, Roatan, Belize itinerary. Can anyone comment on whether customs takes longer to clear on this itinerary? I know I saw comments in the past that customs took longer due to these ports having a higher incidence of drug smuggling or some such. Any recent experience with this itinerary? We're trying to figure out when to have our daughter pick us up.

Thanks,

Pat

What ship and sailing date?

Saw this and checked both our sailings. I was able to save $5.00 pp off of shore excursion on our 11/12/18 Liberty Cruise, and $17.00 pp off the three night dining package for our Ovation 8/30/19 Alaska cruise.

Pat

This will be our sixth Alaska cruise, so we are definitely taking this cruise for the ship experience rather than the ports. That said, we love Alaska (6 cruises!) and think that the port experiences will be great too.

Pat

thinking about booking a cruise on this ship for next September. It seems like there are a fair amount of dining options, does anyone have a list of all the finding options along with pricing?

 

Also does anyone have prices for the activities on board that aren’t included?

 

Just trying to decide if this would be a good cruise or if we are better off doing something else!

 

Thanks.

We are booked on the August 30, 2019 cruise, and I would imagine our pricing will be at least very similar to September. The prices and options are:

Chops Grille $42.00

Chops Grille Lunch $22.00

Jamie's Italian $39.00

Izumi - A la carte

Wonderland $49.00

Jamie's Italian Lunch $35.00

Solarium Bistro - no charge

Coastal Kitchen - no charge but only open to suite and Pinnacle guests, Junior Suite for dinner, if space available

Ultimate Dining Package $168.00

3 Night Dining Package $88.00

4 Night Dining Package $108.00

5 Night Dining Package $115.00

Chef's Table $95.00

Pat

Each time they change the website, they remove some functionality.

 

Soon, there will be one button on the website that says "Book me a cruise and charge whatever you like".

Oh, Lord. Snorted my morning coffee out my nose!

Pat