KmomChicago

As Harry mentioned the mystery ship with the aft balconies I’m watching from my virtual is indeed Crown Princess. She looks to be similar size to Ovation sitting here together in port.

Hi @harryfat1 Harry. I do remember from your reviews that you like them “big and round.” 😂 I found your secret door to Two70. It’s not as convenient in our case as our rooms are not in that area. I have been having trouble dragging myself out of the room in the morning since I have instant coffee right there. It’s really not bad and it’s so nice to stay in pajamas a bit longer. When you have your own private room it’s easy to just wallow. However like you, I really love the Two70 space and its multi-uses. If I can get moving one of these mornings I will try out your ritual. And yes having mostly cruised Carnival the 3 sets of elevators is what I expect.

I did like the location and it felt completely safe to me. It was easier than I expected to get there with Link then Monorail then short walk.

I can absolutely understand that. If my mom were on this cruise I would be awfully glad our room is where it is. Being way aft with a mobility challenge wouldn’t be much fun at all. I think it’s funny Coastal Kitchen is by Windjammer. It’s a nice ocean view but usually they’re further from the riffraff. We can even peek in and watch the fancy people enjoying their fine dinery.

We did dock. My understanding is that, due to the weekly schedules, Ovation is always or almost always able to dock and Quantum never or almost never does.

To each their own and Celebrity is a nice cruise line anyway. Wonderful ships, food, and entertainment. I would be happy to cruise with them but I would actually opt down as they allow bookings without their all inclusive package. I prefer the a la carte model of RCI and Carnival so I can pay for just what I want. For me, the pricing on RCI would work better than Celebrity in most cases, even if I bought a booze package, which I absolutely do not and never would. I have had 2 Bloody Marys in 4 days. Total cost of booze package so far: $35. The key lime pie was good - I actually didn’t notice whether it was a true meringue but I know what you’re saying. I have lots of cold weather clothes but I didn’t want to drag a big coat along. I wasn’t planning on the plum sweater but it beckoned to me while shopping for the teen who needed something halfway decent to wear on formal night.

Great time, views must be experienced.

It was great! Photos don’t do it justice but I will try anyway.

Thank you, I am sure you’ll enjoy the cruise. These are great ships!

They are enjoying very much in typical teen fashion. Spending too much time lying around, sleeping late, and messing with their phones.

@JaneRetired what an awesome memory! Thanks for this. Reminds me to really double down and enjoy today! ❤️❤️

I have had all kinds of rooms except for the really high end Royal Caribbean suites. I prefer just the cheapest interior room I can get. I prefer a room or rooms fairly close to elevators / stairwells if I book far enough out to have my choice. I not sure whether all interiors on this ship have the virtual balcony but at the time I booked it was the cheapest cabin available - i.e. if there were rooms without the balcony they were no cheaper. I am usually willing to pay a small premium to choose my location but I have done guarantee cabins if the price difference is significant enough. I am also willing to pay a small premium for a larger room or a picture window, maybe as much as 10-20% more. I am willing to pay about the same for a balcony but any more isn’t worth it to me.

Rookie mistake, put on all the layers for mad dash to Windjammer, base layer is now all 🥵. Dumb. Finally succumbed to a bagel with salmon and cream cheese in the rush. Smoked salmon plus baked salmon, nom nom.

Hey you there on that mystery ship next door! Be careful on that balcony today. You’re being watched by hundreds of passengers in Steerage over here!

Luckily I found this at the local resale shop last week! Going over a thin long sleeved cotton T.

Nice day for it, guv’nor!

We passed Celebrity Summit and pulling up next to some mystery ship. If I were on deck I could run around getting a better look.

So one potential benefit to the virtual balconies. Unlike real balconies you can get dressed or even dance around naked in front of them and nobody can see you. Not saying you SHOULD or you WOULD or anyone ever DID. Just saying you COULD.

I believe Summit is doing the one-way runs between Anchorage-ish and Vancouver and vice-versa. I also believe she’s a twin to Millennium which I sailed 5 weeks after 9/11!! I could confirm all that but I am on vacation and ain’t got time.

Well looky who beat us into Skagway!

Pro tip for Quantum class passengers. There are only two sets of guest elevators on this massive, very long ship. The rear bank is REALLY FAR from what would be those aft balcony rooms that people enjoy so much. I often get off them on deck 5 and head back to Two70 and think, sheez, this is a hike. Since I booked 13 months ago I had nearly unlimited choice of cabins and we are very close to one of the two elevator banks and even so it’s a short walk to access our little private inside corridor. Emphasis on short, which I am really loving. As both sets of elevators are somewhat midship, motion is limited in our rooms as well. We have some gentle rocking at times, the kind that some people find soothing. And we are sooooo quiet which is the best. I will provide exact details on our location after we disembark but I am more than pleased with the rooms.

Today’s adventure is the White Pass Railroad! All three of us will, as I understand, briefly cross into Canada 🇨🇦 today without stepping off the train and touching down bare-earth style. The cost for this tour is $264 pp in the RCI app today but we got it during one of the many 35% off sales pre-cruise. At full price, that’s over 1k for a family of four, y’all! And don’t get me started on the helicopter 🚁 excursions! Point is, Alaska excursions can be extremely expensive. As always there are more economical options and you can always just walk around in your own.