heavenlysea

A few years ago my husband and I took a private excursion on Roatan and snorkeled. It was fantastic! Just do your research here and on tripadvisor to find a reputable guide/driver. A private company won't stay in business long if they ever have someone miss the ship.

I'm wondering exactly how to use the B1G1 free drink coupon. I'm not a big drinker so I was hoping to buy a drink or glass of wine one day and have my free drink the next day. Is that how it works? It wouldn't make sense to have to order two drinks at one time for the same person to drink.

How loud are the engines at night while in a main deck Navigator cabin on the un-cruise ship Wilderness Discover? These cabins would be numbered 201-210.

What cabin did you stay in? Any guidance would be most appreciated.

I found your report late last night and couldn't stop reading it until I was through the entire 3 weeks. Wow! We are thinking ahead to 2016 and our 35th wedding anniversary so this is awesome information. Thank you for posting so quickly!!!!

We're thinking of one of the Navigator cabins on the W. Discoverer on the Ultimate Bays and Fjords itinerary. I realize your cabin was two floors up from where these are but do you remember about the engine noise in the cabin area of the main deck?

Does this itinerary seem to have the best parts of your trip? Here's the highlights from the fjords/bays trip:

Two exclusive days in Glacier Bay—UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve

View stunning glaciers throughout Glacier Bay National Park

Wildlife and whalewatching in Icy Strait and Frederick Sound

South Marble Island sea lion haulout and spectacular birding

Wilderness hikes in Glacier Bay National Park and along Chichagof Island’s waterfall coast

Explore remote scenic bays via kayak, paddle board, and skiff

Discover isolated coves and dramatic Misty Fjords National Monument

Visit Wrangell's Kiksetti Totem Park and Chief Shakes Tribal House

Your thoughts please!

We did 3 weeks with Un-Cruise last year (May-June 2013) plus a trip to Denali.

 

Here is my (very long) photo/blog of our trip. There are links to sections to make it easier to,just check out samples.

 

We had an excellent time with Un-Cruise Adventures.

 

Our Ultra Alaska Un-Cruise

We are considering a trip on the un-cruise line for 2016 and would love to hear your experiences.

Thanks Bigjon for the pictures. That helps.

How difficult is it to get out of the water at the various ponds? Is it like getting out of a pool or can you walk out?

Any word when the shows might be changed?

We had a family promenade cabin on the FOS on the 7th floor. It was perfect for 5 of us (4 adults and 1 14 year old). There was the two beds that push together for a large bed, the couch that folds out into a double, and a cute little room near the entrance that has two bunks separated from the main room by a curtain. There was also a walk in closet (useful for getting dressed away from everyone) and plenty of room to walk around.We also had 2 windows overlooking the promenade which was nice. Would highly recommend this room, you have to go through RCCL to get it but you can transfer it to a travel agent for more OBC.

Considering trip to Blue Hole and would love to hear about your trip! I'm not especially light on my feet nor coordinated so am wondering how I'd do. I can't imagine umping off a tall cliff into the water. Would it be worth my while?

My husband and I have done both lines in the last 4 years, Celebrity Solstice, and RCCL Freedom. As previous posts have said, Celebrity has much better food and service. Our inside cabin was larger on Celebrity and actually felt very roomy. We liked being greeted with cool water at the ports when we re-boarded the ship. We also liked having less announcements interrupting our day. We did not have the experience of an open interior for walking about the day and found sometimes you had to go up or down a deck to get to places. Some of the entertainment was held in small informal areas and you had to stand to listen. We didn't like the feel of a "class system" (concierge) class with their separate dining room. The grass court area on top is unique but not really a draw for us. The entertainment was OK for the big shows and there were a few lectures from known scholars. We didn't see many children on our June sailing.

Our experience on RCCL has been more nickel and diming and more push for activities that cost $. At the time of our cruise there was a check in/out system of towels that was a royal pain (no pun intended!). It's my understanding that no longer applies. There were more entertainment choices on the Freedom as expected with a larger ship but I get the feeling that's part of RCCL's product. The ship atmosphere is more active than Celebrity.

Overall, I liked Celebrity for the food and nice touches and Royal for the larger choice in activities and open promenade and bigger entertainment options. I hope this helps you with your decision.

Anyone heard anything yet?

Was there a place at the Blue Hole to go in that didn't require a high jump?

We are going on the Grandeur of the Seas for a 10 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. Currently we are booked in an inside cabin. What are your thoughts about upgrading to an oceanview or even balcony? We will have 2 children with us.

 

Thanks for any advice!

We gave done an aft balcony on MOS with our 2 children and that was nice. However, we weren't on the balcony enough to justify the cost. We're currently booked in two insides on IOTS for next June only because we got a good rate. That said, it depends on what you are accustomed to and how old your children are. We looked at OV for the four of us for our upcoming cruise and decided it wasn't worth the extra $. Plus, we would have been all the way in the front of the ship. My son can get motion sickness so you do tend to feel the ship move up/down more at the front. Another time the four of us had been upgraded to an OV on the NOVS due to them not having a virtual interior room for 4. It was on deck 3. So not worth it to us--the wait for the elevators since everything was up, etc. If you're looking for natural light in your cabin you can always tune your TV on to the bridge view--at night you'll see dark and in the morning the room will get gradually brighter.

Just some things to consider. Either way, enjoy your cruise.

Thanks for the advice.

 

One last question...you must always bring your passport with you in the event that you do get left behind...how do you manage to go to a beachy/snorkeling type adventure with passport in tow...I would be hesitate for both of us to get in the water and leave them unsupervised.

To answer that question--You can buy a waterproof wallet type thing online that has 3 seals and a cord for wearing around your neck while swimming. I have used one when snorkeling and it works great. Sorry, I don't remember the particular brand but there are many online to choose from. I usually just have my cruise pass, driver's license and paper copy of my passport in it.

Considering taking a Carnival cruise (no specific ship in mind yet) but have heard the music levels can be overbearing in public areas, including elevators. What's your experience? I'd like to be treated as an adult (am 50+) and don't appreciate loud anything.

Thanks for the ideas. I had booked Calabaza two years ago for a spring cruise that fell through and am familiar with their quality. All of my cruise research has been for the Caribbean so I knew some islands had lots to offer and some didn't as far as private excursions.

Considering keeping dates open for next year's summer cruise season to take advantage of last minute sales to the Caribbean or Alaska. But, I'm a planner and would like to know how difficult is it to get reservations on decent port excursions? We prefer private ones because they are smaller than the ships and usually much cheaper.

And, for those of you who have reserve an Alaska cruise last minute did the cost savings outweigh the the airfares? We're from NW Ohio if that matters.

Thanks for your help!

I know you were asking about the family OV or 2 balconies but I'd like to offer my experience with the family promenade on FOS. We booked that room for my DH, my mother, two children (22, 12) and myself. The room was more than large enough for us and we loved looking over the promenade. When we needed extra bathrooms, my husband and I went to the exercise area and used the showers there. That shower area was nice and always clean and had nice thick towels. So, the OV would probably work out fine for you bathroom wise if you would need to do this. Of course you know the children best and their maturity level to have a separate room. Either way, enjoy your cruise and don't be afraid to check out private tours.

I did this a few years ago on a family cruise on the Freedom. I liked it because my daughter loves to manipulate pictures on photoshop and do some fun things with them. Then I took some and created a photobook through a Picaboo dot com and ended up with a fabulous book with personal comments, etc. I took one of their pictures and had in enlarged on a canvas and it turned out great. If you'd like to do the book thing I'd also suggest taking lots of pictures yourself of signs, etc so you can do the special effects.

Looking for ideas of what to do after cave tubing...... We are a group of 4 including a 15 and 24 year old. We're in port from 8-5, give or take tender times.

Am thinking about combining Vitalino's .bz cave tour with a stop at the Belize zoo. We're on the NOS which is there from 8 to 5. We'd like to do the full cave tour, eat the lunch he includes and then travel on to the zoo. I have emailed Vito and he says the whole thing takes about 5-6 hours. (including 90 minutes at zoo) However, on his website he says just the cave tubing is 4.5 to 5 hours so I'm not sure this seems right.

Has anyone done both of these tours with this company? Your thoughts please.

I selected the room personally. Neither my TA or I received any kind of notice of the move. I just happened to do a ghost booking this weekend to check prices when I noticed the room I had reserved as available.

I didn't see the chance to mark on my cruise preferences to notify of me of any upgrade, that should be something ANY cruise line should do, especially in this case when they are making so many changes.

I will look around the ship to see what's available price wise. Our first cruise was in the late 80's on a NCL ship and we were low in the boat and didn't like it. (Don't remember deck). We don't want to always be waiting for the elevators to go up nor do we wish to feel/hear the engines.

My TA said RCCL would try to put me off when I called saying they can't touch the reservation so he said to have RCCL put him on a conference call. RCCL is saying they aren't changing all the interior Ks on decks 9 and 10 to J Virtual Balconies, just the ones for 2 people! Talk about discrimination for not bringing the kids along! I can't afford to book 2 rooms-that's our excursion $

RCCL automatically upgraded our Category J , Virtual Balcony, to a Deck 2, I, Oceanview on the Navigator. I'm not happy, would you be? Why would moving to the bottom of the ship, with long elevator waits, be considered an upgrade? Deck 10 is much closer to the activities and has better room stewards than the lower decks (mostly GS suites on this floor so they would only put very experienced crew here).

My TA contacted RCCL and got nowhere with them. They say "most people would consider it an upgrade". So, my cruisecritic friends please give me your opinions! I will be calling RCCL tomorrow to talk to them!

We are having a similar issue with our reservation. We had booked a category J (Virtual balcony) on deck 10 for 4 people. Over the weekend I noticed our room was listed as available. When I looked at my reservation on the RCCL site I found we had been moved to deck 2, an ocean view. I immediately called my TA and he spent over an hour arguing with RCCL about the change with no notice. Certainly moving from deck 10 to deck 2 is NOT an upgrade as RCCL offered. Now RCCL is saying they are NOT changing the interior K rooms on decks 9 and 10 that hold more than 2 people. Once again a slam for customer service!