karen s
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Posts posted by karen s
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Book it on your own and you leave from the downtown Anchorage train station. RCI is there on the right side of the station to take your bags directly to the ship.
Read this thread.
Anchorage to Seward Alaska Railroad
This was a very pleasant surprise when we showed up at the train station in Anchorage. Just make sure you have you RCI luggage tags on your bags prior to arrival. Once you get to Seward it's a fairly short walk (luggage free) from the station to the ship.
I would highly recommend Gold Star class for the Coastal Classic - the trip is absolutely gorgeous!! Adventure class is also good - they have shared observation cars that you can visit to get the domed car experience.
When booking ahead of time, you will pick up your tickets once you get to the train station. You will just need to have all passengers with photo IDs present at the same time.
Another tip - the train refills the café car in Fairbanks the day prior for the Fairbanks to Anchorage leg, so pickings are a bit thin for the Coastal Classic to Seward. They do have a couple of full service restaurant cars, but they take the Gold Star car passengers first. Bottom line, don't show up hungry or without any snacks! ;) And, they don't take cash on the train. If you don't want to use credit/debit, you can pre-purchase food vouchers at the station.
Have a fantastic cruise, you will love it!!
Karen
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And then you have the NY Giants & NY Jets that play their home games in NJ .
And you can see the Statue of Liberty from the port...just make sure you know which arm she holds the torch in, it's a frequent trivia Q. :D
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I'm a proud mom who got her kids to Diamond by the time they were 18 yrs old. What a better legacy than to set them up for Pinnacle at some point in their lives :rolleyes:
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I always book before boarding, that way I can look at the poor schmos in the long line at the Shore Excursion desk on Day 1 with pretentious glee while admiring my pre-purchased excursion tickets waiting for me in my stateroom. :p
But seriously, if it's something you really want, book before boarding.
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What I really liked last year on Brilliance was the Gold Sea Pass card seating area in the far forward starboard side of the Windjammer. Never had to hunt for a table, which was especially nice with my 91 yr grandmother in a wheelchair. Hopefully it's still the same for my April 2015 cruise on Brilliance. Other recent Brilliance cruisers may have more updated info.
The concierge lounge is also a nice perk (Deck 13). The concierge can handle a lot of issues that you would normally have to wait at the Shore Excursion or Guest Services lines - to include booking/changing excursions, specialty dining/spa reservations, etc. For any questions/issues, ask the concierge first as they can normally take care of anything fairly quickly.
You will receive an email from the concierge about a week out (which would be about now) from your sailing detailing all they can do for you.
Enjoy the Brilliance and your cruise!!! (And that GS)
Karen
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Love, love the towel animal idea.
Perhaps a home made Christmas card for the room attendant, MDR waiter, or a random passenger? Maybe a toy for a fellow child on board?
Enjoy your cruise, I'm sure the Elf on the Shelf will make it just that more special.
Karen
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I have learned to never trust the first agent you speak with. I saw a price drop online for my Christmas cruise and the first agent I spoke with told me the price was actually hundreds of dollars more. Hung with him, called again right away, and the new agent was able to get me a category upgrade at no cost due to the price drop. So glad I called back...
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Answered wrong post.
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Email special_needs@rccl.com, (please note there is an underscore between special and needs) and if it's required for medical/dietary reasons, they can either store it for you or provide you an adequate fridge.
Have a great cruise!!
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Usually yes, unless the ship max passenger occupancy would be exceeded.
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No, unless you're using the freestyle machine, you don't need to haul the soda cup around with you all day. On my last cruise, none of us even used the soda cup at all (no freestyle machine on Radiance). My cup stayed in the cabin the entire cruise. Just show them your soda/drink package sticker on your sea pass card and you can get a fountain soda in a regular cup anywhere on the ship.
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This is from 2012. Not sure it's changed since then.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40009959&postcount=3
Speaking from experience, the guacamole and tortilla chips appetizer is delicious! :o
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We've cruised the Med on Voyager out of Barcelona and flew out of Denver on British Airways (Lived in CO Springs at the time). Easy flight with one layover in Heathrow, UK.
Enjoy your cruise!
Karen
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I've walked through a PR on Voyager/Navigator on cabin crawls and compared to an interior, I'd go for it...especially if it's for a minimal cost. The window seat overlooking the Promenade will be very nice for people/parade watching at any time.
Looking forward to meeting you on the cruise!!
Karen
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Just curious ... according to the website, both the "Replenish" and "Ultimate" packages include premium coffee.
What is this? A better brand, or is does this include drinks that would compare to a Frappuccino or Vanilla Latte? Would those be served in dining room, or is there a special place onboard to get those?
Yes, they are specialty coffee drinks as you mentioned that can be served in the dining room, not sure where else though.
We purchased the drink package first thing once on board...they were the first table we encountered when boarding selling the "extra" goods...
Enjoy!!
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You will find opinions about Chops all over the place. Personally, the price ($35, plus extra for better steaks) make it not worth it for me anymore.
Concur, I'm done with specialty restaurants. JMHO... The MDR is still better that what I can cook, so I'm happy to stay there. Hopefully, I can continue to sail RCI ships with a MDR....:eek:
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I too am curious as to where the Explorer will go. With a Cat 3/4 hurricane due to hit tomorrow, I'm wondering what condition the port/beaches/power will be when they are due to dock.
NE/Canada may not work due to the fact the storm will still continue north.
We were on Explorer out of NJ to Bermuda in '10 between Diane and Earl. Thankfully our overnight at Bermuda was fine, but it was quite the bumpy ride to/from!!!
I am sure the captain and RCI will rework a safe itinerary as needed.
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It looks like no one has mentioned this...you will receive a questionnaire in your cabin fairly early on asking about your departure plans, i.e. method of departure, flight times, if you want self-debarkation (which you can do early if you can carry off your luggage on your own - meaning don't leave you luggage out the night before).
Based on the questionnaire, they will determine what departure luggage tag number you will be given.
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I have sailed several times out of Galveston and keep in mind, fog can be an issue at that port. We were once delayed arriving until 2pm due to fog. Thankfully we drove to the port, but what a nightmare to those with flights that needed to be rebooked. If booked through RCI, they set up business in the conference room to rebook flights. And if not, they opened up the internet for free for others to try and rebook.
Travel insurance might be a consideration...just in case...
Have a fantastic cruise!!
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First to the punch as always! :) Thanks Bob!!
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Will be sailing on Explorer over Christmas and am debating on whether to dine in Portofino or the traditional holiday menu in the MDR on Christmas night...does anyone have a current Explorer Portofino menu?
Do any prior Christmas cruisers have a recommendation??
Thanks so much!
Karen
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If I wanted to look at a "land view", I'd stay in a hotel! On a cruise, I DO want a view of the ocean, the same as I'd want a view of the beach when I'm doing a beach vacation!
*like*
I cruise for the ocean, not for a Boardwalk or Central Park view. If I wanted a view like that, I'd go to NY/NJ...given the primary interior environs of Oasis class ships, I would go for an ocean view so you don't forget you're on a cruise ship! :) JMHO
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The concierge is not likely to be available until the afternoon of boarding.
That's right - the concierge is usually not in the Concierge Lounge until the evening of night 1 (beginning around 5-5:30). Your welcome email and letter waiting for you in your stateroom will have the exact time. You can however still visit the Concierge Lounge upon embarkation to check it out. And there will always be coffee available and a continental breakfast in the mornings whether or not the concierge is there or not. I have found the average concierge availability to be approximately 8-11 am and 5-9pm.
Adventure Ocean is open during day 1 in the afternoon to fill out all the necessary forms. They are also usually set up close to the embarkation point to give out the required wrist bands to the kiddos to show what muster station they would need to be escorted to in the event of an emergency. MAKE SURE that the kiddos muster station on their wrist bands are the same as yours!!! My nieces had a mismatch on our last cruise, but was quickly rectified by the AO workers at their intro table once we noticed.
Lines at the excursion desk can be quite long, definitely take advantage of the concierge to avoid the wait.
You can always pre-book an excursion on-line and if needed, rebook something through the concierge once on board if Adventure Ocean for some reason doesn't work out for the times you need.
While at sea, Adventure Ocean closes for a couple of hours during lunch, but as someone stated, I believe they're open throughout port visits.
You can also have the concierge make spa appointments, specialty dinner reservations, obtain priority tender tickets, etc.
Have a fantastic cruise!!!
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I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA about the Crystal Blocks until I saw this thread. I reached 141 pts on my Alaska cruise on the Radiance last month and no such gift awaited me. So, given the advice I read here this morning, I called C&A and inquired about it. They profusely apologized for not receiving it on the ship and voila! My crystal block is on its way....in 6-8 weeks that is :)
Thank you Cruise Critics peeps, I never would have known without you!!
Received my Radiance crystal block today!! :D
Favorite requests of your room steward
in Royal Caribbean International
Posted
What's always nice is what you can do for him/her. Always put the "Room is ready to be cleaned" card in your key slot so they know when you're away and therefore won't disturb you if you're still in the cabin. And vice versa, the "do no disturb" sign if you don't want to be disturbed.
If I see them in the a.m. or the night before a port day, I will let them know if/when we have any excursions or leaving the ship. They do appreciate that as well.
Hope you have a fantastic cruise!!