tallgirl97

I sure hope so! I don’t recall exactly how much it was, but I bought it at a post office and asked for enough to get the cards to Canada. If only I’d had enough time to write the cards then and there and drop them in the box, I wouldn’t be in this mess!…

It was an Alaska cruise round trip from Vancouver. I put USPS stamps on but then couldn’t find a mailbox while in port, which led me to drop with Guest Services - since I couldn’t have mailed from Vancouver without adding more Canada Post postage - and I wanted them to arrive ‘from Alaska’. 😑 lesson learned bough, next time I will keep it simple!

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm OK with it getting there late, so long as it does eventually arrive. I was starting to second-guess that giving it to Guest Services was the right thing to do - the person I spoke to said she could get it out, but I was starting to wonder if that was just lip service and she dropped it in the garbage can as soon as I left. I'll give it some more time.

We were on Serenade from July 17-24 and while onboard, I left two (stamped) postcards with Guest Services to be mailed to Canada. Neither has arrived yet. One is a no-big-deal "having a great time, wish you were here" note, but the other is a more personal note that I truly wanted to be delivered. This might be a long shot, but has anyone done something similar and did your mail ever make it to its destination?

We were on the Serenade of the Seas from Vancouver to Alaska in July 2022. Hope you enjoy the video.

Following - we'll be onboard in 2 weeks! Where was that opening shot taken - is that Hubbard Glacier? (...which, sadly, isn't on our itinerary...)

Just curious... if someone misses embarkation, can they join the cruise at the next port of call? (Heading out in a couple of weeks with a party of 18 - we are all flying in no later than the day prior, but it would be good to know just in case...)

Cruising with a group celebrating a 50th anniversary and would like to put up some door decorations - was thinking of printing them out on magnetic paper to attach to the door. From what I've read online, this is actually against RCI's guest code of conduct, *but* door decorations seem to be popular on RCI and staff don't mind as long as they don't impede cabin access. Can anyone confirm this?

Hi there, I'm curious who you did the van tour with in Skagway?

Does it need to be a physical card? Or can it be the QR codes we have stored on our phones?

Thanks, appreciate the quick advice.

I thought we were allowed a 12-pack, but just got our cruise ticket package this morning, and page 9 clearly states you can bring your 2 bottles of wine but that no non-alcoholic beverages are allowed onboard. Has this policy recently changed?

Great thread - I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s plans for what to carry. We all have different criteria and everyone’s situation is unique. I use a crop sensor and think I’ve decided against renting a 100-400 as I’d originally planned and will instead bring my 70-300. I also shoot video on a Sony RX7 and I just don’t think I can reasonably carry a big lens and the video kit comfortably. 300mm will give me some decent reach and still be small enough to wear with a neck strap. I hope folks come back after their trips to share a few of their favourite shots.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'm going to encourage my family member to make the payment by phone before we set sail - perhaps after everyone has their negative Covid test results, so that we know all the cabins will be occupied. 🙂

We’re taking an extended family cruise next month - can the person footing the cruise fare bill pay all cabins’ gratuities upon boarding, so that any additional charges the cabins incur fall to those passengers to pay? Or is the only way to do something like this by calling RCI ahead of departure?

We have five cabins booked for a family cruise in July. My sister got a RoyalUp offer 2 days ago, and we’ve received nothing.

I hope I’m not being obtuse, but I’m not following. Is it forward of the solarium on the same deck, i.e. 11? Or all decks forward of the solarium? Or something else altogether.

Trying to scope out some photography spots, and I'd like to know what might be 'off limits' to me. 😁

Lovely photos! Curious how much zoom you have on your lens and whether you’re using a crop sensor or full frame camera?

We tried that on our last trip and unfortunately, it contributed to a severe flare-up in my child's anxiety. I consider this to be a good compromise to optimize the chances of having an enjoyable trip with their grandparents. Thanks to everyone who weighed in - I'm glad to hear I misinterpreted what I read and that VOOM should work, more or less, for most parts of our trip. We're Canadian so if we want to use our own data in Alaskan ports, unfortunately that would mean stacking another international data plan on top of what we already carry. Since we're paying for VOOM, I'd rather just let them rely on it until we're back to Vancouver. No problem with setting our devices to airplane mode and turning on wifi - we've done that on several trips in the past and thus far (knock on wood) haven't had any slip-ups resulting in extra roaming charges.

Going on an extended family cruise to Alaska this summer as a group of newbies, and several of us have purchased VOOM so the teens can stay connected with friends back home. It's just come to my attention on another thread that ships need to turn off their wifi signals within several miles of shore. Perhaps naively, I was thinking we'd have a wifi signal whenever onboard the ship (recognizing service can be spotty and slows down the further north you go). If you've had VOOM in Alaska, what has coverage been like? Will we not have it in port at all, or during periods of scenic cruising? In case it matters, our ports are Juneau, Haines and Sitka, with visits to Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm.

Thanks for your comments - I still have questions so I'll start my own thread, so as not to hijack this one.

Whoa, really - no Voom within 9-12 miles of land? We bought Voom for an upcoming Alaska cruise, which I assume will hug the coast most days. Did we waste that money? I assumed we'd be connected whenever we are on the ship (and recognize that it may be slow/spotty as we get further north).