Eileen G

3 hours ago, Coral said:

Having used the dock in ISP that used the Gondola - this is incredibly smooth. They can move people extremely quick on this. I never saw more than a few minutes max for a wait time.

Unfortunately we were there when an NCL ship was tendering into that area too so there were two ships using the gondola and the lines were long. Getting the gondola back at 2 was even worse so we walked. 

In Juneau make sure the ship you are planning on taking doesn't use the AJ dock. While it is walkable it's quite a walk into town. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and NCL use this dock. There is a free shuttle. Also in ISP there is a dock that requires a gondola ride that can get a line. There is a walking path that takes maybe 10 minutes. It's a bit up and down and can be an issue if you have mobility issues.

We were in Sitka last year and there were people swimming off the shore near the National Park. The beach was rocky but it was easy to get to. After you get off the cruise bus in Downtown Sitka you walk along the path past the marina towards the National Park. Just before the NP you can get down to the water.

If you go to the Klondike National Historic Park first you can do a ranger lead tour of Skagway. There are limited free tickets for the tours. It will make seeing the cemetery more meaningful. We have done several different tours over the years. Also make sure to walk to Reid Falls behind the cemetery. The museum at the visitors center really gives you a feel for what the gold rushers went through to find gold. 

On 2/23/2024 at 1:51 PM, sharon_pei said:

We are thinking of the exact same but without an employee benefit based low rate. still much cheaper than if renting from the cruise port. May I ask what's the public transportation option to get us from cruise port to the airport please? I checked the website (https://juneaucapitaltransit.org/routes/riverside-airport-connector/) and it seems there is no direct bus that goes into airport and one would have to connect at valley transit center bay 1? if so, that maybe too time/efforts consuming to give up on. 

We took the city bus to the airport last summer and rented a car. We caught the bus at the transportation hub in down town. You do need to walk a couple of blocks into the airport but it wasn't a big deal. 

11 hours ago, cbfb said:

My hesitation to use off site parking has been when disembarking. The shuttle to your car is waiting when you disembark or do you need to call and wait for the shuttle? I’m not sure if it matters but we will be at the dreaded terminal 29! 

The shuttles are always waiting in the shuttle bus parking area right outside the terminal. It doesn't matter which terminal they meet whatever cruise ship is disembarking.

We always park at park and go when we cruise out of FT Lauderdale. You drive in and they scan your reservation. Pull up to the unloading area and they will unload your luggage and put it on the shuttle going to your ship. The shuttles only go to one ship and it doesn't take long to have enough people to leave. They go directly to your ship and unload the luggage and give it to the ships porters. Just keep an eye on your luggage to make sure only what you want gets given to the ship porters. When you return to Port Everglades there will be shuttles waiting. Give them your luggage and they will load it onto the shuttle. The shuttle will take you to your car and the driver will load your luggage into your car. It may take a little time for the shuttle to get to your car but the convenance is well worth it. They do move your car while you are on the cruise to an area where all the cars are packed in tight then move it to the outer lot the day you return. We have used them about 10 times and have never had a problem.

It's probably a mile and a half to two miles. We have walked part of the way and there is a wide walking path along the water. You could walk in and take a cab back.

We booked the crab feast directly with George Inlet Lodge a few years ago. They picked us up in town by the large statue on the docks. I see this past summer they offered a combo with the Lumberjack show. It was 159$. It may be more next year. The crab feast alone was $85.

I would rent a car from Avis. No need to drive all the way to Anchorage as there is plenty to do in the area. Hike to Byron Glacier, stop at the Portage Glacier visitors center. visit the wildlife conservation center, Stop in Girdwood and ride the tram to the top of the mountain and stop at all the scenic overlooks along Turnagain Arm.  This is a really beautiful area with plenty to do. Just know the times for the tunnel so you are not stuck waiting a long time to go through.

When PescadoAmarillo mentioned an underground way to get to Canada Place from the Waterfront Station I googled it. This is what I found. It is very similar to what she posted only in the reverse.

We did this in reverse. Went from the whale statue to the office building. We took the elevator from Willoughby parking up to the main floor. So I'm sure you can do it going down. Make sure you go out onto the balcony overlooking Juneau. The elevator was past the organ and there is a restroom there. Yes the whale statue is worth it.

I have found the roll calls steadily declining in the last few years. I think most people now go to FB. There is a great group called Alaska cruises on Princess and there is probably a group for the Royal and maybe your particular cruise. My cruise is on the Crown and we have a roll call  group on both CC and FB for our cruise. We sailed out of Seattle in 2021 and we really loved it. That year the ships didn't stop in Victoria so we decided to go on the Crown as it has a full day there.

15 hours ago, Luv2cruz1000 said:

We are beginning to plan skagway and have rented from "Green jeep" however this trip we too have been shocked by car rental prices. Anyone have suggestions in Skagway without a car. Looking at the river float trip. Don't want to spend the day shopping and feel we missed out on seeing the area.

There is the Klondike National Historic Park right in town. They have several tours through out the day. We have done several. One was about Soapy Smith and the large rock he painted gold. That rock is in the Skagway cemetary which you can get to by the shuttle. There is also a nice waterfall a short walk past the cematary. We have also taken the easy hikes to Yakutania point and lower Dewey lake.

15 hours ago, Luv2cruz1000 said:

We are beginning to plan skagway and have rented from "Green jeep" however this trip we too have been shocked by car rental prices. Anyone have suggestions in Skagway without a car. Looking at the river float trip. Don't want to spend the day shopping and feel we missed out on seeing the area.

There is the Klondike National Historic Park right in town. They have several tours through out the day. We have done several. One was about Soapy Smith and the large rock he painted gold. That rock is in the Skagway cemetary which you can get to by the shuttle. There is also a nice waterfall a short walk past the cematary. We have also taken the easy hikes to Yakutania point and lower Dewey lake.

I think the best night for a specialty restaurant would be the second night. The ship is still pretty far off the coast so you don't see much. The rest of the trip the scenery is beautiful and you may see wildlife.

We have been to Santorini 5 times and we always just walk down. the path is very wide so it is not hard to avoid the donkeys or donkey poo. You just need to be sure to wear sturdy shoes with a good grip not sandals. It takes about 20 minutes with beautiful views. I actually look forward to that leisurely stroll at the end of the day.

12 minutes ago, 39august said:

For those who were on last week, were  covid cases mentioned by the captain? We're on July 24 for b2b. Hoping we don't get kicked off the second cruise due to b2b testing. 

We were on the week of June 26 to July 2 and the captain said there were 5 cases all passengers.

We were on the 6 day cruise last week and had the three production shows that were on when we sailed 3 years ado. We also had two guest entertainer singers and one comedian. All three were very good. I'm sure the guest entertainers you have will be different but they should be top notch.

10 hours ago, OKCruiseMan said:

I had the same thoughts, however we were talking with others who had made the trip before so had something to compare to. They were saying while the time in the park may have been about the same, the time at the glaciers was less. And it also sounded like they may have seen more of the park.

My first time there so really can't comment first hand.

Usually the ships spend half a day in Glacier Bay. Either morning or afternoon. Most of the time they don't go to John Hopkins Glacier due to the seals puping. I have only gone once and that was after Sept 1. It takes time to sail to it so this will reduce the time at Majorie Glacier.

I just checked Edan Rock face book page and starting May 16 they will be open 8-5.

I have been to both places and to help you decide ask yourself which would rather do. Visit quaint small towns and walk between them along the water or visit a larger city with beautiful cathedrel and art museums. Also consider the time it takes to get to Florence. For Florence you will need a ship tour since it is so far but for CT you can easily do it on your own by train or ferry.

We did this a few weeks ago. Just make sure to note which elevator floor you get on at. The floor stop and parking garage level may not match.

We booked this cruise last minute on Sept 8th. received the Royal up on Sept 22th. Cruise was Sept 27th.

We were able to book a great price for a balcony guarantee on the Sept 27^th Freedom cruise that did two stops at Coco Cay and one in Nassau. We received a Royal up offer for a Grand Suite for a minimum bid of $150 and we bid $200. We won the bid and had our first ever suite.

We live in Kissimmee so we drove to the port on Monday morning and parked at the parking garage which is attached to the terminal. This was super easy. There is a new tunnel which makes getting there easy. When you get out of the parking garage elevator you are right at the terminal entrance. Our arrival time was 1:30 and we arrived at 12:30 and had no trouble getting on the ship. We went to the suit line and had all out papers checked then were taken to the elevator to the suite lounge where we were checked in and on the ship in no time. As we walked to the front elevators and past our muster station there were crew members who quickly demonstrated how to put on a life jacket and scanned our sea pass to show we had completed the drill. So easy!!

Stopped at the WJ for lunch. Every other table was unavailable and only one side was open but it wasn’t too crowded. Went to our suite and there was a nice fruit arrangement and about ten chocolate covered strawberries. We had a great location on deck 10 near the forward elevators. I wasn’t sure I would like being on deck 10 but we really loved it. Only one flight up to the pool deck and WJ, it was very quiet and we never felt the ship move. Really nice balcony with padded lounge chairs and a nice table with padded chairs. We could really get used to the suite life.

We had two stops at Coco Cay and we really enjoyed that. We didn’t rush to the beach and easily found lounge chairs in the shade of palm trees with an umbrella. We only had 1100 on board so there was plenty of room. Even on the second day when we were with the Mariner there was plenty of room. We really loved the pool. It is beautifully landscaped with islands in the middle which give you shade. There are concrete benches in the water in the shade which make it perfect to sit back with a pina colada and people watch.

There are two buffet areas which serve the same food, Chill Grill and Skippers Grill. We walked along Chill Beach as far as Coco Beach Club. South Beach was not opened. We went back to the ship to have lunch in the WJ but found out it wasn’t opened. Our choice on the ship was Loco Fresh, Café Promenade or Sorrentos. We headed back to the island and had a really good cheese steak sub. We went snorkeling the second day and it was OK. We saw a couple of sting rays in the water that was knee deep.

We stayed on the ship is Nassau. You needed to take your vaccination card and wear a mask all the time or face a $250 fine or one month in jail. The weather was still pretty hot so wearing a mask all the time didn’t appeal to us. There was plenty to do on the ship with the rock climbing wall, miniature golf, water slides, shuffle board, flowrider, just to name a few. There was even trivia every hour in the Schooner Lounge.

We were told to make reservations for the shows but we really didn’t need to. Two nights there were a comedians at ten. One night a female singer who did a Whitney Houston show at ten. Another night there was the production show ‘Once upon a time’ at 8 and 10. There was also the ice show one  night at 7 and 9. It was repeated on the last night at 9.

We really enjoyed the ship. It has a great promenade outside deck that goes all around the ship and up to the heliport. The theater is nice and large with good seating. There are plenty of hot tubs but the two in the solarium close at 8 so we never got to go in them. The service in the dining room was very good and the head waiter stopped by the table twice every night. We would definitely cruise on the Freedom again.