Eileen G

We have 263 points and this is the first time I've heard of the crystal blocks. What do we have to do to get one?

We just received our royal up for our Sept 27 Freedom four night cruise. We went from a balconey guarantee to a Grand Suite for $200 per person. Minium bid was $150. We only paid $747 total for both of us so we felt we could splurge on a suite. This willl be our first time in a suite and we are really looking forward to it.

There is a covid testing site at the premier outlets mall on International drive. I remember the rapid antigen test was $95 but I'm not sure of the PCR test. I took note of it just in case all out other options don't work. we can still run over there at the last minute and get tested. 

https://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet/orlando-international/stores/covid-testing-llc

When we sailed out of Seattle on the Serenade on 8-23 it was very orderly. There was signs for all the tims. 11-1130 was to the right of the door. 12-1230 was to the left. on the covered walk way were the signs for the other times. boarding started at 1145 and moved quickley. We had 12 and were through the door by 12.

To make this simple when we got off the Serenade a couple of weeks ago  there was no customs forms to be filled out. We only had to show our passports as we left the terminal.

We were on the week before you. I did see people playing pool one night. We also got chocolate covered strawberries on the first formal night. They may have run out or your cabin steward wasn't on the ball. I know we didn't get coconut shrimp one night in the MDR because they were out of coconut. How did you get on board that early. We arrived at the pier at 11:45 and they hadn't started boarding yet. We had a 12 time slot. They started soon after and we were on board quickly.

I am also on the Serenade right now. I love the outside seating in the Windjammer, the glass elevators that look out to the ocean and the Viking Crown lounge.

Here is a little different prospective. We took the Princess shuttle and really enjoyed it. We spent a few days in Alaska before the cruise and had a rental car. We weren't sure what time we wanted to head to the ship since we were plannig on going to the Saturday market and a few other places. I didn't want to have to worry about meeting a transfer at a certian time. The Princess shuttle left the airport on the hour between 12 and 4. So when we were ready we just headed to the airport, returned the car and hopped on the shuttle. Our driver was great and gave us a running commentary all the way to Whitter. At the time the shuttle was $54 which wasn't much more than the independant ones. The train and road run side by side so the scenary is pretty much the same.

11 hours ago, donaldsc said:

Does anyone have any idea why cruise companies make such ridiculously short stops?

 

DON

I really thought HAL's addition of this port stop after the day in Glacier Bay was a great idea. Icy Strait is a whale feeding ground so just to get a few more hours in Whale teritory is wonderful. It's really a bonus stop and a great oppertunity to get off the ship and take an evening strole on the beach or through the rainforest.

I don't know what company you are renting from but some of them have a downtown office that you might be able to return it too. It's a long way from the port to Sectac and back.

Here are two Cruise Critic's articles written by someone on the ship.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6310/

Also if you google Serenade of the seas Alaska you will find another site that has people on board reporting.

We have been on the Oasis and Allure and the Getaway, sister ship to the Breakaway. You can't compare the RCL ships to the Getaway. Out of all our 50+ cruises on 7 cruise lines the Getaway was our least favorite ship. Half of the top deck is taken up by the Haven where the lower class can't go. The pool was so small and there was no place for lounge chairs. The adult area was a joke. We walked around the ship saying 'What were they thinking when they designed this ship'. On the plus side I did enjoy the ropes course and it had one of the best buffets.

42 minutes ago, chefchick said:

Is no one doing a live from this sailing or is it a test cruise?

There are a couple of people posting from "the other site" but not sure if they are CC members.

43 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Nothing changed since your last sailing, still 2 24 hour periods for D+.

Thank you. We will be sailing to Alaska so that will be more than we need.

There has been so much talk about the new drink vouchers which is great but I was wondering if they still give internet days. Last time we sailed we got 2 days of free internet. Between my DH and I we had 4 days and that was plenty. I looked on the Diamond+ benefits but no internet was listed. Just need to know if I need to book one of the packages.

40 minutes ago, SkeeterPilot said:

There is an all you can eat Dungeness crab fiest offered as an excursion in Ketchikan.  It is pricey but well worth it in my opinion.  We were there last year while in Alaska for a fishing trip.  Since there were no cruise ships it was mostly all locals.  The crab was great and they just kept bringing it.

We did this in 2019 and it was great. They picked us up at the statute near the visitors center on the dock. It's a beautiful 20 min drive to the lodge. The days and time available are limited. Best Dungeness crab I ever tasted. 

https://catchcrabs.com/tours/george-inlet-lodge/

40 minutes ago, SkeeterPilot said:

There is an all you can eat Dungeness crab fiest offered as an excursion in Ketchikan.  It is pricey but well worth it in my opinion.  We were there last year while in Alaska for a fishing trip.  Since there were no cruise ships it was mostly all locals.  The crab was great and they just kept bringing it.

35 minutes ago, dfilpus said:

Avis also has an office near the AJ dock. 

Yes they did. In 2019 we had to walk there from the Franklin dock. I checked before I posted this and I can't find any Avis rental office there this year.

1 hour ago, LuvCruising88 said:

Ugh!!  Now I understand!  Thanks for the heads up.

There will be a shuttle into downtown. If you are renting a car with Juneau rental car there is an office there at the Aj dock.  Although I'm not sure they are open this year.

Just found the 2021 cruise ship schedule. This schedule tells which dock each ship is scheduled to be at. I'm so glad the Serenade of the Seas is at the AS dock in Juneau right downtown and not at the AJ dock. For Ketchikan it has the NCL Encore at the WW dock. Is that Ward Cove? I didn't think it was built yet. I hope it's accurate.

https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1250

Alaska is all about the itinerary. You haven't said what ports or the times in port. NCL is using the new pier in Ketchikan at Ward Cove which is 5 miles out of town. Also in Juneau they use the AJ pier which is a mile out. I always decide by which ports I want to see and how much time in port.   

1 hour ago, mo&fran said:

I have posted my experiences on the second cruise, starting in page 828 post 20694 in the routine day in lockdown thread, including my experience my experience arriving the same day, late in the day. on my way to Cozumel right now. 

It would be so great if you could start your own thread. So many people are dying to read more about the Adventure cruise. This way we don't have to find page 828 and post 20694 of a ridiculously long thread. 

Thank you so much for your live from report. I enjoyed reading it each day. I'm especially grateful for the dining room dinner menus. It has been a few years since we sailed RCL and I wanted to know what we had to look forward to in the MDR. I didn't see one for the last night. I know you were busy but I wonder if you have it and could post it? 

Again thank you for taking the time to share your cruise with us.

16 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

Interesting that she is on her way already.   She could easily get here a couple weeks before her first sailing.  I wonder where she will hang out on the west coast.  

I have read that it costs less to transit the canal if you don't need to make a reservation. She might just be getting in line so to speak.

I am so glad to hear that. She has plenty of time to get to Seattle for the first cruise.

I have done all three of those cruises, north and south bound on the Coral Princess and RT Vancouver on the Volendam. All of them were fantastic. If you can't spend extra time in Alaska I wouldn't go up to Anchorage. The flights are much longer and the port is far from Anchorage. You can't just get a cab to take you to or from Anchorage. Make sure to fly in the day before your cruise. You don't want to miss the ship and Vancouver is a beautiful city.