DandDM

A minor complaint… we are scheduled to arrive at 2pm with walk off disembarkation beginning at 2:30 (could be optimistic as the is the ship’s first stop in Canada). Info sent to the room says we are to our of cabins by 1pm - a full hour before we arrive. My number is 17, which is scheduled to debark starting at 4:30. Last disembark is between 5:30 and 6pm. I guess the ship wants to rush us off, and have cabins ready for the new passengers when they arrive, but this is crazy. Expect a huge mess tomorrow.

I know there are bigger issues some are dealing with, but…. will have diamond drink vouchers for that last day?

Captain just announced that the Ovation will not arrive until 2pm on Thursday. Apparently we don’t just have the delay due to diverting course, but also need to wait for the tide to get under the bridge.

Yes, prayers for the passengers and their family. Glad they were able to get this done - it’s been windy! I haven’t heard any announcements about our schedule and any potential changes on arrival time in Vancouver. Did I miss it somehow?

Captain announced this afternoon that we’d be making full steam to San Francisco to medivac a passenger. He estimated that a helicopter could meet us at 200 miles out. At this point, he was not willing to project what this would mean toward our ETA in Vancouver, BC. Will update as we learn more.

Interesting! I couldn’t find specific info on how they are going the match, any one see that? This might mean I’ll be visiting the old mirage casino in Las Vegas soon. Also hope this doesn’t mean they are terminating their partnership with MGM…I’ve got a lot of mileage from that over the years! thanks for posting.

I've always heard back within 24 hours or so. However, the concierge can work magic on board, so if for some reason they didn't act on your email request, they can probably make things right once you talk to them in person.

No, I started drinking before I thought to take a photo! They had us drink half of each, then revisit with the food. I don’t think I’d started in the glass to the right…

The one on Oasis was not, the bartenders in Vintages were pushing it during the week.

Did it last month on Oasis. Had a lot of fun, three tastes, plus a bonus. We had a small plate with cheese, strawberry, and chocolate to pair with the wine. Surprised I didn’t take a photo, but got this one of the flutes. I will probably do it again.

Thank you for posting this! I am booked; got a balcony (chose the cabin) for $1585. Was concerned about airfare, but found a first class seat on a direct flight from Seattle for $489! Arriving two days early so will have a full day in Honolulu, then many relaxing sea days 🙂 Cheers,

Good to know. The upgrade would be an easy choice for me, based on prices I’m used to on Royal, but from my one experience with HAL and what I’ve seen on these boards, not sure. Will research more! Cheers

Thanks for the info!

I just booked an Alaska cruise with the basic ($11) HIA package included. Is there a way I can pay to upgrade to the Plus/Elite ($15) package pre cruise? I can see both packages in my cruise planner, but no option to upgrade. If there is a way to do this, can I assume the cost to upgrade would be the same as the difference in package prices shown online? Thanks!

Thanks! They talk about the heat, but agree, it’s not usually too hot. I think it has a lot to do with traffic as they couldn’t get away with closing the strip to vehicle traffic mid day. Haha! I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some bungee jumping going on somewhere around here this weekend🤣 Thanks for following and posting in the report!

The race itself was huge! Read that there would be 27,000 participants. Could write a lot about this crazy and new experience for me. I haven’t run an organized race like this for a while and never one this big. Only in Vegas could you get a selfie with showgirls. Lined up at 4:30, did not pass the start line until 5:15 (note that each bib has a chip which was read at start and finish, so was not ‘penalized’ for late start). Some photos waiting to start. Finally running, very entertaining course. Despite the crowds, had a good run. Three minutes faster than training run on ship… Reward for all this, stopped for an In-n-out burger! Have some pains this morning, blaming the standing around and time between stretching and starting the race. Could also be my age 😃 Undecided if I’d do this again, right now the answer would be ‘no’. With what I learned about the race would do things a bit differently which might make it better, so will let things settle for a few weeks and think about it more.

Race is done! First off, run from the other day, did a route that avoided the overpasses. Note that these blocks were a mile long! Always thought Las Vegas blocks were huge!

Quick run update. After a long flight from Miami and a quick stop, primarily to do laundry and repack, in Tucson, arrived in Las Vegas last night. View from room. To the reason for the post, went for the first Vegas practice run. Very pleased to report that I didn’t have issues with breathing at this altitude. But the overpasses really slowed me down. Had five in each direction, so ten total. Because of that, overall pace wasn’t great, but I’ll share the splits as I did pretty good when flat.

You are welcome! Having an ‘audience’ helped motivate me 😀 Enjoy your cruise…Allure is my favorite. Cheers,

After a couple experiences of going to GS and only being able to get five or ten ones, now bring all the change I think I’ll need. Feel like the fat cat in a Below Decks episode when I get on board with my thick envelope of tip money 😎 Also, after I get to know the bar staff, will usually wait until I’m done for the evening and tip $5 or $10 instead of dollars with each drink.

Thanks for your comments! I have to agree with your message as I sit here in my hotel room watching the Daytona 500 instead of exploring more of Miami…but it did get kinda cold out 😃

Have fun on your cruise, good luck on those stairs 🙂 Thanks! If Roman or Sherwin are working in Vintages, say hi for me! Hope this gave you some useful info! Cheers,

I've rambled enough. Final, general, thoughts. Very glad the trip was two weeks. The first was a bit of a blur and I would have been bummed to leave that quickly. By the end of the second week I was ready...could have stayed longer, but felt the time was right. Really, really, enjoyed the bartenders (Sherwin and Roman) in Vintages. Met a lot of people there, drank too much, and just generally had a good time. As much as I like to plan, never know what a cruise is going to be like; this one was the Vintages cruise! Regarding my decision to make this a 'running cruise' - I'm happy with that. Sure would have been nice to sleep in some mornings and not think about what I was ordering, but it was worth it. I still ate a lot (probably too much for my goal) but I feel good about how it went down. Don't know if I'll ever have the need to push myself this much on a future cruise, but if I do, know how to do it. Finally, stairs! Made it all two weeks without an elevator!! Was very tempted after some runs (especially St Thomas) and when I just wanted to quickly get something up or down the stairs. Could probably write a page on my thoughts on stairs and all the tricks and strategies I used to keep it going! Also sure I built up some stair specific muscle, but unfortunately, don't have any stairs in my regular life to keep that up. I guess it will be useful next week in Vegas and taking the street overpasses. Related - I'm on the third story of my hotel. Other than bringing my bag up here, have still been using the stairs. You now know more than you ever wanted to about what I thought about this cruise; please let me know if any questions. As I posed earlier, will come back with any updates, especially about the race, but I'm pretty much wrapped up with this trip. Six AM flight tomorrow 😞 Thank you everyone for following, happy cruising!