jplee3

1 hour ago, CleverUserNameHere said:

It's peak summer holidays and post-COVID revenge travel so pretty much all ships are sailing over 100% capacity, and this is especially true of child-focused Disney ships. Cruise ship capacities are based on double occupancy (2 people per cabin). You cram families of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) in half the cabins and all of the sudden you're sailing at 150% capacity.

 

As for the food, we have learned to temper our expectations on cruises in general. If you enjoy going to fine dining restaurants on land I would prepare to be disappointed by the included offerings. Not that the food isn't "good" because it definitely is, but Disney wasn't heads above the rest, more like on par. I would argue that most of the people sailing on Disney rave about the food selection just because perceptions of what "fancy" are differs for this crowd. If your idea of a fancy restaurant is Cheesecake Factory or Olive Garden then the food on the ships will be on par with that. On our cruise on the Magic last year the food in the dining rooms was mostly good, but not great, and the food in the buffet was actually pretty sub par. 

 

The only cruise I've been on where the food actually lived up to the hype was Celebrity and that was in Aqua Class. 

 

All of that to say, we loved our Halloween Cruise on the Magic, so much more than the food contributed to our good time, that we are sailing in less than a month on the Wish for another Halloween Cruise.

Thanks for the input. Very good point on the capacity. 

It's going to be interesting going next year (we have a 4-day planned on the Magic out of Miami). Last one we went on was the Fantasy out of Orlando (Eastern Carribbean IIRC) in 2019. Prior to that we went on a Royal Carribbean to Alaska and a couple more Disney Cruises (Wonder 2011 and Fantasy 2014). Overall, with the exception of RC (which was nothing memorable shipwise, especially in comparison with DCL) we always felt our DCL experiences were great. Maybe the novelty started wearing off but by the 3rd cruise? I feel like this may be one of those things where "the first time is always sweetest", as with many things in life. Particularly when it comes to food, for some reason you always remember the food being bigger and better the first time lol. I still remember lobster night on the first Disney Cruise and that was unforgettable, but maybe because I ate like 3x ginormous lobster tails🤣

That said, I think you're right as far as what one might consider fancy. While I don't consider Cheesecake & Olive Garden to be "fancy" by any means, I thought the DCL food in the MDRs for the most were much better than the aforementioned. I'd say probably closer to but still couple or few steps down from Ruth's Chris (we don't eat out all that often, so I can't think of the best land-based restaurant to compare them to hahaha). Given that, I at least have a baseline expectation since we've been on a few of these cruises. I was reading a one or two reviews here where the reviewer, who has been on many Disney Cruises as far back as 2010, had gone more recently in the past couple years and noted quality of food seemingly dropping post-COVID. 

Another point someone mentioned, regarding the Norway one my friend went on, is that they were very likely using European-branded/based food items in the kitchen, which may very well have had an impact on preference. I figure food & meat quality/standards and preferences between the US and EU will differ anywhere between slightly to widely hahaha

Hey all,

My buddy just went on what I believe was the 10-day Norway trip on the Dream (end of July) and ended up getting COVID from it 😞 That aside, he expressed his disappointment with the cruise in general - felt way too packed and crowded, the room he was in smelled, and the food wasn't very good either. And perhaps the most surprising thing, unless she was hiding, is that he never saw Elsa (this is very odd considering it was a cruise in Norway lol).

Anyway, all of this really came as a surprise to me, having been on 3x Disney Cruises and having a great time on all of them with little to no complaints. Of course, last time we went was 2019 pre-COVID so I wonder if there have been changes in the perception and expectations of what a cruise should/shouldn't be.

Also, I've only ever been on the Wonder and the Fantasy and those were all 7-day trips (and to Mexico or the Caribbean). My understanding is that the Fantasy and Dream are pretty similar though but I could be mistaken.

Was anyone else on this cruise and what were your experiences? I'm wondering if there's some disparity between certain ships and also perhaps the location of where they're sailing. I would have thought the cruises would be consistently excellent but apparently it's not the case. My friend has pretty high standards and I've always thought of DCL as being pretty top-notch (especially when it comes to food and entertainment for the kids) so am surprised that it didn't live up to his expectations.

I would have to agree, Izunmi didn't really live up to its reputation for us. Having the 'hot rocks' grill was an experience, but can't say I enjoyed it as much as Giovanni's and Chops.

I would go to them on a sea day as being out all day can make you a little pooped.

 

In November 2015 there wasn't a Chef's Table on offering (or maybe we didn't know but I never saw it on the daily newsletter or in our suite) perhaps its their now.

Yes, this does sound new to the RCCL Explorer. I'll pass up on Izumi - I'm sure I can get much better Japanese here in SoCal :)

As far as Giovanni's and Chops, I'm more inclined to Giovanni's, except MikeC1610's post mentioning Chops has me re-thinking things.

I don't know, at the end of the day I may just forgo any special dining options after all.

Yes you are correct the Chef's table is a set menu but I know they will customize it for you if you have allergies or dislikes etc. I haven't done it but I have heard it is something quite fantastic. Diff than Remy but the food is probably on par. I can't wait to hear your review. Are you going with kids? If so, what are the ages?

Remy was quite the experience, and I felt it was worth every penny (and even more) of what we paid. I wouldn't think twice about dining there again on our next Disney cruise. I'm excited for this cruise, especially as it will be me and my wife's first time to Alaska. We have a son who will be around 11mos by that time, so it'll be his first time too :). We're going with my parents and 2 brothers, so an extended family vacation, so to speak. I have four nephews that will be on the trip (all boys, bless my mother...lol). Most of us, including all my nephews have only ever known Disney cruises, so we'll see how much they like this one hahaha.

Chefs table is a unique dining experience. Each course is especially prepared just fir your table and each course is paired with a different wine.

The head chef explains how each course is made and the Sommelier explains each wine.

You start with Champagne and you should allow 2 hours for tne meal.

Great way to meet people as well. From memory there are only 16 guests max.

 

The menu is set, not al la cart.

I suppose the wine being included ups the ante when compared to Remy, where wine pairing is an extra $100 or so to my recollection. I'm tempted to do this but I'm not sure how much we're into the community dining-with-strangers idea. It might be worth just trying for the overall experience.

I just booked this cruise for next year and I will echo Merion Mom on this. The future booking agent told me that not to sweat over which dining we were in because frankly we would prob wind up grabbing food in the wind jammer after making it back to the ship and missing our dining!

 

As far as the specialty dining. I have cruised both RCCL and Disney multiple times. You will find plenty of Palo type options but I am not sure you will find a Remy similar experience option unless you choice Chef's table. I think that would be comparable.

 

I can't wait to read your review of Alaska cruise!

I was thinking for the day in Juneau especially that missing the dining would be easy to do if I'm out on a longer excursion. Possibly the same with Skagway. I guess it depends on what we end up doing (I still don't know fully). I was thinking Chef's Table might be similar to Remy, but it doesn't sound like you can just order a la carte as much as you want at the Chef's Table (and even if you did, you'd probably look pretty ridiculous unless everyone else wanted in hahaha)

I would also note that Alaska cruises can be quite tiring. If you are "doing it right", you are out there "adventuring" a large part of each day. To me, that would mean hanging back from "big" dining experiences. I would just be happy to plop down in a regular dining room and have a regular dinner.

 

But maybe that's just me.

 

:)

3 or the 4 days we'll be docked at ports of call, so on those I likely won't care much for 'finer' dining. But for the days at sea, where we're not going to be able to "adventure" much I probably wouldn't mind as much to try something different :)

Wow thanks for all the tips! I'll definitely wait till I'm onboard and will be on the lookout for the 20% off discounts :)

Does anyone have any experience with the Chef's Table? I'm extra-curious about that.

I'm so in.. I just don't know what my wife will do.. We have an excursion with Have and marvs in the morning in Juneau.. other than that I just want to drop a line in the water

LOL, same here! Well, I guess my wife will hang with the rest of my family OR watch our infant haha. BTW: the ship is scheduled to be in Juneau from 12pm-9pm. Are you sure the tour you're going on is in the morning? You may want to double-check your booking to make sure of the time.

I am tentatively scheduled with HookedOnJuneau for 1pm for a 3 hour local fishing tour (he will give a brief tour of the DIPAC Salmon hatchery and then we fish for the remaining time... snacks provided). Either way, it looks like buying a license is a must. If you plan to fish Juneau and Skagway, you may want to consider buying a 2 day license (perhaps in advance). Other than that, I'm really considering just doing a fly out fly fishing tour out of Juneau with Bear Creek Outfitters... of course, I would end up doing that and not the HookedOnJuneau tour. Though I think with Bear Creek Outfitters they want you to book everything through the cruise ship. If you're up for it (and I guess if I am haha), and if we could find one more person to go though, we could potentially get in for a slightly cheaper rate of $415 per person - they require at least 3 ppl for the commitment (http://www.juneauflyfishing.com/fishing_trips.html - booking through the cruise line is around $440-450 I believe). Let me know your thoughts on that. I'm debating this because I really want to come back to Alaska on a separate occasion for a dedicated fishing trip in which case I would likely do a fly out at the point in time anyway... just not sure how realistic a trip like that really will be for me.

As far as fishing in Skagway, there are a few options. I got in touch with Dyea Dave (local tour guide) and he recommended Pullen Creek right by the cruise ship IF the salmon are running. Otherwise, hiking up to Lower Dewey Lake for Dolly Varden and trout is another option. As far as anything else (including the elusive Arctic Grayling), it sounds like it would require driving out or renting a taxi/shuttle (Dyea Dave could help out with this too).

We are platinum Disney cruisers, having just taken our 15th. My sons are 10, 12 and 16 and cruising, to them, IS Disney. DH and I have been on other lines and have been happy, but truthfully, the mouse has our heart.

 

That said, we our going on our first Alaskan cruise this year....on Carnival. I specifically did NOT want my kids hanging out in the kids clubs and not aware of the scenery around them. I priced Disney as well, and the Carnival cruise was 40% less for a balcony+inside room compared to two insides on Disney. The Carnival cruise we are on is one of the few Carnival itineraries to Glacier Bay, which I didn't want to miss.

 

We are all very excited, but I am sure there will be some initial comparisons made to Disney. What I think/hope will happen is that the focus will be on Alaska, and not the lack of "pixie dust".

My family and I are in the same boat. My parents have been to Alaska and on various cruise lines, including Disney, but the rest of us (my two brothers, SILs, my wife and I, and all the kids) have primarily been on a couple Disney cruises. I think one of my brothers has been on other cruise lines as well, actually. Either way, the only thing my nephews know about cruising is Disney. We've definitely been spoiled by it. But yea, a big reason we didn't go with Disney was because of the lack of glacier touring on the boat. We'll be going with Royal Caribbean this time around. Hopefully it turns out to be a good one!

We noticed that it is just over 2 miles from the port to the Klondike Gold Dredge center. Is this something we could walk to? I can't find any information on it and the map looks like highway part of the way. TIA for your help and any info you can provide.

You might find more here - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60877-d536322-Reviews-Klondike_Gold_Dredge_Tours-Skagway_Alaska.html

From Google maps, you're right it looks like it's 2 miles away. I don't think that would be such a bad walk if you're up for it. Otherwise, I'm sure you could easily find a taxi or shuttle to get you over there.

A warning however. It is a steep climb to the trailhead and I would estimate it's at least a 1/2 hour walk. (I always drive!) You'll be pretty tired by the time you get there, and then the first 1/2 hour of Perseverance Trail is steep as well!

 

You'll pass the flume trailhead before getting to Perseverance Trail. There's a bridge crossing Gold Creek. Right before that, to the left, is a short trail leading over the creek and the flume trail starts there. You'll see it across the gulch the as you walk up Basin Road towards the trail.

 

It's flat the whole way and very lovely. You can make a very nice circle tour of Juneau by going on Basin Road, along the flume trail, then down the street it deadends on. You can roam past the old city cemetary, peek in at Cope Park and go up past the Governor's Mansion before returning to the dock area.

 

That's not as much forest scenery as Persererance Trail, but you get a bit of everything, for scenery to history to some great views.

Sorry for resurrecting an older thread but I was curious if anybody (locals) knows if it's possible to go fishing at Gold Creek around where Basin Rd ends and the Perseverance Trail starts, or where the turn off for the Last Chance Mine is. I just stumbled across this trail after doing some research per a cruise I'll be on in mid-July and was looking for something to do that was within walking distance. I'd likely bring my own fishing rod and gear but was just curious if anyone has seen people fishing this area and if it's allowed (I would think it is as long as I have a license).

Do you recall how much the license was?

A one-day nonresident license is $20 and a 3-day is $35.

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=license.pricinglist

Hi all,

So my family and I will be cruising to Alaska in mid-July with stops in Juneau and Skagway.

I'm tentatively signed up for a local shore fishing tour around Juneau (goes for 3-4hours including a brief tour at DIPAC) with Hooked on Juneau. It looks like a fun short tour and at a reasonable price ($110 not including gratuity or $20 license cost) but in the back of my mind, I'm debating if I really should use the time and opportunity and splurge on the fly out fishing tour with Bear Creek Outfitters (it would cost nearly 4x more which I know will 'hurt' haha). At the same time, I wonder "when is the next time I'll be back in Alaska? I know I'd love to go back on a separate occasion specifically just for a fishing trip. And if I don't do the fly out this time I'd definitely want to do it next time along with 2-3 days of halibut and king salmon fishing on the boat. I just don't know if that trip will realistically happen. As far as freshwater and fly-fishing, the Bear Creek Outfitters fly out seems pretty insane.... well, any fly out with most guides would be awesome for that matter I would assume. My *main* thing is just to get a line wet, so I guess the cheaper local walking/car tour with Hooked on Juneau would be sufficient. The thought of doing the fly out is really just a guilty pleasure.

In Skagway, I might just try to find local places to fish but I know there are some local guides who know of good fishing grounds where they could drop me off and let me DIY. I'll probably do that during our dock there.

Any thoughts/ideas/advice/recommendations?

Hey guys,

Just wanted to get some ideas of what my family might want to do around Skagway. For sure, I know I want to go fishing but the rest of them perhaps not so much. I have a feeling my parents will want to stay on the ship but my brothers/sils may want to get out and go on a train ride or maybe up to one of the lakes.

We have from about 7am to 8:30pm in Skagway on a Monday (this is mid-July on the RCCL Explorer of the Seas)

As far as options I've started checking into myself, here are a few ideas:

- Lower Dewey Lake Hike (and Upper Dewey Lake too if I'm/we're feeling more adventurous)

- Yakutania point hike/walk

- Emerald Lake tour with Dyea Dave (along with dropping me off at one or more locations for DIY fishing - he highly recommended going for Arctic Grayling)

- Train tour with Dyea Dave (he would drop us off at the train, and pick up at where the last stop is and drive us back)

- Chilkoot lake boat/adventure/fishing tour with Chilkoot Lake Tours (http://www.chilkootlake.com/ - this would require ferrying over to Haines and then being transported up to the lake... this will probably require 2-3 hours of transportation out of the day).

My dad is really interested in history and would likely peruse the town and any given museums around there. My mom likes to shop for trinkets so she'll probably stick around the town area. In fact, I bet what they'll offer is to watch our baby (he'll be around 11mos by then) while we go off and do our own thing. My nephews are a little older so if I had to guess they'd probably want to do the train ride or dog-sledding perhaps. I might try to convince any one of them to do some fishing though (I know Dyea Dave mentioned he especially enjoys stopping off for fishing when he has kids on his tours and letting them go at it if there's any time during his tours... that sounds like an option if any of my nephews might be interested).

Any other ideas on things to do here?

FWIW I just called the RCCL number and confirmed that they won't care if it's sealed or not. They may check the contents but otherwise it's not a big deal.

Hey all,

I was wondering if RCCL has any explicit and strict policies around bringing baby formula or cereal on board. Our travel agent is pretty insistent that we can only bring sealed/unopened baby formula onboard.

Does anyone have any recent experience bringing unsealed formula on? Will they allow it or not?

Hello all. My wife and I are taking our first cruise to Alaska next July. I would like to know if there is an easy way to do some fishing with we're docked in either of these ports.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hey which cruise line are you on? We'll be in both towns on July 17th and 18th via RCCL Explorer of the Seas. I booked with Hooked on Juneau. Though, I'm debating doing a Fly Out with Bear Creek Outfitters....

Some folks have their favorite meals...but so far, I haven't found anything recently that is not to be missed!

 

It's no problem booking the specialties on the ship, unless you MUST have specific time and day. The specialty restaurants are seldom fully booked.

Nice... I think the experience we had (and the amount of food we ate) at Remy was pretty darned good for the price we paid. At the very least, I'd have to argue that we got our money's worth lol.... when the chef comes out and pokes fun at you for ordering every single thing on the menu, that's a sign that you gave them a run for their money ;)

Sounds like with the Chef's Table, the experience might be great but we probably won't get to over-indulge on ordering multiple menu items. Eh, I think we'll probably skip out on the fine dining options this time around... *maybe* Giovanni's if anything. Chops doesn't seem too impressive, nor does Izumi. Unless I hear otherwise regarding Chef's Table, that's likely out too.

Any recent updates? I see the last post was nearly a year ago! I'll be on one of the Alaskan cruises on the EOS in mid-July and am looking forward to it. Currently researching paid-dining options as well as fishing excursions in Juneau (either local walking guided or fly out if I'm feeling spendy)

Between Chops and Giovanni's, we liked Giovanni's the best. Chops is no longer close to a good value for us.

I seem to gather the same impression just from reading around; also that Chops' cook or quality on the meat perhaps isn't as good as it used to be.

Anyone have a recent experience with the Chef's Table? That looks like a fun experience but wanted to get others' takes. At Remy, they laughed at us because we kept ordering items off the menu outside of the Prix Fixe options that we tried. I don't imagine we would able to do anything like that at Chef's Table, considering we would be sharing a single table with a limited number of other guests.

Hey all,

My understanding is that the *second* formal night is when they serve lobster. Is this true? Does the second formal *always* fall on a specific day, and if so, what would that be for a Friday through Friday cruise?

Thanks!

Hey guys,

Was wondering, for those of you who have tried, how the paid dining options are on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas (e.g. Izumi, Chef's Table, Giovanni's, Chops). We'll be on the Alaska cruise in mid-July and I'm considering reserving whatever looks or sounds good :)

Any opinions? This is my first RCL cruise - I've only been on two prior Disney cruises thus far. The last Disney cruise we were on we ate at Remy and Palo. Remy was a pretty incredible experience. I'm perfectly fine with *not* going for any of the paid dining options either - I just wouldn't want to potentially miss out on anything that is deemed worthy (aka "you simply cannot and must not pass it up") though.

Also, if we do want to do any of the paid dining options, should we go ahead and reserve/purchase in advance now? Or is it OK to just wait until we're on the ship to do it all?

One other sort of random question but are there certain days that are more preferable than others for any of the dining? Or anything more "special" about dining on one day versus another? I'm considering doing the Chef's Table experience...

Any tips, advice, or recommendations? TIA!

If you look over on the RCI board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83

 

You will find tons of info.

Thanks! I'll look/post over there!

Hey guys,

Was wondering, for those of you who have tried, how the paid dining options are on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas (e.g. Izumi, Chef's Table, Giovanni's, Chops). We'll be on the Alaska cruise in mid-July and I'm considering reserving whatever looks or sounds good :)

Any opinions? This is my first RCL cruise - I've only been on two prior Disney cruises thus far. The last Disney cruise we were on we ate at Remy and Palo. Remy was a pretty incredible experience. I'm perfectly fine with *not* going for any of the paid dining options either - I just wouldn't want to potentially miss out on anything that is deemed worthy (aka "you simply cannot and must not pass it up") though.

Also, if we do want to do any of the paid dining options, should we go ahead and reserve/purchase in advance now? Or is it OK to just wait until we're on the ship to do it all?

One other sort of random question but are there certain days that are more preferable than others for any of the dining? Or anything more "special" about dining on one day versus another? I'm considering doing the Chef's Table experience...

Any tips, advice, or recommendations? TIA!

Yes it's the salmon sport fishing expedition which I booked through Princess Star. I think it would be awesome to have your catch served to you on-board.

Let us know how it goes! I may have to just live vicariously through you... oh and if you could send me some fish that would be great too LOL jk

Oh and let us know the name of the charter/capt who you end up going out with. I'm always a bit wary of the cruise-booked charters....