alaskawdw12

I personally prefer the ship excursions over independent venders for the peace of mind.

You can check out the port of call forum or use the search option to find info on excursions.

I believe they want you back at the ship half an hour before departure time, but I might be mistaken. The ship leaves right on time, so I wouldn't cut it that close.

Have a great cruise!

We went on our first RCL cruise in 2012. Already then ppl were complaining about the service and food getting worse. We thought the cruise was perfect. Since then we've been on another two cruises, one on the Allure and another returning to the Radiance for a second time this past summer. On all three cruises the service was top notch and the food was great. And on all three cruises, while still onboard, we encountered other guests who were hating the cruise for what seemed to us like really silly reasons. For instance, we got to the Windjammer on the Allure a few minutes b4 opening time, so naturally a line started to form. The man in front of us went on and on about how annoying it is to stand in lines on vacation and this being a terrible ship bla bla bla, when this particular line could have easily been avoided if he just chose to show up five minutes later when the Windjammer had already opened (not to mention it's not a big deal to begin with to stand in a short line to get into a restaurant...we all do it at home).

We found that the ppl who were complaining were really nitpicking and ruining their own vacation.

I think a big part of a vacation is your attitude. If you're looking for reasons to get mad - you'll find them. We have enjoyed all three of our cruises immensely and have seen no decline in service or food over the past 3 years.

I believe the last dry dock turned this into a private balcony as part of a new stateroom.

You're right! Sorry about that...too bad, that was a great space.

Secret balcony at the aft of the 12th floor

Doughnuts in the morning on the Boardwalk.

Free arcade for a while on boarding day.

Aqua show rehearsals in the aqua theater.

Zip line lines are shortest at the beginning of the cruise.

Have fun!!!!!

First of all, a cruise ship already was hijacked in 1985 by Palestinian terrorists, who hijacked a cruise ship off the shore of Egypt. So as far as terrorism on the high seas "that ship has sailed".

As everyone has said, the point of terrorism is to terrorize. Changing plans and living in fear is exactly what they want you to do. There's a much bigger chance of dying in a car accident than a terrorist attack.

We always cruise in an ocean view balcony, but chose a boardwalk balcony for our cruise on the Allure both because it's a unique experience and because it was a lot cheaper.

WE LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!

It was the best of both worlds. We had a gorgeous view of the ocean while still enjoying what was going on on the ship all from the comfort of our room. We watched rehearsals going on in the aqua theater and the show itself, we watched people going down the zip line, we enjoyed sail away from our balcony, ate breakfast there and had snacks there during the day...we spent a lot more time on our Boardwalk balcony than we do on our ocean view ones.

I'm a really light sleeper and I didn't find the room noisy at all (we were on the 12th floor, 6 rooms from the aft). We also were not bothered at all by privacy issues. We only used the curtains when we were getting dressed.

Boardwalk balcony is now our favorite type of room :)

DH and I saw it 3 years ago, when we were in our mid-late 20s and saw it again this summer because we liked it so much. If we ever get to travel to Alaska a third time we'll see it again! We love it, but that's the kind of people we are. The performers are really talented and funny and the show is really well done. But as you see in the comments to your thread other people think it's cheesy, so it totally depends on personality. Best to watch the videos on YouTube, like Budget Queen proposed.

We did both the Surprise glacier cruise and the Kenai Fjords cruise this summer. We saw more sea otters on the Surprise glacier cruise (but that probably is different on every single cruise). In terms of sea sickness my husband and I are prone to sea sickness and really suffered on the Kenai Fjords cruise. We always have sea bands on (we both get bad side effects on Bonine) and they have made it possible for us to cruise on everything from the cruise ships to small fishing boats without any problem. We haven't suffered on any cruise ever since we started wearing the sea bands, except for the Kenai Fjords one. We were just bobbing for hours and didn't see enough wildlife to make it worth our while, in our opinion (my mom was fine and she really loved it, we just couldn't wait for it to be over). Our whole group preferred the Prince William Sound cruise.

When we got back to the hotel in Anchorage - Hilton - people said the hotel really swayed like crazy.

We were on the train in Whittier waiting to head back to Anchorage after a glacier cruise. I felt like I was moving, but no one else did, so I just thought I was dizzy. Then it was announced there was an earthquake and that we'd be delayed because they have to check the tunnel and the tracks after every earthquake bigger than 5. We were stuck in Whittier for about an hour and a half. We got into Anchorage after 10 PM. It was pretty scary...a claustrophobic experience I never even thought of...

Alaskawdw12 - thank you. We thought it might be a nice way to finish our day in Juneau. Just need to make sure it includes some aspect of dinner as we will be getting back on board quite late.

If it's the same excursion we did (and it probably is...Evening Whale Quest) there is food onboard. I recommend you eat at the beginning of the trip, because it takes about 20 minutes until you get out to where the whales are, and once you get there you won't be interested in eating :). I never got to eat because by the time I thought I should go grab some food there were whales outside! Who can think of food at a time like that ;). It was really an amazing way to end the day. We've booked it again for this summer.

We did that excursion through RCCL three years ago and it was wonderful :)

Hi everybody!

The BSB just announced their next chartered cruise will be on the Brilliance in the Mediterranean. I was wondering if anyone knows how chartered cruises work in terms of activities. Are there all of the regular daily activities going on (like trivia) or all of the regular daily RCCL activities don't happen on a chartered cruise?

Thanks!

I've spent many thousands on the cruise and airfare, which is why I will dress in what makes me happy, not in what makes a bunch of strangers - who for some reason care about what I'm wearing instead of having a good time - happy. And by the way, where I live people wear jeans and gym shoes to weddings. Who cares?? Why are people paying so much attention to what other people are wearing instead of concentrating on making memories with their family and friends?

Just wanted to add that we went on the tame river raft, with the guide doing all the work and us just enjoying the beautiful scenery, and we really loved it (we were in our 20s), it was one of the highlights of our trip, so to each his own.

When we were in Skagway we did the rainforest bicycle tour as a cruise excursion and LOVED it! It was one of the highlights of our cruise. I think it was with Sockeye Cycle, but I'm not sure. The description on their website is exactly what we did. The guide also picked some berries for us and we saw a couple of bald eagles in a nest. It was beautiful and interesting. The cycling is super easy, so it's inappropriate if you're looking for a challenge, but great if you're just looking for an easy going outdoor activity in beautiful scenery and some history.

http://www.cyclealaska.com/rainforest-bicycle-tour-0

If the commentary from the driver is a priority for you and you're not interested in Eielson I completely get why you're taking the tour bus instead of the shuttle. While most people have reported getting great bus drivers on the shuttles, we got a bus driver who didn't speak English...so there was no commentary at all. On the way back we were on a different bus, because we spent a couple of hours at Eielson and he was fantastic.

We also fell in love with ISP. It's a very special place. Beautiful, quiet and exactly what I imagined Alaska would be. The people of Hoonah are SO proud of their town and heritage and so happy to share their stories with you. Unlike other places, where the majority of people you encounter just come to Alaska to work during the summer, in ISP it's all locals, so money spent is directly supporting the people of Hoonah, which is wonderful! Unlike the image people try to give it, we actually found this port to be the most authentic and we were just swept away by the enthusiasm of our local guide on the amazing whale watch we went on and by the beauty of the place. Time just blew by.

We're going back to Alaska for our second trip and have booked a private tour with Wild Wolf. We haven't done it yet, but she gets wonderful reviews on Trip Advisor. She offers several different hikes through the rainforest (not private) at a better price than the ship excursion, that's how I first got to her. So you should check out her website and read the reviews on Trip Advisor. In the meantime I can tell you that she was great and fast responding to our emails and helping us figure out what we want to do and see.

As BudgetQueen said, it can be calm and it can be rough. We have only done one cruise in Alaska and the seas were really rough exactly where a lot of ppl on these boards claim they can never be rough...We had no problem leaving Seward. But between Hubbard glacier and Juneau the seas were really rough. People didn't go to eat because there were so many people suffering from sea sickness. we were doing fine with our sea bands. Another night, also in "sheltered water" the waves were so bad that people were leaving the theater. My point is, just because others have had very easy sailings and glass like water doesn't mean that's what you'll have, so you should be prepared with sea bands/medication/ginger pills or whatever method you use in case of motion sickness.

Subway is right across the street from the Princess Lodge, so you can hop over there in the morning before you head out.

Eielson itself is really nice, with a movie and all kinds of great exhibits to check out. The ranger walk is a lot of fun, so if you're interested in doing that you should make sure the shuttle you're taking gets you there on time. We left before the hotel shuttles started, so we took a cab to get there.

We LOVED the doughnuts on Allure!!!!!!!!

St. Regis in Vancouver is great!! We loved that hotel.

Remember: Unlike a cough or influenza, the Norovirus is not airborne.

 

Washing your hands frequently and not sharing food, cups, silverware is your best bet!

This is a great point. I got Norovirus at home, but I made sure to constantly wash my hands and not share food or drink with DH, and he also made sure to wash his hands all the time, so he never caught it. You don't catch it from being in the same room or bed. If you both make sure to wash your hands you should be good.

Hi! 😊

DH and I went on RCCLs Radiance of the seas in Alaska for our honeymoon 3 years ago. We were 27 and 24, and we had the most amazing time!

The Jewel is the same class as the Radiance, and they are gorgeous ships! Windows all over the place, so no matter what you're doing you can see the beautiful scenery outside.

We really like participating in activities onboard and don't enjoy lounging around and watching the scenery, and RCCL was perfect for us. There were activities going on all the time - trivia, finish the lyrics, if you know it dance it, video camera scavenger hunt, 70s party, etc. - so when we were onboard and not eating 😜 or sleeping we were at an activity.

We enjoyed our time onboard as much as we enjoyed our time in port.

As far as people your own age...don't hold your breath. The Alaska cruises tend to have an older crowd onboard. Let's put it this way: we were invited to a luncheon for honeymooners and we were by far the youngest couple. The couple closest to us in age were 40, the couple closest to them were 50 and the other 3 honeymooners for 70-90 years old! 😄 in The Love and Marriage game show (which is hysterical) the newlyweds were in their 50s. So there aren't many people your age onboard, but there will be a few and because it's a smaller size ship you you meet really great people and start forming groups that you hang out with at activities.