becko2000

@BirdTravels This is fantastic, we are sailing at the end of July on our cruise that was rescheduled from 2020!  Any chance you could post the current kids menu on board?  Also, I saw in your pictures at one of the smaller breakfast venues they had fresh fruit in a to go cup, are you seeing that only at breakfast or throughout the day too?  My kids live on fresh fruit so to be able to grab a cup for snacks in the cabin would be amazing!

On our July 2022 Royal Caribbean cruise we are in Port at Icy Strait Point from Noon to 9 pm.  We have a group of 12 (ages 3-65, 3 families), and are considering booking our Whale Watching excursion here through Hoonah Travel Adventures from 1-4 pm.  There may be an interest from some of our group to do the zipliner after that, but others will be too young/not interested.  Does the new Mountain Top Gondola take people to the Zipline, and can we book the Zipline independently instead of with the cruise line?  If so, could we all buy tickets for the Gondola up the mountain, and split up into zipliner/non-zipliner groups?  Where can I find more info on the zipliner and the mountain-top Tram (cost, hours of operation, amount of time needed)?   I looked at the Icy Strait Point website, which said to go through the cruise line but those were almost all sold out, and had nothing about the Gondola option.  We are also in Juneau from 1-8 and could do whale watching there if it is not practical to do all of this in one day.  Any feedback or insight is appreciated!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 minute ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Damn.  Talk about changing horses midstream!  😮 

 

They couldn't have found a NEW symbol to use?!?!?!?!

Yeah, super confusing!!  I did a double take at the screen shot, because it looked so similar but I knew it wasn't the same!

 

6 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Roysls consumer website is horrible,  this is from Cruising Power which is Royals Website for Travel agents. 

Yeah, I don't like the Royal website at all!  Glad to know I'm not the only one, haha!  Annoying that if we want more details as to the types of beds we will have to call, but I suppose most people aren't that specific.  

 

Thanks so much for the clarification!  

12 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Carol, staring a May 2021 the asterisk  no longer means a Pullman.  It will be used to identify a cabin that holds 4 guests.  Royal will no longer tell you what type of bedding is in the room. 
 

7570 will hold 4 guests. 

This isn't the same as what I see on the Royal website, even when I click on the May 5, 2021- September 2021 range.  Is this from Royal's website?

21 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Anything is possible.  

 

Tell your SIL that you are concerned, and you need  her to look into this ASAP.  Availability will decrease with time.

Thanks for all of your insight!  I will definitely have her double check.  

9 minutes ago, joelheather said:

This thread makes about as much sense as VP Pence not wanting to wear a face mask because he wanted to be able to look people in the eye when he talks to them.

 

Let me get this straight, your traveling with the person who booked your cruise. And is a TA but you would rather ask a bunch of strangers instead of asking the obvious person how they may have screwed up the reservation.

 

Just ask her... 

 

Everyone's family dynamics are different.  Thanks though.

5 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Do you have the actual Royal Caribbean invoice?

 

I don't intend to sound condescending, but are you SURE that it's the Serenade of the Seas?  And that those are the cabin numbers on the invoices?

 

No offense taken, Serenade #7570 is what is listed when I log into the cruise planner on the Royal website.  

 

Now what is interesting is if you look at the deck plans for our Serenade cabin for this summer (that was cancelled) it was #7162, which shows the diamond icon for sofa bed and pullman (so would sleep 4).  If you look at the deck plans for #7162 for next summer, it shows the asterisk icon, for pullman only (sleeping 3).  Could Royal be reducing cabin capacity due to Covid-19?  

3 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

You are correct that the deck  plans show that 7570 is for two passengers - no symbol showing any kind of additional bedding.

 

If you have three cabins, how many people total?  Are the other two 72 & 74?  One of those has a pullman.  One of those has a sofabed. Only 70 has neither.

There are 12 of us total- 4 in each cabin.  I believe the other cabins would be 66 and 68, as 2 of them were connecting.  

I've never cruised Royal before, so I'm hoping someone here can help answer my question.  Is it possible that Royal could (accidentally) book 4 people in a cabin that could only accommodate 2?  Our reservation shows the 4 in our family (2 adults, a 4yo and a 2yo), and the deck plans for our assigned room do not show that a sofa bed or pullman are in our room.  The logical side of my brain says that their booking system should not allow this to happen, but looking at the deck plans on the website (and other cruise cabin sites) seems to show it is only a 2 person room.  So I'm trying not to panic (but still panicking a little- we need the sofa bed and probably a pack and play for the 2 yo).  😬

 

We have 3 cabins in a row (travelling with my in-laws) and my sister-in-law is also our travel agent, so I'm kinda in a weird place here.  I don't want to imply that she has made a mistake, but I don't want to show up on the ship and my kids don't have a place to sleep!  We just shifted today from July 2020 to July 2021, so she was on the phone with them, I would think that would help accuracy but maybe not.  

 

So I guess my question is:  Can/should I call or email Royal to confirm that our cabin will accommodate 4 (and has a sofa bed)?  Or do I have to let my TA/SIL double check this?  It is Serenade of the Seas #7570 in case anyone would like to take a look at the deck plans and tell me if I'm being crazy or not!  😁

 

 

17 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

From the cruise line's perspective, they'll save a lot by not opening up the lodges and not having to deal with the infrastructure for transporting passengers from place to place. Sad for those people who rely on these summer jobs to get them through the long winters in Alaska--and for those who just work there during the season. We met one on a transatlantic cruise. He has worked the summers there for years and spends his winters in Florida. 

That makes sense, thank you!  Very sad for these ports, and all of those who depend on the cruise season to make their living.  I'm bummed about potentially missing a cruise, but I know we will plan on 2021 or 2022 if necessary.  I can't imagine the stress and turmoil these people are experiencing!

Just curious:  From the cruise line perspective, what is the difference between the one way cruises that are cancelled for the whole season and the round trip cruises that they *hope* can still sail?  

 

We are currently booked on Royal Caribbean RT out of Vancouver at the end of July- fully expecting and prepared for it to be cancelled unfortunately.  Since this would be our first Alaska cruise, I wasn't sure why some were cancelled and others weren't.  

On 7/23/2019 at 6:30 PM, soozles said:

Thanks for the advice becko! My son is majorly teething right now, so he’s basically a drool machine. That’s why I’m erring on the side of taking extra clothes, as it is at home I change him multiple times A day, he has a habit to spit up or drool all over the place where the bib isn’t. My son might be 8 months old on the cruise, but he was born 2 months early, so developmentally he’s more on par with a 6 month old. Besides, my whole family was so excited about him going on his first cruise that he’s got a ton of sailor outfits and shirts with anchors that he has to wear. 

Oh I totally understand about the clothes!  Both the drooling and the cute boat things!  I even found a pair of scuba diver pjs at a garage sale before we went and he had to have them to wear on the cruise, haha.  And then we had to take tons of pictures of him in the cute outfits, my husband just rolled his eyes!

We cruised with my son to Bermuda at 16 months, so I know that is a lot older, but this is what I would recommend/learned from our trip:

Take an extra swim diaper or 2:  They don't take up much room, you will likely only need 1 per beach trip, but if one gets dirty, you will want an extra.  I would take 2 swimsuits for him max: the one from day one would be dry by day 3 in Bermuda.

Diapers: They are EXPENSIVE on the ship.  We spent $35 on a package of 30 I think.  Overestimate what you will need, then add at least 6 more, haha!

Cabin:  Will your room have a dividing curtain?  If not, we used super strong magnetic hooks to hang a dark, thick fabric shower curtain around the pack n play.  It went around a long side and a short side, so when it was in a corner, he had a cozy little room of his own.  We also took a white noise machine (my son sleeps with one so we had it already, an app on your phone is another option).  

Stroller:  Umbrella stroller, anything bigger is going to be hard in the hallways.  

Diaper Bag:  I had a big backpack for days off the ship, and a small tote bag for on the ship with just a diaper, wipes, a small toy maybe for going to dinner.  You are so close to your room, you won't want to lug a huge bag all over.  

Lillebaby:  Don't leave home without this.  Very helpful in St. George if you go up there.  

Inflatable bathtub:  We had one and didn't use it.  We found out at our Pre-Cruise hotel in Boston that our son likes showers.  I hadn't even thought to try that ahead of time.  So I would try showering with him at home and see if he likes it, it would be one less thing to haul if he tolerates showers.  

We took a baby monitor, but we had family in the cabin next door who were willing to listen once he was asleep if we wanted to go to a show/grab a drink.  If you don't have a balcony or other family, you won't have a use for this.  

 

Things you might think about:  A couple of plastic things for beach toys, we took a dollar store sand shovel and a plastic cup and he was as happy as a clam.  

You know your kid best, but I didn't need new PJ's every night.  I would take 1 sweatshirt for cool areas on the ship but not multiple.  

We really didn't use toys much at all, he was so busy looking at everything and everyone, I would pack light on that one.  

We took gripe water as well, it helps with various tummy issues and has ginger which is soothing.  Just something to consider.  

 

We LOVED Bermuda for our son's first cruise, it was so nice to be in the same port and not be in  a rush to get back each day.  I felt less pressure to get off the ship the moment we could each day because we had so much time to be flexible.  And this ship's staff were incredible and nice and helpful!  Hopefully you will have a great time!

We were on the 7/6 sailing and had a wonderful experience! We ate most dinners in Aqua and had wonderful service, and our dinner at Bamboo was fantastic! We sailed with our one year old, so I can't speak to a lot of the activities, but Elements was amazing, and there was a production show of songs through the decades that was really good too (sorry, I don't remember the name of it). We also enjoyed listening to the music in Gatsby's (by the casino and cigar bar). Overall, we had a great time, and I didn't want the cruise to end!

We have the Summer Infant 3D Mini, which is more basic, but was perfect on our land vacation with our 1 year old and we are definitely taking in on our cruise when little man will be 16 months. I liked that it was super light weight and fit easily through narrow spaces.

I have not sailed on the Dawn yet, but I have done a lot of reading about this since we will be taking our 1 1/2 year old on the Dawn this summer (and it is our first cruise with kids). There is a Guppies room that is open most of the day (9am-9pm as far as I can tell) for open play where parents need to be there with their kids. Then once or twice a day, the kids club staff lead a little "class" with activities around a theme. So you are correct in that there is no drop-off times at all, but there is a place with kid toys that they can go play, you just have to be there. The other thing to consider is that there is no in-cabin babysitting on NCL (this wasn't a factor for us, as we are travelling with extended family who have said they will be happy to supervise the occasional nap or bedtime, but it could be a factor for you, that's why I mentioned it).

 

I got most of my info from the NCL website, and the family cruises board here. I also have seen copies of the Dailies (from the first Bermuda sailings in 2018) that have this info on it.

 

If you haven't checked out the Family Cruises board I highly recommend it, I have gotten so many great tips and ideas from there, especially about packing!:D

Yay, I need a virtual vacation right now! I always love reading your reviews!

I have looked at this for my cruise next Feb. The trip from Cozumel is crazy long. I am not interested in that.

 

From Costa Maya you can take a trip to the Chacchaben ruins in 50 minutes. We are booked with "The Native Choice."

 

They get good reviews on Trip Adviser--but, I can not vouch for them. Do an internet search and look at the pics.

 

PS--We have bee to Altun Ah [sp??] in Belize. It looks like a similar site.

 

We used Native Choice to go to Chacchaben a year ago, and we were very happy with our tour. The ruins themselves are more than just a pile of rocks, there are many structures intact, and there are places to walk part way up the steps and take pictures. I highly recommend good walking shoes, sunscreen and bug spray. :D There was a small vendor area where you could buy things, and they seemed to have a variety of things to buy.

We were just there a month ago and it was very peaceful, no loud music. Lots of nooks to choose from. We loved it, and would go back in a heartbeat!

I don't have children, but when I was on the Sun, I noticed that they had some events recommended as PG-13. These were labeled in the daily as well as during promotions by the cruise director. I thought that was good information for those who were concerned about the content of a show.

Thanks for reporting...a couple of questions if you don't mind:

 

Have they started using the new MDR menus yet?

 

How big an impact did the UDP have on ability to be seated in the Specialty Restaurants.

 

TIA,

 

I didn't have the UDP, so we did not eat in any specialty restaurants, sorry.

 

I don't think they have the new menus, ours had the left side being a "daily selections" and the right side said "favorites" I believe. I forgot to take any pics, sorry. I remember the salmon and a pasta always being on the favorites side. If you point me in the direction of a pic of the new menus I might be able to tell you more.

Thanks rpb718!!

 

Will use your comments especially about the shows we leave next Sunday!! And will make GOOD FRIENDS with Dimitri!!!!

 

RedRover96

 

Just back from the Sun yesterday, and I agree with everything so far. If you like acoustic music, check out Victor (in the Windjammer bar most nights). He was brand new to the Sun last week and we really enjoyed listening to him sing and play his guitar. Awesome server in the Windjammer, I don't remember his name but it started with a Z. Between him and the UBP, my husband and I never wanted for a drink.

 

We really liked the Sun, it really didn't feel crowded (except in the buffet) and we had a sold out ship for spring break. At peak times the bars were crowded but we were always served with a smile.

It looks like they have put together a "sorta" AI package that includes drinks in that package.

 

I did email them and confirm that you can still go there, free of charge, and pay a la carte like I did. ;)

 

Thank you for checking on that. We will be on the Sun next week and I hope to swing over to Blue Kay for a little bit after our ruins tour. It looks beautiful!!

Does anyone know if the 24 hour sale will be available on the Carnival website, or only through a travel agent?

 

A quick google search turned up a flyer that listed the sailings that were included, and it said to "contact your travel professional". Not sure if that means it is something exclusive or not.