surgie

Sailing to Alaska in July. Is there still a Captain's Night, dress your best nights? Any way to find out in advance which nights these are? I had read about "themes" on other nights (ugh not my thing) so we might book specialty dining but I haven't been able to find out which nights are which. 

3 hours ago, Teeara said:

We had the 5 night package.  You can’t make reservations for the package until you are onboard the ship.

Oh got it! We just reserved two different dinners. 

For convenience, but not particularly budget-friendly, we (family of 11) are staying at the Pan Pacific pre-cruise. It is located right at the port so no need to book transport. We are taking the subway train from the airport to the Canada Place which is where the hotel is located. 

We have stayed previously at the Marriott Pinnacle downtown and walked to the port. This was fine for the two of us. We also considered the Delta Suites for this trip but for the make-up of our party, it is advantageous to stay right there at Canada Place. 

1 hour ago, bonsai3s said:

Our experience out of Vancouver.

We had a JS and showed up at 11:30 am...no problem. Our SetSail pass showed "Suite"...and used the Suite queue. Happy sailing.

Thank you. We don't need to board at 10:30 but I just want to make sure we get to our lunch reservations at noon. 

48 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

That link is for Australia.

I see that but not sure why as the original link was royalcarribean.com Why would people from Australia have lesser benefits though? 

13 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

I asked the Maitre'D in the Solarium Bistro on Odyssey what was the difference between his upcharge of $19.90 for a filet and the filet you get in Chops.  He said no difference except the one in Chops cost $50.00

Wow!!

40 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

It's listed directly on the suite perks website

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program

Yes, but Royal Caribbean also says this: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/faq/questions/Can-i-get-Priority-Embarkation?country=AUS

"Priority embarkation is offered exclusively to suite guests (except Junior Suite)."

Hence the confusion...as well as two differing replies my TA got directly from Royal. 

We have reservations at both Chops and Giovanni's so he can compare. 

I have seen conflicting information regarding priority boarding with junior suites. We have 4 JS cabins for a July sailing out of Vancouver to Alaska.  Our TA contacted Royal and received two different responses on whether we will get priority boarding or not. In case not, I will check in at midnight on our assigned date. But wondering why it isn't clear - seems like a simple yes or no. Does it vary by port or ship? 

"Standing in line at Chops to make our dinner reservations.  I came with a post-it with the dates and venues written on it.  I got everything I wanted, but I still think it’s stupid that we have to “rush for classes” in order to make specialty dining reservations."

Wondering why you had to stand in line to make dinner reservations instead of reserving in advance? Better pricing?

On 4/8/2024 at 6:59 PM, Teeara said:

So our driver picked us up 15 minutes early and we were at Terminal 3 a few minutes before 10 a.m.

 

 

We were quickly whisked upstairs, checked in and waiting in the suites/Key area in less than 10 minutes.

 

 

We stopped to watch them add ship provisions prior to boarding the ship.

 

 

I work so I can have this view every yeStanding in line at Chops to make our dinner reservations.  I came with a post-it with the dates and venues written on it.  I got everything I wanted, but I still think it’s stupid that we have to “rush for classes” in order to make specialty dining reservations.

 

 

After lunch we went for a stroll on the Promenade.

 

 

We walked to the front of the ship and found the helipad was open.

 

 

Sailing Radiance in July. My husband loves a good filet steak. Are they similar/same in quality whether ordered at MDR, Chops or Giovanni's? 

Is there lactose free/ dairy free ice cream on Radiance? 

I have read so much about the blankets being sold out and people not getting them on board. I ordered one for each of the grandkids so hoping they have them for our July cruise. 

Any opinions about the thermal suite on Radiance? Is it a relaxing environment with windows overlooking the sea? Nice showers? It is offered for $109 for a 7-day pass on our July AK cruise. We purchased something similar on a different cruise line and it was often hard to get a lounger - of course especially difficult on sea days. Wondered if that is the case on Radiance or if the number of passes sold is limited? 

I have reserved 4 cabins for a July cruise on Radiance (junior suites) for my family and they are all linked to my account. Check in opens on May 28. I. believe I read it begins just after midnight EST. Can I check in all 4 cabins at that time and fill in passport info later? What will I need to know in order to check in each cabin? 

If I'm not able to get a boarding time before noon, is it true that junior suites can board earlier or is that just for higher suite levels? We have lunch reservations at 12:15 so hoping I don't mess this up:)

17 hours ago, AKStafford said:

Have you looked at booking a private transfer: https://www.bactrans.com/

Thank you. Yes I did. It's $2000 for a 14-passenger van to do the trip. That is more than the two rental minivans which I think are about $700 each for 24 hours. At least with the minivans we can make stops as we want with the kids and make it an adventure. 

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I hope 5 years from now, you remember your amazing time in Seward and not the cost of the vans.

Of course I will - can't take it with you, right??!

I have found this to be the most challenging part of planning our trip post cruise - 6 adults and 5 children ages 5-11. We dock at 7:00 am and are spending day and night in Seward. We don't need to be back to Anchorage until time for our 9:00 pm or later flights the next day. The train would be too late. The morning bus would give us too much time at ANC with young kids and the afternoon bus is too late. 

We have reserved two minivans for a cost more than I ever could have imagined. I just hope they are actually available when we get there. I tried so many avenues...reaching out to various private drivers and nothing worked. Many maxed at 10 people. I am regretting that we are spending the night in Seward. I think we should have just spent the day and taken the night train or evening bus back to Anchorage and spent the night there to be in closer proximity to ANC. But we'll make the most of our very expensive minivan adventure from Seward to Anchorage. 

I can't imagine they do...others may know but another option would be to bring an air mattress. If your grandkids are little, there is a toddler air mattress on Amazon that doesn't take up as much room as a twin size. 

15 hours ago, Cherful59 said:

I sailed on Radiance Aug 2023 in Alaska 3rd deck mid ship.  Great trip!!!  It is the 3rd time I have sailed on her and just love this ship.  No bad smells, food was good, fantastic crew.  The ship is older with some wear which is to be expected, but the crew is always working on her cleaning/painting/varnishing. I need to clean and work on thing in my house too, so I would expect it to happen on a ship as well.  Someone is always complaining. Don't worry and enjoy your cruise.  

Glad to hear a good report on the ship. We are taking our adult kids and grandkids ages 5-11. None have been to Alaska. They know Radiance won't have all the bells and whistles (unfortunately they have seen the Icon commercials LOL) but I think for their ages and being new to cruising plus the port excursions, they will have a great trip. 

2 hours ago, steveru621 said:

Radiance class ships are just fine.  

 

Ask this question about your budget.  Is it worth $2,200 to change ships?

Definitely not! We booked the day bookings opened in Nov. 2022 so we definitely won't be changing. It just surprised me to read so much negativity about Radiance. 

We (family of 11) are booked in 4 cabins on a Radiance Alaska sailing in July. A question about the upcoming short dry dock of the ship in March on another travel blog brought out many opinions from recent cruisers on the condition of the ship and most were not at all favorable. Comments such as "dire need of an update", "horrible sewer smells", "worn carpets and furniture throughout the ship", "needs new AC", "Brilliance and Serenade so much better" and the list goes on and on.

It's too late for us to change at this point but prior to reserving I had read much more positive comments. Anyone sailed recently (I think she's in Florida now) and noticed the negatives I read about?  Or is it the people with the negative opinions that seem to speak up the most?

On 1/19/2024 at 4:27 PM, JHawk63 said:

Yes, if all reservations are linked you can select the arrival time for everyone in your party. I did this last March for us & our traveling companions.

Did you use the app or website to select everyone's arrival time? Or it doesn't matter? I'd rather not have to enter everyone's PP# etc.

2 hours ago, gosaints2006 said:

I originally booked a standard balcony then switched to a suite guarantee while prices were stable.  Now I am nervous about the guarantee and want to pick my own JR suite.  

 

Which ship? It might put your mind at ease if you looked at the JS options available. We booked 4 JS on Radiance and there are not very many on that ship so really any of them would have been fine (except that we needed connecting so I wouldn't have done guarantee). I think a balcony guarantee would be riskier in terms of location since more undesirable ones seem to pop up.