Cruise Review - SOS Alaska Sept 6-13/08

[winesfine]

This is a very long review so I'll break it up into various sections. Hope it stays legible.

 

Our group of 22 set sail on the Serenade of the Seas on Sept 6 from Vancouver’s Ballantyne Pier. We had a mix of previous cruisers and “cruise virgins”. We have cruised Princess and Holland America, but this was our first RCI cruise. Throughout this review, I will compare RCI to Princess.

As you can imagine, coordinating 22 people to get to and from the ship, dining arrangements, excursions and various other details can be daunting. Our favourite phrase throughout the cruise was “it’s just like herding cats”. Unfortunately, our direct contacts and our travel agents contacts with RCI prior to the cruise were rarely met with positive results. As 50% of our travellers were new cruisers, we wanted to make this experience a “once in a lifetime”. We felt it was important that our dining experience include window views and instructed my TA to contact RCI and make appropriate arrangements. She was advised that RCI would contact her 30 days prior to the cruise with a special form. She did receive the form, which HAD to be return by a specific date for the arrangements to be honoured. The specific date was the day before the fax was sent! Fortunately, we did receive 2 tables with windows and 1 interior table. The other directive that was received regarding our dining arrangements was that we must stay at the table we were assigned unless we pre-paid gratuities. We can understand pre-paying when you have an extremely large group (22 is not extreme and only encompassed 3 tables). We chose not to pre-pay and knew we would circulate. Fortunately, the same wait staff looked after all 3 tables, so tipping was not an issue.

The other pre-arrangement we made was to have a mini-golf tournament. RCI advised that in order to have an exclusive tournament for our group we had to pay $50 for a cruise staff member to be present. We felt we didn’t need a staff member as we were just having a fun game, no massive prizes or guardians required, but RCI was insistent. Our TA paid the bill on our behalf which was very appreciated by our group. We were told that the mini-golf would be available to our group from 9:30 – 11:30 am. Although, we would have preferred something at a later time we assumed that other activities arranged by the ship might be planned and we needed to work around their schedule.

The perk we received for booking a large group was $100 shipboard credit per cabin. We regularly receive a $100 per person shipboard credit when we book with Princess. Even as a first timer with Princess, we received a $50 per person credit so we didn’t feel that RCI cared or encouraged large group bookings.

[winesfine]

Our group resides in Victoria so we all agreed to catch the 9am ferry from Swartz Bay (Victoria side). Arrangements had been made with Top Hat Shuttle to pick up our group upon arrival at Vancouver’s Tsawwassen terminal. The shuttle was waiting for us when we arrived and luggage and people were quickly loaded and en-route to Ballantyne Pier. The driver was courteous and quick in assisting us with luggage. I strongly recommend this company for large and small parties. They were the only company to respond to my inquiries regarding transportation and were extremely reasonable.

We arrived at the pier around 12:15. Everyone in our group had their Set Sail passes printed and passports ready. Embarkation was quick and easy. With Princess, we often are left in a holding area at the pier waiting for the ship/cabins to be ready. Although our cabin on RCI would not be ready until 1pm, we were allowed on the ship to explore and enjoy the buffet. This is definitely an improvement over Princess. The buffet was very busy and crowded and table availability was scarce. We only encountered overcrowding on a couple occasions. The food was okay, but we prefer to sit down to a meal in one of the dining rooms. The layout of the buffet is excellent and Princess could learn a few things from the design. We were able to pick and choose which “station” we would like food from (i.e. hot, cold, salads, desserts, etc.) and did not have to wait or interrupt others standing in a single line for all items. Sadly, the buffet closes quite early making it difficult to have a cup of coffee (free) and a cookie before retiring for the evening. Princess has a buffet open 24 hours. One of the best restaurants during the day is the Seaview Café. Their sandwiches and fries always arrived hot and fresh. The café became quite busy once passengers discovered its location. The online map of RCI shows a pizzeria, but we did not find it. We missed our usual pizza fix we get on Princess.

Around 1:30 we headed off to our cabins. Our sister and brother-in-law had an adjoining balcony cabin to us on deck 8. The cabin interiors are smaller than Princess, but the balcony is slightly larger so overall I guess the size is the same. On Princess the balconies are adjoining so you can request the room steward to unlock the balcony wall and have one large balcony. The room configuration also appeared to give the room a smaller feel to it. An advantage was that you could reach out from the bed in the morning and open the curtain to view the days weather. The shower in the cabin was a hoot – the best way to describe it is a tanning bed standing on end. The circular shape was “interesting”. If you dropped the soap, you had to open the shower door to bend down to retrieve the soap and I’m an average sized person. The clothesline was so high you needed a chair (try to get that in the shower!) to reach it. Princess always provides nice spa soap and little paper packets of shampoo and conditioner, RCI does not. Thank goodness, we threw some small bottles in at the last minute or we would have been on the prowl for shampoo and conditioner. RCI does supply bar soap, but it seemed to have sand imbedded in it (maybe a type of pumice), but it rubbed your skin raw. Princess also supplies a small fruit basket and a cookie tray on arrival, which is always appreciated, RCI does not. RCI supplies a mini-fridge with water, chocolate bars, candy, pop, etc., Princess does not. The mini-fridge kept things (wine!) semi cold. We emptied the mini-fridge and put all the goodies in the overhead cupboard. We did use the water from the mini-fridge because the water that came out of the bathroom tap was absolutely disgusting. The smell of sulphur was overpowering. The odd thing was that the shower did not smell.

After depositing our carry-on luggage in the room we decided to explore the public areas of the ship. We were not disappointed. She is a very beautiful ship from the spa, the mini golf, the atrium, the solarium and the various lounges and theatre. The Tropical theatre is much larger than any of the Princess ships we’ve been on. There never was an issue with seat availability. Although the balconies in the theatre seemed fun to sit in, the view was blocked by columns. The shows were entertaining, but none of them had any “wow” for us. They included your typical showtime dancers, comedians and other entertainers. We only saw the Cruise Director when she was introducing the shows and rarely, if ever, saw her wandering around the ship talking to passengers. Most of the cruise director’s staff were rarely seen unless they had a job or activity they were responsible for. Usually on Princess we know all the staff names by the end of the second day as we’ve had a chance to talk to them, find out where they come from and a little about their family life.

Shortly before the fire drill we met our room steward. He only stayed long enough for us to give him a cash tip, which we’ve always done up front in anticipation that we will receive good service and we provide a further tip at the end of the voyage. Fortunately from previous cruises, we were aware of the standard fire drill as our steward did not take the time to brief us on the drill nor describe his role, the amenities of the ship or services provided. We found our way to the fire drill which was a long, hot process while wearing life jackets the entire time. On Princess we are usually sent to a public room (i.e. dining room or theatre) so we could sit comfortable (without life jackets on), listen to the instructions and quickly get on our way. Definitely prefer the Princess method.

[winesfine]

Our group had the early traditional dining time. We had 3 tables (2 x 8 and 1 x 6) which worked well for us to co-mingle and visit. Our waiters were personable and diligent in responding to individual needs. The menu was a little disappointing throughout the voyage as only 1 or 2 items changed. The standard chicken, meat and pasta were served slightly different every night. Princess has a wider selection of appys, soups, salads and main courses as well as a standard “always available” shrimp cocktail, steak and chicken breast. We were very surprised to learn on lobster night that a maximum of 2 lobsters were available per person. The lobsters were extremely tough so we wouldn’t have eaten 2 anyways. In our opinion the lobster was pre-cooked and microwaved enroute to the table. Most nights the meals arrived cold. We missed the bread sticks from Princess. When we enquired if there were any available, we were told the chef did not make them. One of our group is a vegetarian (he does eat fish) and he struggled to find a variety of food at dinner and the buffet. Who wants to eat salad and fish every meal!

We had arranged with our TA to celebrate certain anniversaries and birthdays during the cruise. The first night we wanted to celebrate one of the first timers anniversary, but no cake or acknowledgement happened. We spoke to the maitre ‘d and were advised that we had to pay for this service. It would have been nice to know this ahead of time. We told him we were disappointed and he asked that we provide him with all the details and he would see what he could do. We’re happy to say that they did go out of their way to ensure all celebrations were recognized with cake and singing and we did not pay for this extra. We really appreciated the effort he went to, but on Princess we don’t have to make these arrangements while on board. In addition to this effort, RCI did supply a bottle of wine in the cabin for all celebrations.

The first night in our room was very disappointing. We are used to Princess setting the lights low, turning down our bed and leaving chocolates on our pillow. At first we just shrugged it off, but found out that the rest of our group (except my sister and us) received the Princess treatment. We enquired at the front desk if this was a service provided on our deck and was assured it was. Later that evening (after 10) the bed was turned down. The next day (2nd time we met our room steward) we asked if everything was all right last night as we missed having the bed turned down. He advised that they never turn the bed down when they are delivering luggage. We let it slide, but was disappointed in his response. As the cruise progressed, the steward’s services improved. We got extra chocolates and always had several wine glasses in our room at all times. Princess ships have a card in the room with the steward name and phone # on it, RCI does not.

The onboard activities, particularly during sea days, were lacking in our opinion. The first sea day, we did a little bit of trivia and bingo, but were expecting things like Princess (i.e. horse racing, some goofy game like Outburst, etc). The last sea day had quite a few activities (i.e. bowling, cake decorating demo, back stage tour and bartender flair demo). It would have been better to spread more of these around for the 2 sea days.

Bingo was quite disappointing compared to Princess. The cost of the games is more and you get fewer games to play. On the final game, they charged an additional $15 to play. The payouts on the games during the week are quite low and are odd amounts. Princess tends to stick to a specific payout schedule and you pay the same on the last day that you paid throughout the cruise. RCI has some fun prizes for helping verifying the balls, which was different.

The Meet and Mingle was very nice. The appys were gone by the time we arrived (got held up in Trivia). The gifts were generous and useable. Trying to register our group for the meet and mingle was a nightmare. Between Cruise Critic and RCI, we could not find a way to register all 22 of us under our CC name so we spent quite a bit of time, creating a Google e-mail, CC name and then registering each cabin/person. Whew, we won’t do that again. Princess does not have a meet and mingle, but during the last cruise we were on, the Cruise Director set up a champagne meeting and posted it in the Princess Patter. We hope they continue to do this.

[winesfine]

We did 2 shore excursions through the ship and 1 on our own. Normally, we organize something through the locales and rarely do a ship excursion. We felt with 22 people it would be easier through the ship. The first one we booked was the White Pass Railway. Our previous experience with Princess is that we book the number of tickets we want (no names required) and we pay the charge as part of our shipboard account. With RCI, we had to book individual tickets on our room account and pre-pay the amount (over $2,500) on our credit card. Initially, we thought that was because it was a large booking, but when we booked just 2 people for whale watching we also had to pre-pay. Overall the markup between RCI and the local cost was minimal. Our previous Princess ship excursions have had a large price markup.

The whale watching in Icy Strait (just 2 of us) was also through the ship. We would have booked private, but no seats were available with the company we wanted as we had waited too long – our fault, we were warned! Our excursion tickets provided the meeting place and time. When we arrived (10 minutes earlier than the indicated time), we sat patiently for awhile when the cruise staff member called out “If anyone is here for # excursion, your group has left and is now boarding the tender”. Great! We did catch up without any problems, but why put a time on the ticket and leave at a different time, especially early. For a ship excursion it was okay, too many people crammed into a boat for our liking. We enjoyed the day, saw quite a few humpback whales and clicked off a gazillion photos. Some of our group did an atv/zipline excursion, which they booked from the dock. In our opinion the Icy Strait zip line is more of a joy ride than the zips we are accustomed to, but our group enjoyed themselves immensely (they had not zipped before). Several of our group took the bus into Hoonah and enjoyed crab at The Office.

The Hubbard Glacier was amazing. The sounds as you approached the glacier were similar to being in a bowl of rice krispies – snap, crackle, pop! The weather was grey and drizzly, but as we got closer the clouds lifted a little giving us a better view. The view must be incredible on a sunny day. We were told later that the ship got the closest it had ever been – it truly felt like we were only a football field away (although it was probably further). We did see a very large piece calf, which echo a loud boom for a long time. It is definitely something you have to see as it is difficult to describe it’s beauty, peace and magnitude.

The train trip in Skagway was a huge hit with our group, despite some glitches. We were able to arrange to have a car to ourselves (we can be a little rowdy), but unfortunately, the bathroom in our car had feces (dried) on the sink cabinet. The company suggested we move between cars to use the bathroom (supposedly it was a no-no to move between cars, but we were allowed). One of our group is disabled so moving between cars was not an option for her. Finally, after much negotiating, they cleaned our bathroom. We also had some issues with a speaker quitting during the ascent, but they were quick to get that fixed. The weather was cool and cloudy, but sunny skies broke through when we needed them most.

The one private tour we booked was through a new company, Alaskan Zip Lines. They were prompt in picking us up in Juneau and transporting us to the zip lines. They currently have only 5 lines and a small swinging bridge. We had zipped in Puerto Vallarta, where they have 14 zip lines so this seemed quite small to us. The ones in our group that had not zipped before, including a 73 year old grandmother, loved the zips, the guides and the beautiful scenery. The tour guides are very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna, as well as the history of the area. It is a little scary stepping off into open air, but we definitely recommend this tour and the company, especially for people who have never zipped before. The tour includes some hot tea and salmon pate on crackers. At the end of the zip, you are returned to the club house to remove your gear and watch a video of your exploits which is available for purchase. We hope this company continues to grow as they have a lot of potential. The cost of the excursion is equivalent to others in the area.

[winesfine]

The Compass does not contain as much information, especially on shore contacts, as the Princess Patter. Usually, there is a section of contacts while ashore in case of medical emergency, police interaction, etc. It also included pertinent information about the ship should you need to provide this information while ashore. Since we were only in Alaska, this didn’t concern us as much as if we were in Mexico or the Caribbean. The Compass had a handy tear out sheet that you could easily keep in your pocket to check for ongoing activities (when there was some!)

As previously stated, one of the activities our TA paid for was to have the mini-golf available exclusively to our group for a 2 hour period. The night before we had arranged for the maitre ‘d to have a couple jugs of orange juice and plastic cups set out on the mini golf for refreshments. The juice was there waiting for us, but there was only 1 small jug for 22 people and approximately 10 cups. One of the cruise staff met us promptly at 9:30 and introduced our “chaperone” for the event. Sadly, the mini-golf was open to all passengers so we were probably disruptive to their game, more than they were disruptive to us. We felt badly that our TA paid the $50 to have exclusive use and a chaperone that fetched us another jug of OJ and stood by watching for 1.5 hours. For $50 RCI could have put out a “private event” sign, which we’ve seen on other ships (although not necessarily for golf).

The biggest concern throughout the whole ship was that there was only 1 sanitation station at the buffet entrance. When we watched people coming and going, only about 60% of the passengers used the pop-up wipes to clean their hands. On Princess there are sanitation stations (like soap dispenser pumps) throughout the ship – from the dining room, all entrances to food products, washrooms, elevators, leaving and entering the ship. Some are mandatory, some are voluntary.

We liked the gratuity options available on RCI as you are given a choice of adding it to your shipboard account or using the gratuity envelopes or both. Princess generally adds the % to the shipboard account and if you don’t agree, you can remove or reduce it. The gratuity envelopes are also available. The only issue with RCI is that once you choose to add it to your shipboard account, you can not reverse your decision. It probably has something to do with bookkeeping. We chose the envelope option.

The final day, as always is a little sad and a little frustrating. The Compass advised that breakfast would be served in the dining room until 8:30 am. We had not encountered such a late time on Princess ships (it’s actually quite hard to get breakfast on disembarkation day) so we double checked with the maitre ‘d the night before. All the wait staff assured us it would be open and serving breakfast. Just to be cautious we arranged for our group to meeting between 7:45 – 8:00 for a final breakfast. Most of us were seated together and enjoyed a final full breakfast (not just an abbreviated one that Princess offers). A few stragglers did not show up until 8am or a few minutes after and were told that the restaurant was closed and only open to certain members of the cruise. This information was not provided on the Compass.

Our group hung out in various areas waiting to be the last off the ship as our bus would not pick us up until 11 am. Embarkation was very easy, suitcases located, forms completed and off we went. The only issue was the scarcity of space while waiting for transportation. One employee would move our group to a location, another would move us somewhere else and then another would move us again. A little frustrating, but understandable. Thankfully, our bus arrived early and we were whisked away to the ferry terminal to return to Victoria.

All in all, the cruise was very enjoyable. Would we cruise RCI again? Probably, but we wouldn’t seek them out as our cruise line of choice.

 

That's it! I'm sure I'll get beat up by die hard RCI fans but this is just my opinion and I hope everyone takes a little something of importance away with them.

[Ripley's Lady]

Thank you Winesfine!

Great reviews and comparison of RCCL to Princess.

We are looking ahead to an Alaskan cruise in 2009

Loved your tour descriptions.

Nancy

[VASOXFANN]

My goodness! You were in the beautiful and majestic land of Alaska, and all you could think about was how this and that compared to Princess?

 

I realize the name of the website is Cruise Critic, but sheesh! :rolleyes:

 

When we go Alaska, I certainly hope stuff like this will be the last things on our minds! :eek:

[katiel53]

When I started reading your review, I felt that there was going to be nothing that you liked about your cruise on RCI. I was pleasantly surprised that you enjoyed the cruise---in spite of RCI.

 

I am not a die hard or anything, but I do think your expectation of getting window seats in the dining room for your group was a bit unrealistic. Those seats are prime real estate and normally would/should be given to those who have sailed RCI many times. I would be upset if I wanted to sit near a window and having sailed RCI many times, I was told no because Joe Schmo, a new to RCI cruiser got that seat.

 

As far as OBC goes, I assume that with 22 people you had at least 11 cabins booked. If that is the case, your TA most, not all, but most times gets group amenities that she/he can use to give you reduced prices or OBC etc. I don't think it is fair to blame RCI for giving you a credit of $100.

 

If you were just sailing on RCI as an individual, you might not get OBC and somehow when I have looked at booking Princess, there wasn't any mention of OBC from them. I guess I don't understand your gripe.

 

Food is subjective, and I don't know what you expect for differences nightly. I have heard that Princess has a seafood buffet, that I do wish RCI would have, but each line has differences. I am very surprised that there were not choices available for your vegetarian friend. On a lot of posts, people are complaining that there are curries etc. nightly.

 

I do think that RCI dropped the ball on the mini golf. From what you have said there should have been more refreshments and the time blocked off for your group. I have never heard of this before, but that doesn't mean anything, lol.

 

I believe that in Alaska most people are off the ship doing things and that the normal activities that occur in the Caribbean during the day are not done.

 

It seems to me that your heart lies with Princess and I do hope you will continue to enjoy their ships. Each cruise line attracts different passengers and you seem to have found your niche with Princess. Mine is with RCI.

 

Thanks for your review. It is always interesting to read other thoughts on cruises.

[SomeBeach]

I don't think it's uncommon when someone tries out a new cruiseline to compare it to other cruises they have taken. Yes there were differences that they didn't expect and some things that were out of the norm for RCI; ie: excursion leaving early, but nothing that makes this review seem like it's a bashing of RCI.

Winesfine, thanks for your review. I am glad that overall you and your group had an enjoyable time.

[erin_cruisers]

Winesfine - thanks for the review.

I agree with others that you can't help but compare any cruise with others

before it. Be it the same of a different line. (our 1st is still our favorite) :D

We have only cruised RCI, but are looking forward to our first Princess cruise

next week.

I think you presented pro's and con's of both lines, fairly, and of course,

it is your opinion which can not be disputed.

We all have certain things that are important to us, that might not be important to others. ie - the window seat in the dining room.

We have always chosen 2nd seating, therefore it is getting dark by the time we eat. We couldn't care less about a window seat.

So, great if someone else who wants them gets them.

 

In the end, no matter what line we choose - we are on a cruise, a holiday (and not at work). :)

[sha88]

Thanks for your review. Wasn't the Serenade amazing and the Hubbard Glaicer WOW!!!!! Everyone should plan to go to Alaska. We also went to Whistler, Canada. I don't have any other lines to really compare it to, but all I know is that we want to go back!

 

Pics from our cruise:

 

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=6pu62df.7ykfftsj&Uy=-rt48l4&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=456071927819_584779004307&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1