Sea lions, bears & eagles Oh My! Pearl to Alaska 6/07/09 review (w/ pics!)

[Cubechick]

Uh-oh... looking at the picture of the front of the Pearl. On Sky the very front balcony railing was metal which you could not see through if you were sitting down, looks like that is not the case on the Pearl? We had about made up our minds not to take an upsell from the AD (when it comes of course :D) but now I am wondering. Do you have any pictures of the balcony or balcony's I guess I should say.

 

Holy wow with the pictures. Our camcorder has much better zoom than the still but I don't know how to take still pictures with it. Time to get the manual out.

 

I am reading along to DH and he is all excited about the invitation to the bridge, can't wait to read the next installment.

 

The Pearl's front balcony does have the metal plating on the bottom, however, here is a pic I snap while reclining on the lounger at Glacier Bay (I found the view impressive enough to document):

 

 

Here are other "generic" pictures of the two balconies:

 

 

[Susie51]

Thank you for sharing your beautiful pics with us. Your excitement for this cruise is contagious. I can hardly wait for our cruise. We are in a port side balcony room, so hopefully our views will be good, also.

[Seanote]

Great review so far. Can't wait for more. But WOW! Fantastic pictures! Keep 'em coming! :)

 

Seanote

[MissTori]

I live in Juneau and am thoroughly enjoying looking at your photos and reading your review. It's nice to hear you enjoyed viewing our wonderful Mendenhall Glacier and incredible wildlife. Juneau is a beautiful city to live in.

[challada]

We leave in the morning and I'm headed to bed right now, so I will miss your last installments, but wanted to thank you! This has been a great way to get even more excited about getting on our 'home' boat of the Pearl. My local bald eagles have been out and visible every day this week....I think it's a signal to me that we'll see plenty of wildlife on our trip!

 

THANKS AGAIN!

chris

[petesweet]

Beautiful pictures and great writing, Cubechick. Thank you! Alaska is definitely my favorite cruise destination. Been there twice and could enjoy it every year!!

Kathy

[Cubechick]

Day Six:

 

Glacier Bay at last! This day was the reason we had booked this specific itinerary. For the first-timer and people who think this is a once in a lifetime trip, we were told Glacier Bay is a must. So far the cruise had been spectacular. Each day seemed to surprise with every turn. Would Glacier Bay stack up? Oh, my! Yes…and then some.

 

The day was sunny (unusual we were told), the water like glass, and the bay simply the most beautiful piece of nature I’ve ever seen.

 

Before I get into all of the “ooh’s and aah’s” I’ll mention that taking a cue from a previous cruiser, we decided this was the day for breakfast in the cabin. Jeffrey arrived promptly at 8:00 with our vittles (including the items that I’d written in). On another cruise I’d had someone fool with our breakfast order after I’d hung the card on the door (changing numbers from one’s to two’s…ordering things I hadn’t ordered, etc). To prevent a reoccurrence, I carefully wrote “one” and “two” on the lines before each item I wanted instead of using numbers. I also used a purple inked pen. Okay, a bit paranoid, but I’m happy to report that our order was correct and a ton of food not wasted!

 

In Glacier Bay we hit our first cold day…not surprising given the geography. Finally the layers we’d brought came to good use. Not to mention the gloves, hats and earmuffs. We really only needed these extra items first thing in the morning (before the sun gained strength) and later in the day as we left Glacier Bay and caught a crosswind. When we were at the glaciers, with the Captain keeping the ship nearly parked, I was comfortable enough in a fleece and jeans.

 

The first view of the bay left me speechless.

 

 

It was so beautiful, but somehow managed to get better as the day progressed and the sun rose. With the bay so smooth, it made the perfect mirror to reflect the wonders we were seeing. The first glacier we arrived at was Reid Glacier.

 

 

We lingered there for quite awhile. The Captain did not pivot the ship here, but the starboard side would catch the view on the way out of the bay.

 

The time arrived to meet Karan and go to the navigation bridge. This was a very cool moment in the cruise. I can’t imagine that the ships officers ever get sick of the view from here. Directly in front of us was the Grand Pacific Glacier, which doesn’t get the press that Marjorie does as this glacier is covered in dirt and rock. However, according to the park rangers on board, it is the Grand Pacific Glacier that carved Glacier Bay, so it deserves some awe and attention. Marjorie Glacier, with her magnificent craggy face was on the port side.

 

 

The ship lingers at Marjorie for a full hour (we were on the bridge for 30 minutes or so), eventually pivoting so that the starboard side of the ship gets the full view of the glacier. Apparently the week before Marjorie had done some major calving, however we weren’t so lucky. She did calf a little…a small avalanche of ice plummeting to the bay from her left side. The sound was explosive and I understand why this is referred to as “glacial thunder”.

 

Next we were to go to Johns Hopkins Glacier. However we stopped at the beginning of the channel that would take you there and lingered at Lamplugh Glacier instead. There was a Princess ship leaving the channel when we arrived, giving every appearance of having been to Johns Hopkins, so I don’t know why we didn’t get to go there. I have to admit I was a little frustrated at not having the change in schedule mentioned. Lamplugh Glacier is beautiful though and is a very “stable” glacier, growing 2-3 feet per day. It’s nice to know that not all of the glaciers are shrinking. Kind of gives you hope.

 

 

We again lingered at Lamplugh for an extended period, giving everyone on the ship ample opportunity to take tons of pictures and just absorb the glory of being there.

 

 

On the way out of the bay the Captain announced (at one point) that in about 15 minutes on an island on the port side we’d see some seal lions. DH was rather blasé about this, stating “I’ve got plenty of pictures of sea lions”, referring to those on the buoy. I suggested he keep the camera ready anyway thinking if the Captain mentioned it, it must be worthwhile. Sure enough, on these couple of islands hundreds of sea lions lounged and trumpeted to one another.

 

 

After the park rangers had left the ship the Captain came on the PA system, hoping that we’d had a good day “despite the incessant ramblings” of the rangers. He said this with humor of course! He also told us that he’d be getting up “at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am” to get us into Ketchikan on time, and those of us with early excursion would get to suffer right along with him. I really liked Captain Lars!

 

If you do go to Glacier Bay, a guidebook we’d read told us to look out for whales as you left the bay. Sure enough we saw a total of 8 whales, including two killer whales that were breeching. Here, we were being buffeted by the wind on our front balcony, hard enough to make your eyes water. We retired to the side balcony (where we still saw whales) until the ship had turned making the front balcony habitable again.

 

After a visually exhausting day we opted to dine in the buffet. I was surprised to note that there were no linens on the tables or candles flickering. I don’t know if this was because it was an Alaska cruise (and more casual) or if NCL discontinued their practice of giving the buffet a more polished ambiance during dinner. Either way the omission was noted and missed. Walking past the pool area after dinner, we noticed people in the hot tub. What a great idea, we thought, and this spurred our only use of the Courtyard. We scoped it out, found we’d have it all to ourselves, and quickly tossed on our suits and ran up for a soak.

 

After our upsell, we’d been so excited about being able to use the Courtyard, but on this cruise found it to be not worthwhile. We wanted to be outside were we could see things, not enclosed in a windowless room, however lovely. Also being that we were on deck 9 forward and the Courtyard deck 14 mid-ship, it just wasn’t convenient. I think we would have used the courtyard a lot more if this were a Caribbean cruise…particularly our Gem cruise out of NYC in January!

 

Tomorrow Ketchikan. Cubechick shipboard whale count 22!

[Planmaam]

Cubechick,

 

I have also been enjoying your fabulous review here; the pictures add so much! I see I am not the only one who has been reliving my cruise through you.

 

We were on this cruise in May of 2007, and are taking it again in September; I am looking forward to noting the differences between Alaska in Spring and Fall.

 

Just thought I'd add a stitched picture my husband took in Glacier Bay, I keep saying I'm going to get a large print made to put on the wall of my office, but have not yet.

 

Looking forward to the remainder of your review.

[DebbieCruises]

Day One:

We booked the Marriott Waterfront because it was directly across the street from Pier 66. This is not a cheap hotel, but I watched the prices diligently and was able to save $80 from the original price I’d booked at. On-line TA's were no help here getting a deal.

 

How did you get them to drop the price on your room? Is it as simple as calling them and asking once you find a lower price on their web site? When I checked it out, it said they would lower the price, if a lower price was discovered with-in 24 hours of booking. I want so much to stay in a waterfront room, but $269 is a little steep for us. Do you suggest I go ahead and book now, and hope the price goes down?

 

I have never read a more entertaining and informative review than yours, Aimee. Are you a professional writer?

 

Thanks for taking the time to give us such a wonderful glimpse of Alaska. I can hardly wait to get there! Debbie

[Cubechick]

Cubechick' date='

 

I have also been enjoying your fabulous review here; the pictures add so much! I see I am not the only one who has been reliving my cruise through you.

 

We were on this cruise in May of 2007, and are taking it again in September; I am looking forward to noting the differences between Alaska in Spring and Fall.

 

Just thought I'd add a stitched picture my husband took in Glacier Bay, I keep saying I'm going to get a large print made to put on the wall of my office, but have not yet.

 

Looking forward to the remainder of your review.[/quote']

 

Lovely photo! You really should get that in a frame!

 

How did you get them to drop the price on your room? Is it as simple as calling them and asking once you find a lower price on their web site? When I checked it out, it said they would lower the price, if a lower price was discovered with-in 24 hours of booking. I want so much to stay in a waterfront room, but $269 is a little steep for us. Do you suggest I go ahead and book now, and hope the price goes down?

 

I have never read a more entertaining and informative review than yours, Aimee. Are you a professional writer?

 

Thanks for taking the time to give us such a wonderful glimpse of Alaska. I can hardly wait to get there! Debbie

 

Honestly $269 is the lowest I've seen for the waterfront room (and I've been watching prices since the end of last year). When I first starting looking the price was $339. I would reserve a room and just keep checking prices. That's what I did. When I saw the price drop to $269 I called and they quickly modified my reservation. Piece of cake. Or I'd book the room I can afford & the room I want, keep watching prices and if the waterfront room didn't drop just cancel it.

 

Thanks for the lovely compliment on my writing. I'm just a wanna be writer! :D

[Cubechick]

A couple of pictures taken while we hung out a Lamplugh Glacier:

 

 

 

[Cubechick]

Day Seven:

 

With Glacier Bay, we’d certainly reached the pinnacle of our trip. Now it was time to begin the slow descent. During our research for this trip we found we were having a hard time finding something to do in Ketchikan. We didn’t have interest in the lumberjack show or in Totem Bight State Park. As Captain Lars had observed most of the excursions left at the crack of dawn, which was not our preference, or just weren’t appealing. We’d resigned ourselves to walking around town when in the eleventh hour I noticed the “Lighthouse, Eagles, and Totems” excursion. As we were interested in seeing eagles and the tour didn’t leave until 9:30 we hastily booked.

 

 

A quick breakfast at the buffet provided sustenance for our tour. Once off the ship we wandered through the gift shop, admiring the hand-carved totems for sale. However at $75 for a 6-inch tall totem, we left them on the shelf!

 

Today was the only day we really had to put up with rain. As Ketchikan is in a rain forest and measures its annual rainfall in feet rather than inches, it would almost have lessened the experience if we hadn’t had rain! It was lightly raining when we arrived at the marina where our boat tour would begin. I have to admit that when we pulled into the marina I wondered what we were in for. The place looked a bit ratty, but the boat we were directed to was clean and well maintained.

 

This is a small operation. “Captain Rob” was your pilot, naturalist and entertainer. There were two young people acting as deck hands and serving complimentary hot cocoa, coffee, and tea. The captain’s beautiful white Husky named Princess also accompanied us (she spent most of the trip dozing in the wheelhouse). We had just pulled away from the pier when we saw our first eagle, perched majestically on a little clump of land hardly big enough to call an island. Of course we all started snapping pictures right away, but this sight would not compare to what we would see in a moment.

 

The captain spotted an adult bald eagle on an island chomping on a king salmon with a great deal of enthusiasm. Per the captain, the fish was too heavy for the eagle to carry to its nest, so he had to settle for eating it on the island and fending off the 10 or so other hungry eagles circling. Watching the eagles dive-bomb each other mid-air and listening to their piercing screeches was an amazing experience. After awhile, the female showed up and took over the fish while the male took some food back to their nest.

 

 

Finally the captain said we needed to continue on but would be back this way in about 15 minutes. As we sailed the bay, the captain pointed out eagle nests (there were 15 visible on this tour) and gave the history of the area. One of the sights were the remnants of a logging village built on interconnecting rafts. There is a plan to fix this up into a floating museum. Upon our return to the island where the eagle was feeding we saw that a young eagle was attempting to move in on the salmon.

 

 

Bald Eagles only get their distinctive white heads and tails in their third year. The immature eagles resemble golden eagles, however there are no golden eagles in Alaska, so if you think you’ve seen one, you’ve actually spotted a young bald eagle. Young eagles also have longer feathers than the adults and therefore appear to be larger.

 

The rain came down in earnest as we came upon Totem Bight State Park. We had a glimpse of totems and a clan house through the driving rain. As we had opted for the open deck of the boat, at this point we took advantage of Captain Rob’s offer to join in him the wheelhouse and stay dry.

 

Continuing on the sun made an appearance. We motored by some harbor seals lounging on an island (we were told that they would grow in numbers when the salmon start running).

 

Stopped at the lighthouse that was on the tour (look, there was an eagle perched on top of it). There had been a humpback whale and calf spotted on the earlier trip, but despite keeping our eyes peeled, no such luck for our group.

 

Ultimately it was a good tour and afforded that “small tour” feel that can be missing from larger operations.

 

Being caught up in the long lines of people returning to the ship we opted to have lunch at Cagney’s instead of the buffet. Watching sail away from this vantage point wasn’t bad. We also had a bird’s eye view of the ice sculpting demonstration. The giant block of ice was transformed into an eagle in just over 15 minutes.

 

After lunch we did something we hadn’t done since Seattle. We took a nap! We may have missed some whales, but snoozin’ on the Bliss bed was a wonderful thing. We lazed away the day until the Silver/Gold/Platinum Latitudes cocktail party that evening. For the first time we met food and beverage director Tony Lockett. DH commented that he was the only one left on the Pearl from the MSNBC show. Tony endured some good-natured ribbing from Denis and the Captain about that! During our conversation we found out that Tony is to be the F&B director on the Epic (had already found out that Karan will be the concierge along with Alex Forbes).

 

Dinner this evening was in LeBistro. This was as good as always except they messed with the escargot! Instead of being topped with melted cheese, the escargots were topped with some breadcrumbs. The dish was still good but short of the perfection that had been achieved before. Karan stopped by as we dined and talked us into stopping by the Chocoholics buffet that evening. We had received the invitation that would allow us in 15 minutes before the doors opened. As we aren’t big dessert people and these buffets are always too late (I loved it when we experienced an afternoon buffet on the Spirit) we hadn’t planned on going.

 

A quick donation to the casino and then off to a Jean Ann Ryan production. Knowing that we aren’t into these productions, we shouldn’t have bothered. I think it was called “Garden of the Geisha” and the set was lovely and I’m sure everyone very talented, but we left 20 minutes or so into it. Plus we had the Chocoholics buffet to go to.

 

The buffet had been set up at the Garden Café. I will admit that there was a serious amount of chocolate to be had. The ice sculpture that we’d seen created

 

was there alone with dozens of dessert choices. We took more photos and then walked around for a bit.

 

 

It was 10:30 when we stopped by the room, but the “Time Change Notice” card warned us that it was really 11:30 and time to start winding down for the evening.

 

Tomorrow packing (boo!) and Victoria!

[Susie51]

Thank you for continuing to share your review and pics with us.

[Cubechick]

Day Eight:

 

Setting the clocks ahead meant that we slept in a bit, but still had time for that final Cagney’s breakfast. (Yes, you can go to Cagney’s for breakfast on the last day, but we’d rather grab something quick from the buffet.) We both had the crab cakes Benedict one last time (well, until our next cruise at any rate!!).

 

Instead of packing we found ourselves watching for whales…and spotting them too! In addition to numerous whales we also saw a pod of Dall porpoises. Dall’s are little black and white porpoises that I had to Google when we got home as they aren’t found in the Atlantic and I had never seen them before. The last whale we saw before entering the Straight of Juan de Fuca was a Humpback breaching in the distance. Final Cubechick whale count: 39. Not too shabby.

 

The sun came out which encouraged us to lounge on our front balcony for a bit. Believe it or not, I actually did manage to get a little sunburn on this trip!

 

Finally we did get around to packing, which didn’t take long as we’d packed light for this trip. It was our first time flying to a cruise and we were paranoid about the weight of our luggage. In retrospect, we could have brought more, but it was nice being able to gather everything up so easily. It was also nice not to have our suitcases and carry-on bags weigh a ton like they do when we go out of NYC or Boston!

 

Arriving in Victoria we saw that there was a Princess ship already there and a HAL ship on our tail waiting to dock after we did. Again we took advantage of express debarkation with Karan and were off of the ship shortly after we cleared customs. Being that we were arriving in Victoria so late (6:00 pm) we had opted to do a little pub hopping instead of taking a tour. So we headed straight for the shuttle busses ($6 pp round trip) and into Victoria. What a pretty city Victoria is! We were both struck by how European it looked and by the size. With a population of 80,000 or so this was by far our larger port of call (besides Seattle of course!).

 

 

In ten minutes the shuttle was dropping us off. A quick glance at the map I’d made showed that one of our bars was not even a block away, so we headed for the Irish Times. We ended up in a nice conversation with a couple who were sailing the Star Princess and our planned one pint turned into two!

 

 

Continuing our enjoyment of the sunny evening, we strolled to the waterfront.

 

 

Toying with the idea of having dinner in Victoria we poked our heads into a couple of restaurants, but decided we’d be better off back at the ship. Very expensive! We only made it to one more pub on our list (not much of a pub crawl, LOL) as after that it was already 8:00 and we decided food was in order. Many other passengers had the same idea as the line for the shuttle was extremely long (we were finally able to board the 3rd bus that arrived), however I think we only waited for about 10 minutes so that wasn’t bad.

 

Taking advantage of the quiet ship we went to Blue Lagoon and finally got our chicken wing fix. I don’t even like wings all that much as a rule, but the Blue Lagoon has them down to a tee!

 

The Pearl pulled out of Victoria after we’d turned in for the evening. The bow thrusters shaking the bed like those “magic fingers” you used to see in motels. It was the only time during the entire cruise that we felt motion.

[Cubechick]

Day Nine:

 

There was no stopping it. We woke up and found ourselves back in Seattle. At least we were still officially on vacation as we didn’t fly home until the next morning. Have to admit though the only reason we weren’t flying home Sunday was Alaska Air had cancelled our original flight and the only flight out on Sunday we could catch was a red-eye. No thanks. I was able to get a nice deal at the Westin, so we chose to make the most of that extra day.

 

We grabbed breakfast at the buffet and brought it back to the stateroom to avoid the madness of trying to find a table. A final check showed that we hadn’t left anything behind. Our room stewardess Sheilla was in the hall so we were able to say our good-byes. This was the first time we didn’t have a team working on our room. As a concession to being on her own she “only” had 17 rooms assigned to her rather than the more usual 34-35. (She did get help on embarkation day thankfully!) I still don’t know how they do such a back-breaking job…and remain cheerful on top of it!

 

Carting our carry-on bags we went to the waiting area for VIP disembarkation. After a short wait, we were signaled and our journey on the Pearl was finally at a close. We were able to quickly thank Karan then our key cards were swiped one final time. (Don’t you just hate that moment?)

 

Our luggage was quickly located and once outside we walked to the left where a line of cabs waited. 10 minutes (and $7 later) we arrived at the Westin. Surprisingly we were able to check in right away, although we had to take a room with a treadmill and workout station in it! (Better than the room with a Murphy bed that they first offered…I didn’t know they still made those! Perhaps I should have taken that room just to see what they looked like!) Apparently the medicine ball room was an upgrade as it was on the 29th floor and had a stunning view of both the Space Needle and Elliott Bay (hi Pearl!).

 

A quick walk brought us to Westlake Center and the start of the Monorail. $4 pp would buy us a round-trip ticket to the Seattle Center and the Space Needle. The ride took about 3 minutes and was just a neat thing to do. Unfortunately we were at the Seattle Center before anything really opened, so we walked around, took pictures of the Space Needle and hopped back on the monorail.

 

This was the moment we’d been waiting for. That first glimpse of Pike Place Market.

 

Here was another “wow” moment. Neither of us has seen so much going on in one place. It was essentially a farmer’s market, fish market, flower market and craft fair all wrapped into one.

 

 

DH couldn’t get over the all of the varieties of fresh fish and I couldn’t get over the flowers! Fat bouquets exploding with color, and the expensive ones were only $15 the "cheap" ones $10! Back home $15 will buy a couple of scrawny flowers wrapped in cellophane. No wonder it seemed that every other person I saw was carrying a thick bundle of flowers wrapped in white paper.

 

 

After we’d roamed to our heart’s content we decided lunch was in order. You could find a restaurant for pretty much any taste or ethnicity, but in the end we opted for the waterfront and more seafood. I think the place we ended up was called Fisherman’s Landing (it was right by the aquarium). DH was thoroughly impressed by the oysters which he declared were better than those on the east coast. He also had Copper River Salmon which is only available a couple of weeks out of the year.

 

That evening we had reservations at a restaurant called Dahlia. DH had found it on line and as it had exceptional reviews and was a block from the hotel we booked it. I’m glad I made reservations in advance as even on a Sunday evening it was packed. This may have been the best meal of our lives. The service was certainly impeccable starting with my ordering of a glass of wine and the waitress insisting that she bring the bottle so I could taste it. (She would later bring two wines for DH to sample when he wanted a glass with his dinner.) DH ordered a seafood sampler appetizer that just knocked his socks off. Every bite he took just elicited more “yum, yum, yum” sounds. The same for the halibut he had (I had a bite and we just don’t have halibut like that at home). I had a roasted Tuscan bread salad that was simply delicious with prosciutto and fresh mozzarella. I also had the signature crab cakes which carried the unusual essence of orange zest. My only complaint is that I wish we’d had the tiniest space left for dessert. So if you find yourself staying at the Seattle Westin, we wholeheartedly give Dahlia’s an enthusiastic thumbs-up!

 

After dinner we walked off some of our amazing meal, followed by a beverage at the hotel’s bar (can’t get Fat Tire Ale on the East Coast). Saw that the Lakers had won the championship earlier that evening (it’s amazing how disconnected you become on a cruise even with CNN available!). Back to the room it was time to tweak the packing arrangements before our flight in the morning. It had been a wonderful vacation but now it was time to go home.

 

[cw2go]

So sad to see it end...

 

 

Thanks great job!!!

[Diamonds Mom]

Thank you so much for sharing your adventures. Now I have to go find an Alaskan cruise..lol. The pics and writing was wonderful.

[cw2go]

Hello one more question and I will leave you alon...

 

How early did you arrive at the Marriot Waterside? Did you make arrangements prior for your luggage or is it common for them to allow you to drop it in and check in later that day?

 

Thanks agains, I only hope my cruise in my BB cat balcony stateroom delivers the same experience. I know I don't get Cagneys for B-fast and lunch but I really just want Alaska...

 

Patty

[MsAnnMcD]

Thank you for sharing. You may have convinced me to do this next as opposed to Hawaii! Photo's were awesome and the description of the food had me smacking my lips too.

[goodml]

Thanks for taking the time to do such a great review Aimee. I almost felt like I experienced it all myself. Great job!

[Newbie0210]

Thank you so much for such an enjoyable review. The pictures really added a great touch. I go on my cruise in less than a month and I'm even more excited after reading all of your daily reviews. Thanks for being so thorough.

[jimswims]

Thanks for the great review and pictures Aimee.

 

We are almost certain that we are heading to Alaska next summer now. We are leaning towards the NCL Star over the Pearl at this time but we are waiting a bit to book.

[coka]

(Hi Jim!)

 

Aimee, Oh my, oh my, your pictures are breathtaking and the review is excellent. Thank you very much for taking the time to do it. I enjoyed living vicariously through it all!

 

coka

[DDMau]

Thank you for all your great reviews and I am glad your liked our city (Seattle). The reveiws and pictures will be very helpful for our cruise coming up July 4th.

[Cubechick]

Hello one more question and I will leave you alon...

 

How early did you arrive at the Marriot Waterside? Did you make arrangements prior for your luggage or is it common for them to allow you to drop it in and check in later that day?

 

Thanks agains, I only hope my cruise in my BB cat balcony stateroom delivers the same experience. I know I don't get Cagneys for B-fast and lunch but I really just want Alaska...

 

Patty

 

Hi Patty, It's very common to drop off your bags. We arrived at the Marriott around 12:30 and checked-in with the front desk (just in case we could get in early). We then dropped our bags off with the valets. They have a big storage room just outside the main enterance. They tagged everything and gave us receipts. When we came back to get our room keys, we just gave the folks at reception our receipts and the bags were delivered to our room. Easy-peasy.

 

Trust me. You'll have a great time. You have a balcony! I really can't imagine doing this cruise without a balcony!

 

Aimee