Live Report from Alaska - Rhapsody of the Seas

Well, it's that time again! Another live report from a (hopefully) great Royal cruise. This time we chose Alaska. We were originally supposed to visit Alaska last year on the Radiance, but our cruise was canceled due to the extended dry dock so we opted for Europe. So this year we were determined to get to Alaska, but we opted for the round-trip cruise instead.

Here is some background about us so you can determine whether to continue reading:

I am a 34 year old college professor and DH is 45 (currently not working). Hubby is diabetic with severe neuropathy and not able to walk long distances. Therefore, cruising works for us. I go crazy on the ports and he vegs out.

We don't really drink, are nonsmokers (former smokers), and are a bit of homebodies. This means we tend to spend a lot of time in our room. We do, however, love trivia and I try to go to all the shows.

We are booked in a junior suite, which is our preferred cabin choice. We like the bit of extra space and the double points. Speaking of which, this is our first cruise as Diamond, so I am looking forward to seeing some of the extra perks.

We are booked on a whale watching excursion in Juneau and the White Pass Railroad + Yukon in Skagway. We have nothing planned yet for Victoria.

The plan for this trip is to just relax...we just got back a few days ago from 17 days in Ireland, so this is our "vacation from vacation."

I'll plan on updating at least once a day and answering whatever questions you have. I am really excited to see the refurbished Rhapsody! We were just on Grandeur in the spring, so we have a bit of a comparison.

I look forward to reading your live report. We are on the Rhapsody next week!

Pre-Cruise in Seattle

We have already visited Seattle before and we're still trying to unwind from our Ireland trip, so the plan was just to veg out and watch some Breaking Bad (we just got hooked on it during our Ireland trip) on Netflix.

We flew American Airlines direct from DFW to SEA. No problems with the flight. We did check luggage this time (because of the bulky coats and gloves, etc.) and had to wait quite a bit for the luggage to come out.

We booked an airport hotel. The downtown hotels were too expensive for our taste (over $200/night) and we weren't really interested in exploring Seattle anyhow. So we booked a La Quinta near the airport. There weren't many options by the time I booked and we generally have no problems with La Quinta (we use them when traveling in the US because we have a dog). The hotel has a shuttle and it was really easy to follow the signs to the pick-up.

Checked into our hotel around noon and went across the street for a bite to eat at Dave's Diner. It was actually really good! The rest of the day we spent napping (we're still on European time) and watching Breaking Bad.

Up at 4 AM.....my biological clock has no clue what time zone I am on!!!

We arranged for Seattle Express to pick us up at 10 AM so we can try and board early. They only charge $12 per person.

More later!!

How exciting Beth!!! I bet you can't wait to get here :)

Victoria was beautiful, we did a walking tour and then took off on our own to just explore. You said that your hubby can't walk any distance but maybe you could get a driving tour. It really is a beautiful town.

Can't wait to hear more, we're on the Rhapsody august 10th, same itinery i think.

We are hanging on every word of your live report as we are on the Rhapsody on the 23rd.

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Have a great time! Alaska was by far one of my favorite cruises, we were on Rhapsody last year for it. It was a great ship and I saw some pics of the updates and it looks great!

We met some friends who had a great time on the whale watching excursion in Juneau and said it was well worth it.

My parents did the White Pass and loved it.

We just walked around Victoria. It was the first time that we had sun (of course our last day) and the city was so gorgeous. There are buses that take you from the ship to town. There were many cute cafes.

You'll have a great time!

Oh I am so looking forward to revisiting my Rhapsody cruise via your trip. I know we had a great time. The only less than wonderful weather was the day we set sail from Seattle. Whale watching in Juneau? Harv & Marv by any chance. They were absolutely FIRST CLASS!!!

I'm sure you'll enjoy the view from the train in Skagway. It was so beautiful.

Victoria is a beautiful place. Hopefully you can get a bus tour or some such since DH is limited on his walking.

Erika

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise. We are booked on this ship next May.

When we were in Victoria about three years ago, we just hired a taxi to show us around. I think we paid about $40 for the two of us and he drove us around about 1.5 hours. Gosh, Victoria is SOOOO beautiful.

Thanks for the Victoria suggestions! I was hoping maybe a driving tour of some kind. All hubby wants is to eat some crab legs somewhere!!

We are on board now and it's chilly and overcast. Sitting on deck having some tea (I got hooked on it in Ireland).

I'll post a full report tonight.

And yes, we are using Harv & Marv.

Very excited to have a Live Review of Alaska, sailing on Rhapsody (we were on her last November).

Can't wait to read about your tour with Harv and Marv. Our friends loved their experience with them.

Have a fabulous vacation.

so you'll be in some of the ports together with the Radiance..

my daughter should be boarding the radiance as we speak..

here's her ship right now on embarkation day in Seward:

Bon voyage!!!

Can you let us know who the cruise director is, so I can update the current CD list?

Thanks so much for taking the time to start the thread and report live from the Rhapsody!

I'll be sailing on her next May and can't wait to read more. Also booked with Harv & Marv and taking the Whitepass RR in Skagway (first time on both) :D

Just off the Rhapsody today. It was raining when we embarked in Seattle a week ago so it definitely could have been worse today. The weather was good by Alaska standards for the rest of the cruise meaning no rain.

I wish you the same kind of luck that people had last week whale watching in Juneau. There were about 15 whales out feeding last week. Very impressive. I talked with some locals that were out in a kayak in the middle of it and they said there were whales everywhere.

Hopefully you don't get socked in with fog in Skagway. We went into the Yukon and it cleared in the afternoon over there, but it was still cloudy on our return to Skagway.

The cruise director is Casey, but I don't remember his last name.

Make sure to check out the aerial show. They were amazing although I would recommend getting there early to get a good seat as it gets pretty crowded.

Thanks for this report. . .I love LIVE reports. Have a great Cruise !

Take lots of pics :)

Radio

;);)

.

Wahoo! Live report from Alaska! Thanks for taking us along with you.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Please excuse typographical errors.

Oh yesss just what I need to help past the time before my next cruise!! :D

Just off the Rhapsody today.

 

The cruise director is Casey, but I don't remember his last name.

Casey Pelter.

Thank you!!!! I will update the CD list.

Sorry for not updating last night!

Day 1 – Embarkation

The Seattle Express bus picked us up on time from our hotel. We stopped at a few other hotels to pick up people going on Royal Caribbean and Holland. This was quite cheaper than a taxi (taxi estimate was $45-50 and it was $24 for the shuttle for the two of us). Drove past Celebrity that was departing from the downtown pier.

We arrived at the pier around 10:30ish and it was pretty empty. Let me just quickly say that I wasn’t overly impressed with embarkation here. We just did New Orleans in January and thought they did embarkation much better. When you walk up to the building there is a doorway that says “Royal Caribbean” and one for “Holland.” Make sure you’re paying attention to that. Many of the Holland folks were walking in the wrong door. You walk in and a gentleman stops us for a passport/seapass check and directs us where to drop off our luggage. Note: He looked over our luggage and sent us on our way. We walked down and got to an xray machine manned by a worker, who says “Where are your luggage tags?” Ugh. I am used to the ports where the porters put the tags on and you tip them. And the earlier gentleman didn’t say anything. So I had to walk all the way back out to a little table with luggage tags (which had no signs).

OK, so luggage dropped off and then up the escalator. Passports checked again. Then upstairs where they said “Go to the right” but we are diamond (and in a junior suite) so we said that and she directed us to the priority line. No wait. Got right up to the counter and did check-in. Took a little longer since I am a Canadian citizen with a green card and they have to take photocopies of the green card. At this port they take your picture at the check-in counter (I’m used to them taking it when you first board).

We were told to go and sit and wait for embarkation. It was just before 11 AM at this time. Lemonade and water were available. They also were handing out Alaska coupon books (really cheesy and not much in them). Then all of a sudden they started letting people on! No announcements for suite guests/diamond, etc. Just everyone pushing and shoving their way. Not very organized.

In light of being a Professor, I would grade the embarkation process a C.

Once onboard we headed up to the Windjammer, as there really isn’t much else to do. Unfortunately, the Windjammer was not open until 11:30 AM, so we just hung out on the pool deck at one of the tables and chairs. I guess they quickly realized that guests were waiting because they opened the doors at about 11:15 AM. I didn’t really feel like dealing with crowds, so I just grabbed a salad and a drink and went back outside. So hubby and I just vegged out and relaxed. Vacation doesn’t start until that muster drill is over ☺ So we’re just killing time. I must say though, it was nice to get first pick of the food…no one had touched the salad area yet!

This was our first opportunity to notice the revitalization. We had been on the Grandeur back in March and she was looking rough. But the Rhapsody? Wowsa….she is looking tip top!! All new tables and chairs on the pool deck and the Windjammer looked quite spiffy. The food setup looked essentially the same though…just sparklier and newer.

Just before 1 PM we talked downstairs to deck 8 and hung out waiting for them to open the rooms. They were opened promptly at 1 PM. And WOW! Our luggage was already waiting for us. How’s that for some good service. We are staying in a junior suite, which is our room preference on Royal. We are in room 8534, starboard and center (right near the Centrum elevators). On our last cruise on Grandeur we were a little further aft. Thankfully, because we were forward of the centrum we didn’t experience any of the problems with the room renumbering fiasco.

The room is brand spanking new. The curtains have a great, modern pattern. The couches look the same as always, but just new. The beds are nice and comfortable. Bedding has remained the same. All the cabinetry is brand new and is a lighter ash wood color as opposed to the oak color of older ships. Because this is a Vision class ship you don’t get the huge walk-in closet like you do on the bigger ships; however, they have made it easier to get into the existing closet. The bathroom has also been modernized with a bowl-like sink (which is actually a bit annoying because the faucet doesn’t stick out far enough and when you wash your hands it’s hard to get them completely under the water stream). Bathtub is nice and big though. They even redid the wood floor entryway and the walls! Really classy job Royal!!! Shoot, even all the patio furniture is brand new and MUCH nicer looking than on the older ships. Thankfully, the bedside tables have drawers, unlike on Oasis/Allure.

Well, we unpacked and just vegged out until the muster drill started at 3 PM. They are now using the electronic seapass scanner, which made things go much smoother and quicker. In addition, they also dismissed muster stations individually. This made things much less crowded.

Well, back up to the room until 5 PM when we went to the Diamond lounge. Remember, this is our first cruise as Diamond members, so we’re not really sure how everything works. Fortunately, there was a letter in the statement with all the amenities listed. We arrived right around 5 PM and were the first ones there. The Diamond concierge is Pretty from South Africa and she is so friendly. She came and sat down and talked with us for a bit. Shortly thereafter other members started coming in and we easily struck up conversations. It was really nice to compare cruising stories and talk with other regular cruisers. Especially those who have visited regions we haven’t been and to get suggestions. Shoot, I think we sat in the lounge until 7:30 PM. I was drinking Sprite Zero and hubby was having Jameson & Dt. Coke. Normally I buy a soda package, but not on this trip ☺ I’ll just drink my soda in the evenings.

We have My Time Dining and went to dinner without reservations. We were seated within 5=10 minutes. I always eat on the first night because I love the blueberry & peach cobbler (which is never up in the windjammer). Plus we’re just a little tired of the Windjammer….this is our most expensive cruise to date and we’re trying to maximize our cruise experience ☺

We were seated next to a lovely couple from Montreal and we had a great time. Dinner was delicious. Menu choices were the same as always, but the actual menus were refreshed and indicated which dishes were vegan or lactose free.

After dinner we just headed up to the room. Like I said, we’re still on some weird combination of Ireland and Texas time, so we passed out by 9:30 PM.

Oh, before I forgot. Another nice touch: Giovanni’s Table called us and said “We notice that we have a free dinner voucher and wanted to remind you to make reservations.” We had already booked Chops for 6:30 tomorrow, but I thought that was really nice.

Oh, and the Olympics are nowhere to be found. That was a bit disappointing and several others onboard have commented on this.

Sorry for not updating last night!

Day 1 – Embarkation

The Seattle Express bus picked us up on time from our hotel. We stopped at a few other hotels to pick up people going on Royal Caribbean and Holland. This was quite cheaper than a taxi (taxi estimate was $45-50 and it was $24 for the shuttle for the two of us). Drove past Celebrity that was departing from the downtown pier.

We arrived at the pier around 10:30ish and it was pretty empty. Let me just quickly say that I wasn’t overly impressed with embarkation here. We just did New Orleans in January and thought they did embarkation much better. When you walk up to the building there is a doorway that says “Royal Caribbean” and one for “Holland.” Make sure you’re paying attention to that. Many of the Holland folks were walking in the wrong door. You walk in and a gentleman stops us for a passport/seapass check and directs us where to drop off our luggage. Note: He looked over our luggage and sent us on our way. We walked down and got to an xray machine manned by a worker, who says “Where are your luggage tags?” Ugh. I am used to the ports where the porters put the tags on and you tip them. And the earlier gentleman didn’t say anything. So I had to walk all the way back out to a little table with luggage tags (which had no signs).

OK, so luggage dropped off and then up the escalator. Passports checked again. Then upstairs where they said “Go to the right” but we are diamond (and in a junior suite) so we said that and she directed us to the priority line. No wait. Got right up to the counter and did check-in. Took a little longer since I am a Canadian citizen with a green card and they have to take photocopies of the green card. At this port they take your picture at the check-in counter (I’m used to them taking it when you first board).

We were told to go and sit and wait for embarkation. It was just before 11 AM at this time. Lemonade and water were available. They also were handing out Alaska coupon books (really cheesy and not much in them). Then all of a sudden they started letting people on! No announcements for suite guests/diamond, etc. Just everyone pushing and shoving their way. Not very organized.

In light of being a Professor, I would grade the embarkation process a C.

Once onboard we headed up to the Windjammer, as there really isn’t much else to do. Unfortunately, the Windjammer was not open until 11:30 AM, so we just hung out on the pool deck at one of the tables and chairs. I guess they quickly realized that guests were waiting because they opened the doors at about 11:15 AM. I didn’t really feel like dealing with crowds, so I just grabbed a salad and a drink and went back outside. So hubby and I just vegged out and relaxed. Vacation doesn’t start until that muster drill is over ☺ So we’re just killing time. I must say though, it was nice to get first pick of the food…no one had touched the salad area yet!

This was our first opportunity to notice the revitalization. We had been on the Grandeur back in March and she was looking rough. But the Rhapsody? Wowsa….she is looking tip top!! All new tables and chairs on the pool deck and the Windjammer looked quite spiffy. The food setup looked essentially the same though…just sparklier and newer.

Just before 1 PM we talked downstairs to deck 8 and hung out waiting for them to open the rooms. They were opened promptly at 1 PM. And WOW! Our luggage was already waiting for us. How’s that for some good service. We are staying in a junior suite, which is our room preference on Royal. We are in room 8534, starboard and center (right near the Centrum elevators). On our last cruise on Grandeur we were a little further aft. Thankfully, because we were forward of the centrum we didn’t experience any of the problems with the room renumbering fiasco.

The room is brand spanking new. The curtains have a great, modern pattern. The couches look the same as always, but just new. The beds are nice and comfortable. Bedding has remained the same. All the cabinetry is brand new and is a lighter ash wood color as opposed to the oak color of older ships. Because this is a Vision class ship you don’t get the huge walk-in closet like you do on the bigger ships; however, they have made it easier to get into the existing closet. The bathroom has also been modernized with a bowl-like sink (which is actually a bit annoying because the faucet doesn’t stick out far enough and when you wash your hands it’s hard to get them completely under the water stream). Bathtub is nice and big though. They even redid the wood floor entryway and the walls! Really classy job Royal!!! Shoot, even all the patio furniture is brand new and MUCH nicer looking than on the older ships. Thankfully, the bedside tables have drawers, unlike on Oasis/Allure.

Well, we unpacked and just vegged out until the muster drill started at 3 PM. They are now using the electronic seapass scanner, which made things go much smoother and quicker. In addition, they also dismissed muster stations individually. This made things much less crowded.

Well, back up to the room until 5 PM when we went to the Diamond lounge. Remember, this is our first cruise as Diamond members, so we’re not really sure how everything works. Fortunately, there was a letter in the statement with all the amenities listed. We arrived right around 5 PM and were the first ones there. The Diamond concierge is Pretty from South Africa and she is so friendly. She came and sat down and talked with us for a bit. Shortly thereafter other members started coming in and we easily struck up conversations. It was really nice to compare cruising stories and talk with other regular cruisers. Especially those who have visited regions we haven’t been and to get suggestions. Shoot, I think we sat in the lounge until 7:30 PM. I was drinking Sprite Zero and hubby was having Jameson & Dt. Coke. Normally I buy a soda package, but not on this trip ☺ I’ll just drink my soda in the evenings.

We have My Time Dining and went to dinner without reservations. We were seated within 5=10 minutes. I always eat on the first night because I love the blueberry & peach cobbler (which is never up in the windjammer). Plus we’re just a little tired of the Windjammer….this is our most expensive cruise to date and we’re trying to maximize our cruise experience ☺

We were seated next to a lovely couple from Montreal and we had a great time. Dinner was delicious. Menu choices were the same as always, but the actual menus were refreshed and indicated which dishes were vegan or lactose free.

After dinner we just headed up to the room. Like I said, we’re still on some weird combination of Ireland and Texas time, so we passed out by 9:30 PM.

Oh, before I forgot. Another nice touch: Giovanni’s Table called us and said “We notice that we have a free dinner voucher and wanted to remind you to make reservations.” We had already booked Chops for 6:30 tomorrow, but I thought that was really nice.

Oh, and the Olympics are nowhere to be found. That was a bit disappointing and several others onboard have commented on this.

Day 2 – At Sea

Oh boy, our systems are all messed up. I was up at 4:30 AM!!! Just hung out in bed and vegged out until about 6 AM. Hubby is diabetic and was feeling low so he went up to the Windjammer at 6:30 to get some fruit. Unfortunately, even though the Compass states that breakfast starts at 6:30, all they had out was coffee. Fortunately we had some hard candy, which helped raise his sugar.

So we showered and headed down to the dining room as soon as it opened. I absolutely love their French toast! We were seated at a large table, which makes it great to talk with new people. The French toast was great and our waiter was a hoot….always cracking a joke!

After breakfast hubby headed back to the room for a nap and I headed to an enrichment lecture. So let me say here, this is the one thing that I think Royal is missing. None of our cruises have ever had enrichment lectures (Caribbean & Europe) and I found that disappointing – especially in Europe! Don’t get me wrong, I love the trivia events but as a nerd and an academic I always love to learn more. So this morning there was a lecture on the history of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). As a Canadian I really wanted to go because I realized that I know very little about the force. The lecture was hosted by a former RCMP officer with 37 years of service. He was dressed in his full uniform, which was really cool. Anyhow, he talked for about 45 minutes and it was interesting. He definitely wove in the connection with the gold rush.

After the lecture I walked just over to the Schooner Bar for trivia. I was all alone so I asked a party if I could join. Instant new friends! It was general trivia (which I hate the most, it’s always so tough) and we ended up with 11.5/20 (1/2 point for having the first name of a person and not the full name). Sadly we didn’t win the wonderful keychains.

After that I sat around for about an hour chatting with fellow cruisers and then went to the second enrichment lecture! Yes, there were two of them!! I’m in heaven. This lecture was by a professor at the University of Washington about the history of the Klondike gold rush. I know a little about the California gold rush because I lived there for awhile, but nothing about the Klondike rush. It was about a 45 minute lecture and quite informative. He was an OK lecturer…wish he had ditched his printed notes. Sorry! As a professor I reserve the right to be critical LOL

After the lecture I headed back to the room at noon to grab hubby for lunch. Neither of us felt like the Windjammer, so we headed to the dining room. We were seated again at a large table and had fun chatting with some fellow Texans (Texans seem to be everywhere on this cruise!!!). I ended up with the Caesar salad, which was yummy, and hubby had the open face steak sandwich. He gobbled it up, so I assume it was good.

There wasn’t much going on in the afternoon. I believe they added a movie, but it was some lame “The Rock” movie that I didn’t care to see. So we napped ☺ So we napped. Just as we were waking someone dropped off a cheese platter. OK, I think this is a Diamond amenity and I have to say that it is kind of lame. It’s the exact same one that you can order from room service for free. Not really an amenity in my book. Oh well, the grapes were yummy.

Oh shoot! Totally forgot….as we were at trivia someone yelled “whale” and we all ran to the windows. All I saw was a black fin…but yay! My first whale sighting. We also saw a few dolphins.

OK, so 5 PM and back to the Diamond lounge. I am totally loving this new perk!! Ran into our new friends from Texas. Sat and chatted for about 90 minutes and then headed to Chops for dinner. The dinner and service were impeccable. The petit filet just melts in your mouth and the red velvet cake is simply divine! I couldn’t finish it all! Our waiter Joseph was fabulous.

Back up to the room….just heard the Captain down in the centrum so I stuck my head out. He said that our temps are in the mid 50s right now and the water is so incredibly calm. Apparently this is unusual for the north Pacific. I mean it is like glass outside right now and we’re not even in Alaskan waters yet.

Our day today started out pretty foggy but eventually cleared and we had sun. Then late in the afternoon we had rain and now it’s overcast.

I think I’m going to head to the show at 9 PM and then hit the hay. The captain recommended being up early tomorrow morning as we start the Inside Passage. He said they’ve been seeing a lot of whales every week. Given my crazy sleep schedule I am sure I’ll be up early! We might order some breakfast in the room so that we can sit on the balcony and enjoy our views.

So far we have been incredibly pleased with the staff….our stateroom attendant (Angel) has been great. But we expect no less from Royal Caribbean.

Oh, in our rooms tonight were our Diamond pins (woopee LOL) and a recognition certificate. Not much, but it’s nice to be appreciated. Apparently there are only 50 diamond members onboard. Total number of passengers is 2250 on this sailing.

Oh and I forgot…went to the casino. Used our free pulls and won a keychain (lol) and then used our match play and walked away up $16. We used to be heavy gamblers but have stopped so that we can travel more. So we just bet the equivalent of our match plays and then walk away. Last cruise we made $35 LOL

Oh….we set our clocks back one hour tonight. I wasn’t sure if we did this and had emailed Harv & Marv to ask about whether our tour was ship or local time. Guess it didn’t matter.

Enjoying your review, we had hoped to go on this cruise this summer for our twentieth anniversary, but Hurricane Irene destroyed our home and our bank account in one day, so we are just happy to be going to Bermuda and hopefully we can go to Alaska in a couple of years!

We visited Victoria a few years ago, and a couple of things that I think your husband could probably do with the neuropathy...there are horse carriage tours, and it is a great city for this, not a ton of cars. We also really enjoyed a victoria glass house - I believe it was called Crystal Garden. They have a butterfly room and no matter how old I am, I love these, lol. It is also small and has benches for breaks for your husband. Also, the main street has plenty of pubs and benches for breaks also, and tons of little stores for you to wander in and out of. A lot of hotels also offer tea time, and everything is really pretty close together.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!