Kevin's girl

We are cruising with Royal Caribbean and booked the 3A Land Tour. In the brochure it mentions speaking to "your adventure specialist" for extra excursions and tours. When will we first talk with this "specialist"? Will there be contact with them like a concierge before the cruise or is it once on board ship as the land tour follows the cruise?

I did do a search here on CC and found size restrictions for luggage in the land tour but the posts were from 2014 and I am wondering if there is any updated info from people who have done these tours.

Here is the land tour description:

This will be cruise number 21 for us and our second cruise to Alaska. We have done DIY pre and post cruise trips for our other cruises and have booked our first Cruisetour with Royal Caribbean. This ticks all of the boxes for what we want to see in the amount of time we have available.

I have always shied away from Cruisetours because I was intimidated by them. For those of you here with Cruisetour experience please enlighten me. Please tell me about luggage restriction for the land portion, timings, included and excluded meals, setting up extra tours not included in the land tour (I’ve been watching YouTube videos that refer to them).

I am a research and plan ahead kind of person and feel a bit lost with the “Land Tour” part of this trip. Please send along any helpful tips. Thanks

5 hours ago, Beachammo said:

 

Just a couple of doors down on the corner 9256. It was a fantastic cruise.

I would love to see some pics of your cabin. We are booked in it this August for Alaska. I know it will likely be cancelled but I will still go in my dreams.

The company has had zero income this year and used your $300/person to pay his mortgage and feed his family. I would hope that the cruise season can reopen and he still has a company to give you that refund when he is able. Tourism is the main source of income for many up there and they stand to loose everything. 

Thank you so much for sharing. We are supposed to be cruising Alaska this August. We haven't cancelled yet and are holding out a little hope, but realize your August cruise may be as close as we get this year. It looks like you had a great trip and your photos are beautiful.

Thanks for posting the article, if posted before I missed it. It's great hearing that Royal is taking care of their crew. I also liked seeing that they are taking such good care of my ship. I'm still holding on to a little hope that I will sail her in August. (I know, likely not happening, but it will be my 60th birthday celebration. Trying not to burst the bubble before I have to)

7 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

You live in Cocoa Beach. Shouldn't be hard to find one there.

Only in my dreams. lol

I decided on My Time Dining last night, dinner at 5:30. I even preordered on the Fridge Menu. I showed up to the dining room appropriately dressed, and spot on time. There was nothing. I really mean nothing. No service, no kitchen staff and no food. What the heck?? 

I gave up and ate a bag of cookies.

So glad you were able to make that decision. I hope more are able to do the same. Their season is short to start with and this current situation can easily wipe them out.

On 3/10/2020 at 10:14 AM, BeachChik said:

I find it amusing that cruises are being singled out as if shutting down would make any difference. 
 

Magic Kingdom at Disney has 50,000 -60,000 + people per day there. People in very close contact, more so than a cruise, and touching everything. Yet no calls to shut down theme parks. 🧐

I couldn't agree more!! Seems ridiculous to single out cruising as the threat but encourage flying everywhere and increase amusement park admissions and All Inclusive Resort stays.  

We arrived in the early afternoon the day before our cruise. This meant that we needed to make the most of our time in Seattle. We booked our night’s stay at the Westin Seattle which was downtown and in a great location to get to what we wanted to see. We found Pike Place Market an easy walk right down the street from the hotel and the Monorail literally a block away. The monorail saved time walking to the Needle. I pre bought our tickets to the Space Needle which included the Chihuly Garden and Glass. Having pre bought these tickets saved us time standing in line. Had we been there a week earlier (we cruised end of Alaska season), we could have squeezed in the MoPop which would have been great. Check out the websites for hours and exhibits.

We started out in ocean view cabins and knew once we tried a suite there would be no going back. Now with retirement on the horizon and a more defined vacation budget, a balcony is still a must. We really enjoy our quiet time and ocean views.

We have also learned to enjoy exploring other eating options on board. The MDR is our backup now, and dining options depend on what we want to do in the evening after a port stop or our day at sea.

Our entertainment on board is the ocean and Mother Nature herself. We used to go to the shows but grew weary and are not a fan of the new water park and amusement park feel to ships. I love to sit or walk on the Promenade deck and enjoy the views. Star gazing after dark is wonderful at sea.

We are also fans of the smaller ships and love the friendly feel they offer.

We were on of the last Alaska cruises in September 2018. I did a review, here is the link if you would like to take a look:

On 3/2/2020 at 4:27 PM, Ocean Boy said:

I tried doing a search. I am not coming up with it. It was awhile ago.

Is this it?

3 hours ago, Pstreet12 said:

Just a note:  I'm looking at the Lysol wipes container.  It says it kills "human coronavirus."  I don't see Noro, though, but it does say "Respiratory Syncytial Virus."  It also says you have to allow the surface to stay wet for 4 minutes and allow it to air-dry in order to disinfect the surface.

This is the Lysol spray I Buy:

I do spray it on the surfaces I want to be sure are disinfected and walk away allowing it to dry on it's own. If it is drying to fast I spray again. We have been on a ship with a large Noro outbreak (our table mates) and had to be cleared by Medical so I'm not just paranoid. I am careful.

To Disinfect:

Surfaces must remain wet for 3 minutes then allow to air dry.
For Norovirus surfaces must remain wet for 10 minutes then allow to air dry
Rinse toys and food contact surfaces with potable water after use

To Disinfect:

Surfaces must remain wet for 3 minutes then allow to air dry.
For Norovirus surfaces must remain wet for 10 minutes then allow to air dry
Rinse toys and food contact surfaces with potable water after use.

7 hours ago, Spikesgirl said:

What did you end up doing in Tahiti?  The most I could do was two (two dives) and I was whupped afterwards!

We started out early in the morning on Raiatea doing a 4x4 island tour with a trip to a vanilla plantation, followed by a sail on a 44 ft sailboat named Agaleion (an Admiral's Cup winner in 1973). My husband was lucky enough to take the helm and was instructed to sail towards Bora Bora. It was wonderful. If memory serves we had about 45 minutes between the sail and the Luau. We were taken to a small atoll by boat and given a wonderful dinner and dance show by local kids.

I did a review on the cruise. No pics but here is the link:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=21058

Sorry to the OP for the slight hijack.

Go ahead and book both. It will be a busy day but why miss out? Our max was 3 in one day. We were on our Tahiti cruise and will likely never make it back there. Get in the best experience you can.

I just wanted to thank you for your review. Your pics are beautiful. I can't wait until this summer and our return to Alaska.

As the OP stated, the increase of awareness is not just the Corona virus but for viruses in general. This is the flu season. We had a severe outbreak of influenza on the Caribbean Princess during our British Isles cruise. They failed to notify passengers of the outbreak until 4 days after they had run out of Tamiflu and reported cases were still coming into the on board Medical Dept. There were, according to the letter they eventually sent out more than 1,000 passengers effected. 

Don't forget the masks as they will be good for the possible influenza especially if you are an immune risk. Noro or the old fashion stomach flu washing your hands often, Purell wipes or liquid and Lysol and or Clorox (read the label for Noro inclusion) for your cabin. I know they clean your cabin, but have you ever looked at the housekeeping cart? Lots of shared  cleaning utensils. Yuck!!

This is from the CDC:

The following can help prevent a person from catching or spreading the flu:

• limiting contact with sick people
• staying home when ill
• covering the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing
• washing the hands often
• disinfecting surfaces that may contain flu germs
• avoid touching the eyes, nose, and mouth
• wearing a mask when leaving the house

The best method of prevention is to receive a flu vaccination every year. The flu vaccine can come as an injection or a nasal spray.

This link works nicely too. Just click on the ports you  would be considering.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/destinations/shoreExcursions/ports/view.do?DestinationCode=ALCAN

Thank you so much for taking the time to post a great review. I really looking forward to our return to Alaska.

It's always up to you and what your budget will allow, but I could never go back to an ocean view cabin. I love my own personal place on the railing 🙂 and these views with a cup of coffee and still in my pj's?? You just can't beat it.

Or seeing these while I was supposed to be getting ready for dinner

1 minute ago, cruise kitty said:

 

sounds wonderful, looking forward to hearing all about it!   We're headed to our first Alaska cruise this May on the Solstice 🙂

She is a beautiful ship, I'm sure you will love the cruise. I hope you will come back and tell us all about it.

1 hour ago, squirreljf said:

Please forgive me if this is in the wrong section.  I'm planning on taking a cruise to Alaska this summer.  I'm looking for some feedback, I have searched the internet for top things to see and do but I want to hear from anyone that might have other ideas or unique experiences that might not make other "top 10 lists".  Also, if you want to recommend a cruise line or anything else to help me get started.  I will be flying from the east coast out to west coast then jumping on a boat.  I haven't pick out anything yet but planning on a 6-7 day cruise.  I know I want to see the Northern Lights and have read that its best to go toward the end of summer.  The Yukon Rail looks really cool as does the Inside Passage.  Any feedback is extremely appreciated.  We are getting some nasty weather here today so I have time to spend searching stuff out today and that's pretty much what I'm doing all day.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and yes you have posted in the right place. There is a wealth of info here for Alaska. You may find it helpful to read through the cruise reviews at the top of the Alaska section. These will help you make a list of things you want to see most and maybe a few things to avoid. 

We did our first Alaska cruise in September of 2018 from Seattle. It was a 7 night Inside Passage cruise on Celebrity Solstice. The ship was wonderful and our weather was great offering fantastic views. Northern lights viewing is hit or miss but waiting up for them to show was a highlight of our cruise.

If you have specific questions, ask away 🙂

On 1/16/2020 at 8:14 PM, cruise kitty said:

completely enjoyed your review, & hoping that you are doing well 🙂

I am so glad you enjoyed the review. I am doing well and really looking forward to returning to Alaska. We will be returning to Royal Caribbean for our next cruise and an old favorite, Serenade of the Seas. Our trip will include a Beach BBQ on Annette Island, Dog sledding on Norris Glacier and an Off Road trip in Skagway to celebrate my 60th birthday.