msvacation

20 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

 

I see you are from PA as am I.  How safe did you feel on the 6 hour flight to Seattle?

How did you feel on the ship overall?  And I hear Northstar as of yesterday was still broken. Darn

Who was your captain and cruise director if you can remember?  Did you hear of anyone being called to the medical center for a tracelet issue and to be tested?  thanks in advance for answering if you can

Hi Oceansaway17 fellow PA,

Our flights were from Pittsburgh to Chicago to Seattle, then reverse.  We were in first class so not as tight as in coach.  I did feel comfortable on the planes.  We flew United and they were diligent in cleaning between flights.  The airports are all mandatory masks and for the most part, people were respectful of that.  You always have a few......   The one place I felt a little more hesitant was Chicago airport as it was very crowded and difficult to maintain social distancing.  It was a brief layover.  Pitts and Seattle were fine.  

We felt very safe on the ship.  Cleaning was 24/7 and the reduced capacity (25%) was awesome.  Seemed like a port day everyday with the lesser amount of people on board.  They are working very hard to keep everyone safe, for our sake and theirs.

Captain of the ship was Henrik Loy.  Cannot remember the name of the cruise director as only saw him briefly before and after shows.  

There was only one call for medical to a cabin one evening during a show.  I do not believe it was Covid related as we would have either been informed or the grapevine of the cruise would have known.  

Northstar was not in use while we were on the ship.  Heard that it may have been a broken part, but I am inclined to believe that because of the close quarters and ventilation and staffing to clean in between each ride that it was deemed unneccesary to risk passengers, but that is just my opinion.  

Overall, I felt completely comfortable with the way things are handled and we have another cruise coming up in less than 2 weeks.  Going with the same precautions we usually do and we will have a great time.

Happy and safe sailing to you and yours.

We also were on the Ovation last week and I agree with sixbirches.  Cloth and disposables throughout the ship.  We also had the two masks provided in our room and was told if you needed more you could get them at guest relations.  We did not do this as we brought our own.  My hubby were a clean cloth mask each day and I wore disposable ones each day and on a port day, I changed one out when we got back to the ship.  

I am also a picky eater and after sailing on the Explorer for a Transpacific cruise for 23 days, I never had a problem finding something that I liked from the MDR. The staff will go above and beyond to make things just the way you want them and if you don't like it for some reason they will try their hardest to help. There are always children's menus that you may order from also. Sometimes I would order those just for the smaller portions.

My husband is an adventurous diner and loved to try new things. I stuck with basics and was never dissatisfied. You can order pretty much whatever you want. For instance, the last night of our cruise, because there are so many delicious desserts to order/try, my husband had a dessert for all three courses of our meal. Dessert for appetizer, dessert for entree, and dessert for dessert. Our waiter thought that was the perfect ending to our cruise.

If you are not happy with the dining room, the buffet has lots of things to choose from.

Happy cruising and dining!

Question for those of you who have done a cruisetour in the past, how do you pay for your additional excursions that you can add onto your cruisetour? Will these be charged to our onboard account or is it cash or credit card. We are doing 4B in May and want to make sure we have what is needed.

We just used our credit card. The tour guides can swipe and the train takes credit cards for your meals should you get any. They are generous portions and very tasty on RC Wilderness Express.

Another tip to remember is that any meals you purchase in Alaska, the prices may be slightly higher than what you are used to in the lower 48.

From your description, I believe we will be on the same tour that you took. If the train ride is not offered as an option, we will also chose to take the bus with the group. I am wondering if you had access to the information on the optional tours offered on the cruise tour prior to the cruise, or if you had to wait until you met the tour guide in Fairbanks.

They tend to give out very little information on the excursions on the land portion. This was our second cruise tour and I am a planner and was extremely anxious the first time not knowing what would be available. You will receive all the excursions available to your particular cruise tour the first day/night you meet with your tour guide. The guides we have had are very informative and have even experienced some of the excursions themselves. We were told the reason they do not give them out earlier is because of weather, wildlife, and water situations. Weather can change quickly and we have seen many cancellations of mostly helicopters/planes that are involved in some of the excursions. Wildlife can definitely delay the train when heading to your next destination. Water excursions depend on how rough, cold, and depth. We were told that the excursions change sometimes on a weekly basis.

Having said all that, after meeting with your tour guide you can make decisions on what you want to do right then or think it over and make reservations later. We have been able to reserve something we decided to do the morning of. It is a fairly easy process and there are several choices of things to do at each stop from adventurous to laid back.

Hope this helps ease your mind somewhat. Alaska is a wonderful place. We have been 3 times and will most likely go back again. If you love scenery and wildlife you will certainly enjoy your time there. If you have any other questions, I will try to answer them for you.

We did a southbound cruise tour on RC starting in Fairbanks and ending in Seward in July 2017. Our trip had 3 legs of train travel (absolutely beautiful) and a bus from Anchorage to Seward. I inquired about taking the train instead to Seward and was told that if we chose to do that, train travel would be at our cost and we would have to take all our luggage with us on the train and we would have to inform our tour quide we were leaving the tour and getting to the cruise pier was our responsibility. I believe the train station was fairly close to the cruise pier, but glad we didn't have to worry about luggage. From Anchorage, the next time we saw our luggage, it was in our cabin on the ship. The train travel would also not be on the RC train cars. I have also heard the train trip from Anchorage to Seward is beautiful, but the bus trip was scenic also. We opted to stay with the group and went by bus. It was just more convenient with luggage and it was already paid for.

Yes to the first part. This is a good question. I'm not sure, but I'm sure that there is somebody who you could ask. You may want to see if the family member can be transferred to a loaner wheel chair for the experience, then transferred back to their own chair. The crew working there were wonderful with handicapped people. Good luck!

Thank you. I will definitely check once we get on the ship.

they only let non powered wheelchairs that meet the attachment configuration and size :)

 

Anthem of the Seas North Star Pictures

 

click on link go through pictures , there is one of " important information "

 

Trouble (pete):halo:

Thank you. I was hoping, but knew it might not work out for them.

We were weighed as a group because there was a large person in a wheel chair that he could not easily get out of.

Was the wheel chair person able to do the North Star? We will have an electric wheel chair person with us that is unable to get out of the chair. Will they even allow that type of chair on?

Just got back and created this video tour of the cabin

Great video and pics of an accessible room. We will be on the Anthem in December with someone who is in a wheelchair. Thank you for providing that!

I don't know about the bottled water, but you can certainly get soda in the lounge and at any bar by using the vouchers.

Thanks Bob, you are always a wealth of information and I really appreciate that.

At the diamond level if you do not drink alcohol, are you able to substitute the "3 drinks" for bottled water or can soda and if so, can you get the water and soda only from the diamond lounge or can you get it at any of the bars.

You may want to factor WiFi availability in ports into your VOOM buying decision. On an Alaskan cruise you will likely have cell signal in every port which will be part of your cell phone plan (except maybe a Canadian port). - so getting VOOM is questionable. The situation is quite different on Anthem and TP where you have lots of sea days. If you really need VOOM, for the latter two cruises, buying pre cruise is the way to go, even on the TP on which you will be D. The D discount on board ($20) is not as good as the pre cruise discount.

Thank you very much for your advice.

Watch for sales we got a Voom Surf/Stream one device for $8.99 per day .

Will do. Thank you.

Yes.

Thank you!

Thank you both for your answers. I believe, I will only need surf for one device as I will only be checking and answering emails and blogging for family members. Is this correct?

I got excited for our upcoming Alaska cruise and bought the internet package at 30% off. We also have an Anthem cruise booked for this December and they are offering the internet for 30% off also. I wasn't sure being Emerald which would be the better deal for me. Then, finally we have a Transpacific booked for April 2018 at which time we will be Diamond. Any help or advice on how to purchase would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for all your help!

For Emerald, is it better to purchase pre cruise or is the C&A discount on board a better deal? It would be for one device and is offered for $11.99 which is a 30% discount.

In JANUARY???!??!?!?!

 

Best time to leave? The day before.

 

Stay at a hotel near the port. Or even the Inner Harbor and enjoy the stay.

 

I would not plan on a seven hour drive on JANUARY 17. I just wouldn't.

I agree with Merion Mom. We live a little over 5 hours from the port, but travel the afternoon/evening before and stay in a hotel that is about 20-30 minutes from the port. This time of year you never know what weather you might encounter and even though the interstate is right beside the port area, you have to allow for traffic and hopefully no delays from accidents or rush hours. We sleep in, have breakfast, and no rushing. We try to be at the port around 10:45 and are on the ship around 11ish. Enjoy!

Just returned from the Grandeur on 12-9 and had the internet package. I was able to check email to stay in touch with aging family members and did a daily blog. However, the internet was spotty in some areas during travel and I was not able to load pictures into my blog. The pictures were taking way to long to load and I had much better ways to spend my time. We were on a western Caribbean cruise. Hope this helps somewhat.

Thank you so much for your replies and the photos. I have since booked with a private tour company and they were able to assure me that the entrance to the park is at the top of the falls and how much walking down (then up) is totally up to me. Thanks again for all your help. Cruise Critic people are awesome!

If you are not planning on climbing the falls, do you have to enter at the bottom and walk the stairs to the top or can you also enter from the top and possibly walk down some stairs to get photos of the rest of your party who would be climbing the falls. Not sure if we will be taking the excursion from the ship or a private company. Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can provide.

We were on the Freedom in December and carried our luggage off. We were in the car and pulling out of the parking lot at 7:15 a.m. We did wait in a line that was probably 50 people in front of us while the gangways were being readied and the line grew continuously longer after we were in line. But once it started moving we were off the ship and through customs quickly. I am sure that each debarkation is different though, and you should always plan for the worse and hope for the best.

I am trying to figure out how excursions are booked on RCI Alaska cruisetours.

 

I cannot book them online for July 2014 (eventhough I can do it for the cruise) and the RCI booklet states that these excursions can only be reserved while on your Cruisetour with your Adventure Specialist.

 

Can anyone shed light on when/how the booking of RCI cruisetour excursions happen and how I can increase my odds of getting the excursions that I want?

 

I am particularly interested in upgrading from the Natural History Tour in Denali which is included in Cruistour to the Tundra Wilderness Tour with RCI. Is it tough to get the TWT and does RCI just charge the price differential?

 

Thanks.

When we did our cruisetour, I could not book anything online prior to the land portion. When you arrive at your hotel and meet with your adventure specialist/guide, you will be able to book excursions at that time. I had done some prior research on excursions offered at each place we visited so I had an idea of what we might like to try. We booked 2 additional excursions and our tour already offered the Tundra Wilderness tour so I do not know about upgrading that excursion. Enjoy your Alaskan adventure!

Thank you for your detailed review. We are thinking of taking a cruise tour in the summer of '15.

 

Are meals included on the land portion? If not, what were the prices like?

 

Were there any excursions included in the price for the land part?

 

 

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Meals were not included on the land portion other than a box lunch provided with The Tundra Wilderness Tour. For prices you should figure on paying 50% more than what you would pay at home. The portions were all generous and I actually ordered from kids menus several times.

The only excursions that were included in the price was The Tundra Wilderness Tour. This is way better than the Natural History Tour. Also included was the Alaskan Native Heritage Center and the Alaska Conservation Center.

Whatever you decide your trip to Alaska will be amazing!

I have been very fortunate to have visited Alaska twice and both times have sailed on the Radiance. The first trip there were nine of us and we chose the inside passage cruise that originated and ended in Vancouver. It was, for most of us, our first cruising experience and that in itself, was exciting. The scenery and wild life we experienced on that trip was simply amazing!! Several years and cruises later, we decided to go back to Alaska only this time we wanted to see more. After much research, my dh and I chose a cruise tour package. We did a land portion first and then the cruise where we were joined by some friends of ours. The land portion was even more amazing than our first trip with scenery and wild life! The Radiance was our latter part of that trip and the ship was still awesome. We sailed south from Seward to Vancouver. The itinerary was great and we did some exciting shore excursions. After arriving in Vancouver we took a shuttle bus to Seattle to fly home to PA. Flight prices were so much better. As the other posters have stated, you have many decisions to make with regards to itineraries and cost and time. The cruise tours are significantly more pricey, but offer perks you do not normally have. I am sure we will return again to Alaska and after having been there, I would not hesitate to create our own inland portion of the trip. Whatever you decide, it will be an amazing experience.

Here is a link to my cruise tour review if you are interested. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1693809