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6 hours ago, Cyn874 said:

Well you've all convinced me to bring my own. I don't mind using lower end shampoo, but not if it leaves you feeling sticky. Yuck! 

Good call. I understand wanting to keep your bags light. But I definitely don’t trust using the combo stuff on my hair. Travel size toiletries are so easy to find and then I don’t have to bring them home. For other products I use the tiny disposable condiment size containers with lids and fill them with face wash, hair gel, etc. I wrap them in plastic wrap to prevent leaks on the way there. And I throw them away before I come home. 

Two cabins. More privacy, 2 bathrooms, less money. Easy choice. 

Lovescats5, I can tell you that the Northstar for the glacier day was available to book ahead of time on our cruise planner. It started out at $49.99 then it jumped to $69.99. But it shows as sold out now. So this should become available to book at some time.  I have not read about any discounts in all of my research.  Although I would think Star class people could book this onboard even if it shows as sold out to the general population. 

I love reading anything about Ovation. We are 4 weeks away! 

I was just this morning looking into the Museum of Flight for the day before the cruise. We are staying outside of downtown that night.  We will have 2 nights in downtown Seattle post cruise so we can do a lot then. 

I’m impressed you were able to get your kids up early enough to go to the Space Needle before heading to the pier. 

Our upcoming cruise will be our first at Platinum status. I’m happy because I thought to call the C & A line yesterday to check our kids’ status. I mistakenly thought they were automatically tied to our accounts after their previous cruise with us.  But they weren’t. So now they are both at Platinum too with our point level. I know they don’t care now, but at least if they decide to continue to cruise as adults they will be starting out at Platinum or possibly Emerald by the time they turn 18.

13 hours ago, frank808 said:

Good news from Capt Marek.  The family is ok and will be reboarding at our next stop tomorrow in Juneau.  

Thanks for the update. That was the only news I was waiting to hear on this thread. 

So the BOGO offer is basically the same as the $47 price offered in the cruise planner.  But good to know for those that missed it in advance.

We also have the glacier and Salmon Bake excursion booked for August.  I’m sad to hear about the limited time. That leaves no time for the visitor center. I also would like to do the Nugget Falls hike.  I will think about doing this on our own instead.  How was the Salmon Bake part?

5 minutes ago, kyrie said:

Which ovation cruise are you on? We bought the key and we are sailing July 26. I can let you know how it went!

 

Thanks for the offer, you should definitely review it for others. We aren’t on until August 23rd. I have read a few Ovation reviews where the key seems to be working better on Ovation than on Symphony or Harmony. So hopefully it will be a good experience for you.  

I am actually firmly in the belief that at $29.99 a day for our family of 4 there is no possible way it would be worth it. Literally the only benefit for our family would be the possibility of an extra iFly ride and the no wait at Bumper Cars. We have the 4 night dining package at $100 each so we will still get to experience Chops as well as the other restaurants. 

I was just pointing out what good marketing does, that there are times I think “Should I have bought this when I had the chance at the cheaper price?” The answer is always no, but I still mull it over.

I agree with the FOMO part. When the key was introduced at $19.99 per day I thought there was no way this was worth it. I was shocked by the number of people buying it.  Now that it is $29.99, I find myself reading reviews of people raving about the benefits and I second guess myself. Should I have bought it way back when? Would it have been worth it for my kids to go to the front of the bumper car line on Ovation and not have to wait an hour? Even though none of us use the flow rider and I would never normally eat a steak lunch right after boarding, and we have only one VOOM device purchased at a cheap $10 per day. But the lure of marketing is always calling out to me. I’m still staying strong and not shelling out the $840. 

I am one that would happily shell out the $ for suite perks if it was in our budget, so I’m not judging those who pay for perks. 

OK. You all have convinced me! I am putting it in my plan to eat at the MDR for lunch and try the tutti salad. The irony being this will be my first cruise not eating in the MDR at all for dinner. I usually eat lunch at the Solarium or Cafe but I will go the the MDR early enough on the cruise, so that I can repeat if I love it. 

This will be our first time there.  But I do hope there will be another Alaskan cruise in our future.

2 hours ago, barbeyg said:

I am so excited!!! RCI just sent me an email saying that our itinerary was being changed from Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier to GLACIER BAY!!!

 

We sail on 5/22, and am so excited to take family there!  

 

Made my day.    Check your emails if you have Alaska scheduled for 2020.

That is awesome! So jealous that the switch to Glacier Bay is not until next year.  Wish it was this season.

Do all quantum ships have the wine dispensers? I might have been intrigued enough to try them, but I always have the beverage package so I guess not. 

It makes sense though.  People with unlimited drinks being able to serve themselves seems like a bad idea, - or a good way to drink way too much wine. 

I have not been on a Quantum class ship yet. (Upcoming Ovation will be my first.)

Is Vintages different on Anthem than on the Oasis class ships, that it would not be included in the drink package? Or is it just these special wine dispensers that are not included? And if you you ordered a glass from the bartender that was under the price limit, it is included?

Just for future reference as I would like to go on Anthem next.

Thanks, Bob and Merion Mom, for the clarification.  I haven’t been on the Radiance and hadn’t heard about that area before.

14 hours ago, MNshortie21 said:

Went to Schooners often for trivia, it's quite big with attentive servers. We listen to a pianist and violin players there a few time. One of our favorite spots as it also has many windows so great views while sailing. Depending on what you like for music, I thought the Colony Club, which is next to the Schooner and the Centreum, had the best music options.

What is the Colony Club? I’m not familiar with that.

So I asked DH about this.  He said to tell you he used Cisco VPN on the Symphony WiFi all week with no problems.  He is a partner with IBM and has to work on every vacation we take.  

I think the roll calls here are dwindling as many people are on other social media groups.  I’ve taken to reading the roll calls of other sailings as my current one is still sadly at only 4 pages and less than 60 days away.

I am guessing that since there are really only 4 or 5 people posting on our roll call not many people will actually show up to the M & M. I’m not naming the specific one because I’m not trying to shame anyone, just commenting on how it is. 

8 minutes ago, travelplus said:

I thought the IFly and Northstar are reserved in your cruise planner online just like MTD or BOGO 2 Night Dining. For instance I booked us on the BOGO 2 Night package for our upcoming cruise but now its gone. The same for MTD I booked my time but now its gone as its first come first served as are shore excursions. 

 

When the Cruise Planner opens up  I book everything that I want to knowing that I can cancel it up to 48 hours before sailing.

 

On Ovation iFly and Northstar are not in the cruise planner when it opens up.  There is no way to predict which day it will be.  I have checked my cruise planner every single day for the last six months. The day Northstar came up. I had checked around 9:00am and it wasn’t there.  At 3:00 I saw on another social media site that people were booking it.  I did get a reservation but there were few left and by the next day they were gone. So if I was at a job all day and couldn’t get back on I probably would have missed it. A few people from other weeks have seen iFly but the consensus is that you have to reserve onboard. It has never showed up for me. 

Yes, the OP and our family will probably get to do these but we won’t know until the cruise. It is frustrating that Royal promotes all the fun activities but can’t actually meet the demand so that everyone who would like to try them can. 

BA5, I understand your frustration. I am a scheduler and can relax once I know everything is taken care of. We are on Ovation in August with our teens and this is the first cruise I am anxious about boarding early just to reserve things. Since the rest of my family are NOT morning people, I’m going to be challenge getting them up early enough to get out of the Seattle hotel and to the pier for the first boarding groups.  Normally I would go later and have a relaxing morning and wait until the  crowds have boarded. Now I’m willing to wait with the masses just for the chance at booking iFly, the Escape Room and specialty dining reservations.

I know you said there was no Vintages on your ship, but I believe they have wines not on the menu.  The wonderful bartender there on Symphony offered to let me try a couple to find something that really suited my taste. I don’t think these were hidden away, just off the menu items. 

22 hours ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

It is still littering, no matter how sanitary the objects are. You can rationalize it all you want by calling it "cute" or "fun", but leaving items all over private property without permission is littering. Some of us are old enough to have been raised in an era where we were taught to respect other people's property and to not dump junk all over it. Being one of those respectful people, I find this ridiculous "duck" fad disturbing. Clearly some people feel much more entitled than I do.  

You have used the word entitled in two posts.  Do you really think that people just trying to spread a little joy and have some fun are people that sound entitled? 

You have also compared leaving the ducks to finding used coffee cups among the Central Park plants. Are you perhaps exaggerating, or do you honestly put the people having fun with the ducks in the same category as people who carelessly leave behind trash expecting someone to clean up their garbage? I don’t. One of these groups is thoughtless and one is trying to be thoughtful and put a smile on the face of a future cruiser.

Those of you worried about germs certainly aren’t expected to pick up the rare duck you might spot. 

16 hours ago, AnnaNicole said:

Booked balcony guarantee.  Assigned a D2   (ANTHEM of the Seas) 

 

Receive the upgrade bid email - 77 days until sailing.

 

Spacious OV Balcony:  from $50pp

 

Junior Suite: from $200 pp

 

Grand Suite: from $450pp

 

All suites are currently showing as sold out.

 

My balcony cabin still shows GTY on RCI account,  has assigned muster station on sailpass, but TA confirmed room assignment.

These are the kind of Royal Up prices I was hoping for. For Ovation we received our offer at around 80 days out, but it was $500 pp minimum just to jump ONE category from a J1 junior suite to a Grand Suite. And $700 pp minimum to go to an Owner’s suite. 

If I had the chance to jump 3 levels for less than $1,000 total I would go for it.

Yes you have paid 18% of a reduced price. If you ate at a land based restaurant and used a 50% off coupon would you then tip on the lower bill reducing the waiter’s tip by 50%? Or would you still tip based on what the full price would have been. It’s up to you.  Some people will still tip some extra cash at the ship’s Specialty dining venues if they have received excellent service. This makes up for the smaller tip you prepaid when you bought the package.

But you don’t have to feel pressured to tip extra.

Back to the prices in all those photos, some of them are not unreasonable.  Yes they are more than if you bought them at home. But many of those items were less than double the normal cost. 

Of course we all plan to be prepared. But as OCD as I am with my lists and advance packing and double checking, over the years I have had to make numerous extra purchases for the one thing I left behind, or didn’t think of.  It’s a running joke in our family that DH has to buy new sunglasses on pretty much every trip and I seem to never have earbuds. 

And having experienced surprise severe flu symptoms on several vacations, I wouldn’t care if the medicine was $50.  If you are desperate to feel better, you are just so grateful to find relief.