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jrapps

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Everything posted by jrapps

  1. We did Alaska last summer on Ovation, similar situation to you, 2 adults, 15yr old, & a 10 yr old. We did 1 room, balcony. Was it crammed....yep. Was it worth it? Absolutely. We have never spent as much time on a Balcony as that cruise. The scenery is breathtaking, all day long, especially since the sun is out like 18-20hrs of the day. We did go up to the top deck when we got closer to the Dawes Glacier, but to this day, sitting on the balcony just looking at the mountains, ice, waterfalls, etc was the highlight of the cruise for us. We also bought those blankets and we all just sat bundled up with them on the balcony for hours. Highly recommend you pre-buy those ASAP! That said, I completely understand you wanting a bigger room. It was very tight in there with all of us. We have gotten to the point where we do 2 rooms for all of our other cruises (out of FL) but we couldn't justify the cost for that with Alaska. I guess it really depends if you plan to do more "cruise activities" or Alaska sightseeing. If you are OK going up to a spot on the top deck for the really big things, then you will be fine with the window. But if there is any way to swing a balcony, I would. Maybe get 2 rooms, one standard balcony, and 1 interior across the hall? That way you have 2 bathrooms, more space, but access to a balcony when you want it?
  2. That would be a 6 month delay! Imagine all those cruises being cancelled.
  3. Well that sucks, especially since I got my cruise documents just this week and says right in there "All beverages priced up to $9!" I thought I had read that you can NOT just pay the difference for more expensive drinks. This will be interesting.....
  4. When did the drink prices go up? We leave TOMORROW on Divina and have the Easy plus bundle. I really hope they aren't going to charge me $1 for every drink I get all weekend.
  5. Leaving Friday on our first MSC cruise. I have my e-ticket printed, and I read that I also need to bring the health form filled out...but it seems to be missing something. I see the questions...do you have a cough, runny nose, etc...and circular "boxes" to check, but no indication which column is Yes and which is No. There's a blue box above them, feels like there should be some words in there?
  6. I thought the whole reason for doing this was to reduce waste, so if you were full then you don't need the 2nd entrée. If the waiter already has it on their cart, they aren't going to return it to kitchen and serve it to someone else...so it's the same amount of waste. At that point, just give them both to you at the same time. For me, my issue with this is I frequently order multiple entrees because I like to try multiple things. I may only eat half of a chicken dish and then start on my steak entrée. We like to share things at the table too so my wife may share my chicken. But she easts slower than I do...so do I need to wait for my wife to finish her entrée, and THEN taste my chicken before they bring my steak? I may be done with the chicken, that doesn't mean the table is done with it. Sometimes I taste both meals and whichever I like more is the one I eat first. Can't do that anymore I guess.
  7. For some reason the Solarium Bistro does not show up as a reservable option for our July sailing on Ovation.
  8. Perhaps, but it may be a rush. Skagway we will be in port from 11-8. We have an excursion from 1 to 4, so we'd probably be OK if we want back to the ship and clean up in time for 7:45 dinner. Juneau, we are in port from 1-9, and our excursion is from 1 to 7-ish. This one I am worried about, making it back in time, washing up, and making a 7:45 dinner. This night we'd likely either stay in Juneau, perhaps eat at Tracys King Crab if not too crowded, or just do the Windjammer. Victoria we will be in port from 5-10! 7:45 dinner is not an option here unless we stay on the ship. We have an excursion already booked from 5:30 - 8, so Windjammer is really my ONLY option here (other than eating in Victoria of course). But what time is Windjammer open until? I may be eating Sorrento's for dinner.
  9. We are on the Ovation in July (can't wait!) but I have been trying to figure out dinner plans. We have the late dining (7:45pm) but there are several days where we are at ports until very late (even 8 or 10pm on some nights). We also did a 3-night dining package, but I think I'm going to do the upscale dining on our 3 sea days) Is the Windjammer open for dinner for those nights that we get back too late to make our 7:45 dining time? Any recommendations on eating dinner in port anywhere? (Skagaway, Juneau, Victoria) We might try to do Tracy's King Crab in Junea but might not have time between the end of our Glacier tour and making it back to the ship) Being our first Alaskan cruise, are the menus the same as other cruises? I looked at the menus in the app (I know, way too early) but they appear to be old menus, not the new ones, and there is no Lobster night? Any other nuggets of wisdom anyone can share?
  10. The MSC Seaside leaves on July 6th for a 4-night sailing, returns to Canaveral on July 10th, but there is no sailing for that date. The next sailing isnt until the 16th? Anyone know why the ship is missing from the schedule for 6 days? I assumed it was chartered but couldn't find any record of that anywhere.
  11. For our July sailing, I went to Onboard activities, all I see is Sip Tour Brunch, an All Access Tour, Cupcake class, and Sushi class. That's it. For those that see it, how much are they charging?
  12. Ah, ok. So if our sailing isn't until July, perhaps it wont appear until June? This is one of my biggest fears on this sailing is getting onboard and finding out that it is sold out and fully booked for the whole cruise.
  13. I would gladly purchase an extended version if it was offered in my cruise planner. I don't see it as an option.
  14. Where do you see this available to book? We are booked on the Ovation this coming July and I thought you couldn't reserve North Star until you were onboard. I looked but can't find it in the cruise planner either.
  15. Thanks! Yep, that is exactly how we are going into this. We lived in Europe for a while so I have a feeling what to expect, but I am not going into this expecting a Royal or Disney experience. Not saying I am expecting worse (or better) just different.
  16. Just booked our first MSC cruise (3 night Divina out of Miami). I've read a lot (god and bad) but we decided to take the plunge and go into it open to new experiences. A few questions hoping people can help 1. We are Diamond from Status Match. I've read this doesn't get you much in Miami, but anyone with experience to share on this? So far my "Boarding Time" is listed as 4pm! (ouch!) but I know they don't enforce and it could change once I get to 20-days out. If you are Diamond, do you follow that anyway, and is there really any "priority" to Priority Boarding. 2. Anyone have a link to the menus for the 3-night? We have one free upscale with Diamond and trying to decide what night to do that. Also do you make the dining reservation in advance, or once you get on the ship? Can it be done via app, or is there somewhere I have to go onboard to book it? 3. I've read less than flattering things about the service, especially the speed at which you cna get drinks at the bar. Any tips from those who have been? Any bars that seem to be less crowded than others? 4. Any other tips for a newbie? I read already that as soon as you get onboard, i need to go to a kiosk and link my credit card. Any other nuggets of wisdom?
  17. I was on the Wonder of the seas for Thanksgiving week and we got all the restaurants we wanted (UDP, never set foot in the MDR once the entire cruise). We had the very first boarding time and my plan was to get on and run straight to Izumi, as others have said they are usually empty and very easy to make all your reservations. Turned out we didn't even need to do that. Once we got inside the terminal, I was able to connect to the Wonder-Guest wifi, restarted the Royal app and said I was onboard, and it let me book everything right away. I had all 7 nights of dinners booked before we ever stepped foot on the ship! Once onboard we went straight to Mason Jar for Brunch. We decided to move a few dinners around once we saw what the show times were, still had no issues doing that even an hour after we got onboard Good luck!
  18. Depends on the ship. Some the 4th bed just slides out and back in easily. We just came off the Wonder last week and the pullout popped up to bed height. We could not figure out how to get it to retract, had to let the cabin steward do it. I agree with some of the posters here, it's not a "huge" thing, but it is the slow dilution of the experience. Death by paper cuts. On it's own, this as many things are minor. But you do enough minor annoyances, it adds up to a big annoyance.
  19. My biggest concern here is the pull out bed. As a family of 4 that usually sails in a single cabin, the room is not usable during the daytime unless that pullout bed is put back away. How do they intend to handle that, regardless of if I select morning or evening service, they will have to leave the pull-out set up all the time.
  20. The "Escape Room" is just an empty room. The wall plaque says Escape Room but they still haven't built the room itself. I grabbed a photo this week: They provide you the same puzzle that you would get once the room is built, you need to search under tables, chairs, etc for clues. Solve puzzles to unlock more clues, etc. It very much had a escape room feel to it. Best part is they aren't charging for it since it isn't a true escape room yet. We completed the room with about 90 seconds to spare!
  21. Very well said. Have you taken a look at your folio yet to see what extra things you were charged for? It seems we were charged for the 8th day of gratuities, but that's it. No extra charge for drink package or Wi-Fi made it onto our bill.
  22. Did anyone who came off the Wonder today actually get charged for day 8's Wi-Fi or drink packages? We kept our WIFI but never saw the charge, just wondering if they changed their mind on that one. We also lucked out with the upscale dining and Day 8. They told us they'd charge us 50% of the on ship dining rate, but once we got the bill it was FAR less than I expected. That one could just be a YMMV situation with each server.
  23. Have you ever tried the UDP? While it is expensive, it (to us) is totally worth it. I feel the quality of food in MDR has slid a lot for years now. We used to be those people that could never imagine paying more for food, now we can't image doing the MDR ever again. Every meal on the Wonder was high quality, and most meals we were done in under 90 minutes. The Wonder was a great ship to do this on as there were so many upgrade restaurants, we never ate dinner in the same restaurant twice!
  24. Debarking was literally the smoothest I've ever seen. When they called our number we got an empty elevator straight down the deck 5 and within 30 seconds we were off the ship. For everyone who complains that Oasis class ships are too large and too crowded has obviously he never seen what royal can do with a smooth debarcation process. Overall we had an amazing time on this trip. Overall the entertainment was good although we have seen better. The food was very very good, but we did upgraded dining and never set foot in the main dining room one time on the entire voyage. For all the people who complained about this and that, we had an amazing vacation.
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