First Cruise on RCL in 25+ Yrs... Have Several Questions

The wife and I are booked in an OV cabin on Explorer OTS next May out of Seattle to Alaska.

I've been on several cruises throughout the years, but the 4 most recent have been on Carnival. Last time I cruised RCCL was in the early 90's as a kid.

With that being said I've got several questions:

1. How is the food? I've been reading conflicting reports. I'm on a low carb/high fat diet, so quality of meats/vegetables etc? Real eggs on buffet? A good variety? For reference, just returned from Carnival Breeze and found most food mediocre at best. We did enjoy the Mongolian Wok and Guy's Burgers, but the lido deck buffet overall was lackluster. MDR wasn't much better.

2. I see they offer a drink package that includes specialty coffees/virgin drinks/bottled water/soda etc. I'm fine drinking the free tea if it's actually brewed and tastes like iced tea at most land based restaurants. Carnival's tea was disgusting as it was more a "tea flavored" beverage than fresh brewed tea. Does RCCL have brewed iced tea?

How is their free coffee? I didn't care for the free coffee on Carnival so bought the Starbucks coffee from the Promenade deck cafe.

If RCCL has decent tea & coffee, I'm fine without the drink package.

3. We're currently booked in an Ocean view on Deck 3 mid ship. I'm debating on whether to downgrade to an interior and move up a few floors to be closer to the action? We normally get balconies on Carnival, but I think we are mainly out there for a total of 1-1.5 hrs total cruise. I'm beginning to think they're not worth the extra expense since we rarely use it. I was thinking interior for Alaska since we'll have to be up on deck outside anyway for good views/pictures even with an OV? Any advice?

4. Any recommendations on inexpensive excursions? With airfare to Seattle, hotel in Seattle, plus actual cruise, we're at about the top of our vacation budget since we like to do 3-4 vacations a year. I'm wondering if there are local tours we could take? Rent a car and go hiking? Etc...

That's all I can think of for now. Looking forward to this trip

RC uses real eggs on the buffet, plus they make eggs and omelettes to order there. Buffet breakfast is pretty nuch the same each day, but there's more variety at lunch and dinner.

Wait until you board to decide on the beverage package. You can try the free dinks the first day and if you don't like them you can buy the beverage package for the remaining days. (It's priced per day and you only pay for the number of days remaining in the cruise.)

Hard to answer your questions 1 & 2, as they are really a matter of personal preference. My opinion on coffee may not be the same as yours. Pretty sure the brand of coffee they served was Illy. I vaguely remember tea bags out when we were on Harmony last month. Hot tea wasn't already brewed. I don't drink any of the cold drinks (besides water) so I can't answer that. You can always brew your own ice tea with the tea bags if you want.

An Alaska cruise is on our bucket list, and we will definitely get a balcony. I'd love to sit on the balcony as we sail past glaciers. That view is unobstructed and you are partially shielded from the chill by the balcony dividers. From deck, you are either out in the open or you'l have a glass panel in front of you. But again, my personal opinion and ma not be another person's.

Oh, I'd definitely prefer a balcony, especially for Alaska, but not at almost double the price. We'd rather take another vacation that year. I've been to Alaska already and I'm sure we'll be back. We've got 3 other land based trips booked for 2018 so far, so I'm seriously considering downgrading from OV to interior since we'll be up on deck anyway.

Hard to answer your questions 1 & 2, as they are really a matter of personal preference. My opinion on coffee may not be the same as yours. Pretty sure the brand of coffee they served was Illy. I vaguely remember tea bags out when we were on Harmony last month. Hot tea wasn't already brewed. I don't drink any of the cold drinks (besides water) so I can't answer that. You can always brew your own ice tea with the tea bags if you want.

 

An Alaska cruise is on our bucket list, and we will definitely get a balcony. I'd love to sit on the balcony as we sail past glaciers. That view is unobstructed and you are partially shielded from the chill by the balcony dividers. From deck, you are either out in the open or you'l have a glass panel in front of you. But again, my personal opinion and ma not be another person's.

Be sure to allow a couple of days to enjoy Seattle!

4. Any recommendations on inexpensive excursions? With airfare to Seattle, hotel in Seattle, plus actual cruise, we're at about the top of our vacation budget since we like to do 3-4 vacations a year. I'm wondering if there are local tours we could take? Rent a car and go hiking?

There are some good places to hike in Skagway from the ship. In Juneau you can take the local bus to within walking distance (a mile+) of Mindenhall glacier.

Oh, I'd definitely prefer a balcony, especially for Alaska, but not at almost double the price. We'd rather take another vacation that year. I've been to Alaska already and I'm sure we'll be back. We've got 3 other land based trips booked for 2018 so far, so I'm seriously considering downgrading from OV to interior since we'll be up on deck anyway.

Unless there is a large price difference between OV and interior, I would have to recommend that you NOT downgrade. An Alaskan cruise isn't like a Caribbean cruise where you mostly see nothing but water. You'll have stunning scenery on both sides of the ship for almost the entire cruise and it's not something to shortchange yourself on. Even if you only stand there staring out the window while waiting for somebody else to get ready, it's worth it. And don't forget it stays light really late so you'll have even more time to enjoy the view. As for being on deck, remember it rains a lot in Alaska.

Of course, only you can judge what is "worth it" to you. I'm just pointing out that Alaska is special and jaw-droppingly beautiful. If you figure this is the only time you'll go then make it worthwhile.

As for shore excursions, the towns are nice for walking around. I don't know about taking a taxi anywhere since most of the towns are on islands and you can't get far by car. In any case, enjoy the cruise! Alaska was my very first cruise and still ranks as one of my favorites. And yes, we had an interior room and I've regretted it for the 17 years since we went.....

I enjoy the free hot tea and coffee and love the iced tea on RC! Love mixing my iced tea with lemonade :)

I think the iced tea on Royal Caribbean is as bad as it is on Carnival. The coffee is ok, but I only drink it in the morning, and only one cup a day on the cruise, so I may not be the best to give advice.

I get the real eggs in the dining room at breakfast. They are cooked to order basically, so they aren't the awful powdered eggs. I can't say much about the food in the MDR because we eat more in the specialty restaurants.

I know you don't want to spend the money for a balcony, but Alaska is the one place where it is really worth the extra cost. The decks are quite crowded and there is nothing like going near a glacier and seeing it from your own balcony instead of standing behind people on a deck all trying to see the same thing. It may be worth giving up another vacation to be able to enjoy the scenery without the crowding etc.

As far as excursions, Alaska is not one of the places with cheap excursions. Our favorite one was the Yukon White Pass Railway and it's over $100 per person. Whale watching is great too, but here again expensive. I don't know the ports you are visiting as I haven't done Alaska on Royal Caribbean, but it is possible to walk around Juneau and Ketchikan if those are 2 ports. There is relatively inexpensive transportation to the Mendenhall Glacier and I can't remember if there is a charge to enter the park area.

Alaska was my husband's favorite place to cruise and we went a couple of times. Flying from FL was expensive and a long trip, as well as staying 2 nights pre-cruise in Seattle and doing a few things there, but it was worth every penny. It may be a once in a lifetime trip for you and doing it on a shoe string may make the trip less enjoyable.

I realize it's your money to do as you wish, but if it were me, I wouldn't go until I could afford to do the things we wanted to do. I know not everyone thinks as I do, but taking such a long trip, we wanted to get the most out of it.

Your diet sounds interesting for sure. I agree with having a balcony for Alaska so you can avoid the others who think their view from the deck is MUCH more important than anyone else's. Who are they? Probably in the other inside cabins.

I agree about the eggs not being powdered. You can also get eggs cooked to order in the Windjammer.

I'm sorry, but I have never thought Carnival's overall focus was nearly as nice as RCCL's including SAFETY but your experience may vary.

How is their free coffee? I didn't care for the free coffee on Carnival so bought the Starbucks coffee from the Promenade deck cafe.

Coffee in Cafe Promenade ("CP" -- deck 5) is Seattles Best and is pretty good.

I like to add a packet of the dark hot chocolate for a free mocha.

There is also a pay-extra coffee area next to CP.