Back from the Serenade’s Fourth Cruise Back to Alaska. Happy to Answer any Questions.

[CodyC815]

Currently sitting in the Alaska Lounge at SeaTac waiting on our flight back to Dallas.  We booked a 9:51am flight thinking it would be tight, but we were able to walk off the ship and pass CBP quickly.

 

Overall the changes weren’t so bad.  The crew is handling the new world terrifically and everyone was grateful to see us back.  I overheard in the diamond lounge that the ship was sailing with about 900 guests onboard, a little over 100 of which were Diamond or above.

 

We took advantage of quite a few deals for this trip, including Royal Up (we weren’t sent an email to check, I had to search for the cruise to put in an offer for a spacious ocean view balcony which was accepted about a week before the cruise).  

 

There were plenty of places designated for vaccinated guests only where we were allowed to remove our masks and I didn’t see any passengers resisting any of the rules.  There were masks provided to us in the room and the gift shop has some nice Royal Caribbean embroidered ones for $10.  

 

Our rooms were still cleaned twice a day, which is refreshing as I have been traveling for work and hotels are still resisting going back to cleaning rooms more than once every 3-4 days.  

 

The ports were good.  Lots of stores and restaurants at the major ports were still closed or out of business, which is definitely sad to see, but we still found plenty to do.  I will say to double check excursions once onboard, and perhaps daily. We found a “Sled Dog Ride and Play with Sled Dog Puppies” excursion the day before we got to Juneau (which was terrific because my partner’s dog passed away a few weeks ago and I wanted to surround him with puppies, I highly recommend this excursion to any dog lovers).  

 

We had the deluxe beverage package, but we never got a paper receipt to tip with unless our wine was over the allotted amount.  We ended up getting cash and tipping all our staff on the last day since we couldn’t tip our bar staff with the SeaPass.  We also got some $20s and handed them out to the crew that we have seen working tirelessness to clean the ship all week.  I will note that the casino ATM ran out of cash on day 3-4, and the guest services ATM ran out on day 4-5.  Luckily we had casino chips we were able to cash in for tipping money.

 

We dined at Chops, Izumi, Giovani's, and Chef’s Table if anyone has questions about those establishments.  

 

Lots of onboard events weren’t present, such as the captain’s champagne toast and Quest.  The captain did host the Captain’s Corner on the last day, but for the most part they seemed to be keeping officers separate from passengers and the rest of the crew.

 

Those are the highlights - but happy to answer any more questions people might have.

Cody

Edited August 16, 2021 by CodyC815
Edit

[TickledBlue]

Thanks for offering answers.   I will be on Serenade in 3 weeks.

 

What is the general condition of the ship?   When I saw a picture of her in July before her first sailing, she looked rusty on the hull.

 

Were there many kids under 12 onboard?  I understand that they would be the only allowed unvaccinated onboard.

 

What did you do at Icy Straight Point and Sitka?   Were things open there?

[CodyC815]

12 minutes ago, TickledBlue said:

Thanks for offering answers.   I will be on Serenade in 3 weeks.

 

What is the general condition of the ship?   When I saw a picture of her in July before her first sailing, she looked rusty on the hull.

 

Were there many kids under 12 onboard?  I understand that they would be the only allowed unvaccinated onboard.

 

What did you do at Icy Straight Point and Sitka?   Were things open there?

The inside of the ship was in pretty good condition.  One elevator was down for about half the cruise, but besides that you couldn’t tell her age.  The crew was always busy painting some part of the exterior.  It looked like the spots around the anchors had had their paint stripped and were ready to be repainted.

 

I probably saw less than ten kids under 12.  The balcony of the theatre was reserved for the unvaccinated and I only saw people up there once or twice.  

 

Icy Straight Point didn’t have a ton besides shopping and the zip lines.  I believe there was a cannery you could tour, but for the most part it’s obviously a new port without much developed.  In Sitka we did the kayaking adventure offered through Royal.  It took a little effort but was a great way to see the local sea life.  There were some shops open in Sitka, but the kayaking adventure took most of our time.

[Tree_skier]

With so few kids did the cruise revert to rules for 95% vaccinated.  If not what venues were Vaxxed only that allowed for relaxed masking rules.  I seems to me from looking at their posted list that there weren't near as many as I would have expected.

[CodyC815]

12 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

With so few kids did the cruise revert to rules for 95% vaccinated.  If not what venues were Vaxxed only that allowed for relaxed masking rules.  I seems to me from looking at their posted list that there weren't near as many as I would have expected.

The bottom floor of the theatre, Casino, Diamon lounge (pretty much all of the VKL), and Vintages were all for faxed only and allowed the removal of masks.  Plus you could take your mask off if you essentially had food or drink anywhere near you, they weren’t enforcing a “remove mask, sip, return mask” type rule like some places.  I saw quite a few people keep masks off for an hour or two at a time while only having a single drink over the course of that time in places like the Schooner Bar or the Safari Club.

[CodyC815]

19 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

With so few kids did the cruise revert to rules for 95% vaccinated.  If not what venues were Vaxxed only that allowed for relaxed masking rules.  I seems to me from looking at their posted list that there weren't near as many as I would have expected.

There were several areas for vaxxed passengers only.  The first floor of the theatre, the casino, Vintages, the Diamond Lounge (along with the whole VKL) We’re mask free.  Additionally there was no enforcing of a “remove mask only to sip or bite, then return your mask over your face” rule.  We saw several people order a single drink in the Schooner Bar or Safari Club and keep their masks off for hours.  

[Tree_skier]

3 hours ago, CodyC815 said:

There were several areas for vaxxed passengers only.  The first floor of the theatre, the casino, Vintages, the Diamond Lounge (along with the whole VKL) We’re mask free.  Additionally there was no enforcing of a “remove mask only to sip or bite, then return your mask over your face” rule.  We saw several people order a single drink in the Schooner Bar or Safari Club and keep their the masks off for hours.  

Thank you, what was the cover band like?

[suncityga]

7 hours ago, CodyC815 said:

Those are the highlights - but happy to answer any more questions people might have.

Cody

Hi Cody,

 

Thank you for your posting and for your willingness to answer questions. We are doing the same cruise in about 3 weeks.

 

Did passengers on your cruise have to submit a 'negative test result' prior to boarding or was the jab card all that was required?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[CodyC815]

13 hours ago, suncityga said:

Hi Cody,

 

Thank you for your posting and for your willingness to answer questions. We are doing the same cruise in about 3 weeks.

 

Did passengers on your cruise have to submit a 'negative test result' prior to boarding or was the jab card all that was required?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

Whoops, sorry for the double reply - was on a plane and it didn't look like anything was going through.

 

We had to submit a negative PCR test taken within 3 days.  We found a local clinic that would do them in 45 minutes and just charge the insurance.  We didn't see any other passengers who didn't have a test in time, but we heard one of the cruise director staff say that they got the wrong test before boarding but were able to take one at the pier.  Not sure if that was just for the crew or an option for anyone.

 

As for the cover band - I'm not really a music person, but my partner is a trombonist in a local band and he was really impressed with them.  

[BigDawgRonAZ]

Hey Cody, were there any formal nights onboard?  Thanks

[Ashland]

On 8/16/2021 at 8:48 AM, CodyC815 said:

Currently sitting in the Alaska Lounge at SeaTac waiting on our flight back to Dallas.  We booked a 9:51am flight thinking it would be tight, but we were able to walk off the ship and pass CBP quickly.

 

Overall the changes weren’t so bad.  The crew is handling the new world terrifically and everyone was grateful to see us back.  I overheard in the diamond lounge that the ship was sailing with about 900 guests onboard, a little over 100 of which were Diamond or above.

 

We took advantage of quite a few deals for this trip, including Royal Up (we weren’t sent an email to check, I had to search for the cruise to put in an offer for a spacious ocean view balcony which was accepted about a week before the cruise).  

 

There were plenty of places designated for vaccinated guests only where we were allowed to remove our masks and I didn’t see any passengers resisting any of the rules.  There were masks provided to us in the room and the gift shop has some nice Royal Caribbean embroidered ones for $10.  

 

Our rooms were still cleaned twice a day, which is refreshing as I have been traveling for work and hotels are still resisting going back to cleaning rooms more than once every 3-4 days.  

 

The ports were good.  Lots of stores and restaurants at the major ports were still closed or out of business, which is definitely sad to see, but we still found plenty to do.  I will say to double check excursions once onboard, and perhaps daily. We found a “Sled Dog Ride and Play with Sled Dog Puppies” excursion the day before we got to Juneau (which was terrific because my partner’s dog passed away a few weeks ago and I wanted to surround him with puppies, I highly recommend this excursion to any dog lovers).  

 

We had the deluxe beverage package, but we never got a paper receipt to tip with unless our wine was over the allotted amount.  We ended up getting cash and tipping all our staff on the last day since we couldn’t tip our bar staff with the SeaPass.  We also got some $20s and handed them out to the crew that we have seen working tirelessness to clean the ship all week.  I will note that the casino ATM ran out of cash on day 3-4, and the guest services ATM ran out on day 4-5.  Luckily we had casino chips we were able to cash in for tipping money.

 

We dined at Chops, Izumi, Giovani's, and Chef’s Table if anyone has questions about those establishments.  

 

Lots of onboard events weren’t present, such as the captain’s champagne toast and Quest.  The captain did host the Captain’s Corner on the last day, but for the most part they seemed to be keeping officers separate from passengers and the rest of the crew.

 

Those are the highlights - but happy to answer any more questions people might have.

Cody

What company did you use for the Sled dog excursion and what sort of transportation was used to get there?

 

Was the WJ open for dinner at all during your cruise?

[CodyC815]

1 hour ago, BigDawgRonAZ said:

Hey Cody, were there any formal nights onboard?  Thanks

Yes - there were 2.  We picked those nights to do our specialty dining as we didn't really pack any formal wear, but there were definitely people dressed up for the dinners on these nights.

[CodyC815]

47 minutes ago, Ashland said:

What company did you use for the Sled dog excursion and what sort of transportation was used to get there?

 

Was the WJ open for dinner at all during your cruise?

It was JU54 - Dog Sled Summer Camp.  I believe it was hosted by Gold Rush Dog Tours, I'll check the business card they gave me when I get home.  They picked us up at the port in a van and drove us up a mountain to their camp.  Not going to lie, the drive up the mountain made me a little nervous, but I don't like heights and everyone else seemed to be having a good time.

 

I only tried to go to the WJ once for dinner and it was closed.  My partner said that it hadn't been open for dinner all week.

[Sunshine3601]

How was the weather?     Were people hanging out by the pool or mostly the solarium?

[Ashland]

14 minutes ago, CodyC815 said:

It was JU54 - Dog Sled Summer Camp.  I believe it was hosted by Gold Rush Dog Tours, I'll check the business card they gave me when I get home.  They picked us up at the port in a van and drove us up a mountain to their camp.  Not going to lie, the drive up the mountain made me a little nervous, but I don't like heights and everyone else seemed to be having a good time.

 

I only tried to go to the WJ once for dinner and it was closed.  My partner said that it hadn't been open for dinner all week.

Thanks so much...would appreciate your info for the Dog Sled. We'll be there with extended family in Sept 2022 that includes two kids and hoping we didn't have to take a helicopter to do this...a bit of fear for some of us. So ground transportation sounds great.

 

Did you book this with the cruiseline or privately?

 

Hoping that by the time we sail WJ will be open again for dinner....I can't imagine by then it won't.

 

 

Edited August 17, 2021 by Ashland

[CodyC815]

5 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Thanks so much...would appreciate your info for the Dog Sled. We'll be there with extended family in Sept 2022 that includes two kids and hoping we didn't have to take a helicopter to do this...a bit of fear for some of us. So ground transportation sounds great.

 

Did you book this with the cruiseline or privately?

 

Hoping that by the time we sail WJ will be open again for dinner....I can't imagine by then it won't.

 

 

 

Oh yeah - it was only a 15-20 minute drive by van up to the camp.  I can't imagine them adding a helicopter up to the site, there wasn't anywhere that we saw to land up there.  You also get a nice tour of an old gold mine and learn some history behind it on the drive, so that was nice.

 

We booked directly with RCL after we boarded.

[CodyC815]

10 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

How was the weather?     Were people hanging out by the pool or mostly the solarium?

 

Mostly solarium on the sea days, but we could still find chairs any time we were looking.  It wasn't really outdoorsy weather, it rained on both of our excursions and during the sea days.  Not rain that would stop us from doing anything, but occasional 3-4 minute showers that we had to duck under cover for.  Temperature wise it was great, especially coming from a Texas summer.  Hung around 65 degrees the whole time.

[Ashland]

5 minutes ago, CodyC815 said:

 

Oh yeah - it was only a 15-20 minute drive by van up to the camp.  I can't imagine them adding a helicopter up to the site, there wasn't anywhere that we saw to land up there.  You also get a nice tour of an old gold mine and learn some history behind it on the drive, so that was nice.

 

We booked directly with RCL after we boarded.

Thanks...I'll check pricing on my cruise planner..In the mean time I just contacted this company by email for info on my date and pricing. I appreciate all your info on this...my two grandkids would love this excursion.

[newmercies]

I love the idea of the dog sled camp. Did you see anyone else on the excursion using a cane?  I have some mobility issues but would love to try this if the terrain is not too tricky. Not asking for a medical opinion, just general observations.  😉

Thanks,

M

[Psycho and Barb]

On 8/16/2021 at 1:32 PM, CodyC815 said:

Icy Straight Point didn’t have a ton besides shopping and the zip lines.  I believe there was a cannery you could tour, but for the most part it’s obviously a new port without much developed. 

Icy Straight Point is not a new port and sounds like they haven't added much since we were there in June of 2017.  However, the whale watching tour we took from there was awesome...We got the shot of a lifetime on some whales surfacing from bubble net feeding.  Can even see the fish on the surface of the water.  I think we also saw more Bald Eagles in the town of Hoonah then anywhere else on our trip. 

[billslowsky]

On 8/16/2021 at 11:48 AM, CodyC815 said:

 

 

How were the hot tubs?

[sixbirches]

I’m really glad you had no trouble with making your flight. We are sailing on Ovation this Friday and have a 12:30 pm flight when we depart after the cruise. It seems fine, but it’s the first time we’ve had to fly to and from the ship, so I’ve been nervous about it. We’re flying to Seattle the day before, but wanted to try getting home the same day….  
We should disembark easily and early since we booked a suite. Did you use  the Port Valet service?

[taglovestocruise]

You mentioned the DL several times. Was it open all day and were apps and drinks served during traditional HR..