Rolling out of hibernation - can I get some updates?

[poncho1973]

Hello!

 

Just trying to get caught up a little bit.  I have thousands of posts here and a couple hundred nights at sea under my belt between several different lines.  That said, we last cruised right before COVID hit and I haven't really visited CC since.  I am severely out of the loop.

 

We're actually looking at a few up & back Alaskan cruises this summer on either Quantum or Odyssey.  That's a class of ship we have never been on.  We are going to go on a real Alaskan cruise at some point, doing the entire one-way trip with the land/sea option.  This is more just about getting us back out on the seas.  A taster cruise, if you will.

 

Has a lot changed? I've been trying to piece together things and do a few searches here, but I don't see that a lot has changed. 

 

We are Diamond... in that sad gap where we've been Diamond for a good while and we're getting close to Diamond Plus, but we're still seemingly so far away!  We need a few more weeks at sea to get there, but we're well over half way there.

 

Any voucher changes?  Any Quantum-class tips?  Anything you think we should know about sailing these days or new perks to know about? 

 

I'll properly ask any Alaska-specific questions in the Ports of Call section

[PhillyFan33579]

If you think it takes awhile to go from Diamond to Diamond Plus, just wait until you are Diamond Plus trying to reach Pinnacle. The biggest change in my book is RCI no longer requires an in person safety/muster briefing. All you have to do is watch two videos on the RCI app and check-in at your muster station, which literally takes 20 seconds, 

[smokeybandit]

Just browse a few pages of this forum.  Lots of info already there for you.

[Tatka]

There are changes. You no longer have Happy Hour with unlimited liquor + 3 vouchers during this time from limited menu. You get 4 vouchers during whole day from unlimited menu at any bar under $14. 
 

HH is still held in Crown (not Diamond) lounge, but no unlimited drinks. If there are too many Diamonds and up you won’t have access during this time. 

[Sunshine3601]

They have been trying to go paperless with the cruise compass.  You can use the App for daily activities or you can ask your room steward to bring you a daily compass (usually only provided by request) or you can download via the QR code that is available to use while onboard.

 

If staying in any cabin other than a suite you will have once a day room cleaning and can select your preference of morning or evening when you meet your room steward on embarkment day.   We usually prefer evening and ask for it to be done while we are at diner. 

 

You will need your sea pass card to check out towels at the pool or for any excursions.  If you do not return those towels by end of cruise you will be charged $25/per towel.   

 

Muster station is now easy peasy as mentioned above.   

 

Enjoy the fun of planning your cruise.    Welcome back

[crzndeb]

If you want to try Northstar, don’t do the Quantum. It’s not in service.

[bonsai3s]

Try the IFly...incredible adrenaline rush.

 

Two70 has breathtaking views of the aft.

 

Bumper cars will bring back childhood memories.

 

You'll love the 4 diamond vouchers you can use almost anywhere, anytime.

 

Yes! As previously stated, doing the muster is easy peasy.

 

* We are currently onboard the Ovation sailing to Vancouver then Alaska.

[cruiseguy1016]

The two biggest changes for me are the new way to do the muster drill and the 4 free Diamond drinks. The muster drill can be completed before even boarding the ship. Once on board, just stop by your muster station, they'll scan your Seapass and you'll be done. As odd as it may sound, I was never a big fan of the free drinks in the Diamond Lounge during Happy Hour. It was always crowded in there. With the new system, you can get your free drinks anywhere, anytime. for me, that's huge.

Another change is that you will no longer be given your Seapass at check-in. Seapasses are now waiting for you in your stateroom or on your door. If you need your Seapass for things such as beverage purchases before the rooms are ready, you show them your Set Sail Pass or give them your cabin number

[TeeRick]

14 hours ago, poncho1973 said:

Hello!

 

Just trying to get caught up a little bit.  I have thousands of posts here and a couple hundred nights at sea under my belt between several different lines.  That said, we last cruised right before COVID hit and I haven't really visited CC since.  I am severely out of the loop.

 

We're actually looking at a few up & back Alaskan cruises this summer on either Quantum or Odyssey.  That's a class of ship we have never been on.  We are going to go on a real Alaskan cruise at some point, doing the entire one-way trip with the land/sea option.  This is more just about getting us back out on the seas.  A taster cruise, if you will.

 

Has a lot changed? I've been trying to piece together things and do a few searches here, but I don't see that a lot has changed. 

 

We are Diamond... in that sad gap where we've been Diamond for a good while and we're getting close to Diamond Plus, but we're still seemingly so far away!  We need a few more weeks at sea to get there, but we're well over half way there.

 

Any voucher changes?  Any Quantum-class tips?  Anything you think we should know about sailing these days or new perks to know about? 

 

I'll properly ask any Alaska-specific questions in the Ports of Call section

Well you can probably tell that prices on everything on the cruise have gone way up.  There are a lot of threads on the diminished quality of the food in the MDR.  You can judge for yourself.  Diamond plus gets you an extra drink voucher (5).

[OCSC Mike]

24 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

As odd as it may sound, I was never a big fan of the free drinks in the Diamond Lounge during Happy Hour. It was always crowded in there. With the new system, you can get your free drinks anywhere, anytime. for me, that's huge.

 

I don't think it's odd. While we enjoyed the old HH, we much prefer the vouchers (and my impression is so does the majority).

[marci22]

You came back for the upcoming 10 year anniversary of bananas in a bowl, next to the ketchup and mayo!

 

We have to find pinkribbonlady.

Edited May 6 by marci22

[poncho1973]

On 5/5/2024 at 6:00 PM, smokeybandit said:

Just browse a few pages of this forum.  Lots of info already there for you.

 

I'm sure you meant well by this, but I certainly already did this.  I looked through the first dozen or so pages and... well, quite frankly, didn't see much in line with this.  I did several searches, as well.  It's not my first rodeo, but after doing several things like that I decided just to ask my questions and see who responded.  Thanks for yours.

[poncho1973]

12 hours ago, marci22 said:

You came back for the upcoming 10 year anniversary of bananas in a bowl, next to the ketchup and mayo!

 

We have to find pinkribbonlady.

 

Much like Jessie Spano, I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.  I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.  I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!

 

I'm so happy that I'm not the only one who remembers this.  THE DREAM CONTINUES!

 

[poncho1973]

On 5/5/2024 at 6:38 PM, Tatka said:

There are changes. You no longer have Happy Hour with unlimited liquor + 3 vouchers during this time from limited menu. You get 4 vouchers during whole day from unlimited menu at any bar under $14. 
 

HH is still held in Crown (not Diamond) lounge, but no unlimited drinks. If there are too many Diamonds and up you won’t have access during this time. 

Thanks!  This is great to know.

 

What do you get for HH if you don't get unlimited drinks?  Do you just have to use your 4 vouchers and there are some appetizers?

[poncho1973]

On 5/5/2024 at 6:43 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

They have been trying to go paperless with the cruise compass.  You can use the App for daily activities or you can ask your room steward to bring you a daily compass (usually only provided by request) or you can download via the QR code that is available to use while onboard.

 

If staying in any cabin other than a suite you will have once a day room cleaning and can select your preference of morning or evening when you meet your room steward on embarkment day.   We usually prefer evening and ask for it to be done while we are at diner. 

 

You will need your sea pass card to check out towels at the pool or for any excursions.  If you do not return those towels by end of cruise you will be charged $25/per towel.   

 

Muster station is now easy peasy as mentioned above.   

 

Enjoy the fun of planning your cruise.    Welcome back

 

Thank you.  The towel thing was in effect prior to our sabbatical.  The twice-a-day cleaning always seemed unnecessary to me anyway.  We'd grab our person and tell them we'd just use them every other day and not to worry about us.  We'd put the DND magnet on the door.

[poncho1973]

13 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Well you can probably tell that prices on everything on the cruise have gone way up.  There are a lot of threads on the diminished quality of the food in the MDR.  You can judge for yourself.  Diamond plus gets you an extra drink voucher (5).

 

I've never thought the MDR had that great of food.  I never cruised in the glory days of cruising where you received Michelin star food and everything was gold plated.  By the mid-2000s everyone told us it sucked compared to those days already.  So we just enjoy it for what it is.

 

I do miss the days (I live less than 45 minutes from PC in Florida) where we could just go on last minute shorties for well under $100 a night.  Sometimes $60/70 a night if it was a weak season. 

Edited May 7 by poncho1973

[OCSC Mike]

47 minutes ago, poncho1973 said:

Jessie Spano

What a reference. 🤣

 

46 minutes ago, poncho1973 said:

What do you get for HH if you don't get unlimited drinks?  Do you just have to use your 4 vouchers and there are some appetizers?

They serve the same snacks as before. Your 4 vouchers are good anywhere at anytime (they reset at 5am each day). You don’t have to use them during HH but if you ordered a drink you would have to use a voucher (or pay).

 

36 minutes ago, poncho1973 said:

do miss the days (I live less than 45 minutes from PC in Florida) where we could just go on last minute shorties for well under $100 a night.

While very rare these days, keep an eye out. We booked Allure’s first sailing from PC last October about 30 days out for under $100pp per night.

 

It’s definitely not like the previous October when Indy 4-nighters started at $129pp base price in the GGG sale for 4-5 weeks in a row. I just wish our schedules allowed us to go more than once at the time.

Edited May 7 by OCSC Mike

[poncho1973]

10 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

What a reference. 🤣

 

They serve the same snacks as before. Your 4 vouchers are good anywhere at anytime (they reset at 5am each day). You don’t have to use them during HH but if you ordered a drink you would have to use a voucher (or pay).

 

While very rare these days, keep an eye out. We booked Allure’s first sailing from PC last October about 30 days out for under $100pp per night.

 

It’s definitely not like the previous October when Indy 4-nighters started at $129pp base price in the GGG sale for 4-5 weeks in a row. I just wish our schedules allowed us to go more than once at the time.

Thank you for the info.

 

We'll be watching for the deals.

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, poncho1973 said:

Thank you for the info.

 

We'll be watching for the deals.

 

No problem and I don't want to get your hopes up about the deals. There have been VERY FEW deals like that from PC over the past year and the GGG flier is currently a joke for anything from FL, but if you have the time, doesn't hurt to check.

[poncho1973]

 

On 5/7/2024 at 8:52 AM, OCSC Mike said:

 

No problem and I don't want to get your hopes up about the deals. There have been VERY FEW deals like that from PC over the past year and the GGG flier is currently a joke for anything from FL, but if you have the time, doesn't hurt to check.

 

I'm really starting to see that after looking for a few days.

[Queen of Oakville]

I'm with you Poncho ... thinking of doing a tester cruise.  Our last cruise was November 2019.  The kids really miss it and we all really need a holiday.  Through covid ,I swore we would never get back on a ship again!

 

 

[LeeW]

Just back from Odyssey.  No indoor pool (small 3' deep ones in Solarium).  iFly and Northstar are free in port (get reservations once onboard in the app).  Both cost while sailing for longer experience.  In our case both were cheaper once you got onboard than booking in advance.  iFly in advance was was $34-$50, onboard was $24.  Staff great and Windjammer pretty good food.  Had one day with four kinds of carved meat at lunch.  Seating often available far aft when front parts are full.  Also, hot oatmeal/raisin and coconut cookies at front of Windjammer next to the hard serve ice cream.