Tree_skier

Cristin says hi to Cruise Critic

So we skipped going to the glacier since it’s so foggy so I decided to console myself at the Red Dog with my new friend Cristin.

Also sorry for the autocorrect weirdness. Mom, not Kim, always said nothing good happens after midnight. 😂

Sorry for the radio silence. I had crappy internet every time I tried to sit down and update the thread. Yesterday we did the Whitepass Rail to the summit and back. It was an entertaining afternoon. Because we have to tender the process was a little rocky at the start but once in the train everything went off without a hitch. in the last one you can see the cruise ships. Ovation is the one on the left. Dinner in the MDR was good again. The problems of the first two nights are worked out and service and food have been good I’m sorry for the limited food porn pics. I always forgot until I’ve dug in and messed up the presentation. Ribs for me excellent. Chicken was loved by DW. after dinner we went to 270 for Pixels Cabaret. I didn’t hate it as much as I hated “The Book” on Odyssey but it’s just not cup of tea. Weird plotless collections of song and dance just don’t resonate with me. managed to slip into the theatre and catch DSB doing a shorter headliner act. Note to Bob it not as loud in the theatre as the music hall. If volume is your concern check them out there instead. They’re very entertaining. Closed the night out in the casino. After two hours I had broke even so called it a night. It was midnight and Kim always told me nothing good happens after midnight. This morning after hearty breakfast in the windjammer I’ve been eating the shoreline go by as we head to the glacier.

I’m not a curry fan but my wife is. I’ll try and get her to try them and let you l know what she says.

Interestingly, we were able to dock but we still have to tender. Apparently they don’t want anyone walking along that section of the dock.

Update from last night. I forgot to mention that we also went and saw the comedy juggler. I forgot because it was forgettable performance. He wasn’t all that funny, he was mostly just whiny about how people weren’t laughing at his jokes. No doubt he was a very good juggler but you have to bring more to the table than just your ability to throw things in the air and catch them again

Good morning from Skagway, Due to the rock slides we don’t get to dock, we’re tendering. We’ve got a train ride up the White pass on tap for today. Our excursion is at 12 but they want us to meat in the theatre at 1045. I imagine that is due to the time the tendering process takes. Surprise, surprise there was no line up at the windjammer. I walked strait in at 745 this morning. Finding a table was a little tough but there were plenty of seats available outdoors on the aft patio. Great view from there too. It was 50 degrees but that’s no problem for me. I don’t even put a coat on until the mercury falls into the low 40’s.

Really? Yesterday I, maybe, spent 3 hours in the casino. I’m becoming more and more fond of the casino. That’s probably a bad thing though. one question maybe you could answer for me Bob… When I go a slot machine and tap in to check my points it still shows zero. I thought I should have been accumulating points. Not that I expect to gamble enough to get a cruise or really even a significant discount but I expected to see something there.

In the music hall right now with the house band. Very tight and mostly classics from the 80’s.

Dinner tonight was Chops. Excellent service and food. I’m kind of regretting not getting the dining package this cruise. My meals at specialty have all been fantastic the MDR has been meh. Tonight was the shrimp cocktail and lobster bisque, then the NY strip. For dessert I went off menu and asked for the sundae from the kids menu. 😃 it was a great start to the evening. The next two hours I spent in the casino ended up up $100. That puts me only down $75 so far. It really is fun cheap entertainment. I did have a bit if an unexpected experience. After cashing out I went to the casino bar for a drink to bring with me heading to the hall. Expecting to be charged since both my wife and I had gone through our diamond drinks I was surprised when he handed back my card and no receipt. I started to ask and he just waved me off. I’m not a big enough casino player to be getting comped drinks. I’m really not sure what that was about.

It really is chaos. I had lunch there today and it was great but it was mostly empty because everyone was off the ship.

So today was quiet day. We did a little shopping and then came back to the ship for lunch. As we came back the sun broke out so after lunch I decided to enjoy some sun on the top deck… I fell asleep. Unfortunately, what woke me up was the rain LOL I quickly gathered my stuff up and head back into the ship. I had a quick shower and then head up to the spa to get my haircut. Tonight is Chops and and maybe the juggler. Maybe the casino. We’ll see what unfolds.

I have found the official souvenir shirt for this thread.

The worst if it seems to be for MTD without reservation. The lines have looked ling. I can’t say why the hold up is in the Windjammer. I haven’t gotten in yet because of the lines. If I do I’ll update you.

Fog has gotten a little better and it’s only light rain now. Hopefully it continues to improve.

Good morning. So the staffing issues are manifesting themselves the most in the morning. I should have been up earlier but I stayed up pretty late. At 8am, when I arrived at the Windjammer, the line was stretched all the way back through the elevator corridor to the glass doors leading to the pool area. No problem I thought, I’ll just shoot down to MDR for breakfast. Same line, different location. So back up I go and head to the Solarium for breakfast. Much shorter line and they have all my favorite breakfast items except the omelette station. Yesterday the Windjammer looked the same. I never checked the Solarium or the MDR and we just went to Cafe 270. The line for the Solarium has grown since eating my breakfast and is now running out the door. This is a real issue for Royal and they need to aggressively attack this problem. I know they can’t snap their fingers and magically create workers but something has to be done. We are absolutely socked in this morning in Sitka. Heavy fog and rain so far. Hopefully it clears up or I’ll just be staying on the ship. I’ve got a haircut scheduled for 330 in the spa today. That is the only thing on the agenda so far.

The sound level was good for me but I like it loud so I won’t be a good judge for you.

DSB is fantastic! IMG_2150.MOV

One of my favorite entertainment options when DW crashes early and I’m in my own us to sit near random people and listen to their conversation. You might find it creepy and I’m sorry but it’s absolutely hilarious. The amount of BS you hear is over whelming. Dude next to me is regaling a couple of young guys with stories of his glory days at playing football at UO. Sometimes I just can’t help myself, I’m just a jerk. All I can smell is BS so I ask the guy how he liked living in Lincoln. So he replies “oh wow Lincoln is awesome. Total party town!” and starts telling stories about life in Lincoln. I let him go in for about 5 minutes until I broke it to his new friends that Lincoln I in Nebraska.

So of course since I was up at the casino and I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I had an hour to kill till DSB, the Journey Tribute Band. You know that means I’m now down $175 with twenty minutes before the band takes the stage. LOL 😂 I’m cutting my losses and getting a good seat for the band.

So dinner was a much improved experience over last night. The pace of service was much improved. So was the over all service. I always enjoy the Beef tenderloin they serve on formal nights and it didn’t disappoint. DW had the cod and sadly she found it quite bland. However, they quickly offered to replace it. She chose to go off menu and have a curry. She gave it two thumbs up. Dessert was crème brûlée for me and it good. DW went with the cheese cake and she was pleased. Definitely a better experience than last night. Hanging in the Schooner now and that classic old fashioned was calling my name. Thanks @Sea Dog

It worked fine for me until she decided she wanted something last night s as free dinner and barista at 270 told her she had none left. 🤪 I had some explaining g to do.

Because I’m a team player… just for @Sea Dog I’d say it was a very generous pour.