tinabinab

Have had park central and boardwalk balconies and loved both.  

Park central is quieter in general and in the evening its a nice ambiance esp when there is live acoustic music.

Boardwalk is a bit more lively; potential views of the aquatic show, movies, ocean view, etc.  Get to hear squeals of people going down the abyss.  It’s a fun spot depending on ages of kids.  Not sure I’d want to be trying to put littles down for a nap there, but if they’re past that, it’s a fun location.  

Just off the Symphony on Thursday and could have written this post (except only 43 nights on RC. 🤣) The words and verbal enforcement were there, but the actions and execution were not, as noted in the OP.  I have some FCC to use, but will plan to push those out as far as possible now.  

Disregard, found the answer above.

Ha. We were supposed to fly Friday. Cancelled our hotel and rental car. Can't change flight until RCCL makes a decision because we have B2B. Annoying but we have insurance and a full wine rack and a pool so life is awesome.

Uhg - we were also on 9/23. Guess I need to follow your lead and cancel our Friday hotel and stock up the wine fridge. 🤣 Wish they would give us some info so we can proceed with plan B already.

Flipper33's photo of the bed configuration is spot on. You may notice what looks like a long drawer under the couch, that is where they store the mattress that it looks like they put on top of the couch. (Our DD opted for the bunk so we didn't see this part in action.) The back cushions are missing from the photo, so I am guessing they store those in the same lower drawer when that bed is made up.

It's actually a great room and a very nice balcony. We were able to use it quite a bit - there is less wind on the back of the hump and the majority of the forward wall on the balcony is solid. It was very easy to prop your elbows up on the railing in the forward corner and look forward without any leaning or straining. ...and very nice to put the chair in the far front corner and watch the ports fade into the background. (Which I esp enjoyed doing in Ketchikan...)

Will your in laws be in an adjacent room? Would make for an even more spectacular balcony space. :)

I definitely found that organization was the key - even more so than any other cruise I've taken. It was still worth it for that balcony though! ;)

Here's some picts of the inside of the room. Wish I had gotten images facing the other way and of the balcony. You're going to love it!

Solstice 9237:

We were JUST in that room for the July 11th sailing. Definite yes on the robes (there were three of us in the room and we had three robes). I don't recall any flavored creamers, just tall containers at the coffee station with milk, half and half, and regular creamer. I wasn't looking for them specifically though, so may have missed them.

FYI - If you have more than two in the room, the storage is a little tight, there are 5 drawers, two cubbys in the closet (below safe) and overhead storage above the bed. It was a bit challenging... on the plus side, there were a ton of hangers and the bathroom storage is plentiful! :)

Enjoy the room and your cruise!

With your photography priority, I strongly suggest you find out whether your ship offers the add on small boat excursion in Tracy Arm. You're guaranteed to have wonderful photo ops, and there's an excellent chance you'll see wildlife.

I second this. When I went to book this, there was only one seat left and we missed out. We didn't make it to Sawyer Island, so didn't get to see much of the Tracy Arm at all. I really regret not booking that excursion.

As to your other questions, all the ports had a number of tour operators located on the pier after you debarked the ship, esp in Juneau. We lucked out with great weather, except in Juneau. There it was foggy and raining, so our Mendenhall Glacier pictures aren't very good. Luckily the rain stopped before we went out for our Evening Whale Watching excursion. It was the highlight of our trip; we saw tons of humpbacks and they had great food onboard, which was a bonus.

Our cruise and time in Seattle is now behind us, so I wanted to post a follow up to my previous post. We enjoyed the Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown. The two-bdrm, two king suite was spacious for the five of us and the hotel was much nicer than I had anticipated. We took the hotel organized shuttle from the hotel to the port on embarkation day. It is $7 per person, cash only to the driver.

The area of the hotel was very convenient for touring. We walked a couple blocks to eat the second night (walked just past the Maxwell, which looked like a great hotel also). The grocery store, QFC - part of Krogers, is in the ground level of the building across the street. It has a good selection of wine in the back corner and a small area with hard liquor near the front registers - are we the only ones still using rum runners? :)

We did use the city passes for our touring on Thursday and again on Friday morning. On Thursday, we walked the three or four blocks from the hotel to the EMP Museum (CityPass attraction) around 10 am. We purchased our City Passes there and took our time browsing through the museums many sections.

Upon leaving there, we had planned to do the Space Needle, but the line was incredibly long. Instead, we took the adjacent monorail to the Westlake Station and walked down to Pikes Market. We ate lunch at Lowell's in the Market, taking a third floor seat and watching the harbor front. As far as I could tell, nothing fast happens at the Lowell, but the food was good and it provided a much needed break. Lowell's is pretty close to the fish market, so following lunch, we strolled over there and watched them toss a few fish.

We then meandered through the market and across the street where we found a set of stairs and elevator down to the pier level and, conveniently, the Seattle Aquarium (CP). We took our time here as well. My daughter was particularly enamored with the Sea and River Otters. There were pretty darn cute!

We wrapped up here and then walked another block or so to the Argosy Harbor Cruise office (CP). They seemed to be departing every hour and 15 mins, and we arrived about thirty minutes prior to the next departure. We got our passes and bought ice creams at the adjacent restaurant (don't recall the name). It was a heat wave in Seattle the day we were there. It was sunny and 84, which was coincidently the same temp at home in Texas. In Texas, however, it was being called a cold front. :) Anyway, this allowed us to use their tables and relax a bit in the shade.

Following the harbor cruise, we easily grabbed a cab in front of the pier and went back to the hotel. We had bought round trip tickets on the monorail, but it's quite steep from the piers back to the mall area and I didn't think my Mom would handle that well. It was $12 from the pier back to the Hampton for the four of us. By this time, my aunt had arrived at the hotel and we all went to dinner a couple blocks away. Again, I can't recall the restaurant name, but it was across the street from the Maxwell on Rob street. Great selection of fresh food and lots of 1/2 entrée options.

After finishing dinner, we went back to the hotel and a couple of us walked back over to the Space Needle (CP) and went up for a night view of Seattle. The City Pass included two visits to the top within 24 hours. We had requested the 12:30 shuttle to the port the next morning, so a couple of us got up early the next morning and headed back over to the Space Needle (CP) for a daytime view. We got there within 15 minutes of them opening, so there was no line and we were there and back to the Hampton in just over an hour.

We definitely got our moneys worth from the City Passes. We were able to see so many things, yet never rushed through any of it. ...and if any of you actually read all that, thank you. :)

I'd advise booking based on itinerary, not ship.

We just got off the Solstice on Friday. This was our do-over cruise after being on the Millennium when it broke down in Ketchikan last year. The Solstice is only 6 yrs old and definitely has a more upscale feel than the Millennium. I did greatly miss the solarium T pool on the Millennium however - it is far and away better than the one on the Solstice.

We had 7199 (corner family verandah) on the Millennium and 9237 on Solstice (A1 - first cabin on the aft side of the hump with oversized balcony). Both great rooms, though we'll never be able to beat the incredible balcony that comes with the corner aft family rooms on the M class. The cabin bathroom was much better on Solstice.

While I still think the Millennium itinerary was more desirable, WE were not really interested in setting foot on the Millennium again. Also, we did see more wildlife in the day and a half on the Millennium last year than we did the entire week on Solstice. Happy planning, whatever you choose!

Please do come to Victoria:D It is about a 20 min walk in and then maybe cab it back. It is daylight until at least 9pm and there is lots of time to walk around the Inner Harbour http://www.victoriabcca.com/reviews/victoria_inner_harbour_causway/inner_harbour_review.php and maybe walk through the beautiful dowager Empress Hotel. https://www.google.ca/search?q=empress+hotel+images&client=firefox-a&hs=x3c&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&channel=fflb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Yc2LU4iWEcHZoATUtoLYCg&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=583 A lot of stores stay open late in the summer because of the tourists - you must visit Roger's Chocolates http://www.rogerschocolates.com/ or have a pint at one of the two Irish Pubs = The Bard & Banker and The Irish Times Pub which are both in Heritage Buildings. We love our city and hope you can visit us:)

Thanks for all the links and the great info! I didn't mean to imply that I wouldn't come enjoy your city; just meant that I would rethink doing it without a plan in mind. :) Victoria Island was one of the bright spots on this itinerary, esp since we weren't able to fit it into our plans when in Vancouver last summer.

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm glad I read your comments about Victoria in particular. I had planned on getting off the ship and just doing our own thing. Sounds like that may not be a great plan after all.

We're looking forward to a great trip and just hoping to get past Ketchikan this time around. :)

There are five in my party as well, so we opted for the Hampton Inn. They have two bedroom, two bath suites with a living room and kitchen. Plenty of room to spread out. At just over $300 a night, it was way more affordable than trying to find two rooms for a comparable rate in the same area. It has great reviews too! Definitely book early though cause these rooms sold out fast.

We'll be getting City Passes and mostly visiting the Space Needle and Pikes Market areas as well.

Happy planning, whatever you decide. :)

We sailed in 7199 on the Millie last summer. There were 4 of us in the room, DH and I, my mother, and my DD (10). The balcony is seriously unbeatable (except by the royal suite below) - and I know this, as we were stuck in Ketchikan and I was able to critique the aft cabins of ship, after ship, after ship... :) We definitely had the best balcony.

The second bedroom has two sofas, one where the cushions flip over to create the bed area and the other that folds out in a traditional manner. My mother actually chose to sleep on the flip one and said it was pretty comfortable. I really liked that we could close the divider at night and that both "rooms" had their own TV.

The private hallway was a great place to store the luggage. Having only one bathroom did get a bit tricky on occassion, but it was still doable.

I do recall being able to regularly hear the people in the cabin next to us - not enough to understand their words, but you knew when they were talking. They had very young children and when one of them woke in the middle of the night, you heard it. You'll be sailing with your family next door, so I don't think that will be a problem. ...and even despite that issue, we would take that cabin again in a heartbeat!

Have a great time and enjoy those rooms!

Thanks for sharing your review and photos! You must have been up really early to get so many photos without other people in them. :) DD and I can't wait to check out the Magic in March.

Have only departed from FLL once, but we stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66 and really enjoyed it. We had a view of the port from our balcony and watched several sailaways. (Wasn't up early enough to see them come in.) Our room also had a view of the drawbridge, which was entertaining to watch.

The pool was really nice and we enjoyed watching an evening wedding from the little bar area near the pool.

There were several restaurants onsite, from high end to casual. We walked through the marina filled with gorgeous world class yachts. The water taxi stop is in the marina, so you have some options for getting around if you are without a car.

We were in a tower junior suite I believe - had booked through a travelzoo special. Although it's an older property, it was very well maintained and I would definitely stay there again...

Happy planning!

http://cruiselinehistory.com/the-woman-who-lives-on-the-qe-2-makes-final-voyage-and-sails-with-the-famous-liner-into-cruise-ship-history/

I always end every vacation with planning for the next one, it helps. :) ...and Disney is the only cruiseline I've ever rebooked onboard. I'll be on other lines eventually, if the itinerary or price is right, but with Disney, it's a 'when' not an 'if'.

8/16 Ketchagain cruiser here...

We have finally received the last part of our cruise fare refund. We are now at 100% refunded for the cruise.

We are now just waiting on the FCC and airfare reimbursement. Celebrity told our TA that the FCC's were mailed last Monday direct to us. I haven't found one in the mail yet and I'm not sure if it is indeed being mailed direct to us or not (as that is exactly the opposite of what we were told previously.) Has anyone else that used a TA had their FCC mailed directly to you?

8/16 Ketchagain cruiser here...

Finally received a couple of credits but still shy about $1000 of our cruise fares. Also have received nothing on our departure related expenses. No FCC yet either. Still rolling with the punches, but would love to deliver a few instead of just taking them.

Nothing yet on the air change fee reimbursement or the $45 for a specialty restaurant dinner for my mom.

Our prepaid specialty restaurant was refunded to our on-board account. We went to the Olympic on Tuesday night and cancelled our Thurs night reservation. Have you checked her onboard statement?

...and so far we still have NOTHING of our cruise fare refunded; just a response from our TA that they will look into it.

Aug 16th sailing.... sigh. Still no sign of ANY refund at all. Calling today, tired of being patient.

Aug 16th cruiser here...

So far have yet to see any refunds being applied to any of the cards that we used. My mother originally had her own cabin and had paid hers in full when she booked. She ended up cancelling her cabin early this year and moving into ours; applying her "refund" to our room. Not sure how that's going to play out. The rest was split between two of my CC's. So far, none are showing any kind of refund.

I will be emailing our flight reimbursment information this evening. Not hopeful that we'll get my airline miles back, but going to give it a try anyway. Saved them tons of money by not going the change fee / pay the difference route and I have screen shots to prove it. Good times... :/

Hi, has anybody out there bid their airfare on priceline?

I have done this in the past, but I would ONLY do it if you're pretty flexible and are going to and from a location with many flight options. I think you'll stand a better chance of getting decent flights. That said, we've actually had good luck with it - but like with the hotels, it is a bit of a gamble. We have also done well using PL for package deals.

Didn't want to pay rack rate for the Holiday Inn on the Bay, but as we will be without a vehicle, I wanted to be near Seaport, Coronado Ferry, etc.

Started at $70, bidding in $5 increments, got the Westin San Diego for $80. That's a little higher than recent downtown bids, but it is Spring Break for many, so I'm pleased. Westin rack rate for same days starts at $144.

These cabins are located two floors below one of the pools. We could hear them draining and filling the pool each time and horrible pipe creaking sounds nearly all night. Light sleepers beware. :)