twangster

In the olden days one could find deals to climb the ladder when it made sense to achieve status for a special future cruise. At today's rates I think it's harder to find value in taking a cruise for points.

With expedition, cruising, they basically take the people who would be entertainers, dancers, singers, etc. and replace them with expedition team members. The focus of expedition cruising is the expedition aspect with much less focus on entertainment around the ship. That being said, there was a pianist and a guitarist vocalist. We’re both very good. This is the nature of expedition cruising.

The bow? No unobstructed views forward on this class except from the bridge wings off the solarium. On that other site I didn't realize you were looking at forward views. I've done this class to many bucket list destinations such as Alaska twice, New Zealand and Hawaii. The best view are from the suite sun deck where it is very easy to move from port to starboard to port. The exception is Odyssey where this deck is the teen play area. The bow area on the pool deck is where the solarium is. Great forward views but through glass. The bridge wings are outdoors but small and popular so crowded any time there is something to see. One deck up on the jogging track the track goes through a deep channel with steel walls in the forward area so there is no view forward or not much of one. A tripod on an outer deck is not going to work well in Alaska. I'm a bit of a photographer myself so I have some concept. Anywhere with something to see the railings will be packed. People will be two or three deep. Consuming a lot of deck space with a tripod isn't going to work well. I shoot handheld using optical steady lens to assist. A monopod is doable more so over a tripod, at least at the popular places that everyone wants to see.

There is a live blog at the site we can't mention here where one of the blogs mods showed the brand store. R C Blog com in the live blog section.

I am a big fan of the CK filet. Since I was Star class I opted for Chops on the CK filet night. I should have gone to CK. I love what they did with the AMP except for the cabins and suites. I have sailed OA a number of times since the AMP. I'd sail her again in a minute for the right price. Alas cruise rates have gone sky high while service and food has declined over the same time.

I was recently in Port Stanley with another cruise line. We used the ship zodiacs to ride into town. Stanley is known for its winds. Wind makes waves. It was the wettest zodiac ride of our cruise. It was so splashy from the waves that one guest on my zodiac had his automatic life jacket inflate because it got so wet it thought it was in the water. We anchored just outside the harbor despite being in a much smaller ship than yours so we had the long ride to the town dock. The channel into the harbor is narrow and with any sort of a cross wind it was too much for even our little 17.4k GT vessel so we stayed out of the harbor. Swell and waves complicates loading tenders (and zodiacs). It slows the process down. It's a frequently missed port due to wind. How was the weather during your visit?

I was in 526 just aft of the forward staircase. I generally liked deck 5. Having the staircase close by was great and I don't recall any noise from hall traffic. I'd stay in the same area again.

If you’re talking about missing the glacier due to ice in the channel there is no way to predict that. It is largely influenced by things like temperature and the amount of sunshine beating down on the glacier over the weeks before a visit which can increase glacial calving. Missed calls at Dawes glacier occur all the time all season long. No month is safe.

Food taste is personal, but in my opinion, it has generally declined for the Royal fleet over the past 18 months. If you search the main channel, you’ll find several threads discussing food quality.

Public spaces were updated but not the decor. The elevator lobby for example has never been updated. Suites and cabins were not updated. New venues were added, the pool deck modernized, but many spaces remain the same.

Oz became public domain a little while ago. I think that means millions saved in licensing fees.

There is a cell tower on GSC 2 miles away. It works fine until enough people on both islands find it. I've used it since 2017. Labadee is similar. There is a cell tower in the hills facing the ship.

Thank you for your kind words. Here is my Galapagos post:

Need more complaints on social media.

You should be aware I didn't have great success on Mariner recently. I'm hesitant to make a recommendation because I don't know if one will work well on any given ship.

Still waiting for my lottery numbers to hit.

With the incoming emission restrictions for some Norwegian fjords it's introduced a change to the Northern Europe deployments. We are still waiting for a few ships to have their deployments announced despite the posted timeline. It's unclear if there will be ship there.

I've not had great luck with Royal when cruises are cancelled and they offer alternatives. For example a Star class Aquatheater suite is equivalent to a Freedom class grand suite in their minds, protected to the same rate. No Star perks allowed though. Same right? If you don't think so then take the full refund and be happy with that. In truth every situation is unique and what is offered can be as well.

It's always buried in my emails but worst case call A2S and ask for it.

Quantum class can only enter and exit below the Lions Gate bridge in Vancouver at slack tide. This hinders their ability to depart like they can at most other ports. One time they revised our departure to stay in the Vancouver harbor until 2am. We boarded normally and sailed away in the middle of the night. Pretty common for Q class in Vancouver.

Often when I've been offered a solo GTY without calling it's a ship that I know has studio cabins. I assume that I'll get a studio cabin assigned and single points. If a non-GTY is close in price on these ships I pay the difference to know I'll get double points.

Typically a ship will charter a train unique to the cruise. This train uses different stations on both ends compared to what the Alaskan Railroad offers direct. Despite that, I tend to book direct, when the circumstances are right. A charter train will use a station near the airport in Anchorage and end very close to the ship in Seward. The public train anyone can book use a downtown station in Anchorage and Seward which is a 15 minute walk to the ship. I recommend GoldStar service. I’ve done the trip twice. Great way to start or end a cruise.

I’ve often used Royal’s Air2Sea when sailing Royal. Love-hate relationship when using them. In the past maybe they had some clout with the airlines. Post pandemic most airlines are scoundrels. I think A2S is still trying to figure that out.

Sorry for your loss.

I didn’t use the 1.4 teleconverter very often. Most of the time a longer focal length was appreciated or desired. On bright days the light loss of the 2x teleconverter wasn’t an issue. With long summer days it was often daylight shooting conditions. Silversea does not recognize Royal Caribbean CAS. With Silversea being somewhat all inclusive in nature there is less focus on a loyalty program in comparison to Royal or Celebrity. The Silversea loyalty program is different in nature. It would be hard to map between the two but honestly I’ve never felt I needed loyalty perks on Silversea like you appreciate them on Royal. Basic WiFi is included. The equivalent of Celebrity’s premium drink package is included. I find the food in the included Silversea venues far superior to Royal’s included venues. A tenderloin in Silversea’s main restaurant can be pretty close to a Chop’s specialty dining steak on Royal. I don’t find myself thinking about the need to spend money on dining while on Silversea like I do on Royal but food is personal. With a couple of Silversea classic ships booked in my future that may change for a very special dining experience however I’m sure I’d be fine if I was to use only the included venues. I moved a 2024 Norway fjord cruise from Royal to Silversea because I just enjoy so much about Silversea compared to an increasingly mediocre experience on Royal. It’s going to cost me a little more but for my preferences it’s worth it. The itinerary on Jewel was appealing but the ship was not. In moving to Silversea I can stop telling myself I’ll endure the ship because of the itinerary. Now I’ll enjoy both. If you read through the main Silversea forum you’ll find comparisons to other premium or luxury lines. Some are not as inclusive as Silversea is.