tugtraveller

You mentioned Icy Point Strait has improved.  Can you give more detail about that?  We are on the Serenade's August 9th Alaska cruise, and we are there from 8am - 7pm.  I can't imagine what we will do with all those hours based on photos I've seen of the town.   I don't know that I want to do another Whale Watch trip when we already have a 4-hour whale watch booked with Allen Marine in Juneau.  

Loving the bear cam.  😍

14 hours ago, mzoscar1 said:

Do you know what the capacity will be for these sailings?  I haven't seen it anywhere

 

I am wondering as well.  We are booked on the Serenade Aug 9 for Alaska.  Wondering if it will be a full ship? 

This topic has been so helpful & given me lots to think about as we start packing for summer 2021 Alaska cruise.  Thanks everyone!

12 minutes ago, harkinmr said:

He is fudging more than a little when he says 90% of those booked are vaccinated because they have not verified that in any way, shape or form, and will not be doing so on US sailings (other than Alaska).  But it sounds great in the media!

I like the way you said it jrapps! 😂  I was trying to be polite above. 😉

Has anyone heard that RCCL still require vaccines for ALASKA this summer?  I haven't seen anything that said that.  We just booked an Aug 2021 cruise to Alaska because the RCCL website said all passengers must be vaccinated to board.   I was so excited to cruise when I heard everyone on board HAD to be vaccinated. I checked this morning & the RCCL cruises no longer says that on the website.  We booked less than a week ago & had to pay the full amount of the cruise upfront since we are so close to the travel date.  Do we have the option to back out if they say "no vaccines required" as it said when we booked the cruise?

So glad that we were able to do the Cuba cruise in April on the Empress.  She is a small ship, but a sweet one.  Although the room sizes are tight, tight, tight!  The dining staff are wonderful and will work hard for you -- just tell them what you want.  I loved the key lime pie on the first night, and asked our waiter if he could get it for me again on the 2nd night even though it was not on the menu, and he brought me off-the-menu key lime pie every single night of our 7-day cruise.  By day 6, I had to ask him to stop. Oh, and another great off-the-menu item:  a side order of grilled vegetables.  It's great staff that also makes a cruise special. Thanks, Victor!

For those who are going to keep their cruise dates, I want to offer a suggestion for Nassau instead of staying on the ship.  RCCL excurions offered a snorkel excursion that left right off the dock, and took us out for a 2 or 3 hour snorkel trip that was truly wonderful, and a GREAT price considering the typical ship price for excursions.  The catamaran we were on was huge, it was a smooth & gorgeous ride past all the million-dollar mansions on the bay side of Paradise Island.  It made for a great day, gorgeous photos, and a lot of fun memories for someone who had low, low expectations for Nassau.

I hope this information helps someone.  I know I would be disapointed if my cruise itinerary was completely dismantled.  My heart goes out to you all. 

---- Rene

5 minutes ago, TPgal said:

Are you on the April 1st sailing?  If so, come on over to the Roll Call. We're less than 2 weeks away and it's too quiet.

We are.  Yes, it is a quiet roll call now that Mike from NZ has already headed out.  I will head back over there and make another post to see if we can stir up some conversation with our fellow cruisers.   ---- Rene

We have a 11-day Panama Canal cruise on the Jade in April, our first time on Norwegian.  From what I have read on these boards there are no formal nights right?  Hubby can wear a sweater, not a jacket?  And I can wear slacks & a pretty top, like I was going out to dinner at a nice restaurant, right?  I also read no formal nights, no lobsters on Norwegian unless you pay for them.  True?

Thanks for posting all this great info.  We will be in a 9th floor balcony on the Jade, but closer to the front of the ship.  I will be very careful about ALL the doors!. Finger crossed that we do not have a bed that goes bump in the night!

--- Rene

And one more comment - about Mike’s tux.

Anyway - he wore the tux the first night, but did indeed see that he was one of the few men onboard in a tux. He decided to go less formal the 2nd formal night.

 

I only post this to give others something to think about...when it comes to men & their formal wear. Go with what is comfortable for you - don’t worry about what others are wearing - or not wearing.

 

Now, ladies - I saw the gamut of long formal gowns to very casual wear...so, anything goes!

That's very good to hear. Thank you.

Thank you everyone for all of your excellent suggestions and please keep them coming!!

We have already booked a 2-day tour for St Petersburg. We will spend a full day seeing the art of the Hermitage & the General Staff building for the Impressionists. The other day is the Church of Spilled Blood, Faberge Museum & some city sightseeing. I have already seen all the various residences of the czars (inside & out) 20 years ago and I figure it hasn't changed much. This trip we are focusing on the art and ended up having to book a private tour.

Thanks for taking the time to write this awesome review. It is really helpful for planning our days on our upcoming (August) RCCL Baltic cruise -- we stop in almost the same ports.

Also, you really helped me dodge a bullet. I was packing more summer clothes for this cruise because weather dot com says the temps in the ports will be mostly in the 70's. I hadn't really thought about Sea Days, and how those days would be colder. A picture is worth a thousand words--- when I see your fellow passengers on ship shopping for souvenirs in heavy fleece & down puffy vests--- I realized I need to MODIFY my packing to add a some cold weather things. haha

Thanks again!

This August we cruise the Baltic on the Brilliance of the Seas: Our ports are: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallin, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, & Skagen.

Everything I've read says pack in layers, but I need a little more help. Should I bring a zip-up fleece jacket, or would a foldable down puffy jacket be better? Everyone says bring a raincoat-- but should it be a REAL raincoat or can it be just one of the thin packable windbreaker/raincoats that are no help if it's cold, but fine for a summer rain? Pants - lightweight or just regular pants & jeans?

What things did you bring -- that you wished you would have left at home? What things did you wish you would have brought with you, but didn't? I hate taking up valuable luggage space with items that don't get used on a trip. I'm trying to avoid that since we will travel with just 1 suitcase each.

Any tips regarding money to bring with us? We will have US dollars, Euros, & a credit card (with chip/pin & no int'l exchange fees). I am reluctant to get Danish krone, Swedish krona, & Russian rubles if I don't absolutely HAVE to. The only place I REALLY see myself shopping for souvenirs would be St. Petersburg, and I am guessing that street vendors would hopefully accept either Euros or dollars? I really don't want to use credit cards in Russia. It just feels risky to me. I could order some Russian Rubles from my local bank, but I'm sure the exchange rate would be horrible. Our Russian tour guide will be handling all the entrance fees, etc. while we are in St. Petersburg, and I plan to give tips in either dollars or euros.

Any other suggestions for someone headed out on a Baltic cruise? We are planning to tour the Scandinavian cities on our own, so any transportation suggestions from the port are appreciated. I read that we can walk to the old town center in Tallin from the ship. I've bought the Rick Steves guides, but I haven't read them yet-- maybe on Sea Days. I'm still at a loss for what to do in Skagen.

I appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you might have.

--- Rene

Have you been in the Eastern Caribbean since last year's hurricanes? There was so much damage to St. Thomas, St. Martin, etc. it was kind of a bummer. I'd only consider either Southern Caribbean or even Western Caribbean after that. Maybe others feel the same and that's why prices are low?

Don't the hotels have to check that you have a valid passport & russian visa?

We did our first B2B on the Glory this past February. The first week (western caribbean) was our best cruise EVER. The 2nd week (eastern caribbean) "meh". It was okay, but not great.

So, i will give MY honest opinion which might be different from everyone elses. The 1st week dinner was exciting, but by the 2nd week--- same old menu -- no surprises. We also enjoyed the people more on the 1st week. Then the fun people all left, and we had a bunch of fuddy-duddies the 2nd week. Same shows in the big theater. But the comedians that flew in for the 2nd week were actually better than the 1st week.

So, for me, if I had it to do again. I would book one ship for the first week, then come back to Miami/Ft Lauderdale and book a TOTALLY different ship for the 2nd week. I know not everyone feels this way-- I met one Minnesota couple that was on the Glory for 4 weeks straight, and lots & lots of happy people doing B2B's because you have 2 totally different sets of ports-- which is actually quite nice.

But for me, I needed the menu, the entertainment, the games -- not just to be an EXACT repeat of the 1st week!

---- Rene

Jill K -- thank you so much for taking the time to answer all my questions. It is greatly appreciated, especially since I was caught off guard on our Caribbean cruise with the over-airconditioning in the MDR.

Hoopster95--- thank you, as well. What a great resource our fellow cruisers are here on Cruise Critic. Thank you all!

Jill K, thanks so much for your wonderful review! We will be on the Brillance this August for the Baltic leg, and I also have a couple of questions for you.

#1 - How cold was it in the dining room, theater, public areas? Our last Caribbean cruise felt a bit over-airconditioned. I had brought some cute sleeveless evening things for formal wear, dinner, etc. -- but no one could see them because I was freezing & had to wear either sweaters or jackets over them.

#2 - Mini fridge in the cabin: is it stocked & can you have the cabin steward remove those things so you can put your own items in the fridge?

#3 - Is the cabin steward able to provide extra hangers? I like to hang my clothes so the wrinkles will fall out, and 4 or 5 hangers is just not enough.

#4 - How was the ship's coffee? I am debating about buying a coffee card as I am a Nespresso drinker at home. For port days: does the Brilliance have free room service in the morning for coffee/continental breakfast -- or will I need to go to Windjammer for a quick breakfast? On my last cruise the room service coffee was pretty bad, but was much better at the main dining room.

#5 - Also for port days, is it possible to get a late lunch or snack in the Windjammer (or elsewhere) if you return to the ship around 3-4pm? Some ships it can be difficult to find food between lunch & dinner.

Thanks again for all the GREAT information you are providing for us.

---- Rene

Enjoing your post as we will be on Brilliance Aug 8th Baltics sailing. Especially appreciating all the information on the Viator tours. I've been reading the Rick Steves Northern European Cruise Ports book, and he doesn't really mention Viator. But they look like they have some nice affordable HoHo options right from the cruise port? Good to know.

--- Rene

I will be on the Brilliance Trans Atlantic with my Father from Tampa to Amsterdam coming up in just over a week! I was wondering how the Windjammer Action cooking stations are ? Any special dishes to get? Also did you go to the Park Cafe for their Wecker sandwiches?

 

We are flying in from California the day before the cruise and I booked us at the Westin Tampa Harbour Island Hotel and we have Tampa Car Service picking us up from the airport to the hotel and their sister company Cabs+ taking us to the port the next day. I got the car service for $30 from the airport and the Cabs+ Car Service for $12 from the hotel both in Lincoln Town Cars.

 

We will then spend 4 nights in Amsterdam in an AirBnb before flying to Keflavik where we will spend 4 nights in Rejkiavik at another AirBnb before flying home to San Francisco. I have us booked at the Blue Lagoon one day and with our rental car we hope to do the Golden Circle.

 

All in all I think you would enjoy a 15 night cruise for about the same and sometimes even less than a 7 day cruise.

Please, please give up an update when you return. And of course, my personal thanks for taking Brilliance over to Amsterdam so it will be there for our Baltic Cruise in August. Wow-- I didn't realize she left for Amsterdam so early.

---- Rene

Thought I'd post an update here. ARTeFACTUM was helpful in helping me put together an itinerary that covers Hermitage (most of one day) and Erastus and Russian Museums on another day, throwing in some highlights like Peterhof Gardens and Church of Spilt Blood. Cost is $810 for one person, $906 for two people, and $96 for each additional person. Getting a visa-free arrangement for one person on a tour is challenging because one person does not qualify as a "tour group". Fortunately there are others going through ARTeFACTUM on the same days as me, so I can get grouped into their visa-free situation. I'll be looking for companions to join me to help keep costs down. Hope that helps others looking for a similar situation!

Glory_h,

Thank you for your helpful post. We are looking to spend more time at the Hermitage and also 2 hours or so at the General Staff Building to see the fantastic Impressionist art that has been moved there. I am curious if you were able to put together a larger group (with either people from your Roll Call, or ARTeFACTUM) to reduce your per person cost. We are just a party of 2, so $906/couple would be more money than I would like to spend on a 2-day shore excursion.

Can you give us any update on your final costs, how many in your group, and how it all worked out?

---Rene

Thank you all for your comments and information!

After a month of contacting the major tour companies, private guides, etc. we decided to get a visa and stay the night in SPB.

Turns out that all companies more or less could do the private customized tour that we wanted, but it also turns out that the prices were outrageous: 500-600 usd per person is really too much for us.

We found a decent hotel near the Hermitage for 100 usd and we decided to go that way, visa process doesn't seem as difficult or expensive either so we decided to give it a try, plus what we like most about a new city is to read about it before visiting and discovering it at our own pace, which is what we'll do.

We are thinking about getting a 2-day ticket for the Hermitage so we can divide our visit in 2 days.

Thanks again!

Thetfoodie, So how did this work out for you? We have 2 port days in St Petersburg August 2018, and are looking to tour the Impressionist art that has been moved from the Hermitage to the General Staff Building, along with spending more time viewing art in the Hermitage itself. I am just starting to do my research, but it appears that expensive private tours are the only way to see the General Staff Building.

Please report back and tell us if you ended up with a small or private tour, or doing it independently, so you could see more of the great art offerings.

--- Rene

Thanks for sharing! I have 61days to go before we're on the Glory! We were just on the Elation end of November and food was hit and miss in the MDR but I never had a problem getting the waiter to bring me something better. The smoked salmon from the deli is my favorite. I have them hold the bagel so I can have more [emoji6]

The Glory had bagel with smoked salmon & cream cheese on the menu every morning in the main dining room, both for breakfast or the sea day brunch. It came with capers, red onion, and piles of smoked salmon! Several times my husband & I would split an order as a side dish, because it was so much salmon.

On the ports when we had to be up & out super early they usually had a salmon benedict at the Lido breakfast buffet. But I would describe it as a slice of cooked salmon, rather than smoked salmon under the poached egg & hollandaise. Still, it was pretty good. Somedays there was eggs benedict with ham,

On the Lido (deck 9), there was a separate line on both sides of the morning breakfast buffet if you only wanted an omelette. So that was nice. I usually ended up being either the 1st or 2nd person in the omelette-only line, which was much better than the long buffet lines on port days. I thought their custom omelettes were so much better than the scrambled eggs at the buffet.

Also, on the Glory, the Deli changes their sign to be an "omelette station" in the morning. My husband would usually get in that line because you could get sides orders like bacon at the same time. But I would go to the buffet and get in the omlette-only line, and beat him to the table every time!

I ordered room service every morning as my wake up call. Just a pot of coffee & half/half. But it made getting ready a little easier. They mostly have cold options on the menu & toast, or a bagel with cream cheese. I have read here on cruise critic that people have written in + smoked salmon with their bagel order & received it. So, you might want to give it a try if you are ever in a rush, or going to Sea Day Brunch closer to 11 or 12.

-- Rene

We were just in Roatan on the Carnival Glory on Feb 14, 2018. I did some research here on cruise critic and trip advisor and we were really happy with all the things we were able to do in one day. We booked with Victor Bodden Tours and we had THE best port day I have ever had on a cruise. It was AWESOME even though there were some rainy parts here & there. It was all good.

1st - we did the ziplines thru the jungle. About 12 or 13 different lines I think. Super fun & I LOVED it!!

2nd - we toured the Victor Bodden Sloth & Monkey Habitat. We were able to get photos of us with all of the various animals (sloth, monkees, giant colorful macaws, etc). Holding the baby sloth was just about the coolest thing ever. They have the sweetest little faces.

3rd - we had a private dive boat (just us and the boat owner JC) take us out to the Barrier Reef for an hour of snorkeling. It was absolutely the best snorkeling we did that week, and we snorkeled at every single port stop on this cruise. JC went in the water with us, but was not in the way. When he saw something great he would let us know & we'd go check it out with him. Oh my gosh, we saw such a huge variety of amazing fish. A spotted moray eel, a huge school of about 100 blue tangs, puffers, even a lionfish! They are amazing to see in person. The variety of the fish in Roatan is amazing. We snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia last year, and Australia definitely had the most beautiful corals. The colors of the corals in Roatan was not as spectacular, but the variety and the beauty of the fish were even better than what we had experienced in the Great Barrier Reef.

4th - We wanted to go to the top of Roatan and get a nice photo of the island, so our driver took us up to the tippy top and we got some great photos of the island and the surrounding ocean. He also took some great photos of us with our camera which were much appreciated.

So, we had a great day. Our cost with Victor Bodden was a total of $95 per person for everything. A private car & driver, over an hour of ziplining, the sloths/monkeys/macaws/etc also a private tour with photos, the boat trip out to the barrier reef with a private snorkel guide. Are you kidding me? A Carnival snorkel excursion with 80 others squashed on the boat & kicking you in the water can easily set you back $70 -$80 bucks or more.

I would do that day over again in a heartbeat! Amazing, amazing day. So I heartily recommend Victor Bodden tours.

--- Rene

Just an update if anyone cares. We went on these excursions and...

The Eat Drink Walk excursion was great. Visited 2 restaurants and a place that made Piña coladas. It was a small group, so almost like hanging with a bunch of friends. Walked all over the place and it seemed like everything in Old San Juan was back to normal.

 

Fast Cat Turtle Bay Snorkel was a bust. The catamaran was nice, the guides were very friendly, and the free rum punch flowed for hours. But snorkeling was a waste - Didn’t see a single turtle and nothing to see, in regard to coral. Honeymoon beach was a dump. Not sure it looked any nicer before the hurricanes. The catamaran did not go right to the sand, so everyone had to walk about 15 feet from the boat in waste-deep water to get to the beach. Not a big deal, but we were walking on gravel and stones, not silty smooth ground.

We were in San Juan, St. Thomas, Grand Turk, & Half Moon Cay last week (Feb 17-24) on the Glory.

ST THOMAS: I agree with the reviewer above that the Fast Cat Turtle Bay Snorkel was a bust. Our tour group did see ONE lonely little turtle, but hardly any fish at all, and not really any coral to speak of. Water was murky, not good visibility really. We swam over a wreck, but you could not see much. Saw lots of sea urchins with the longest, pointiest spines I have ever seen. They definitely tried to let the rum flow freely to make up for the lousy snorkeling. It was strong rum punch! This excursion was just "something to do", but it was WAAAAY overpriced for what you get. The other Carnival excursions did not look any better. We wanted to go to Trunk Bay in St John, but there are still no water lines, no working toilets (just porta potties), and the snorkeling is said to be poor since the hurricane. St Thomas was definitely my LEAST favorite port of the four.

SAN JUAN: I had extremely low expectations going in but it ended up being my favorite port. We did not book a Carnival excursion & had a nice breakfast before leaving the ship. Since we were probably some of the last people off. There were still tons of white tour buses trying to book people for their 1-hour island tours. But it kept raining off & on, so I guess the walk-up business was not that good. The prices started at $25 per person, but by the time we meandered off the ship it was down to $15 per person! Fantastic price, so just $30 for the 2 of us. Can you believe it? We had to wait about 15 minutes while the guy found 12 more people to fill up the tour bus. But it was an awesome tour. He took us all over town, and we saw everything, the govt buildings, the art, the statues & monuments, the forts, the new business district, the old part of town with the cobblestone street & the cute shops & restaurants. He answered questions, explained the history. Really fantastic. Better than any other Carnival excursion we took last week. I ended up walking back to the Old San Juan section to take more photos, stop for coffee, and buy some handmade Christmas ornaments. It was wonderful. I would love to go back there again & stay 3 or 4 days. Old San Juan is very charming!

GRAND TURK: We were originally booked on a Carnival snorkel excursion "ultimate snorkelling tour" or something like that, but when we got off the ship we found out it had been cancelled for rough seas/current/something. But the other Carnival snorkeling tour was still going out because it had a different snorkeling spot. It was $10 more than the Ultimate snorkeling tour, but it included the stingrays and they make a conch salad. I had read the reviews on it, and it had some negative reviews, but in all honesty it was the ONLY decent snorkeling excursion we had last week. We went to 2 different snorkel sights saw lots of fish and coral. The conch salad and rum punch was tasty. The last stop was a deserted island with stingrays right at the beach. One of the guys from the boat held up a humungous stingray and lots of people took photos with it, or pet it, or kissed it, or whatever. We were there at the 3rd stop for probably 35-45 minutes with the stingrays. If you were not a fan of stingrays you could either stay on the boat, or explore the beach or hike the deserted island. It was pretty cool. Definitely 100 times better than the St. Thomas snorkel excursion.

HALF MOON CAY: We brought our own snorkel gear, and it's a gorgeous beach. I tried snorkeling for over 30 minutes all the way out to the deep dark water, and did not see EVEN ONE FISH. Not one. How is that even possible? Nice beach day, though.

---- Rene

We just came off the Glory on Saturday. I was worried about the quality of the food going in, but I would say that overall the quality of the food was fine. There were some definite hits and misses. I didn't like the shrimp cocktail, so I never ordered it again. But one of our tablemates ordered it over and over. So, different strokes for different folks. Sometimes the starters were tiny portions, sometimes larger -- so we usually ordered 2 different starters, and ate the ones we liked. If you are unhappy with something, ask your waiter and they will bring you something else. They really work hard trying to please everyone. I tried several new starters I had never eaten before: some were hits & some were misses. But always it was a fun adventure! I love seafood, so I was very happy with most of my main dishes, except when I tried the "port of the day" specialty dish with the mystery fish. Yeech! A grilled salmon replacement was brought right away, and all was well. I stayed more to the main menu after that -- less experimenting with the main meal. So, when people complain about cruise food here on Cruise Critic --- take it with a grain of salt. There are soooo many dishes to choose from. My frogs legs were bad & not warm. Was it Carnival's bad recipe? Or was it that I would not have liked anyone's frog legs? Who knows? The amount of good or great food you will have, will definitely outnumber any mis-steps that may happen.

Most nights we ate dinner in the main dining room (MDR), and I felt the meal quality was much better there at dinnertime. We only ate dinner on the Lido deck once when we were exhausted and didn't want to spend an hour doing a sit-down dinner. The quality and variety on the Lido at dinner time is extremely limited. The steak was tough, and the entrees were meh. Fine for kids, but most adults who seemed to be enjoying their meals either had a Guy's Burger or Pizza. It is super fast--- but the buffet quality is not the same as the MDR, even though sometimes they have 1 or 2 of the dinner items being served in the main dining room.

However, We had EXCELLENT meals on the Lido deck for lunch. Lots of great choices, and they have a nice selection of differently prepared salads. Every salad was fantastic. There was a huge selection of hot items as the 2 buffets on the Lido deck (9) offer different items. I think one side has comfort foods (or something like that) -- more heavy meaty dishes, chicken tenders, pasta, etc. The other side which is closer to "The Sweet Spot" dessert bar has the great selection of premade salads, hot dishes, fish, usually a carving station. Between the 2 buffets you can easily find some lunch options you will be happy with. If not, on the same deck 9 you have the Iguana Grill for mexican food, Guys Buger, the pizza place, and the deli for hot sandwiches (their Reuben is not bad). We had 4 port days & the buffet food on deck 9 is open until 3:30pm. A lot of people try to get back on the ship before 3:30. Between 3:30-6pm, the MDR & Lido buffet are closed. So, your food options are only: Guys Burgers (very tasty), the pizza place, the sandwhich deli, ice cream station, or room service. I never had luck with the Blue Iguana Mexican place being open later in the day--- so I don't know their hours are. If you are okay with spending some cash the Seafood shack & the sushi place are also open in the afternoon. But seriously --- when you come back from port at 3:20pm, dripping wet, sandy, and exhausted --- you will agree with me that late lunch on the Lido deck is without a doubt some of the best food you have ever eaten!

So, those are my opinions being fresh off the Glory.

--- Rene