PamD5

We sailed on the June 14^th Ovation to Alaska.

First impression of the Seattle Port was not good.  It looked crazy busy, our driver dropped us off and there were two long lines waiting to drop off their luggage.  I asked a porter where we were supposed to go, and he took our luggage with no wait and told us to go into a building and look for key signage.  Once inside, they directed us to a line for key members, however another employee called us over and helped us, she had no line and we went straight onto the ship.  No waits, no lines, it was wonderful.  Maybe it took 5 minutes all together.  Make sure you put your luggage tags on before you get to port, or you’ll be in one of those long lines.

Key signage was plentiful, we went to the check in table, received our internet codes (the internet worked quite well for the most part except at the glacier) then we dropped off my carry on, the employee told my husband not to drop his off as it was full of camera equipment.  Then we headed to Chops for lunch.  It was opening shortly so we waited in line for a few minutes.  The key menu was expanded from what I previously saw, and our lunch was delicious and probably took just under an hour. 

We went to our room to find my carry-on bag did not arrive, but our larger bags were there.  Had me a bit worried, but our room attendant was amazing and found the missing bag right away and brought it to our room. 

Our key paperwork was in our room showing additional times you could sign up for Northstar and I Fly make sure you read it as the additional times had to be reserved on certain days, if you wait to long to reserve there won’t be any slots left.  There was a priority line for bumper cars, but I forgot to take a photo and don’t remember what else was there.   We did have reserved seating for shows which was nice.  On the back side of the paper there were times listed for key members to meet and get off the ship at port.  If you didn’t want to go at that particular time, you just needed to show your sea pass card with the key symbol and they walked you to the front of the line.

Disembarkation at the end of the cruise was nice.  We went to the key breakfast and after they walked us to our luggage, once again by passing all the lines.  We got a porter to haul our luggage and he walked us to a separate line to get a cab passing many people.

For us the key was well worth the money, we paid $19.99, there were no lines to wait in, and a peaceful lunch and breakfast with no crowds was wonderful.

I posted the above key portion on the other Key thread but wanted to add some non-Key info.  You can get cabs, ubers and shuttles at the airport without booking ahead of time.  We took a shuttle to our hotel, The Grand Hyatt downtown.  The hotel is fabulous!  It isn’t cheap, but what is out there.  They had shuttles and cabs available anytime you wanted them, just had to ask the bell captain to get a cab which we used a few times.  The monorail is available two blocks away to get you to the Space Needle and the walk is flat.  The walk to Pikes Market is flat if you walk on the street behind the hotel by the convention center, otherwise it can be quite hilly.  The market is fun, need to watch them throw the fish, it’s entertaining.  The Chihuly Gardens are beautiful, this particular picture is of a full size row boat, the glass pieces are huge and gorgeous and the views from the Space Needle are very pretty. I may post port review later, I don’t have pictures yet. 

We sailed on the June 14^th Ovation to Alaska.

First impression of the Seattle Port was not good.  It looked crazy busy, our driver dropped us off and there were two long lines waiting to drop off their luggage.  I asked a porter where we were supposed to go, and he took our luggage with no wait and told us to go into a building and look for key signage.  Once inside, they directed us to a line for key members, however another employee called us over and helped us, she had no line and we went straight onto the ship.  No waits, no lines, it was wonderful.  Maybe it took 5 minutes all together.  Make sure you put your luggage tags on before you get to port, or you’ll be in one of those long lines.

Key signage was plentiful, we went to the check in table, received our internet codes, then we dropped off my carry on, the employee told my husband not to drop his off as it was full of camera equipment.  Then we headed to Chops for lunch.  It was opening shortly so we waited in line for a few minutes.  The key menu was expanded from what I previously saw, and our lunch was delicious and probably took just under an hour. 

We went to our room to find my carryon bag did not arrive, but our larger bags were there.  Had me a bit worried, but our room attendant was amazing and found the missing bag right away and brought it to our room. 

Our key paperwork was in our room showing additional times you could sign up for Northstar and I Fly make sure you read it as the additional times had to be reserved on certain days, if you wait to long to reserve there won’t be any slots left.  There was a priority line for bumper cars, but I forgot to take a photo and don’t remember what else was there.   We did have reserved seating for shows which was nice.  On the back side of the paper there were times listed for key members to meet and get off the ship at port.  If you didn’t want to go at that particular time, you just needed to show your sea pass card with the key symbol and they walked you to the front of the line.

Disembarkation at the end of the cruise was nice.  We went to the key breakfast and after they walked us to our luggage, once again by passing all the lines.  We got a porter to haul our luggage and he walked us to a separate line to get a cab by passing many people.

For us the key was well worth the money, we paid $19.99, there were no lines to wait in, and a peaceful lunch and breakfast with no crowds was wonderful.

Fantastic photography.  Thanks so much for sharing.  We are on next month, can't wait!  Looking forward to more reviews and pictures.

53 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

This is our first cruise (Symphony) on a mega ship and I am apprehensive about getting on and off the ship with so many passengers, standing in long lines and crowds. We may use the zip line but will not be using the Rockwall or flowrider so those 2 perks won't matter. We also don't need internet. That leaves priority embarkation, dropping off our carryons,  lunch at Chops, reserved seating at the shows, breakfast on the last day and faster disembarking  Ours is only a 4 night cruise so is not too expensive for the 2 of us. For our first cruise I think the perks are worth it. After we experience the big ship experience I may decide that we will not need to use it on subsequent sailings.

Same here, won't use flowrider or rockwall, but looking forward to reserved seats, easy on off and a nice lunch.  Can't wait, enjoy your cruise 🙂 

Okay, if I go through this link, I can access everything!!

 

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/mycruises/processLogin.do

Thanks! I was able to get in this way, access cruise planner and print the calendar. Thankfully all my reservations are still there :D

I always take non drowsy Dramamine to fly, go on a ferry and sometimes in a car. I always get sick on the ferry to Catalina Island, sick when whale watching in Monterey, Ca, and had sea bands and had taken Dramamine. I took a Carnival cruise to Mexico years ago, again did the meds, and only got sick when we hit a storm, 20+ foot waves. I was told many crew and guests were sick and missed dinner that night. Hoping with Allure being larger and hopefully no storms I'll be fine on my next cruise. Take meds, ginger pills, drink ginger ale if you feel 'off'. I take Dramamine the day before and through my cruise. My cousin who gets motion sick went on the Allure just recently and had no issues at all.