RVRCLC

Been there several times. All of the above are good suggestions. I would add: Don’t buy Mt Roberts tram tickets on the ship. Wait until you are in Juneau, look up there and decide. It may be covered with clouds and you couldn’t see anything if you went up. Ticket booth is easy to find, just follow the wires.

If you take the funicular up to Cape Fox hotel in Ketchikan, go out the front door and walk around the totem poles, some have 2 sides.

On 2/7/2020 at 8:44 PM, VermeulT said:

I have more than enough "stuff" in my house - but I'd like to bring back something special and unique from my cruise that starts in Vancouver.  Also stopping in Ketchikan, Haines, ISP, Anchorage, Homer, Valdez and Juneau.

What is something that you've bought for yourself or a gift that you were happy with?

Hand painted silk scarf in Juneau. Shop near port,  kind of across from Red Dog Saloon. It looked like a baby clothing place. Zipper pulls from Wm Spear shop upstairs few doors behind RedDog, they have a web site. Taku Smoked Salmon on the dock, great recipe on the box. All in Juneau.  I buy each on every visit to Juneau. 

I have zero interest in that knife, I prefer a good chefs knife.

On 10/9/2019 at 1:42 AM, slidergirl said:

Kanab or Springdale or Hurricane?  Big Water???   I'll be passing by on my road trip in a few weeks: Moab, Arches, Canyonlands, Bear Ears, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Zion, and back home.  Solo camping time!  I  was going to do 16 weeks, but my boss is taking vacation at the same time so I can't be away that long.  Only doing 10 days...

I am green with envy! Your road trip covers some of my favorite places in the whole world and you are doing it the perfect way. No cruise can come close. Have a wonderful time.

We drove to Alaska, cruised many times, last cruise was with one pair of shoes. Wore New Balance black leather sneakers, will do the same next summer.

On 8/24/2019 at 4:11 PM, Vera/Lee said:

The most important piece of advice that I would like to give you, is to pick one cruise line and stick with them. The loyalty programs have awesome benefits!!! I wish someone had told me that 50 years ago. But, if you don't plan on cruising a lot, it's not as important. We cruised to Alaska in July on Princess (for a Cousins Cruise) and we really missed our loyalty perks from Royal. (Glacier Bay is BEAUTIFUL!)

We are D+ on Royal Caribbean but when we go to Alaska it is on Holland America with a balcony. We drove to Alaska, few years ago, and decided Denali  was great but SE Alaska was better (went back to lower 48 on the ferry). Our 12th trip to Alaska is booked   for next season, it will be our third time on the Oosterdam . We like Hubbard glacier better than glacier bay. Favorite port is Sitka, least favorite is Skagway. Every port is easy walking to interesting sights and activities. There is no need to buy a shore excursion if you are on a budget. My favorite excursions have been Whale Watch with Harv and Marv (5 people on the boat), seaplane to Taku Lodge, Rental car to Carcross (rode the train one year, hated it, I’m more interested in scenery). 

I can can not think of a single loyalty perk I miss when going to Alaska. I go for scenery and photography. I will not go without a balcony and all the photos I’ve taken from there.

12 hours ago, pstone1 said:

I for one would rather see Royal spend their money on better food quality than their menu design.  The food in cheap chain restaurants rarely comes looking like the menu photos anyway.  

Agreed.

We were on Liberty OTS last month. The bed was HARD, too hard, even after the steward put a foam pad on it. (And the pad was not as wide as the mattress.) Miserable. My hips were so sore I was happy to see the end of that cruise. Everything else about the cruise was wonderful. 

4 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

It worked just fine for a 7 night Alaskan cruise plus 4 nights in Vancouver and Whistler.  🤷‍♀️  We had unlimited laundry at a fabulous price, so we sent out a bag every day and had clean clothing whenever we needed it.  No need to check luggage.

Works fine for us, too. 

Good for you! OK let’s take this to the next step! I like to use Photoshop Elements layers to make my whole page with background, scanned objects, photos arranged as I like and save it. Then put it in Booksmart as if it were one whole page picture. First step is deciding the size of your finished page and use those measurements as your Photoshop Elements background. Takes more work to make this kind of page, but with great results.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Oops! My photo books look better than my posts!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank you for the photo book feedback. I'll have to check out Booksmart. I am willing to trade a higher learning curve for the best photo reproduction I can get, the one that looks most like actual photos (which My Publisher was great at). I also like to really customize the pages with my own backgrounds and such. I spend a lot of time on them because it's fun (DH says maybe way too much time). :) I like to include text descriptions and I scan things like our cruise cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was thinking of trying Mixbook based on these rankings from Tom's Guide:

 

Photo Book Services Ranked

 

 

 

1. Mixbook Photo Book ( on From $11.99 - Save up to 45%) - 9/10 stars - Read the Mixbook Review

 

2. Apple Photo Book ( on From $9.99) - 8/10 stars - Read the Apple Photo Review

 

3. Picaboo Photo Book ( on From $19.99) - 7/10 stars - Read the Picaboo Review

 

4. Shutterfly Photo Book ( on From $15.99) - 6/10 stars - Read the Shutterfly Review

 

5. Costco Photo Book ( on From $19.99) - 5/10 stars - Read the Costo Photo Review

 

6. Snapfish Photo Book ( on From $12.99) - 4/10 stars - Read the Snapfish Review

 

7. Amazon Photo Book ( on From $8.99) - 4/10 stars - Read the Amazon Print Services Review

 

8. Nations Photo Lab ( on From $29.00) - 3/10 stars - Read the Nations Photo Lab Review

Good for you! OK let’s take this to the next step! I like to use Photoshop Elements layers to make my whole page with background, scanned objects, photos arranged as I like and save it. Then put it in Booksmart as if it were one whole page picture. First step is deciding the size of your finished page and use those measurements as your Photoshop Elements background. Takes more work to make this kind of page, but with great results.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Melody that's so you. Very nice find. I popped into TJMaxx over the weekend but just came out with navy pants. Not very interesting, but do you think I can find my blue pants anywhere? How does that happen??

 

 

My Mexican Riviera photo book arrived. It looks merely ok, so I am not happy with Shutterfly. The pictures look too dark and muted. So, I'm on the hunt for a different book maker. Boy do I miss My Publisher, they made a great product.

I use Blurb for photo books. I download their Booksmart

program to my computer, create the book and then upload to Blurb. I get the image wrap cover and the cheapest paper. Have several books of assorted sizes and happy with them. In addition to your book you can buy a PDF copy of the book. I put that on my iPad and phone. Blurb “hides” Booksmart, it was at the bottom of the web page last time I looked. They were pushing another program, Bookwright, which I hate. It’s not nearly as user friendly as Booksmart. Look around and you can find it. It’s free.

I do not like the Blurb app for the iPhone you do not have enough control and it’s too expensive.

I made one Shutterfly book and one Adorama. Was not thrilled with either. Costco said I had to buy two books as they were only sold in pairs. Nope! Back to Blurb.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I may have been the one to start the use of these pads! I posted about this a year or two ago. I was so terribly uncomfortable on one of my cruises, it was either find a solution or stop cruising with RCCL. In desperation, I ordered one on Amazon (I think in 2015 or 2016.) It has made my cruise sleeping experience so much better. I have been on at least 3 cruises with my Klymit. My husband loves a hard bed and begged me to get him a Klymit too! Now we both cruise with these.

 

They easily pack into a carry-on and are re-usable. There is no need to buy a foam pad for every cruise that only gets disposed of. They are very easy to inflate and very comfortable. I started with the standard size/thickness, then moved up to the Luxe version. It is much more comfortable IMO. I have attached photos of the regular (green) and the Luxe (grey) packed so all who are interested can see just how compact they pack up. When you put two side-by-side, they fit Royal’s beds perfectly. They even have the curve on the end. I put them under the mattress pad. I don’t need to adjust or inflate them all week. The Luxe is $74 and the regular is $54 on Amazon as of today.

 

Luxe: https://www.amazon.com/Klymit-Static-Luxe-Sleeping-Pad/dp/B00J972O8Q/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1535854372&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=klymit+static+v+luxe&psc=1

 

Regular: https://www.amazon.com/Klymit-Static-Lightweight-Sleeping-Green/dp/B007RFG0NM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1535854444&sr=8-4&keywords=klymit+static+v+luxe

How are they inflated?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I just wonder if the people who use it know. It was on 60 Minutes some months ago. A quick Google search is helpful.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Where does this oil come from? How is it made?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Bed will not be long enough but he’s probably used to that. DH is same height. Have not been on Anthem but all our cruises have had head bumping signs in the hallways. Showers have been short, really short if there’s a tub. Never had a problem with room ceiling unless there’s a sprinkler. Doorways are short. Those little green exit signs are terrorizing as are the metal arms above doors. They reach out and whack heads with a little ball bat. They are vicious.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We’ve used them, and were very happy with them.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

There are three ways to get to Galveston, we never use I-45. A road atlas and google maps will help you plan your route and check on congestion. Bing maps are a big help to plan mileage and how far you want to drive each day.

Then, I enter the waypoints, in segments to be sure it goes the way I want to go, into a Garmin gps.

Atlas, Garmin, and Google maps on the iPhone are my friends while on the road.

Never had a problem in Arkansas, or anywhere along the route you are likely to be following.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Must remember there is just one bridge that needs to be crossed to get on island a few years ago there was a accident which caused us a couple hour delay to get across the bridge .

We avoid that bridge by going to Surfside Beach (Near Freeport) Southwest of Galveston and going up route 257 to our hotel. We drive to the port and cut across from various places along I-35. This year it will be Waco. Easy to find on Google Maps.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We're Fishlips folks. We don't find it to be anymore crowded than Grills and also think the upper level is better for ship watching.

Is it difficult to find a parking spot?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I-45 will never be finished, that’s not how we build roads in Houston! Why do it all at once when you can keep going back and adding more lanes, little by little.

We come in from the Northwest and avoid I-45 by getting on the islands at Surfside Beach (near Freeport).

Sent from my iPad using Forums

. Red Sox game last night after getting up at 0230 & driving to Kansas City (96 degrees & 90% humidity & I’m not used to humidity!). Skin looks great, hair not so much! Thank goodness for hats! Melody

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You deserved to have your team win. I wouldn’t go across town for a ballgame in this weather! It’s been unusually miserable.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

In a GS on Brilliance of The Seas.

 

Sailing in 9 days.

 

Shouldn't the concierge have reached out to us by now?

Our email came when we were in the car, on the way to the port. Just keep checking and have a wonderful cruise.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I've not seen Rosario strings on any RC ship for over 5 years.

Loved them.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Park N Go

Easy to reach. Our hotel is north of 595 so we go south on

S Andrews Ave to Eller Dr and right around to their driveway.

Never have to get on the freeway, no traffic. (Look at Google map)

When going home it’s very easy to get right on 595.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Forgive me if this is discussed elsewhere, but we're new, so here goes...

 

 

 

We're in the middle of booking our first cruise, and we wanted to make the best choice for meals. We plan to use the Lido Buffet and room service several times, but we'd also like restaurant dinners as well. We prefer sitting alone, a table for two would be ideal. (Yes, I know people suggest that you mingle and make new friends on cruises, but we want to take it slow and quiet at first. We're not outgoing talkers.).

 

 

 

The Dining options we see are 1) As you wish. 2) First Upper Sitting (5:45) and 3) Main Upper Sitting (8:00)

 

 

 

After we make that choice, there is an option for Size of Table, and we know to select Small, 2 People table.

 

 

 

If we select As You Wish, that means we just show up any time, and just wait for a table? We may wait for a table for 2 (longer wait) or get seated sooner at a larger table?.

 

 

 

If we select the 5:45 or 8:00 sitting, the waits will be shorter, and the possibility for a 2-table will be better since it's reserved?

 

 

 

What if we choose 5:45 but we are out on an excursion until later? Or we eat a big lunch and just aren't hungry at 5:45?

 

 

 

Thank you for any advice.

We select any time dining but enjoy the quiet of dinner in the buffet. If dining tables for two are jammed too close together we will go to buffet for all meals.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We have been to Alaska several times. We make up our own walking tour in every port. We are, probably, in the same physical condition as the OP.

The Alaska State Museum a favorite in Juneau.

Sent from my iPad using Forums