ricruzer

thanks to all for the quick reply!!!

could anyone tell me if the water bottom is rocky when you enter it on Princess Cay? Do you need water shoes and will your feet get cut without them? Leaving on the Sky this Saturday!!

Thank you 

We were also on this cruise and cannot believe they will not give out free popcorn, especially when they show movies in the theater! They charge $2.50 plus gratuity for a total of $2.95 for a small box:(:( Also, no chocolates on our pillows at night:(:(Though the towel animals were cute:):)

definitely not a scam, we booked our trip thought our travel agent. Then after I received my reservation number from RCCL, I clicked on the $250 onboard credit reward in the my vegas game. It cost 100,000 gold chips.They send you a redemption code which you forward to your travel agent and that is all you have to do. A few hours later I had a $250 onboard credit added to my reservation!! It was very easy.

upstairs at the pool, most afternoons there was a band either playing or singing for a while. I think this may only be on sea days. Usually starting around 1PM there were some pool games, like volleyball, or dance lessons, then the band came on.

We never made it to the sunset bar, so sorry can not answer that part of the question.

how about the bubblers, cabinets ,hot wieners, eclipse coffee syrup and of course Del's lemonade!!!

also to Janetz, I am not a coffee drinker so I do not know what time they brew the coffee. You could probably call Celebrity and they can tell you

I am curious as to what else you call your hamburgs? also , it was my name that I figured gave you the clue to where I live

Yes, I am from Rhode Island. We should have stayed in Florida got a foot of snow yesterday

The hideaway is midship on deck 7,you actually see it when using the glass elevators in midship, It is a great place to relax,nice comfortable chairs!!

we really thought Ralph was really funny. He was especially funny as he was a panelist in the Liars show with the captain!! The casino is nice but it looks like the slots are pretty tight from the ones we played. They do have a good selection of older and newer machines. The 3 card poker table seemed very popular. Remember if you have any on board credits, you can use them in the casino. You have to go to the casino cashier first to convert them Once you convert them,

you cannot switch them back.

Embarkation - arrived at port around 10:30am and started checking in, very small lines at this time, finished check-in in about 20 minutes and boarded ship at 11am when it opened. Rooms are unavailable till all are ready, this occurred at 1pm. luggage was delivered to room about 3:30pm.Oceanview café is open and food available from 11am.

Oceanview café is good place to eat. It is set up in stations so very little wait time getting food. Tables were a little hard to find during peak breakfast and lunch times. HINT go to back of café and out on the deck, eat outside, tables were always available. Many different types of stations, hot and cold.

Pizza/pasta available from 11:30am till 1:00am..

Ice cream available from 11:30am till 10:00pm

Hamburgs and hotdogs on deck 14 at mast grill very good open 11:30 till 6pm. also available here is soft serve ice cream from 11:30 to3:00pm. Soft serve also available at the aqua spa café from 12 noon to 2pm

If you have balcony cabin rooms next to someone you are traveling with, you can have the balcony door opened between them. You just ask the room steward and he will open it for the week.

for those of you with select dining, it is a good move to make reservations on line before you go. We made ours for for 6:15 or 6:45 every night, then you just go up to the hostess and give your cabin number and you get seated right away. though it looks like no one was waiting more than 15 minutes for a table. we actually asked for the same area each night and got the same waiters. It worked out very well, Food is very good in the main dining room.

As for the ports

Puerto Rico - a good place to get off the ship and take a quick walk and get back for dinner!!

St Thomas - Plenty of taxi's available right outside where the ship docks. It is $4 per person to get to downtown. Good place to shop. you must negotiate anything you buy. I was buying a watch and found out you can get a better price using visa or mastercharge than American express due to the percentage charged to the business owners. Just say to the salesman is that the best you can do after he gives you his first price? HINT, get your best price and then offer a little less and

say you will pay cash, it worked for me!!

St. Martin - best way to get to Philpsburg is using the water taxi available where the ship docks. It is $7 round trip per person and they run every 10 minutes. It goes right from the ship and lets you off at the dock, where there is a beach right there. It is not the fanciest but works, they have beach chairs and umbrellas right there to rent. The water looked great!! When you are done at the beach, the main street of shops in one block behind it.

Captain Kafetzis is the funniest captain we have ever had especially during his announcements, Be sure no to miss the Liar's Club show starring the captain, it is the funniest show that needs to be seen. It is a 10:15pm show

The ship is very nice, clean and well maintained. Be sure to use the midship glass elevators as they go from deck 2 to deck 15 the view is great. For you coffee drinkers stop on deck 7 and check out the "hideaway" room as they have coffee and tea available all thru the day at no charge. It is easier than going up to the café on 14 to get some.

As for the shows, the 2 comedians, Robbie Printz and Ralph Harris, and 2 music groups they brought on board, they were the "Tenors of Rock" and 'The Fly Boys", were excellent.

Concerning the dress code, on smart casual night for the men regular jeans or dockers with a polo shirt was fine. On evening chic nights, NO tie or jacket was needed, just dress pants and a dress shirt is fine and much more comfortable!!

Getting chairs near the pool was challenging on sea days , but if you use decks 14 or 15, you could usually find some. There is a lot of covered shade lounges available on board depending where the sun is in the am or afternoon. No problem getting lounges on port days.

Disembarkation - you must be out of your room by 8am. Your luggage must be out by 10pm the night before. Hint, do not forget to bring a small overnight bag to put in your toiletries and clothing from the night before. Everyone was off the ship by 9:45am

Finally, brush up on your trivia as there are contests all the time with tickets given out to the winners and those who answer questions. At the end of the cruise, they set up a table with all the prizes you can cash in your tickets for. Of course they all have a celebrity logo!!

That is all I can think of for now, if there are any questions post them here and I will try to respond

thank you for the info

our agent said because this room is on a slant, the balcony is bigger. Has anyone been in this room and can 4 chairs fit on the balcony as we are traveling with friends. thanx for your help

you should have enough time,but if you do not,in Ketchican they have many shops right next to the docks and many of the stores with souvenirs are the same ones,especially tee shirts and alaska knick knacks!

I just came back today and i purchased a Nikon L840 before leaving for $199.

It was very good but at full zoom it was hard to get a focused pic. It is an easy camera to use. Whatever camera you get,you must have a good zoom on it especially for photographing the animals or bald eagles. The pics came out very well and you can also take good videos. For this price,I thought it was a good camera and serves its purpose. I have the iphone and while close up pics came out good,the distance shots of the glaciers and animals we not very impressive!

If you are planning a whale watch in Juneau,which we did last wednesday,we used Orca enterprises with captain Larry. It was cheaper than the ship ,he will find the whales,their office is right where the shuttle leaves you off. It was no problem and his boat is jet engined to get to where the whales were. They work their tour times in accordance to the ships port times. Also add the Mendenhall glacier part of the tour. It was one of the most beautiful spots we saw. They only drop you off and pick you up but it was very convenient coming off the whale watch. After they pick you up they will drop you either at the shuttle spot downtown or take you directly back to the ship. This day was the best one of our cruise!!

I can now answer my own question,we just got off the grand today. We had anytime dining,we never had to wait for a table for four, and on the two formal nights,I would guess about 3/4 of the men had on either of the following dress: suit plus tie: suit or sport jacket with no tie: or just a shirt and tie with no jacket. The rest wore just pants and a shirt. However, no one looked or cared what other people wore, so I would say dress anyway you feel comfortable!! I wore suit with no tie and was very comfortable.

we are off the Grand today! we did denali and mckinley first,here is a little hint for you. you need to keep an empty backpack or small carry on with you for the mornings you leave,because you must put out your luggage early in the am.They would pick up the luggage outside your door at 6 or 7 am and your bus usually does not leave for a few more hours. So you need a bag to put your nightclothes and morning toiletries in.

Going on the Grand next week, can anyone tell me if you can get hot chocolate all day complimentary or do they charge you each time if you do not have a beverage package.

thanx everyone for all the replies, we leave Tuesday am!!

thanx for quick reply. I think I am leaning to comfort over looks!

sorry to ask this question again, but we are traveling on the Grand in 2 weeks and would to know for sure if I need to wear a suit and tie on formal night or just pants and dress shirt will do! I would appreciate hearing from anyone who just sailed on the Grand in Alaska. Thank you