cruzgryphon

Don't believe it when they say those with excursions get priority disembarkation - when I was there last year, they weren't checking. The only priority was that those with excursions had their own passport control queues. The line will build fast - we were supposed to disembark at 8am and I went down around 7:50am and the line had already wound it's way up to deck 5. Even with that, I was out and through passport control by 8:30am.

If you're staying at a hotel in Seattle pre-cruise you could ask them if you can leave your luggage with them post cruise until you need to go to the airport. Then you've got some flexibility in terms of walking around, seeing and doing things.

You could also check with hotels to see if any of them offer day rooms.

Pike Place Market for sure. If you're into airplanes at all there are a couple of options such as the museum of flight or a trip out to the Boeing factory.

If it were private I would say cancel it.

Since it's an RCL excursion I'd be really surprised if they don't change the times to accommodate. Agree with the previous poster that unless you really need the money - leave it be and see what RCL does especially since you still have some time before your cruise.

Find out how many ships will be with you in Santorini and what times they will be leaving. It can get quite crazy trying to get down to the tender area - so based on what you find out, give yourselves plenty of time (walking or taking the funicular down).

Haven't heard of a group tender ticket before - mind you I travel solo so that might be the reason why. It's easy enough to blend in with the excursions going on tenders. Nobody checks to make sure you are actually on an excursion. When the excursions go to the deck where the tenders are, just join the line and you'll be fine.

For the evening dining - request main dining room not My Time Dining and as others have said - get a large table. They try and bring together other solo travellers and people with different last names in the same cabin (the assumption being they are friends travelling together). One key thing to remember is that if you're at a table and don't like the vibe of the table, asked to be moved to another table. It's your vacation and you deserve to enjoy it.

Whale watching excursion is a must do in Alaska. Typically the ones you see from the ship are quite far away and you really need to be alert to see them. As others have said take a private excursion instead of a ship's excursion (aka sardines in a can). Many of the private operators stay in touch so they know where the whales are and also so that not too many of them converge on a whale/ group of whales at the same time. See Alaska board for recommendations.

As others have mentioned, weather is a bit of a crap shoot. One thing to consider is what sort of wildlife you want to see. If you're interested in bears - then your best bet is about mid August on when the Salmon are running. Whales, Bald Eagles - you can see pretty much all cruise season (maybe, based on what I've been told, not as many whales in early May since they are still completing their migration back from warmer waters).

I think if you were doing self disembarkation you might reasonably be able to catch an 11am flight. With parents with mobility issues - I don't think that would be doable. Just my 2 cents.

Over the counter stomach remedies (Imodium if you have that in the States)/ cold stuff (Neo Citran) - hopefully you won't need them but you never know. Photo ID like a driver's license so you don't necessarily have to take your passport with you when you get off the ship at ports.

Thanks everyone. Didn't realize the price varied by ship - kinda strange, but it's Royal.

I tried the search function and couldn't come up with an answer so apologies in advance if this has already been asked and answered. I'm trying to find out the cost of booking Chops for dinner on the cruise planner in US dollars. I'm trying to figure out if the price in Canadian dollars is a good price or not ($46.55 Canadian so about $34.75 US). TIA

Agree with previous posters about the Mediterranean - east or west you can't go wrong. For a first timer though I'd recommend Eastern Med which features stops in Greece. Baltics are nice as well - lots of itineraries to choose from. Enjoy!!

Would definitely do the one way. On the round trip from Seattle you waste at least one day at sea before entering the Inside Passage. With the one way you'll spend the time in the Inside Passage and the northern part (can't remember if it's part of the Inside Passage or not, but at the least you'll have more scenery to look at compared to the round trip).

Exciting news. Uber now worlds in Galveston again! May be another option I believe it's quoting about $50 from hobby to the terminal.

Nuts - I wish Uber was available for people with BlackBerrys.

Dinner for men is pretty relaxed. Obviously no shorts/ torn jeans (although I've seen some men wearing it in the MDR - I'm just not that comfortable with it). Khaki pants and a "relaxed shirt" as you have mentioned are fine. For formal nights you'll see anything from men with just shirts and ties and nice pants all the way up to Tuxes.

For Cozumel I'd recommend the America's Cup Sailing excursion through RCL. You can be as active or inactive as you want and it's an actual race between two boats that competed in the America's Cup a number of years ago.

It looks like there is a Memorial Day Weekend sale on. Can't remember if it ends tonight or tomorrow night. Discounts on this like select excursions, drink packages, drink packages combined with Voom are what I can think of off the top of my head.

Got an email that Memorial Day sale has been extended and will end tonight at midnight.

Agree with others - go with My Time Dining. If that's not an option, then personally I would go with late seating. I find early dining times rushed when you get back from port and then you have to rush to get ready for dinner. With late dining I find I have time to unwind, lay down and enjoy a pre-dinner drink. Mind you I'm not that into the shows very much - so missing shows isn't an issue for me.

I wonder if any of the electronic rules will apply to digital cameras as well (like some of the SLRs). That could make things take longer.

I was on the Grandeur the second week of April. I used it mostly for Frappacino's and was told it was good for the medium size. I was on a 9 night and I found I didn't use

them all. Had 4 left. Can the remainder be used on a future cruise?

Officially no. The last couple of cruises that I have taken and used the card, they wrote the name of the ship and the sailing date on the card to prevent it being used on future cruises. If they didn't do that with your card and there is nothing indicating what cruise it was bought for - then definitely try it on a future cruise.

It looks like there is a Memorial Day Weekend sale on. Can't remember if it ends tonight or tomorrow night. Discounts on this like select excursions, drink packages, drink packages combined with Voom are what I can think of off the top of my head.

Somewhat related to this. Just saw a news vignette that the head of Homeland Security is now considering a proposal to ban all laptops from carry on luggage for international flights to and from the US. It would be interesting to see peoples' reaction to that if it goes through.

To provide a little clarity, you definitely need to print the Set Sail Pass, but that is separate from the document you're referring to. Luggage tags (last pages of the document you're referring to) are optional as you can get them at the port as well. I agree with Bob about the transfer vouchers (if you bought ship transfers) as you'll need them to board ship transfers.