welshrich

We did Anthem last year after the restart, low capacity and it was fantastic, didn't notice any issues with lack of staff, was so nice to have space in the MDR, only downside was watching a show with hardly any audience which adds to the performance sometimes.

Recently did a b2b on Radiance at what seemed like full capacity, staff great, downside was being on a 2 top for meals in the MDR and the next table being so close we might have been on the same table.

First cruise was 2007 Western Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas, we'd always done land vacations and was hesitant as sure I would be bored, how wrong was I, loved it and didn't want to get off the ship at the end, we were in an inside promenade cabin and I learned the lesson about closing curtains the hard way! Enjoyed things that have now gone away such as midnight buffet, after dinner liqueur shooters and mints on the pillow.  Recently did our 45th cruise on Radiance to Alaska and still love the feeling of being onboard, it feels like coming home.

We recently attended while we were on a b2b on Radiance, you could always ask the server nicely for a drink from the bar and get one but we were told it was limited to the tray drinks they carry around.  We did not attend the following week.

16 minutes ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm mistaken, but I didn't think Emerald was eligible. Can anyone confirm/deny?

Recently on Radiance I'm sure it was for Platinum and above.

15 minutes ago, bigeck said:

I think you got an upgrade

I think we did too.

We are on Vision Oct 1 for a b2b for 5 and then 8 nights, wonder how they will manage this if we need to test, recently did a b2b and apart from the pre board testing we did not have to test for the second week,   

7 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Brilliance April 2023 14n Panama Canal is available with alot of the Great Cabins available!

We were booked on this with Enchantment, just had the email saying it's now Brilliance, was about to book airfare so just glad it's not a complete cancellation.

On 7/15/2022 at 12:18 AM, kruz said:

Captain Marek from Radiance started vacation about June 24. I don't know who replaced him though?

We were on a b2b during the changover, i think it's Captain Teo on there now.

4 minutes ago, Bound4Bermuda said:

I saw turkey on Oasis last week. Perhaps a supply chain issue? Not sure why they wouldn’t just forego the carving station for the morning.

That's interesting, we are on Vision in 10 weeks so will have a look, it was really delicious!

Hi

We recently did a b2b on Radiance, pleasantly surprised to see turkey at the carving station for breakfast in the WJ every other day, I've only ever seen Ham at breakfast time before now.   Is this a new thing across the fleet or something they just seem to do on the Alaska route as I've sailed Radiance before and did not see it then.

17 hours ago, imola said:

We are booked on this ship for a 3B starting in October.  Wondering if anyone who has been on the ship recently can share some insight about it.  We did 6 sailing on the Navigator earlier this year and found the ship to be really cool in the evenings but loved that ship and staff.   So wanting feedback on temperatures onboard, best food places, thing to try not to miss, etc as we have not sailed this ship before.  Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.  We are very excited for this trip.  This will be late birthday gifts to each other and an early celebration of 40 years together. 

Hi, we recently did a b2b in June, weather was cool on week one and then in the 70's on week 2, we found the temperature to be pleasant onboard the whole time, in the evenings I wore short sleeves, day times wore shorts all over the ship, could get quite warm in the solarium.   We enjoyed the champagne bar and the schooner bar as it was nice to sit and watch the world go by, ate in the MDR on week one and never had any issues and in the WJ week 2 which was also nice., ate breakfast in the MDR/Park cafe and WJ and was always pleasant.   The shows were pretty good, we did go to the port shopping show, was OK but went way over time.  We also liked seeing a movie as the ship has a cinema.   Hope this helps.

8 hours ago, DELTABLUE said:

ADVENTURE: Tornado Tanya Yates Tongue #116

ALLURE: Corey Rogers > 9-3, then Chris Brown #237

ANTHEM: Joff Eaton #204

BRILLIANCE: Jamie Fentiman #177

ENCHANTMENT: Eric Lopez #Me ,Bobby Broughton August> end of year #Me

EXPLORER: Elvis Pinto #214

FREEDOM: Chris Turdo > mid August #196

GRANDEUR: Thiago Motta #205

HARMONY: Dan Whitney #244

INDEPENDENCE: Rickey Matthews #35

JEWEL: Clo O'Connor #218

LIBERTY: Katy McCullagh #205

MARINER:  Mario Isla #229, Marc Walker returns 8-13/11-26  #95

NAVIGATOR: Mey Lau #104

OASIS: Mitch Merucci, as of 7-22-22 for 5 weeks #248

ODYSSEY: Ana Riberio from Portugal #170 >late summer then Mitch#155

OVATION: Mike Szwajkowsk #246

QUANTUM:  Mike Hunnerup #168, Steve Knisley 7/13 > 9/20 #187

RADIANCE: Ken Jones #142

RHAPSODY: Bill Brunkhorst, as of 6-16 #239

SERENADE: John Blair #52

SPECTRUM: Bonnie Bai #243

SYMPHONY: Brian Leavitt #190

VISION: Michelle Oliviera #126

VOYAGER: Katie Knowles #249

WONDER: Michele Scarpato as of 5-8-22, 

                              Mike Szwajkowsk returns Mid August #166

Ken jones is no longer on Radiance, we sailed on his last cruise and he was getting off on July 1st for Vacation

9 hours ago, mathmomof3 said:

We are going on our first Alaskan cruise on Quantum in August and I have a few questions:

1) how formal the  formal nights are in MDR as well as the dress for the rest of the nights.  Are jeans ok with a nice shirt - button down/polo?

2) are the pools heated?

3) what is the temperature for the indoor spaces?  I'm used to Caribbean cruises where we dress for the warm weather and bring a sweater.  Do they heat the indoor spaces?  

4) is it really as rainy as I'm reading?  do we really need rainpants?

Thank you for any suggestions you can offer - trying to pack only 1 suitcase and one backpack per person.

Hi

We just did Radiance last month for Alaska and have done Quantum on another itinerary.

Formal night was just dress your best, some people made the effort but the majority seemed to just wear jeans.  In the Dining room there seemed to be no dress code enforced, we saw jeans, shorts, tank tops and baseball caps.

When we were on Quantum, the indoor spaces all seemed pleasant, we are from the UK so it was never cold for us, the solarium pools seemed warm and the whole solarium a nice temp, we did not use the indoor or outdoor pool.

The weather in Alaska in June was changeable, we did a b2b, the first week in Juneau it was raining, the second week it was sunny and in the high 70's.

Hope this helps.

On 7/17/2022 at 11:43 AM, Tin can said:

 

Did that quite often on our recent cruise if having a beer at lunchtime around the pool to save the vouchers for the more expensive cocktails in the evening. I got the impression that for whatever reason some bar staff were not too keen to do this.

We had this on Anthem last year I had a coke package and even a couple of times a coke got taken as a free drink at the bar which then meant a trip to GS, same on Radiance last month, bought two beers using the BOFOF at lunch and had two drinks deducted from my 5 allowance.   Majority of time it worked well but I can see why servers may not be keen.

Hi, we were on her about 2019, yes, there is a diamond lounge and there was a concierge lounge too, both up in the Viking Crown, we are sailing on her again next year through the PC and looking forward to it as we like the smaller ships with more views.

We''ve just got off Radiance doing a b2b from Vancouver, having sailed Ovation as well I would choose Enchantment as imo there is more to see on this itinerary, granted Ovation has a nicer solarium and 270 but we spent a lot of time on radiance is the champagne bar and schooner bar just looking out as we sailed to take in the great views, and, we were off the ship so much it wasn't as if we were missing out on onboard activities.

Hi, yes, any observed test should be fine, we are having one done on Wednesday in the UK for a friday departure.

On 5/23/2022 at 8:02 PM, gumshoe958 said:

YMMV but I always find it easier to buy a proctored lateral flow test in the UK, take it with me and book a video call from my hotel the morning before the cruise.

 

Qured, DocHQ and others offer proctored tests for under £20 which are happily accepted by Royal just as they are for entering the USA.

Hi, I just bought some dochq tests,  when i go on to book the tests it asks for an address, do i put the hotel where i will be staying in the US?

We are going on a Southbound cruise from Seward and have a cruise tour booked.

RCI have just emailed with an update and testing is needed again for cruise tours, they had scrapped this on May 12th.

Just putting this out there for anyone going soon and may not see the emails.

Vaccination and Testing Requirements Vaccination All guests 12 and older must be fully vaccinated. Children aged 5 to 11 are not required to be vaccinated. However, kids who have been vaccinated may present proof and follow the fully vaccinated protocols. Additionally, all crew members onboard will be fully vaccinated. Full vaccination requires that guests have all doses of their COVID-19 vaccine completed 14 days prior to sailing. Children with one dose of a vaccine do not count as fully vaccinated for the purpose of our sailing. Please note: we will not accept a Certificate of Recovery in the place of a vaccination record. To understand our policy on accepted vaccines, including mixed doses, please visit our FAQ here. Entry Requirements It's critical that you review the travel guidance issued by each country you’ll be visiting on your sailing prior to travel. Failure to meet the requirements for each will result in denial of boarding. Here are some helpful links to get you started: United States Canada Testing Pre-Cruise All guests 2 years and older must present a negative COVID-19 test result. Vaccinated guests: PCR or antigen test must be taken no more than 2 days prior to sailing. Unvaccinated children ages 2 to 11: PCR test must be taken no more than 3 days prior to sailing — but not on boarding day. Antigen tests are not accepted for unvaccinated guests. No testing required for guests under age 2. Pre-cruise testing costs and scheduling are the guest's responsibility. UPDATE! Cruisetours: Guests must meet the above testing requirement prior to both their cruise and pre-cruise land tour. Guests should purchase an eMed Test Kit and bring it with them to meet the pre-cruise requirement. Guests who don’t bring their own test kit to the land tour will have a test made available to them through a local medical service provider at their own expense.

21 hours ago, Lizzim said:

It’s happened before when we can’t enter our proper address details (the website wanted a zip code which we can’t enter) so I’m pretty confident that’s the issue.

 

As it appears I can bring tests from the UK I’ll do that.

 

Thanks everyone 😁

Just went on to order some tests, where it asks for a flight date, would you put the cruise date instead?

5 hours ago, Challenger540 said:

Just following on from my last reply, I ordered mine yesterday and they are being delivered today by DPD. When you book your observed appointment make sure you adjust the time zone (top right of screen there is a drop down box). I have booked appointments for June and there are plenty available. DO NOT open or register your your test until the monitored appointment. The appointment is for one person only so I have booked 7.12-7.24 and then 7.24-7.36 for my husband.

Hope that helps.

thankyou for this, it's really useful.

59 minutes ago, bob63005 said:

I am on a July land tour, did royal send you something stating no test needed for land portion?

 

Hi, yes, it was on May 12th, an email about updated protocols that testing was only required for boarding the ship and not the RCI land tour.

Hello

We are on an RCI landtour in June before boarding Radiance of the Seas in Seward.  We don't need a test for the tour anymore but have been told to bring an eMed test to gain entry onto the ship.  As we are from the UK I'm not sure what type to get, is it the standard antigen test which the tour leader observes or does it have to be a proctored test?

On 5/10/2022 at 5:23 PM, Biker19 said:

Yes, they lowered it in March.

 

Biker, who wonders what "Premium" gets you on Norstar and is amazed with the ideas the RCI marketers come up with to separate folks from their money.

We were on Anthem last year when the charges started, the premium experience on Northstar seemed to be more on sea days and it went over the side of the ship, we did the complimentary ride which tended to be on a port day and usually just bookable from 8am on the day.

On 4/22/2022 at 8:34 PM, ace2542 said:

Why can you not do the fly/boarding ship test at the same time. We are on NCL flying May 20th and Boarding May 21st. I am virtually certain that we only have to do 1 test on May 19th and flying and boarding are covered in the same test.

Hi, we are flying in 5 days before the land tour part of the cruise so our test results will be out of date.