renee1222

Reservations are only needed for the Ice Show, and they are NEEDED for the Ice Show! I highly recommend you make reservations online from home once they are available (45-60 days in advance, maybe?). Also, there will be a long line (of people WITH reservations) develop outside Studio B for the show 45-60 minutes ahead of time. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the show, so definitely plan to get there early to get decent seats.

We were on Freedom in October. There was a broadway style show with the singers/dancers, and "Once Upon a Time", a unique spin on some fairy tales. There is still the Ice Show. It was very similar to the one we had seen Dec 2012, but still very good and entertaining. There was a comedian who did brief acts during the welcome aboard/farewell shows as well as an aerial performance during the farewell show. We enjoyed all the shows.

Our only minor complaint was the Magician. We had seen the Magic Show in Dec 2012 and enjoyed it very much. In Oct 2013, there was a different magician, so we were looking forward to a different show, "his" show. It was the exact same show....just different magician. At the end of the show the magician gives a heart-wrenching story about creating "snow" for a little boy in the hospital he had visited. Amazingly, BOTH magicians had met the same boy in the hospital and created the "same" magic act to create snow. So, in essence, it is Royal Caribbean's magic show for whatever magician is onboard to perform. Maybe that's standard in the entertainment industry, but we didn't like how they tried to pull it off as if the story were unique to them. If you go in, knowing it is the same show, maybe you won't be disappointed.

With the typical singing/dancing and even ice shows, I was expecting the same show, as I know they obviously cannot recreate sets and learn new shows every week. But with the magician, I guess I was thinking of him more like a headliner, where if it was a different performer, the show would be different....kind of like different piano bar performers.

Just my 2 cents....

Just realized....my avatar picture was taken at Nachi Cocom. :)

The ship that got my hubby hooked on cruising...what more can I say???

FYI - This thread will be moved to the "Cozumel" board sooner or later. You will be able to find many more reviews there. Almost all of them are positive!

I have done Nachi twice now and would definitely do it again! It is very reasonably priced and the service is spectacular. The food is average to good...very subjective, but I have never gone hungry. Personally, I like the guacamole and grilled shrimp The waiters are always ready to bring you a refill of your beverage of choice. It is a wonderful, relaxing beach day.

They will try to push their beach massages, parasailing, and other activities that cost extra when you first arrive, but a polite "no, thanks" is all you need if you're not interested.

Enjoy your trip!

For the commenter who asked how to book this excursion, it is an independent excursion, not available through the cruise line. Just google "Nachi Cocom" and you should be able to find the company selling passes. I think it is "Island Marketing." You pay a deposit online to hold your spot and then you must pay the remaining balance upon arrival. At one time it was cash only on arrival, but I think this past time we were there they had a credit card machine...don't quote me on that though! You will need to take a taxi from port to Nachi....about 15 minutes and $16 for up to 4 people (each way). When you are ready to return to the port, just let your waiter know and they will call for a taxi. It was very efficient.

Yes, the reserved section on Jewel is in the center balcony. It was often almost empty 10 minutes prior with plenty of seats still available. Easy exit at the end of the show as well. I prefer the balcony seating, myself.

And, yes, I understand that you are a Gold status, without a Gold seapass card (and that you understand the difference). I, too, am a lowly Gold and occasionally take advantage of the Gold seating once it is opened to everyone 10 min prior to showtime (GASP!!!)

Just wanted to add that I just booked a last minute Enchantment for January at $189pp (Cheapest was $149 for inside guarantee, but we wanted the 7th deck). Taxes/fees were about $71pp and we also prepaid gratuities, $36pp. All in all, it came out to just under $600 for 2 of us....before gas, parking etc. We are not planning on adding any shore excursions, just enjoy a day at the beach at Coco Cay and probably stay on the ship in Nassau.

I think it is reasonable for a weekend getaway, and I would always choose an extra cruise if I had the opportunity!

We will be on a 7 night Serenade cruise. If there are shows on 2 different nights, will it be the "same" show as in the same performance routine, where we would just need to see it once, or are they totally different, where we would want to see both?

Thank you!

Where do you find a preview of the upcoming Tuesday sales?

I am researching possible flights for my Alaskan cruise next summer and found a red-eye leaving Vancouver at 11:15pm. I like this idea because it will allow me to tour Vancouver for the day after leaving the cruise, without having to get a hotel room, and arrive home early the next morning. (I will have a hubby and kids to get home to!)

Vancouver (and all of Canada, for that matter!) is new for me. The flight would route me through Toronto and then down to Nashville. Is Vancouver like typical airports, where arriving 1 or 1 1/2 hours prior to fight time is sufficient? How far is the airport from downtown and I assume taxis are easy to come by?

Of course, I will have at least one large piece of luggage with me. I have other family traveling with me who will be staying at the Executive Hotel Le Soleil. I am hoping to be able to store my luggage with theirs during the day and then go back to retrieve it in the evening.

Is the Executive Hotel convenient to the hoho trolley or other public transportation to attractions such as Stanley Park or Granville Island? I am thinking we will go straight from the ship to the hotel, drop off the luggage, and then set out to tour for the day. I will be traveling with my 81 year old grandmother, so we will not want to be walking all day.

Any ideas or suggestions to this plan would be greatly appreciated!

Hilton Rose Hall is very nice. It cost us $94 this past spring, but I see on the website that they have increased that to $114.

 

http://www.resortforaday.com/product-p/mbfmjahr.htm

 

Did I have a good time? yes.

 

Would I spend that much money again? no.

My thoughts exactly. We were just there in October (still $94 then) for the first time. It was an enjoyable day but seemed a little expensive compared to other all inclusive resort days we have done elsewhere. If the price has since increased, I am positive we would not repeat.

We will be returning to Falmouth in January and plan to mostly stay on the ship, maybe just walk through the port area for a little while.

Seaview Cafe also has fish & chips, clam chowder, and onion rings. It really is fantastic and is included in the cruise fare. Jewel is the ONLY ship in the fleet that still has it. Enjoy it while you can because when she is refurbished in 2016 the Seaview will be replaced with Izumi (I think)

Serenade! 2 extra days is a huge bonus! We did the 5 night out of Tampa last January and it was fun, but would have loved 2 extra days. This January we're doing the Serenade out of NOLA. :)

Also, since you are from Shreveport, the additional cost for the 2 extra nights would even out with the additional cost of (most likely) flying to Tampa.

We did the 7.5 hour Chilkoot tour this summer with our two daughters 18 and 20. Train up, bus down with dogcart ride. The time went very quickly. The bus stopped numerous time for photo ops and the driver was very talkative. I would highly recommend the tour. It was our favorite excursion.

Ha! Renee, When I first saw this post, I thought, I didn't post a response to that thread again. Someone hacked into my account! I don't have 18 and 20 year old daughters! Then I did a double take and checked the screen name again. :)

I think this would be a great tour, just not sure the rest of my party is going to want to spend that much on an excursion. They've already said that a whale-watching excursion was the only "expensive" excursion they would be able to do.

You didn't board until almost 7pm? I thought that US law required you board 90 minutes before departure? This will be my 1st Alaskan cruise. I am just used to Caribbean cruises where we board as early as possible, usually 11am, so I am slowly adjusting my expectations.

And I thought taking the 6 hour Kenai tour, ending at 5:30, would be "cutting it close!"

Thank you! So I guess we plan to either eat before 6:00 or after 8:00.

We sailed Freedom in October (and last December) and self-debarked a little before 7:00am both times. In October we were through customs and at our car in the parking garage by 7:15. If you need to debark early, I would highly recommend the self-debark option, as it was easy and painless. They do require that you have 1 available hand to hold onto the escalator railing, so keep that in mind with luggage. We just piggybacked 2 of our pieces and it worked fine.

In Skagway I am interested in the White Pass Summit railroad. The ship excursion is $125. I am just curious if anyone has a recommendation of booking independently with Chilkoot. I have heard good reports about them and wonder if it is significantly cheaper or a better experience overall. I tried calling today to get quotes, but they were closed (Veteran's Day, I assume). We would probably just do the 3 1/2 hour train/bus tour.

With the 8pm departure time, I am just curious as to how the muster drill works, as I assume it would occur around 7:30pm. Is it planned between the 1st and 2nd seatings for the MDR? We have MTD, so are we limited as to when we dine the 1st night so we are not interrupted by the muster drill? If we take the Kenai tour, we will not be boarding until around 5:30.

The Serenade has been in the Mediterranean all summer, and there is not a regular lobster option (other than the upcharge) on European cruises. The Serenade will soon reposition to New Orleans to begin caribbean cruises. There will be lobster available at no charge on the 7 night caribbean cruises on the 2nd formal night.

I am open to doing something in Seward, but I would still like to get to the ship by about 5pm. Once we get off the train, what do you do with your luggage? Is there a way to get it to the pier while we're doing an excursion? Also keep in mind, we are traveling with my 81 year old grandmother. She may not be able to do anything that requires a lot of walking after several busy days of travel. I would be interested in the Kenai tour, but probably not 6 hours (because we will not arrive until 11am). Are there different options/lengths of tours?

Traveling to Alaska for the 1st time next summer. I will be meeting 2 family members in Anchorage (we are flying from different cities). I feel kind of lost because I am usually the "Type A" always in charge of planning for our family, but am taking a backseat on this one (still not 100% sure I will be able to make the trip).

It looks like the earliest I will arrive in Anchorage is around 7pm on a Thursday night. After factoring in baggage, transportation it may be late. Hopefully some sort of restaurant will still be open...but I doubt I will be able to do much else that night. Not sure what hotel we will be at yet. I think my aunt is renting a car and may be arriving a day earlier, so they should be able to pick me up from the airport.

Friday morning I am hoping we take the train to Seward. It departs at 6:45am. What time do we need to get to the station to check-in, load luggage, etc. How far in advance do we need to purchase tickets? How would that work with having to return a rental car? Can you return the car that early and then do they have a shuttle or would we have to taxi to train depot? Or should they return the car Thursday night when they pick me up and just take a taxi to the hotel and then again to train depot?

How far is the port from the train station? Do we need to take a taxi? Are they readily available?

Is there anything that might be a "must do" in Seward before boarding? I typically like to board as early as possible, 11:00ish, but this cruise does depart until 8pm . I'm kind of considering the train ride as the "excursion" for the day, unless there is anything else that we really shouldn't miss (and that's not terribly expensive!).

I'm pretty sure we will be doing ship excursions, so I'm not too worried about that.

Vancouver - I've read something about the hop on/hop off bus system I think. Can someone explain and also what would you recommend to see? We will have all afternoon and evening in Vancouver. I will fly out the next day.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Alaska seems like a foreign country to me when it comes to planning!

I will be traveling with family to Alaska next summer. One family member mentioned that she is planning on just bringing loafers (as opposed to any sort of boot, waterproof or otherwise). We will not be doing any strenuous hiking or anything, as we will also be traveling with my 81 year old grandmother. So, primarily walking around the ports, etc. I think we are considering a tour of Mendenhall Glacier and a whale watching tour. Will loafers be appropriate? I am also concerned about what shoes my grandmother might wear as she does not normally wear tennis shoes or hiking boots of any kind.

Compared to Freedom, I was disappointed with Jewel's production show, City of Dreams. It is the only show that I have left early (we stayed halfway through the 3rd song and couldn't take anymore). I enjoyed the rest of the entertainment on Jewel from what I recall.

Freedom's shows were MUCH better, and the orchestra was outstanding. The ice shows are also spectacular! Not to be missed!