Emfagan

There are great ideas here 

https://www.amazon.com/shop/cruisetipstv

20 minutes ago, sellwingri said:

MDR at lunch is the only time and place to get the wonderful tutti salad. I’ve been waiting 16 months for one so they’ll have at least 2 of us there next week.

Was the Tutti salad available?

We tend to stay in Houston the night before the cruise due to the rates in Galveston.  The options are more plentiful and more economical!

44 minutes ago, molly361 said:

You have to go all the way thru the booking process and after entering all name etc on the page where you would pick insurnace and prepaid grats is the amount to make it refundable.  All suites and guarantee cabins are non refundable although some have posted that they were able to get refundable on a guarantee

are junior suites non-refundable deposits?

Check out @therealcarlospena on Instagram.  He has a great video on his latest post.

My husband and son had to do this on Ovation in May

14 hours ago, Family9Osheap said:

Thinking there will not be as many young folks on Alaska cruise as there is on Carribean, etc. ones.  How are the Flowrider lines?  How often is it open?

there were rides times daily on our May 24th cruise.  My son and husband rode daily with low wait times.  Our coldest day was in Seattle and they were both shivering in the wait line but water was warm when they were riding.

Forgot to mention our shore excursions

Juneau - private whale watching tour with Harv and Marv's.  We had to book a private book since we had kids joining us (vendor restrictions).  It was a great trip with Captain John and we were able to see 6 whales in 2.5 hours!

Skagway - private tour to Yukon and dog sledding - great trip with Nichelle that brought along the road to Yukon/Emerald Lake with many scenic stops along the way.  We were did the dog sledding experience at Caribou Crossing.  Kids loved this experience.  We stopped at Carcross on the way back for lunch at The Bistro.  Total trip was 7 hours

Victoria - took the water taxi from Fisherman's Wharf to Chinatown.  We then walked downtown and back to the ship.  We stopped at an irish pub (Irish Times) for lunch which was great.

I was on the May 24th sailing.  Here are some of my highlights:

Embarkation - it was not ideal as it was the first Ovation sailing from Seattle.  Luggage porters were not ready/prepared for the large number guests.  We were late leaving Seattle due to the luggage still being loaded on the ship.  This caused a late arrival into Juneau and long lines to exit.  But we did stay later in Juneau to make up for the late arrival.

Inside activities - inside activities like trivia, bumper cars, etc were packed!  Not sure if it was due to Alaska sailing forcing people inside.

Adventure Ocean - kids loved going here and rated it 10 out of 10.

Shows - Two Funny Guys (headliner) was a hit for all in our party!  Pixels was ok.  We wished the Live, Love, Legs was kid appropriate as my daughter would have loved the costumes.

My Time Dining - highly unorganized on the first day and they didn't have our reservations made online (even though we could see it in the App).  We changed to Traditional Dining and had a great experience.

Disembarkation - was a seamless exit off the ship as we did self-disembark.  My in-laws did the Port Valet and their luggage made it back to our home with no issues!

Let me know if there are other questions!!!  Loved our trip!

11 hours ago, AlanF65 said:

How was the sailing on the 24th? What were the menus like? Did you have fun?

We had a great time.  It was our kids first cruise and they are addicted for life!

The first day was disappointing with MTD not having our reservations we made online and taking almost an hour to get our food.  We switched to traditional dining for the 2nd night and had an amazing waitstaff with Ronald and Gerwina in Chic.  The food quality was on par with previous cruises.  The horseradish salmon was a nice alternative daily when the rotating items were not ideal.  They ran out of salmon by day 7 however.

Eagerly anticipating this review, we board Ovation on May 24th in Seattle!

16 hours ago, pdr997 said:

Opinion please.  We will be booking for Juneau a whale watching tour and Mendenhall glacier and want the best for whale watching experience of course.  Thoughts please on booking through the cruise lines available excursions or finding one on our own?  Cruise line makes it easy but I do want to make sure we get a good group to go out with.  

Thanks all!

Patty (& Darrell)

We have booked Harv & Marv's whale watching tour in Juneau based on high recommendations from friends.  They have smaller boats than the cruise line excursions.

When we were on Harmony, there were several different designs.   If you don't like the design of the one in your room, you could exchange it.  I had unfortunately taken off the clear wrapping so I could not exchange it

On 2/13/2018 at 8:17 AM, betterthanvegas? said:

We are booked into room 6137 (interior) in November which appears to be new. Does this cabin exist? Thanks a million!

How was this room?  Looking to book for a future cruise

We stayed there 3 years ago and there was a grocery store within walking distance.

We tend to like faster paced meals. The waiters are normally accommodating to this if you mention it!

Well I'm onboard now and sad to find that my two favourite spots on the oasis aren't on this newer ship :(

What were your spots?

I would like to reiterate what the others have said about Horseshoe Bay. It is wonderful and do take the $7 shuttle vs public transportation. The line will be shorter and will take you down the hill.

We also had a great snorkel trip by Restless Native Catamaran. Zander is a native of Bermuda and gives an excellent trip with fantastic rum swizzles.

We tried to sign up on day 1 like others at Seaplex. They took our room number and was supposed to call. They never called. We tried to show up for several times on the last sea day but it was full for reservations until the last one of the day. It was worth it, I would like others have said and book thru Guest Services.

From your first post, you stated...

2. Emailed the dining coordinator a few weeks in advance to request a 4-top for dinner.

How do you do this? My request for a 2 top is never fulfilled.

Following

Love connection!

On the Jewel in May, they offered 1 class during sea days on the pool deck

We took the city bus from the main bus terminal (close to cruise pier) to Moomba. It took about 30 minutes and then 5 minute walk down to beach from bus stop. $2.30 per person...can't beat it!

My husband paid for 1 boxing class on our cruise in 2008, he said it was the best workout of his life but really enjoyed it. It was mainly an aerobic exercise with gloves and punching bags.