sailingwithfriends

We were on Radiance in June. There are shower curtains.

I don't believe every ship has walls that are metal. On the Dream, they were. On the Sunshine, they were not. However, the door entering our cabin was. We used magnets to hang all the important papers. I guess I would take magnets just in case.

I completely agree with you. We sailed from Vancouver to Seward this past June. Fantastic views. We were able to see so much more than we would have if we had done a closed loop from Seattle. Unfortunately, all the sailings I searched on Carnival only had closed loop sailings. I suggest you plan to spend a couple of days in Vancouver. It was wonderful.

We sailed to Alaska on the Radiance on June 12th. I loved Alaska. If you click on my signature, you will see my mini-review. I didn't include photos since that are available on several other sites. We can't wait to return to Alaska again.

Your weather will be luck of the draw. We checked the extended forecast and it was fairly accurate. On our cruise (June 12-19) the weather was in high 50's-70's. We actually needed more short sleeved clothing. I needed a jacket with hood on one of the sea days when the ship was traveling at a faster speed. I would have gloves, a scarf and hat for Hubbard Glacier. I will say that there was a lot of jackets and sweatshirts for a reasonable price in ports, especially Ketchikan. I suggest you bring a foldable duffel bag in your normal luggage. If there weather is too cold, purchase clothing in Alaska. We checked the duffel bag as a second checked bag for $35.00 on our flight home. We loaded it with our souveniers. I did think people dressed fancier for dinners than I had imagined. I did take a couple of dresses, plus two pair of nice slacks and different shirts. My one pair of dress shoes matched all my nicer clothing. My husband took a sports coat for formal nights. The other nights he work khakis and polos. I would make sure you have a couple of pair of good shoes for walking. We did a lot of walking.

I hope you have as good of a time as I did.

We were on the Radiance last week. My husband purchased internet for the week for his phone for $140.00. It was very slow. On the last evening, we were unable to get on to check-in to our flights. The next morning while in port, we had no problem. They do sell one day of internet for $9.98 on the last day so people can make travel arrangements.

Differences I have observed:

RCCL: Drink prices are much higher.

You will receive a phone call to make sure you are awake if you order room service.

On formal nights, you will see a lot of tuxedos and fancy gowns. You will see other

people wearing church type dresses and even some jeans. More people dress up.

No bathrobe in cabin unless you have reached a certain level.

Not as many "free-already paid for in cruise price" restaurants.

Buffets are laid out nicely.

Telephone in room displays day and time.

CCL: Food is better in main dining room.

Waiters perform nightly.

Towel animals nightly.

Drink prices are cheaper.

24 hour a day pizza and ice cream. (RCCL has limited daytime hours)

Both cruiselines are more alike than different in my opinion. The cruises I have taken have been more expensive on RCCL.

Bath robe in every cabin.

We sailed on Radiance last week to Alaska. I felt so blessed to be able to see such beauty. I hope your trip is a wonderful as mine. Congratulations on your husband's retirement.

Thanks for the review! Doing the southbound in a few weeks!!

 

One question - for you or anyone else who might know. I see a lot of talk about how small the cabin showers are. Are there showers in the locker room at the fitness center that one can go and use? I know on Disney people will talk of doing that for more room or just if more than one person is needing to get cleaned up quickly. Just wondering if that is an option on Royal.

I am afraid I don't know the answer to that question. I know that many people use the larger showers in Carnival's gym also. I would imagine they would have showers for you to use. I understand the gym on Radiance is very nice.

We enjoyed live music almost every night on the ship. There was music in the Quill & Compass Pub, the Colony Club, The Schooner and the Centrum. I saw a lot of people dancing in the Centrum. My Cruise Compass says there is music in the Starquest on Deck 13 for adults. I believe that is where most of the dancing would happen. We never went to that part of the ship, so I can't expand. I did feel most people were in their cabin before 11:00. We listened to music until about 11:30 one evening and then the ship was quiet.

I wasn't aware of the times for the Market Place. I never came across the hours when doing my research. Otherwise, I would not have gone there.

My friend did not have any physical issues when we booked the cruise and hotel. Unfortunately, she did develop problems later on. We still enjoyed our trip. I just hate it that she struggled. I hope that other people that have problems walking will not select the same hotel we did if they want the hop-on/hop-off bus. When you do your research, it doesn't tell you there are hills involved. (At least none of the research I read gave me that info.).

Ports and Excursions:

We booked one or more excursions at every port. We booked them all through Royal Caribbean. I checked prices and the ship’s prices were almost the same. Plus, I had the guarantee to not be left behind. All of our excursions were great. We did book them several months before we sailed. I noticed the prices were higher on many of them after we boarded the ship. I was glad we got the cheaper price. I wish we had spent more time in each port. There was many more things I wanted to see and do.

Ketchikan:

We did two excursions here. The first one surprised me at how enjoyable it was. We took the Duck Tour. This sightseeing tour took you all over the town and on a boat ride. We learned a lot of history and fun facts about Ketchikan. This excursion is good for children and adults.

The second excursion we did was the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. This was very entertaining and informative. This show was great for both children and adults.

If you go to the right side of the pier, there is a free shuttle that will take you downtown. After we took our first excursion, we took the shuttle. It dropped us off at the Lumberjack Show. After the Lumberjack show, we did a little shopping and then took the shuttle back to the ship.

We did find the prices of souvenirs cheaper in Ketchikan than in any other port. My friend bought a great jacket for $15.00. We found the same jacket for $30.00 in Juneau.

Icy Strait (Hoonah)

This is a tender port. It is a very short boat ride. You do have to climb a steep ramp when you get off the tender boat. We did the Forest Tram with Tribal Dance Combination. I really enjoyed the tram. We had great guides that pointed out a lot of plants and animals. We saw several bald eagles. I was able to get a great shot of a bald eagle in her nest. After the tram ride, we went to the Tribal Dance. This was interesting. It told the history of the Native Culture through story and dance.

I think this excursion would be good for all ages.

Icy Strait is not as commercial as are the other ports. There is a gift shop, but only one. Inside the cannery there is a great museum that has a lot of interesting displays.

We walked down to the beach. My husband put his feet in the water. It was as cold as we suspected. I wish we had been able to do the zipline. At first, I thought I would be too afraid to do it. Once I saw it, I realized you sit in a swing like chair. We decided to try it. Unfortunately, the times that were left to ride it conflicted with our other excursion. I guess we will just have to go back to try it.

If you visit Icy Strait, it is a good day to sleep a little bit later and catch up on your sleep.

Juneau:

We also did two excursions in Juneau. The first one was the Mount Roberts Tram. It is located right at the port area. Your admission allows you to travel up the mountain as many times as you wish. I do recommend you do this early in the day. We went a second time in the afternoon. It was much more crowded and we had to wait a while to ride the tram down.

The views are beautiful on top of the mountain. There is also an injured bald eagle in a cage. You can get very close to take photos. If you have a fear of heights, it would be better that you sat down in one of the seats available. Once you get to the top of the mountain, I don’t think you would be fearful anymore.

The second excursion we did was Discover the Mendenhall Glacier. We were loaded on a motorcoach. The driver gave us some interesting information about Juneau and the glacier on the way there. He dropped us off and told us we had 1.5 hours until he would pick us up. This excursion requires a lot of hiking. Our friend that couldn’t walk as far did take an elevator to the visitors center and stayed there. She said the center was very good. Those of us that hiked did not have time to visit the center. Instead we hiked two trails. The first on takes you to a great view of the glacier. The second one (which is probably about 1.5 miles) takes you to the waterfall. If I could only do one, I would choose the trail to the waterfall. You can see the glacier there also. I do not believe we had enough time to enjoy this area. It really should have been at least 30 minutes longer. Small children would probably get tired walking the trails.

After this excursion, we returned to the ship for lunch. Then we went back into town to shop and look around. We ended up at the Red Dog Saloon. This is a fun place to have a drink and listen to live entertainment. We didn’t eat there, but the menu looked good.

Skagway:

We chose the White Pass Railroad and Alaskan Dog Sled Experience in Skagway. Both of these were wonderful. Today was foggy, so I worried we would not get to see the beauty of the railroad path. That ended up not being a problem because we rode the train last and the fog had cleared. First we loaded a motor coach that took us to meet an Iditarod musher and his dogs. He made the sport seem very exciting. We were able to see his equipment and pet his puppies. His dogs demonstrated their skills. Then we went back to the motor coach to Frasier, Canada. You have to have a passport to take this excursion. A border agent will board the bus to check passports. The views were unbelievable. We did follow a lot of the same paths as the train. The motor coach stopped a couple of times to take photos. After the motor coach, we boarded the train. My advice when riding the train is to sit on the right side going down and left side going up. Announcement are made telling you the history of the area. If you decide to stand outside on the platform, you will not hear the announcements. This might be a problem when the train stops to pick up hikers or when we go through a dark tunnel. You might be confused about what is going on. The scenery is wonderful. The history lessons were interesting. A customs agent will again board the train in the US to check passports. The only problem I had with this excursion was lack of information. When we returned to port, we were still a long way off from the ship. We simply got off the train and had no idea what to do. I was worried my friend could not make the walk back to the ship. I went up to someone and asked them for their advice. It seems we were suppose to have been told to board one of the many motor coaches sitting beside the train tracks. They didn’t tell us that so we were very confused. It didn’t matter which bus you got on. They took you back to port. You still had a long walk to the ship. A golf cart transported those that struggled with the hike.

We were tired at the end of this excursion, so we did not tour the town. I hope to be able to do that one day. Our second formal night was this evening.

Hubbard Glacier:

This was one of my favorite parts of the cruise. My advise is to get up early and dress warmly if you are going outside. I took my thermal mug and filled it with coffee. I liked being on the front of the ship. Many people decided to sit in the buffet or one of the other public areas. They were able to stay warm. However, I loved the cool air and hearing the quiet of the glacier. You would occasionally hear a thunder sound. I did not witness any calving. I did get to see a crew from out ship go out in a small boat to find a piece of an iceberg to bring on board. I never saw the ice, but I heard they were going to make an ice carving from it. The ship turned so everyone can see the glacier on the side and back.

Seward:

Because my husband didn’t have enough vacation days, we were not able to go with another couple in our group to Denali National Park. We had come home after our cruise. I spent a lot of time and did a lot of research to decide what we would do to get to the airport. I read great things about the town of Seward and I really wanted to see it. I also wanted to ride the glass domed train to Anchorage. After doing my research, I found an excursion that allowed us to tour the Kenai Fjords, the Sealife Center and would take us to the airport that evening. The excursion included an all you can eat salmon and prime rib buffet.

The ship came into port around 5:00 on Friday morning. We had packed out bags the night before. We did keep our carry on luggage and our back packs. We ate our breakfast and met our excursion tour at 8:30. This was very well organized. We were walked off the ship and lead directly to an old school bus. There was a U-haul type trailer next to our bus. We were allowed to put our carry-on luggage in the trailer. We then boarded the school bus to go to the Sealife Center. We stayed at the center for a couple of hours. We didn’t need the entire time, so we ended up walking around town to look in the cute shops. After two hours, our school bus took us to the port to board the boat that would take us on a five hour tour of the Kenai Fjords. The food was okay, not great. It was a little crowded on the boat. It is two levels. You are assigned a table. They called you number when it was time to get your food. You were allowed to walk around the boat and to go outside. There is another deck on the third level. We were so lucky. We saw Killer Whales, sea otters and other marine animals. There was a great National Park Ranger on board that give us great information. He also had a program for children. The children were able to earn badges. Dessert was served towards the end of the boat trip. I really enjoyed this excursion.

After the boat docked, we went back to the pier and collected our carry on luggage. We put it on a motor coach and then headed to Anchorage. I had been a little disappointed that I would not get to ride the train because I had read wonderful comments about the scenery. I was very pleased that our bus took the same route as the train. We were actually closer to the water than the train. I took some great photos of the mountains on our trip to Anchorage. The scenery got prettier and prettier the further north we traveled. We arrived at the airport at 9:00 PM. We collected our carry-on luggage and the pieces that were collected on Thursday evening. Those pieces were stored under the motorcoach. We then entered the airport. The Anchorage Airport is not nearly as large as other airports I have been to. It was easy to navigate. We checked our luggage and went to eat at Chilis in the airport. Our flight was not until 12:15 AM on Saturday, so we had plenty of time. The time went quickly. We used the time to charge our electronics. We boarded the plane at 11:45. We didn’t get back to Atlanta until 3:30 PM. Luckily, all went well with our flights and luggage.

I loved our trip to Canada and Alaska. I took over 5000 photos. My husband probably did the same. I have never seen such natural beauty. There is so much we didn’t get to do. We plan to go again in 3 years. Next time, I hope to be able to spend a lot of time inland.

If you have any questions, I will try and answer them. I hope you were able to get some suggestions and answers from this review.

I am hoping that this review can help those of you planning an Alaskan cruise. I learned a lot and got a lot of suggestions by reading other people’s reviews.

My husband, my aunt and uncle and two other friends were fortunate to be able to spend ten days in Canada and Alaska. Originally, there were supposed to be 8 of us. A month before we left, one of the ladies in our group found out she had cancer and would need to start treatments right away. I say this to emphasize the importance of trip insurance.

I am the one that usually does the research and bookings. I knew I wanted to go Northbound or Southbound rather than a closed-loop cruise. That route would allow us to see more ports. It would also allow a trip to Denali National Park either before or after the cruise portion. I finally decided on sailing out of Vancouver and on Radiance of the Seas. I selected Radiance because I had read it has so many windows. The windows allow you to see outside even if it is raining or if it is too cold. I have sailed with Royal Caribbean in the past and enjoyed the ship, food and entertainment.

We flew out of Atlanta to Vancouver on June 10, 2015. Our flight required a two-hour layover in Seattle. The two hours gave us enough time to grab a quick lunch and find out new gate. I do recommend that anyone flying into Seattle get a window seat. The views are amazing.

After we cleared customs in Vancouver and collected our luggage, we easily found two taxis to take us to our hotel, the Best Western Plus in Downtown Vancouver. When you exit the airport terminal, there is a section to find a cab. A man was in charge of the taxis and he assigned us two. The rates are posted. The cost for each taxi was $35.00 plus tip. They did take credit cards and American money. The driver was interesting and told us a lot about the area as we took the 30 minute drive.

Our hotel was very nice and I would not hesitate to stay there again. These are my opinions:

Advantages:

• Comfortable beds and pillows.

• Quiet rooms.

• Refrigerator and microwave in each room.

• Very clean.

• Helpful and friendly staff. Amy at the desk gave us a lot of good suggestions on best times to visit places.

• Free shuttle to downtown and port. You need to make reservations for your port transfer the day before.

• Free internet and computer use in lobby.

• Great penthouse views with picnic tables available to all guest. We enjoyed the views on several occasions.

• Rates were cheaper than most of the other hotels I checked into. I also wanted a hotel that would shuttle us to the port.

• Reimbursement for taxi fare from airport. The cost was deducted from our bill.

• Laundry facilities on site. ($2.00 to wash/$2.00 to dry.)

• Really good restaurant, The White Spot is attached. The food was very good. We especially liked the BC Sunny Start breakfast sandwich. They also have great milkshakes. We received a $10.00 voucher for our breakfast since we booked the Cruise Transfer Package with the hotel. I had read reviews of the restaurant before we ate there and some were good and some were not so good. We found the food to be very good. They also make wonderful milkshakes for an afternoon snack.

• A drug store is one block away to purchase items that you need for the cruise. There is a 7-Eleven convenience store a few feet away.

• Tickets to attractions can be purchased at the front desk.

• Filtered water cooler in hallways to fill water bottles.

• Free one-way False Creek Ferry tickets to Granville Island. It cost $2.00 to ride ferry back.

• Complementary bicycle use.

• Secure hotel. You must use your room key to use the elevator.

Disadvantages:

• You have to walk 4 blocks to catch hop-on/hop-off bus or public transportation. This was not a problem for me, but one of our friends struggled.

• About 5 blocks to walk to False Creek Ferry. Lots of hills.

• Early in the morning, there are several homeless people that were sleeping on sidewalks near hotel. I never felt threatened nor was I asked for money. They disappeared when the store nearby opened.

The first evening, we took the free ferry to Granville Island. I would love to tell you I was impressed, but I wasn’t. We arrived around 6:45 that evening. We decided we would have dinner at the market place. It has a food court inside. We each selected out food and sat down. We hadn’t been eating more than 5 minutes when a security guard came up to us and told us they were closing and we needed to leave. He did tell us there were some tables outside. We moved and sat outside to finish our meal. However, we were kicked out at 7:30 because it closed. We were not able to look in any of the store because they all close at 7:00. It would have been nice to know that before we went to the island that evening.

The next day, we planned to take the Hop-On/Hop-Off Sightseeing Bus and go to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Luckily for us, one of the desk workers at our hotel suggested we do the bridge first before the crowds arrived.

We ended up taking the free shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. You can get on the bus about 4 blocks from our hotel. There are several bus stops along the way. We were able to purchase our tickets to the bridge with a $3.00 coupon given to us by our hotel. I am so glad we went here. Even though I was fearful to cross the bridge, it was so worth it. Once you get across, we were able to do the Treetop Adventure. After we crossed back over the bridge, we did the cliffwalk. If you are not familiar with the Capilano Suspension Bridge, you need to Google it. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Strollers and wheelchairs are not allowed on the bridge. There is a lot of walking and stair climbing involved. I believe the cost was $33.00 with our coupon.

That afternoon, we purchased our tickets to the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus at our hotel’s front desk. We walked the four blocks to catch the bus. We decided to take the bus rather than the tram because we didn’t have to change buses. If you take the tram, you have to go on two separate routes. The entire route takes about 2.5 hours. We decided to ride the whole route and then go back if we decided to spend more time at one of the locations. At the end of the bus tour, we decided to just go back to our hotel. We had had a long day. The bus took us to all the major sites such as Stanley Park, Yaletown, Gastown, Grandville Island and the West End. We really enjoyed the ride. We had two different drivers. Both were informative and funny. I believe the cost was about $40.00 each. If I ever return to Vancouver, I will spend an entire day at Stanley Park.

Boarding our Ship:

Our cruise sailed from the Canada Place on a Friday. We left our hotel at 10:30 and were in the cruise terminal by 10:45. A porter helped the van driver unload our luggage. We tipped them even though there is a sign posted that states you do not need to tip. Going through security was simple. I carried a small pair of children’s scissors. There was no problem in doing so. Going through customs was also a breeze. After we presented our forms to Royal Caribbean and gave them our credit card information, we were given our sea pass cards and were sent to wait in a room with chairs. We had to move up several times to chairs closer to the gangway. All together, we stood in line and waited in chairs about 30 minutes before we boarded the ship.

We had perfect weather the entire cruise. It did not rain a drop. The temperatures in ports were in the 60’s and 70’s. The only time we need coats and winter gear were on the first sea day. The wind was very cold. We also needed our winter gear during the morning when we visited Hubbard Glacier. My husband and my uncle did not have enough warm weather shirts. My uncle ended up wearing his souvenir t-shirts. My husband just rewore his shirts.

Here are my opinions of the Radiance of the Seas. We did not eat at any of the “specialty” restaurants. We did eat in the main dining room, the buffet and the Park Café.

Advantages and likes:

· Very clean.

· Good, friendly customer service.

· Ability to check our account balance on the television in our room.

· The telephone in the room displays the day, date and time.

· Good sized rooms.

· Lots of storage in both stateroom and the bathroom. In case you didn’t know, there are two storage cabinets behind the mirrors at the desk area. There is also a storage cabin in the bathroom behind one of the mirrors. My friend didn’t know this and unpack using the visible storage. Once I told her, she said it was too much trouble to move things around.

· Room steward kept the room very clean. It seemed like he didn’t get the room cleaned until a early afternoon, but he did a good job.

· Most of the food was good. Each evening, the menu offered several options of foods. There was a lot of fish and seafood dishes served each evening. I don’t eat those, but I was able to find a beef, chicken or pork option each evening. There is a great roast beef sandwich and potato salad in the Park Café. The Park Café offers a lot of ready made sandwiches, desserts, salads and a salad bar. There is really good soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt in the buffet between the hours of 11:30 until after dinner. There is coffee, hot tea and water available 24 hours a day on the port side of the Windjammer.

· The buffet area wasn’t too crowded. We often ate at the far back part of the ship. Great views. We had really good weather, so this was very enjoyable.

· Casino was not too smoky.

· Ship never felt too crowded even though it was full.

· Cruise director and entertainment director were good. We went to several shows and games hosted by them. The 70’s dance party was a lot of fun to watch.

· Walls and doors in cabin are made of metal so magnets can hold important papers.

· A full length mirror is in stateroom.

· Public areas and restrooms are a good size and are very clean.

· Computer screens are located in the hallways near the elevators to let you find your way around, locate events and read the menu ahead of time.

· Lots of elevators.

· You can see outside almost every public area in the ship because there are so many large windows.

· The dining room staff is very accommodating. The wait staff made changes to items offered. If you prefer a baked potato rather than fries, they will do that. If you want two lobsters or more, you can have them. They also will change the type of salad dressing offered on a salad.

· A full-sized sofa in our cabin.

· We stayed in an ocean view room. It had a good sized window. This was different for us because we usually get an aft-wrap cabin. However, after reading reviews I decided that we would not spend much time in our cabin. I am glad I didn’t spend the extra money for a balcony room. The views of Alaska are beautiful. You need to be able to see more than the limited amount of views available on a cabin balcony. We spent hours outside on a public deck.

· Room service would call to make sure you are awake before delivering. We ordered coffee most mornings.

· Luggage was delivered fairly early the day we embarked.

· Lots of hand sanitizer available all over the ship. I don’t go overboard using this at home, but I did use it on the ship and hoped others did also.

· The hair dryer in the top desk drawer works well.

· You can leave a phone message for others. A light will flash on your phone when you have a message.

· The phone in your stateroom displays the date and time.

Disadvantages and dislikes:

· I would have preferred an assigned, fixed dining time, but it was not available even though I booked the cruise one year in advance. We did not like My Time Dining at all. About a month before we boarded, I received an email telling me to select my dining times each evening. I was not able to do that on the computer so I called a representative at RCCL. I was given options of times to select each evening. Most of them were are 5:45 or 7:00. One evening I was allowed to select 6:00. What I found frustrating was having to wait 20-30 minutes for a table even though I had reserved our time. I have been told by others it is better to not prebook our time and just show up. I like getting to know our wait staff. That doesn’t occur when you sit at a different table each evening.

· The area of the shower is smaller than my kitchen sink. It would have been better if it had the rounded glass doors on it. However, we had a shower curtain that made it almost impossible to keep all the water in the shower and not on the floor in the bathroom. I finally figured out to turn the shower head toward the back corner and use the shower head to get wet and then after I had soaped myself. Dropping the soap was not a fun adventure in that small space.

· Our mattress was very hard. This is the first cruise in which I haven’t been happy with my bed.

· The pillows were very thin.

· I didn’t eat any food in the main dining room that was wonderful. It was good, but none left me wanting more.

· Very noisy ship when traveling on ocean. Our walls squeaked constantly on two different nights. It made it hard to sleep. Once we entered the calmer inside passage, the ship walls no longer squeaked. I can’t imagine sailing on this ship for long ocean cruises.

· We stayed on Deck 3 in cabin 3616. We were awakened several mornings around 4:00 AM with chairs banging on the floor.

· The price of a mixed drink is ridiculously high. We saved a lot of money not buying our typical drink of the day.

· The chairs in the dining room hurt our legs. They seem comfortable while sitting in them, but after sitting in the for 1 ½-2 hours each evening, we all had leg cramps.

· There is no food available after 12:30 AM. I had heard there was a room service menu for dinner foods. We never saw this menu. I understand that from midnight-5:00 AM there is a fee to use room service. We stay up later on cruises than when we are home. I have enjoyed stopping by to get a snack or ice cream at the end of the day. No snacks were available on this ship late at night.

· The internet package is not very good. It cost $140.00 for seven days. The service is very, very slow. On the last evening we were trying to print our boarding passes for our flights home and could not do so. If you need the internet to check-in for flights, they sell a one day package for $9.95 on the very last day. You can also get free internet on your cell phone in every port.

Here are a few of my suggestions:

Glad I brought:

· Magnets for the walls and doors to hang important papers.

· A battery powered alarm clock.

· My own shampoo and conditioner.

· A lanyard for my seapass card.

· A thermal mug for coffee and hot chocolate. This was very handy, especially on the day we visited Hubbard Glacier.

· My own individual flavored coffee creamers. Coffee is strong. I like flavored coffee. There is a coffee shop that sells flavored coffees for a fee.

· Small battery powered candle to leave on in the bathroom at night. The bathroom lights are very bright. The candle gives off just enough light to see by.

· Lots of $1.00 bills for tipping drivers of buses, tour guides, etc.

· Two SD cards for my camera. Both held a lot of photos. I learned earlier to swap out the SD cards frequently in case you lose your camera. If you have some of your photos on different cards, you will not lose all your photos if camera is lost.

· A backpack. I used it on every excursion. Even though we didn’t have any rain, I had a rain poncho stored in there. I also put my wallet, camera, sunscreen, chapstick and a jacket in there. That left my hand free. I didn’t take a purse.

· A pen and some sticky note cards.

· My own face cleaning clothes.

· Gloves, a scarf and a hat for the day we were in Hubbard Glacier.

· A sweatshirt and jacket with a hood. The hood was helpful blocking the wind from destroying my hair.

· A portable luggage scale. It is small and fit inside our backpack. We did not want to be over the 50 limit for airlines. The cost goes from $25.00 to $100.00 if you are 51 pounds or more.

Wish I had brought:

· Air freshener for the bathroom. It always had an odor.

· More warm weather clothing.

· A camera that had a great telescopic lens. I did buy a new camera, but there were some animals that were just a little too far off for my lens.

Wish I had known:

· Smoking section is on Deck 5 port side. You will want to avoid this if you are sensitive to smoke. If you smoke, this is where you will go. I saw many men smoking cigars here in the evening.

· Some people really dress up on formal nights. I saw lots of tuxedos and sparkly evening gowns. Not everyone dressed that fancy, but almost everyone wore nice clothes that you would wear to a wedding. I did see a few jeans and t-shirts in the dining room on formal night. My meal is not ruined by what someone wears.

· Our cell phone worked in every port. You can even use your phone on the ship while in port as long as it says your phone carrier, not cellular at sea. We could check email and social media daily except for the one sea day. We have AT&T. Our friends have Verizon. They did not get a signal the entire trip and borrowed our phones to check in at home.

· We didn’t discover the Schooner Bar area on Deck 6 until Day 5. This is where the specialty restaurants are located. There are two pool tables located in there. The Colony Club is located in that area. Audience participation games are played in there. It is a beautiful place to go sit and watch the ocean.

· You can get to the helipad by taking deck 5 towards the front of the ship. When it ends, go up the stairs. You will be on Deck 6. The helipad is up another level of stairs. Many people stayed here on the day we were at Hubbard Glacier. I found the area to the right of the last set of stairs was great for observing the glaciers. The wind was not as strong here.

· The pools are heated. I saw several people enjoying them through the cruise.

If the people that run the excursion want cruisers to use their services, they will wait until you have get off the ship to leave. We took a different excursion in Aruba, but the tour leaders knew to wait for us.

One thing that I learned was to do any shopping before reentering the ship. We went to our normal 6:00 dinner time. We left the ship at 7:45 to go shopping in port. Almost all stores were closed. There were a few street vendors still open, but they only had a single light bulb to light their venue. It was almost impossible to see their merchandise or the prices.

Other options are room service, omelets prepared to order (in the back of the ship), and freshly made breakfast burritos at the Burrito/Taco stand. Also, I believe there is breakfast foods on the 5th floor right outside the casino near the Alchemy Bar and food in the Cuban restaurant at the back of the ship. Make sure you try the seaday brunch. Great food.

I have been on 3 Carnival cruises and have never seen fighting or other loud, obnoxious behavior. Of course, I generally go to bed around midnight. I would imagine that that type of behavior occurs after a lot of drinks and late at night. I have however encountered rude passengers that think they don't have to wait for others to get off the elevator before boarding or to wait in line. (Oh wait, I think that is in general society now days.) Like someone else posted, the shorter cruises (or booze cruises) may have a lot more party people. The inappropriate behavior isn't common on longer cruises.

I admit a get a little upset when I read people making negative comments about a cruise line or a specific ship when they have never experienced the ship. I have been on both cruiselines.I have another cruise on a RCCL in 9 days. I have a cruise booked for next summer on Carnival. Here are my opinions based upon the ships I have sailed.

I believe the professional entertainment on RCCL is superior to Carnivals. I believe that the audience participation entertainment is equal on both lines. I have really enjoyed the cruise director and entertainment staff on Carnival more than RCCL.

I believe the food is better on Carnival in the main dining room. My opinion is RCCL buffet has more options and better food .I like that there is 24 hour a day ice cream and pizza for snacks on Carnival. Carnival offers a lot more variety of foods that are included in the cost of the cruise. Carnivals desserts are far superior to RCCL.

The cost of mixed drinks is cheaper on CCL. You can also bring your own water and soft drinks on board at embarkation.

I believe that the overall appearance of the cruise ship is a step above on the newer RCCL ships. CCL is improving the decor on their newer ships that are very nice. I haven't been on an older RCCL ship, so I can't compare it with an older CCL ship. I know many people enjoy the serenity adult only sections on CCL.

Both cruiselines are clean. I have not witnessed the mess that I read others stated they saw on CCL.

The employees on both lines have been very friendly and great workers. The only time I have been unhappy with an employee was on RCCL Freedom of the Sea. The wait staff was under a lot of stress and it showed in how they treated us. I am one person that enjoys the dining room entertainment on CCL.

Both Carnival and RCCL had comfortable beds. I think the linens are better on CCL. I also think I had more square footage and storage space on my cabins on CCL.

As far as the types of passengers that you will encounter on the ships, I think the 7+ day cruises attract very similar types of people on both cruiselines. Carnival offers short cruises that tend to attract a paper crowd. Some people have referred to them a "booze cruises". Not everyone on the short cruises are constantly partying, but there are a lot.

I admit I select my cruises based upon the price. I can not see why I should spend hundreds of dollars more to travel exclusively on RCCL when I have always enjoyed my cruises on CCL. I prefer to save money on the cruise itself and spend money on excursions.

I do believe if you travel on one of Carnival's newer ships or one of the ships that have the 2.0 upgrades, you will find them comparable to RCCL ships. I have not traveled on one of RCCL mega-ships yet, but I can only guess that Carnival has nothing that can even compare to them.

I can say that the Serenity deck is not serene at all. It is right there with the TV speakers and the DJ blasting music toward it. Bring earplugs. :)

The advantage to Sunshine's Serenity deck is it is three layers. On the lowest layer, you have an adult only area with great seating and lounge chairs where you can hear the music. On the next level, it is a little quieter and has more shade and great seating. On the highest level, no music and great relaxing chairs. I guess the design is to accommodate everyone's wish for music, movies or quiet time.

I have a question for anyone. My classmates are looking at a 40th anniversary cruise on the Sunshine. I like to gamble but don't smoke. I've seen reviews that complained about smoke in the casino.... Does anyone know if they are allowed to smoke in the casino on this ship?? Would be fist time with Carnival for me. Thanks for any info.

 

Jim

First, great idea for a class reunion. Second, I also like to play the slots, but am not a smoker. I really enjoyed the Sunshine, but hated the amount of smoke in the casino. They do have sections for smokers and non-smokers. However, the ventilation was so bad you couldn't tell there were separate sections. Unless this situation has been changed in the past year, you will not be happy breathing in the casino.

I do believe second day will be elegant evening for dinner. You will have a hair dryer. I doubt you will have a refrigerator. If you cabin was one of the new ones added, it might.

The doors are not really wood; they are painted to look that way. We were on deck 6. The doors were metal and magnets do work. However, I read somewhere that some of the new cabins might not have metal doors.

I normally take magnets to hang important papers on the walls. In our cabin, the walls were not metal. I ended up using the back of my cabin door to hang the papers.

I hope you have a great cruise.

I think it depends upon the ship. On the Dream, I used magnets to hang things on the walls. On the Sunshine, the door was the only thing made of medal. I ended up using the magnets on the back of the door to hand up important papers.

They do offer a class. However, if your a scrapbooker, you will probably be disappointed. The girl that was heading up the class I took was just trying her best. She obviously was just leading a class because it was her job. She really just sold scrapbook kits. She had some scissors and paper we could use. She did have a few photos of the ship that I took to use when I made my scrapbook at home. Things may have improved in the last couple of years. Since there is no charge for the class, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

We southerners?

 

It is an age thing in my reality.

If you are a child and calling a person by their first name, like a friend of your Mama's or your kindergarten teacher, then add Miss.

When we are all adults, then that should be over.

When other adults start with the Miss stuff, it means that they see you as being much older than they are.

 

As for the steward, he/she can call me by my first name or Mzloolue.

Either will do.

The steward is not my servant.

He or she is working, but I am not their boss.

I treat them like I would expect to be treated.

I guess my southern mama raised me to say Miss in front of a females name and Mr. in front of a male's name as a way to show respect. I believe that if a steward or waiter calls me Miss Cindy, then they are showing respect. I don't feel they are telling me I am old, even though I am probably twice their age. I also would not be upset if they called me Cindy, without a title. I have always been treated with great respect by all staff members on a cruise ship. I am amazed at their ability to remember my name after one meeting.

I'm not sure to whom you are referring in your comment "the steward is not my servant. He or she is working, but I am not their boss". I am not able to understand what message you were trying to get across from that statement.

It means you are old.

Don't ask how I know.

I disagree with you. We southerners use the title Miss in front of a female's first name once they have reached adult hood. It doesn't matter whether the female is married or not. We do usually say the person's last name if they are older than us, if they hold a position in society that deserves our respect, or if we don't know them very well. Generally, if we prefer a title not be used when speaking to us, we tell them to just call us by our first name.