roguecruiser

Hi!

We did a land tour and southbound cruise back in August of this year. It was amazing! If at all possible get Aft balcony! that is what we had on deck 9. You were able to see things on both sides as well as out the back. There was no engine noise or movement felt. That is the only way I would cruise Alaska again. The walk from the elevator was a little longer but soooooo worth it. As soon as the dates you want become available book it ASAP! My husband told me in the morning it was open to book and he would do it that evening. When he did ( about 10 hrs later) we had our choice of only 2! The rest had already been booked. It was a long wait till sail time arrived but a trip I would not have missed. Hope this helps some.

In 2012 we had cabin 8138(?), corner aft balcony, port(left) side. it was fantastic.

If you are cruising in mid to late june, it will really "never" get dark. Summer solstice (longest day of the year) is about June 20th. So daylight won't be a problem.

We did Alaska mid to late June, 2012 (over summer solstice) aboard RCCL Radiance OTS. Those who did the whale watching in Juneau, saw whales with calves. We did whale watching in Icy Strait(sp) and saw dozens of whales, although no calves. Our tours were through Royal Caribbean, maybe more expensive, but we saw a lot of whales up close, so I can't complain.

From what I've seen, the Celebrity cruise, inside cabin, 12 night, Vancouver to Hawaii, is at least 50% higher in price. $2200 vs. about $1400. If only the parent company (Royal Caribbean) would combine the cruise benefit programs of the two lines we would reach the next level. Currently they honor each others status but taking a Celebrity cruise does not gain us points on our Royal Caribbean status.

We have an inside cabin booked on the Rhapsody going from Vancouver to Hawaii on Sept 25,14. Yes the cabins are small but we aren't in our cabin mush except to shower and sleep. Counting the days until our cruise.

Are you sure of those dates? We are looking at Sept 5 2014!

We've been on Royal Caribbean before, but have never had a long ocean crossing.

Monarch '98' 7 night southern caribbean

Mercury '00' 7 night western caribbean

Grandeur '02' 11 night circle of caribbean

Majesty '03' 4 night Bahamas

Jewel '05' 8 night western caribbean

Radiance '12' 12 night Alaska

So my concern is with possible rough seas on an open ocean in an inside cabin. We have a hold on a category Q for Rhapsody right now, and am hoping that we "might" get a deck or cabin upgrade, because we've cruised with them before, but are not counting on that!

Has anyone done the re-positioning cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii. Is an inside cabin on a lower deck a mistake on an ocean crossing to Hawaii? We are considering booking a "guaranty" vs choosing a cabin. Comments anyone? :cool: