CruiszBug

No mention of testing in Australia? Guessing they will be tested onboard in Hawaii?

Agree with all others! This was a great review and I've enjoyed following your travels!

I think they have started doing just that!

I've purchased the KEY twice in the past. My favorite was when becoming Pinnacle on the Odyssey TA. No Pinnacle benefits made me perk up when I heard about the sale of the KEY on CC. Cancelled VOOM for about the same price. Didn't use the timed activities nor the show seating benefits. Just the early arrival and embarkation lunch plus the VOOM internet. Last day breakfast and escort never happened. That was due to the nightmare disembarkation for passengers and immigration for crew.

We have had that experience! Spoke nicely to the child and semi-nicely to his father (on a laptop in the far corner of the SL... who wasn't so nice), followed by the concierge. That seemed to work.

I would be interested in a method to improve communication between Shoreside, Shipside, Port Operations. Including feedback to their guests. Twice now we have disembarked to get on our transfer back to the airport with our special needs daughter. Cold misty weather in Bayonne (Adventure) and Seattle (Ovation). Shoreside tells us its booked. Guest Services tells us its booked. We get off the ship and leave the terminal and not only is it not there, it is not coming. Was never ordered. Security will not let us back into the terminal to keep our daughter warm while we figure out a solution. I have no way of contacting the concierge or Guest Services to help us! I would like to see an escort be a ship's officer (Guest Relations?) who can walk us all the way out until it is verified we have a seat on an accessible shuttle. This communication disconnect is where we have experienced much ball-dropping on Royal's part.

That is awesome! Definitely arranging accessible taxi!

@martincath Thank you! I did not know that about the changes to the Expo line... All 4 of us rode it in May 2019 to the Waterfront station after getting off the Amtrak Cascades train. We rolled our luggage dolly and the wheelchair right on just like Canada line. Did not block or obstruct anyone. The only reason I was thinking of the SkyTrain is because it is familiar. Are the taxis accessible? Our daughter's wheelchair does not collapse... Appreciate the timeline info, as well! We'll do our best to make it an early arrival. We were spoiled that last time. They gave us our own car. We were directed to go in and go left. Then the other passengers were told to go right or go up the stairs. So that was cool! We only had one other lady with a cane with us. So maybe that was their accessible car?

Yes, but we are arriving in Vancouver via Ovation of the Seas from Hawaii and our Celebrity Solstice Alaska cruise leaves from Seattle... Yes, it confused us also? This voyage was booked while the PVSA was relaxed for Alaska cruising. Someone should have noticed it was reinstated back in April, I believe? I might have considered Radiance since it was the exact same cruise length. But returning home from Vancouver would require a change in flights, since we could not have made our flight time in SEA-TAC. Plus Seattle has the added benefit of Port Valet, which is helpful to us. Yes, we are staying at the Pan Pacific when we disembark Ovation. I was going to rent an SUV or a minivan to drive to Seattle, but it became cumbersome and fraught with potential delays. Plus the expense for a one-way transfer was high. When searching Amtrak Cascades there was only the 5:45 PM train that was doable on the day of disembarkation. But would have been hard on us and our daughter. (Arriving at 10:10 PM and then getting to our hotel.) When the 6:35 AM train showed up in the schedule for the next day when we embark Solstice I jumped on it. (We plan to take the Expo Line on the Sky Train to the Amtrak Station.) The last time we rode the Cascades train was the inaugural Alaska 11-Night Ovation Glacier cruise. We rode it north with 31 bags. They put us in our own car with a nice British woman. Thank you again for your insight and knowledge. It is appreciated!

Although we knew about the PVSA, what we did not know was that a B2B cruise on the same ship is considered a single voyage and would result in a violation of the law. That nuance escaped us. (And Royal. And our TA.) Our original cruise on Ovation was from HNL to Vancouver. Then from Vancouver to Seattle. We had return flights in place at a decent time and price on American from SEA-TAC and were trying to keep as much of our original plans in place as possible. Added to the mix that Royal was giving me a very short timeline to make a choice or risk both cruises being cancelled. Radiance was never mentioned to me. They told me I could add on the Australia to HNL leg or cancel one segment to avoid the violation. However, flying to Australia is way too far and too much extra time and expense for us on such short notice. The reason we really wanted to use Amtrak Cascades train, is that it works best for transferring our special needs daughter and luggage. Originally there was only the evening train which arrives in SEA at 10 PM. When I saw the 6:30 AM train had been added, I booked it. We are familiar with them. They do not limit our luggage. Plus we do not have to get off with our bags when crossing the border. If we weren't traveling with our daughter in a non-collapsible wheelchair, our choices would have probably been different. Thank you to everyone who had input on this! It was helpful in our decision-making. Although not easy travelling with her, it is so worth it! Seeing her smile at the different places she has gone erases any difficulties along the way.

😄LOL!

We took light rail from SEA-TAC to our hotel in Pioneer Square. We were 4 people and 31 pieces of luggage. So it is doable with baggage if you are organized.

Wishing you much luck! We also have a situation for an upcoming cruise. No one caught that we would be violating the PVSB act. So we are getting off Ovation in Vancouver, staying the night at Pan Pacific, then transferring to Seattle to board Celebrity Solstice. Neither Royal or Celebrity had a clue for helping us transfer. There was no QuickCoach shuttle from Canada Place to Pier 91 on our dates. Other than renting a car and driving we opted for the Cascades train. Fingers crossed!

Deja vu all over again! Hi, @Ferry_Watcher! Glad I saw this thread (albeit almost 4 years later, lol!) That was our cruise on Ovation where they forgot to order an accessible airport transfer and had to shove us into two taxis in the cold misty rain! But WHAT a cruise! Great experience! *I just got reimbursed for our transfer charges this year....🙂

Wow! Don't know your school system, but ours has a teacher, a classroom aide, and my daughter had an individual para-professional that stayed with her. There was also two nurses for the special needs children. This was from elementary to high school and never felt the classes were too big... That being said, we never leave her with people we don't know unless someone is allowed to be with her. I feel for the OP's angst. Sounds like they did their research and trusted what they were told. I'm sure that won't happen again...

We have a special needs daughter (CP, not autism) but the Adventure Ocean team were very kind to us. We mentioned what activities we thought would work for her (she loves being read to) and they scheduled some special sessions which were essentially an open house. This would allow our daughter to attend with an adult companion. You should reach out to the Special Access team shoreside first. I do not have faith they will help you based on my experience. However, onboard ship go to the Adventure Ocean sign up and talk with a knowledgeable crew member and see what they can do for you. The Teen Club itself will most likely be off-limits because it is designed to be a hang-out for teenagers only.

Could they move the funeral up a day?

Straight to CC sounds like a plan! Thanks!

I'm game! Might need a mini-review on posting pictures? Better to post pictures from a photo hosting site like PhotoBucket?

Thank you for sharing your journey! It was a delightful read!

Terrific, entertaining review of "Harmony Life"! Definitely helps bridge the time until our next cruise on OASIS BELLA of the Seas in March! Go well and many thanks for the fun!

I did the same... never went to the MDR (a first for me)! Enjoyed the Windjammer every lunch and dinner. Very little stress and/or time wasted to get a bite to eat.

I agree! I sailed Serenade for the first time this past Dec 10 and thought it was lovely! I had an interior cabin and it was a wonderful cruise! Would definitely sail her again...

That is probably it!

We walk all of our luggage onboard. Even the big bags make it through the scanner. Then we carry it up to our room. Sometimes we stop for a drink first at the pub... But we do not block people. We usually carry 20 plus bags through. Why? We have had medical equipment lost when we allowed the suite porters to carry our bags on (supposedly straight to our room). The bags were not there when we boarded. Trust lost...