OVATION May 13-24 *LIVE* in ALASKA w/lots of photos

[drusierdmd]

Beautiful scenery this morning. Caution to future visitors. We were told 7am to 12 at the glacier. We spent maybe an hour or less at our closest approach. It's a narrow channel filled with ice and we made 5kts or less coming and going.

Protip: if trying to get a window table at the jammer, pick the side away from the glacier...it's less of a fight and the boat will rotate into view shortly.

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[Hoopster95]

We lost wifi half way into Endicott Arm. After puttering along through the initial ice floes, we sped up a bit arriving at Dawes Glacier at approximately 9:30am.

 

***NOTE: Our cruise compass says “Endicott Arm AND Dawes Glacier approx 7am - 12pm”. It does not say “Glacier viewing 7-12”. Once arrives we very very slowly spun around 1/2 turn in 30 minutes, and headed away at 10am. 

 

They sold the $49 tickets up to NorthStar starting at 8am - 11am, however anyone going up between 8-9:15 and after about 10:30 had zero view of Dawes Glacier for that money as we were already around the corner and away from site. I went up at 10:20, 20 min ride side-to-side. I know someone who was on right after me at 10:40, and the Glacier was completely out of view. Keep the above in mind for future sailings, and I hope those future sailings will get more time up close to the Glacier like we had in Hubbard... maybe we had to leave because other ships coming in?

 

p.s. internet still a challenge today... besides, rather than look at my phone for hours I had Thriller class, Florider and Solarium hot tub whale watching to attend to😉... now in line for bumper cars

 

 

Edited May 22, 2019 by Hoopster95

[tiger belle]

hoopster:  is there still a long wait for bumper cars at this point in the cruise?

 

also, I am curious...is there an escape room on board as an activity?

 

[Hoopster95]

7 hours ago, jamon said:

Great pictures....can you tell me what time is main seating dinner and what time the Diamond lounge opens at night for happy hour drinks and for how long...thanks....

 

I quote from the compass:

 

“Main seating 5:15pm

(door closes at 5:45pm)

Second seating 8pm

(door closes at 8:15pm)”

 

4 hours ago, Lloyd555 said:

 

Great photos.

Is it possible to walk up the circular stairs that lead up to the North Star to get better view/photos while it's not in use?

 

Confirming other answers... nope, they have it roped off

 

13 minutes ago, tiger belle said:

hoopster:  is there still a long wait for bumper cars at this point in the cruise?

 

also, I am curious...is there an escape room on board as an activity?

 

 

Kind of... just came back from bumper cars, waited 1/2 hour. Line up when I got off I estimated at about 45min.

 

There’s no Escape Room on this ship

Edited May 22, 2019 by Hoopster95

[twangster]

20 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

Right now.... sailing out of Skagway. 

Twangster, if you have time lapse or even photos of this sailaway tonight, would love to see it ☺️

 

Uploading videos is more painful than photos.  I have a time lapse, but Voom is killing me.  

[drusierdmd]

Sunset from starboard balcony cell phone pics. A little heavy on the "enhancements" but we don't get em like this back home.

The top tier event (above gold) was cool. It was in 270 and they demoed the projectors and robot screen...pretty cool.

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[AlanF65]

Where do I find a milkshake? Are there any onboard?

[sgmn]

On 5/21/2019 at 4:41 AM, Hoopster95 said:

Yukon Suspension Bridge ... nice little

stop for 45min or so. There’s a few exhibits within the site, including an inukshuk  “park” for you to build one for yourself before you depart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ha ha, Canadian hubby builds these all over our local woods and forests here in the UK when out walking our dog. 

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

There’s no Escape Room on this ship

There was one on the previous sailing- same place as on Anthem, right by Fuel - the entrance is just down the hall from the Seaplex sign up desk. 

[RDempster]

On 5/21/2019 at 12:08 AM, drusierdmd said:

That's an on new reservations and was added as an option after we booked. We got a picnic lunch from popcorn factory with a cooler and a few bottles of water. ( I think this is who they are going to use anyways for lunch). Plenty of pull off for pics. We pretty much stopped every mile on the way up and only once or twice on the way down. There is a secret pull off right at the start of emerald lake (before the private drive and overlook). There is an awesome beach at caracross turn by the metal caribou sign.

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what/where is the popcorn factory in Skagway?  Also heard there is a place to eat in Carcross?  Did you see anything there?

[Carlos A.]

16 hours ago, drusierdmd said:

Beautiful scenery this morning. Caution to future visitors. We were told 7am to 12 at the glacier. We spent maybe an hour or less at our closest approach. It's a narrow channel filled with ice and we made 5kts or less coming and going.

Protip: if trying to get a window table at the jammer, pick the side away from the glacier...it's less of a fight and the boat will rotate into view shortly.

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Hi! I'm sorry to bother you. But about your Jeep rental in Skagway, I've a reservation with Green Jeeps too! I have a couple of questions?

How did you get to the lake in the pic.? It's Emerald Lake?

Do you have any tips for the excursion? It's my first time In the Yukon territory. 

 

[dflawyer]

On 5/19/2019 at 12:26 PM, Italy52 said:

The Hubbard excursion is a "go" this year and I have yet to find someone who has reported back how it went.

Indeed, same here, following....

[drusierdmd]

I miss glaciers

Use Google maps or ask the Jeep people where popcorn factory is...they pointed us there ( 2 blocks). We stopped at the dog sled/gold pan/museum in carcross they had snacks/ice cream. Emerald lake is less than 5 min past carcross and was our turn around point. There is one road you can't get lost. Green Jeep provided a photo tour booklet with mile markers and pics so you know where you are. Use Google maps to download the area for offline use if you are worried. Oh and carcross has 4g too.

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[drusierdmd]

My girl loved her ifly. Unfortunately they disallowed multiple flights. 1 regular, 1 key. Flying standby, even when they had space or cancellations, was impossible.

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[Hoopster95]

13 hours ago, Biker19 said:

There was one on the previous sailing- same place as on Anthem, right by Fuel - the entrance is just down the hall from the Seaplex sign up desk. 

 

My error!

Everyone reading this and wanting to reserve a spot in the puzzle room, here’s the deal....

 

I went up to Seaplex desk like Biker said. There’s no sign, no notice, nothing on the wall... no door indicating puzzle room, no display... simply nothing. I spoke to the guy at Seaplex desk and he said to go to guest services as it closed but it did have bookings at one time. They told me they've had no bookings on board.

 

Keep in mind this is not in the compass, not announced anywhere, and was not on my Royal IQ ap. It was not bookable pre cruise either on the cruise planner.

 

Guest services told me they opened up reservations on the 1st day and it was fully  booked for the entire cruise within a few hours.☹️

 

My tip: get on board, go directly up to Seaplex and book this.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, drusierdmd said:

My girl loved her ifly. Unfortunately they disallowed multiple flights. 1 regular, 1 key. Flying standby, even when they had space or cancellations, was impossible.

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Vacation of a lifetime, this is one vacation that little girl will never forget. I hope you took video of it to show your family and her friends back home.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Jimbo

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

Keep in mind this is not in the compass, not announced anywhere, and was not on my Royal IQ ap.

It was available in the app for us - that's how we booked it. The entry door is the one with the port hole by the sign up desk - even looking in there you can't really tell it's an escape room next to it.

[buymeanapple]

3 hours ago, drusierdmd said:

My girl loved her ifly. Unfortunately they disallowed multiple flights. 1 regular, 1 key. Flying standby, even when they had space or cancellations, was impossible.

 

Do you mean that if you have the key you get to do it twice? I am confused about the key statement.

[Biker19]

Just now, buymeanapple said:

 

Do you mean that if you have the key you get to do it twice? I am confused about the key statement.

Yes, Key customers get another ride.

[Hoopster95]

Just chillin, catching some rays up at the NorthStar bar, thought I’d catch up

a bit on posting. Once home i’ll add a bit more to things I’ve missed like dining etc.

 

Let me mention now the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers... they are a 1st class group, one of the best I’ve seen on any ship thus far. All the singers and dancers are fantastic, not a weak link imho. Definitely felt Like a true professional Broadway show vs. A high school production.

 

The first show, “The Beautiful Dream” was held on day 4. This will obviously change for the 7 day sailings. Don’t miss this show! Fantastic new sets & props, great music and very visual.

 

Almost forgot to mention.. do not get lazy... go down in the lower rows to

totally enjoy this awesome show.

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

I thought the 1st show was great... the 2nd “Live. Love. Legs” was even better! Very edgy and very racy (lots of legs). It’s an original production to Ovation and not on any other ship. A true showgirl performance, superb props, all modern 2010-present music, great singing... and

obviously a standing O by the crowd at the end. For those of you who enjoy shows, these two productions are going to be a real treat for you this summer.

 

 

 

 

Signing off for now... volleyball against the staff time

Edited May 22, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

Time for one more post....

Back stage theatre tour this morning offered to D+ and above. Very interesting this time around with great questions by fellow cruisers. The venue is the largest of the ship, spanning deck 2 to deck 7 at the stage area.

 

Note that the current production cast contracts end and they get off the ship Sept 6, so those of you on the VAN-Hawaii repo will have a brand new cast... hopefully as great or better than the current cast. The shows will stay the same. 

 

This cast is totally separate from the show cast at Two70... they have their own riggers, stages, technical staff and their own singer/dancer team. The Two70 cast never perform in the main theatre and vice versa.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

It was available in the app for us - that's how we booked it. The entry door is the one with the port hole by the sign up desk - even looking in there you can't really tell it's an escape room next to it.

 

Gotcha Biker. My guess is that by the time I looked for it on my app and/or in the compass, it was fully booked, and therefore disappeared from the app altogether, and no need to mention in the Compasses.

 

This happened to the Hubbard NorthStar bookings as well... I booked in the app when I found out about it, and the day before Hubbard I noticed it no longer existed... obviously sold out.

 

Looking back from Seaplex towards the elevator lobby and Fuel, that door on the left (with porthole, looks like an unmarked staff door) is the Escape room entry... notice no signage, nothing indicating what it is. 

 

Edit... look what I found when I looked into the porthole. “Escape to the Future”

 

 

Edited May 22, 2019 by Hoopster95

[loverofthebeach]

I really want to go to the Escape room with my family and friends. I want to make sure I understand you correctly Hoopster95, we go directly to the Seaplex to sign up and not Guest services, correct?  Also, I assume that would be deck 15. 

Is there is a cost for this? If so, how much? 

Thanks so much, loving this review. We will be sailing June 28th. 

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, loverofthebeach said:

Is there is a cost for this?

It's free.