Thoughts on Ovation in Alaska - 5/31-6/7 Cruise

[disneyfan1313]

I know there has been quite a bit of chatter about Ovation in Alaska and folks sailing later in the season have had a lot of questions, so I thought I would post some of my thoughts and experiences from our 7 day cruise that left on 5/31/19.    Please feel free to ask any questions!

 

Who was sailing:  Our group had 14 people sailing together (not in one Stateroom 😉 ) from infant all the way up to senior.  We had planned this for quite a while to celebrate a milestone birthday and most of the group has sailed RCCL a few times with about 1/2 the group being Diamond or above.  My wife and I are in our early 40s and this is our second time sailing Alaska but our first time on a Quantum class ship.  We will be Diamond on our next cruise this summer and have now sailed on every class of RCCL ship and have sailed on most major cruise lines.  Most of our group (including us) live in the Orlando area.

 

The Itinerary:  This was a R/T sailing our of Seattle and after having done our last Alaskan cruise on a one way Vancouver to Seward itin, you can't help but miss doing Alaska that way.   I'm not particularly a "nature" person, so Alaska once every 5 years or so is enough for me.   That being said, if I was to do it again - it would have to be a one way itinerary... you just get so much more bang for your buck.  

 

Embarkation:  Sailing out of a seasonal port is always hit or miss and this embarkation was a bit of a "miss".   The ride share drop off and pick up area being 1/3 of a mile away from bag drop isn't great when a huge percentage of your guests are using that.  Bag drop off was a complete hot mess - they were boarding a Celebrity ship at the same time and I would be shocked if there weren't quite a few bags dropped off in the wrong place.   The main bag area was basically just a huge pile of luggage with no one around... no one to tip, no one to watch the bags... no one at all!   This was just before noon - slightly earlier than we usually arrive.   Then the line to get in the terminal was also complete chaos stretching way back into the bus loading area but since we dropped off our bags the person manning the line waved us into the line near the front... not one to argue but that shouldn't have happened.   Once we got to the front of this line we realized it was just the passport and boarding pass check by the 3rd party security company which usually takes 2 seconds in Florida ports.  Regular security and check in were fast enough since the line was all outside.

 

Stateroom:  We were originally in an inside stateroom, but I had done a minimum bid on an obstructed balcony ($200pp) and we won it about 5 days before the cruise!  We were a little worried because our stateroom (6296) had some reviews that mentioned it being noisy.  I even bought a white noise machine before the cruise because I am such a light sleeper.  That being said we were VERY happy with our stateroom and had no noise issues at all!  Love the layout of these quantum class cabins - so much storage, lots of plugs and plenty of room in the large bathroom.  Our last few cruises were on older RCCL ships and this was a very nice surprise!  We aren't picky with views - yeah it was obstructed but just having a balcony was really nice and when you are looking at mountains a lifeboat partially in the way doesn't really matter.  The proximity to the hidden entrance of Two70 was HUGE.  We used that tons to grab a snack at the cafe in Two70, get to Jamie's quicker, etc.   I would book a stateroom in that area again in a heartbeat.  Our stateroom attendant was fine - no issues but also really didn't see him at all.  Kept the room clean and made an impressive towel animal of a cat, which was a first for me!

 

Internet:  OMG it was bad.  We went into this cruise having read all of the reviews and expected it to not be great, but really had no idea how unusable it would be.  With the surf and stream expect 1mbs-2mbs for the majority of your cruise with less than 1mbs upload.   Twitter, basic email and messaging apps work, Facebook will kinda work unless you want to upload something or watch a video, Instagram really doesn't work at all for anything - even uploading a basic photo or watching stories.  Want to stream something... HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA... good luck!   This was by far the worst internet experience we have had in the last 10 (or so ) years of buying internet on cruises including the last time in Alaska.   The Internet manger was *beyond* horrible to anyone in our group who went and complained, told people in our group that they were lying about speeds, refused to give any type of credit at all and it took 4 days of going to guest services to get a small credit back.   With this all being said, I am not sure I would recommend just buying the "surf" package - it might throttle you even below the surf and stream people.

 

Service In General:  This is the first RCCL cruise where I felt almost the entire staff just didn't care.  With the exception of the specialty dining rooms,  everyone you encountered seemed apathetic to downright unhelpful.  Everyone in my group felt this way and kept encountering different examples of it throughout the ship.  It was really bizarre - not sure if many are at the end of their contract, if there were different expectations in Australia and Asia or if it is just the leadership of the ship not caring - but it was the first time I rated service on the ship as a 3 on the 10 point scale.  

 

Dining: We did the unlimited dining package and it was worth every penny.  We got it during the Cyber Monday sale and it worked out to around $15pp per day which is awesome for the quality increase in the food.  Service was great in all dining rooms (except Amber & Oak and when the manager of Izumi gave away our reserved table to another party and shrugged her shoulders), food was good everywhere as well.   There was some confusion on if we could use it at the Amber & Oak pub for food (and a manager had to get involved) but they let us.  Some in our party used it for "second dinner" sushi at Izumi each night after eating in a specialty dining room, so it really was "unlimited".   Windjammer continues to go downhill, very few items for lunch (or second dinner) that were even remotely decent.  I was hoping this was going to be slightly better than our last few cruises since it is a newer ship.. but nope.  

 

Entertainment:  I enjoyed the Two70 show, Pixels and the other times the robo screens were used.  The "Legs" show was also a bit above a normal cruise ship show and was entertaining (and not even remotely risque).  I was bummed there was no Quest on this ship however.   Trivia hosts were fine and the cover bands were really not good at all. 

 

Sports and Activities:  I don't say this lightly, but some of the worst crew I have ever encountered on any ship on any line.  The NorthStar was a complete cluster every time they ran it with tons of missinformation, closing early and then lying about it and crew that wouldn't even greet you or look at you when you boarded/rode.  Anything going on in SeaPlex was a disaster with no attempt at crowd control, not even remotely enough times scheduled for demand and no attempt to be helpful or friendly.   Really put a bad taste in our mouth every day we tried to do one of these activities.

 

The Ship In General:  I'll be honest... I am not sure I am a big fan of this class of ships.  While it was in great repair, very clean and very "new", everything felt more like a high end hotel in Vegas and less like an RCCL ship.   I would put it below Oasis and Freedom class if I was ranking them based on my personal preference.  I really dislike that the ship seems to "close up shop" so early and there are venues that would be accessible on other ships 24hrs a day that are inaccessible on this ship.  Want to play ping pong at after 11?  SeaPlex is closed.  Want to hang in the beautiful solarium and chat or play cards after 11?  Solarium is closed.   So many of the activities are also only accessible to a small portion of guests.  iFly, SeaPlex activities like Bumper Cars, North Star, etc are tough to get into and/or get reservations for or are only offered a few times on your cruise.   Think about the Oasis class where you have the zipline, mini golf, ice skating, carousel, etc - which everyone can easily do.   It also really was frustrating how underutilized Two70 was - it is an amazing venue and it hardly ever gets used.  How is there not a DJ dance party there every night using the lights, robo screens, etc?

 

Juneau:  We had great luck using Uber/Lyft to get to Mendenhall Glacier and back.  It was about $45 each way for an XL which if you have 4-6 people will save you a ton of money.  Walking out to nugget falls was just as fun as last time and the view is amazing.  Was sad to see it continue to recede and significantly less chunks of ice in the surrounding water.  I flew my drone around by the waterfall with no issues.

 

Skagway: Last time we did the whole emerald lake, carcross yukon private excursion thing and had a good time, but we wanted to try the train this time.  While it is a bit overpriced, if you enjoy train rides it is must do.   The views are a bit repetitive but the narration was good and make sure you sit on the left side for the best chance to see the "sights".  

 

Victoria:  This was our first time in Victoria and we absolutely loved it.   We don't like to do ship excursions whenever possible, so we saved some money and rented a car from Budget for $45 CAD and drove to the castle and the gardens on our own.  Saved about $130 for just us doing it that way and had a much better time than being herded in a shuttle bus.  Taxis were $10 from the port to downtown and they take USD or CAD.   You can also easily walk or take the shuttle bus which ends up being more money than a taxi if you have two or more in your party.  

 

Debarkation:  We do the opposite of many and try and stay on as long as possible!  Even though we had a low number we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in Two70 and walked off around 10:15 with no lines at all.  No lines for baggage and customs at that point either.  There were still a ton of people on the ship so we were by no means the last ones off.  Big cluster at ride share area with tons of guests arriving and departing at the same time.  

 

Overall we had a great time, but I would drastically adjust your expectations for service on the ship and internet speed. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2019 by disneyfan1313

[Omax4]

Thank you for your comments. My family is going on Ovation on July 17. We have a Junior Suite booked and plan to eat our dinners at Coastal Kitchen. Hopefully we enjoy it.

 

I am sorry to hear about the service issue you experienced. I have never been on a ship this big so I could see how there could be some issues. 

 

I have heard the internet is pretty bad in Alaska. But honesty though, 1to 2 MPs isn’t too bad for Alaska at all. I’ve heard a lot worse. Definitely a little slow for streaming but you should be able to surf and do Facebook and email and other stuff without any problems at that speed. Maybe you are over estimating it. Some other people reported much, much worse.

 

But again thanks for your comments 

 

 

[sharktums]

I was one of the members of this group and I'd love to add my opinion along with my friends here.  I will follow his format!

 

Who: My immediate party was in two balcony connecting cabins, husband, mother, tween daughter, myself. The rest of us have been described above.

 

Itinerary: I didn't hate it as much as others in my party, but it was pretty lame that we didn't make it remotely near the glacier or have anything else to do.  I did notice that Celebrity offers a round trip Seattle itinerary that is MUCH better with just a 'courtesy' visit to Victoria and more Alaska time.  I wish RC would offer this as well as the airfare is so much cheaper and easier for us flying from far away to do a Seattle roundtrip option. 

 

Embarkation: We showed up around 11 and it was a HUGE CLUSTER****!!!!  30min to get into the port to drop off my people, 15min to get back out to the parking lot.  We then just walked from the parking lot to avoid the ridiculousness that was this port. Luckily it seems that we were in front of most of the chaos once we found someone to take our bags as check in was fast and then only about a 15min line to get on the ship.  Again, I get that it's a temporary port, but when you're used to the florida embarkation it was a bit of a shock.

 

Stateroom: My immediate group has been on Quantum and Anthem, and this class just really does the staterooms right.  Awesome layout, storage, plugs, etc.  Our attendant was fantastic!  We never saw him, and yet our room was always done super fast even with our weird schedules. 

 

Internet: Yeah, there is not a way to describe how bad the internet was. Oh wait, there is...remember old school dial up? Yeah, like that but worse.  A few things about this...I get that we're 'on vacation' but my husband and I run our own business and need to be connected.  MOST of the time in the last few years this has not been a problem while on RC cruise ships.  Also, they were ADVERTISING this and charging the same as surf and stream on the other ships.  There was NO way to stream, you could barely surf.  Don't advertise and charge the same for a clearly inferior service.  Again, if they were honest about the service and/or charged less it wouldn't have been such a big deal but they were so rude and flat out lying that it was a big turn off.

 

Service: Yeah, what ^ said.  It was a bit depressing as we had sold our group and friends on this trip and I just felt they didn't get the real experience that we're used to.  We had SEVERAL employees tell us they were leaving in two weeks and so excited to leave.  Maybe that was the problem?  Also, perhaps it comes from the top?  None of us really cared for the captain and he seemed super low energy and uncaring. 

 

Dining: Ultimate/Unlimited Dining really saved the cruise!  We were able to get reservations for everything we wanted and get to every place we wanted except one time when we tried Izumi for lunch with no reservation and they couldn't take us.  To answer a few questions that we had before sailing I will try to explain here.  

- No double entrees allowed at Chops.  

- Yes you can eat at multiple places in one evening.

- No embarkation lunch at Chops or Jamie's.

- Yes Amber and Oak pub food included. (really good, but had weird, bad service)

- No you cannot get the Jamie's food at Vintages.

- No you cannot get the Fish and Ships food. (Though you would NOT WANT TO, IT WAS HORRID!!!!)

 

I was really looking forward to the Windjammer after reading recent positive reviews, but found it pretty subpar.  No 'a la minute' cooking stations, no warm cookies, and annoying staff asking for either 10's or to give up your seat!  

 

We did sit down dining room lunch once as we love the salad bar and while that was good as normal, the rest of the service and food reminded us why we did the ultimate dining. 

 

Cafe 270 was good as usual but never had potato chips. I even heard one guy ask about them and was told they would put them out at some point but we never saw any. 

 

We also did Solarium Bistro one night and it seemed exactly the same as on the Oasis class ships.

 

Entertainment: I don't really do the ships for entertainment, but love that they've been putting real Broadway shows on them lately (except for Cats!).  Kind of bummed and missed a real show on this ship.  I didn't realize that the Pixels show was the same as Spectre's Cabaret.  I didn't see them use 270 for too many other shows or good activities.  A couple of silent parties, one where the second dj never showed up was pretty bad the first hour!

 

Sports and Activities: I really wanted to add in on this part.  Everyone we dealt with except the iFly specific staff were really horrible people!  The workers would show up late to sessions and then blame other employees!  One employee complained our whole Northstar ride about the weather and how she really needed better weather and it wasn't fair!  One bumper car session was cancelled (after we had all been waiting for 45min) because they had forgotten to charge half of them!  And they would just leave activities early and pack up! It was soooo odd!!!

 

Ship in General: This is where I differ from my group.   I LOVE this class of ship!  I just want one with great staff and awesome clientele which I feel we haven't gotten to experience yet.  It's so beautiful, modern, seems more high end, has amazing activities, etc. 

 

Ports:

Juneau - We just did our own thing here, walked around a lot, ate a lot, and donated to the Juneau Raptor Center and got to meet one of their awesome birds.

 

Skagway - We did the best private tour ever here!!! We used Beyond Skagway and just had a blast.  Request Sam as your guide/driver and prepare to have fun.  We saw four bears just feet outside our very nice van and amazing scenery.  We did the sled dogs, panning for gold, emerald lake, lunch, Yukon/Alaska sign, view points, etc.  

 

Glacier Day Sightseeing - Oh wait, nope didn't get to this.  Also in the past they've usually fished out some ice and done a carving or let you touch it and they didn't do that either.  I get that it's a 'safety' issue, but the captain just didn't seem to care or offer anything else.  Why couldn't we stay in the prettier area longer as we were scheduled instead of high-tailing it out of there?!

 

Sea Days - The outside passage is definitely rougher.  Rained on both big outside passage days and had some high winds and waves. Nothing too terrible though.  For those making Northstar reservations I would avoid the out and back sea day, as one full day of those were cancelled due to weather. 

 

Victoria - This stop is obviously a legality.  We walked from the port to downtown and it was nice and everything but couldn't help but think why don't we just do a quick stop here and do another Alaska port like the Celebrity ship does! Seriously, we were there like 8am - 6pm then idle back to Seattle.  The Celebrity ship pulled in around 5:30pm and still makes it back to Seattle the  next morning just fine. 

 

Casino: We did some VERY light playing in the casino, only on low limits tables. They were allowing smoking in part of the casino.  The staff weren't super friendly and lost out on some money from our group by not letting us continue playing on a low limit table. 

 

Debarkation - After the cluster that was embarkation we decided to do self, pretty early.  We walked off at 7am, walked the 1/2 mile to our car and were in the car by about 7:30am so that was a nice end at least.

 

Overall, it's a cruise, it's still MOSTLY better than being at home, but I live in Orlando and frequent Disney quite a bit and wish that some of those amazing cast members trained the Ovation employees.  Also, I really don't want to sacrifice ship for itinerary but I know sometimes that is necessary.  I would love to see this ship do a better Alaska itinerary similar to her sister Celebrity line. I prefer Seattle to both Vancouver and Anchorage so a nice roundtrip option would make this a no brainer.  I also prefer this ship to the Radiance class.  What would I recommend for others?  It really depends on your personal preferences, who you are traveling with, and what you want to get out of the vacation. 

 

Hope this helps, happy to answer random questions!

 

 

 

[JessyCruises]

We sail Jul 5.  Did you Uber back to the airport after debarkation?  Is so how many were in your vehicle and what was the cost? 

 

Thanks

Jess

 

 

[disneyfan1313]

2 minutes ago, Canadian Disney Mom said:

We sail Jul 5.  Did you Uber back to the airport after debarkation?  Is so how many were in your vehicle and what was the cost? 

 

Thanks

Jess

 

 

 

We used Lyft after debarkation to a hotel very close to the airport and it was around $38 for a standard Lyft up to 4 people.  LyftXL or UberXL for up to 6 was in high demand and close to double the cost.  I would recommend checking both Uber and Lyft while in Seattle since the prices vary pretty wildly between them based on demand and area.  Just use whichever is cheaper at the moment!

[disneyfan1313]

15 minutes ago, sharktums said:

 

 

- No you cannot get the Fish and Ships food. (Though you would NOT WANT TO, IT WAS HORRID!!!!)

 

Glacier Day Sightseeing - Oh wait, nope didn't get to this.  Also in the past they've usually fished out some ice and done a carving or let you touch it and they didn't do that either.  I get that it's a 'safety' issue, but the captain just didn't seem to care or offer anything else.  Why couldn't we stay in the prettier area longer as we were scheduled instead of high-tailing it out of there?!

 

 

OMG.  I forgot to touch on these two things.  Fish and Ships was REALLY REALLY bad.  I even got the "upcharge" better fish and it tasted really gross and oily.  Fried candy bar was almost inedible - tasted like fish and super oily.

 

The glacier day was a super big bummer.  I remember how cool it was to be in the middle of all those chunks of ice on our last cruise and then how you saw them bring up a piece of ice and carve it later.  No one on this cruise got that amazing experience or even close, and that is a bummer. 

[fla gang]

I sure hope they get the kinks worked out of the boarding process. We did the Mariner out of Miami back in Feb. and you didn't even go to a check in desk. They were walking around with tablets and checked everyone in that way. We were onboard so fast it was unbelievable. We have done many cruises on Royal and we have had both good and bad experiences with service and food. We did Chops on the Mariner and there was a table of I think 8 drunk people and they were in bathing suites and being loud. One of the young women stood up and pulled her top down. We were floored that she was not scolded or escorted out! We are hoping for the best on our sailing on the 21st. on the Ovation!

[disneyfan1313]

13 hours ago, fla gang said:

I sure hope they get the kinks worked out of the boarding process. We did the Mariner out of Miami back in Feb. and you didn't even go to a check in desk. They were walking around with tablets and checked everyone in that way. We were onboard so fast it was unbelievable. We have done many cruises on Royal and we have had both good and bad experiences with service and food. We did Chops on the Mariner and there was a table of I think 8 drunk people and they were in bathing suites and being loud. One of the young women stood up and pulled her top down. We were floored that she was not scolded or escorted out! We are hoping for the best on our sailing on the 21st. on the Ovation!

 

The check in inside the terminal was fine, it was everything outside that was a hot mess!  We've had individual good and bad experiences on ships as well but they are usually isolated to one department or area, this unfortunately seemed to be a service issue with the entire ship.  I'm sure you will have a wonderful cruise regardless!  

[LadyBeBop]

Ugh. We were thinking about taking Uber from our hotel (near the Seattle Center) to the pier. But I can’t imagine dragging our suitcases, carry-ons and my cpap machine for 1/3 of a mile. 

 

With that, what do you recommend as transportation to the pier?

 

As always, many thanks. 

[sgtjasonb7]

Guys how far in advance did IFLY come up for reservation in the cruise planner? i still dont see it.

[sharktums]

^^There was a shuttle to/from the ride share area, but keep in mind it could be a 20-30min ride depending on the current cluster.

 

^iFly opened up on March 15, Pixels on March 20, Northstar on May 10 for a May 31 cruise.

[AlanF65]

1 hour ago, LadyBeBop said:

Ugh. We were thinking about taking Uber from our hotel (near the Seattle Center) to the pier. But I can’t imagine dragging our suitcases, carry-ons and my cpap machine for 1/3 of a mile. 

 

With that, what do you recommend as transportation to the pier?

 

As always, many thanks. 

I thought ride shares were allowed to drop off up front, just debarkation / pick up was in the waiting area.

[AlanF65]

26 minutes ago, AlanF65 said:

I thought ride shares were allowed to drop off up front, just debarkation / pick up was in the waiting area.

@LadyBeBop You may want to follow this thread

@Ferry_Watcher keeps pier 91 info pretty well updated.

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by AlanF65

[vistapat]

On 6/13/2019 at 5:05 PM, disneyfan1313 said:

 

We used Lyft after debarkation to a hotel very close to the airport and it was around $38 for a standard Lyft up to 4 people.  LyftXL or UberXL for up to 6 was in high demand and close to double the cost.  I would recommend checking both Uber and Lyft while in Seattle since the prices vary pretty wildly between them based on demand and area.  Just use whichever is cheaper at the moment!

 

There have been some posts about horrible crowds and chaos at the ride-share lot at Pier 91.  How was your experience using Lyft there?

 

Thanks, Pat

[disneyfan1313]

9 minutes ago, vistapat said:

 

There have been some posts about horrible crowds and chaos at the ride-share lot at Pier 91.  How was your experience using Lyft there?

 

Thanks, Pat

 

It was a bit chaotic with the pier employees yelling at everyone, making up arbitrary rules on where you could stand that changed by the moment, etc.   It’s manageable but just be prepared for the chaos.  

[BA5]

Thanks for the info on the cabin-we are in 6294-would like to know if the obstruction is mostly looking down? Or is it mostly obstructed? Also, tell me about the hidden access to two70?  I am sorry about the terrible service and appreciate your honesty. Our cruise is in July-I can only hope that the feedback they are hearing leads to positive changes. 

[tallgirl97]

How did it work sailing with a drone - were you able to keep it with you the whole time, or did you have to turn it in while on the ship?

[disneyfan1313]

1 hour ago, BA5 said:

Thanks for the info on the cabin-we are in 6294-would like to know if the obstruction is mostly looking down? Or is it mostly obstructed? Also, tell me about the hidden access to two70?  I am sorry about the terrible service and appreciate your honesty. Our cruise is in July-I can only hope that the feedback they are hearing leads to positive changes. 

 

Photo of the view from our stateroom is attached! And yes, mostly an issue looking down. 

 

The “hidden” Two70 access is great! At the end of the hall (going in the direction of Two70) is an unmarked double door that is pretty heavy.  Pull it open and you are in the second floor of Two70!  It is unmarked on the other side as well.  It was always unlocked and no issues going through it during our entire cruise.  

[BA5]

Thank you for the picture❤️

[disneyfan1313]

20 minutes ago, tallgirl97 said:

How did it work sailing with a drone - were you able to keep it with you the whole time, or did you have to turn it in while on the ship?

 

Super easy!  You bring it on your carry on and you keep it with you the whole time on the ship!  No one questioned it at any point during initial embarkation or during the return to ship after ports.  

 

Biggest rule - don’t take it out while on board.   That is grounds for immediate confiscation for the rest of the cruise.  

 

If you weren’t planning to already, make sure you try and research each port in advance to know where you can fly.  Juneau (in theory) would be fine to fly around the port but had signs specifically saying no flying.   Mendenhall glacier in the same port was 100% fine with no restrictions.   Skagway you have to go a bit out of town to be out of the airport restriction zone, etc.  

 

hope that helps! 

[mooseman52b]

Thanks for the review. We board Ovation July 5th for our first Alaska cruise.

[Annicruise2014]

On 6/13/2019 at 5:56 PM, disneyfan1313 said:

 

 

Quote

Internet:  OMG it was bad.  We went into this cruise having read all of the reviews and expected it to not be great, but really had no idea how unusable it would be.  With the surf and stream expect 1mbs-2mbs for the majority of your cruise with less than 1mbs upload.   Twitter, basic email and messaging apps work, Facebook will kinda work unless you want to upload something or watch a video, Instagram really doesn't work at all for anything - even uploading a basic photo or watching stories.  Want to stream something... HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA... good luck!   This was by far the worst internet experience we have had in the last 10 (or so ) years of buying internet on cruises including the last time in Alaska.   The Internet manger was *beyond* horrible to anyone in our group who went and complained, told people in our group that they were lying about speeds, refused to give any type of credit at all and it took 4 days of going to guest services to get a small credit back.   With this all being said, I am not sure I would recommend just buying the "surf" package - it might throttle you even below the surf and stream people.

 

 

 

If all I want to do is text and receive photos from texting, (maybe videos from texting), will that be fine, or will I be better off just not getting the surf and stream?  If I dont' get it and then just when I am in Alaska ports and my ATT is covered in my phone plan, send and receive my texts then?

Edited June 17, 2019 by Annicruise2014
added text

[disneyfan1313]

50 minutes ago, Annicruise2014 said:

 

If all I want to do is text and receive photos from texting, (maybe videos from texting), will that be fine, or will I be better off just not getting the surf and stream?  If I dont' get it and then just when I am in Alaska ports and my ATT is covered in my phone plan, send and receive my texts then?

 

Texts (through iMessage or another messaging app) should work with no issue.  Pictures may take a very long time to go through, depending on location, but should go though eventually (some for us at some points wouldn’t go through till next day).   Videos will probably not go through at all.

 

 With ATT, your phone will work normally at the Alaskan ports.  

 

[sharktums]

^What he said.  Don't expect any videos to work, and there could be issues with large photos as well. 

[SacCaliCruiser]

Thanks for this review, it's eye opening to be sure. Did you mention your issues at any point regarding the service besides the internet or just include it in your survey? I just am curious if there is any recourse whatsoever for such a universally bad experience with the staff and activities. This will be our first ever cruise and I have such mixed feelings from the reviews here on CC.

 

Also, another questions for the tween/s in your group, did they at least have fun/meet friends etc.? We are traveling with two tweens.

 

Last question, are there any shuttles or transportation that anybody knows of that drop you right at the port?

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited June 17, 2019 by SacCaliCruiser