LIVE from Ovation of the Seas 5/31/2024 - Who isn’t tired of sandy beaches???

[niksmom630]

I think I may be headed in the wrong direction…🥶 

 

 

 

After 36 cruises to the Caribbean, it’s time to start tackling the “bucket list” cruise trips….next up, Alaska! 

[niksmom630]

When the alarm went off at 3:45 am, I questioned my decision to book this 7 am flight to Seattle 😵 

 

What a girl won’t do for a good price on a business class ticket, along with an extra 20 pounds of baggage weight allowance that I knew I would most certainly use….

 

Titos to the rescue

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

I feel like Gordon Ramsey would have had some choice words for this meal. 🥴 
 

should have opted for the waffle, instead of the egg “bake” with a few dozen extra ingredients …

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

To be frank, a cruise to Alaska has never been something I was interested in. We chose November and February as our travel months to escape the cold and grey. 
 

a few years ago, I retired- and started thinking I may have fewer vacations ahead of me than behind me….thus, a new cruise “Bucket”  list was created. 
 

Italy and Greek Isles, then Spain and Portugal. I knew I needed to take the whole family with me on one of these adventures, so imagine the kids excitement when I surprised them with…. Alaska! 😧 

 

I think they may have wanted another spin of the “departure port”  wheel….😎 but a mostly free vacation does have its merits…

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

My reviews are predominantly photo heavy, but I’ll post a few pics from around the ship, tips, and anything I deem noteworthy to share along the way.  My camera of choice for this trip will be my iPhone 15 Pro Max. 
 

We have three excursions booked-in Sitka, Skagway, and Juneau. More details on this later. 
 

We have a group of 13 along for ride. My husband and I, our two daughters and their significant others. Brothers in law and sister in law, 2 dear friends, and the grands, ages (almost) 3, and 10 months. 

 

Pre cruise stay

 

 

Hope to do some exploring with the limited time we have in Seattle…

 

 

[niksmom630]

[kcmo74]

We are tired of sandy beaches, and have come to the realization that we are cold climate cruisers (a rarity it appears). We're following you to Alaska next week on Brilliance, so I'm interested to see how you enjoy it and what the weather and such is like. Trying to decide if I'll do a live for ours or just an after action report like I've done in the past, the wife will have Voom but none for me. Have fun!

[Mrs.Dukes]

Have a wonderful time. Looking forward to following along on your Alaska adventure!

[Lionesss]

Enjoy. 
Be safe. 
 

Enjoy all the Beauty of nature. 
 

Sue 

[niksmom630]

10 hours ago, kcmo74 said:

We are tired of sandy beaches, and have come to the realization that we are cold climate cruisers (a rarity it appears). We're following you to Alaska next week on Brilliance, so I'm interested to see how you enjoy it and what the weather and such is like. Trying to decide if I'll do a live for ours or just an after action report like I've done in the past, the wife will have Voom but none for me. Have fun!

brilliance is one of our favorite ships. I’ll definately follow along! 🤗

[niksmom630]

5 hours ago, Lionesss said:

Enjoy. 
Be safe. 
 

Enjoy all the Beauty of nature. 
 

Sue 

Thanks Sue! 💕 really looking forward

to this one 

[niksmom630]

Lots to report on 😎 we re beyond exhausted…. But lots of pics coming up 🤗

[niksmom630]

Hotel view, floor 11

 

lunch at 

 

https://www.vons1000spirits.com

 

highly recommend….expansive menu

 

space needle up next….

[niksmom630]

I HATE heights….was really proud of myself that I made it on the North Star on Odyssey two years ago 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

[niksmom630]

[niksmom630]

Having issues uploading photos… 🤦🏼‍♀️ 

 

[niksmom630]

[niksmom630]

Strange…. Can’t upload  photos 

full black screen…. 
 

 

[niksmom630]

More tomorrow 💕

[perfect match]

@niksmom630 the only black box I’m seeing is post #16. All the other pictures are beautiful! 
 

I used to be afraid of heights but at some point in my life with no effort on my part to get over that fear I realized that I was no longer afraid and that I actually enjoy heights now. 🤷‍♀️ I have no idea how or why that happened but I’m glad it did! I would be right there on that giant Ferris wheel and up that Space Needle ASAP!

[niksmom630]

More space needle info….

 

https://sn.web.ticketing.siaticketing.com/tickets/main

 

I ordered the tickets online. The entry times run every 15 minutes. It was pretty crowded, and we waited in line for about 35 minutes. All the times were open in the morning when i

checked, but they started filling up by early afternoon.

 

 

 

my SIL went in the first morning slot, and there were no lines ……

 

there are two levels. The lower level has a revolving walkway with full open

views to below….

 

 

Ok, here we go with the black photos…. Never had this problem before…. 
 

see the actual photo when I attempt to upload it …. But if I screenshot the same photo, it works just fine 🤔  

 

 

[niksmom630]

Well I found a thread on this same issue on the photography boards…

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2976820-problem-inserting-photos-directly-from-iphone-onto-my-posts-on-the-cruise-critic-boards/

 

If anyone knows of of a fix for this, please share! 
 

 

 

[barbeyg]

18 minutes ago, niksmom630 said:

Well I found a thread on this same issue on the photography boards…

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2976820-problem-inserting-photos-directly-from-iphone-onto-my-posts-on-the-cruise-critic-boards/

 

If anyone knows of of a fix for this, please share! 
 

I, and some others, have had this issue here too.  Screenshots were what I do when I’m sharing a photo. Only an issue here on CC for me. 🙄

 

Enjoying your Live. 🙂 We love Alaska, hope you guys will feel the same. 

[niksmom630]

2 hours ago, barbeyg said:

I, and some others, have had this issue here too.  Screenshots were what I do when I’m sharing a photo. Only an issue here on CC for me. 🙄

 

Enjoying your Live. 🙂 We love Alaska, hope you guys will feel the same. 

thanks, Barb! I posted a follow up in the photography boards also! Sure puts a damper on live reporting!!!! 🙄