Mum2Mercury Posted July 9 #26 Share Posted July 9 8 minutes ago, SUgwoz said: The flipside is how people having glowing comments about getting on a ship at 10:30 or even sooner on embarkation day, and the only reason that happens is because they are getting people out quickly. You're right. Two sides to every story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
time4u2go Posted July 9 #27 Share Posted July 9 (edited) 3 hours ago, mkrr1123 said: Thank you so much for your reply. My oldest son wants to somehow fit in Denali with this trip. I know that there are size restrictions on certain areas so that will play a decision in our choices, but the kids are dead set against Princess. My 82 year old father only sails on Princess so they are of the idea that it would be like when I drag them to church - they would be the youngest people by decades. I don't think even with me paying for their cabins they would be willing to take a Princess cruise. Have a great day. You really should try to convince them to do Princess. They might be the youngest, but with an Alaskan cruise, the ship is not the big thing...the scenery is. Princess knows how to do Alaska. They have several lodges where you can do land/sea packages, including a trip on the Alaska Railroad, which literally drops you off across the street from the cruise port. Denali is a must! If you are going all the way to Alaska, it would be a waste not to see it. Also, RC does not cruise to Glacier Bay National Park, which is also a must! (Princess does.) Edited July 9 by time4u2go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
time4u2go Posted July 9 #28 Share Posted July 9 3 hours ago, mkrr1123 said: The funny thing is she did have her ear phones on but they did not block out the whistles. This isn't entirely surprising. Noise cancelling headphones/ear buds are much better at cancelling out steady noises (like an airplane engine) than they are with sudden short-duration noises (like a whistle). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare irun5k Posted July 9 #29 Share Posted July 9 Glad you had a great cruise, although I agree with you on the port of Miami. We had a major issue upon arrival last year.... nobody directing traffic, all lanes gridlocked, and garage after garage was full. Eventually I saw a guy walking that looked like he had recently parked so I asked him where he parked. Otherwise I was running out of options and there was literally nobody (police, security, parking attendants, traffic control, etc.) to ask. Of course now I was about a half mile from our actual terminal and there are no sidewalks , cross walks, etc. and they were nice enough to place the chain link fences about 5 inches from the roadway so I had 5 inches of shoulder to walk on. Nor was there any posted information about shuttle service from the garages. So, I ended up hiking cross country to the terminal to meet my family. Couple this with no safe off site parking options... it would take a LOT to get to me to Miami again. There were a ton of ships in port that day so maybe that was part of the issue but I would imagine it is always busy. We're much closer to Port Canaveral anyway and when we sailed on Allure earlier this year it was an absolute dream. As easier if not easier than driving to Costco and walking into the store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LobsterStalker Posted July 10 #30 Share Posted July 10 7 hours ago, SUgwoz said: The flipside is how people having glowing comments about getting on a ship at 10:30 or even sooner on embarkation day, and the only reason that happens is because they are getting people out quickly. Agree completely . Although it is Chaos , It seems a necessary chaos to achieve that goal ! ...And u could not pay me enough to work in that environment Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeRick Posted July 10 #31 Share Posted July 10 20 hours ago, mkrr1123 said: We loved this boat and since we had sailed on Mariner it was easy to know our way around. We had 2 cabins next to each other on deck 10 right below the wind jammer. We loved that location easy to get up to deck 11 and 12 and not bad to go down to 4 and 5. I did so many stairs during the 5 days that I averaged 16,000 steps a day. My kids absolutely loved the wine bar and playmakers and my one son drank every kind of beer at the pub over the 5 days. I am a huge Wimbledon fan (on my bucket list to attend one day) and the bar tenders in the pub put it on for me and even turned up the volume. I sat and watched for quite a while and the bar tender chatted with me about the matches. The kids also said the night club was better on Indy than on Mariner. The show Grease was incredible. We also had no problem getting a seating area in the adult section. It became our cental location for the day. My oldest son had to do some work and he was able to do stuff no problem. Overall we had an absolute blast. So glad you had an absolute blast with your family on this cruise. Almost nothing better in life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeRick Posted July 10 #32 Share Posted July 10 18 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said: We are back on indy after 8 years away next summer as well from Southampton. Such a nice quiet easy port to sail from. Never had any issues with royal, msc or p&o out of southampton. No whistles, no horn beeping and no need to tip the porter mafia. Cant wait to see how indy is now post her amplification 👍 We are doing the 12 night Canary Islands cruise in May. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin Kay D Posted July 13 #33 Share Posted July 13 Mum2Mercury: RE Alaska! Lots to tell you! We have been to AK many times but only on Princess & Holland America ships, including a 2 wk cruise & a 3 wk cruise!! Both of those lines have access to Glacier Bay, whereas RC & Celebrity do not. Hubbard Glacier is an amazing area too. We did "on our own" land tours 3 times. It's very easy to plan. Tons of info to help you. You can use bus or rail from Whittier or Seward to Anchorage plus lots of tour companies. The same train that has the cruise lines' passengers has plenty of cars for regular people, Yes, Denali is magnificent but you cannot see it many days due to fog and clouds. (In all our trips we haven't been blessed with a view!!) Plenty of other big snow-capped mountains to see! Last time we rented a car from a website called Turo instead of regular agencies; look that up...wonderful experience. Also several RV rental companies in Anchorage, so you might consider renting an RV to tour. One company, Great Alaskan Holidays, has people like you & me to drive their new RVs from Iowa & Indiana to Anchorage, and we did this in 2011!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin Kay D Posted July 13 #34 Share Posted July 13 To the original poster of this topic: Due to health issues, we have had to use wheelchairs to get my husband through the terminals. The people who push the wheelchairs KNOW where to go & how to get through the lines. We find them especially helpful on the disembarkation -- I just say the name of the shuttle company or need a taxi and they know where to take us! Noone questions as to why you need a wheelchair. It's free but we always tip the person pushing the chair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkrr1123 Posted July 18 Author #35 Share Posted July 18 On 7/12/2024 at 8:38 PM, Cruisin Kay D said: Mum2Mercury: RE Alaska! Lots to tell you! We have been to AK many times but only on Princess & Holland America ships, including a 2 wk cruise & a 3 wk cruise!! Both of those lines have access to Glacier Bay, whereas RC & Celebrity do not. Hubbard Glacier is an amazing area too. We did "on our own" land tours 3 times. It's very easy to plan. Tons of info to help you. You can use bus or rail from Whittier or Seward to Anchorage plus lots of tour companies. The same train that has the cruise lines' passengers has plenty of cars for regular people, Yes, Denali is magnificent but you cannot see it many days due to fog and clouds. (In all our trips we haven't been blessed with a view!!) Plenty of other big snow-capped mountains to see! Last time we rented a car from a website called Turo instead of regular agencies; look that up...wonderful experience. Also several RV rental companies in Anchorage, so you might consider renting an RV to tour. One company, Great Alaskan Holidays, has people like you & me to drive their new RVs from Iowa & Indiana to Anchorage, and we did this in 2011!!! My Aunt just came back from a land and cruise trip to Alaska. I can't wait to hear all her reports. They were on a Holland America boat. We are open to looking at other lines but the boat for my guys is still important so that will be a consideration. It is not for me but for the others it is. I am looking forward to the planning. We will have kids coming from different cities and with jobs some may only be able to do the cruise. I love the fact that my adult kids love to still travel with us. I know that paying for their cabins is a big reason but I love to have the time with them as well. Our oldest lives 5 hours away and while 3 of them are currently with us at home I know that 2 of them are looking to leave the area so traveling together I hope will continue to be a priority for all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted July 18 #36 Share Posted July 18 On 7/8/2024 at 10:58 AM, mkrr1123 said: My children definitely made use of the drink package with between alcohol, coffee, and water. Hi, there. I was interested in your post because we are also sailing on the Independence OTS from Miami, this December, in fact. Do you happen to know what kind of coffee they serve onboard, especially if you or your family visited the Café Promenade? I bought the Deluxe Beverage Package and see that it includes premium coffees, but it is not good at Starbucks stand-alone venues. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamilyCruiserUK Posted July 18 #37 Share Posted July 18 On 7/10/2024 at 1:48 PM, TeeRick said: We are doing the 12 night Canary Islands cruise in May. Ours is the 9 night spanish flare in July. Just a shame royal only having a couple of 7+ nights with indy and the rest are 3/4 nighters. Esp with northern Europe weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeRick Posted July 18 #38 Share Posted July 18 17 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said: Ours is the 9 night spanish flare in July. Just a shame royal only having a couple of 7+ nights with indy and the rest are 3/4 nighters. Esp with northern Europe weather. Well we will enjoy her for sure. Our third time on Indy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkrr1123 Posted July 19 Author #39 Share Posted July 19 22 hours ago, DCGuy64 said: Hi, there. I was interested in your post because we are also sailing on the Independence OTS from Miami, this December, in fact. Do you happen to know what kind of coffee they serve onboard, especially if you or your family visited the Café Promenade? I bought the Deluxe Beverage Package and see that it includes premium coffees, but it is not good at Starbucks stand-alone venues. Thank you! They serve Starbucks coffee in the Cafe Promenade so your package it good to go. I don't drink coffee but my crew enjoyed multiple cups a day. I was able to get iced green tea though and it was pretty fabulous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Tree_skier Posted July 19 #40 Share Posted July 19 On 7/18/2024 at 11:29 AM, DCGuy64 said: Hi, there. I was interested in your post because we are also sailing on the Independence OTS from Miami, this December, in fact. Do you happen to know what kind of coffee they serve onboard, especially if you or your family visited the Café Promenade? I bought the Deluxe Beverage Package and see that it includes premium coffees, but it is not good at Starbucks stand-alone venues. Thank you! They serve Starbucks branded product in the Cafe Promenade on Indy and almost all other ships. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilkySal Posted July 21 #41 Share Posted July 21 Cafe Promenade specialty coffees include things like caramel macchiato, my fave! Tastes just as good, if not better, than Starbucks! They will also add alcohol if you want. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelCMTX Posted July 21 #42 Share Posted July 21 On 7/9/2024 at 1:40 PM, SUgwoz said: The flipside is how people having glowing comments about getting on a ship at 10:30 or even sooner on embarkation day, and the only reason that happens is because they are getting people out quickly. Too true. In a way, this is why we try to avoid getting to the ship til 3:00pm or so. The port is practically deserted at that point, and the ship's not going anywhere for hours regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelCMTX Posted July 21 #43 Share Posted July 21 (edited) duplicated - sorry Edited July 21 by MichaelCMTX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Researcher Posted July 21 #44 Share Posted July 21 2 hours ago, MichaelCMTX said: Too true. In a way, this is why we try to avoid getting to the ship til 3:00pm or so. The port is practically deserted at that point, and the ship's not going anywhere for hours regardless. We've done both ways. We loved having a nice relaxing lunch on land and then getting on the ship around 1:30pm with no wait. We also like getting on early to have a nice embarkation lunch at a specialty restaurant on the ship. For us there is no wrong way, but I will say we tend to get on as early as possible now since we seem to prefer that more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelCMTX Posted July 21 #45 Share Posted July 21 2 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said: We've done both ways. We loved having a nice relaxing lunch on land and then getting on the ship around 1:30pm with no wait. We also like getting on early to have a nice embarkation lunch at a specialty restaurant on the ship. For us there is no wrong way, but I will say we tend to get on as early as possible now since we seem to prefer that more. True. So much depends on if your embarkation port is a destination. The new wrinkle is how they're doing the muster. A lot more convenient not having to plan your Embarkation Day around it (and being subject to the whims of those who'd "take their time") 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Tree_skier Posted July 21 #46 Share Posted July 21 2 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said: We also like getting on early to have a nice embarkation lunch at a specialty restaurant on the ship. This has become our standard procedure on embarkation day now. We minimize our carryon to avoid the inconvenience and sit down to a nice meal until cabins are ready. It's the perfect, stress free way to start a cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted July 22 #47 Share Posted July 22 On 7/19/2024 at 5:28 PM, Tree_skier said: They serve Starbucks branded product in the Cafe Promenade on Indy and almost all other ships. On 7/20/2024 at 10:14 PM, SilkySal said: Cafe Promenade specialty coffees include things like caramel macchiato, my fave! Tastes just as good, if not better, than Starbucks! They will also add alcohol if you want. Enjoy! Wait, one of you said they serve Starbucks in Cafe Promenade, and the other says what they serve is better than Starbucks (which implies it's a different brand). Hmmm. Now I'm really confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted July 22 #48 Share Posted July 22 1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said: Now I'm really confused. RCI markets itself as a Starbucks brand cruise line but in reality, they use beans form a variety of vendors. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Researcher Posted July 22 #49 Share Posted July 22 1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said: Wait, one of you said they serve Starbucks in Cafe Promenade, and the other says what they serve is better than Starbucks (which implies it's a different brand). Hmmm. Now I'm really confused. On some Royal ships there are True Starbucks Venues (the sign says Starbucks) and also a generic coffee location like the Cafe Promenade or Cafe 270 that also serve specialty coffees. For instance the cafe promenade has the little Starbucks symbol on the menu board that indicates it uses Starbucks beans, but it’s not a stand-alone Starbucks location . I believe I’m remembering that correctly. Hope that helps. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare little britain Posted July 22 #50 Share Posted July 22 On 7/9/2024 at 6:58 PM, FamilyCruiserUK said: We are back on indy after 8 years away next summer as well from Southampton. Such a nice quiet easy port to sail from. Never had any issues with royal, msc or p&o out of southampton. No whistles, no horn beeping and no need to tip the porter mafia. Cant wait to see how indy is now post her amplification 👍 I went on her first sailing post Amp back in May 2018. She will be looking a bit tired by 2025!! Do they still have that VR bouncy ball shaped thing - that was just an abandoned area on Odyssey and Spectrum now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now