Serenade of the Seas 7/2 - Mini-review

[garyhartaz]

First let me start by saying that we booked our cruise 6 weeks before sailing through American Express Platinum Travel services. We decided to take an Alaska cruise because some of our friends had taken it before and said it was beautiful and amazing; however, we did not choose Royal Caribbean as our first choice and would have taken Holland or Celebrity if it would have been available. This was our second cruise; our first one was on the Carnival Pride in the Mexican Riviera.

 

Embarkation -

As we did with our first cruise, we arrived a day early in Vancouver just in case there was some travel snafu. We stayed at the Pan Pacific hotel right on the shores of Coal Harbor. This is not the cheapest hotel choice but it put us in the center of the city for great shopping and all of the Canada Day celebration. On the day of our cruise we left the hotel at noon, a short 5 minute cab ride to the embarkation pier, and we literally had our SeaPass card by 12:45pm! By 1:20pm we were on the Serenade. Our rooms were not accessible until 1:30pm so we went and wandered the ship.

 

The first thing we noticed was that all of the access from top to bottom is made in the center of the ship, unlike the wide open access on the Carnival Pride from the forward, center and aft aspects of the vessel. Be ready to fight the elevator game. There are 8 total elevators mid-ship that are broken in to two groups of 4. In between the elevator groups is a 3-D aspect of the ship that identifies the deck you are on. If you stand at this point after pressing the up or down button, you stand a 50/50 chance of making the elevator. If you are at either end of the banks, be ready to run, with your hand out to kick the doors back open, providing you see the doors in the first place! Even the comedian joked about this but it is no joke, especially when there are 50 people leaving the WindJammer Café! :confused:

 

Anyway, we walked around deck 11 and 12 and saw the putt-putt golf and rock climbing wall, two items we never got to take advantage of. After leaving deck 12 we headed for deck 13 that contains the Vortex nightclub and the Hollywood bar, which the Hollywood bar was closed for the entire cruise. By this time it was 1:45pm so we headed back down to deck 8 to see if our room was ready and indeed it was and 3 of our 4 bags had already been delivered. Our final bag and most important was not delivered until 6:20pm and it was damaged! Somehow they managed to tear off the tow line and handle on our beefy Samsonite hard shell bag. They claimed nothing could be done for compensation since the sailing agreement states that it is “acceptable” damage.

 

Our stateroom-

On to the room, it sucks. First of all, there is no clock in the room other than the time on the phone which is not back-lit and cannot be seen at night unless you turn on a light, walk over to the phone and look at the display. If you are hoping for a clock radio to pipe your iPod through, forget it and make sure you purchase one of those iPod speaker systems.

 

The room is about 50sq ft smaller for the same class on the Carnival Pride however the stateroom on the Pride cost us half of what we paid for this which was $2,600 per person. The balcony was also noticeably shallower and was less private than the Pride. One note for those of you with privacy phobias, when it gets dark out, your balcony glass becomes a mirror. Anyone to the right or left your stateroom can see everything in your room! Close the privacy white curtain to mask your nakedness, please! Storage is adequate for two people with 4 bags. The toilet seemed to be 3 feet off of the ground and I am a tall person to begin with. There was the noticeable stench of what I called the RV blue water smell in almost every hallway of the ship. On any of the decks the smell of bleach was substituted. Vile!

 

You will also not find an iron or ironing board to save your life. You will pay a nice fee for them to press your clothes! The hair dryer is a joke so even a travel sized hair dryer is better than the piece they let you use.

 

Food and dining-

After checking out the stateroom, we headed for the WindJammer Café. Before you enter the café though, one of the hand cleaner guards will make sure you place your hands underneath the hand cleaner station! Everything here is served buffet style. The food is marginal at best; in fact most of the cheap buffets found in Las Vegas beat it hands down. The selection was your typical breakfast, lunch and dinner de jour and the quality and selection remained consistent throughout the voyage.

 

As for our dinning, we chose the second seating which is not a good thing on this ship or perhaps just this excursion. First of all, if you wanted to catch any of the shows, you have to go before dinner, usually between 6 and 7pm. On the Carnival Pride, second seating dining got their shows between 10:30 and 11:30pm! Sadly, we never went to one show, except the adults-only midnight comedy. Back to dining, it is tasteless and not very imaginative. Anything we ordered that we medium always came out well and the portions are very “California” style. Our waiter seemed annoyed if we asked for an additional portion and it wasn’t until I complained did he lose the attitude. The assistant waiters service was excellent though.

 

If you are counting on the WindJammer being opened for a midnight snack, forget about it! The nice touch on the Carnival Pride was that the buffet was open until 1 am. In fact, the Carnival buffet was open from 6am straight through until 1am; however the Serenade buffet closes periodically throughout the day. So, what do you do when you are hungry at 1:00am? Order crappy room service that will take over an hour to get to your stateroom, even with VIP status. One night our order of hot dogs took an hour and a half and when they arrived they were ice cold on stale buns. The room service selection is horrible and if you are craving a turkey sandwich from room service between 6am and 11am, forget about it because they only serve breakfast! LAME!

 

Our only decent meals were during our excursions. I know everyone has different tastes but we were not the only cruisers that had such a negative opinion of the food; more to follow on this.

 

Ship activities-

Shopping, BINGO, shopping, silent auction. Royal Caribbean, if you are reading this, PLEASE stop hocking cheap watches, roses and gold on a roll on the deck floors. Every deck from 4 to 11 had junk for sale during most of the day. Then in your room you had a couple of pounds of crappy shopping coupons not to mention the shopping junket information for each destination city. I have never seen so much cheap shopping in my life, not even in Mexico! There is no live music in the Solarium, the only pool that is protected from the elements, in fact there are no live activities other than a bunch of rowdy kids running around between 1pm and 4pm. Although our weather was perfectly sunny almost the entire time, you just can’t sit out on the main pool deck without feeling a little chill. The activities just seemed very limited compared to all of the constant shows and bands that played around the clock on the Pride.

 

The spa and gym is where we spent our time between excursions. The spa is over priced compared to the level of the experience of the “spa technicians”. The gym has one lonely water fountain and there is no bottled water to be found. I do recommend that you purchase the couples package for use of the Razual and the spa lounge for the week. The equipment in the gym is average and will get the job done to burn off those extra calories. The locker rooms are also adequate except I kept finding peoples junk in my assigned locker. By the third day I stopped being nice and just left there stuff on the bench since they apparently could not read.

 

Excursions-

This is the only thing that saved our trip next to the perfect weather. The two excursions we booked, albeit the most expensive, through Royal Caribbean were perfect. We booked our own whale watching and helicopter tour for Juneau and it was exceptional and substantially less than Royal Caribbean’s package. Expect to do nothing in Skagway so book something that takes all day. We did the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari Expedition in Skagway and in Ketchikan we did the Exclusive Guided Fishing & Wilderness dining. For Juneau we booked both packages directly with Orca Enterprises and I recommend you do this too if you want the best whale watching and glacier helicopter tour. You can save some money on the Ketchikan expedition as well if you go directly to exclusivealaska.com. One thing I would like to point out is that we had some of the best weather that even the guides hadn’t seen in years. The skies were flawless blue and bright and sunny. I couldn’t have imagined it rainy and I think it would have taken the experience down a notch. Every mountain peak was visible around the clock!

 

Debarkation-

We were in group purple 8, one of the last few groups called to leave the ship. You have to be out of your room at 8am, which we were. We did not leave the ship until 9:50 and then we spent the next hour in the Canadian customs line followed by another 45 minutes in the taxi line. Both the WindJammer and the dining room closed by 8:30am whereas the Pride kept the buffet open the entire time, albeit limited in selection.

 

Final thoughts-

This was a disappointing holiday from a service and value standpoint. It seemed that this was not the appropriate ship for this cruise. All of the other cruise ships had retractable enclosed upper decks. Given that you have daylight almost around the clock through most of the cruise, too many things closed earlier than they should have. For two of us including airfare from Phoenix, Arizona, hotel and the excursions, we spent $13,000! That is for two people! The balcony on this trip is a must as it allowed us to privately view the glacier, see whales and keep dry and warm in the process. Other well traveled cruise folk (10+ cruises) also noticed a lot of the same things we did so I know it wasn’t just us. I did fill out a comment card but I don’t expect anything will change. I doubt that we will ever use Royal Caribbean again because of this one experience. More about this cruise including pictures can be found on my blog at http://www.garyhart.com/blog

[wrp96]

I'm sorry you were disappointed in your cruise, but I feel the need to address a couple of things in your review.

 

As to the price you paid, you cannot compare the price of an Alaska sailing (on any line) to the price you pay for a Caribbean or Mexican Riviera sailing. Alaska sailings are very popular and tend to be more expensive on all lines.

 

For late night dining, did you not find the Solarium Cafe or the SeaView Cafe which both are usually open for late at night snacks?

 

Obviously Royal Caribbean was not the line for you.

[garyhartaz]

I'm sorry you were disappointed in your cruise, but I feel the need to address a couple of things in your review.

 

As to the price you paid, you cannot compare the price of an Alaska sailing (on any line) to the price you pay for a Caribbean or Mexican Riviera sailing. Alaska sailings are very popular and tend to be more expensive on all lines.

 

For late night dining, did you not find the Solarium Cafe or the SeaView Cafe which both are usually open for late at night snacks?

 

Obviously Royal Caribbean was not the line for you.

 

I understand that the pricing is apples to oranges but you would expect a certain set of standards in the actual offering of the ship, stateroom and activities.

 

As for the late night dining, yes we found the Solarium Cafe and one can only eat so much pizza and cookies. As for the SeaView Cafe, it was basically the same stuff that was available via room service plus it closed at 11:30p, about a half hour after second seating dinner concluded for us so all we really could rely on was the Solarium Cafe

[katiel53]

I have sailed the Carnival Pride and believe me it is not the end all of cruises. I really think you should NEVER cruise RCCL again as I have never seen as many complaints as you have mentioned. I knew it when you said RCCL wasn't your first choice. Tooooooooooo bad you couldn't have had your first choice.

 

I just don't see how you would compare Carnival and Celebrity. Then put down RCCL. I am not an RCCL cheerleader, but I hope for all our sake, you stick to Carnival.

 

 

I think you have a few valid points, but to be sooooooooooooooooo negative to me totally discounts all your views, sorry. I'd like to see you take a "cheap cruise to Alaska." I have been a Celebrity cruiser for many years, but there isn't a cheap cruise to Alaska on Celebrity. The cruises to Alaska cost far more than Mexican Riviera or Caribbean cruises, but then again--Carnival might have it a lot cheaper--

 

 

 

Enjoy Carnival, it's there for YOU.

[garyhartaz]

I just don't see how you would compare Carnival and Celebrity.

 

 

Enjoy Carnival, it's there for YOU.

 

Wait a minute? When did I compare Carnival to Celebrity? I haven't been on a Celebrity cruise whereas I just was on a RCCI Serenade of the Seas which isn't Celebrity the last time I looked.

 

So, I get it, you can't share your experiences on this board unless they are cheerful and positive?..? :eek:

 

Please enlighten me as to where I made the comparison...

[Beth 2001]

I'm sorry your experience did not meet your expectations and that you weren't able to find adequate late-night food options.

 

We'll be sailing on the Serenade next month and I would like to see current Compasses for the Alaskan itinerary. By any chance, are you planning to scan them in and post them to your website?

[garyhartaz]

And here is some additional review information:

(NOTE: SOME OF THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN NEGATIVE OR NOT SO CHEERFUL CONTENT - IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE THIS, STOP READING NOW!)

I just unpacked my bag that contained the literature left in our room twice daily. The coupons, art auction and shopping information came to a whopping 2 1/2lbs. Do you think they want you to purchase something? I look at it this way, imagine checking in to a resort, say in Kona, HI, and every day you have a bunch of shopping coupons on your bed. Then, every time you leave your room there is a table setup at the end of your hall and someone is trying to sell you something. It doesn't happen is my point and nor should it on the ship. It is fine if it is confined to the "shopping area" but I want to feel as if I am on vacation, not living the life in the Home Shopping Network!

An update on the food: I have to admit that I had four orders of the lobster and shrimp combo, the only meal where I ordered more than one serving.

Servicing of the stateroom: My wife just pointed out that the carpet remained not vacuumed the entire trip. That isn't normal, right? I saw the portable vacuum in the hallway everyday so I know they have one. I was grateful that we were able to get a couple of robes though and that they were able to press all of my dress shirts the first day, thanks Rey!

To my pal Jorge - thanks for making us laugh everyday! Hopefully more people are saying "please" these days rather than, "hey man, another coke."

The snow globe of hand sanitizer - REALLY? I can't believe this is doing any good since I saw the habits of a lot of folks at the buffet serving areas. If you are inclined and have a strong stomach, take a seat at one of the bar tables on either side near the entrance. They point in the direction of the buffet stations and it is a wonder what people do here. My favorite was the guy who picked up a roll, took a bite and put it back in the roll basket - classy!

How about a place to fill a water bottle? They refill those bottomless soda cups so how about a little love for the H2O drinkers? I got a lot of practice pouring water from the cups in to the bottles!

More to come as I go through my notes and video tape. :D

[garyhartaz]

I'm sorry your experience did not meet your expectations and that you weren't able to find adequate late-night food options.

 

We'll be sailing on the Serenade next month and I would like to see current Compasses for the Alaskan itinerary. By any chance, are you planning to scan them in and post them to your website?

 

Yes, I will have them on my blog in PDF format tomorrow afternoon. Don't get me wrong, the Alaska part was awesome but the ship and service on the ship didn't live up to the last cruise.

[Suzila]

Be an observer at any buffet anywhere...not just on a cruise ship and you will see 'nasty' things happening. The people on a ship are a cross-section of the Unites States, if not the world, and people have lousy habits. That's why so many people get sick. This isn't just happening on RCL cruises. And, do you expect the staff to stand ready at the buffet and police everyone? Maybe you should have gone over to that person and confronted the guy who took a bite out of the roll.

 

As far as the 2 1/2 lbs of advertising...why did you bring it home with you? We read it in the cabin the day it's delivered, take a look to see if we need it, and if not, toss it. Many times we just give it back to the steward...they can use it again for the next cruise. No need to bring it all home.

 

And yes, while YOU may not have used it, there are many people on a cruise who appreciate the info and the coupons.

 

The more I read your posts, the more I think that cruising may not be your forte. Maybe you should stick to land vacations. I'm not one who wants to hear how 'wonderful' every trip was...I like details, but your details are mostly negative. You can't compare an Alaskan cruise on RCL to a Mexican Riviera cruise on Carnival. We've done both...we're about to do another Alaskan cruise, which is why I'm on this site right now, and the two cruises do not compare to each other.

[garyhartaz]

Maybe you should have gone over to that person and confronted the guy who took a bite out of the roll.

 

As far as the 2 1/2 lbs of advertising...why did you bring it home with you? We read it in the cabin the day it's delivered, take a look to see if we need it, and if not, toss it. Many times we just give it back to the steward...they can use it again for the next cruise. No need to bring it all home.

 

Confront the person and get knocked like I am here now. No thanks. Apparently the board is only for those who are going to publish glowing reviews. My negative comments are about the cruise ship and service itself and I have posted a lot of positive comment about the destination and excursions.

 

For the paper product, I was curious about how much they actually waste and I had the room in a bag since I didn't purchase 2 tons of t-shirts, cheap watches, over-priced diamonds and furs :p

[Suzila]

But you see, everyone makes their own experience on a cruise. YOU didn't purchase any t-shirts, 'cheap' watches, diamonds, etc., but a lot of people did, and do when on a cruise. YOU may not have been interested in buying a diamond, but I have a beautiful diamond ring I got on a past cruise. I've had my diamond appraised by a jeweler once I got home and it's worth much more than we paid for it on the cruise. YOU preferred to spend over $2000 on a spa experience. 'I" would NEVER spend that kind of money on a spa experience...to me, THAT would be a complete waste of money. So, all the paperwork you received should have been recycled...you could have given it back to the steward and told him you were never going to use it, instead of bringing it home with you, complaining about how they wasted all that paper, and probably tossing it all in the trash.

 

'I' would never travel first class. I prefer to save my money and spend it on other items. If I was going on a long trip (possibly to Europe), I might consider it, but a trip from Arizona to Vancouver is not long enough for me to consider spending all that money.

 

You spent a lot of money using your SeaPass. I've been on 13 cruises and have never spend nearly as much as that, even on our 11 day Panama Canal cruise.

 

You spent $1000 for one night in Vancouver. To me, that's outrageous.

 

You didn't like much about the ship at all, but then you compare it to Carnival Pride. Like I said, I've been on the Pride a number of times, and I don't think it compares at all to an RCL ship. Just my opinion, like your comments are 'your' opinion.

 

I feel that everyone here wants to hear the details and a review of each cruise, but your comments are just plain negative. Yes, I'll admit, you included some positive comments about Alaska...but in general, your posts come out negative.

 

You complained about the guy at the buffet, but you did absolutely nothing about it, 'except' complain to us here. If it bothered you, you should have brought it to the attention of the cruise staff. I think I would have asked the man to pick up that particular roll and put it on his plate. THEN, I would have mentioned it to the cruise staff and had them handle it from there.

 

So, like I said, you have your way of enjoying a cruise and I have my way of enjoying a cruise. People do not want to hear only glowing reports, but there is a way to come across and not be so negative about every detail.

[ncamy]

I'll have to say I agree about the "snow globe of hand sanitizer!" That really grossed me out. Afterall I washed my hands before going to eat so at least once of the three times I ate at the disgusting Windjammer I refused to slime my hands. I got a good laugh imagining the patrons on the Silver Seas ship sanitizing their hands before dining!

[wrp96]

One more thing: room service does not serve turkey sandwiches in the morning to prevent people from ordering sandwiches to take off the ship - which is against the law in the US. It wasn't a conspiracy against you. It's done to prevent people from disregarding the law.

 

The reason they don't have a place to refill your waterbottle is because that would spread germs. You'd have to put the dirty mouth of the bottle up to the spigot in order to fill it. Then the next person who comes along would end up with all your germs. With those refillable cups, you take the lid that you sip from off and so nothing is touching a place that you've put your mouth to.

 

That being said, I still feel that RCCL wasn't the line for you, not anything against you. I think you should take a look at HAL or Celebrity in the future, as I feel you would be happier with those lines.

[tristero]

Thanks for your review. I find negative reviews very helpful. I'm glad we chose Princess!

[jeniferlyn]

I was wondering what exactly you did on the Glacier Wilderness Safari in Skagway? What time did this excursion leave and would you have enough time to do the train ride also? Thanks for any info.

[49holding]

I cruised on the serenade last august to Alaska and had a perfect cruise..We loved the Serenade and thought due to the Serenades acres of glass walls/windows it is well suited for the Alaskan scenery. Just a few points....The sea view cafe does have a few nites where its open late after 12am... Alaskan cruises are expensive but more so when you book so close to the actual cruise date....My only CCL cruise there was just as much selling/hawking of stufff... I remember tables set up outside of the stores with their wares on it and I'll bet they still have inch by the gold, right???Anyway its clear that you were disapointed beforehand that you were cruising on RCL and so negative reactions were in order. Be happy and cruise your preferred cruise line from now on

[katiel53]

Wait a minute? When did I compare Carnival to Celebrity? I haven't been on a Celebrity cruise whereas I just was on a RCCI Serenade of the Seas which isn't Celebrity the last time I looked.

 

So, I get it, you can't share your experiences on this board unless they are cheerful and positive?..? :eek:

 

Please enlighten me as to where I made the comparison...

 

 

It was my mistake typing Celebrity when I meant RCCL. My bad, sorry. The reason I said Carnival was for you is that you seemed to compare everything with Carnival and seemed happier with Carnival. I love the Radiance class of ships and the Centrum. I realize that not everybody feels the same, but to be honest, I haven't ever seen such a negative post. If I had the feeling at the end of my cruise that y ou did, I wouldn't go on RCCL again. I know this forum is to post both negative and positives of cruises.

 

I love Celebrity and cruise them often, but they don't have the nightlife other lines, ie Carnival and RCCL have. We went on HAL and had no nightlife, but that is my opinion, perhaps not the opinion of others. With all the choices of cruiselines and what they offer, hopefully, if you do cruise again, you will have more time to be able to get your choice.

 

Again, I do apologize for typing the wrong cruise name and not explaining why I thought Carnival was for you.

[garyhartaz]

But you see, everyone makes their own experience on a cruise. YOU didn't purchase any t-shirts, 'cheap' watches, diamonds, etc., but a lot of people did, and do when on a cruise. YOU may not have been interested in buying a diamond, but I have a beautiful diamond ring I got on a past cruise. I've had my diamond appraised by a jeweler once I got home and it's worth much more than we paid for it on the cruise. YOU preferred to spend over $2000 on a spa experience. 'I" would NEVER spend that kind of money on a spa experience...to me, THAT would be a complete waste of money. So, all the paperwork you received should have been recycled...you could have given it back to the steward and told him you were never going to use it, instead of bringing it home with you, complaining about how they wasted all that paper, and probably tossing it all in the trash.

 

'I' would never travel first class. I prefer to save my money and spend it on other items. If I was going on a long trip (possibly to Europe), I might consider it, but a trip from Arizona to Vancouver is not long enough for me to consider spending all that money.

 

You spent a lot of money using your SeaPass. I've been on 13 cruises and have never spend nearly as much as that, even on our 11 day Panama Canal cruise.

 

You spent $1000 for one night in Vancouver. To me, that's outrageous.

 

You didn't like much about the ship at all, but then you compare it to Carnival Pride. Like I said, I've been on the Pride a number of times, and I don't think it compares at all to an RCL ship. Just my opinion, like your comments are 'your' opinion.

 

I feel that everyone here wants to hear the details and a review of each cruise, but your comments are just plain negative. Yes, I'll admit, you included some positive comments about Alaska...but in general, your posts come out negative.

 

You complained about the guy at the buffet, but you did absolutely nothing about it, 'except' complain to us here. If it bothered you, you should have brought it to the attention of the cruise staff. I think I would have asked the man to pick up that particular roll and put it on his plate. THEN, I would have mentioned it to the cruise staff and had them handle it from there.

 

So, like I said, you have your way of enjoying a cruise and I have my way of enjoying a cruise. People do not want to hear only glowing reports, but there is a way to come across and not be so negative about every detail.

 

First off, the blatent Home Shopping Network tactics are very tacky and cheap no matter what your taste is.

 

Secondly, there was NOTHING to do on that ship other than the spa treatments.

 

They DO NOT recycle paper on the ship, I asked the stateroom Captain.

 

Next, it is not my job to police the buffet but that of the crew. They certainly made sure to have the hand sanitizer police so how about buffet station stewards to keep the peace?

 

Lastly, we arrive two days before the cruise and stayed at the Pan Pacific and then stayed a day after at the Westin Bayshore. I travel and stay at too many cheap hotels and do not wish to do that on my holiday.

[garyhartaz]

I was wondering what exactly you did on the Glacier Wilderness Safari in Skagway? What time did this excursion leave and would you have enough time to do the train ride also? Thanks for any info.

 

The excursion starts on the dock where the Serenade parks. You get on this wicked jet boat and take a 45 minute ride to the glacier staging beach. From there you take a really neat 4x4 school bus to the base camp to suit up. They have all kinds of warm clothes, rain gear and boots. You then walk a short distance to the edge of the glacier river and get in your 10 person canoe. You paddle a short distance and then the turn on a small motor to take you around the glacier. You then do it all in reverse but on the way back you get a small lunch/dinner snack.

[Suzila]

"I'll have to say I agree about the "snow globe of hand sanitizer!" That really grossed me out. Afterall I washed my hands before going to eat so at least once of the three times I ate at the disgusting Windjammer I refused to slime my hands."

 

Did you touch anything at all on your way to the dinner/lunch? Did you walk up the stairs? Did you touch the banister? Did you take the elevator? Touch the button?

 

Well, maybe YOU didn't, but I'll bet a lot of other people who also washed their hands before leaving their cabin TOUCHED something. I appreciate that they are at least TRYING to cut down on passing germs around.

[garyhartaz]

Did you touch anything at all on your way to the dinner/lunch? Did you walk up the stairs? Did you touch the banister? Did you take the elevator? Touch the button?

 

Well, maybe YOU didn't, but I'll bet a lot of other people who also washed their hands before leaving their cabin TOUCHED something. I appreciate that they are at least TRYING to cut down on passing germs around.

 

So we should have these globes everywhere then; airports, airplanes, malls, gas station, work? No wonder more people get sick today because we are denying our bodies the ability to naturally build defenses by bleaching the you know what out of everything....but that is for another forum.

 

I really loved the snow globe touch while boarding! Nevermind my hands, a couple of those excusions required me to have a snow globe full body shower ... :D

[SherriZ366]

So we should have these globes everywhere then; airports, airplanes, malls, gas station, work? No wonder more people get sick today because we are denying our bodies the ability to naturally build defenses by bleaching the you know what out of everything....but that is for another forum.

 

I really loved the snow globe touch while boarding! Nevermind my hands, a couple of those excusions required me to have a snow globe full body shower ... :D

With the spread of Norovirus on cruise ships because they are confined areas, the cruise lines have to do all they can to keep outbreaks from happening. The hand santiser globes, frequent washing of key areas etc. has lessened the outbreaks. This probably evident because of no media coverage of an outbreak in the past few weks -- the media jumps on the outbreaks as soon as they happen. I think the first norvirus outbreaks I read about were in Alaska a few years.

[wrp96]

I think it's funny, in the difference in reviews. The OP is on here complaining about the hand sanitizers and being forced to use them. But if you look at other reviews of other ships where they don't have the hand sanitizers, people complain because there weren't any hand sanitzers on those ships. The cruise lines can't win.

[SherriZ366]

I think it's funny, in the difference in reviews. The OP is on here complaining about the hand sanitizers and being forced to use them. But if you look at other reviews of other ships where they don't have the hand sanitizers, people complain because there weren't any hand sanitzers on those ships. The cruise lines can't win.

Agree. The Cruise lines have gotten some experience with Norovirus and are just putting what they have learned into practice. There would be more complaining if 200 or so passengers got Norovirus.

[Kylie]

Alaskan cruises are expensive but more so when you book so close to the actual cruise date....

 

We did this same cruise in early June and loved it. We also paid considerably less for our balcony cabin because we booked almost 9 months out. Almost all Alaska cruises going during 'prime time' went up closer to sail date.