RRCL Alaska Cruise Review

Alaskan Cruise Review:

We departed from Pittsburgh, Pa on Sept 12 for our long awaited cruise. We
flew into Vancouver without incident as well as going thru all security and
customs without a hitch. The longest wait we had was waiting for the bus
from the airport to the ship. I believe the cruise lines told the bus driver
to stall as he took his good old time getting to the port. We boarded the
ship at about two in the afternoon.

The Ship: The ship was the Seranade of the seas and was amazing. I dont
believe we ever saw all of it, but saw all we wanted to. It was very easy to
get around as there were lots of signs in the passage ways. We booked a cat
four but upon arrival we found that we had been upgraded to a cat eight.
Thank you RRCL. The balcony was fantastic. The cabin was smaller than on
Carnaval but it was still adequate. The bed was big and thats all i cared
about. The pillows were hard and after the seconded night i mentioned it to
Victor out cabin steward and that evening there was a feather pillow was on
the bed. Need I say that I was impressed with the service we received.

The Food: Right up front i will say that I love a buffet and we ate in the
Windjammer Breakfast and Lunch everyday. I thought the variety was great and
never had any trouble finding something that i liked to eat. I found no
difference between RRCL and Carnivals fool. Of course we had great service
for our evening meal in the dining hall. If there was something i didnt like
on the menu i just went to the alternatives and ate till my hearts content.
We ate at Chops one night and it was a cut above the dining hall. Well worth
the twenty dollars per person cover charge. One night we has the Safety
Officer eat at our table and had a great time. He clued us in to the fact
that we would see a bear the following evening as we entered the Misty
Feords and he was true to his word. (He was dressed up in a bear costume and
went out on one of the rescue boats to shore) It was a howl. I never was
hungry on the cruise.

The Ports: We had absolutely the best weather you could hope for on the next
to the last cruise to alaska for the season. Almost 60 and mostly sunny
every day.I will say that everything is expensive but then we expected that.
We took a float plane to see bears and it was not cheap but it was a great
time. Whale waching was more than we expected, saw plenty of whales. We were
not truly impressed with the Train Trip up the White Pass and would
recommend taking the train up and the bus back. Sadely there is just not
enough time to do all there is at the ports. Investigate befor the cruise
and know what you want befor you go.

Shopping: Prices High and everyone sells the same thing in everyport.

Our cruise to alaska was everying we had hoped for.

Disembarking:: This was a very pleasant experience compared to our Carnaval
Carib Cruise.

We took advantage of the RRCL taking care of everything. It cost us 15
dollars per person but it was a breaze. They had us in the Theater at 730 am
and had our Flight Boarding Passed ready for us to pick up. We left the
Theater at about 750 am and were immediately put on a bus to the airport.
Arrived at the Airport at about 840 and we were in the airport and thru
american customs by 900am. The worst part was waiting for the plane. Our
bags were check by RRCL and we never saw them again untill we got home. And
i do mean till be got home. They didnt make the connection in Chicago so AA
delivered them to our door the next day. Thanks You RRCL for the Shore to
Door Service.

That is our cruise in a nut shell. Thanks for Reading. Bob and Donna

P.S. Any questions, feel free to email.

You mentioned you booked a Cat 4 but were upgraded to a Cat 8. We are on
the Serenade of the Seas in January, Cat D1. My question is the difference
between the numerical categories and the lettered categories??? BTW, thanks
for you great review.


"Bob" wrote in message
...
Alaskan Cruise Review:

We departed from Pittsburgh, Pa on Sept 12 for our long awaited cruise. We
flew into Vancouver without incident as well as going thru all security
and
customs without a hitch. The longest wait we had was waiting for the bus
from the airport to the ship. I believe the cruise lines told the bus
driver
to stall as he took his good old time getting to the port. We boarded the
ship at about two in the afternoon.

The Ship: The ship was the Seranade of the seas and was amazing. I dont
believe we ever saw all of it, but saw all we wanted to. It was very easy
to
get around as there were lots of signs in the passage ways. We booked a
cat
four but upon arrival we found that we had been upgraded to a cat eight.
Thank you RRCL. The balcony was fantastic. The cabin was smaller than on
Carnaval but it was still adequate. The bed was big and thats all i cared
about. The pillows were hard and after the seconded night i mentioned it
to
Victor out cabin steward and that evening there was a feather pillow was
on
the bed. Need I say that I was impressed with the service we received.

The Food: Right up front i will say that I love a buffet and we ate in the
Windjammer Breakfast and Lunch everyday. I thought the variety was great
and
never had any trouble finding something that i liked to eat. I found no
difference between RRCL and Carnivals fool. Of course we had great service
for our evening meal in the dining hall. If there was something i didnt
like
on the menu i just went to the alternatives and ate till my hearts
content.
We ate at Chops one night and it was a cut above the dining hall. Well
worth
the twenty dollars per person cover charge. One night we has the Safety
Officer eat at our table and had a great time. He clued us in to the fact
that we would see a bear the following evening as we entered the Misty
Feords and he was true to his word. (He was dressed up in a bear costume
and
went out on one of the rescue boats to shore) It was a howl. I never was
hungry on the cruise.

The Ports: We had absolutely the best weather you could hope for on the
next
to the last cruise to alaska for the season. Almost 60 and mostly sunny
every day.I will say that everything is expensive but then we expected
that.
We took a float plane to see bears and it was not cheap but it was a great
time. Whale waching was more than we expected, saw plenty of whales. We
were
not truly impressed with the Train Trip up the White Pass and would
recommend taking the train up and the bus back. Sadely there is just not
enough time to do all there is at the ports. Investigate befor the cruise
and know what you want befor you go.

Shopping: Prices High and everyone sells the same thing in everyport.

Our cruise to alaska was everying we had hoped for.

Disembarking:: This was a very pleasant experience compared to our
Carnaval
Carib Cruise.

We took advantage of the RRCL taking care of everything. It cost us 15
dollars per person but it was a breaze. They had us in the Theater at 730
am
and had our Flight Boarding Passed ready for us to pick up. We left the
Theater at about 750 am and were immediately put on a bus to the airport.
Arrived at the Airport at about 840 and we were in the airport and thru
american customs by 900am. The worst part was waiting for the plane. Our
bags were check by RRCL and we never saw them again untill we got home.
And
i do mean till be got home. They didnt make the connection in Chicago so
AA
delivered them to our door the next day. Thanks You RRCL for the Shore to
Door Service.

That is our cruise in a nut shell. Thanks for Reading. Bob and Donna

P.S. Any questions, feel free to email.

You mentioned you booked a Cat 4 but were upgraded to a Cat 8. We are on
the Serenade of the Seas in January, Cat D1. My question is the difference
between the numerical categories and the lettered categories??? BTW, thanks
for you great review.


"Bob" wrote in message
...
Alaskan Cruise Review:

We departed from Pittsburgh, Pa on Sept 12 for our long awaited cruise. We
flew into Vancouver without incident as well as going thru all security
and
customs without a hitch. The longest wait we had was waiting for the bus
from the airport to the ship. I believe the cruise lines told the bus
driver
to stall as he took his good old time getting to the port. We boarded the
ship at about two in the afternoon.

The Ship: The ship was the Seranade of the seas and was amazing. I dont
believe we ever saw all of it, but saw all we wanted to. It was very easy
to
get around as there were lots of signs in the passage ways. We booked a
cat
four but upon arrival we found that we had been upgraded to a cat eight.
Thank you RRCL. The balcony was fantastic. The cabin was smaller than on
Carnaval but it was still adequate. The bed was big and thats all i cared
about. The pillows were hard and after the seconded night i mentioned it
to
Victor out cabin steward and that evening there was a feather pillow was
on
the bed. Need I say that I was impressed with the service we received.

The Food: Right up front i will say that I love a buffet and we ate in the
Windjammer Breakfast and Lunch everyday. I thought the variety was great
and
never had any trouble finding something that i liked to eat. I found no
difference between RRCL and Carnivals fool. Of course we had great service
for our evening meal in the dining hall. If there was something i didnt
like
on the menu i just went to the alternatives and ate till my hearts
content.
We ate at Chops one night and it was a cut above the dining hall. Well
worth
the twenty dollars per person cover charge. One night we has the Safety
Officer eat at our table and had a great time. He clued us in to the fact
that we would see a bear the following evening as we entered the Misty
Feords and he was true to his word. (He was dressed up in a bear costume
and
went out on one of the rescue boats to shore) It was a howl. I never was
hungry on the cruise.

The Ports: We had absolutely the best weather you could hope for on the
next
to the last cruise to alaska for the season. Almost 60 and mostly sunny
every day.I will say that everything is expensive but then we expected
that.
We took a float plane to see bears and it was not cheap but it was a great
time. Whale waching was more than we expected, saw plenty of whales. We
were
not truly impressed with the Train Trip up the White Pass and would
recommend taking the train up and the bus back. Sadely there is just not
enough time to do all there is at the ports. Investigate befor the cruise
and know what you want befor you go.

Shopping: Prices High and everyone sells the same thing in everyport.

Our cruise to alaska was everying we had hoped for.

Disembarking:: This was a very pleasant experience compared to our
Carnaval
Carib Cruise.

We took advantage of the RRCL taking care of everything. It cost us 15
dollars per person but it was a breaze. They had us in the Theater at 730
am
and had our Flight Boarding Passed ready for us to pick up. We left the
Theater at about 750 am and were immediately put on a bus to the airport.
Arrived at the Airport at about 840 and we were in the airport and thru
american customs by 900am. The worst part was waiting for the plane. Our
bags were check by RRCL and we never saw them again untill we got home.
And
i do mean till be got home. They didnt make the connection in Chicago so
AA
delivered them to our door the next day. Thanks You RRCL for the Shore to
Door Service.

That is our cruise in a nut shell. Thanks for Reading. Bob and Donna

P.S. Any questions, feel free to email.