Alaska Cruise Adventure: Day One - Embarkation on Radiance of the Seas!

It's here, it's here!  It's finally here!  It's sail away day!  

Today we finally embark on a cruise that has been nearly 18 months in the making, and although the day dawned cloudy and rainy, it turned out glorious, on many levels.  

We had rented a car from National in Seattle and drove to Vancouver, BC.  It turned out that the rental car return was in the parking structure at Canada Place, and all we had to do was drop the car off, walk a short distance to an elevator, and we were at the cruise port!  Easy peasy!  We arrived at about 9:45 am, anticipating boarding at 11 am.

There were agents there to direct us where to drop our bags. We then were directed to customs, where we had a short wait at several check points (way too many, really, it was quite redundant).  

First it was the cruise check in, where our sea pass cards were issued. Then on to security, just like at the airport.  X-ray machines and metal detectors and the first passport and boarding pass check. Then onto a self check in kiosk for U.S. residents for passport verification and customs.  The machine printed a voucher which we then waited in a short line, maybe 10 minutes, for a customs agent to once again check our passports and passes. He was a hoot. He figured out we were travelling in a suite, so he asked if he could join us.  It was a quick check and off we went to a holding "pen".  

It was here that the boarding process was unlike others we've experienced. Typically, depending on your level with the cruise loyalty club and type of cabin (suites), the higher level members and those sailing in suites get a private lounge to wait in and priority boarding. Not so at this port. Everyone was herded into a waiting area with seats.  But some were left to stand.  We sat there a good 45 minutes or so. 

There was no overhead PA system, so random agents said something we couldn't hear to folks on the ends of rows of chairs, and they began moving people by row of seats through a door. This magical door lead to another holding pen where we sat for another 15 minutes or so.  We were waiting for the ship to be cleared by customs.  It was not too long after that they began boarding.  It was a bit of a wait in a long line to make our way from the cruise terminal and onto the gangway and finally onto the ship. I think we finally walked on the ship at about 11:30 am.  

As we like to do, we wandered the ship to get a sense of her layout. She was small, but beautiful.  She was aptly named, Radiance of the Seas.   Most everyone went to the Windjammer, which is the buffet style resturant for lunch right away.  We headed there just before we were allowed into our cabins (1pm), after most people had gotten their lunch. 

We had booked a junior suite. One of the perks of booking a suite, and for a cruise tour (cruise plus land tour), is that we earn double points in the loyalty club called the Crown and Anchor society.  So for a 10 day cruise tour, we earned 20 points. This allows us to jump one full level with just one cruise!   When we arrived to our cabin, there was a Happy Anniversary sign on the door and decorations inside.  In a twist of fate, both my husband and I had the same idea to surprise each other with the Anniversary package! So we had two!  He also ordered us a cake, which we snacked on the entire cruise!  

Outside elevator

rock wall

mini golf

The Colony Club

Our cabn

Our door

Our bed, with anniversary decor

sitting area of jr suite

Sitting area of jr suite

Bathroom of jr suite (not shown, full size tub/shower)

Dessk/storage of junior suite

The main seating in the centrum ("lobby")

English Pub

Solarium pool

solarium hot tub

Solarium pool

sail away

Sail away

Vancouver, BC

Squeezing under the Lion's Gate Bridge

Sevens card/game room

cool globe

View of centrum bar and fancy stairs

Schooner Bar

Towel Elephant Surprise

The suite was gorgeous. Recently refurbished and much bigger than we expected. We were in cabin 1580, on deck 10, towards the aft part of the ship.  One of the benefits of booking a junior suite is instead of the tiny typical cruise ship shower, we had a tub and a larger bathroom overall. We also had  walk in closet with ample storage including shelves, top and bottom hanger space (bottom rods fold-able and storable if you do not wish to use them, a tie/belt rack on the door, plus ample storage in drawers and cabinets both in the bathroom and the main cabin.  The beds can be arranged as two twins or a king.  We also had a sleeper sofa and a chair and ottoman with two side tables.  

The balcony was smaller than others we've had, but more a function of the size of the ship overall.  There was a padded lounger and two chairs and a small bistro table.  Since we were sailing Alaska, we did not spend much time lounging on the balcony, but more sitting in front of the glass admiring the scenery as we sailed by.  

The muster drill (mandatory) was interesting. Instead of assembling at our actual muster stations (lifeboats), we were directed to Chops Grill.  Apparently, all suite guests were there. We sat at the tables and waited for the crew to demonstrate and explain what would happen in an actual emergency. Others had to stand in other common areas in the typical stand in line formation with children and women ahead of the men folk. I guess another perk of being a suite guest.  Once we were dismissed, most everyone headed up on deck for sail away.  

We sailed away at about 4:45 from Vancover.  The sun had come out and it was quite warm!  As sail away often is, it was an enthusiastic and exciting time. We chatted with several others around us, many of whom were cruising for the first time.  We had a lovely view of Vancouver a we sailed away.  As we sailed toward the Lion's Gate Bridge, it looked like we barely made it under!  In reality, I believe the Captain said we had about 14 feet of clearance! Eek!  It was pretty cool to watch.

We then retired to our cabin to actually sit on the balcony and watch the mountains go by for a while.  We then unpacked (we had gotten our bags before the muster drill!) and enjoyed our cabin until dinner time.  

We had chosen the late seating for dinner, which was 8 pm. The dining room was about 70% full for this seating, with most cruisers opting for the earlier seating or my time dining. We were actually quite surprised by the number of folks we talked to who never ate in the dining room at all.  Seriously, if you are going to cruise, at least try the dining room for dinner and lunch on sea days. It's so much better than the food in the Windjammer/buffet!  

the way finder, touch screen

from our balcony

Sun setting from our balcony

Very cool glass elevators overlooking the sea

Amazing self-leveling pool tables!

ahhhhh, balcony

We were seated at a table for 10, but there were only 3 couples assigned to the table, or the other 3 never showed up for dinner. We scored a window table for the first time ever and on two nights, we saw whales while we were dining! One pod of Orcas and a few humpbacks!   

Our table mates consisted of a couple who were Pinnacle members with Royal Caribbean. To reach Pinnacle, you must have sailed at least 700 nights on Royal Caribbean ships.  I'll let that sink in for a minute...  We are now Emerald, which requires 55 nights on a ship (we earned it faster by staying in suites, so in reality, we've only taken five 7 day cruises and a 3 day land tour that counts as cruise nights).  They were a lovely couple and were probably about the same age as our parents.  The other couple was interesting.  While nice folks, they tended to have a negative vibe, and did not really "click" with the rest of us.  This is the hazard of group seating and with a low # of couples. We prefer to sit at a larger table ourselves, as we like to meet new folks, but it also helps if there is an awkward or uncomfortable silence or presence in the group.  Still, we enjoyed our dinners and the company.  We learned from all of them.  

After dinner, we checked out the entertainment on the ship and did a bit of dancing. Then we headed off to sleep, as we were still mostly on east coast time.  Tomorrow is a sea day and I have a massage at the spa! 

Adventure on the high seas: Cruise in Review on The Allure of the Seas

I have just returned from a wonderfully relaxing family cruise vacation.   As I sit on the floor at the airport (so annoyed Ft. Lauderdale airport is under construction with no where to sit outside of security), I am jolted back to reality.  But before I go there...

We left Friday, June 29th for Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a mini pre-cruise vacation.  This was in part to take advantage of lower airfare (which is also why we are at the airport all day today) as our cruise was 4th of July week and airfare was higher.  

This meant that Thursday was a living hell. Why is it that the day before and the day after one takes a vacation are the most stressful?  I worked a full day, had scheduled a mani-pedi to force me to have pretty toes and nails (it would never have happened otherwise), and even pre-packed the kids the night before. Still, there was so much to do to prepare beyond packing my bags.  I didn't get to bed until 1:45 am and my alarm went off at 5:30.  

We were blessed with summer traffic on the way to the airport which was delightful, especially considering it was Friday morning commute time!  We had a leisurely but reasonable wait before our flight.  We were traveling with another family and we met at the airport.  

When we arrived in Florida, we took a cab to our hotel and were able to check right in.  First order of business?  Lunch and then the beach! 

We stayed at the Ft. Lauderdale Hilton Beach. I highly recommend it.  The beach was such a treat!  The water warm and the sand blissfully warm and soft on my feet.  We also had some leisure time at the pool on the 6th floor.  There was plenty to do in the area and a good number of eating establishments within walking distance.  We found a lovely open air pub style eatery and to our delight, no bugs!  Eating outside at home is no fun due to mosquitoes and other pesky flying creatures. 

The next day we had a lovely tour of the inter-coastal waterway by water taxi. We saw some crazy fancy houses and yachts, found a delicious Italian eatery and a Coldstone Creamery for dessert!  We also found the cruise port and got a glimpse at the sister of our cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas in port!  Later that evening, we saw her sailing away from our hotel balcony!  Stunning!  

We spent the evening at a local dueling piano bar that had an early child friendly show. They enjoyed the sing along antics but were somewhat embarrassed by their parents' enthusiastic singing at times.  :-)

Sunday dawned gorgeous.  Our cruise vacation was beginning today!  We had breakfast, packed our things, and caught a taxi to the cruise port.  Royal Caribbean has the cruise check in and embarkation process down to an amazingly exact science.  We dropped our bags with a porter and they magically appeared in our room before dinner.  Check in was smooth and we didn't have to wait very long in line at all.  We were issued our sea pass cards, had our embarkation photo taken and we boarded the biggest cruise ship in the world about 4.5 hours before she sailed.  To say my boys were excited would be an understatement. After they picked their jaws up off the floor, they noticed the soccer game was playing in the Champagne bar and that's where they went.  We did a quick exploration of the Royal Promenade which was the floor we entered on.  We also visited guest services to take care of a few things and then collected the boys and explored the ship. 

About an hour after we boarded we were allowed to our staterooms.  We had a deluxe ocean view balcony room and the kids had an interior cabin across from us.  We dropped our backpacks and got some lunch at the Park Cafe in the Central Park area of the ship. It was one of my favorite areas. Quiet and serene, open to the sky above and with real plants and trees, it is where many of the specialty restaurants and a few of the stores on board are located.  There is comfy seating, benches, and of course, a bar.  No shortage of bars on this ship!  One even 'floats' between decks!  In fact there are many events that you can get a free drink or two at if you partake of such things.  The captain's welcome party, the Crown and Anchor club party, art shows/auctions, and more.  The drink of the day is also less expensive than other mixed drinks.  

The ship itself is divided into 'neighborhoods'.  She is 17 stories high and holds 6200+ passengers plus over 2000 crew.  The ship was at capacity for our sailing.  She is alluring indeed.  

The front of the ship holds the 2 deck Amber Theater which is where most of the major shows were held like "Chicago", which was fantastic, "Blue Planet" which was good but nothing spectacular, and also served as the venue for some meet and greets and a departure lounge. Also at the front of the ship is the bridge of course, and the Solarium - an over 16 only serene spot with plenty of seating, stunning views, 2 hot tubs and a pool.  It is also the location of a restaurant during the day that has the best selection for vegetarians on the ship and is converted to the Samba Grill at night.  Also at night, the Solarium becomes a dance club or a lovely place to sit under the stars while protected from the wind on the upper decks by the glass. 

The rear of the ship holds the 3 deck dining room where breakfast is served daily and lunch on sea days as well as the 2 formal dinner seatings.  At the very rear of the ship on deck 6 is the Aqua Theater where there are high diving shows, dance lessons, Dreamworks productions and other events throughout the week.  The rock climbing walls are also located here.  

The Aqua Theater and Dazzles dance lounge overlook the Boardwalk area from opposite ends. This is an area reminiscent of a beach-side boardwalk with a lighthouse bar, cotton candy, a carousel (!), ice cream and candy shops, a play space for toddlers, child oriented stores and activities like Pets at Sea (like Build a Bear), and Johnny Rockets.  There is also a hot dog stand and a doughnut shoppe!  There are Boardwalk view balcony rooms as well.

The solarium hot tub

a cantilevered hot tub.  Awesome! 

One of the pools with a hot tub in the background

24 hour pizza on the Promenade

There is a CAROUSEL on the ship!

Central Park

a rehearsal at the Aqua Theater

Our balcony

The rear of the Boardwalk/Aqua Theater at sunrise

The Bow and Stern English Pub

Boleros Latin Dance Lounge

On Air - Karaoke and game show mecca

Ice skating rink!  Also, site for Quest and some other larger events

Comedy Club

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Royal Promenade

Main dining room from our table on the 2nd of 3 le

mini golf!

In the middle of the ship on deck 5 is the Promenade. Here is where the 'street parties' happen, some dance classes, and is the main street of the ship. There are promenade view staterooms if you wish to always keep an eye on the action.  Many bars, shops, and smaller eateries like Sorrentos Pizza, a cafe, Starbucks, and the Cupcake Shop are here.  

Some of our favorites here were the Schooner Bar where an outstanding pianist/singer was every night and was also a great site for daily trivia contests.  The Bow and Stern English pub was a favorite of our friends with a guitarist who was fantastic.  On Air was the karaoke and game show hot spot and was also a popular soccer viewing venue.  Outside of On Air was a NYC style ticker displaying soccer scores, cruise info and an occasional happy birthday or anniversary message.   One of our favorite dance venues, Boleros, was also here.  We gave that dance floor a work out with some fellow dance friends we met along the way.

Also on deck 5 was a running track.  As a runner, I loved the fact the track was not on an upper deck where it tends to be very windy and very crowded.  The track had motivational messages and it was only 2.25 laps to run a mile!  There was also an on board spa and fitness center but I did not partake of the services so I cannot comment other than to say spa services are crazy expensive compared to the equivalent on land and probably not nearly as 'good'. 

Professional photographers are all over the ship but set up on and around the Promenade most nights for formal portraits.They do a great job but the photos are outrageously priced!  They print most of the photos to entice you to buy and then throw them all away if you don't. You can view the photos digitally and order digital images to print yourself (what we do) so there is no need to be so wasteful!  They put together a cruise in review DVD that you can purchase for $30. This is unique to your sail dates and is much improved over the one we received  our last cruise.  It starts with a documentary about the ship and how she was built, gives a tour of the different neighborhoods and lounges with snippets of current cruisers enjoying themselves. Brief glimpses of the actual shows and performances held on board your specific cruise as well.  If you happened to be captured on video, you'll definitely want a copy!  We were 'caught' learning the flash mob dance!  The photo shop/studio is on the 6th deck, above the Promenade. 

The ship has many entertainment options.  From the Broadway show "Chicago", to ice skating, boogie boarding and surfing on the flow rider, rock climbing, mini golf, a zip line, several pools and hot tubs, comedy shows, a high diving show, and "Blue Planet" a contemporary singing and dancing show with aerial acrobatics.  There is also a 24 hour casino, 24 hour dining options, and games and classes for everyone.  

For those who enjoy music for listening or dancing, there is the Schooner piano bar, Bow and Stern pub with acoustic guitarist/singer, Boleros Latin dance lounge, Blaze - a night club, Dazzles, which is a 2 deck lounge, and Jazz on 4 which is an intimate jazz club and the Viking Crown Lounge which is an upscale lounge on deck 17. All have either live music or a DJ and the opportunity to dance although the dance floors are terrible. They are much too small and for serious dancers, very difficult to dance on.  The advertised ballroom dance events were on small floors made of glass or tile and if more than 3 couples were dancing, it was very crowded!  Royal's smaller ships reportedly have bigger dance floors the smaller the ships get!  This was one of the most disappointing aspects for us since we love to dance.  Fellow ballroom/Latin dancers agreed with us. 

One of the most amazing things about our cruise was the Headliner Show.  We were fortunate to see Mo5aic, a 5 man acapella group who soared to fame on America's Got Talent. They were SOOOOOO amazingly good!  Even our boys enjoyed it.  If you ever have the chance to listen to or see them, you should! We saw some of them enjoying the other shows and ports of call with their families.

There is something for everyone on this ship!  Several pools, tons of eating venues included in your cruise or specialty dining for an additional fee, shops, entertainment, sporting events, dancing, music and game shows, trivia and contests abound.  Favorites like Love and Marriage and Quest (an adult scavenger hunt) are must sees and tons of fun to participate in.  You can be as casual or as fancy as you like. With 2 official formal nights, if you want to get all gussied up, you can (and should!).  If you are a shopper, they have shopping talks with coupons for discounts, 'inside' info on the best places to shop, where to get free things, and prizes as well as a channel on the TV dedicated to shopping in each port of call. 

Our teen (15) really enjoyed the teen only area. They have their own lounge, video games, night club and 'bar'.  Activities are facilitated by the staff. They had teen only events at the pool, hot tub and night clubs as well.  We hardly saw him after the 2nd day!  The kids program Adventure Ocean gets rave reviews.  There is a basketball court, ping pong, and an arcade! 

My soccer fans also enjoyed that RC was celebrating the FIFA World Cup with all the games televised in room, on the huge jumbotrons at the Aqua Theater and at On Air.  Both boys got to play soccer/futsal at sea on the sports court (basketball court).

Three full sea days on this cruise allowed us a decent amount of time to take advantage of all the ship had to offer.  Our first port of call were Labadee, Haiti, the ship's private island where we floated on beach mats, sampled Labadoozies (with ample 'medicine', AKA rum), and the boys zip lined, jet skied, rode the dragon coaster and we all parasailed.  It was a long, fun, day in the sun. 

Next, it was on to Jamaica, where our travel mates did some river white water rafting and we just shopped a bit.  I *might* have some new jewelry now...

Our last port of call was Cozumel, Mexico. Here we did a catamaran snorkel and beach tour. We had about a 45 minute snorkel at a reef that was OK, but not spectacular. Then we sailed to a beach where there was an inflatable ocean park, paddle boards, sea kayaks, floating mats, and lounge chairs for 90 minutes. The kids exhausted themselves in the sun and water. On the sail back to the ship, we partied on the deck with some line dancing, margaritas, and island music. It was a fun way to spend the morning. Then it was a mad dash back to the ship for the soccer games of the day! 

Our ship is on the left.  Her sister (2 classes down in size) the Navigator of the Seas is on the right! 

Snorkeling boys

water rocker?

Ahhhhhhh

Yes, you can line dance on a catamaran

We very much enjoyed our excursions.

Despite her enormous size, we never really felt as if the ship was crowded.  With so much to do and thoughtful scheduling of shows, dinner seatings, and activities, you would never know you shared the ship with 6000 other passengers!  Even disembarking was controlled as they assign you numbers for your luggage which is waiting for you in the customs terminal.  Lounges were set up in different venues of the ship where you waited for your number group to be called as everyone had to be out of their rooms by 8:30 am.  If you try to leave before your number is called, your bags will not be there yet.  They get everyone off the ship between 6:30 am and about 10:30 am.  Getting through customs was quick and easy and even though the line was long, it moved surprisingly quickly. 

They turn the ship around remarkably fast as the next cruise passengers begin boarding at 12:30 and she sails at 5 pm.

It was a wonderful week of family fun.  A nice balance of family time and adult relaxation time.  It was not as relaxing as you might think with so much going on but seeing my boys have a wonderful time exploring, trying new things, and really having fun made my heart sing.  Having the week to share with good friends made the adult time more fun, too!  It was a nice chance for my husband and I to reconnect, too.  In fact, we booked our next cruise, this time without the kids.  :-)  Another Caribbean itinerary.  We're planning Alaska for the one after that, but that trip requires at least 2 weeks, so it's going to be a few years before we can do that one.  I think it will be worth the wait!

If you've never cruised, I highly recommend it.  It's a tremendous value when you break it down.  The Allure is significantly more expensive than the smaller (but still huge) ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet, but Royal treats their passengers well.  We are Crown and Anchor members and loyal to the brand.  I just can't believe it took me so long to try cruising!  The kids loved it and want to go again.  The ship is safe for the older kids to roam and for younger kids to be safe in the care of Adventure Ocean staff so parents can have some grown up time day or night!  It's an all inclusive (mostly - specialty restaurants, alcohol, and excursions are extra, as are souvenirs) resort that goes to more than one country/island! How can you beat that?

I am grateful to the lovely Allure of the Seas.  She gave me a gift that will last a lifetime.  Memories of a wonderful vacation and new experiences with my family.

I can't wait to cruise again!

The view from our balcony on sea days

sunrise

glorious!

Sunrise