There's nothing that you can do if the weather takes a turn for the worse. The Captain has to consider the safety of the passengers and crew. However, we paid almost $4000.00 for a 7 Day Cruise to Alaska and only spent 4 hours in the state of Alaska. Royal Caribbean did give us a credit of $400 which is about 10% of the cost of the cruise. We had a lovely time on the ship and I would recommend the Ovation of the Seas to anyone.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We left Seattle smoothly without any hassle.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We ate every meal in the main dining rooms. The food was excellent and the crew members were professional, friendly and attentive.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Did not really participate in the onboard activities.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The stage shows were just fair on this cruise. We usually find most cruises have wonderful stage shows but not this time.
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Every staff member we encountered went out of their way to provide us with excellent service.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Ovation is a large ship but it is laid out so well that it didn't seem overwhelming. The entire ship, as far as I could tell, was immaculate.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our Junior Suite was the nicest and largest cabin we've ever experienced in cruising. The storage was massive. There were two bathrooms...one had the toilet and sink/vanity and the other had a vanity, full size tub and beautiful shower with a small seat and both an overhead rain shower head and a hand spray shower head. There was a huge closet and large drawers for our clothing. The king size bed was comfortable. The couch/sofa was too firm to enjoy sitting on it so we brought in the two recliner deck chairs from the balcony. Right there it demonstrates how much room was available.
Ship tip
Get a Junior Suite and eat your meals in the dining room....less hectic and the quality of the food and service is excellent.
We spent 2 days before the cruise visiting some of the sites in Seattle. We really enjoyed the revolving bar at the top of the Space Needle. We also enjoyed the Chihouly Glass Museum and we took a very nice Harbor tour.
We only spent 4 hours in Juneau because we arrived later due to the weather. We did a little bit of shopping at the stores in the port but that was all we could do.
There was a hurricane in the Northern part of Alaska that was coming towards our ship with 50 foot waves and 100+ wind gusts. The ship had planned to substitute Ketchikan for a port but that had to be canceled too.
We docked in Vancouver and had to arrive at the airport for our 12Noon flight home. We have visited Vancouver many times in the past so did not need to spend time there exploring. It is a BEAUTIFUL CITY and would recommend it to those who have never visited there.
Disembarking the ship went well. I have mobility issues, though, and use an electric scooter. Others in our group also have mobility issues. We had arranged with Royal Caribbean for transfer to the airport. However, when the porter attempted to arrange for a cab that could accomodate the scooter, he was told that Royal Caribbean would not approve payment for a cab. Consequently we had to pay for the cab ourselves at a cost of $75.
I'm sorry that your experience was ruined by weather. As a lifelong resident of an active Southeastern Alaska cruise port, my suggestion would be don't book a cruise past mid-September and definitely not in October. The reason the fares are lower is because heavy rain, high winds, and rough seas are common, and for safety reasons, many ports get skipped. Even if your ship docks, many of the shops are closed and excursions are limited. It's always possible that you'll get a nice day, but the chances are, you'll get wet.
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