Pre cruise stressful. we were told we must get antigen test 24 hr b4 we embarked. this info was not relayed to us until 36 hr b4 sailing which caused us to scramble to meet RCI requirements. Also we had to provide an ARRIVECAN b4 boarding which was quite insane since ARRIVE CAN lapsed Sept. 30 and we did not sail into Victoria, Canada Oct.1 RCI created needless stress. NCL looks better and better.

.Embarkation created more stress as my daughter and i could not find a steward to take our luggage so we had to drag our suitcase around w/ us. Luckily cabin was ready around 1 pm and we arrived at 12: The muster drill was a doddle. Lunch in the buffet was good. but not great. Desserts are limited but I found choco pudding so all was well. we ate w/ an Australian couple who raved about the bread and butter pudding. pasta station had marinara and Bolognese. salad bar scraggly. I could not make a decent Caesar. Coffee, of course, was great. RCI serves Lavazza that I drink at home; my daughter found some Tevanna tea and the gentleman serving it encouraged her to take enuf tea bags to ensure she had a decent cup of tea in the morn and not forced to drink Bigalo.

RCI told us we could use the ball that swivels around the ship free, but when we went to customer service the agent said only a few tix were free and we had to pay $20. or come there morn and aft daily to get a free experience. RCI was not quite lying, but the phone folk exercised the sin of omission. For most of our time in Alaska it was too foggy to ride it. Who knew the avg daytime temp would be 88 F. .The agent advised me not to try the flo rider due to my age -- c'est la vie. more time for trivia. Read more