http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/Nickawicka Sun, 08 Jul 2007 15:24:30 GMT Reviews by Nickawicka http://www.viewpoints.com/Royal-Caribbean-Splendour-of-the-Seas--24995-review-814b  Splendour Of The Seas   5 Night Western Caribbean Cruise, ½ paid by our Royal Caribbean points In 2005 we signed up for the Royal Caribbean credit card.  In less than a year and a half we earned enough points to qualify for $500 cruise discount.  We decided we wanted a cheap cruise that wouldn't use up a lot of vacation days to just break up the cold winter.  We shopped around and found a 5 night cruise out of Galveston TX.  The airfare from Chicago was ½ the price of that to Florida at the same time.  The cruise left on A Saturday, which most 5 day cruises out of Florida left in the middle of the week.  Since we didn't want to use up a full week of vacation for a short cruise this was the best option.  For an inside cabin, it was about $600 a person.  We used our $500 credit for this cruise and basically cut our costs in half.  Using the points was easy and just required us to call RC, and cash in... Sun, 08 Jul 2007 15:24:30 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Royal-Caribbean-Splendour-of-the-Seas--24995-review-814b Nickawicka 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Royal-Caribbean-Radiance-of-the-Seas-Alaska-review-02d3 My Review of the Radiance of the Seas Alaskan cruise, September 2006 — We left Labor Day weekend for Vancouver, BC with another couple for our week long cruise north to Seward, AK. — The pre-cruise hotel — We booked the hotel through RC cruise line about 3 weeks before the cruise.  The hotel was very nice and the price was comprable to anything else we had checked in the area.  The location was just around the corner of the main shopping street in Vancouver.  This was a good choice, since staying there meant we had transportation to the ship when it first opened to passangers.  The check in took less than 15 minutes for the 4 of us to check in and get through security. — The cold weather cruise experience: — We left Vancouver in shorts and t-shirts.  The first day a sea was very overcast and rather cool.  We spent the day watching dahl's porpoise, whales and sea birds outside of our balcony.  Everyone on the ship was... Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:20:23 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Royal-Caribbean-Radiance-of-the-Seas-Alaska-review-02d3 Nickawicka 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Royal-Caribbean-Brilliance-of-the-Seas-review-9fe9  My Review of the Brilliance of the Seas Mediterranean Greek Isles cruise, August 2005 We left for a 12 night cruise out of Barcelona Spain.  It was our honeymoon so we splurged, with a balcony room.  We did our research a head of time and book the cruise about 10 months a head of time, which I highly recommend to give to the best price and the best choice of rooms.  — The Ship: — Our last cruise was on Navigator of the seas, where I described it as being Las Vegas.  Brilliance was more like Monte Carlo.  It was a bit smaller and didn't have the roller or ice rink.  But for what it lacked in ‘flashy features" it made up for in elegance and style.  — The Room (oceanview room with balcony): — The balcony was great.  It was a long cruise, and it was nice to have our own little out door space.  We could sit out there and drink wine and watch the shoreline pass by as we read up on our next port. — Other... Sun, 17 Jun 2007 03:13:02 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Royal-Caribbean-Brilliance-of-the-Seas-review-9fe9 Nickawicka 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Royal-Caribbean-Navigator-of-the-Seas-review-17b4  My Review of the Navigator of the Seas Western Caribbean cruise, February 2004 Getting to the Ship — We arrived at MIA having not pre-booked transportation to the cruise terminal.  This wasn't a problem, because we easily located the RC people and paid them directly, and got on the bus.  Looking back now after 3 other cruises, we really should just always pre-book cruise transportation from the terminal. — The Ship: — Navigator is a rather large ship.  We considered it Las Vegas at Sea.  It's flashy and bright colors, lots to see, hear, explore and eat.  We were in our late 20s during this cruise, so we checked out the climbing wall, roller blade rink, basketball court, pool, etc.  We kept ourselves busy during the days at sea.   The Promenade is a cool feature.  It was a great place to get some after port / pre dinner snacks and shopping. — The Rooms (inside cabin) — We were on a budget this... Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:49:43 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Royal-Caribbean-Navigator-of-the-Seas-review-17b4 Nickawicka 5