Quantum of the Seas in Juneau
There’s always things on a cruise that you don’t do, whether it’s stuff you aren’t interested in or stuff you just didn’t get around to doing. On Royal Caribbean’s large ships like Quantum of the Seas there’s even more stuff to do or not do than on smaller ships without such a broad range of activities. Since this was a cruise to Alaska we pretty much figured beforehand that nobody would want to use the flowrider, and none of us did. It’s fun on cruises to warm climates and some people on the ship did go on it, but there was just no motivation there for any of us to give it a go. We also never went into the casino when it was open. The ship’s website, app, and even the daily newsletters onboard said that the casino was non-smoking, but all of them neglected to mention that was only for cruises out of Australia. Jennifer mentioned wanting to try the rock-climbing wall, but never got around to actually doing it. The last time I tried one was on the Explorer of the Seas and I wasn’t even halfway up before the arm that I once broke inside the elbow joint started putting up a major protest. I made it to the top out of sheer determination. That whole arm was shaking by the time I came down so I never had the desire to try it again. It’s not damaged enough that anyone else would ever notice, but I haven’t quite got full range of motion with it and there’s some permanent nerve damage and loss of manual dexterity.
random people on the rock-climbing wall
Before the cruise we’d thought we might all try the escape room the website said the ship had, but never saw it listed anywhere in the daily activities. It may be something they sometimes run in the SeaPlex which has a variety of different activities scheduled at various times. The only thing any of us tried there was bumper cars, which was fun. They had laser tag and some other games there sometimes, but we never went to any of that. Whether they never had the escape room that cruise or we just didn’t look at the schedule thoroughly enough to find it I’ll never know.
the frame added to a random pro photo out on the deck in Endicott Arm says Dawes Glacier, but the ship turned around before it got there so we didn’t actually make it that far
Our cruise was scheduled to see Dawes Glacier at the end of Endicott Arm, but the ship turned around long before actually reaching the glacier. They never made any announcements or anything about it so people were left to think the ship was heading toward the glacier until figuring out for themselves that it wasn’t.
Skagway street car
There’s also things not on the ship that end up not happening. Cruise itineraries are never set in stone. They’re subject to getting changed before the cruise ever starts, or last minute due to circumstances like weather. Our original itinerary included a stop at Skagway where we had booked the one and only excursion all 6 of our group planned to do together on the entire cruise. It was a bus tour in vehicles that looked in the photos like large yellow versions of an old-time car. The itinerary got changed shortly before the cruise started due to a landslide covering one of the docks in Skagway. We ended up going to Sitka instead.
Butchart Garden
That wasn’t the only port we ended up not visiting. As we approached Victoria waves washed over top of the pilot boat, though the pilot still managed to make it onboard. Between him and the captain they decided it was not safe to bring the ship into the dock so we missed that port. Four of the six of us had booked a tour to Butchart Gardens, which also included a stop at a butterfly garden so we missed out on that. Up until then I didn’t realize ships ever missed the stop in Victoria. It’s the required non-USA port for most Alaska cruises that are round trip from Seattle. Perhaps our ship was either given a weather exception or sailed far enough into Canadian waters to satisfy the requirement.
butterfly garden
We did get off the ship and do something at our port stops, but fun as it would be, dogsledding was not one of them. It starts with a helicopter ride to a glacier where there’s snow enough for that activity, and anything involving a helicopter is never cheap. Dogsledding is one of the most expensive excursions offered in Alaska. However we have photos that make it look as if we did go dogsledding. One night they had a greenscreen photo stand with a big box where they posed people and then after they get done with those photos you’re suddenly in a dogsled instead of standing behind a box on a ship.
dogsledding without dogs or a sled or even any snow
We didn’t eat at any of the specialty restaurants either, but in the same location as the dogsled photos on a different night they had a booth set up in a giant chair outside of Wonderland and the photos from that day make it look as if we ate there. Especially since it happened to be formal night so we were all dressed up in those pictures.
Wonderland
Ships generally offer so many different options to choose from that most people will not do more things than they do of all the things available, but what you do or don’t do onboard is by choice. Having the itinerary changed before the cruise starts or missing a port is not. Missed ports are usually due to weather, but we have occasionally missed one because someone onboard had a medical emergency. Once a long time ago we missed a port because a ship’s backup generator didn’t pass inspection so it left the embarkation port a day late after waiting for a portable one – which it never needed to use, but rules are rules. The first day after that ship left port we overheard someone ask why we had to miss a port day instead of a sea day. Apparently they had no understanding of travel time or how long it takes to get from one port to another.
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