Nice tour, I don't recall different hotel brands sharing an amenity like the pool before.
@dougstimesharetravels937810 күн бұрын
The Hilton Grand Vacations Club Valdoro Mountain Lodge in Breckenridge also shares a pool with another resort. Breckenridge is the only destination where I’ve seen this set up before.
@sharlanator501311 күн бұрын
Great review. I just booked a 3 bedroom. I'm hoping it's this type unit with a connecting 1 bedroom unit. My reservation says sleeps 12. I will be having a small family "reunion" with my 3 brothers, mother and 16 yr old nephew. This arrangement will work out great!
@dougstimesharetravels937811 күн бұрын
This unit on its own can sleep 8. Two in the master bedroom, two in the second bedroom, two on the twin beds in the loft and two on the sofa sleeper. An additional 1 bedroom would add another 4, two in the bedroom and two on the sofa sleeper. So there’s a good chance this will be your type of unit. Be aware that the sofa sleeper was pretty old when we were there last and I haven’t seen anything in my owner newsletters saying they were replacing the furniture. The furniture is the same as it was when we made our original purchase over 10 years ago. I suspect this sofa sleepers are a little rough to sleep on
@swetapatange843114 күн бұрын
Awesome room tour! By any chance, do you know how reliable and fast was the internet?
@dougstimesharetravels937812 күн бұрын
The internet seemed reliable when we were there. At least I didn’t have an issue with it. As to speed I couldn’t say. It’s not something I generally pay attention too much
@TroyAshwell21 күн бұрын
This man knowns how to squeeze all the fun out of a cruise, doesn't he? Depressing review.
@dougstimesharetravels937814 күн бұрын
I don’t earn income from this account. We’re not paid spokespersons and we don’t receive compensation of any kind from our videos. I can afford to give my honest opinion.
@elmcitymassmedia4211Ай бұрын
This was a solid review...traveling to PBI in February ....excellent work brother
@oldiesmcclintock6441Ай бұрын
Did you enjoy anything?
@dougstimesharetravels937814 күн бұрын
The ports, scenery and the Junior Suite stateroom. We loved the stateroom. We had been “loyal to Royal” up until this cruise. Cruising use to be an enjoyable, relaxing vacation with high quality food and service. Cruising to today is more like a weeklong stay at an amusement park with amusement park quality food. Not that it’s a bad thing if that’s what you’re looking for in a vacation. It’s just not what we’re looking for when we travel. To each their own. Since my channel isn’t a revenue producing channel and we’re not sponsored by anyone, we can afford to give our honest opinion.
@BipolarvideosАй бұрын
Did you have any teenage delinquents on your ship tossing food/pizza at each other?
@dougstimesharetravels9378Ай бұрын
No, but we were also in the first sailing of the season and I suspect a lot of kids were still in school or taking finals.
@oscarlopez-gc1pv2 ай бұрын
Thanks
@Fuzzy46502 ай бұрын
Came to see the resort. Stayed for the bench reviews
@1kflyerguy3 ай бұрын
Looks like a nice resort, the equipment in gym looks nice, even if the view is not that great... I assume they prioritized the better views for villa's and some of the higher traffic locations..
@dougstimesharetravels93783 ай бұрын
The fitness center is located in building 1. Originally they knew they’d build two buildings and had plans for building 3, but weren’t certain it would ever be built. When they decided sales were strong enough to build the third phase, that’s when they blocked some of building 1’s views, including the fitness center. Realistically you’re working out at 10,000 ft. I suspect there’s a lot of people dealing with the altitude and not feeling well enough to continue their normal workout routine.
@DestinationTimeshare3 ай бұрын
What kind of restaurant won't split checks in 2024? I suppose the same restaurants you see people posting videos of them fighting with their family and friends who ordered the lobster and a bunch of drinks while they got the chicken tenders and water and everyone suggesting to just split the check evenly.
@dougstimesharetravels93783 ай бұрын
Yep, that’s why I posted it. We sometimes travel with friends or family and typically split checks, especially since we don’t drink as much as many of my friends/family.
@DonBates-h6t4 ай бұрын
Brutal! I gather you didn’t enjoy this cruise.
@dougstimesharetravels93783 ай бұрын
We actually enjoyed the cruise. What disappointed us was RCI itself. Because of health considerations, it had been over a decade since we cruised. The drop off in service and quality was disappointing to us. I remember when the food and service was worthy of a foodie. This cruise felt more like dining out at McDonalds than Delmonico’s. I don’t know if they’ve increased capacity so much that quality suffers or if they’re prioritizing ships amenities over food and service quality. Whatever it is, we have one more cruise booked with RCI on a smaller ship (Brilliance). If it’s not any better we’ll likely become part of the former-cruiser crowd and stick with land based vacations. Food and service are major parts of our vacation and this cruise didn’t really provide either.
@lindalou95074 ай бұрын
That ham? Nope. The prices? No bueno.
@1stDoNoPharma4 ай бұрын
Where are the ghosts?
@TheOriginalMarimoChan4 ай бұрын
Thanks for the helpful tips about leaving the gate and having to go through TSA again. Love the video walk-through, very helpful.
@nayelyespinoza25964 ай бұрын
Is there a way to get there with Pugh the highway?
@HappyTimeshareTravel-ee2xz4 ай бұрын
We haven't stayed here yet and have been curious the layout. Thank you!
@dougstimesharetravels93784 ай бұрын
There are actually three different room layouts that we’ve stayed in. We have another video on our page from 2 years ago that shows one of the mid-building, long layouts common to the units in the three story buildings along the small lake/pond by the property.
@imeldamogi5 ай бұрын
yes, please
@kathienightingale5 ай бұрын
Junior suites are great rooms. We have one for our Transatlantic on Odyssey next April. Looking forward to it. :)
@dman89845 ай бұрын
We spent 38 days on Ovation earlier this year. Sounds like our experience was the complete opposite. Food was good to excellent, service did not disappoint.
@dougstimesharetravels93785 ай бұрын
Food is a rather subjective thing to discuss and a lot depends on experience. We are Diamond members and received our Crystal block on this cruise, so it isn’t as if we haven’t had experience with Royal in the past. This cruise was just below what we’ve come to expect out of Royal Caribbean. I’m glad your experience was better than ours. Thanks for watching!
@dman89845 ай бұрын
@@dougstimesharetravels9378 Food is always subjective. Sorry your experience was sup-par. We are diamond plus. On our cruise, the steaks, specialty or otherwise, were some of the best I've had. Fish and Ships was our go to for lunch.
@BipolarvideosАй бұрын
38 days holy crap, where did you go too, how much did it cost?
@dougstimesharetravels9378Ай бұрын
@Bipolarvideos there were several people onboard who began in Australia, crossed to Hawaii and then finished in Alaska.
@BipolarvideosАй бұрын
@@dougstimesharetravels9378 awesome. I think I'd be keen to do something like that one day
@shiloh8885 ай бұрын
Thank you for sharing your review. I am looking forward to staying this resort upcoming holiday season.
@dougstimesharetravels93785 ай бұрын
It has become our favorite resort to stay at when in Vegas
@Ridlo1625 ай бұрын
Great tour, staying there in a couple weeks. Thanks!
@dougstimesharetravels93785 ай бұрын
This was one of our favorite resorts. I especially enjoyed it because I like plane spotting and we had a unit location with the perfect view.
@Ridlo1625 ай бұрын
Thanks for the tour!
@Ridlo1625 ай бұрын
Great short but complete tour. Thanks!
@BassRowe6 ай бұрын
thanks for being honest
@dougstimesharetravels93786 ай бұрын
We have always sailed RCI exclusively and enjoyed each sailing. This trip we both felt the food and service were below RCI standards. We have another sailing booked next year and are hopeful this was a one off experience with a relatively new crew.
@utkbyuca896 ай бұрын
Nice
@mrsh2876 ай бұрын
I appreciate this review. I have watched a ton of RCL Ovation videos. I have thought many times that the food looks yuk in the windjammer and MDR. The Solarium and Cafe 270 look like our best bet for food.The gym, solarium and Seaplex look great! Thanks for being truthful in your ship tour.
@dougstimesharetravels93786 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching. As “Loyal to Royal” diamond level members we were extremely disappointed in the quality of food. We have another cruise booked with RCI next year and are hoping this was a one off experience. If not it will be a very long time before we cruise again. As for the ship,itself we had a great time. The activities and amenities were really nice.
@PoorviMathur226 ай бұрын
Oh they did not refill your Soda! OMG that’s crazy! How can they do that. Truly unacceptable! 😂
@dougstimesharetravels93786 ай бұрын
Apparently, when I drop a couple thousand dollars, my standards are slightly higher than yours. Service was far better on RCI several years ago and that’s what sold us on them. We travel more than the average person and eat at restaurants slightly nicer than the local iHop. Although the waitress at iHop kept our glasses full the last time we did eat there. One mark of service is attentiveness and an empty glass, especially over the course of 90 minutes, is a mark of an inattentive wait staff, Especially when they work with an assistant. I expect better from a cruise line and you should too. I could also say the food was fabulous, but it wasn’t. Why be less than truthful about our experience and opinion just to make a few fanatics who’s idea of dining out is the drive thru at McDonalds or a pizza from Little Ceasers? Thanks for watching.
@alexismarch81446 ай бұрын
D 1 r e s 1 e
@RandallFreeman-w5r6 ай бұрын
TY for the tour, we will be in this exact cabin in one month !!!
@dougstimesharetravels93786 ай бұрын
We really enjoyed that stateroom and the location. The cabin steward we had was one of the best we’ve had on RCI. Hopefully he’ll be yours as well. Thanks for watching.
@SuiteDreaming6 ай бұрын
Those rooms with the red extensions are iconic. Hopefully they go down in price now that Club Hilton opened in the top floor
@PawelSiczek6 ай бұрын
So everything sucked. Thanks.
@dougstimesharetravels93786 ай бұрын
Everything didn’t suck. However, the food in general on our sailing was substandard for what we expected from RCI. To not be able to get a drink refilled during a meal service that lasted greater than 90 minutes is unforgivable at ANY restaurant, cruise ship or land based. Thanks for watching
@jadw336 ай бұрын
How long a ride is it on the train from the Denver Airport into Downtown Denver?
@dougstimesharetravels93786 ай бұрын
The train took approx 37 minutes from the airport to Union Station downtown. Thanks for watching
@letsgo62287 ай бұрын
How do you get the free ride on the North Star? We'll be on the ship in two weeks with 3 little kids.
@dougstimesharetravels93787 ай бұрын
Once onboard you can sign up on the Royal Caribbean app. Guests on our cruise were limited to one ride in order to give all guests an opportunity to ride Thanks for watching
@BipolarvideosАй бұрын
Port days they will often give a free ride but it's very short, you'll be lucky if it's 10 minutes long. Paid ride is much longer.
@1kflyerguy7 ай бұрын
The hotel does look kind of dated and worn. On the plus side the landscaping and plantings look really nice.
@dougstimesharetravels93787 ай бұрын
Perhaps the tower rooms are nicer. The three story wings looked like a very old Homewood Suites that hadn’t been maintained. It was very disappointing for a Hilton brand hotel. Thanks for watching
@LordHowitzer2 ай бұрын
@@dougstimesharetravels9378 The hotel was a Red Lion before he became the DoubleTree.
@Courtclerkk7 ай бұрын
I’m going on there next month…geesh, u almost took my excitement away!😳
@dougstimesharetravels93787 ай бұрын
Based on several friends I have that cruise other lines, the quality has declined considerably since we had cruised last. I feel our expectations based on experiences from 14 years ago was unrealistic. That said, we were disappointed. We have one more cruise booked with Royal on a smaller ship. If the experience isn’t any better we’ll be done with cruising. Thanks for watching. I hope your experience is better than ours
@Vicapr7 ай бұрын
Dude this is really negative.
@dougstimesharetravels93787 ай бұрын
I’m not paid to review cruises so I can be brutally honest. In a restaurant where I can’t get a refill over the course of a 90 minute meal, I’m not going to give a glowing review. A 4 to 6oz cut of prime rib that has brown gravy on it is a few steps lower than Applebee’s IMHO. A piece of pepperoni pizza that has one thin slice of pepperoni isn’t going to impress me either. I could gloss it all over, but that would t be honest.
@1kflyerguy7 ай бұрын
Nice video, makes me want to try an Alaska cruise!
@maryannagibson58387 ай бұрын
thanks for this video. We will be visiting branson in a couple of weeks! excited!
@j.wilson10007 ай бұрын
Could you be more negative? Sounds like you're one of "those" cruisers.
@dougstimesharetravels93787 ай бұрын
As a Diamond status member and having only sailed on Royal Caribbean, I’d say we’ve been just the opposite up to this cruise. Just because we’ve been “Loyal to Royal” doesn’t mean I’ll on;y look at RCI through rose colored glasses. When it’s not good IMHO, I’m going to say it’s not good. Thanks for watching
@dianebrooks18897 ай бұрын
I laughed when he said the fish and chips tasted horribly fishy. 😂
@dougstimesharetravels93787 ай бұрын
@@dianebrooks1889 it might be difficult to believe, but fish should not have that “fishy” taste. That’s often a sign the fish has turned bad or is poor quality. Thanks for watching
@dpbrown36237 ай бұрын
There's no apostrophe in Seas.
@dougstimesharetravels93787 ай бұрын
Fixed it! Thanks for Watching
@grandmascottage48067 ай бұрын
Thank you for posting this! We’re about to visit for the 1st time.
@dougstimesharetravels93787 ай бұрын
It’s the one resort where having the bellman bring your luggage to your room is the best option. Thanks for watching
@ashlya30808 ай бұрын
Do you recommend requesting a corner unit ?
@dougstimesharetravels93788 ай бұрын
We really enjoyed the corner unit, but we were also in the very end building. Views may vary based on the building. We felt fortunate to get that specific unit. Thanks for watching.
@JodySklar8 ай бұрын
I have been there many times, the colors are much more vibrant!
@FIRED138 ай бұрын
Doug. As with all your photographs of resorts you have shared in the past, I find your videos are of good quality as well. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to your future resort/vacation videos.
@primetime87179 ай бұрын
Very informative and detailed video. Do you have a part 2 since we are coming to Branson in May?
@dougstimesharetravels93788 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching. As of right now I don’t have a part two as we aren’t traveling to Branson this year. Perhaps we’ll return and update the video in 2025
@shanewilson60239 ай бұрын
Doug you goin crazy! Whats the OOTD?
@VegasCanuck-h2u10 ай бұрын
Since these units were originally intended to be Ritz Carlton, the layout and amenities are a big upgrade from most Marriott Vacation Clubs that I've stayed in.
@dougstimesharetravels937810 ай бұрын
It some ways yes. The shower in the guest bath is nicer than the tub/shower in most MVC units. The subzero refrigerator is a big upgrade. The walk in closet and separate laundry room (I forgot to add to the video) are nice. The accordion door for the balcony was great. Other than that, everything else seemed to be standard fare for an MVC timeshare. The unit are due for renovation beginning in August per the front desk. It will be interesting to see if MVC maintains these units to the current standard or downgrades where it can.
@GoodGolden10 ай бұрын
I'm glad I watched this. I won't be staying there.
@dougstimesharetravels937810 ай бұрын
The resort itself is lovely and it has a great location. So long as you use the bell hops to bring your luggage up to the room it’s not as big of an issue unless you’re mobility impaired. OTOH, Marriott’s Kaua’i Lagoons is just down the street, but it’s all 2 and 3 bedrooms rather than a mix of studio, one and two bedrooms like KBC. Thanks for watching.