Joe01

I've seen some rather strongly worded posts about the Wonder over on CC and it did make me think about my own cruise there last summer. Obviously had a great time since it's a huge, new ship with so much to offer but I did think at the time that it didn't really have the same vibe as the other 4 ships. Went back to Oasis recently and I think that ship is better overall.

I honestly can't really put my finger on why but something felt a little off. Was the Wonder definitely designed for a different market? There were a few design changes and I'm not sure they needed to be messed with since the Oasis design is second to none. I wonder how Utopia will turn out. 

What were your thoughts on Wonder vs the others? Better, worse, same?

I'm currently onboard Oasis and went to the whirlpool after dinner. I got a towel from the towel station (with my SeaPass card), left it and my belongings on a deckchair. When I returned after 30 minutes, my belongings had clearly been tampered with as my shoes, SeaPass & mobile were under someone else's clothes and my towel had completely disappeared. A minute or so later, a woman picked up those clothes and also had several unused towels on their arm so I'm suspecting it was her. However, I can't prove it and frankly the optics of a 20-something guy confronting a woman decades older wouldn't have looked good so I didn't say anything.

What should I do just now? I want to avoid being fined for not returning it as it is not my fault, I would never take one myself and not return it but if someone else has taken it, I can't return it with my card yet it will show up on the system as not being returned.

Well, they've thrown in the kitchen sink, kettle and the toaster with this one. That top deck looks like a floating CocoCay, there is so much there.

In general, it appears to me to be an evolution of the Oasis design which is good and I think will definitely appeal to me. Hopefully can sail her at one point. Though I reckon all of these ships are Caribbean bound and we won't get one in the Med.

2 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

I've been on three of the ships, and we'll be on the fourth in October.  I recall my experiences as being about the same, except that the Rhapsody seemed more beat up when we sailed it in 2017.  For us, the Cruise Director was important, and I think every CD needs to have an opening monologue.  We were distressed that our CD on our cruise in June had so little stage presence.  The Activities Manager, in contrast, was a natural - should have been the Director.

Don't know which ship you were on in June but had the exact same experience on Odyssey 2 weeks ago. Great Activities Manager, visible around the ship and energetic whilst I saw the Cruise Director once in 7 days.

I was bored and scrolling through Wikipedia and it says that the six Vision Class built are three sets of sister ships. Obviously the now departed Legend and Splendour had a different look to the others but what is the difference between the Grandeur/Enchantment and Rhapsody/Vision? Obviously EN got lengthened but she was built the same way as GR. I know that GR/EN were built in Finland and RH/VI in France but does that really impact anything? Just curious.

Always Oasis Class for me!

Had fun on Odyssey last week and I can definitely appreciate that ship for what it brings to the table but generally, I'd say Oasis Class is a far superior product to Quantum Class.

Freedom Class also great, Independence still holds a special place in my heart that got me into cruising. Shame none of them are in Europe any more as I'd like to go back to my roots. I guess Explorer will suffice though, seeing some good deals for her out of Italy next year.

ITINERARY:

• July 1st - Fly to Barcelona
• July 2nd - Barcelona, Spain
• July 3rd - Embark Wonder OTS in Barcelona
• July 4th - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• July 5th - Marseilles, France
• July 6th - La Spezia, Italy
• July 7th - Civitavecchia, Italy
• July 8th - Naples, Italy
• July 9th - Cruising
• July 10th - Debark Wonder in Barcelona/Take train to Aix-en-Provence
• July 11th - Aix-en-Provence/Marseilles, France
• July 12th - Lyon, France
• July 13th - Lyon morning/train to Strasbourg afternoon
• July 14th - Strasbourg, France
• July 15th - Morning train to Paris/afternoon Paris, France
• July 16th - Morning Paris/afternoon train to London
• July 17th - London, England
• July 18th - Arrive home in Glasgow, Scotland
• July 19th - 27th:  A quick cruise onboard "Glaswegian Apartment of the Seas" (chance to recharge my batteries)
• July 28th - Fly to Rome
• July 29th - Rome, Italy
• July 30th - Rome, Italy
• July 31st - Embark Odyssey OTS in Civitavecchia
• August 1st - Cruising
• August 2nd - Santorini, Greece
• August 3rd - Kusadasi, Turkey
• August 4th - Mykonos, Greece
• August 5th - Cruising
• August 6th - Naples, Italy
• August 7th - Debark Odyssey OTS/Fly home

Just made it back from Rome after a fantastic sailing on Odyssey of the Seas. I was also on Wonder of the Seas at the start of July so this means I was able to sail on both of the new ships in Europe this summer. Going to do a trip report of both cruises alongside the land segment in France in the middle. Will discuss my experiences on the two ships and how they differed however note that these are two very different types of ship so can't really be compared. Just enjoy each for what they offer, right?

Let's go!!

26 minutes ago, Bowen said:

That is super cool! I hope the boat is okay and that it all worked out.

Currently onboard Odyssey. We moved on from the scene after a couple of hours as another ship (seemingly a cargo ship) was able to assist. Captain Sindre updated us earlier that all on the boat are rescued and safe.

I have finally arrived home! A week of trains through Spain, France & the UK is complete. 1am in the morning here in Glasgow so I'm exhausted.

Had to arrive home a tiny bit earlier than expected - was taking a train at 1130 today however there is a heatwave in the UK which is going to cause significant train disruption so got the last train tonight from King's Cross to Edinburgh and Uber to Glasgow.

Will be starting the full trip report soon of Barcelona and the cruise on the Wonder. I'll happily add in bits of the France trip after if you like.

Well, I went rather radio silent.

We very, very nearly got caught out by COVID a few days before we were meant to sail. After taking several tests, all of which were negative, we were good to go so we did end up sailing. I'll post a bit about the cruise over the next few days. Great ship.

Now taking the train all the way back to Glasgow. Stopping off in various French cities and London along the way so it'll be a week before I'm home.

Thanks all for the comments. And I totally agree that it is better finding out now than abroad.

I've done my LFT and it's negative. Going to do another one tomorrow to be sure. The others are also all negative. They are still insistent on going. But I feel that they aren't looking at the big picture and we'll come a cropper at some point.

31 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

The refund is on a per room basis, so the entire room has to cancel with proof of the positive test.

Thanks for that, that's definitely important to consider as otherwise there would be no refund and the money has gone down the drain.

31 minutes ago, Pooch said:

Positive test within 14 days AND close contact are gonna get flagged on the Health questionnaire you all have to fill out. Don’t see any way any of you are going to be allowed to board.

Yeah, that's sadly what I figured. I knew that we were highly unlikely to have an easy way onto the ship when I heard about it. I did think we'd be found out if we went and then it would get worse.

This morning, I found out that one of our party has tested positive for COVID, there is 4 of us. We're meant to be cruising on Wonder on Sunday and flying out to Barcelona on Friday.

Needless to say that my excitement is pretty much gone overnight and instead is just replaced with stress. I don't know at this point what the heck will happen. Obviously she can't go any more but the other two have tested negative (think it was LFT) and I think they still want to go. However, we've all been in close contact in the last 24 hours at a dinner and all 3 of them live together so I'm personally not convinced that we've seen the last of positive tests, especially since we have to do a pre cruise test 48 hours before boarding when we get to Barcelona. I'm getting a test myself later on tonight and if I'm being totally honest, I would rather test positive now rather than potentially get stuck in Barcelona and end up missing the cruise anyway.

So, any advice on what to do? Potential refund for the person missing out? Is it a good idea to even go knowing that we've been in close contact? I'm really feeling stressed now and that's before all of the usual pre-vacation stuff. I don't even feel that well but I think it's just the stress getting to me.

I'm Joe from Glasgow, Scotland  and this is my comeback to cruising! I might be familiar to some of you since I was on here quite a lot around 2018/19. At that point, cruising was basically a hobby, even when not on a ship, I was very immersed in the industry. Around the end of 2019, I decided to cut back on my social media and forum use and then COVID hit so I've barely even been here for the past 2.5 years.

So what has happened to me? Well, I've moved out on my own for the first time and have gone through three years of college. My life has moved on a lot since I was last on a ship, it's kinda crazy to think about it. But it's great to finally come back again.

This cruise is a 7 night Western Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona  on the brand new Wonder of the Seas. We'll be calling at Palma , Marseilles , La Spezia , Civitavecchia , Naples  and a day at sea back to Barcelona.

We'll be flying out from Edinburgh Airport around 6am  on Friday morning. Fingers crossed it all goes well, it is a bit early for me plus there have been rumours of airlines striking (we're going on Ryanair).

Going to give this live blogging thing a go. Can't guarantee pictures until I return home but I'm hoping to use it as a way to practice my writing above all else. Might also talk about the post-cruise segments in France and England, basically taking the train all the way back from Barcelona to Scotland.

One thing I can guarantee is no politics, no news, no current affairs. I'm passionate about all of those things as I study politics but I'm taking this as an official news-free week. I need it after everything that has gone on since my last proper vacation.

Let's get cruising!

I don't see what would encourage anyone to do a B2B on a 3/4 nighter if you can do a 7 nighter and not have the turnaround day faff. In addition, who would want to do a B2B which only goes to two ports, one being Nassau? 

23 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I agree with this 100%.

Good to hear from you again, @Joe01

Very kind! And to you too.

All of the news on Wonder has drawn me back into cruising, been a long time in dry dock.

Hmm...there's barely any time to fully enjoy the ship before you're off on a 3/4 nighter let alone on an Oasis Class. Will all of the amenities even be used to their maximum? Or all of the entertainment? They'll no doubt have to change the product up considerably for this market, there would only be one sea day between both sailings each week for starters. 

I know why they've did it of course, they've found a cash cow on the short runs ever since the new CocoCay opened. Regardless, I think everything Allure as a ship has to offer will be wasted on 3/4 nighters.

Stoked! Was never ever visiting China for a cruise so was thinking Wonder wasn't going to be in the cards for quite some time. Now I'm tempted to go on her for a week next summer in the Med, would make a great cruising comeback!

Will everyone over 18 have been offered both jabs in the UK by the time Anthem starts sailing?

I'm not getting my first jab for another two weeks - how is this fair?? Why has age discrimination suddenly became acceptable in this society?

Greenock???? 

Deleted.

6 minutes ago, twangster said:

In Orlando, FL starting Monday of next week the minimum age is 40 to be eligible.  There is no cruising in March.

In April Florida will make everyone eligible who has been approved under emergency use authorization down to age 16.  There is no cruising in April.

By May 1st everyone in America is eligible.  There is no cruising in May. 

By June when first cruising restarts everyone in America will be vaccinated or will be days away from getting the vaccine.  Cruising starts June 5th.

By mid-June anyone who wants in should have it.  Cruising will have have just started.

By July only those who don't want it won't have it.

How is this offensive to you?  A small percentage of the population, literally 0.00001% of the population won't be able to cruise for one or maybe two weeks.  That's assuming they even want to cruise.  Only 7% of the US population has taken a cruise in the past four years.  I'm not even sure there will be one person actually impacted and finding themselves unable to get a vaccine in time for the very first June cruise.

I'm not from America, different system over here.

54 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Most people have had to put their lives on hold for the last year.  Most people have sacrificed in some manner or another.  You know who else will get to go cruising in the Caribbean? The first responders and health care workers who have been putting their lives on the line for the past year - many who ARE part of the "younger generation" (assuming they can get away for a short time).  Honestly, this is just an issue that will not be an issue for long. 

Yes but my point is that the younger generation have been disproportionality affected given the risks to them so it is completely unfair to say that they suddenly can't do anything.

They do realise in a lot of countries that you can't get offered a vaccine yet if in lower risk age groups? Surely that's grounds for age discrimination, especially given that the whole purpose of vaccination is to stop people in the vulnerable categories from really becoming unwell from COVID? I understand cruise ships have it harder and effectively have to be "Zero COVID" zones but it really rubs me the wrong way that the younger generations who have sacrificed so much in the past year are having to stay put whilst the older generations who they basically put life on hold for can go cruising in the Caribbean.