Joe01

Hi all. As I’m Glasgow based, I’ve decided to go and get some pics of the 3 ships up here in Glasgow. On the bus there as we speak. Back soon!

In other words, I need to pretend to be straight to avoid a prison sentence or even the death penalty just to satisfy their medieval beliefs. No thanks - plenty of much friendlier places to visit. Glad you enjoyed it though.

Never in a million years would I set foot there! If you're a woman or minority of any sort, it would be totally foolish to even consider going to Saudi Arabia.

Got to be honest here, I come across a lot of people over on CC and some here as well who just seem obsessed with cruising. It's like their main hobby that they can't live without. Same with Virtual of the Seas - I went on those virtual cruises during lockdown but when they stopped, people seemed to freak out. In all honesty, I was never addicted but my passion seems to have kinda faded over the last year, I guess I've just got my land legs back! What makes people on here addicted to cruising? What about it do you love so much? Interested to hear what you have to say.

There is no such thing as a "new normal" - it's total tripe and in a way, kinda sinister. There is NOTHING normal about a lockdown and not being able to travel! Things like this are temporary. Indeed, back in Scotland, we're pretty much back to normal, though I wish Nicola Sturgeon would open the cinemas and gyms...

I'll actually miss the old muster drill. It was symbolic of the beginning of a cruise for me. It's like tradition. Everything has to be done by tech now which sucks, I'm just not as enchanted by it as everyone else. And before someone accuses me of being old fashioned, I'm possibly one of (if not) the youngest members of this forum.

Damn, I guess that things are really bad, beginning to worry a bit for the cruise lines if they aren't back in service by the end of the year. I'm on a train to go on vacation in London at the moment (I'm not leaving the UK but after London, the rest of my family are off to France), can't see how going there and being in a train for 4.5 hours is safe but a cruise isn't. We've managed in the UK to find ways to operate things with distancing so it sucks that the CDC are still banning any sailings. I'm sure they could do something if they thought out of the box more.

Just as a general question - what is the hype with travel agents on here all about? I've never really used them and just wondering why they are so loved.

Nice for people in America to have that luxury but it doesn't exist anywhere else in the world. Most cruises in other regions are longer. As I said, it's probably the ticket for them to attract younger cruisers - the older Vision and Sovereign Class no longer had any purpose on short cruises. I just wish that it wasn't so many of the big ships confined to the short cruise market. As for the variety thing, not really - Independence, Mariner and Navigator are all off the menu (possibly permanently) as I come from Scotland, as will Liberty when she heads to Miami in a couple of years and Voyager if she is permanently committed to short cruises from LA. Adventure is doing Europe next year but that'll be a one off and then she's back to Galveston for the short cruises and is likely there for years. That leaves Explorer and Freedom - I suppose their itineraries are half decent (Freedom from NJ looks intriguing) but I wouldn't call it variety by any stretch. Certainly not compared to a few years back when these 8 ships were spread all over the globe, with 1 rotating Alaska/Oz, 1 rotating Asia/Oz, 1 full time in Asia, 2 of them in Europe at summer and a few that mostly stuck around in the Caribbean.

Agreed, you need a week at minimum on those ships. In fact, for those going on Oasis Class for the first time, I would actually recommend a B2B.

Probably not in the near future, I always thought that they went overboard with her amplification to specifically design her for the short cruise market and my guess was that the same was going to happen to Liberty until recent events threw a wrench in those plans. Sucks that these Voyager and even Freedom ships are now being wasted on the short cruises - Indy, Navigator, Adventure, Liberty, Mariner and potentially Voyager since the LA cruises also appear to be short. Not a fan and wish that they would keep these on longer itineraries where there is more time to really enjoy the ship. I guess that Royal see it as their ticket to attracting the millennial crowd and I definitely don't blame them but I do feel that these ships are worth much more than a 3 day cruise from Florida to Nassau & CocoCay. Whats next, Oasis Class on the short cruises? Surely that won't happen? I would gladly trade Anthem back to the States for another Freedom or Voyager in Europe (keep Odyssey over here though since she's new).

As soon as I saw with kids, OASIS. Absolute no brainer, there is no way that kids would enjoy Brilliance nearly as much as Oasis. If there is a cruise in my history that I'd maybe try to forget, it would probably be the one on Serenade (Brilliance's sister) in 2013. Not as fun of a time as the others, nothing to do for those under the age of 18 except for the pool and IMO, the outdoor pool facilities on Radiance Class are a joke. The next year, we did Oasis and it was a huge upgrade over Serenade, we had a far better time. We've basically stuck with that class since then.

Definitely masks.

1. No 2. No 3. Maybe but I fail to see how it would work and be enforced.

Heck yes! Doesn't hurt that those are two of my favourites, definitely the best of the Caribbean ports.

In all honesty, my guess is as good as yours when it comes to Kirkwall. Never been to the Orkney Islands and for a Scot, I've actually barely visited the North much at all. If you're ever in the Central Belt of Scotland (i.e. Glasgow, Edinburgh and surrounding areas), ask away.

Booked for Oasis July 4th, scheduled to visit Montreal for a bit before that. I wonder what the chances are at this point. Would definitely be upset to miss this one, but safety comes first. On a much bigger note, the constant worry and uncertainty is really beginning to stress me out, and I'm far from the worst affected. It really sucks that there still isn't any light at the end of the tunnel - I don't ever remember the world being as downcast as it has been throughout the past few days. I think that many people's mental health will be far worse affected than their physical health over the next few months, particularly if there are any lockdowns (thankfully not yet in the UK). If I get the virus, I am pretty much 100% confident that I'll be fine given my age and health but the constant doom and gloom may impact me and many others mentally.

Things could easily change by May but I read on CC that there was a possibility of EX heading to Southampton.

Looks like I'll be heading to Oasis for the July 4th sailing. I'm personally very excited as the ship seems to be looking great after her refurb. It was between Adventure & Oasis and I imagine that AD is probably showing her age a bit (might be an option for next year in the Baltic though...) Anyone sailed on Oasis since her amplification? What did you think of her?

Looking like I'll be on Oasis July 4th. Guessing that Dennis is on vacation then, I wonder who will be there. Seems that it will be someone I've not had before...

No problem - found it on Cruise Critic.

I've found out that he was filling in on Oasis for a month and then moved to Allure. Dennis Charles is taking over on Oasis today.

Looks as if you'll be in luck then. Not surprised that he's staying there.

Per CC, Michele is the new CD on Oasis, he started on Sunday. Bobby headed to Allure then Odyssey next.

Oh yikes. Awful. Sounds like there isn;'t much hope for the people missing sadly. I do have to wonder why they sold tours to this place. Did they know that it would be very risky? I hope that everyone else is safe.