mom2mybugs

Central Park... Day and night was my favorite... It's such a beautiful area. We loved vintages (now Giovanni's) and the trellis bar. Simply give yourself time to enjoy the neighborhoods and the peace and beauty of the ship. We also loved 150 Central Park :). The aqua show and theater shows (when they come back) were not to be missed! Jane

Don't being beach towels... You totally don't need them! They are big, you can take several, and always have dry (and washed clean) ones. I have never been charged, but if you are worried, ask them at the last time you drop off towels or check your bill before disembarking. Jane

Thanks so much! It looks beautiful. I did read your whole live blog! Thank you for posting! I wish ours (if we go) had late Curacao and short Aruba like yours. Jane

I think I will miss that openness... But I did see that the solarium on wonder is also all enclosed... Guess this is their solution to cold cruising. Thanks for your input...I may punt and just make my husband decide! Give me a drink and a pool deck and I should be fine! Jane

Thank you everyone! I guess I have to decide how much I would miss the neighborhoods vs the extra night and better itinerary. @Sharla has given me some great options... Now I just need to make a decision! And seriously... Won't be my last cruise! I'm worried still about crowding on Odyssey but frankly, all pool decks are crowded on sea days. And heck, with FOUR sea days, I can hope people would head to the ifly and other stuff. Random solarium questions... Does the solarium on Odyssey feel very "enclosed" ? Can you still tan? Are there sunny spots that stay sunny all day? I like the relaxing in the solarium and being close to the pool, but am afraid I would miss fresh air? Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramblings! Jane

Awww... Thank you. Yes, we made it through with some hiccups but overall ok! My last 2 cruises have been on vision class so I'm anxious to try new venues and amenities. I should look at voyager class though since we did enjoy adventure. Jane

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and pics. We are trying to decide if we should try our first quantum or Wonder this coming new years. I'm now freaking out a bit about the crowded pool deck and poor traffic flow. But we loved southern Caribbean and we'd have the extra day on Odyssey. Decisions... Decisions!!! Jane

Been very very very awol, but no money and lots happening! However, we are now looking at a New years eve cruise this year since our schools' winter breaks will be the whole week after New Years. I have been on Allure, so I am sure I would love Wonder. We are looking at an 8 day Odyssey Southern Caribbean cruise vs a 7 day Eastern Wonder. I think we would love the Odyssey itinerary, but I'm worried about liking the quantum class and I'm having a hard time pinning down exactly what restaurants/amenities are on quantum vs. oasis class. The wonder itinerary is the usual eastern caribbean we've been to but a new ship and new restaurants we haven't been to (we've been on allure once), whereas the quantum is an extra day and curicao for an extra couple hundred and a brand new ship. Can people tell me the vibes and shows on the ships ? Jane

Thank you so much! We would definitely not be doing suites, so its really comparing the rest of the ship (the bars, dining etc). I'm seeing about a 350 (interior) up to 900 (veranda) difference in price. It sounds like Edge is worth it, especially for the interior staterooms. I will have to weigh if the infinity balcony is worth it! Or if we just stay with Royal. So many choices! Thanks for all your input! Jane

I had saw the all included, but couldn't figure out if it was just aqua class and what the differences were. I think i have finally figured out that when I add up the drink pkg, wifi and any excursions to symphony or harmony, it really makes them about equivalent to Edge. But like Joe pointed out, I only get my points if i do royal not celebrity. Ahhh.....fwp! I have only been on allure, so either symphony or harmony would be awesome! Odyssey wasn't bad, but was one night less, so that is less appealling. Jane

i'm guessing we would not be doing suites on either line. So do you feel that the not being in a suite on Edge would be obnoxiously stiffling? I just don't think bumping up over 500 to move up to even aqua class is gonna be in the budget. Jane

This was hugely helpful. I was reading and trying to figure out if the all included was just aqua class, and I was trying to figure out the difference between drink pkgs (classic and premium). With the included, or actually with the +$30 a day upgrade, I think that actually the Edge comes out cheaper for me than Symphony at least on interior. Heres what i've figured out: Harmony cost: virt. balcony (1069pp) + drink pkg (guessing 50/day and I think gratuities too) (350 or more) =1419pp (plus probably wifi too at some point) Edge cost: interior 1346pp (includes wifi, classic drinks and tips) or if i got the upgraded (which the royal drink pkg includes) it would be 1556 per person, but that includes wifi surf (all i need) and 150 towards shore excursions (which i definitely would also get on royal especially if we were going to cococay). So if my math is right, Edge is really not out of the realm of possible, though it doesn't get me any royal points. But i could let my sister in law pick the ship and itinerary ? I will have to look how the comparison goes on ocean view and balcony. Jane

Thanks Joe. I didn't realize that the double points was still happening. Since I will never be able to afford a suite, this is a great way to speed up my points. In terms of Odyssey's days--its 2 sea days. Overall it's 200 less than Symphony, and 100 less than Harmony (just found that one for some reason, but the itinerary is not the best--nassau, jamaica , labadee and cococay. That's a lot of beach and nothing else really). So I think I will wait on quantum class and if I do Royal, it will be Symphony or Harmony. I will check out more stuff on the celebrity forum :) Jane

So in trying to compare costs between the two cruise lines, I'm running into the fact that I don't know how much anything costs on celebrity. What does the average shore excursion cost on celebrity? And how much does the internet run? In Booking, I can pay an extra $30/day for drink pkg and $ towards excursions or $60/day for drink pkg, internet and excursions and I'm trying to figure out what's a good deal! Jane

Just looking at comparing the 2 ships. I know... Totally subjective and I will look at cost, itinerary etc but just curious if anyone really liked or missed something on one ship vs the other. Jane