fireclan

So now we are blaming the person who booked and paid for the cruise. Now that's a new one and actually a bit stunning. As an experienced cruiser I would be frantically trying to find out why I wasn't assigned a cabin number but everything I read is they can issue that cabin number the day of sailing. What the heck is the person supposed to do? Royal Caribbean needs to take the L on this one and we need to accept that. If it was some kind of flooding issue then Royal Caribbean needs to explicitly say what exactly happened. This is unacceptable. 

Royal Caribbean states on their website that a guarantee room can be assigned in advance or on the day of sailing. In a post by @twangster in 2021, he mentions the same. 
As a more experienced cruiser, you or I might be concerned if no cabin had been assigned by the week of the cruise but a relatively new cruiser would probably think this is totally normal for a guarantee.  I respectfully disagree that the cruiser shares any responsibility in this fiasco by not doing "due diligence".

We're booked on Odyssey out of NJ in Jan 2025. But, same old-same old itinerary as you mentioned. 

i’m sorry but i thought they’d done the baked alaska to look like a VW bug. 
i swear i am sober. 
i was scrolling too fast and apparently am delirious 🙃
(please tell me someone else sees this???)

I think this is the key, TBH.  Certainly we have things that we only take on cruises....but the trick is to have those items that you do NOT want to forget, pre-packed and ready to go.  Things like charging cables and associated hardware, water shoes, chair clips, and so many other things....all saved together somewhere so that you can't forget them.  I mention the charging cables specifically b/c that seems to be one thing that can totally ruin a cruise for us if they are forgotten.  That's why I have exactly what I want and need permanently packed so that I cannot forget them.  They never leave the suitcase.  So, I have duplicates of all of those cords b/c the ones for the house stay at the house and the ones that go on trips, stay in the suitcases.  There are lots of things for which I have duplicates so that I don't have to think about what goes and what stays...they just stay packed and ready.

Adventure of the Seas, Dec 22, 2023

We are going to that tonight at 10:45! 

I am confusing the dinner crew.  There is way too much food on the ship, so I have been going to dinner and only getting a main course.  Tonight, dinner took me 20 minutes from start to finish.  It is not like I am not eating.  Today was one of my workdays.  I got up this morning and went to the Buffet and found a good table with the soft bench.  Then I spent the next 6 hours working on my computer.  I am a computer programmer, so it was real paid work.  I was also able to attend three different meetings.  I did not eat any meals, but I started with Bacon/sausage and toast.  that lasted the first 2 hours.  Then I got some fruit and grapes for the next two hours.  Then the last two hours was meat and cheese.  Now it is 7:30 pm and I feel good about what I got done today and am going to bed early.
Tomorrow, I have a shore excursion that starts at 8 am and lasts 6 hours.

I realized I really did not tell you details on my cruises.  Here is what I am doing.  If you have any questions, please ask.
9 Night Aruba, Curacao & Cayman Cruise
Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Sea Day George Town, Grand Cayman Sea Day Oranjestad, Aruba Willemstad, Caracao Sea Day Falmouth, Jamaica Sea Day Fort Lauderdale, Florida 10 Night Ultimate Southern Caribbean
Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda (same cabin)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Sea Day Sea Day Philipsburg, St. Maarten Roseau, Dominica Bridgetown, Barbados St. John's Antigua Basseterre, St. Kitts Sea Day Sea Day Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Summary:  the Theatre
The Theatre on the Beyond is much different than any other I have experienced.  To start out it has a round stage and not the typical square one.  the backdrop is not a curtain it is a round wall that does state of the art graphics.  In last night's show we had the feeling that the entire theater was moving forward floating down a river.  With the round stage it feels like the performers are coming out into the audience.  The shows have been very good (in most cases) and last night it was good enough that I wanted to see it a second time.  Later this week I will give a review of all the shows.

 

Summary:  We had a wedding
One of the people from the Facebook group got married yesterday.  I have heard about weddings on the ships, but I always assumed they were like Las Vegas where they were drive through weddings.   One of the couples on our Facebook group (471 people) only had about 8 friends and family on the cruise.  They decided to invite everyone they had been chatting with for months.  About 40 people showed up and made a nice wedding.  They had it in the Blue restaurant and it was setup for a wedding.  The ship captain was there to perform the ceremony.  He was there early, and we got to chat with the ship captain, the groom and best man while waiting for the ceremony to begin.  It ended up with everything you expect from a wedding except for the reception.  They had the wedding, did the cake then did pictures.  Most of us ended up going to the Martini Bar to have our own reception.

IT’S CRUISE DAY!!!! 

Made it to FLL!!  The Aunt and Crazy Uncle were on flight with us!  Other Crazy Aunt and Uncle on way to airport to pick them up. In-Laws should be landing in about 20 minutes. All parties accounted for!! 

Hehe, sorry, still on our own cruise where Batman told me he packed 11 pairs but in reality brought 7 and is now running out because he sent out laundry on Day 2 ... who does that when driving from home??
 
Anyway, safe travels and Bon Voyage!!!!
 

Same with us! My husband cranks that wood stove up...🥵

Same with us! My husband cranks that wood stove up...🥵

Summary:  No sleep but great trip
It took all night Monday night, but I got packed.  it was the heaviest suitcase I have had so far on any of my trips.  it is a small, checked bag and it was 42 lbs.  I pretty much packed everything I own that can be worn in public that my 27-year-old would approve.  The flight and transportation were the best of any trip so far.  the only issue is my sons new Camero.  It is a brand new 2024 Camero and he wants to drive it everywhere.  The trunk is big but has a small opening.  The bag just barely fit in.  When I got to the airport there were no lines anywhere.  Once on the airplane I was in Main Plus seats, and I had a 3rd grader in my middle seat.  That gave me lots of room and gave me someone that I could talk to (I coach elementary and high school water polo).  On the second part of my flight, I had the Main Plus seat and there were only 2 of us in the row of 3 seats.  At the Fort Lauderdale airport I got my bag and as soon as I walked out the door to see where to find my hotel ride; to my surprise the van was right there with the hotel name on it.  I got to the hotel about 10 pm and got to sleep for the first time in two days.

Summary:  Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda
I am not going to talk much about the ship tonight because I have not had time to explore and experience.  What I will talk about and show pictures is my cabin.  I have got to spend time in my cabin and get a good nap this afternoon.  I have an Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda.  For a solo cabin it is very big.  The only thing it does not have is a couch.  I do have a balcony in the room that opens the room up.  Celebrity is an upscale cruise line, and you can tell that by the cabin.  I have 2 USB plugs next to my bed.  At the desk is a box with 3 different power plugs and 2 USB plugs.  The bed is nice and sleep well.  I want to take the pillows home.  They are big enough and are schrunchable.  Later in the cruise I will be creating a Cabin Review Video and will share it with you.
Note:  The nap helped, and I am starting to realize my funk is caused by being overworked.  I have done 6 months of 60-hour work weeks and the last 3 months with 25 to 30 hours of Water Polo coaching on top of that.  I think I am just tired and need this cruise to decompress.


 

After taking a nap today and decompressing a little i am coming to realize you are correct.  To many hours and no decompression time.  I have done Thanksgiving on Norwegian and Royal, and their Thanksgiving is turkey and ham but no pumpkin pie.  They were prepared like a chief trying to be fancy and not trying to be as good as moms Thanksgiving meal.  I am hoping Celebrity does a better job.

I will be creating a Cabin review video in a couple of days.  I will post it on this blog but until then I would book this cabin in a heartbeat.  

Same here! 😀
Late last night the CC balance suddenly reflected the total charges, but no transaction details. This morning all 6 purchases are properly posted with the 11/8/23 transaction date. Happy this resolved sooner than later for sure!

I'm happy to report that this problem is finally over 
All charges posted straight to the card late yesterday. Dated the 8th with post date 22nd

@Traveling Mike I hope this morning finds you on your way to the cruise you're not excited about!
Maybe it's the pre-cruise packing and traveling that's has you a bit unmotivated (I have really grown to dislike that part of the cruise experience), or maybe you've had enough of cruising for a while. Hopefully some down time on your B2B will give you perspective as ponder these thoughts and feelings.
As @Xaa posted, please honor that "contract" you made here and bring us along on your journey! Bon voyage!

Summary:  Not a bad day and great cruise port
I checked before I went to sleep and the Lift from my hotel to the cruise port was only $8 and the shuttle was $15.  I set my alarm for 10 am to give me an hour to clean up before checkout time.  Now I did something every experienced cruiser knows not to do but I did it anyway.  I packed my bag in packing cubes and did not leave cloths for my second day easy to get to.  All of my shirts were in packing cubes at the bottom of the suitcase.  I got to unpack everything to get one shirt that I could wear to the port.  I scheduled my Lyft ride, and it showed up in 5 minutes (I picked the discount for waiting) and it was a very nice car and great driver.  It took us about 10 minutes to get from the airport area to the Port Everglades port.  At the port entrance we got in a line that was very slow.  When we got the person at the gate we were asked for ID.  The driver showed him his ID and I showed him my sea pass.  that was not enough for him.  I had to get in the car trunk and get my passport out of my backpack.  Once at the Celebrity Cruise terminal 18 (the Ascent had 25) everything went really smooth.  The people working the terminal were great and very polite and helpful.  I got there at 11:30 am and almost was able to walk on.  We just had a 5-to-10-minute wait in the main waiting room.  Something I thought about... I think the workers are very polite because most of them are retired and do not have the stress of working life and enjoy what they are doing.

@Traveling Mike I hope this morning finds you on your way to the cruise you're not excited about!
Maybe it's the pre-cruise packing and traveling that's has you a bit unmotivated (I have really grown to dislike that part of the cruise experience), or maybe you've had enough of cruising for a while. Hopefully some down time on your B2B will give you perspective as ponder these thoughts and feelings.
As @Xaa posted, please honor that "contract" you made here and bring us along on your journey! Bon voyage!