GregD

1 hour ago, Karannk said:

Terry Lavell

Terry is amazing!!

8 minutes ago, LandstromCruise said:

Time to slum it and book to regular balconies like the rest of us peasants 

28 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

That is what I am struggling with as well. I think in the end, I would need the price to drop a bit, and book two Sky Juniors or the loft. First world problems, I know, but I will soon have a 16/18 year old. Two bathrooms is necessary for peace. 

prices definitely need to drop. Before I posted here, I priced out two sky jrs......nearly 7k a person

15 hours ago, SweetPea said:

I've had a crazy week so just catching up. 

I'm sorry Allure wasn't much of an Allure lol. However, I'm curious if you'd rather do a short cruise solo on Allure or share a room with your mom on Wonder?

oooh, that's a good question!! I can't wait to read the answer.

Have I great cruise, I feel you are in for good things because........It's actually sunny and nice here for a change!!!! I'm sending you all the good vibes I possibly can. I'm seriously jealous because we love Oasis. 

2 minutes ago, Jax said:

Same and no ATS balcony to watch it from. Lol 

Exactly. 

55 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Next thoughts:

Would we sail Icon again? 
The answer is yes, with our kids because I am sure they will love it more than Oasis class. Thrill Island being one of the major reasons why. And they love crepes too.

Would we sail Icon again if we factor in inflated pricing?

This is where we are struggling. If you look at most of my dislikes, they involve the suites & suite areas. Because I am the type of cruiser that I am, this is a huge factor for me to consider. But know that this is me, and not everyone else. For example, my kids who don’t care at all about suite amenities, will likely prefer this class, same as Hubby. 

While I don’t dislike Icon, I personally think that I would just be as happy on Oasis class, and my money will go a bit further on Oasis class. I have zero use for a lot of the new amenities on this ship. But again, that is because I am the type of cruiser that I am. 

Hubby thinks that Icon does justify the inflated cost, because it is a better product, better amenities, but no more than 1.5 times the cost compared to Oasis class. That would be the high end. 

Overall, if you are looking for a new product, Icon delivers. There are enough differences from Oasis class to make it interesting. It is not just a bigger Oasis class ship, it is different. 

 

What room would you choose when you bring the girls? This is where I'm struggling too. I know the freeloaders would love the ship. The Boss and I aren't thrilled with what we have been seeing you guys post about the spaces. She loves the balcony you get with the ATS on oasis, but the sunset corner suites on Icon are tiny, with zero privacy in the room itself, and there is no way I can justify 35k for one of the loft suites. 

16 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

The benches are torture. We had pretty bad back pain after sitting for 50 minutes. 

This is all I could think of when I saw that seating. 

53 minutes ago, Jamesszy94 said:

Regardless, Icon looks ugly imo, like I get she's supposed to be the latest and greatest. But she actually doesn't look nice. I daresay even the Radiance class ships look prettier.

I agree. Way back in this blog I mentioned that I will be calling her Popeye of the Seas. I think the aqua dome just looks ridiculous.

4 hours ago, MaryS said:

It was too cold and windy there today so I moved to the Rooftop Garden

That looks like it was a nice spot too!

15 minutes ago, Sharla said:

This is true. 

So if the reservation was made 9 months ago, that means the TA never went into the system to check pricing or deal with your reservation in any way. And you never put it into your Crown & Anchor account, nor did you check your credit card statement.

I have no idea what happened here and I will not put the blame on any one person, but I don't see Royal Caribbean doing a price match in this case. This could have been resolved 8 months ago with just a couple of checks. 

Funny, I googled the phone number, its to a travel agency in RI, that shows someones house, and 3 1 star reviews, all for trips never booked.....

1 hour ago, MaryS said:

I try to stay in the shade deck 15 facing the main pool.  Usually where the 2 vintages are but they hogged all 4 chairs so I’m behind them.

I'm petty enough that I would have made them move their towel, you don't need another lounger just to hold your crap, and plopped my butt down, and then just be awkward enough to make them uncomfortable, or want to move

47 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

[insert 'it's been 84 years' titanic gif here]

this time tomorrow, we'll be on a plane to fort lauderdale... PLEASE BRING US SUN!!

I keep looking at the weather for Houston/Galveston for when we arrive, and there should be "some sun" I'll take it

I'll keep my fingers crossed that this time on Oasis is.......less spicy....

11 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Hubby and I have discussed this in detail this past week. The question we posed was, “If pricing was not a factor, would you rather sail Icon Class or Oasis class?” I still cannot answer that. With pricing being a factor, I really don’t know if the new things justify the upcharge. I just priced out a GS for 4 of us next August on Icon. It is more than we paid for the majority of our star class cruises, pre and post pandemic restart. 

This is what is so demoralizing....Our upcoming Harmony cruise was booked post restart at a decent price. Looking at April of 2026, the same room on Oasis is nearly 400% more per person. A CLS is double the cost of what I am paying now. Not surprisingly, not a single suite is booked yet on that itinerary.

10 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

You and I are the same. This is exactly why I am struggling with my final thoughts on Icon class. The things that are important to me as a cruiser, I don’t like the changes to them on Icon. More on that tomorrow.

These are the same thoughts that I am having too. There are some things that I like, and would like to try, but I am starting to see more and more things that I don't like and that is starting to look like a larger list, and many of them more impactful on how my vacation would be to the point where she won't be a ship I sail on....especially given the current pricing.  (That is also starting to impact my decisions on the rest of the fleet too)

found it

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/hideaway-beach-adults-only

23 hours ago, Fairlynewcruiser said:

Has anyone been to hideaway beach yet?  My wife and I had a great time last year at Coco Cay at the swim up bar with the DJ and we were wondering if that is still has as much of a party Vibe as it did before hideaway beach?  Or should we go to hideaway beach for that Vibe now?

The first revenue sailing that will be going there is the Icon Inaugural, which is there today. I would think that the original swim up bar will continue to have the party vibe.  Hideaway beach will be similar, but no kids, and will cost you $$. Explore the main site. IIRC, I think @Matt did a blog post about that location. 

On 1/26/2024 at 12:17 PM, ScottD said:

Oh wow..I might actually do Wonderland if I can do the kids menu...lol

You should try the other things too. I know they all look weird, but they are tasty. The Boss, my wife, is a picky eater especially when it comes to textures, but actually loved eating there. 

9 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Tonight we tried to catch another showing of AquaNation. No luck. Both shows were cancelled due to motion.

CD Mike explained that the pool here is smaller than the Aqua theatre pool on Oasis class. So any water loss due to motion is unsafe for the divers. On top of that, the aerialists swing on a pendulum so any significant motion is unsafe for them as well.

About 10mins before showtime, they opened the pool and placed a sandbag out to simulate the swinging, and there was considerable water loss with the motion, and the sandbag was swinging side to side across the entire width of the pool. So no go.

I guess they did not consider that a lot of motion is felt at the front of the ship, on the top decks? Hubby and I had to laugh a bit because on Oasis class, the Aqua shows frequently cancel due to wind. This new Aquadome takes away that worry. But they just replaced the wind problem with the motion problem. Good old Royal lol

Life/cruise lesson here: continue to see the Aqua theatre show as early in the sailing as possible. Because there is always going to be some motion, and apparently that is a problem for that theatre

I always thought this was such a poor design decision that they made. I foresee so many unhappy people regarding this in the future.

22 hours ago, asquared17 said:

to my florida folks… how’s the weather trending?? we are hoping for sun and warmth!!

i don’t think we’ve seen the sun here in 27 days. (or at least, that’s what it feels like)

 

its been 483 days since we've seen the sun here in gloomy Upstate NY......two more weeks........almost time for the single digit dance.

Good lord, I've been so behind again in all my blog reading, and just read all of this in its entirety. I have so much to say, but will stick to the cliff notes....

1) Your descriptions of your mother had me rolling. I too probably would have made her walk the plank....but being that she is your mother, I understand why you keep her around.

2) You and your brother seem like so much fun. I remember when I was younger and could eat like he does....but alas..those days are long gone.

3) Who is this...gym...you speak of? He seems to take up way too much of peoples time.

4) The people.....gross....in so many different ways......I must give off a "Get off my lawn" vibe because that never happens to me. I also don't venture down into the casino too often where it seems many of these shenanigans start off. 

5) I'm sure there is more, but I'm quite overwhelmed at all of it......

Thank you for sharing your cruises with us. I really enjoyed reading this. I'm sorry you ended up not feeling great towards the end there. I totally get the feeling of I'm ready to be home. As much fun as a vacation can bring, being in your own space really can't be beat. 

Thank you for your perspective on sailing with Celebrity. I do think without the kids The Boss and I will be doing a Celebrity sailing at some point, we just have to figure out when.  So many travel plans, so little time.

Getting caught up here. How is the finger doing? You should see quite a bit of improvement after 24hrs on the antibiotic. Hopefully that is your only adventure back down in the sick bay. Hopefully the person you saw needing oxygen was someone who has COPD that forgot their nebulizers, and just needs occasional treatments, and isn't very sick. 

Going back to the number of very vintage vintages, that's probably why the food seems bland. They know their audience and they are all on low fat, low sodium, low sugar diets for their hypertension, congestive heart failure, and diabetes and other comorbidities. To them the food is great, but to us healthier people we are stuck with bland food

Maybe the large groups are from their senior housing communities booking blocks of rooms together too? Your mention of this made me thing of this scene from the movie The Croods.

I would feel bad for the entertainers too, who are putting on a great show, only to have the crowd not recognize the  music/performance. Though I suppose this goes back to knowing your demographic. 

On 1/19/2024 at 7:04 PM, TexanTwoStep said:

I mean, it's not that great.  Just an expensive tool to suck up that delicious, delicious buttah

underwater sea bugs are a great buttah delivery device!! I Also happen to like how they taste sans the butter too.

14 minutes ago, She Sails Away said:

 I disappeared last night because I got seasick. I got free medicine from the Medical Center, took it, and then sat in the frigid freezing blowing air on the rooftop garden area (their version of Central Park, sort of) for four hours last night watching the Bills game on the big screen TV. There were about 20 of us die hards out there. They were showing it in the sports bar inside but that was completely full. The fresh air and wind really helped. A staff member came around with shrink-wrapped fuzzy blankets and passed them out to all of us which was just wonderful. I felt much better by the time I went to bed and my room wasn't rocking and swinging quite as dramatically. 
 

I have been a sleepy fog all day though from the after effects of the medicine.

Glad you are feeling better. I find some hydration, caffeination and some laps on the track helps with the brain fog. I'm sure the caffeine isn't really needed, and the hydration and exercise will suffice, but I am never one to turn down a good cup of coffee.

2 hours ago, Jax said:

Yay! I am so glad you got Berty. You are in for a great week with him. Not sure if I mentioned but HM genie’s don’t deliver random snacks to your room. It is by request. I actually prefer this because we are not big snackers and when we are we want something specific. I know some people like to be “surprised” by in suite snacks so if this is something you like you can arrange through Berty.  Otherwise you can request as you go along.  Feel free to ask any questions.  

We actually like this idea. They had this on Oasis too last year. Derick had mentioned that there was quite a bit of food waste that they were trying to cut back on. I'm sure this also goes back to $$ saved for them as well. I do see us requesting lots of chocolate covered strawberries and meat planks from Jamies though!