GregD

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!

On 12/31/2023 at 8:54 PM, Jax said:

Berty currently has 8730, 9730 and the villa. Another genie has the 3 ATS on the other side and the third has deck 17 and 10730.  He mentioned that they rotate every 4-6 weeks so you may get lucky.  If you send in an addendum do it right away….he mentioned that it’s easier to accommodate requests before emails go out to clients at the 30 day mark.  This may help you decide.  Wendy leaves sometime in January and Raj leaves in February. Raj’s replacement isn’t yet known but a concierge onboard HM (Mongesh….I am probably spelling it wrong) is taking over for Wendy. Berty knows him quite well and is excited this will be his first genie assignment.  
 

Reviving an old thread here, but we just got our genie assignment, and we have Berty. I never did resend the survey or anything else, we chose to let the chips fall where they may. Time to read through this blog again!

13 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

 

I just want to stress that during this entire time the crowds were enormous and everybody was crushing and creeping and shifting around and being very territorial and pushy at the same time.

 

The port was jampacked and a total mess. I think even if I called an Uber they would've had a hard time navigating to the pick up zone.

 

 

This is one thing that I wish they could do better,  but I understand how it ends up this way. Our last time out of Miami, we pre-booked an Uber, and it worked perfectly. We didn't have to rush off the ship, we managed to time it so that as we were walking out of terminal, our driver was calling me to say where he was, we hopped in the car, and were on our way. Way less hunger games like.

13 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

July 2025? Beyond. Ditch the freeloaders

I wish!! We are going to Scotland for 2ish weeks that summer, so I'm not sure if we will have enough vacation time etc. I do owe the boss a freeloader free cruise at some point though. We will have to put our heads together on Allure.

Glad you made it. I really want to try an Edge class ship!

No problem! Dead bodies do make for a more entertaining story though.... I did witness this on a previous cruise years ago. A vintage dropped dead in the middle of Boleros one night while we were on Anthem. It was horrible because he was dancing with his granddaughter at the time. IIRC it was early on in the cruise too, kinda made the rest of the trip a little subdued on the ship.

1 hour ago, She Sails Away said:

People who hung out at a bar last night and chatted with the bartenders have posted in our Facebook group that the two medical evacuations are as follows: one was a crewmember and then later one was a passenger, both were taken to Fort Lauderdale, both are expected to recover.
 

So although I could've sworn I saw a body bag thankfully I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

 

What an exciting trip you have been on. 

While I am purely speculating here, but since I work in EMS and helicopter transports, I can provide a little insight.

It's very unlikely they evacuated a body via helicopter. Those transports are super expensive, and a medical helicopter wouldn't take themselves out of service to transport a body, when they could be utilized for someone they could actually benefit. 

As far as the "bag." The stretchers that many helicopter services use, actually have a bag like sheet/blanket system that pretty much encloses the patient like a cocoon, and from a distance will look like a bag. 

Here you can sorta see an example

Keep up the excitement!!

@Yesiamthere can you tell me who the suite concierges are? There are people in a FB group for my sailing who are asking. Glad you are having a good time so far!! 30 days 17hours 43 minutes till arriving at the terminal for me

6 hours ago, MarvinS said:

In mid June 2023, we (group of 6; mom & dad & 4 in early 20's) did a customized private all-day tour with Victor Bodden Tours (did sort of an ala-carte selection of activites).  All of the events were excellent with the exception of the ATV rides.  The zip line course was a blast (went on at least 10 lines; lost count of them!), and the monkeys and sloths were a huge hit with my group and lots of fun to hold and get our sloth hugs.  We also did some snorkeling off shore from a boat over the coral reefs on the West side.  These were all EXCELLENT activities with Victor Bodden. 

The ATV was NOT an enjoyable portion of the tour.  The equipment was in very poor shape, and we see why after the activity.  The hills they have you ride on are quite steep, and they make everyone go down the hills together with each 4-wheeler rammed into the one in front of you.  The leader (guide) is first, and they want you to literally run into the back of the leader until the 4-wheeler rests against his, the next person running into the back of the one in front of you, etc., all the way down the line.  There was a raft of about 15 4-wheelers flowing down the hill while the leader rode his brakes slowly all the way trying to get everyone down the hill.  There were LOTS of hills, and we rafted down together a good 10 times.  No wonder the frames and racks of these 4-wheelers were all broken and banged up.  My son went through four 4-wheelers by the time we completed the activity.  One had zero brakes, another had the drive chain break, another wouldn't go into gear about 1/4 way through the course.  Needless to say, this portion of the tour was NOT enjoyable or fun...and the ATV guide still "highly suggested" they receive tips!

Everything else about Victor Bodden tour was excellent and I would do it again in a heartbeat...just not the ATV portion!

We have also used Victor Bodden and have had great experiences. We have not don't the ATV's, but we are signed up to do them next month. Maybe we will skip them!

If you only want to do just that, then your best bet is probably through one of the private tour operators and do your excursion that way. I use Victor Bodden, there are multiple others that you can choose from, Danial Johnsons, AJ'S monkeys and sloths are other names i'v heard as well. I'm sure others will chime in with who they used. All of these operators have fully customizable experiences that you can tailor your day to what you want. 

2 hours ago, Yesiamthere6 said:

You seriously need to request him.  He makes you feel like he is working with just your room. 

I may send an update to my survey. I did forget to say a few things......if those even matter.

I'm super jealous of you here. I love Oasis, and Aqua80 is the best show! I also would love to so a solo cruise too someday... there is just one thing stopping me.....The Boss would kill me and never allow it to happen

So what do I need to do to keep MJ as the genie for that room through Feb 18th

The Boss loves them. She will group like items in each cube to make packing/unpacking easier. She will also group certain things together so we can pull one cube at the hotel the night before etc.

So far she is the only user of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they spread to the rest of us soon.

Have a great cruise. I'm excited to follow along! 

Have a great cruise!!!! 5 more weeks until my turn!!

@Yesiamthere good luck today with your travel day. I hope all of your family, and luggage, make it safely and on time. I can't wait to read about your trip!

4 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

i feel like this tracks wasn’t it one of your kiddos who thought it was “waitress of the seas” instead of oasis?

the artistic vision in your family is strong

Close, it was my hard of hearing Father who thought my son said Waitress of the seas. He will really get confused when I do call this ship Popeye of the seas

Side note here, with most likely an unpopular opinion. I actually think the bow and Aquadome of the ship look silly to me. One day I was looking at a picture, and all I could see was that the bow area of Icon reminded me of Popeye The Sailer Man, with a giant forehead. I cannot get that image out of my head, so personally, to me, I will be renaming Icon Of the Seas to Popeye of the Seas. I submit for your viewing pleasure/disappointment the photo inspiration

14 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Bad news @GregD. Hubby just took a look at the Visa charges this afternoon and said we are never booking the NYE tables again! Now cabanas and NYE are on the "no" list.

However, I am not one to give up so easily lol. To be continued...

Doesn't he know he is married to the YOLO Book it Queen? You may have to send him back to steerage.

In all seriousness though, thank you for sharing your trip with all of us. It looks like you all had an amazing time even though we forced you into the WJ.

I'm glad your trip home was somewhat uneventful. Can't wait to sail with you guys again in 357 days, even if Hubby is still being Scrooge.

14 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

You’ve got to get a new card that all cruise charges go on and hubby doesn’t have access to

I like this idea!!

4 hours ago, Yesiamthere said:

Staying at the Airport Marriott.  Going to Mass at 8:30pm since we will not be able to attend on Sunday.  Gotta make sure Jesus and I are fine before I’m on a ship out in the ocean.  It’s a Mass all in Spanish.  My only Spanish word I know is “taco”….should be an interesting hour.  

 

My twisted sense of humor read this and immediately thought this would be the perfect opportunity for “these people will never see me again” shenanigans……then I realized that Mass probably isn’t the appropriate place for “what is that crazy lady doing?” sort of thing…

4 hours ago, Yesiamthere said: 

Galveston Shuttle and limo will pick us up the next morning in their van - big van I hope - 16 pieces of luggage. I’m really hoping that Star Class is clearly marked and there’s a strong porter waiting for us.  What in the world do you “tip” a porter for 16 pieces of luggage?  

 

A crisp high five!!! Actually if I had that much I would tip $20-30 especially if everyone packs like The Boss does and flirts with the maximum allowed weights.