ncnickel

My partner and I are going to be doing the Northbound from Vancouver. Haven't seen any roll calls yet. 

On 6/1/2022 at 10:00 AM, JKil said:

We have booked this cruise too for our honeymoon next May!  Very excited!  This is our first cruise and we are really looking forward to it.

We had our first cruise Feb of 2020 on Oasis. We had so much fun! I hope that your first cruise is as lovely as ours was. Happy Honeymoon!!! :) 

Well - we decided to book on Ovation: 8 nights from Vancouver to Seattle. Excited for it and now just need to wait 13 months.

Hey! 

My partner and I just booked our May 2023 Alaska cruise from Vancouver to Seattle on the Ovation of the Seas. Thought I would start a roll call (and hope that there are not any other Pandemic cancellations).

Thanks all! This is super helpful - particularly the notes about the smaller ships not being able to navigate the arm when ice calving is taking place. 

The route we're thinking of has Ovation of the seas leaving Vancouver and then ending in Seattle. 

Good point though about the smaller ships and the inside passage. On sea days it may not matter so much. Will need to read more reviews of the smaller ships to see what folks' experiences with them has been. 

I really appreciate everyone's comments! THANK YOU!

My partner and I have only cruised 1x. We went on Oasis right before the pandemic started. We're interested in an Alaska cruise and are having trouble selecting a ship. We liked Oasis a lot and all the activities on it. Which makes us gravitate to Ovation. But we're looking to go in May and we have read about folks saying that Ovation sometimes can't go into the Endicott Arm because of ice. 

How likely is it that this will happen and

What are the other ships that go to Alaska like. 

We're having trouble choosing between what should be a good ship experience vs. making sure we get to see a glacier. Though the other thing I've considered is that there is a park where you can take a hike to also view glaciers (I think) so there are other options. 

Thoughts and reflections welcome! 

Has anyone else noticed how many folks are coming after the cruise industry right now. It is almost like they smell blood in the water. I don't feel like other vacation industries illicit such a strong response.

What do you think it is? Why are so many people attacking the cruise industry right now? And, how does one respond to their spouse who is starting to question whether or not to cruise any longer as a result?

On 1/31/2020 at 8:31 AM, Pinar said:

Hello i will be on oasis 16 feb. 

YAY! Happy sailing! See you tomorrow!

On 1/27/2020 at 7:52 AM, AshleyDillo said:

They are usually listed in the Cruise Compass.  In fact the first one I pulled up from the blog's archives has it listed as "LGBTQ+ Meet & Mingle".  

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/oasis-of-the-seas/sun-2019-12-15-0000

THANKS!!!!

2 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

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.

WOW! How do you find this info?! I'm impressed.  THANKS!

We're only 3 weeks out, now! Very excited. We have our shows booked, and researching "on our own" activities in San Juan and St. Thomas. My partner and I were also wondering whether there were LGBT meet ups? Where does one locate those? 

On 12/17/2019 at 8:43 AM, Joe01 said:

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

Is this still current? i.e., that Michele is the CD for Oasis now? I've been trying to find out who our CD will be in a couple weeks and there seems to be conflicting info.

I'm sailing in 30 days and the wine tasting is not listed in my cruiseplanner. Can we only book it now when we board? 

We will be visiting Amiga Island in February and cannot wait!

21 hours ago, Matt said:

You can, but they are convoluted. The easiest and best strategy is to go to Guest Services on the first day of your cruise is to deposit cash.

If you insist on buying OBC, it can be done at https://www.royalcaribbeancertificates.com/ but be sure to read the redemption rules before buying.

Thanks! part of the reason we want to buy it ahead of time vs. on the cruise is to spread out our vacation costs across a few different credit card cycles. I'll have to check out the redemption rules listed there. 

Question - 

I drink alcohol but my partner does not. Moreover, my partner tends to only drink water and some coffees so is not amenable to even the non-alcoholic drink package. Long story short, we won't be getting any drink packages but I will want to be buying drinks while onboard. 

Is there any way to "buy credit" before the cruise that I can use for getting drinks while on board? Basically, we'd like to spread out our purchases so that we're not hit all at once with a big bill when we get off the boat - i.e., trying to prepay for as much as we possibly can now. Since we won't be getting any drink packages, is there a way to pre-pay that now?

Do they have gingerbeer? I sometimes like mixing that with scotch and citris. 

I know that the aqua show is somewhat subject to weather and water conditions. Any recommendations for which night to book the show? We're considering the 1st night out of Miami.... Risk of cancellation?

On 10/18/2019 at 10:41 PM, KathyC said:

I came upon this tonight - while no where near as awesome as what Matt does here, it's a start: https://cruisingoncelebrity.com/ 

WHOA! Great detective work!  I'm going to have to read this through and through! THANK YOU!!!!!!

A lot of folks posted on here - what did people think? Also - I cannot tell - some things I've read said that the times are not restrictive; i.e., that one can show up at whatever time they wish, not just the times that they booked. Is this true?

Hey Wondering if anyone has additional experience with this. I saw it come up on our cruise planner and I"m trying to decide whether or not it is worth it.

Also this is how it is described (see below). When I went to book it, I was only able to select 1 person (not both of us). The price saying "From $199.00 USD Adult AND that I could only select one member of our party (not both of us) made me worried it was 199 PER PERSON which would be FAR too expensive. Even at 200 for a couple it seems a bit much but I could see how it is worth it. Feedback appreciated!

Thermal Suite Couples 7-Day Pass

SPA FACILITY

DURATION: 15 MINUTES

Our Thermal Suite 7-day couples pass is a sensory experience where hot and cold fuse to…

Hey All

I have a few questions about Celebrity. We just paid our deposit for our cruise and I've linked my reso on my cruise planner. 

1. With RCC the embarkation time is a suggestion. You can arrive earlier. AAAAND if you check in early and get your set sail pass everything is a breeze now. Is this process the same with Celebrity? Can we arrive early (and if so what time do folks recommend)? And are there options to check in ahead of time to get your passes? Want to make our embarkation process as smooth as possible and we're not familiar with the process on Celebrity.
2. I went into the cruise planner and saw the thermal suit passes. I tried to get some but none were available. I think there are two possible reasons: (a) The passes have not gone on sale yet. or (b) The passes are actually sold out for now and we need to get them onboard. Do folks know if it is (a) or (b)? 
3. We opted for the select dining (any time dining) - I'm assuming that we can now book with the complimentary eating establishments. Is this the case?

Any other tips for Celebrity that folks would recommend? 

OHHH we're on Edge, May 25. YAY

We just booked our second cruise - also through Stephanie at MEI. Made it sooo easy and she provided us with great intel! It can all be overwhelming. THANK YOU to Stephanie and MEI.

Hey!

I have LOVED RoyalCaribbeanBlog. I wonder whether there are similar resources dedicated to Celebrity? We're sailing on the Edge (booked through MEI Travel - THANKS STEPHANIE!!!!) and want to figure out the tips and tricks for it like those we've gathered for RCC.