Ampurp85

I was looking at one of the 11/12 nights on Odyssey in Jan. But I had prime cruises to be booked so I ended up with a Symphony/Oasis S2S.......actually a S2S2S totaling 18 days. @asquared17 might be cruising.......I know she is on Celebrity Ascent Feb 2nd.

Either one, it is up to you. FLL is very close to Port Everglades, you can actually see the ships from the airport. If you fly into MIA, it will probably be about 35min to get to Port Everglades.

It is so funny, I assumed the soda would be too sweet, so I stuck to the cookies. Also I will admit Coke Zero is the best "diet/no sugar" drink on the market. The Zero sugar ingredient is a game changer. I did Odyssey which @asquared17 calls a demon ship. It was during the restart and the 1st sailing after her Med season so I was disappointed. But I no longer have the same feelings since I sailed other classes and ships. Which means I am looking forward to Quantum and this class because I know what to expect. Will I miss CP, the boardwalk and promenade....maybe. But I'm hoping 270 has chips.

1 day to go Everything is done, I sort of wish we had stuck with our plan of flying in on today, my brother is glad we didn't . He is a procrastinator and just got done packing. We checked in for our flight and paid for our bags. I hate airlines that make you pay/wait to make you pay for bags. I personally like to be paid up for everything and this is annoying. They also didn't have a bundle to pay for bags. We were originally booked premium until we found out no checked bags were included, just alcoholic drinks and a roomier seat......at 2.5x the price of main cabin. This is my first time flying Alaska Airline and while I am glad to have an assigned seat, I am not sure I like their boarding groups. Somehow despite buying our tickets early, we are the second to last group because they board people who chose seats further back before the earlier rows. It apparently goes A and B for first and Premium class, C for Alaska credit card holders, D for main cabin in back, E for main cabin in front and then F for the plebs. There are a lot of plebs because when I checked in so many seats were available; plebs paid saver fare so their seats will be assigned later. I have been really good at eating only what I cooked and mostly healthy for about 35 days. While getting some snacks for the cruise I came across Coca-Cola Oreos. As a person who LOVES Coke (I drink it rarely at home now for health reasons, but splurge on vacations and outings), I was excited........to be oh so disappointed . They taste like pure Coke syrup with no fizz. Like "the sugar" aka diabetes. I ate one and it actually was so sweet my teeth starting tingling. Why can't we have nice things???? I found out that our favorite pizza place in NOLA, The Midway on Freret, now has a pizza buffet on weekday afternoons, so that will be the first place we stop on Tues after we drop off bags at the hotel. Oddly enough the app keeps prompting me to do the health questions, but I can't because the ship time is not noon yet. I am so excited to do Alaska and to cruise in general.

This may not be true when it comes to 2br GS and Aqua. They usually charge the guest after 3 the same as guest three. I booked a 2br GS for 3 and I added 2 people about 4 months before sailing and they were charged the same as guest 3.

If I was a betting woman..................until he dies because she is absolutely LOVING it. She is retired, no more getting up at 2am to be at work at 6am.......I already mentioned it takes her forever to get ready. She doesn't have to deal with people, and he also has a nurse who comes 2-3 times a week; so, her nursing of him is sort of limited. She sounds the happiest I have ever heard her in my 39 and 1/2 yeas of living. I knew all my life all she wanted was a man to take care of her and her needs are canned tuna........not caviar.......or even salmon. She just wants a shopping spree occasionally at Dollar tree..........which he provides.

Thaks for the blog. I enjoying reading about other cruise styles and as a solo traveler you seem to make the most of all the things. I am about 8 days away from my NOLA face-stuffing and those beignets are calling my name. Last time I went I think I got them every day,

Just an fyi, if you don't see the port arrival/departure times on your invoice, you definitely should. It will show up in your cruise documents when they are ready at 30 days before sailing.

3 days to go Robin called me in a huff. So apparently, she showed MB things she was buying and then found out on Tuesday that MB had brough the same thing in different colors. She didn't want to be dressed the same as MB...... . So she had to repack her luggage and was able to get it from 3 to 2 checked bags. I spent about 45min on the phone going "yes" and "no" to the things she should and shouldn't bring. They both have a hair appointment with the same lady today and I imagine that conversation will be spicy. They continue to be brand new as far as the cruise goes. I was planning to do my D+ Bogo, embarkation day lunch, and eat at restaurants in port. I told them this but asked/offered to book them specialty dining. They said no, but on the phone, Robin asked what specialty dining I had booked . I clarified my statement, and she said MB told her something different. I swear nobody listens these days. However, they have decided against the limo. MB's son is going to chauffer them to the airport. I have checked in for the digital diary and I will keep everyone updated with how that goes. Since I talked to Robin and my mom, I went on and printed out 8 luggage tags for the vintages. I took screenshots of my SS passes but I did print a copy of my NOLA hotel confirmation. CP closes tonight. I did get an email reminding me to adhere to my check-in time because they will turn you away in the rain . Most of my self-care is done besides a mani on Sun. My brother worked until noon today because as usual people can't get it together. I will cut his hair for him tomorrow and we will edge into vacation mode. Just a couple of more sleeps and Alaska, here we come!

Have a safe flight home.

I like to do that in the Crown Lounge. I am going to miss it when Allure gets amped .

I believe that Celebrity's newest and biggest ships match that of Freedom Class. The Panama Canal doesn't seem to be popular enough to warrant taking a Freedom class ship from more populated itineraries. Celebrity has imho always been about destinations as opposed to ship amenities. I think since Royal is a family-friendly/ ship-is-the-destination type line; they would rather use classes with less bells and whistle on less popular routes.

Welcome, They do allow you to change cruises, but it will incur a $100pp change fee. So, you could call/have TA change the booking, and they will usually deduct this fee from the overall cost.

Not @ScottD but since each sailing is treated as its own, I think they may add the value back on your GC or turn it into refundable OBC. The refundable OBC could go back to your card. However, my suggestion would be if you have multiple GCs and know you won't use them all up, just apply one to each sailing.

You cannot buy two of the same packages on the same sailing. If you want to expand your dining options, look at purchasing lunches to the speciality resturant on sea days. The lunches are often much cheaper and offer the same menu minus one or two dinner items like maybe steak or veal.

@Cactus527 I think you are a kind, beautiful person in soul and body . I truly think that it is how you ask and not what you ask. Which is to say......running the staff sort of ragged but constantly thanking them and being polite probably doesn't bother them as much as snapping your fingers and being rude. My brother will test them on drinks and food, but he is always polite and respectful, we feared they would get upset but they always are just amazed at where he puts it .

The staff do have great memories. I was on Allure from Galveston in Oct and when I went on in Jan, so many of the crew were asking where my family was and chatting to me like they knew me. But I say they have great memories one way or another. Either you were a kind, beautiful in soul and/or looks individual.......or an ahole.......and that's how they remember you .

I have told them this, they always have to consolidate at the airport. It's annoying. I will do on the biographies. I am not a nonfiction fan because I get enough of that in life, but I will do biographies of interesting people.

Welcome Usually, June through August because most countries consider that summer months, with most children not in school.

5 days to go My living room is currently a mess. Because of the extra day in NOLA, I now need to pack a few more items and configure things. So packing cubes, and loose clothing are scattered across the room. Also, the weather forecast has improved dramatically across the board. It will be close to 90s in NOLA and almost the same when we leave Chicago. It will be high 50s/low 60s in the ports with light and regular rain. Instead of the storms and high 40s I had previously saw. But who knows, I am packing in a way to be prepared for any eventuality. A week ago, I received an email from Royal asking me to tell them about my upcoming travels. I took the survey and at the end they asked if I would mind taking others. I said yes and then a couple days ago I got an email asking if I would do a digital diary for OBC. I said sure and was selected. Because I don't know whether I can say more, I won't go into details until I have all the information. The app has populated a lot of the activities, and I added a few to my calendar. It looks like the puzzle break will have some space when you board. It also seems like the bumper cars have a theme. I plan to go on 70s night. The vintages continue to tell my mother and not me their plans. So far Robin has 3 checked bags, a carry-on and two purses/totes. MB has two checked bags (one is apparently all shoes ), a carry-on and a purse/tote. I didn't know what to say when my mother told me this. They coordinated with each other on themes: my mother said MB told her they brought about 5, out of the 10 new outfits purchased for the cruise, the same. Just in different colors. So, they will have the same dress on for formal/dress your best night. I don't understand any of this, but I am prepared to be entertained. Current plans over the next 2-3 days are self-care and to finish packing. I doubt I will have too much downtime, so the books are two biographies this time: Elvira and Pamela Anderson.

I know there is more than one snack shack, but I only ever go to the one by Oasis Lagoon. How was the humidity for you? Also I once saw drunk billiards at PDCC and almost expired from laughter. But my true favorite is the people who come up to snack shack or the buffet and ask how much the food cost

I thought, and this may not be the case or no longer the case, you could call and add OBC to a reservation. Of course, this can be annoying and cumbersome, but if the goal is to have OBC and not worry about a big bill, it might make sense.

I believe they offer teeth whitening onboard......hence the disturbing chair I also think many of the crew are probably happing to be working during the drydock, it keeps money in their pockets. I remember during the restart talking to crew, I was doing mostly solo trips then, and they always expressed how they love having people onboard but still appreciated being able to earn money if there wasn't.

So, I will be super honest, my brother would show up sometimes with granola bars and I would be like of course as a chubby, picky eater I would ignore granola bars. Which is to say I was "today year's old" when I found out the vitality spa is where there are free granola bars. Also, I got off at Nassau for the first time in like 10+ years on my Freedom cruise this May. I actually enjoyed the port area despite the heat. The things (drinks, food and souvenirs) are overpriced but the place was clean and popping as far as people watching goes.

First the beard is amazing...... But also, Issac looks good, but the doctor is definitely vintage now though