Chadster

1. Whats your favorite thing about cruising? Relaxation, seeing parts of the world, the food, the party?
Definitely seeing parts of the world that I didn't think I'd have the chance to, mostly because of the cost. That's closely followed by the food and wine, the people I meet on board (especially at the MDR where we always ask for a shared table), and a chance to truly step away from all the hustle and bustle.
2. If you could go on a cruise, anywhere in the world, right now.....where would you go and on which ship?
There are several HAL itineraries I'm dying to go on, but the current "if money and vacation time were no objects" cruise is a 37-day Spitsbergen, Iceland, and British Isles Explorer trip on the little MS Veendam. Multiple stops in Norway, the polar ice cap (Svalbard), Iceland, Scotland, Great Britian, and Ireland.

Thanks for this info -- I'm signed up to take it on Grandeur in May. Back when I cruised on Carnival and took a ship tour, we couldn't even bring our phones.

I decided to get the Deluxe package on my upcoming cruise on Grandeur. The penny-pincher side of me figured out how many adult beverages I'd need a night to make it worth it (I also drink a lot of Coke during the day, as well as coffee now and again). We'll see how close I stay to that line...or how far I stumble over it. 😄

The short list...
+ Can't find my stateroom...spent the entire cruise dragging my suitcase around looking for it
+ Can't get a drink...yet everyone else has one
+ Missed the ship leaving a nightmare port of call
+ Swimming after the ship as it left embarkation port
+ Can't find a deck chair...oh wait, that wasn't a dream
+ They took all my clothes during a Quest
 
 

Now I'm afraid to fall asleep tonight 😲

FIFY

These are all terrifying!
If I start having cruise nightmares (and here I am, getting ready for my second-ever cruise in a couple of months...), I'm blaming all of you! 😒

Right now there are some last minute Alaska deals.  $410 interior or $1,584 in a balcony, per person plus taxes.  
For two people the cruise fare (pre-tax) is $820 interior or $3,168 for a balcony, a savings of $2,348.  That doesn't include any special CAS pricing or discounts, that's the rate anyone can book.  
Do you have any idea what kind of awesome excursions you can get for that savings?  Think of it this way...  how about basically free airfare and some free excursions by choosing an interior cabin.  
I've done Alaska in an interior cabin. It was awesome.  Read about it here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9160-not-so-live-blog-radiance-of-the-seas-alaska-southbound-83118/
Does it look like I missed out because I was in an interior cabin?
If the choice is to wait 5 years so you can save up for a balcony or experience Alaska now like I did in the thread above, I'd pick the cruise above in an interior cabin every time.
Plus as I sat on the train through the Alaskan wilderness I realized I was sitting higher than the folks next to me who had a balcony.  Why?  Because my wallet was a lot fatter.  

Ditto.......the only thing that doesnt get to relax on my cruises is my liver....
. 
Bottom line: TO EACH, THEIR OWN!!!!  If you want to go big, or go home.....GO ALL THE WAY!!!!!  If you want to never spend another dime once on board....you can do that and still have a good time.......so, ive heard. Our difference is what makes our time on this big blue ball equal parts amazing, and frustrating. HAPPY CRUISING, ALL! 
 

The forgotten passports is a recurring one for me. Here's my most weird one...to date anyway. It's embarkation day, and we get to our room. First odd thing is that our suite door is on the pool deck. DH takes a nap so I take the kids to explore the ship. It's really windy and rough as we sail away, but we keep walking forward where we find the helipad is more like a catamaran - you know, with the nets you can lay down on. We're really getting sprayed so we cross the nets to get to the port side and start to head to the aft of the ship, which is where we notice that we're not really in open water. It's more like a narrow canal, and the ship is really rocking now - Deadliest Catch style rocking over the giant waves. The ship goes into a tunnel as we reach the back and it breaks apart right in the middle. Somehow, the kids and I are left standing on dry land in this tunnel holding a shrunken back half of a ship (like a big model), and the front half is sailing away, all the water in the tunnel going with it. So we turn around and carry the shrunken back half of the ship back into the day light to try to find someone who can un-shrink all the passengers who are on this little ship. 😳
Analyze away! 

These are all terrifying!
If I start having cruise nightmares (and here I am, getting ready for my second-ever cruise in a couple of months...), I'm blaming all of you! 😒

These are all terrifying!
If I start having cruise nightmares (and here I am, getting ready for my second-ever cruise in a couple of months...), I'm blaming all of you! 😒

We sail out on Monday on the Enchantment and I am so ready I could die. I started a pre-cruise live blog on here so I could obsess over it easier 
(eek, sorry about the extreme close up ...)
Thank you for the videos - I can't get enough of them!
Oh, and please do post all about your Canada/New England trip - how gorgeous does that sound?!
 
 

The only concession I've made so far to anything but an inside room is thanks to this weekend's sale, the price dropped enough that I was able to switch to a non-refundable deposit for my holiday sailing on Grandeur and upgrade to an ocean-view stateroom. Did I need it? No...but the price is dead-even with what I owe for final payment for this particular cruise. Plus, I was able to get the ocean-view cabin directly across from the inside cabin I'll have on my May cruise on Grandeur. Hey, I'm easily entertained! 🤪

Ahhhhh! I just saw the Oasis Bar. I must sail Enchantment when she takes up station here in Maryland next year!
And @RoyalGreek, your video was FANTASTIC! At the beginning, I was half-expecting my mom to tell me it was time for bed and to not sit so close to the TV! 😀

I'll try to remember to post a not-so-live blog of my Canada/New England cruise from Baltimore in May; of course, I'll be on Enchantment's sister ship, Grandeur, but since they're both Vision-class, I'm guessing it'll be a comparable experience. And I've definitely heard good things about "Lady G". 🙂

So I should now know better than to fall asleep relistening to podcasts about cruising. I just had an “awful” nightmare where I somehow slept through pretty much all of the first 2 days of my cruise and only woke up at 4 am when nothing was going on. I started to panic when I realized that I missed both my Grease and Aquashow reservation as well as my Coco Cay cabana and that’s around when my alarm started blaring. So I know I can’t be alone here. Who else has had literal panic nightmares about cruising? Bonus points if they are low stakes but seemed like the worst thing in the world in the dream realm. 

I think you really need to try each in order to decide what is best for you. I'm taking my first cruise in an inside cabin next month. We will see how it goes and how much I miss the balcony. 

The only concession I've made so far to anything but an inside room is thanks to this weekend's sale, the price dropped enough that I was able to switch to a non-refundable deposit for my holiday sailing on Grandeur and upgrade to an ocean-view stateroom. Did I need it? No...but the price is dead-even with what I owe for final payment for this particular cruise. Plus, I was able to get the ocean-view cabin directly across from the inside cabin I'll have on my May cruise on Grandeur. Hey, I'm easily entertained! 🤪

Thanks for the clarification!
 
 
Thanks a ton...this is what I thought, but I can be a bit dim sometimes!
 

Maybe for those 3 "ultimate" nights out of the 7, the waiters juggle fire while delivering food to your table.
On unicycles.

I second @Lovetocruise2002, I peruse to my hearts content, but when I land on something I place the deposit. I have three future sailings booked and every one of them have been repriced at a better rate or an added OBC from when I placed my deposit. I love MEI and specifically my advocate Sharla Manglass.  [email protected]
I have more then once received emails stating she checked the on going sale for my sailings, when this newest virus hit I called her and asked if anything could be done as an incentive for my sailing in the very near future, maybe a good will gesture, glad your still sailing OBC?
I received an email a few hours later from Sharla "I'll do you one better! $300.00 OBC plus a Florida resident adjustment of $840.00 savings  woot, woot!!  Sorry so long winded but book NOW, place your deposits and then re price along the way, maybe you have a desired deck? Repricing when using Sharla is painless (for me lol) and the worst that can happen is you have an amazing sailing with your family. I watch the RCCL stock and peruse the prices about once a week, if they go down either Sharla has emailed me or I send a quick "can you take a look at this or that?" I literally saved enough money to almost pay for a quick 4 night I have in August 2020. Good Luck my friend, enjoy your sailing!
*reprice before final payment, I always wait to pay at the very last minute just for this reason

I also definitely wouldn't want to be in a foreign country without a passport, no matter where it is.

Thanks for the clarification!
 
 
Thanks a ton...this is what I thought, but I can be a bit dim sometimes!
 

As far as i understand they are two different things, Hibachi is where there is a chef interacting with a small group and cooking on a hot plate, Hot Rocks is where they take the rocks to you and you cook your own pieces of food on it. Sorry not been on Grandeur so not sure if there is a separate Izumi.