cruisellama
-
Posts
2,405 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
3
Posts posted by cruisellama
-
-
-
Its not a 1:1 comparison because there are no toys on Celebrity ships. Just pools, hot tubs, sports court, fitness center and spa. The dining opportunities match to a point. Edge class will the the greatest number of culinary opportunities.
-
I remember Oasis of the Seas used to have a shipboard webcams. Anyone know if they will they ever be used again?
- RCIfan1912 and USFFrank
-
2
-
and if you're not happy with what's on the menu, you can request a MDR menu and they'll give you something from that venue. They'll work hard for customer satisfaction.
-
Good news story.
-
17 hours ago, jaedam0820 said:
We would be on board the Freedom of the Seas next week out of Miami. As per the weather forecast, it's going to be rainy all week. Does Royal ever cancel a cruise due to bad weather and how soon do they notify their passengers if ever? Also, how do they inform their passengers of the cancellation? We would be flying to Miami a day before the cruise.
They'll just try to sail the ship out of the inclement weather. Now if there was a hurricane moving into port, you might see a cancellation.
-
On 7/23/2022 at 11:32 PM, Traveling Mike said:
I have been on multiple of both cruise lines and the way I explain the difference is...
- Royal is where you want to play with toys and do things
- Celebrity is where you want to relax and enjoy shows and events
- Royal is where you want to take your kids and have fun
- Celebrity is where you want to avoid the kids and enjoy peace and quiet
- Royal (Symphony) has old ladies on the wall when men are going to the bathroom
- Celebrity gives you riddles on the wall when men are going to the bathroom
A great summary - ready for Powerpoint
-
20 hours ago, twangster said:
It's interesting how the specs of the ships has been changed over time.
When first announced at 201,000 GT that grew to 208,000 GT but the cabin count remained around 2,500. At double occupancy original specs called for 5,000 passengers.
https://www.offshore-energy.biz/mv-werften-starts-construction-of-1st-global-class-ship/
Somewhere along the way that grew to 9,500 passengers but still only 2,503 cabins. That yields an average of 3.8 guest per cabin.
It was very bold of them to assume they could consistently fill the ship with 3 and 4 guests per cabin.
At 208,000 GT they were to have less space compared to Oasis class, 12% smaller than Wonder, yet 2,500 more guests in that smaller space. More of the internal space was to be allocated to casinos.
These ships were designed specifically for China. Between the cabin capacity and the space allocated to casinos it would be hard to imagine them successful in a role other than casino cruises. The ships weren't designed to be destinations themselves as the west understand that concept or to visit destinations in the vacation market. They were designed to be massive floating casinos where the casino was the destination.
I have a hard time imaging any mass market cruise line finding a place in the fleet for such vessels.
Birthing is part of the load, but they also have to accommodate "life raft" space for 9000+ - as well as all the other "hotel infrastructure" for that bump.
-
I notice the "aging" more after being on one of the newer or more recently upgraded ships. Ah the smell of fresh deck primer
-
Can't figure out who would invest in a $1.8B supership with no home. Its a 9,000 passenger super ship that's almost complete with no place to go but scrap!
-
53 minutes ago, twangster said:
Starlink users on land report rain outages. While Starlink is lower at around 550km above the earth, that's still a long way for faint signals to travel and rain fade as it is called still impacts LEO constellations like Starlink.
Initially and the reason they are starting on Indy is because that ship is within Starlink's current maritime coverage map. The problem with the current approach is that an earth or ground station in Florida will need to downlink the signal. Even if the ship is under sunny skies if the Florida ground station has a thunderstorm moving through that can also create an outage.
Also keep in mind the satellites are moving pretty fast. A storm on the horizon will impact signals when the storm is in between the satellite and the ship. It doesn't take a storm sitting on top of the ship to cause an outage. Once more satellites are launched this can be mitigated by having multiple satellites to choose from. Right now there aren't very many overhead a given cell on the earth's surface at the same.
Starlink is in its infancy. It has launched around 1/4 of the satellites it needs to do this properly. It won't be perfect on day one. Like a fine wine it will improve with age.
That's the kind of insight I was looking for. I have some neighbors claiming SL can beat the weather (which I have problems believing; given the operating band.)
-
2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:
If you already get the internet packages then you're used to satellite internet
Yes, but SL satellites are in a lower orbit than legacy systems so wondering if its performance is noticably better. I have noticed diminished performance with existing systems in heavy rain. Curious if the lower orbit with larger constellation overcomes the precipitation issue. Of course, can only tell if we encounter heavy precipitation while using that system. Will be a "qualitative" observation only.
-
The Royal app has become pretty useful which means I keep my phone with me. We always get the internet packages so we can continue connectivity with the family. I'm very curious to experience Star Link service first hand. My previous experience with other other home satellite internet providers was not impressive due to signal loss when there was precipitation. Granted the ships can move out of the weather, so that should make things better.
-
There so are many variables/dimensions to compare. You have to find an apples to apples comparison. Need to pick similar ship classes, pick similar itineraries at same time of year, pick fares at the same cost basis (inside, outside, balcony etc) so you can evaluate the "value" contained within each dollar. Things can get skewed with loyalty levels because they offer different perks.
-
1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:
Mariner of the seas interrupted by Artemis of the stars
Its a big one
-
9 hours ago, Cruisin Dovers said:
I see on the various excursion opportunities in the cruise planner that you should have local currency. So in Mexico, pesos. Where do you obtain local currency? In Puertio Casa Maya and Cozumel do many of the places take credit cards?
Bring small denomination US bills for street food or souvenirs. Or you could charge at larger establishments/larger items.
-
On 8/22/2022 at 9:22 AM, Bowen said:
(Not for Bermuda or Canada stops)
For All Sailings Departing on or after September 5, 2022 from U.S. Homeports with No Stops in Bermuda or Canada
If your cruise visits Bermuda or Canada, test protocols for your cruise are in the next section.
Guests 5 years of age and older who are not fully vaccinated must bring a negative test result for a COVID-19 antigen or PCR test taken within the 3 days before boarding day, regardless of the duration of their cruise.
Fully vaccinated guests 5 years of age and older must bring a negative test result for a COVID-19 antigen or PCR test taken within the 3 days before boarding day on sailings that are 10 nights or longer only. Testing is not required for fully vaccinated guests on shorter itineraries.
Guests younger than 5 do not have any testing requirements.
Required testing for all guests, regardless of vaccination status, can be completed using any type of PCR or antigen test. It can be professionally proctored by a healthcare professional, such as your doctor or pharmacist, or you can use a home test kit. Home test kits are not required to be conducted under live video supervision.
Tests must be arranged on your own and are at your own expense.
So if you self test with a non proctored test, do you bring a photo of the test? or the actual test stick?
-
For us it makes sense. We try to cruise every quarter, and more if there's a pop-up opportunity, but we also travel outside cruising, to various vacation/family spots a few times/year (air, car, hotel etc). Annual policies cover all travel over the covered period. We used to purchase cruise line or travel agent offered plans, but found the an annual policy to provide wider coverage for far less premium than numerous single trips, la carte line or travel agency policies. Since we have to possibly deal with medical issues, it provides peace of mind. You'll have to research the coverage options and weigh cost for your individual situation, but in our case it costs less for a broader annual policy.
-
11 hours ago, melmar02 said:
Yes.
We'll be on her in March '24
-
On 8/16/2022 at 9:39 AM, melmar02 said:
April 28, 2024 Harmony. We're going to finally try two balconies instead of the 2BR suite.
From Galveston right?
-
Curaçao reminds me of mouthwash.
-
And if you like them, order early in the cruise as they're fresh and can run out towards the end.
-
Perfect day excursions opened up today on cruise planner.
-
On 8/8/2022 at 8:20 PM, RockerDom31 said:
6156 total passengers (2893 New, 1555 gold, 612 platinum, 310 emerald, 587 diamond, 254 diamond plus, 45 pinnacle).
The number of "new" is very healthy and encouraging. Nice bow wave of new business. Someday will be gold and beyond.
Can we talk Texas?
in Shore Excursions
Posted
I've sailed Liberty a few times from Galveston, and the ship does sport a state of Texas theme as it has been home ported there. We'll have to wait and see if the new ships home ported take on the theme.