donolog

I'm ridiculously bad at this. I'd rather be enjoying what I'm doing than looking at it through a lens, and then get sad when I don't have photos of the memories later.

They need to have a "Ship Features & Dining Options" category in the Advanced Cruise Search filters.  ;)

Actually ... if time and money were a little more abundant (and I already had C&A Diamond) ... what I would love to do is the Azamara 12-night Hemingway Hideaways Voyage, which includes stops in Key West, New Orleans, and Havana. A man's gotta dream ...

They offered it on the Nov. 19th Adventure sailing as well, day 3 or 4 of the 7 day.  I don't recall the exact day as I had the drink package.  (that didn't come out the way I meant it)

So we don't repeat the same mistake again.

And don't forget to use your C&A Gold 2-for-1 milkshake offers!

ALL OF THE CRUISES

Actually ... if time and money were a little more abundant (and I already had C&A Diamond) ... what I would love to do is the Azamara 12-night Hemingway Hideaways Voyage, which includes stops in Key West, New Orleans, and Havana. A man's gotta dream ...

They added a fourth sailing on May 29th.
 
Might have to think about that one.

Actually ... if time and money were a little more abundant (and I already had C&A Diamond) ... what I would love to do is the Azamara 12-night Hemingway Hideaways Voyage, which includes stops in Key West, New Orleans, and Havana. A man's gotta dream ...

It is ... after discussing the May 20th itinerary last night (with a glass of wine as it snowed outside) the conclusion was "now if it was only a week later". So when May 29th appeared there this morning it precipitated a Saturday morning sofa discussion (with a cup of coffee) and the conclusion was "a Cuba cruise might make more sense for January 2018" ... but I'm still going to check back in on prices and availability on this cruise at the beginning of March once the final payment deadline has passed.

Now that's tempting.

They added a fourth sailing on May 29th.
 
Might have to think about that one.

My "dream Cuba itinerary" would be Sailing from Tampa, stopping at Key West, then do the ports that Fathom currently visits:  Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba, and then back (with a sea day in there somewhere).

Don't forget that while U.S. tourists haven't been going there, Cuba has been developing a tourism industry for more than twenty years (with visitors predominantly from Canada and Western Europe). They currently receive on average 50,000 tourists per week. Cruise traffic will definitely put pressure on infrastructure, especially in Havana, but as they're starting cruises in low season they should be able to adapt.
 
They also have a well developed excursion business that serves the beach resorts north of Havana. On my trip to Cuba a couple of years ago, I did three excursions: a day trip to Havana (from Varadero), a jeep safari and cultural tour, and a reef snorkelling trip. I found them to be as good, if not better than any cruise excursions I've done in the Caribbean/Yucatan.
 
I'm excited about the prospect of visiting Havana again, and would prefer to do it as a port-of-call on a cruise (especially if Key West was on the same itinerary), so I'll be watching to see how this goes.

DocLC,
 
I just booked a Celebrity 2018 cruise to Norway out of the new port Dublin Ireland, did you see it? I got my email from Celebrity on November 28 and they sent it to their top tier members on Thanksgiving day so a lot of the inventory for the Norway cruise was already booked. I am so excited to be going to Norway, it has been a dream of mine for a long time. Like your cruise it has already gone up in price about $500 for an interior.

OK, for what it's worth, here's my (personal) comparison.    Everybody's preferences are different, so I tried to explain that in the discussion.  I welcome any feedback.
 
Itineraries:  It's not fair to compare the itineraries, because the difference between the western Caribbean and the Mediterranean are like night and day.  So we'll skip that. 
 
Convenience of departure:  I live in Texas so it's a lot easier (and cheaper) for me to drive to Galveston than to fly to Rome.  However, it's always fun flying in business class to Europe.  So, I'll just say this:  The Galveston port experience was chaotic, crowded, confusing and stressful.  The Rome port experience was fast and smooth as silk.  So, even though the ports themselves have something to do with that, the cruise line also gets credit for how they handle the departures.  Advantage: Oceania
 
Rooms:  We stayed in a Junior Suite on the RC Navigator.  We were thrilled at its size, large balcony, storage space and huge closet.  We stayed in a regular balcony stateroom on Oceania, which was smaller.  So maybe the comparison isn't fair (although the Oceania balcony room cost more than the RC Junior Suite).  On Oceania, you really don't have a lot of choices.  It's a regular balcony stateroom (90% of the ship) or a suite with a butler.  The butler is at your beck and call 24 hours a day, will unpack your suitcase, pour your drinks, serve all your meals in courses in your room, press your clothes, etc.  We didn't want that kind of intrusiveness - but we didn't have the option for a larger room with no butler.  Advantage: RC   (However, here's a caveat: I'm not sure the other RC ships have the roomy Junior Suites of the Navigator).
 
Food: Here you may be surprised.  We are foodies and we chose Oceania because of the reputation for food.    We did take a culinary class onboard and it was great fun.  But I was disappointed in the Oceania food overall.  1) We found the main dining room on RC to be delightful, with lots of innovative and different options.   We looked forward to every meal.  The main dining room on Oceania was horrid, because nobody ever ate there.   2) The buffet on Oceania was superior to RC.  They had specialty items, lobster and steak every night (not just pasta and hot dogs). They also had seating on the deck outside, which was wonderful.   We had to eat inside on the Navigator. 3) Oceania provides "specialty dining" at their high-end steak, sushi, French, Italian, etc. restaurants included in the (higher) cruise price.  However, those restaurants fill up fast and you have to book far in advance.  RC charges you to eat at those restaurants.   Because I live in a major metropolitan area, eating at those restaurants was not that big of a thrill to me.  Honestly, I preferred the unusual courses I had in RC's main dining room.  Of course, I realize this is a personal preference.  4) Snacking.  RC had a place where you could get a variety of nice open-faced sandwiches and finger desserts late at night.  Oceania did not.  5) Drinks.  Oceana had coffee, juices, soft drinks, bottled water, ice cream sodas and the like always available for free.  These were harder to find (or not available at all) on RC.  Advantage: Tie
 
Shore Excursions:  Again, the venue makes a difference.  We took excursions in almost every port on both cruises.  However, in terms of organization, waiting, confusion, lunch quality, etc. they were pretty much equal.  Advantage: Tie.
 
Shipboard Experience:  Gambling and bars were available on both ships.  Oceania prides itself in its classy, "low key" shipboard experience.  There's not a lot of loud activities, cheesy bands, karaoke, games or kids. Oceania doesn't have a surfboarding or rock climbing area.  They don't have places to buy counterfeit art or overpriced jewelry.  They don't have a lot of really bad entertainment at night.  Admittedly, to me, that's nice.  But it may not be to you.  At Oceania's bars, I didn't feel "obligated" to add an extra tip above the 18% already included, because they gave you the bill with no extra tip line for you to fill in.  That was really nice.  At RC, I DID feel that pressure.  A lot.  I was also pressured in the spa.  Advantage: Oceania.
 
Pools:  Oceania's one pool was very plain and exposed.  No kids, but simple and square and really boring.  RC's Navigator had a loud common pool with DJ's and slides and splashing and the like.  But they also had a very nice, quiet adult pool (in a separate area) with much nicer landscaping, tropical plants and decor. I always enjoyed hanging out there with a book and a quiet drink.  For exercise, RC's Navigator also had a better, larger and accessible jogging track.  Advantage: RC

Slight correction, it's Adventure that sails out of San Juan, not Freedom.
 
That said, even though it pains me to say this, for a first time cruiser I would avoid Adventure until the refurb that was supposed to happen last October is actually completed - which may not happen until sometime in 2018, since the ship is currently available for bookings that far out.  
 
While much of the planned stuff had been added, the rooms and many of the public spaces look very, very worn and dated.  The carpet in the cabins is the same blue-and-pink-coral they've had in there forever.  It just makes those places look like an old hotel.
 
That said, I booked Adventure again for next Thanksgiving anyhow.  I just wouldn't recommend it for first time cruisers at this time.

This is a little bit like asking which wine is best. Ask five people that like wine what their favourite wine is and you'll get five different answers, and I suspect the same for cruising.
 
But for me personally, if flights weren't an issue, my preference would be a southern itinerary out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Old San Juan is a very cool place to spend a day or two pre- or post-cruise. I'd prefer Freedom Adventure over Jewel because it has a few extras like the FlowRider, but I wouldn't hesitate to cruise Jewel again.
 
Of course if some people wanted to do Walt Disney World or Universal Studios (i.e. Harry Potter World), then Orlando might make more sense. If New York City appeals to the crowd, then cruising out of Cape Liberty (which is right around the corner from the Statue of Liberty) on Anthem might offer the greatest amount of overall awesomeness for the group as a whole, but would require a 9 to 12 day cruise to get farther than the Bahamas.
 
Given you've got folks coming from different directions, the cost and convenience of the flights for everyone involved might tilt the scales to one cruise over another. You might want to begin on Google Flights and compare how the flights will look for various ports of departure. Also consider whether or not the amenities of an Oasis or Quantum Class ship are make or break to your party. 
 
Not sure that helps, but I'm sure it will be great whatever you choose.

This is a little bit like asking which wine is best. Ask five people that like wine what their favourite wine is and you'll get five different answers, and I suspect the same for cruising.
 
But for me personally, if flights weren't an issue, my preference would be a southern itinerary out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Old San Juan is a very cool place to spend a day or two pre- or post-cruise. I'd prefer Freedom Adventure over Jewel because it has a few extras like the FlowRider, but I wouldn't hesitate to cruise Jewel again.
 
Of course if some people wanted to do Walt Disney World or Universal Studios (i.e. Harry Potter World), then Orlando might make more sense. If New York City appeals to the crowd, then cruising out of Cape Liberty (which is right around the corner from the Statue of Liberty) on Anthem might offer the greatest amount of overall awesomeness for the group as a whole, but would require a 9 to 12 day cruise to get farther than the Bahamas.
 
Given you've got folks coming from different directions, the cost and convenience of the flights for everyone involved might tilt the scales to one cruise over another. You might want to begin on Google Flights and compare how the flights will look for various ports of departure. Also consider whether or not the amenities of an Oasis or Quantum Class ship are make or break to your party. 
 
Not sure that helps, but I'm sure it will be great whatever you choose.

Last couple of cruises I have booked the Next Cruise onboard. I have paid a $100 deposit, but then get a $100 OBC for the current cruise, so it's pretty much like booking without a deposit and then getting $100 off the next cruise (because I would have otherwise had to pay that $100 to my bar bill on the current cruise).

Duck tape, that'll help in all those situations, and should be ok to carry on ;-)

I sometimes ask for a plate of berries.  I'm not gonna lie, it's not instead of dessert, it's "dessert appetizer" for me.

I have only rented the over-the-water cabana so I don't have any feedback for you on the hilltop ones.  Sorry.
 
The upgraded buffet was a bit of a disappointment.  If it was, indeed, upgraded, I can't imagine what the upgrade was.  It was still burgers, dogs some tough ribs and maybe some jerk chicken and a few sides.  BBQ is BBQ.  Not much can really jazz that up too much.  I think I heard someone say once that there were shrimp skewers at the upgraded buffet, but if there were, I never saw 'em.
 
Quite honestly, I don't recall seeing our "attendant" more than a couple of times the entire day.  I think we got a couple of labadoozies and maybe a coke or something.  I really don't remember.  But we are pretty low maintenance guests and we didn't really need him that much.  My guess is....if you are planning to party hearty and want the drinks to flow, an up-front hefty gratuity would do the trick.
 
One thing that I was really disappointed with....on Coco Cay we got a bottle of sparkling wine (I won't pretend it was champagne.  I know the difference....) and we did not get that at Labadee but there were some bottles of water and I think a fruit tray or something waiting for us when we got there.
 
I will continue to get a cabana b/c I canNOT be out in the sun.  I need a good, reliable shade source in which to spend the day and the sofas and lounge chairs in the cabana are quite comfy. I guess I'm just not a real beach person.  As my father used to say, "If it weren't for the sun, the water and the sand, the beach would be ok".  Guess I got it, honest.

I love Old San Juan so much we try to go a couple of days early when we cruise from there. I love walking around the city at night and feeling it's energy!