Cruising_Figure_Skater

On 5/13/2024 at 11:48 PM, Catopalooza said:

Set up the seating arrangements so that families traveling with kids can use the port side or the 3rd floor of every MDR, and people traveling without kids/ couples who are enjoying their honeymoon/1st trip without the kids/anniversary can use the other area.

Having just come off my first RC cruise - I love this idea! I don't mind kids (apart from in the hot tubs - it's not a kiddie pool!) but I was cruising with my best friend and we had a table with 3 kids next to us who were loud, and at one point were play-fighting on the floor next to my chair. I would love adult-only dining areas. 

Mine are: move Chef's Table on Oasis. The Solarium Bistro area just doesn't work - we had music bleeding in from outside, and it ruined the atmosphere a little. 

Have set prices for stuff - we're looking at our next cruise but trying to budget for drinks package, internet etc is impossible until we book because of the dynamic pricing. 

Change how the post-cruise surveys work - I hate that anything less than a 10 is seen as a failure and can impact on crew members. They work so hard, but sometimes things outside their control mean that a 10 isn't deserved. 

I'm home, I've picked up a stinker of a cold and my ears are unhappy after my flight. 

But I had the best time. Let me recap where I left off from:

So, I left you all in La Spezia. We picked up a car from the Hertz place there, and drove to Pisa, to take the obligatory tower photos, and then decided, as we had a lot of time, to go to Florence, via Lucca. 

Oh, this was a fun adventure - Lucca is a walled city and we got totally lost and trapped in its one way system trying to find parking. After an hour or so, we managed to escape! Once we got to Florence we only really had time to grab some lunch after parking, before heading back to the ship. Dinner that night was the Mediterranean menu, which we enjoyed, and then One Sky. 

We actually got chatting to the boyfriend of one of the dancers, and he pointed her out to us afterwards. Really fun show, I love that kind of performance, and this was one of the best I've seen, second only to Burn the Floor on NCL. Although, for technology, this has Burn the Floor bear in my opinion - although it was over 5 years since I saw it so my memory could be playing tricks. We were in the front row, so some of the performers got very close!

The next day was Rome - a day I'd really been looking forward to - and we had a small group tour booked with Driver in Rome. There were 8 of us on the tour, and I think we hit pretty much every key sightseeing location, all in the air conditioned comfort of our van. My favourite was the Colosseum, and also the Trevi fountain, although this was SO busy it was a melee and I was very aware of my phone, which was the only thing I took out of the van with me. I did also throw a coin in, so hopefully I'll return to Rome one day!

When we got back, it was a quick turnaround as we had reservations for Frozen in Time. WOW. WOW. WOW. As a skater, I was blown away by the level of difficulty and the complexity of the skills being performed. I enjoyed the theme, and particularly the sand artist. I actually never ended up skating - forgot to pack any leggings and lived in shorts and dresses for the week. However, seeing the rink in person, I'm not too upset! The last thing I need is an injury from being taken out by a new skater!

After the show it was dinner - our final one in the MDR and it was Italian night. We tried a few different things, some good, some not so good, but again great service really helped make our evening. 

Naples was the next day, and the day of our last minute excursion. I have to say, it was great getting back to Pompeii but I really struggled getting around the place. The guide took a while to realise she was going too fast at points, and Jamie had to help me a lot. It was enjoyable, but HOT!

We were then taken to a restaurant on the way to Vesuvius where we enjoyed a "light" lunch and wine tasting. If this was the light lunch option I dread to think what the heavier option would be! I was so full after this. We were then driven to Vesuvius, and were able to hike to the crater. 

This was mentally and physically tough for me - the ground was loose underfoot, the incline just kept going and I'm out of shape. Jamie got me through it though and really proved himself as a friend. I was so tired after this, and possibly a little dehydrated. A nap on the bus back to the port helped, as did taking it slow when we got back to the ship. We spent some time in the hot tubs, healing our aching muscles! Then it was time for dinner - Chef's Table. 

I have mixed feelings about this, the food is good, no doubt there, but knowing it's the same menu constantly, and across the fleet, it felt like the chef and waiter/sommelier were just reading off a script - there was no passion there. The company was good though, got to chat to some cool people from various places. 

The next day, was a much needed sea day! We didn't surface until 10, and managed to make brunch in the dining room. This showed just how lucky we'd been with our waiter, the service felt rushed an impersonal. However, the food was tasty and that's what we needed. 

After brunch, that's when it happened. We went to NextCruise. Short version, we went away and after some research, went back later to put a deposit down - hoping to get the actual itinerary locked in this week. 

We then spent the afternoon at the pool, and solarium, then packed our bags ready for them to be collected. 

Then it was time for 150 Central Park. I enjoyed the food and think the menu is interesting, but the experience felt rushed (as a Brit, I do prefer a break between courses - we found this in Orlando too, there weren't the pauses we're used to back home) and the comments our server made, plus having the bill dumped on the table while we were still enjoying drinks just left a bad taste in the mouth. 

After that, we grabbed a drink, took it up to the balcony and enjoyed the still of the night and the sound of the sea. 

Today we disembarked after one last breakfast at Park Cafe, and flew home. 

So that's it. My Mediterranean Oasis has come to an end. Thanks for sticking with me  

Well, it’s our last evening on board and I’m feeling blue. It’s been a fantastic week, although I’ve had an experience tonight and I’m still trying to decide how to proceed. 
 

Our waiter at 150 Central Park made some comments that I feel weren’t appropriate, although it was only after when Jamie mentioned it, that I realised what was meant (I’m bad at social stuff - currently being assessed for autism and ADHD). Trying to work out if this is something that I mention in a post cruise survey or if an email to someone may be more appropriate. 

However, not letting that spoil my day - we’ve put a deposit down for the next cruise! All being well we will be going from Rome to Athens on Voyager next May/June! We’ve done a book later deposit as Jamie needs to check he can get a public holiday off that falls during the sailing. 

Alright, sorry for leaving you all hanging! 
The tiredness caught up with me so updating fell by the wayside. 
 
I will update properly once I’m home as I’m finding updating on mobile quite tricky, but we’re having a fantastic time and it’s likely we’re booking the next one on board… 

3 hours ago, SV Reb said:

Can  you post what the theme nights are and what the dinner menu theme has been at each port?  Going in 4 weeks on same Barcelona cruise and would like to know the theme nights and dinner menu nights and what night is formal night.

I will do that for you tomorrow - we have come back to the room straight after dinner as we’re both feeling the last 4 late nights. 
 

Not much to update on today. This afternoon was spent in the Schooner Bar and then wandering the top deck for a bit. We watched some folks on the FlowRider, some had obviously had a lot of practice, others were beginners and we saw some pretty tough wipeouts. Tonight we had a pre dinner drink at the Globe and Atlas. Dinner was good, UK night. Not my favourite menu but everything we had was tasty, at a good temperature and the service was great as ever. 
 

Tomorrow is La Spezia, and we’re renting a car and going to Pisa.

Just rolled out of Izumi hibachi. So good but I am so full! 
 

It’s definitely wavy today - can feel some movement in our cabin but nothing bothersome, just noticeable.

Oh, this morning when we were lying in bed dozing, we had an Alpha call over the address system. I hope the person or people involved are OK and get the care they need. Jamie questioned why it came through into the cabins and I have no idea. Anyone able to shed any light on that?

Some of the afternoon before trivia was spent in the Solarium, which was very relaxing - we got talking to a couple form North Carolina who had experienced crazy flight delays and were lucky they were coming to Barcelona a few days beforehand of they could’ve missed the ship!

After trivia we came back and got ready for our first formal night. 

Dinner was good again - Taste of France menu. 
I had the French onion soup, which I was nervous about but wanted to try and loved it. Jamie got plate envy and ended up ordering one so I decided to get some escargot again too! Jamie had previously ordered the iceberg wedge and had enjoyed this too. 
Then Jamie got the beef tenderloin which looked, and apparently tasted, fantastic and I went with the chicken cordon bleu which was really good too! I went into the cruise with zero expectations for food, and although I know it’s not the best, it’s better than I expected so far! 
For dessert I had the crème brûlée and Jamie went for the apple crumble. I enjoyed mine, the texture has previously been one I’ve not cared for but this time I liked it. Gotta love changing tastes. Jamie said the crumble was good too. 
 

Then we went to see Aqua80. 
Wow!! The best show I’ve ever seen on a ship, and possibly one of the best shows I’ve seen period. Insane that they did all this stuff while on a moving ship!! As an aside, we got there at 10.40 for the 11pm show and were directed to some good seats out of the splash zone after explaining my vision issues. I could see clearly so was really happy - the show filled up in the last 10 minutes before but our side was still pretty quiet. 

Today is a sea day, it’s a little cool so far (10.20am as I write this) so it’ll be interesting to see how the ship handles the crowds if people are drawn inside. Today we have Izumi for lunch and then white night tonight. 

Jamie is very good at encouraging me to try new stuff - often with drinks we will switch so I can see if I like what he’s drinking, but we’ve been friends for 24 years so he knows what I like. The UDP makes it easier I will admit  

The bitcoin balloon art appears to be a tribute to Banksy’s Girl with Balloon - I’m no art expert but I believe it’s quite a famous piece and I did recognise the style instantly. It’s called Girl with Bitcoin by a street artist called Sonrie.

We have just done our first trivia and thoroughly enjoyed it - I’ve said I want to do more tomorrow on our first sea day. 

We had a walk around Palma this morning, a thoroughly lovely couple of hours exploring. 

Now back on board, had some snacks from Sorrento’s and Cafe Promenade, now chilling at the bionic bar with a couple of drinks.

Unsure of the plan for the afternoon, we have formal night and Aqua80 tonight. 

Picking up from the last post. We watched the sailaway from deck 16, the party was in full swing and the atmosphere was awesome.

 
After that we met our stateroom attendant, Eka, who is wonderful and helped us with a couple of things, like getting our formalwear pressed as it had not survived the journey un-creased! 

We called into the Schooner Bar for a pre-dinner drink - I went for the Peanut Butter Tropic. Very good drink, will definitely have that again!

Then it was time for dinner in the MDR. We had already scoped out our table, we have a table for 2 on deck 4, by the railing looking down to deck 3. Really happy with the location, and we’re being taken care of by a wonderful lady. I cannot recall how to spell her name, or that of the lady assisting her who is also lovely, so I’ll try and get that tonight.

Food was good! I had the crab cake and escargot to start, Jamie got the spinach and artichoke dip and the shrimp cocktail. Then I for the chicken saag and Jamie got the fish fillet. All well seasoned, and well cooked. My saag could’ve been a tiny bit warmer, but feeding this many people I knew food temperature would not always be 100% all the time. 
We both had the key lime pie for dessert, nice and citrusy - yum! We got some wine too, and have asked to have a wine list on the table each night. 

The rest of the night was fun - a stop at Vintages, then the adult majority rules game show (very fun!) and the balloon drop, before we donated some money to the casino and finally getting to bed around 1.30…

Jamie has just been for a cigarette and brought us coffee from Park Cafe, I sat on the balcony earlier and watched us dock in Palma. 
No real plans for today, just going to take the shuttle into town and explore.

So far, Royal is impressing me. 
I have to thank this site for so many tips!

Our boarding time was 11am, we were stepping on board at that time - we never stopped moving in the terminal. 
 

We had done our muster at the hotel, so checked into our muster station on deck 4, then went straight to Izumi and booked a hibatchi lunch for day 3. 
Went to the solarium bar, so Jamie could use the smoking area, and had a drink, then Playmakers for a drink and some time playing connect 4 and Jamie teaching me blackjack so I can join in at the casino. 
We went to Park Cafe and had a lovely lunch, then went to our cabin. Super happy with the location and layout of the cabin. 
 

Then, we took advantage of packing our swimwear in our carry on. We’ve been in the whirlpool, done some slides, and are now laying in the sun enjoying more drinks. 
 

Every crew member we’ve spoken to has been so polite and happy. So far, so good!

Day 2 - Barcelona

It was a slow start yesterday, the 4.30am wake up on day 1 definitely took its toll and we didn’t get out of the room until 11.30 or thereabouts. 

The plan was a simple one - we had tickets to the Sagrada Familia, and other than that, no plans.

It was around a 30 minute walk from our hotel, and on the way we passed Casa Batllo - another beautiful building by Antoni Gaudi.

What followed after arrival was a fabulous couple of hours, taking a guided tour of the church, and climbing the Nativity Tower. 

I was slightly alarmed when I was told I couldn’t take my white cane up with me, but after being on the stairs down for less than a minute I saw why! They are very narrow and eventually became a spiral staircase. 

It was worth having to take the climb down a little slower though.

No food pics from yesterday as we went back to the same spots for lunch and dinner, although we tried new menu items. We did go to the W hotel for a drink in their bar, which was very nice, and we got to see how far our journey to the port will be. We also called in to the Banker’s Bar again - this sums us up, we will try new places but if we like a place, we will be repeat visitors. 

The night ended at around 12.30 after a nightcap on the hotel roof terrace again. 

Now it’s cruise day! We are just getting ready, and have a taxi booked at 10.15. Boarding time is 11.00.

Oasis, we are coming for you! 

13 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

What exactly is in that pan? It looks like paella but that's not paella rice (as I know it at least).

It was indeed a paella. Not like any I’ve ever had either but it was delicious!

There’s a lot of joy among UK cruisers that Independence is coming back to Southampton - I saw her when I did my first cruise from there and mistook the side of the ship for a building! I suspect Oasis is going to blow my mind!

Learnt the hard way yesterday to write these blogs in my notes app! Lost a whole post with pics! So let’s try again:

Day 1: Manchester to Barcelona.

We were up at 4.30am after a lovely evening at our airport hotel. The flight was easy, although we had a very loud group on board, celebrating a stag do as we call it - a last hurrah trip before a man gets married. The equivalent for a woman is a hen do here in the UK. Not sure what it’s called in other places. Anyway, they were loud and made a good attempt at drinking the entire bar cart.

We landed and got our transfer - due to traffic it took over an hour to complete a trip our driver said would be around 30 minutes. 

We checked in and had a wander down Passage de Catalunya which is super close to the hotel, before grabbing some food and drinks at a restaurant just opposite the hotel.

We then spent a few hours enjoying drinks at the rooftop bar and pool at the hotel.

We then wandered to the Mandarin Oriental hotel and enjoyed cocktails at the Banker’s Bar there.

Dinner was at another restaurant down the street from the hotel, before returning for a nightcap on the roof terrace. 

I think you can tell from day 1, what Jamie and I are all about
I’ll update with what we did today a little later. 

We made it to the airport hotel safely and have had a lovely evening meal and a few drinks.

this is our room:

Time for sleep as our flight to Barcelona leaves at 8am UK time tomorrow. 

Out of office is on, final skating session done, let's get this party started! 

All the online orders have now arrived. Tomorrow morning will consist of the last bits of packing, weighing suitcases and potentially moving things between bags. 

I'm currently wearing a pair of shoes that are well broken in, but I've put new insoles in them as they have zero arch support. So I need to get used to those before I start doing a lot of walking in them.

We finalised our plans for Palma today - we're going to get off in the morning, have a stroll around, but then take advantage of a quiet ship and enjoy some pool time and make full use of the beverage package 

I'll update tomorrow when we get to the airport hotel. 

Ah that is a shame - drinks with moonshine always remind me of being in Disney World and trying the moonshine cocktails at Homecomin' - if anyone is local, I can thoroughly recommend the Blue Hooch! 

With Epic Universe opening next year, a trip back to Florida is definitely on the cards in a couple of years - if Jamie enjoys cruising I'm going to suggest a week at Universal and then a 7 night cruise. 

I'm about to start printing things - going to start with the luggage tags and our Sagrada Familia tickets. I usually hate having a tonne of paperwork and everything else is on my phone, although I want to get a new passport cover from Amazon so may get a document wallet and print everything else too. 

That made perfect sense, thank you! 

Out of curiosity, what's the drink? It looks like my kind of thing!  

Alright, I am convinced regarding printing things - I'll do that tomorrow. 

Packing is 90% done, thank goodness. Although looking around my room I've seen a couple of things that will need adding. But so far, one large suitcase and a carry on. For 9 nights. I feel I may have overpacked...

We have secured a new tour - Pompeii, an Italian lunch and wine tasting, and a hike to the crater of Vesuvius. I'm very excited - I did a similar Pompeii and wine tasting tour last time I was in Naples, but never got to get up close to Vesuvius. A little nervous about the hike, just because I can struggle on uneven ground due to questionable depth perception, but Jamie is a good guy and will make sure I'm OK. I'm determined to make it to the top. 

Still feeling overwhelmed - I feel like a first time cruiser again!! But this time next week, we'll be on board!

Also, if anyone can explain how to insert pictures within text, that'd be awesome, ready for the photo spam that will be happening! I not only ramble in writing, I take a lot of pictures!

Thank you for bringing us along on the adventure, I hope you have a safe journey home. 

Oasis is in Europe and a week today it's gonna be my turn! Aaaah! 

Got my nails done today, went with a nautical theme in one of my favourite shades of blue. 

Also got the last of my cruise cash - some more euros and some dollars for tipping on the ship. Picked up a couple of last minute items - some make up wipes and another bottle of sunscreen.

Unfortunately, I've just had an email from our tour provider in Naples. Due to not meeting the minimum of 5 people, our tour has been cancelled. So I've text Jamie, and am frantically searching the web for options. I wanted a small group tour as, having a disability, smaller groups are easier as they can tailor things to the group. I am so sad - the tour covered Pompeii, which I have visited before but Jamie hasn't as he's never been to Italy, Sorrento and Positano, neither of which I've been to but was so looking forward to seeing. 

Ah well, I guess it's better to know now than this time next week, but still, kinda stinks. 

Woohoo! Made it to the weekend and we're in single digits for the trip! 

Feeling slightly overwhelmed - it feels like I have a lot left to do, but then I wonder if I'm making more work for myself than necessary. 

Do I need paper copies of anything? Or can I get by with having everything on my phone?

My current to-do list is:

- Get my cruise cash (my lovely mum has gifted me some too)

- Get my nails done (do I go cruise themed?? :D)

- Finish the seemingly never ending packing now all the Amazon orders are here. I have one Temu order but not holding out hope that'll arrive by Thursday. Currently debating whether I take make up or not. 

- I have a couple of work things I need to clear when I'm in on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

- Potentially print paperwork, if it is needed. 

We've arranged transport to the airport hotel, so I'm being picked up around 3.45-4pm on Thursday. I am already mentally in Barcelona - it's going to be SO nice to just breathe for a little bit after a couple of really chaotic months at work, and a really tough year last year. 

May 12th on Oasis for me  

Whew! OK, packing is pretty close to done. Just 2 new dresses arriving from Amazon tomorrow, a pair of shoes I need to finish breaking in, pajamas and t-shirts to go. Oh, and some of it needs moving to my carry on bag, for the 2 nights in Barcelona. 

Perks of living at home - my mum helped me and is going to buy some missing toiletries when she goes to the supermarket tomorrow. She is good at packing so things don't crease. I on the other hand, am not. No pictures of my packing chaos just yet, will grab some when it's completed. 

I do need to reach out to Jamie and confirm the logistics of getting to the airport - airport hotel is booked for the 9th so we just have to get ourselves there (around a 45 minute drive). Normally his family give us a ride so he doesn't have to leave his car in parking. 

Tomorrow is my last Monday at work before the cruise - next week is a Bank Holiday (public holiday) here so my workplace is closed. 

I hope the people involved in both the medical emergencies are OK and get the care they need. 

I've enjoyed following along - my app shows ship time is now only an hour behind me in the UK, so good morning! I believe you now only have 2 more time changes to deal with. 

Please let me know the weather when you start exploring Spain - I'm ready to pack so it'd be good to know what the temperatures are doing. 

What are your planned excursions?