JLMoran

With the exception of Izumi, you shouldn't expect a fast meal at any specialty restaurant or at the MDR. Even when you tell the wait staff in the MDR that you need to get out quickly for a show or something it will typically be 45 minutes to an hour, only because they have so many tables to wait and meals to serve, and they can only get around so fast.
If you don't want any meal to last more than 30 minutes, then I think your best bets will be the Windjammer or "quick bite" locations like Sorrento's pizza, Park Cafe / Cafe Promenade, Cafe Two70 on Quantum class, etc.

I have had to cancel my booking. Two big financial hits in the last  month have made it impossible for me to make final payment in October without being in debt. To make it more problematic, our pet sitter from the last few cruises is moving out of state in July, and we have no one else we can ask who can come to the house and stay there so our cat continues to have routine that he needs for his sanity.
 
Hope you all have a good sailing.

I only started cruising back in 2018, when my family and I did our first cruise on Freedom. (and I became a huge follower of this site)
Since then, my wife and I have done all of 5 cruises, 3 of them on Royal and 2 on Princess. Two planned cruises got wrecked by the Dark Times. We have two more cruises coming up; our first time trying NCL in October, and then back with Royal for my 55th birthday in late January 2025.
I'm hoping to retire in a little over 5 years, and at that time I'm hoping to seriously raise my cruising game. But that will mostly depend on how much PTO my wife is getting at that time, unless she becomes OK with the idea of me sailing on my own for some more exotic locales she wouldn't care for anyway (if I can manage them at that time).

Sorry I am a noob and can't figure out the quote function. But I do always wear my cool shades when I go on a cruise.

Do you board the ships using the gangway or do you parachute onto the pool deck from a Boeing 727 with bundles of cash strapped to you? 😆

They had $5 min bet on Symphony last Dec.

Others have already posted tibs and tabs about this but I don't think there's a thread devoted to it...at least, not that I know of.
There has been a CP "sale" going on for a couple of days.  It is "on again/off again" but it's back on today.
BUT - BE CAREFUL.  Some of the dining packages include gratuities in the "list price" and some do not so be careful cancelling something that you already have until you know for SURE that it's going to be a savings.
1.  It appears as though MOST of the packages - UDP and 3 night, already include the grats.  If the grats are included, it will say so below the advertised price.  If it says "Gratuities Included" then the final price will simply be the number of packages that you are purchasing, multiplied by the price of the package(s) you are purchasing.  If it says "pre-cruise savings", the grats are NOT included in that price so you will have to calculate the total price to see what the final $$ will be.
2.  It APPEARS as though the requirement to eat at least one meal on nights #1 or #2 is gone.  The CP no longer required me to choose a "first" meal time.  That's a good thing, IMO.  Hopefully you can now use your packages on any days/nights that you choose.
3.  It appears as though all of the individual restaurants still require you to calculate gratuities....IOW, the grats are not included in the posted price for individual restaurants.  Some of the individual restaurants that I checked were less $$ than when I first purchased and some were not.  Just be sure that you know what you'll be paying BEFORE you cancel anything and/or purchase at the "reduced" price.  It seems like the package prices include grats.
4.  I was not able to use any of my available OBC when I purchased/repurchased my specialty dining.  It gave me the option of using the OBC but the final price was never reduced by the amount of the OBC so I am HOPING that the OBC is still there.  This is uncertain to me at the moment.  Hopefully the OBC will reappear in a day or so.
5.  As far as I can tell, the ability to make pre-purchased dining reservations ahead of time has still not been implemented.  I was never prompted to make any specific reservations.
6.  Other items in the CP may also be on sale.  I have only looked at dining so I am unaware if other areas of the CP are similarly affected.
The prices are pretty good (considering the upward trend for specialty pricing) and I saved quite a bit of $$ by cancelling and repurchasing but it took me a while to figure out the secret code.

I had no reason to think they would have any mishaps. Especially multiple ones. It had great reviews and though fresh out of dry dock still had the issues.  My biggest concern wasn't the power, head and water problems. It was the lack of communication and utter indifference to the passengers by guest services. I didn't find that remotely acceptable.  I approached them calmly and with respect. When given no viable answers to my questions, I escalated to executive branch. Though slow to respond they did show concern. Then today they offered a compensation. A touch short of what I had hoped for but good enough. For me, its astern of us and adequately resolved.

Gotcha! Well I can definitely say that it is the style of vacation I seek, but my pocketbook says otherwise!!!

Edge class is definitely a league of its own but that doesn't mean the other ships in the fleet are bad. Some of the older ships have been what they call 'revolutionized'. This was a much more indepth reno than the Royal 'amplification'. The ships were stripped down to bare metal and completely redone.
Edge class if definitely the best and if thats what you want then thats what you should book but you are still going to have an amazing experience on the other Celebrity ships as well. 

21 days til cruise day, 19 days til we leave, and 12 work days left... 
The first hints of packing have begun, I've got some essentials gathered together in the bathroom - sunscreen, aloe gel, a couple of OTC meds. Debating picking up some motion sickness meds, although neither Jamie and I suffer (we rode all the simulator style rides at Universal multiple times with no ill effects) and I've had one day of feeling slightly off in 14 nights at sea. But I'm thinking better to have it and not need it. 
Currently searching Amazon for a few things - including a bag for port days. I need one that will hold a couple of bottles of water, phone and my cane when folded (which is around 30cm long including the rolling ball tip). I'd ideally like one with some anti-theft features too. 
Packing proper will happen next weekend - that way if I'm missing anything major I have time to get it delivered. 

I stayed in the Hera Hotel in Athens, it was very nice! Small boutique hotel, reasonably priced in my book, located just past the end of a sort of "restaurant row" (though not in the more densely packed "downtown" area with tons and tons of restaurants; that was about a 15 minute walk away), and only a long block from the Parthenon entrance.
In Rome, I stayed in the River Palace Hotel. The hotel itself is gorgeous, and it's located just outside the Plaza of the Pope, which is maybe a 20-minute slow walk away from the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, along with a couple of gorgeous cathedrals that we stumbled on and a bunch of great restaurants.

A less than stellar skate is still better than no skate at all. And knowing that you are visually impaired, if I had watched it I would likely have been amazed. Can only imagine how much you've fine-tuned your motion senses and balance to be able to do that.
I've never been able to skate, thanks to being born with two club feet and surgeries that straightened them out but left me with zero calf muscles or ankle strength. (and degenerative arthritis in both ankles) Kudos to you, and congratulations!
You know what that means. You're that much closer to Cruise Day! 😄

I stayed in the Hera Hotel in Athens, it was very nice! Small boutique hotel, reasonably priced in my book, located just past the end of a sort of "restaurant row" (though not in the more densely packed "downtown" area with tons and tons of restaurants; that was about a 15 minute walk away), and only a long block from the Parthenon entrance.
In Rome, I stayed in the River Palace Hotel. The hotel itself is gorgeous, and it's located just outside the Plaza of the Pope, which is maybe a 20-minute slow walk away from the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, along with a couple of gorgeous cathedrals that we stumbled on and a bunch of great restaurants.

I stayed in the Hera Hotel in Athens, it was very nice! Small boutique hotel, reasonably priced in my book, located just past the end of a sort of "restaurant row" (though not in the more densely packed "downtown" area with tons and tons of restaurants; that was about a 15 minute walk away), and only a long block from the Parthenon entrance.
In Rome, I stayed in the River Palace Hotel. The hotel itself is gorgeous, and it's located just outside the Plaza of the Pope, which is maybe a 20-minute slow walk away from the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, along with a couple of gorgeous cathedrals that we stumbled on and a bunch of great restaurants.

THE GOOD>>>>>Picked this one cause of itinerary that included Key West and Bimini, both on bucket list for Fiancé. Boarding was seamless. Crew was best I have ever seen! Ship clean and not crowded. Buffet better than Windjammers.  Room was smaller than Royal but balcony was bigger. Items purchased online had not been delivered though. Call to guest services solved part of it. Some items did get delivered. Guest services called to say they were sold out although there was plenty of the other items plainly visible in the gift shop at higher cost than what I had agreed to pay on line.  They said they would refund to my card form of payment. NO biggie but still a minor glitch. Two of three outlets and both usb ports were intermittent or mostly not working. TV , Wi-Fi as well barely operational... Guest services said they would send somebody. They never did come.  MDR dinner was like old days on RCL excellent!!!. Comedy/ magic show was good. After that we had to get logged back in to internet that repeatedly kicked us off. Yet too minor of a glitch to moan about. Day 2 breakfast was excellent and Key West great, especially for Fiancé who had never been. Second dinner as good as the first...
THE BAD>>>>>Day three we were unable to dock due to wind and current... Many aboard were upset but I had to agree with the call. We would have two sea days instead of one to crawl to Nassau. Mid afternoon I noticed no Wi-Fi  again. Also noticed we had come to a complete stop and were adrift. Phone wasn't working so I decided to go to Wi-Fi desk. Emergency lights in hall and elevators not working? Had to use stairs. Full on black out! Water was out as well, No ice for the bars, no showers. Public restrooms closed and guests told to use the ones in their cabins and flush after power would be restored.  With no elevators guests had to hoof up several decks worth of stairs. Many of them elderly. Some didn't make it and suffered the ultimate indignity. Sections of stairs roped off to clean that mess!  Power restored for a while. It went back out at around dinner time. Many were in showers and unable to get soap off.  Dinner was hot with no AC.... Kitchen escalators and elevators didn't work. Poor wait staff had to run up and down hot dim stairs with their orders.  After that black out the Celebrity Apps wouldn't work. No way again to check upcoming shows or monitor account.  Next day started ok then multiple pipes on multiple decks burst! Again public facilities were closed.  People had to scramble to find safe places to relieve themselves. Some noted the water went brown when the water quit running properly. Decks 2,5 and 7 were soaked in many areas..
 THE REALLY UGLY: Repairs were made, Nassau stop no problem, but ugly was on its way. People were upset. They were told in some cases after we docked that BImini port fees were refunded to onboard accounts and needed to be spent while aboard?!? Nobody was notified and with no tv or working apps no way to see their accounts.  My fees never were refunded nor my online goods that were never delivered. Some people were told they would get 30% off their next cruise but couldn't use any other discount?  Their every day sales offer bigger discounts off full fare!!! Some were given like $90 being and told that equated to 40% of their total fares????????????? Many were told there would be no compensation what so ever!!!! Some were told there had been cold towels and free drinks at some pool but nobody let the passengers know. Then most, like me several days later have not received or been told a single thing. I had been given a promise of a call this morning but none ever came! After I took half day off to take that call! 😕  I called them and no apology or update. I am far from impressed!

A less than stellar skate is still better than no skate at all. And knowing that you are visually impaired, if I had watched it I would likely have been amazed. Can only imagine how much you've fine-tuned your motion senses and balance to be able to do that.
I've never been able to skate, thanks to being born with two club feet and surgeries that straightened them out but left me with zero calf muscles or ankle strength. (and degenerative arthritis in both ankles) Kudos to you, and congratulations!
You know what that means. You're that much closer to Cruise Day! 😄

A less than stellar skate is still better than no skate at all. And knowing that you are visually impaired, if I had watched it I would likely have been amazed. Can only imagine how much you've fine-tuned your motion senses and balance to be able to do that.
I've never been able to skate, thanks to being born with two club feet and surgeries that straightened them out but left me with zero calf muscles or ankle strength. (and degenerative arthritis in both ankles) Kudos to you, and congratulations!
You know what that means. You're that much closer to Cruise Day! 😄

Well, this bodes well for my live blog!!!
This past week has been a whirlwind, with a less than stellar skate on Wednesday. However, it was a fun week, and a few fun cruise related things happened. 
Our cabin is now confirmed - the barcode trick was correct and we have been assigned cabin 10174. I am very happy about this, as it looks to be in a great location. 
Our cruise documents have also arrived in my inbox. 
I managed to get a photo of the rink I was skating on this week, can anyone with better vision than me give an estimate if the one on Oasis is bigger or smaller?
Cruise prep for the coming week is to do a dummy packing run, and pray that my suitcase is under the weight limit for my airline... 
30 days to go!!!

My phone and iPad finally synched, so I have some photos from Antigua and Grenada.  Let’s see how this goes.  I’ve had some trouble spacing them and inserting text.  I’m terrible at this stuff.
This is the floating platform in Antigua for the stingray swim.  It made the entire experience so much better than in Grand Cayman. It was much easier to get into and out of the water

  These mysterious blobs are obviously stingrays.  They are so docile and sweet.  
 

You can almost see the tail !
 

This is St George, Grenada with Explorer in the background.  I really liked Grenada.  Nice people, beautiful island, shitty roads.
 

Obviously, I’m having a bad hair day.  
 

The town of St George really reminds me of Curaçao, which is one of my very favorite places.  This town just looks so quaint.


Shamefully, I got very few photos of Ft Frederick.  
 

These monkeys are native to the island and I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know their proper species name.  We caught a fleeting glance at one in the rain forest.

…and finally, the waterfall at Annandale.  Very beautiful place. Kinda like a cenote in Mexico.

There is breaking news this morning that Dillard’s is reporting significant shortages of red undergarments. They believe they are not the only store experiencing supply chain issues and are extremely concerned that the shortages could last for years. 

😉
Govern yourselves accordingly …
Curt from Canada
 

I swear Dancing drums hit non stop on Oasis in October. We hit a hand pay with a slot pull, I went back to the same machine and hit about $400 bucks in a few spins, and apparently someone hit a mega jackpot on the SAME machine 2 days later. 

Dan and I hit a Royal Flush on video poker tonite !  Woohoo.  Too bad we were only playing a quarter. 😔
…but it made us much healthier than we were !  He will definitely make Prime on this cruise as he’s more than halfway there and this is only night 3 of 9.

 
Yikes.  Sorry this picture is so big !
About 5 minutes ago we had an Alpha, Alpha, Alpha call come over the stateroom speakers.  I don’t recall them usually making that announce inside the rooms.  It is for a passenger cabin on deck 12.  I hope whoever it is will be ok.

That's my sister!!!!  🙂

ngl, I had to check the post date of this multiple times to confirm it wasn't an April Fool's joke.
Matt! Matt! Why hast thou forsaken us?!?
 
😉