Stephanie

We sailed on Spectrum this past January on her first 7 night cruise since the restart. We loved the ship and the entire experience! One thing that really stood out is how many crew members told us how much they loved the longer cruises as they got to get to know guests better than on the usual 3/4 nights cruises they had been doing to Port Klang or Penang and back. Even when Spectrum moves to back to China, they are mostly 4/5 night sailings so enjoy being on one of the few longer ones!

I enjoy running on the track when we're at sea and I go like 10 miles in 3 minutes. Eat my dust! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

It's ultimately a personal decision. I've done both when flying - checked vs. not, and I much prefer checking my bag rather than lugging it through the airport. Especially if your flight is not direct and you're changing terminals on your connecting flight. Running to catch a flight while lugging excess bags is no fun!
At the cruise terminal, I'd definitely advise checking everything you won't need prior to dinner. It's generally a couple of hours minimum before you can get into your room, which means the ship is super crowded with everyone lugging around their suitcases.

We were on Anthem for Christmas 2019 and it was wonderful! (Aside from the fact that my husband had covid before we knew what covid was.) As others have said, the ship was beautifully decorated. There was an ugly sweater-themed event one night and the cruise director's staff were all decked out - along with lots of passengers. There were even some passengers dressed as the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who! There were multiple opportunities to have pictures with Santa, and Santa was there on Christmas morning. I took small decorations to put on our door & in our room - cheapy things that I could throw away at the end of the week, but it made it feel more festive.
Definitely lots of large family groups & lots of kids. But, I think a cruise is what you make of it. We expected it to be kid-filled given it was the holidays, so we didn't let it get in the way of our fun. Personally, I think it is the absolute best way to spend Christmas and would do it every year if I could.

We were on Anthem for Christmas 2019 and it was wonderful! (Aside from the fact that my husband had covid before we knew what covid was.) As others have said, the ship was beautifully decorated. There was an ugly sweater-themed event one night and the cruise director's staff were all decked out - along with lots of passengers. There were even some passengers dressed as the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who! There were multiple opportunities to have pictures with Santa, and Santa was there on Christmas morning. I took small decorations to put on our door & in our room - cheapy things that I could throw away at the end of the week, but it made it feel more festive.
Definitely lots of large family groups & lots of kids. But, I think a cruise is what you make of it. We expected it to be kid-filled given it was the holidays, so we didn't let it get in the way of our fun. Personally, I think it is the absolute best way to spend Christmas and would do it every year if I could.

So my wife was talking with our neighbor yesterday, catching up on local gossip and letting her know that we would be heading out of town in January for another RC cruise (she is our unofficial neighborhood Mrs. Kravitz). My wife thought it best to give "Gladys" a heads up so that she didn't lose any sleep worrying or wondering if something terrible had happened to us, noticing the loss of daily routines that myself and family normally endure and display each day.
Knowing in advance the quick witted and somber responses that our neighborhood Karen is accustom to, her response really should not have surprised my wife. But she called us out like a closet Swiftie, stating "Well, aren't you a bunch of thalassophiles".
It's true, I am one.
It's been over 3 months since my last cruise and ocean sighting. But I have a wonderful support group and attend meetings via forums and discussions as often as I can. So thank you fellow board members. It's one cruise at a time .
 

New words to phile away for future use...

In my opinion, a whale watching excursion with Harv & Marv's Outback Alaska https://www.harvandmarvs-juneau-whale-watching.com/ in Juneau is an absolute MUST. It was by far the highlight of our trip. We rented a private boat and had Captain Liz. It is a bit pricey, but I promise you, it is worth every penny.  Captain Liz was phenomenal! So passionate & knowledgeable about the whales - she was taking pictures right along side of us, even though she does these yearround - she literally follows the whales to Hawaii & does Hawaiian whale watching tours in the winter months. The private tour was so much nicer than one booked thru the cruise b/c our group of 6 were the only ones on the boat, which meant we weren't fighting with strangers to get a better view. (We actually saw another tour on the water that had probably 50 people on the boat and that's exactly what they were doing - no thanks!)
The highlights from our tour popped up on my Facebook feed just yesterday & I sat and watched & re-watched the videos.

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

Except I've never used a travel agent ... 🤷‍♀️

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

Except I've never used a travel agent ... 🤷‍♀️

Ya about those...Could you please forward them to me?

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

I got a FedEX package this morning filled with cruise brochures. It looks like a travel agent kit. I have no idea how or why it was sent to me and there was no letter or explanation included. I am not complaining - it has a full guide to all the ships, deck plans & cruises for the 2024-2025 season. I am, however, taking it as a sign that I should be doing more cruising... 😀

I've never used Turo in Juneau, but I've used it many times in other cities. It's exactly what you described - an Airbnb but with cars. In my experience, the host will leave the car parked wherever I've asked (sometimes there are additional fees for this). Some have the option of unlocking the vehicle via an app when I arrive, others just leave the vehicle unlocked with the key hidden in the car. I then return the car to either the same location or a different, pre-arranged location.
My only suggestion would just be to read the reviews of your host & inspect the pictures of the vehicle very closely before reserving a vehicle. I've always had good luck and been very pleased so far. And, it's almost always cheaper than a rental car.

I've never used Turo in Juneau, but I've used it many times in other cities. It's exactly what you described - an Airbnb but with cars. In my experience, the host will leave the car parked wherever I've asked (sometimes there are additional fees for this). Some have the option of unlocking the vehicle via an app when I arrive, others just leave the vehicle unlocked with the key hidden in the car. I then return the car to either the same location or a different, pre-arranged location.
My only suggestion would just be to read the reviews of your host & inspect the pictures of the vehicle very closely before reserving a vehicle. I've always had good luck and been very pleased so far. And, it's almost always cheaper than a rental car.

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