CruisinRoxy

On 2/12/2023 at 6:36 AM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

People cough for all kinds of reasons - it's not exclusive to COVID.

 

Colds. Bronchitis. Other chest/lung issues. Asthma. Allergies. Swallowing their spit wrong. Inhaling something that irritates their throat. Etc.

 

Is COVID still around? Yes. But is every single cough COVID-related? No.

"Swallowing their spit wrong"

Now that's funny.   But very true.

We just got off the Royal Voyager of the Seas.  You could say a lot of these things applied there, too.  Noticeably, the Windjammer not opening after dinner, for snacks and desserts.

Dining not as good as it was, extra surcharges for things, crowds, chair hogs, insufficient staff,  whatever...

I think this is just the New Reality, in this day and age of Post Covid, inflation, climate change, whatever you want to call it.

We just booked Celebrity Apex for next February, I hope things are more back to normal by then.  But I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.  We were on Summit and Equinox and loved them.

I have High Hopes for Apex - but many You Tubers have sung its praises! I prefer to look at the bright side.

On 1/29/2023 at 6:35 PM, renza said:

We will be on Voyager in 5 weeks. Can you please post if there are any Comedy shows, quest or any entertainment that is happening?

There were 2 production shows featuring Broadway tunes.  Dancers and singers are very talented.  There was an acrobatic duo from Ukraine who were excellent. And a dance group from Argentina who did tango and flamenco. They were awesome too.  But some of these are onboard for a limited time.  There was supposed to be a comedian but I guess ne didn’t show up. Who knows why 

I know nothing about Quest.

Theres an excellent entertainer in the Schooner bar almost nightly.  She’s a piano player singer.  Kind of like a Sing a long.

Things may change though.  Enjoy!

Well we boarded Voyager earlier today. We came early, like noon, because I kept getting texts to allow plenty of time at the Pan Am Pier due to heavy marine traffic.  Whatever that means. And guess what? No one at all even looked at the check in time! Several people looked at and scanned the SeaPass on our phones and no one even noticed that we were 3 hours early!  All the agonizing wasted.  What a relief! Many of you cruisers said likewise. So thank you.  

Well that’s that.  Just a little update for anyone else that’s concerned. 

I guess the take away here is that as your life circumstances change, so does the need to think ahead and for travel insurance. When we were younger we never gave a second thought to being insured and prepared for the unexpected.   Now, some 4 decades later, it’s a completely different story!

Thanks for all your honest opinions Folks! We just bought some middle of the road insurance. Because we are around 70 years now.  So much easier to travel when you’re young and don’t have to worry right?

I’m just curious as to how many of you cruisers always get Travel Insurance? And do you use the cruise line or an outside source?  

5 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

And so is check in - show up whenever and look for a separate suite line.

Yes I do remember those Suite lines!

We haven't cruised since before Covid.  I got an email from Royal saying it's time to Check in for our Voyager of the Seas on Jan 29.  Not realizing there are now "scheduled" boarding times, I did not act immediately.  Well today, I did check us in and the scheduled times started at 3;30.  We usually try to get on board by noon or so.  We are also in a Grand Suite, so priority boarding used to be a thing.

Does anyone have any experience with this new fangled way on boarding the ship?

I'm perplexed.

1 hour ago, A&L_Ont said:

Knock on wood, we have had it twice but both times on land.  Once from our son’s daycare and another time from our relatives on Boxing Day.  Definitely not a great Christmas exchange. 😉 Not fun at all, but at least we had more than one washroom, unlike on a ship. 
 

I have coined the expression of “mass evacuation” to describe noro. Basically it squeezes your body of fluids, no different than squeezing water out of a sponge. 

Lol!,  Glad the Noro is not delegated just to the ships!! It’s land born too. 

6 hours ago, Painter4me said:

People have to be prepared to just chill and enjoy being away. How can people think no one is going to get sick on these floating Petrie dishes? You need to be flexible and go with the flow. If you’re not prepared to do this, maybe it’s not the time to cruise. This is why I booked an large balcony room. I’ll spend more time on my own balcony reading than other cruises. I don’t cruise to meet other people. I cruise to relax and enjoy myself. Be happy other conditions aren’t part of the equation - raining and rough seas. We’re all fortunate to be able to afford a cruise or have the freedom to cruise, unlike so many others. Show gratitude!

I really dislike when people call cruise ships “Floating Petri dishes”. Any public venue has germs.  Not just cruise ships.   This includes sport venues, concert halls, amphitheaters, movie houses, theme parks, etc. Where there’s people, there are germs.  The advantage to cruise ships is that with these new Covid protocols, ships are in sanitation overdrive.  Just sayin’.   

We are also boarding Explorer at the end of February! 6 months out now.  We originally booked Celebrity Summit but for some reason they canceled San Juan sailings, so we switched back to Royal, where we’ve cruised about 6 times on various ships.  We also love San Juan! And like staying at El Convento right in the old town.  Very historic and you can walk to any restaurant, there’s so many!  Can’t wait!  Hopefully all will go smoothly and things will not get worse.  

Also, thought I'd add that I've kind of avoided Cruise Critic, because it was too painful to read, knowing cruising was off-limits and shut down for so many months, but how - Hurray!  I can partake again and it feels so good!  I have no idea where my original post went, but I was just asking how everyone feels on board now.  Are you comfortable?  Proof of vaccination?  We're going in Feb 2022

Also, my TA has been a tremendous help in executing the Lift and Shift!   

Hi All!

So today is the day we were supposed pay off the balance for our Jan 23 2021 cruise.   And with just 90 days to go and Covid on the increase through most of the country (and world for that matter), I'm thinking the cruise industry will be in a slump well into 2021.   Not to mention flying to San Juan and dealing with all of that.   I'm just wondering what you folks are doing, or have done over the last 8 months in regards to postponing your cruises.   Celebrity has the "Lift and Shift".  Some of the problem is getting the stateroom you want in 2022, that you had booked in 2021.    I did it and got a comparable one, not the same.  But that's ok, at least I didn't lose the deposit, or any promotions.  Glad I didn't book any flights or hotels at this point.    Any comments or ideas?

I miss the anticipation off feasting my eyes on the beauty of the ship as we approach the port! I miss seeing our stateroom for the first time, knowing it will become as familiar as home within the next few hours.  I miss the first cocktail on our balcony.  I miss waking up in a new place every morning.  I miss greeting our smiling waiters and stateroom attendants, who are always happy to see us.  (Or at least pretend to be). I miss strolling on board from one venue to another, knowing there will always be music and entertainment there for the asking.  I miss sailing the deep blue sea! Oh how I hope we can cruise as scheduled next January!  

All great points and opinions! Thanks!

I was wondering how you all book your excursions or tours in port.  Do you all book through the cruise Line? Or independently on line via websites? Or just get off the ship at port looking for a random tour guide?  We’ve done it all 3 ways but I’m wondering what others do.  Thanks!

We have done it several ways, on a Caribbean cruise.    Through the ship, especially if you have onboard credit you can use.   Or thru a tour website, independent of the cruise ship.  Or as you get off the ship, randomly at the port.  Which do you all think is the best way? Thank you!  

1 hour ago, Steelers0854 said:

 

I didn’t grab one of the MDR but here is Blu, Qsine, and a not great picture of part of the buffet. 
 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for these! Can’t wait to be there.  I see they really changed the oceanview with the reno. But that Qsine kind of looks like a children’s playroom! Yikes.  

You’ve been posting some great photos! Would you happen to have any of the dining venues?  Such as the MDR and Blue? Or maybe the Oceanview Cafe? I’m interested to see the new renovations.  Thank you!

On 11/16/2019 at 8:02 PM, Steelers0854 said:

Just leaving port and about to lose cell signal til tomorrow. With us a HAL ship and another much smaller one. Good night CC!

 

 

 

Oh, Love the Port of San Juan at night! We are on the Summit Feb 1. Can’t wait! Second Celebrity Cruise. First time on Summit! She’ll be going to some smaller islands we’ve never been to.  Which is why sometimes a smaller ship is an advantage. Thanks for taking the time to do all this posting! Really enjoying!

On 11/10/2019 at 4:35 PM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Honesty I hope they do follow suit. Walking down a cruise hallway should not feel like walking through a college dorm with message boards and door decorations.

Lol I thought the exact same thing!  No thanks!  

16 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

We bring some plastic straws with us

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

Or you could just use your Lips!!😃

1 hour ago, Swampbabe said:

At least get off the ship and buy something in port;  a drink, snack, something. The country needs the tax revenue.

I agree with this philosophy!  We had been there several times, but in the end, rather than just sit onboard the ship, get off and support the locals.   Buy some lunch, take a surrey ride and tip the driver.  And even though it's tacky, buy something in the Straw Market.  There are also some local wood carvers that sell their stuff for not that much $$.  We bought a souvenir or 2.  They just lived through a hurricane after all.  

On 9/29/2019 at 11:01 AM, Turtles06 said:

Farewell, Bar Harbor.

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

So sorry about your Cadillac Mountain view!  It can be gorgeous.   We were on a road trip a few weeks ago and stayed in the beautiful Bar Harbor Inn that you took pictures of.  It was delightful and we could watch at least 1 cruise ship, sometimes 2, every day from our room.   Did not see the Summit however, too bad.  You are right about the Blueberry Pie.  It seems like every single restaurant and diner has a version.  Maine blueberry pies are the best.  Hands down.  So enjoyable to read the review of a Happy Cruiser enjoying.