Jasukkie

What a great a picture is worth a thousand words example. Guess it's safe to say it depends lol. The last ship's tour I did was on Jewel and it was so long and detailed I thought we were being onboarded as employees. People started to drop off in the third hour. Others are more superficial. So yeah, it all depends.

I consider myself a pretty strong swimmer but it can definitely be challenging getting on and off into strong currents where you are expected to walk up with a rope line to the beach. Add in sun and alcohol, yes, I'd describe it as strenuous.

I've only done a 5 nighter solo but it was enjoyable. It's nice to have real down time. Lunch in the MDR was a nice way to mix with a big table and everyone was chatty. I preferred to have dinner in the Windjammer though. I did a lot of reading which was nice. Cruising definitely attracts a lot of solo travelers so you won't be alone if you don't want to be. I will assume from your name you are a woman. Sorry to the decent guys out there, but pay attention to your spidey senses with men. Sometimes friendliness can be misinterpreted as an invitation. You can always make up a fictional husband who couldn't make the trip if you aren't interested in that sort of socializing.

I have slept outside overnight on my balcony in the Caribbean. Some people lay out in the sun all day, something I never do. But at night, it's nice, there's a breeze, and the white noise of the sea, it's lovely. It is not for people who like to sleep in though because of the sunrise of course.

I've done some creative rearranging. The bed frame and mattress fits nicely outside on Quantum class ships. The frames are lighter than you might think, though bulky of course. Not to be left unattended or in the rain, be respectful. If you want separate beds on Radiance class, you can switch the location of the bed and the sofa, so that both beds are parallel to the cabin walls. One will be by the balcony door/window, and the other will be closer to the bathroom. This gives more sense of having your own space. Do not move furniture without moving it back before you leave. Seriously, it would add a lot of work for your room steward. I've had only positive comments, they don't mind, but you have to put things back.

So many of the drinks on a cruise ship are very low cost. The frou-frou drinks are sugar mix and cheap rum. Some people still buy packages, now at much higher prices. And those 4 or 5 free drinks are a psychology play. Your drinks are covered now, hey let's look at excursions since we have some money to burn now. The house always wins.

I haven't done it in Europe but in Seattle we put our bags out in the hallway and next saw them in Newark. I have a feeling that might be different with customs though. Sorry I don't have that info. It's a great service if you can check them through. I don't think I'd pay extra to just have it moved to a bus instead of picking it up myself and wheeling it over to the bus.

I started reading and thought of my time in Covid isolation with the spray cleaners they give you and thought, why didn't they drop off linen and the sprays? I wouldn't want anyone entering the room and spreading it. But I would want cleaning stuff and lots of towels etc. Then I saw the date lol.

My personal experience is that Radiance class provides spotty access. I regularly had to step out of my cabin to the hallway to get a page to load. This is even with Starlink. It worked well in certain areas of the ship, like by the pool. I think things work considerably better on the newer ships.

You are not alone! I clicked through thinking that VV had started a drink package program lol.

It can really add up. There are other mainline cruise brands that include wifi in the sticker price. We usually get one device access and share it. Also be aware that it works better on some ships or part of the ship than others.

My TA was March/April, out of Miami. I expected we might have some heavy seas on the crossing but it was very smooth. The last two nights in the Mediterranean were the worst of the trip as far as rocking but not awful. Of course weather matters a lot so you never know.

Fond memories of that Sete Cidades hike excursion above. I love long cruises with lots of sea days. Still, it's nice to have interesting ports too. I'm one of those people that struggled to wake up in the morning heading eastbound. It's only one hour but doing it day after day was hard for me somehow.

This has been my experience too. We had UDP on a longer cruise, otherwise I wouldn't have gone. The service was excellent but it was almost empty. I like the quiet, romantic lighting atmosphere, very relaxing. I liked everything I ate but it was just too much food. When we went back a second time, they were very friendly and remembered our preferences. I'm glad it's still there even if it's not my thing food wise. It's perfect for big meat eaters. I would go again if I had UDP but wouldn't book it independent of that.

I just can't eat that much but I really liked the ambiance in that space. Interested to see the answer to this question.