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gmerick

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Posts posted by gmerick

    ALLURE ON THE MOVE AGAIN

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    There's a mighty big hole in the middle of that boat.  They could lower that crate all the way back down to Starbucks without opening a hatch.  From there, it's just a skylight away from the ice rink.  Open a hatch in the rink, and you're below the waterline.  Maybe they're replacing engine parts.

    Refund?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    25 Jan 2021 cruise cancelled by RCI on 6 Dec 2020.  I canceled all my cruise planner items on 06 Dec, and had refunds within 10 days.  I also canceled by Air2Sea reservation, and had that refund at 6 weeks.  Received my 125% FCC on 19 Jan 2021, along with taxes and tips.  Still waiting on VPP.  Patience is a virtue.

    Packing light for cruise

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Track suit in case it's chilly (esp on the airplane), 2 swimsuits (doubles as underwear) 2 t-shirts, sneakers.  Ask for a hospitality kit on board -- they hand em out to folks who lost their bags.  That covers the morning SSS.  If I need anything else, buy it from a street vendor in port.  What's a Tux?  and who nowdays wears heavy wool?  OK, I travel solo, and don't have to keep a wife happy.  But I have fun!!  

    • Haha 1

    When was your last cruise?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

    Feb 20, 2020, Grandeur of the Seas, 8 night "Bahamas" - Baltimore, Nassau (skipped port), Coco Cay, Port Canaveral, Charleston, Baltimore.

     

    * Boarding was delayed for deep cleaning for "flu-like" symptoms on previous sailing.

    * Departure was delayed due to weather - storm moving up the east coast.  Anchored in Chesapeake Bay overnight thru the following afternoon.

    * Nassau was skipped due to delayed departure.

    * Emergency stop in Port Canaveral for medical evaluation.

    * Beautiful day at Coco Cay.

    * Cool and windy at Port Canaveral.

    * Rain in Charleston.

     

    My last cruise was the Grandeur, debarking on 20 Feb 2020.  Emergency stop in SC, skipped St Croix to make up time.  Piano player in the Schooner got the flu and couldn't entertain the last 2 nights.  Lots of folks with the flu.  Rumors ran rampant about did we get that new virus or what.  Got nothing from RCI explaining what went wrong, but then I didn't expect to either.  Didn't discourage me either, as I still have two cruises on the books, and I'm sure hoping they both sail.

    • Like 1

    Quantum of the seas bear

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Art helps Quantum 'appeal to all the senses'

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    The prominence of Lawrence Argent's 'From Afar' - which distinguishes Quantum even from a distance - symbolizes the importance of art to Royal Caribbean
    Before cruisers can have their drinks mixed by robot bartenders, soar above the ship in the North Star viewing capsule, try the sensation of sky-diving, swing on a circus trapeze or bash around in a bumper car, there is the bear.

    Anne Kalosh | Nov 25, 2014

    Visible from afar as one of the ship's distinguishing characteristics, the 30-foot magenta bear atop Quantum of the Seas inspires wonder and debate. Many love it. Some don't understand why it's there.

     

    According to Travel Weekly, as Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain told one puzzled travel agent during an inaugural cruise: 'The bear is a little bit ridiculous, and certainly unexpected,' then added, 'But isn’t she great?'

     

    The bear's prominence symbolizes the importance of art on the Royal Caribbean fleet.

     

    'Art is an integral part of the vessels. A ship has to appeal to all the senses,' Fain said. Art is also 'one of the more controversial things. Everyone has an opinion.'

     

    Fain calls the eight-ton bear made of 1,340 stainless steel triangles 'Felicia.' The Denver-based British artist Lawrence Argent's stainless-steel sculpture is titled 'From Afar.'

     

    It's part of nearly 3,000 artworks selected for Quantum of the Seas by International Corporate Art (ICArt). The collection explores the theme 'What Makes Life Worth Living.'

     

    With offices in Miami, London and Oslo, ICArt has curated the art of Royal Caribbean ships for more than 20 years.

     

    Responsible for Quantum, ICArt creative director Mariangela Capuzzo also curated the collections for Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, and for Celebrity Cruises' Solstice-class ships.

     

    In keeping with Quantum's strong technology angle, some of the pieces are called 'smart art' because they are technology-based and interactive. 'It was a great opportunity for us to really expand and explore new media and interactive art,' Capuzzo told Seatrade Insider.

     

    Fain singled out a 'smart art' piece—what he refers to as 'the Möbius strip'—as one of his favorites. 'Helix' is the title of the dramatic LED, metal and video installation by Spanish artist Daniel Canogar that crowns the Royal Esplanade.

     

    It has a looping shape that echoes the twisting forms of DNA and the flowing motion of water. The piece explores crawling as a primordial movement everyone experiences as an infant, one's first opportunity to feel a sense of freedom, and a precursor to the journeys that lie ahead.

     

    'Waves of Light' by US artist Soo Sunny Park has an opalescent shimmer and forms the centerpiece of The Via, an enclave of elegant boutiques and eateries. Thousands of iridescent acrylic plexiglass squares affixed to stainless steel grids transmit, reflect and refract light.

     

    And then there are the elevators. Each one has a whimsical animal image—from a gorilla applying red lipstick to an owl with round glasses. They're by a young US artist, Deming Harriman. Ideal for selfies, these likely mean Quantum's lifts will be the most photographed on the high seas. 'People love the elevator pieces,' Capuzzo said.

     

    On Quantum the art is everywhere, and sometimes it's arresting. A young man on a recent cruise said he couldn't tear himself away from an installation with blinking eyes outside the Windjammer Marketplace. 'People stand there a long time,' a crew member confirmed. An adult passenger shared pictures of a kinetic installation near the Schooner Bar on his smartphone.

     

    Art gives personality to the ship, and it creates a narrative, Capuzzo explained. It 'takes the experience to another level' by inspiring a long-lasting visual, conceptual, emotional experience. It is the door to inviting many of our senses into the room.'

     

    The 'What Makes Life Worth Living' theme focuses on intangible qualities like peace, love, joy, gratitude and passion. For two years Capuzzo and her team combed the world for inspiring artists, new and seasoned, whose works comprise the multimillion-dollar collection.

     

    Capuzzo traveled to the Tel Aviv studio of Israeli artist Uri Shapira, who works with sculpture, photography, video and installation, using chemistry to grow dynamic art. 'He's a kind of mad scientist,' she quipped. Shapira grew purple glass crystals for his 'Crystal Dip' in the Vitality at Sea Spa.

     

    Fain noted the art is carefully suited to each space. In the Solarium, for example, one of the ship's most peaceful areas with its pools, lounge chairs and greenery, there is no kinetic art. Spaniard Jaume Plensa's ethereal marble sculpture of an elongated face and softened features that diminish any references to gender, age and race is positioned at the top of cascading pools. Fain called the work and its placement 'outstanding.'

     

    Aesthetically stunning, conceptually interesting and something people of any generation can relate to is how Capuzzo summed up the art, which she called the 'icing on the cake of an amazing ship ... a museum at sea.'

     

    Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.  Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited.

    Log on, Log off

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    The "you don't have permissions" yada, yada, yada, message is because your cookie has expired.  If your browser (like mine) is set for high privacy, or your browser is in incognito mode, you will always get the message.  If you have Click-n-Clean or an Ad Blocker, that will also cause cookies to expire / disappear.  The number of "yada"s you get is dependent on how hungry the cookie monster is.

    Good Deal, Liberty May 2022

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Just booked a cabin for 1 on Brilliance 25-30 Oct 2021 for under $600 total price -- that's including taxes and port fees.  I've been watching the prices, and last night there was an almost 50% price drop.  At $114.66 per day, it's an unbelievably good deal.  I think it is for the studio cabins on deck 4 between the Centrum and Dining room.  It shows up on the RCI web site as "We pick the room".

    • Thanks 1

    Face masks at sea.

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    My objection to masks is that most of them are ineffective.  This is further exacerbated by incorrect wear.  I will be wearing my 3M respirator with an added exhalation filter.  Feel free to wear designer masks however you like.  My mask will protect me, and with the added filter, I will be protecting my fellow shipmates. 

    20201210_114201.jpg

    • Like 1

    Bonaire - Future Cruises

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    I have a week long trip to Bonaire on 15 May.  7 days of unlimited shore dives, 2 boat dives per day, free Nitrox fills.  I took my first SCUBA training 2 years ago at 59, and have logged 50 dives already.  Hate to see you two stop diving at 60.  That's just a number folks, taking up SCUBA was my mid-life crisis hobby.

    • Like 1

    When was your last cruise?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    5 hours ago, gmerick said:

    Grandeur 08-20 Feb 2020 -- Fantastic cruise, but dozens of passengers and crew had "Flu-like Illness" returning to Baltimore.  I'm still holding out hope for 11-night Anthem 26 Jan 2021.

     

    3 hours ago, retiredgram said:

    Got on the Grandeur in Jan. 2020 and disembarked Feb.28. 

    Sadly,No, it is not going to happen.  Just like we are not doing our b2b departing Jan. 29 and Feb. 6 on the Grandeur out of Baltimore. 😭

    Don't harsh my mellow.  Hope springs eternal.

    Non-refundable deposits and canceling...

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Today was final payment day for 26 Jan 2021 Anthem.  I paid.  If the ship sails, I'll be there (I could CWC cancel, but I hope I don't have to.).  If RCI cancels it, I will apply 125% FCC to my already booked (for a fantastic price) 31 Jan 2022 Anthem, but I won't apply it until much later in the year.  I will have enough left over on the FCC to completely cover the deposit  when I book my 2023 long Caribbean.  When that one sails, the world will be different, maybe not normal, but different from now.

    Poll, Booked 2021 winter cruises

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Made final payment for Anthem 26 Jan 2021.  My vote of confidence that science will prevail.  If CDC isn't cooperative, I'll take a 125% FCC and apply it to my Anthem 31 Jan 2022, then next year apply the remaining FCC to a Jan 2023 cruise.  Yes, I know I am potentially giving RCI an interest free four year loan.  That's the commitment behind my vote of confidence.

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