CatLadyFemme

Yep! It’s a memorial for my grandmother and uncle, who both lived in Socorro 💜

Ours were slightly further, but still not ideal.

Yes; we detoured last night (got the announcement around 8:30pm). Went to 100 miles off the coast of Boston and were met by MedEvac (picture from someone else who took it), and then back on route. Update at noon today to find out more.

You’re so welcome! Please let me know if you have any questions about things I can find out for you 💜

Starting Day 3, we woke up and popped over the the conference room (so fancy! Have never been to one on board. Thanks @Yinster for setting that up!) to host the magnet exchange. I usually do this on all the ships I sail, and this sailing was without a doubt the most participatory with almost 50 people bringing magnets (some bringing 6+!)To trade. So lovely to get to meet so many folks. After this, we headed to the Diamond Lounge to hydrate and cool down (me and my POTS were struggling after the warm conference room) and caffeinate (MxCatLady), and we just vibes there for a while before heading to our Chops reservation. Chops has the most comfy seating so far of all the places we’ve eaten, and while they didn’t have the beet salad from their dinner menu available at lunch, I was able to get both the wedge and the steak salad made GF and vegetarian. We were really there for the soup for MxCatLady, who says it is their favorite thing they’ve had on a cruise so far. They also got a steak Caesar salad (tasty), Mac and cheese (also a “Meh” for it, just as in Allure), tater tots (good, but not amazing) and for dessert, key lime meringue pie. However, we wound up taking it to go, as two men (in truth, I cannot call them gentlemen) were sat next to us who were SO rude to their waiter, and then continue to spew homophobic and transphobic things (as well as misogynistic and fatphobic) from their mouth as they are and bad mouthed the waiter. Even with my Loops in, I couldn’t completely block them out, and I was reaching my limit of keeping my moth shut and not starting an educational lesson correcting their vastly incorrect statements…and/or having a full blown panic attack (welcome to being autistic), so MxCatLady took dessert to go and bundled me back up to our room to help me regulate. Honestly, it was the worst interaction I ever had with other passengers in 20+ years of cruising and I am still shaken. They also mentions our group on the book of fac€s, so now I don’t know who I can trust in that group, and am hesitant to connect with new people. You never know who you are sitting next to. Perhaps don’t be an jerk? If I had been by myself, this could have ruined the whole cruise. Please be kind to your fellow cruisers. We are literally all in this together.

We did sail away on our own balcony, but there was a diamond and up sail away party in the Solarium that we missed. really a beautiful day to take pictures, and we appreciated the 360 at the Statue of Liberty. I don’t love the way patriotism has been adulterated to be so exclusionary, but I still felt something in my heart seeing lady Liberty, almost 80 years after my grandfather, grandmother, and father came through Ellis Island from a refugee camp in Sweden after being liberated from concentration camps in Poland. Then we headed to our early MDR slot. We figured we would not be there every night, but nice to connect with our sever team, given my GF/veggie needs. Our server Jeet and assistant Andy were great (he even brought me GF bread, though is was cold and tasteless/crumbly), but am not sure yet about the head waiter. After telling him my needs, he recommended prime ribs escargot, and key lime pie…none of which fit my needs. Luckily, I am pretty good at this by now, and so ended with the tomato soup without croutons (this was tasty on the Freedom, but here is tasted like warm tomato juice 😬), a veggie curry, and ice cream with a shot of espresso for dessert (affogato). MxCatLady went with spinach artichoke dip (“meh”), prime rib (“quite yummy!”), and key lime pie (one of their fav items). We had our Diamond drinks; I did a virgin blueberry mojito (pretty good, but too much blueberry I think), and had MxCatLady try a Negroni (which is MrCatLady’s favorite drink),…which they oddly served in a martini glass and with a chunk of orange instead of a twist. It was fine but not great, which I think sums up our MDR experience so far. We are going to skip them day 2, but our head waiter gave me his card so I can call tonight and pre order for day 3. For this cruise, I had a cute banner made for us that we can use in the future as well. I thought we were being extra but holy cow! So many people really did up their doors! It’s been fun to walk down hallways and see what folks have come up with. Will post my favs later, but here is ours. We explored the ship a bit more. Very similar to Quantum, obviously, but with some different art and tech. Stopped by Wonderland to prepare them for my food needs for Day 2 dinner. We also found our first duck! Need to go hide more of ours. Then we went to late dinner/snack at 9pm at Izumi. They now give half rolls instead of full rolls as part of the Prix Fix menu…which worked perfectly for us as a later snack, but might have been more frustrating if we were using it as a full meal. We got Edamame, and then MxCatLady got miso soup in a huge bowl, a California roll with real crab, and then got their Futomaki roll to go. I got vegan GF fried rice to start, an avocado roll, and a GF veggie roll, and then we both shared Mochi for dessert. After this, we dropped by the Patisserie to grab hot chocolate and some water bottles, and then headed back to our cabin. Our cabin attendant had maybe been there because our ice was, But the evening lights were not on, the curtain was open, and the bed still mussed , so not sure what is included in evening service now. We spent some time listening to the waves, then popped on an audiobook, and slept beautifully as the ship, which was now rocking daily heavily (compared to a Caribbean or Alaska itinerary) lulled us to sleep.

Once you get on the ship, you can do it. You just book them as you’d like, and then when you check in at the restaurant, you tell them you have UDP.

Boarding day! Last night, I set up a Lyft XL to pick us up from the hotel between 9:30am and 9:40am. We called the wonderful Carmelo to come grab our bags, checked out, and then hopped in the fancy schmancy Escalade (with tip, about half the price of a cab) to take us to the port. It’s really nice to be somewhere with only one cruise ship, compared to how hectic say Miami or Ft Lauderdale is. We got dropped off at 10:14, and were on board by 10:36. Checked into our muster station near Vintages (cannot overstate enough how much better this is than the old mister drills!), and went to Cafe270. For MxCatLady, they tried the famous Kummelweck sandwich for the first time, with a crème brûlée, while I was delighted to see they had a GF tomato/provolone/arugula pre made, along with a GF no sugar cake. MxCatLady reported the sandwich (they had the first one of the whole cruise!) was delicious though perhaps overdone on horseradish and the crème brûlée was ok but oddly textured. My bread fell apart before it made it to my mouth (so dry and crumbly), but the GF/SF cake wasn’t bad. After relaxing in 270 a bit (along with air filter and our ARANET CO2 meter) we went to the MDR to see our table. Eventually, went ended up heading to Jamie’s for lunch for our first UDP meal. Really excellent food; I had the burrata, a chef created GF pasta, and the eggplant parmigiana, while MxCatLady had the fancy garlic bread, the truffle arianchini, also the burrata (not GF), the garlic prawns (at our server’s insistence), and a small order of the truffle pasta. They said everything was super tasty, there was just too much of it 😂 During lunch, we booked some of our other food stops for the trip using the app, rather than standing on a long line at one of the restaurants to do so. I don’t know if I’d get the UDP again on this class; it made a lot more sense to us on Allure, where we could eat at Sabor’s and 150 Central Park in addition to Chops (where I cannot really eat), an Italian place, and Izumi, but we found it for SUCH a good deal on this trip that we decided to go for it. Staterooms were open by 1pmish, so we explored a little, and then headed up to our room. Luggage was already delivered, albeit much further down the hall; too far for me to do on my own. Now we are unpacking and taking a little siesta before sail away.

Catching up! We made it to NYC via Newark yesterday. I have to say, that was the most efficient way I have ever gotten from a gate, into a wheelchair, to the baggage claim, grabbed our luggage, and out to the curb for a Lyft maybe ever. We took a Lyft as it was significantly cheaper than a cab, even with springing for the XL to make sure it could fit all of our bags. For our one night, we stayed at the Artezen Hotel in Manhattan, near ish to the World Trade Center. MrCatLady has never been to either NJ or NY, and of the two, I thought it would be nice for them to get to have a little of the real NYC experience. We are also both foodies, so spent our rainy day thankful that we had made it in safely (some members of our cruise group from the site of faces had not! Lots of canceled flights) and trying a variety of different foods. Since we were at the hotel just after 1pm (and so thankful they let us into our room two hours early), we did a late bagel brunch, and they even had a GF bagel, and prepared it separately, so I could eat it and my truffle cream cheese safely. MxCatLady had a garlic bagel sandwich and a latke (though kindly said mine are much better 😂). My mother had sent both of my partners NYC bagels before, so not totally new, but definitely better fresh. They wandered out for a slice or two of NY pizza later, and were quite pleased. For a late lunch/dinner, I found Buddha Bodahi, an all kosher all vegetarian dim sum restaurant that also had tons of GF options. I ordered a TON and still had many more things I didn’t get to order. Dumplings! Rice rolls! Pumpkin soup! Pepper mock chicken! Tapioca balls! Sesame balls! Everything I ate was so good. I was in total heaven. Cannot recommend highly enough. For their dinner, MxCatLady got hand pulled pan fried chicken fat noodles, and was over the moon about how good they were. Favorite dish of the day for them. Then we just opened the window to listen to the rain, including a few huge, echoing booms of thunder, rested a bit, and packed our boarding bags.

We are at the airport, finally! MrCatLady was kind enough to wake up early and drop me and MxCatLady off. Usually I am packed a week or so in advance, but due to all the chaos, we were finishing packing yesterday😬…and then realized that one of the suitcases I had inherited from my mother had a broken wheel, but not until we had fully packed it 🤦🏻‍♀️. It has been pouring rain here, and I have heard reports that NYC is the same. Hoping for a smooth flight and no delays. McCatLady has never been to NJ or NY, so excited to get some some pizza, bagels, and Chinese. I am looking forward to getting some GF veggie food delivered to the hotel as well.

Will do!

I forgot! We are only spending one full day in London, as MxCatLady only has certain time they can be off from work...but we are both having GF vegetarian afternoon tea on a red double decker bus AND going to the cheese conveyor belt place that MrCatLady and I went to last year (though not for all you can eat night, sadly). We cannot wait!

Hello - it's time for another live review! I'm CatLadyFemme, a professor at the University of Michigan, a cat lady , and a fairly experienced cruiser. I am disabled/live with chronic pain, and so walk with a cane, plus I am a vegetarian and have Celiac disease, so am super duper gluten free. My mother just passed away unexpectedly 4 weeks ago, so my whole world has been a bit discombobulated. We've taken in her cats (so my household now has 5, and the integration is NOT going well! Plus one of my partners, MrCatLady, and I also have another cat and a very sassy blue nose pittie). Our grad students are on strrike, and MxCatLady is recovering from their third round of COVID, so it's been quite a month. I absolutely cannot wait to get on board, and feel like I can finally breathe again...I hope. In addition to things like photos of the rooms, pools, etc., I will post about finding vegetarian GF food (we've had some AMAZING luck like with Belic on the Explorer, and some not great experiences where I ate iceberg salad and berries for days), and access/ADA issues. Oh! I'm also queer and nonbinary (as is MxCatLady), so there may be some stuff about the LGBTQ meet up, etc. I like to stay in the shade/find a nice lounge and read, or enjoy the hot tubs. Yes, even when it is fairly chilly (see my May 2023 review of Voyager in the Baltic). One of my partners, MxCatLady, will be joining me. They run a Starbucks on land (sadly, cannot use their discounts aboard), and this is their first time heading to Europe and third time on a cruise. We both will likely frequent the shows depending on how crowded they are, napkin folding/towel animals, observation decks, and the pools. Any tips for a first time transatlantic cruiser to make sure we get the best experience? I absolutely adore British murder mysteries, and so the idea of cruising to England is a long time goal of mine. We'll be dressing up for dinner, and have the UDP, though also may do a fair amount of MDR, given the few restaurants on board. We'll be staying in an accessible ocean view balcony. So stoked to be able to sit on the balcony with a soft blanket, listen to audio books, and enjoy the water. We have early seating at dinner, like seeing most of the shows (though may skip if crowded), and are super excited to travel together overseas for the first time. We both have the 4 free Diamond drinks - I cannot drink alochol, and they don't drink much, so mostly mocktails for us! We also have internet packages. Currently scheduled to do a tour of the lake in the Azores, and no plans for either France stop other than to find a cheese shop, a cafe, and a place to stroll. This will be close to our one year anniversary of our commitment ceremony last summer (see below!) I should note I am immuno compromised, and despite isolating for two years, I finally got COVID in January 2023 (MxCatLady just got their 3rd related infection earlier this month). We are both dealing with some pretty seriously long COVID syndrome. We also know getting it more than once can be additive, so at my HCP’s advice, we will be masking indoors or in crowded outdoor spaces. I also got my 6th shot (which is considered my booster) end of November and there is no updates on new boosters, so am a little anxious. Please don’t argue COVID stuff with me, and I won’t spam you with peer reviewed studies, and we can all have a nice time. Our trip starts Sunday April 30th, flying into Newark, figuring out how to get a cab to our Manhattan hotel, and perhaps walking around the city a little - it is MxCatLady's first time in NYC! Then we'll find a vegetarian/GF friendly place for dinner to deliver and head to the port on Monday for our 10am boarding time! Let me know if you have any specific questions or requests; otherwise, I'll try to do regular updates (assuming the internet isn't wonky), post occasional pictures, and hopefully induce a small amount of envy. Oh! And if you see us on board, come say hi 💜 68ECC770-C3B2-4C9B-ACC4-0CC46795E370.heic

We were on it last spring, and they were fantastic. We also had the UDP - I am Celiac as well as vegetarian, and ate SO much food. You'll be great! Here is my review if you'd like to see what I ate:

Oh this is SO fantastic. Thank you for the update! I was just on Freedom in early March and they didn't have a GF section in the WJ, so good to know.

They are not gluten free and are not safe for anyone who is celiac/Sprue, or has a gluten sensitivity or allergy. If people are choosing a low gluten diet, that is fine for them, but let's please be preicse in language. :)

Yes! This is a Kiyonna dress (as is the black/ivory polka dot dress). They are a big spendy for me new, but they often have $60 dress sales on Black Friday and these two I got used on Poshmark. I am bringing a ballgown of theirs ($60 at beginning of the pandemic) on our TA. I wore it when getting an award at a conference last year and felt so swanky. Their dresses are well designed for fat women and femmes, rather than just upsizing straight sizes.

I have so many! If I need things that are accessible, what are must see/do items (especially interested in not actual touristy places but just cool and fun and meaningful local things)? Any fun day trips or overnight trips from there that I should make sure to do? Any restaurant suggestions that are GF and veg friendly? And you may not know, but anything queer worth doing/going to? oh! Any what is the weather like in July? I.e, what outfits should I bring or avoid? Assuming summer dresses will be ok?

I didn’t see any, but I also was in my room much of the day, so usually only got service in the evening when I was at dinner.

Oh my gosh! How fun. Would you be willing to scope out the GF situation for me? I’d love to know if 1) they have the GF Udi’s cookies at the Cafe (or anywhere else!) and 2) if there is a GF section it clearly labeled GF items at WJ, and what they are. No worries if you get swept up, but if you happened to have the time, it will help inform my packing. 😂

SUCH a good question. I don’t think I would on purpose. Maaaybe again in this situation where it would be use it or lose it? I definitely will not be doing another shorter cruise though. I didn’t even unpack my luggage or blow up my mattress cover. With how early disembarkation is, and how late you get your luggage and settled in, it’s really only a 3 day cruise. I take that back; I might do it for somewhere cool, like if they did a shorter leaf peeping cruise, or the PNW. But given that I don’t love heat or sun, and this cruise was a ton of kids and drunk people (NOT drunk kids at least! Wait until the next few weeks of spring breakers!), and then all the drama getting home? It was worth it for the mental health benefits but physically will be a recovering for a week or two. MxCatLady just asked to confirm I am still ok going on our May cruise and I am still stoked (though we will be bringing a small roller suitcase of food with on it). Honestly, traveling *with* someone who knows me and can support access needs makes all the difference. Even just in being able to pee in the airport without having to carry all my stuff with me and lose my seat each time. I am actually keynoting two conferences this summer; one in San Francisco and one in Glasgow. Neither partner is able to take that time off. I’m trying to convince a friend to go with me on each one, realizing how exhausting the travel part is when totally alone. So this was a good trial run for those two!

Thank you!! Octopus (and cephalopods generally) are some of my favorite animals 💜

Also thank you!!

On this, the two nights people dressed for were formal and Caribbean. Longer cruises sometimes have a white night (which I never dress for as I don’t really do white) and/or a 70s night.

Oy! So sorry to have disappeared. I finally got home last night at 3am. It’s been a rough few days. But let’s finish the cruise! The last night was fairly chill. It was Italian night in the MDR. My next door friends really like the aranchini (Italian rice balls) but hated the sauce they were served with. They also all sent back their minestrone, saying it had a sauce like consistency. That said, big fans of the lasagna, chicken parmigiana, and even the sole with a lemon butter sauce. I had the polenta fritters (possibly the best thing I ate on the cruise?), another boring iceberg salad, the mushroom risotto (third and best one of the cruise but still medicore…and hardly any mushrooms, which were just button ones dumped on top. This was on the old menu and used to be much better), and some random GF veg dessert they made me. I think it was the vegan crepe brûlée from the old vegan menu. It was quite good. Then we said our goodbyes to everyone, handed out tips, and headed to pack. After this, I made my way to my second dinner like a hobbit, up at Giovanni’s. This is the newer, hipper Giovanni’s. To be honest, much less of their menu is veg friendly, but we made it work. The truffle burrata was delicious, though I preferred the heirloom tomatoes I have had at other Giovanni’s (and slices over wedges!). They found some GF slices of bread that were also definitely Udi’s, but tastier than the MDR and served that with their sauce and olives in lieu of yummy garlic knots. Again, other ships have baked their own GF rolls, so while this was nice, whole wheat bread and tomato sauce left something to be desired. Barry was my waiter and was amazing; he even noticed I didn’t love my mojito (it was waaaay to sweet) and made me a cocktail of his own that tasted like a more mature Shirley Temple. I got the 7 cheese pizza but GF (very tasty, a little too gorgonzola forward, which I can’t believe I am saying!), and the best veggie pomadoro I’ve had. I finished the pasta and took most of the pizza back to my room. All their desserts had gluten, gelatin, or both, so they made my berries and whipped cream as I had asked. However, it wasn’t fresh whipped cream; definitely frozen whip topping, and so I ate the berries out around it, as I hate the sensation whipped topping leaves in my tongue. All in all, very good meal and I would eat there again. I just wish they had not moved to more uncomfortable chairs! After this, I got my bag into the hallway, sat in the balcony for a while, ate some of my pizza, and went to sleep. Disembarkation in the morning was SO smooth. I went down to Boleros for a wheelchair around 8:30 and was getting a taxi by 8:50. It was lovely, especially compared to my embarkation. I took a cab. Do not do this. It was $80 to get me to a hotel by the airport. Lyft or Uber would have been half of that. I rented a day room at Aloft of a few hours so I could rest before my evening flight. I had hoped to make it to the pool but was just exhausted. I did get food from BarTaco (everything but the desserts are GF!) and that was very tasty. Then the comedy of errors began. I got through security at MIA and was waiting. Plane got delayed. Then we boarded. I knew MI was having a snow storm, so looked into hotels near the Detroit airport to as not to have my partner drive in the ice to pick me up. Delayed more on the plane, but I got upgraded to Comfort+ (texted my partners that this did not bode well, as my luck is not usually lucky). Then in the jetway, more delays…and we were finally up in the air. But about an hour in, they had to turn the plane back to Miami because they closed the airport in Detroit. Ok…we then had to circle Miami for 90 min to burn off fuel in order to land. Then we disembarked and had to wait to figure things out. They sent us away for the night, so I last minute got a $300 hotel room 😬 MrCatLady got me GF crepes from Stephanie’s Crepes and MxCatLady sent me some groceries including electrolyte water, cheese, and a cat shaped popsicle! Originally, they rescheduled the flight to 8:25am. I woke up at 6am to get ready for this, and saw it was delayed to 7:50pm, so went back to sleep (glad I screenshoted this or would have thought I dreamt it!). When I woke up at 10:30am, I found they had un-delayed the flight and moved it to 11am. So I missed it. While I figured things out, I paused another $350 to stay at the hotel. All flights were booked out till Tuesday, due to people coming back from spring break and the ice storm. Thank goodness for my D&D crew. One of them, the mom friend, spent hours on the phone with delta, and eventually, got me on the 6:30pm flight last night…out of Ft Lauderdale. So at 4pm, I check out of my hotel having spent only a few hours of my $350 night, and took a $50 Lyft to FLL. Get through security and am at the gate by 4:45…just in time to find out our flight is now delayed till 10:30pm. Spent several rough hours in the airport, in my mask, kids screaming (understandably, as I wanted to also! So thankful for my Loops earrings), and then it got delayed again, but this time, only to 11ish. We finally took off around 11:30 (and I had a whole row free!), and we landed at 2am in Detroit. Home now with partner and cats who are happy to see me. Thanks all for following along! Will answer any questions, and then I hope to “see” many of you on my May 1st TA on Anthem.