mac_tlc

We are doing the fjords this June, but on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas. Goes to Geiringer, Honninsvag (overnight), Flam, Olden, Alesund and Molde. Should be fun spending overnight above the Arctic Circle !!! Would love to do and E-class but I like this itinerary. mac_tlc

We like being near all of the Retreat areas on E-class and prefer near the forward elevators, so we would not pay more for a sunset SS. Mobility is not what it used to be and the extra walking would detract from our enjoyment. mac_tlc

I have always booked non-refundable. Die to life, we have lost a couple $100 charges, but over our cruising life are far far ahead. I would book more Celebrity cruises if : a) they hadn’t changed their deposit policy to make the entire deposit at risk instead of just $100, and; b) their Retreat prices hadn’t become ridiculous. mac_tlc

As stated numerous times in this thread, it is not the same at all parking garages. Port Everglades is cheaper per day and does not charge 8 days for 7 24-hr periods. Just did a 7-night cruise at PE for $105. mac_tlc

We are not yet 70, so the medical limit is OK for us. We have thought about getting a MedJet policy as an alternative to GeoBlue's evacuation portion. You are much more in control as to if/when/where you can get evacuated home. One year policy runs about $400, with discounts for 2 or 3 year policies. mac_tlc

We just recently bought an annual medical insurance plan from GeoBlue. Our concern was medical and evacuation coverage, not trip cancellation/interruption. Cost was about $250. mac_tlc

To be fair, most if not all of the bookings that created the results were done before many of the changes people have reacted to. Let’s see what the future holds. I believe that the current future prices and changes will impact some bookings —- I know it is impacting ours. mac_tlc

I was on board with her on the Beyond in April. We had a great time !

I guess it’s hard to keep them all straight! 😂😂

I just wanted to start this thread to thank all of the live reviews we have all had the joy of following these past couple weeks! It certainly has helped those of us stuck on land ! Specifically, @Jim_Iain Wonderful report on Apex TA and the preceding cruise. Looking forward to the upcoming voyage too! Great pictures as always and thanks for the menus and food pix! Somehow I have to get to Spike Island! @bnurick Taking us along on the Silhouette TA, solo, in Aqua. Very interesting how you managed a solo TA. I may need to do this one next spring, but not solo😂. @DaKahuna Heading in the opposite direction in yet a different pass of ship, on Millennium through the Panama Canal. I love reading about the differences in ship and food offerings as well. @Lastdance and @mauimary Heading East on what may currently be our favorite ship. Good to see some staff we recognize. So many familiar sites! We will be doing the Western TA on her next fall. @twangster A different ship (Radiance of he Seas) a different line (but related!). As usual some spectacular photography and interesting tidbits on the Panama Canal. Twangster, I still miss periscope !!😞 . @Ken the cruiser A bucket list trip for us for sure. Different hemisphere, at least to start! Some great excursions to a part of world we hope to visit some day. @StartrainDD and @abbydancer Bringing an M class up north for the summer! Being in CT, we often look at these repos that end in NY/NJ. Saves some flying miles for us! Hopefully another future trip for us. I don’t recall ever having so many live reports at one time! I typically hate when all the ships leave FL, but it was fun to follow the journeys of these 9 folks. Thanks for taking us with you and sacrificing some of your vacation time to post here! mac_tlc

Really enjoyed your review. Silo looks like a great ship. We may have to try it for next Spring’s TA! Thanks for taking us along. mac_tlc

Fabulous picture!!!

I think Mariana leaves right after the crossing — unless they extended her. She is from Ukraine—- hope everything’s is OK for her. mac_tlc

Jim, what a fabulous tour of Spike Island. Loved the picture of the ship through th open gate. We have been to St. Colman’s and it was wonderful. If you don’t mind a quick hijack, here are a few of our pictures. My son in law has been the music director at a number of churches, so I always take a couple pictures of the organ for him!

Peter and Mariana are great. They are both going to Ascent. Tell them Mike and Terri from 9154 said hello, and we will see them in January!!!!

Thanks for posting the Luminae menus. I am so looking forward to a couple longer cruises on Beyond next year in order to get to those “second 7” menus. We have had the good fortune of sailing in the Retreat a number of times since the restart, 7 days at a time. It would be nice for them to rotate the menus more often. mac_tlc

It is not on Apex, only Beyond (and eventually Ascent). +1 for Nachi Cocom in Cozumel. mac_tlc

I agree— Wonder and Icon suite prices are absolutely ridiculous. BTW, given my posts on this thread, I got a kick out of your screen name 😂😂. mac_tlc

The fact that a guest has to close up their own bed is ridiculous. Royal has really cheapened the experience lately, too bad the prices have not followed suit. We have two Royal cruises that were booked quite a while ago. After those, none on the books and no burning desire to book more. mac_tlc

I guess we can debate Port intensive, but the Vista cruises I was looking at in Jan/Feb/Mar 2025 out of Miami were. 7 day cruise with 4 stops, 10 day cruise with 6 stops, 12 day cruise with 7 consecutive stops. That fits my definition. True you can stay onboard, but casino is probably closed, don’t know about other venues on O, but on almost every other shop we have sailed the lunch offerings may also be reduced, and possibly fewer activities. This is not to say we won’t give O a go, we probably will in early 2025. I’m just giving you my opinion of what I have found so far. Smaller ships typically tout their ability to go places the larger ships can’t. Usually means more Port days. I also took a look at Seabourn for the h”&$ of it, and their itineraries are not attractive to us. Way too many ports which we have trouble navigating. mac_tlc

Zenith is 3000 points, you have a ways to go, I bet 😜😜. 1000 nights in a verandah 375 nights in a Sky Suite 125 nights in an Iconic Suite all assuming no double point promos, of course. mac_tlc

This is a very interesting thread, so I’ll add our experience. Our first cruise was in 2000 on Carnival. We really enjoyed being on the sea and got hooked. Prior to that we did a lot of Disney World, and still do with the grandkids. We always took our two kids with us, who we 12 and 5 when we started. We loved our Disney cruises, but their prices soon got out of reach for what you were getting —- and my wife likes the casino. We gravitated to Royal for most of the next 20 or so cruises. Their mega ships offered such a wide variety of activities and cabins and there was always something for everyone, and the entertainment was great— especially in the Aquatheatre. Once the kids were in college or moved out, the wife and I discover the Suite Life—- oh boy has that been a costly endeavor. The Crown Lofts and Aquatheatre Suites are fabulous. As we got a bit older, maybe late 50s or so, we gravitated towards Celebrity and love it. If it’s just us it’s Celebrity, if it’s kids and grandkids it’s usually Royal. We really love the Retreat on E-class and have a few more booked— a while ago at reasonable prices. The ships are gorgeous, excellent shows, and plenty of games/trivia. As we look forward, the Celebrity Retreat prices are too steep. So what does one do? Start to look at other suitors. Lately, I have investigated Oceania and MSC Yacht Club. Here is why I haven’t booked either yet: MSC Yacht Club —- I read mostly great reviews —- as long as you stay in YC. Not sure I want to feel that constraint, even though YC is usually 30-40% below an E-class Sky Suite, at least for those I have looked at.May try one out of NY since it’s easy to get to. Oceania — For all intents and purposes, for the comparisons I have made O and X are close to a push. I believe we would only do O on the larger ships. But the biggest concern we have is that O itineraries are port intensive. As life has happened, my wife has more and more difficulty walking any distance. That makes many ports almost inaccessible. Six straight days of ports is not attractive to us. We have looked at a canal transit on Vista that holds some promise and has fewer ports. I find the “hunt” to be more fun that the “kill”, so we will continue investigating. If I could get an X Sky Suite for what we just paid on Beyond a few weeks ago, it would be an easy decision. mac_tlc

Sorry you missed the Azores. When we stopped there we thought is was one of the most beautiful places we have been. mac_tlc

Not everyone can afford the cost or the time to do TA’s, TP’s or European cruises all the time. Flying is a big deal for some. Good to have choices so everyone can do themselves. mac_tlc

When the Solstice came out, it did a stint in the Caribbean year round. We sailed her in April 2010 and August 2010. Then there was a gap until more recently. At least they have committed to have one ship year round. Reflection takes the Equinox's place next summer.