TravelBluebird

Hello @Hogladyrider! Glad you’re coming along for the cruise! I wasn’t a fan of big ships till I took Mardi Gras, so I’ve reconsidered them. Until that ship, I was firmly a small-to-mid size ship person myself. The free cruise on HAL is a complete mystery to me. My vlog isn’t big enough for free offers, so my guess is they were trying to get us back as customers after not returning to them for nearly 10 years.

I did Hibachi on Carnival Mardi Gras recently, and my group of 4 was whooping it up with our Chef, and the rest of the more reserved people at our table I think thought we were a bit insane, but we had so much fun! So, like you, I like an interactie group for Hibachi!

Thanks @princess76021 for coming along! 💕

That is great advice; I will do this! Oh wait, and I just read your other post!! Now I want to do Izumi Hibachi. Worried it may be filled up by the time I get on board, but since I’m traveling solo, maybe I can snag a seat!

Hey @Cherries Jubilee ! It is my understanding that yes, the Terrazza area is open to everyone after 7pm-acccess is through the Terrazza Lounge, not around the outside of the ship. And this Sunday, I board Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas! I’ve got a LIVE going over on the RC board. This should be interesting for all the Carnival cruisers as well, since I’m such a Carnival girl—this is my very first Royal Caribbean cruise, and you can bet I’ll be comparing the two cruise lines! After that towards end of November, I’ll be on the Celebration!

I know. I didn’t mean to hijack the thread, but then. as a small portion eater and UDP purchaser I got over involved.

It’s done! I am checked into my flight and my hotel for tomorrow. TOMORROW! My cruise is practically here! 🎉. I am traveling tomorrow Delta Comfort Plus with a 1 hour 20 minute layover in Atlanta; should be in Port Canaveral, where I’m staying relatively near the port (more on that tomorrow) by mid to late afternoon. Behind for work so I’ll probably be working late tonight, but I’m totally ready for the trip now, other than waking up on time in the morning and driving to the airport!

@OCSC Mike Thank you for the info! I would hate the odd one with only a chair and no couch. Have to have a couch to put my legs out when the RA makes ‘em a little cranky. I thought the slightly bigger amount for the Interior View Room was worth it too—I will do a “room tour” video so people who are curious about that room type can see what it looks like. And yes, I intend to sit on the bench by the window while I’m writing or editing videos.

Same. I’m not sure I like the new tech world and always having my phone on a ship BUT I’m used to it now, and I’m not sure I could go back? Enjoy keeping in touch with my family and also being able to provide immediate content to my readers and viewers.

Yes, the Internet works very well on Venezia, and that is what I used for my vlog. Premium may or may not be needed—my husband bought the non-premium package to surf some web sites and do email for a few days and it was fine. As for phone calls via WiFi, I am not sure—I am going to try on my next cruise (leaves Sunday) to put ON wifi calling and see if that works. BUT my phone is not always connected, sometimes my iPad is instead (1 device per plan). I do not have extensive experience with ATT at Sea; on one ship, it worked OK, on anothr, it didn’t work at all, and in any event that is just for calls; wifi on that would be very slow and very expensive. Hope that helps@

Well, as I’ve been saying, its not a waste for me if I’m enjoying the different flavors. As for money not being an issue, well for me personally (I can’t speak for the OP) would I be staying in an interior if that was the case? I just like value for my money, which I get from enjoying the food.

Thank you @loman! And I think I’ll do that; if a smaller steak or portion is available for anything, that would be nice!

Right, you can’t always tell by looking at someone how much they eat! In my youth I was a dancer and I could eat anyone under a table. Toady, I love land restaurants where you can get a 6 oz steak! DH used to have such a fantastic metabolism that he was like your wife—its failing him now this year and so he’s starting to have to deal with that—I guess I can’t give him the extra left on my plate anymore!

Boardwalk Balcony (with a bit of ocean) sounds like a nice choice! Broken collarbone in smaller room! Ouch, and awkward indeed. Room layout is so important. Really the reason I did a Royal Up for a Neighborhood View interior. It looked to me like the regular interiors had the bed and nightstands straight when you walked in with little room around either side. That looked cramped; the Neighborhood View Interior has a little couch by the “view” window like a little reading room with the layout more like a traditional balcony. For our HAL Antartica trip, unfortunately the room is an ocean view with that layout we don’t like, with the window ABOVE the bed. Not a fan. We are seriously considering “twining” the beds on either side of the window, so we can look out! But hey, that cruise was a free interior for us with a small fee for the ocean view, so I’ll survive! As for the price of the Boardwalk. Balcony being the price you’ve been paying for a Junior Suite UGH its so disheartening isn’t it? We are seeing the same on the cruise lines we take frequently, and its so hard when you are used to Balconies and Suites. Plus I looked at booking ICON because I really wanted to travel on her early for my channel and blogging, and it is SO expensive, I gave up that idea pretty fast!

I’m a foodie but not a huge eater…those things are not mutually exclusive. I got the UDP for my cruise this week. I love to taste many different things, and I also don’t like to “waste” my calories on something if I don’t love it. For land based restaurants, I’ll usually eat 1/2 a main course and take the other half home for another meal. I obviously can’t do that on the ship. So if the portions are huge I’ll definitely be wasting food, but also definitely enjoying it!

Thank you! And I think trying Interiors is a bit of a trend with people I know, because of cruise price inflation of late; we are part of a trend!

Wowza indeed on that price! 😱 And I thought the $205 “on sale” price for my Wonder cruise was outrageous.

This evening I re-packed so that my purse would fit in my carry-on, and made a few last decisions on things I wasn’t sure I wanted to take. Ditched the light rain jacket but took the light weight Japanese umbrella in case it rains while I’m on the ship OR on an excursion, although the forecast continues to improve. If I’m in my bathing suit on a beach, do I really want to put a rain jacket on? No, no I don’t. Also made sure I had my Delta record locator and itinerary—their app has been down a couple times this week, so it will be nice to have something at the airport, just in case. Decided not to pirnt a paper boarding pass for the cruise, since its in the app and haven’t heard of any problems with that. Having to deal with some mixed emotions about visiting St Thomas…spent some time there with my mother when I was a teenager, and she passed early this year. Goodness, that woman could shop!

Thank you for clearing that up! I don’t like to carry lots of cash with me, so that is my preferred method of $$ for slots.

Thanks…that may explain why I couldn’t do it in the app just by adding the second device.

I’m thinking about buying a second device for Zoom (so I can have my iPhone and iPad connected at the same time) BUT when I go into my RC cruise planner online, I can’t find where or how to do it, Does anyone know if it is easy to do once you are on board and how much it might cost?

If anyone is curious what I’ve spent pre-cruise in addition to my room, here is the rundown (also see photos below). All of my prices shown include gratuities where applicable and taxes: Unlimited Dining Plan: $266.66 VOOM Internet One Device: $132.93 Refreshment Package: $231.14 Excursion St. Thomas: $95.99 For at total of $716.72. Ouch. But very happy not to have this all on the bill at the end of the cruise. The only things I’m anticipating on the final bill are gratuities, the occasional alcoholic beverage and perhaps some gambling funds—although is it true that Royal charges a 5% convenience fee for charging casino funds to your room? Carnival doesn’t do that, and that’s like starting in a huge hole for gambling.

That is good to hear! Yes, the phrase “concrete mattress” did come up on a few reviews I read—glad the newer Wonder ones should be more to my liking. I’m like the Princess and the Pea when it comes to a mattress—its amazing I survive so much travel; I can give anyone great detail about a mattress on any cruise ship I’ve been on!

That was TOTALLY me. Until about 5 years ago when my metabolism went on a permanent vacation 😂 If you just lose the weight when you get home, no harm done! The first cruise for me when I didn’t immediately lose the weight was a sad one, but I’ve adjusted now, and with the RA I just can’t risk more weight on my joints (l’m a little fluffy now already).

Thank you! I’m excited to report on the UDP as I intend to make the most of it. Congrats on getting to Diamond! It will be a little weird for me traveling with no status AND not in a suite. I’m a little spoiled. But hubby and I are cruising so much now that we’ve decided to check out interiors and ocean views for some cruises—can’t always be in a suite or Aqua class or something enhanced, especially with the higher prices for cruises these days!