burdcats

We are not a cruising family. This was our fifth cruise, and three out of the five have had bad weather. The two that were good were so good, which is why we continued, but I just don’t think this is the right vacation for us. And this was the first time we’ve actually booked a high-level suite. Usually we are on the fifth floor with a balcony in the middle. Nervous about booking such a high level on the ship, especially towards the front of the ship. It certainly wasn’t ideal, and the movement was greatly exaggerated. I just don’t think I like having to put my food safety in someone else’s hands and hoping for the best. Unfortunately, when gluten is introduced into the diet, not only are the three of us sick for the night, puking and such, but we are sick for about two weeks afterwards as well. it causes a lot of inflammation as well that exacerbates other issues. I think I would rather just go on a vacation and eat at restaurants that are dedicated gluten-free. There are always good options for that when we visit various cities and countries.

he told me that it was my fault that my son got gluten. He said that because we sat at a different table it was our fault. They sat the kids over in the corner, so me and my husband could have a date night at our own table. We cleared it with the head waiter during our breakfast that day they were the ones that seated us at the tables they did. Then he told me that he was going to call the medical area because if my son was sick, we needed to be confined. I told him that just because he fed my son gluten doesn’t mean my son is sick it just means that they fed him gluten , he was just arguing to make himself look good and make me look bad. He also had a very aggressive tone and was very loud. He was also standing a few inches from my face.

That’s good you’re enjoying it.

Location of the Meraviglia right now (looks like it) location of me right now:

He was so odd. Very high strung and absolutely a nightmare to deal with after. He overcompensated so much we didn’t even get food in our mouth before someone else was bothering us. The last day before we broke voyage they straight up served us bread in our room (not GF) and them put croutons on our salads. Non celiac people got to eat, but the three of us with celiac just heated up some noodles we brought with us and didn’t eat anything. Too afraid they would gluten us and we would be puking on the flight home.

Yep. This is why we broke voyage. Trip insurance may cover some of the fees, but if not I don’t really care. We are safe and comfortable.

We got off the ship in Nassau and flew home. Wednesday night was bad and we were watching the storm system that Mera will sail through all the way home. We weren’t interested in continuing so we broke voyage. They didn’t seem surprised, nor did it seem we were the first people to do so. Flight home had some turbulence as we passed over the storm, but overall uneventful and we slept like babies in a bed without a gap in the middle 😂

I asked if we can dock in Florida. The YC concierge said he would be fired if he asked

Looking at flights from Nassau to NY. Did not sign up for this. Can’t imagine two more sea days with weather like this. Movement is so bad it’s difficult to walk and the seas are pretty terrible. I can’t believe after avoiding Bermuda, this captain is going south to Nassau with weather forecasts like this. Gusts of 30 mph forecasted.

It feels awful. Maybe it’s the high deck. The room keeps shaking. This weather is supposed to happen all the way to Nassau. I don’t think I’ll be able to leave the room if so.

This is awful. The ship is moving so much. I don’t think I will ever cruise again. The movement is so bad I’m rolling on the bed. Trying not to panic. This sucks

I loooooove the risotto!! So yummy. I’m not a huge octopus fan, but @tomthefool is!

I posted that before I knew the weather was good there and terrible here. This sucks. I have no idea what they were thinking.

Hilarious. So the weather in Bermuda is lovely and here is Florida and Nassau is thunderstorms tomorrow. But the winds are not too bad (under 20 mph) so there is that.

Forgot to post yesterday. Had a negative experience with a head staff member in the Yacht club, but he fixed it rather quickly and was very professional. He did however make me cry, but I think that was due to the Gala night stress and a misunderstanding on his part. I meant to let him know of an issue and he thought I was angry so was overly defensive. He made up for it this morning being super accommodating and kind. He also apologized. Humanity has emotions, and he seems to be on the better side of humanity. Dinner was lovely. I had a filet mignon. Not my favorite cut to be honest which is probably weird since everyone seems to love it. This one was well seasoned but still just a tad chewy. I loved my risotto. So well cooked. A lot of cruise lines overcook risotto until it becomes like a pooridge. But this was perfectly Al dente. the staff are so kind and welcoming. We have not needed the snacks we brought with us for the Celiac people in our group. They have been lavishing us with muffins, cookies and treats. Yummy. Love this trip. 100% better than Disney

Yes unfortunately. I’ve been so many times. I never get off the ship…. Not my favorite stop.

So the smoke alarm went off in our room this morning. Apparently steam sets it off and the shower is right next to the alarm. They were nice about it. our butler is Shane and he is already amazing. He has been so kind and attentive already. Our room was very clean and he got us the pillows we like as well. This morning coffee was okay. It was not hot. I think because all they have is the metal server carafes like for water. Most cruises serve them in the insulated carafes. Regardless, it tasted good and wasn’t cold. And they gave us an amazing amount of cream. (Real cream, not milk)

I agree. It was a lot of fun. Very much like a show I would watch in town. Not super broadway, but also very entertaining. The performers did very well. Love the acrobatics and the music. Metallica is pretty amazing though.

The weather was poor. Bermuda had a very narrow channel. It requires precision, and wind interrupts that. So now we go to Florida and Nassau.

Yeah, no Bermuda. But hey. Florida……. Wait….. I think we got the short end of the stick 😂

First update! We made it aboard the Maraviglia. It took us maybe 15 minutes to get on board once we got through the parking debacle. We actually got lost on our way to the cruise port and ended up having to go through the tunnel twice. With the cost of tolls I am pretty sure that was a $20 tunnel ride, however the children are excited to say they got lost in New York now. We already had lunch in the topsail lounge. Lunch was absolutely delicious. They handled the gluten allergy with ease and were able to accommodate everybody in our party. The kids enjoyed their meal at a separate table, because our party was too large for all of us to sit together, unless we had a reserve table. So we are going to be doing an early dinner! I had something beef it was delicious and came with truffled, potatoes and carrots and green beans. For a starter I had the asparagus Panna cotta, which was divine. This food so far has been absolutely fantastic. The service already has been top notch and feels remarkable. They were so attentive to us and made sure we had everything we needed. They even brought out some packaged desserts for the kids since they didn’t have any cake. We had a note in our room, indicating that they had received our special accommodation request and would be meeting our needs. They walked through the gluten free accommodations, including cooking all of the food in a dedicated galley. We are very excited. We haven’t met her butler, yet, but I’m sure we will soon. The room is lovely and very clean. I love the colors, very subdued and calming. we have been on Disney and royal Caribbean and carnival before, and the colors were overstimulating. But here they are very nice and relaxed. Everyone has been very pleasant and very kind so far.

That food does not looks good. I can see how that steak would taste just by looking at it. It isn’t cooked well and the sear is poor.

This is amazing news! Sounds like i can just eat all the desserts I bought tomorrow. We got mini pies and rugalechs from Katz bakery in New York. Yummmm

So we are just a couple days until we leave for the cruise. We are driving to Red Hook terminal Monday morning. Since the time changed, we decided to maintain our previous schedule. So instead of sleeping in an hour earlier, we have maintained our wake up time which gets us up at 5:15 am instead of 6:15am. And then in bed by 10pm instead of 11pm so we can leave our house by 6am and the drive is 2.5 hours even in the worst traffic. There’s a cute little gluten free bakery near the port we might hit up if we get there too early. (Which we most likely will) our arrival time said 10:30 am. We got our packing lists printed out and printed our cruise documents. I was packing up my hang up clothes and realized I only have 2 dresses since I generally don’t wear them anymore since the pandemic and moving into a corporate IT role. So I ordered a couple more. Should be here soon. We got gluten free chocolate and desserts for fun that we will pack since I’ve read you can’t get them on board besides a cake. (Vanilla only) and yes, chocolate often has gluten in it. They use it as a stabilizer and also malt for flavor which is made out of barley. Realized we had 3 hang up bags from our Disney cruises…. We dressed in costume every day on Disney. Yes we are those people.

Oh goodness