Birdnutty

I saw on the cruise deck plans site that the Gem was scheduled for dry dock in Nov, 2022, which is pretty much over. Does anyone know if this is true? Or scheduled for anytime in the near future?

We’ve been on over 25 NCL cruises, and when the crew is unhappy, the whole ship feels it. The demeanor of the staff can affect my experience. On one trip, the crew, especially in the buffet, was sullen and almost seemed frightened. Made me wonder if they were being berated or otherwise badly treated. It raised the tensions everywhere. On others, the buffet staff were so happy, smiling at everyone and joking with each other, giving me warm fuzzies. I use buffet staff as my guide, as that is where I see the greatest number of crew together at one time. I’ve always enjoyed seeing crew of all levels mingling in public guest areas. They are people, for heavens sake, and not slaves. They work hard and long, and seeing them out and about always made me smile. And if I got a chance , I’d talk to them. I love to see dancers on the dance floor, entertainers, other crew out and about.

We did a ships's tour with Celebrity, and honestly, I would do it again. Yes, the boat was full - probably about 50 people. But I did not feel like we were in a stampede, and when snorkelling there was plenty of room to move around without being beaten up by someone's fins. Shark ray alley was busy - more because there were so many tour operators there. If the private tour operators can get you there between crowds, that would be the best reason to go private. (I almost always go private). I didn't check out the private excursion this time because we had so much OBC to use up. But I will definitely look up Coral Breeze next time.

Any word on how things are now? Such a beautiful place, and so very poor in areas. I hate to see damage to it.

There's nothing listed on Celebrity's website either, as of yet, although that doesn't entirely surprise me.

Our cruise on the Constellation is scheduled to stop in Belize on Tuesday the 8th. We’ve heard nothing about them changing the itinerary yet.

Thank you for writing this detailed review. We're contemplating a cruise on the Rhapsody and can find very little info on the ship. Everyone is too gaga about all the fancy newer huge ships. But the littler ships go to more interesting places. Do you feel there is enough to do for a couple who are active 70+? We love seeing the shows, but these sound like they are sub-par. Love the activities on ships - the dance classes, scavenger hunts, enrichment classes, etc. (Not much for sports deck stuff or gym activities) Do you feel there were ample opportunities for that? Once again, I know how much time a review like that takes. Thank you.

We like the WJ. The MDR food is delicious, but I find the options to be somewhat limited. I LOVE trying lots of different things just because they look good, smell good or I haven't had it before. I can take a tiny portion and decide if I want more. I actually eat a lot more in the MDR, because just sitting and waiting for the first course, of course those wonderful rolls must be consumed. (and no, asking the waiter not to bring them is. not an option). I like to do something while I'm waiting. No waiting at WJ - just get what I want, no more, no less. They also usually have a much better selection of vegetables, which is the mainstay of my diet. For many people, veggies are simply a garnish, and asking for a plate of them in the MDR usually results in the same assortment every time, even if I ask for more variety. And the desserts.... I love taking a tiny piece of many things. I don't bake much at home, so that, especially is a real treat. That all being said, one of my main reasons for liking the WJ is time. I don't like spending 2 hours at dinner, nor do I like making the waiter jump through hoops to get things quickly. I'd rather eat, then get up and go do something. JMHO

Agree with most of the posters here, on all points. Much depends not he ship you're on, also. We've been on 25+ RCCL and about 10 Celebrity. Last one was the Apex. One major difference, the one that affects us the most, is activity. We are early 70's, but find that the demographic for the Celebrity ships is markedly older, at least in activity level. Using Apex as my example - the ship is absolutely knock down gorgeous. Luxury oozes from every pore. We were on a two week B2B, and by the middle of the second week, we got bored. There were only so many aerialists we could watch, and trivia games we could play. They're big on sit-down activities. We participated in every activity that involved movement, like Zumba, exercise classes, scavenger hunt (which we loved) but there were very few of them - at least not enough for us. Going to the gym is something I can do at home, so that's not much a draw. They did have an assortment of activities at times - all scheduled for exactly the same time of day, so unless you could instantly clone yourself, you could only do one. So if you like a lot of (active) things to do, this might affect you. I haven't sailed many of the older Celebrity ships lately, but am specifically referring to the Edge class at this point, if you're sedentary, it's perfect. If more active, you may be disappointed. Of course, this is MHO only, and confined to the few ships we were on. YMMV

This has probably been asked so many times, but my searches revealed nothing. Are there CURRENTLY any shuttles that will take you to Tampa airpot to pick up a car? Rental companies used to do that, but may be different post-covid. Not familiar with Tampa as a port, so it's time for stupid questions!

We were on a western Caribbean itinerary once , and while onboard, after sailaway, they announced we were changing to Eastern Carib. Didn't matter - adjusted attitudes and had a ball. With hurricanes out there (and lots of other surprises), you need to be prepared for anything.

Talk about flaky!! One minute I'm researching a cruise I'm interested in, then leave that window open for a very short while to go to another site to check out something, come back and all the info is gone. Try another search for the same thing, and the search says there aren't any cruises at all on that ship available. Try going in through C&A, and it doesn't recognise me as a real person - my number is invalid ? I'm Diamond Plus. But I open another window and this time it goes through. Anybody else having issues? This is so frustrating. And while I'm asking questions - does anyone know if there is such a thing as a 24 hour hold on a reservation anymore?

One of my bucket list items is to cruise on a ship fully decorated for Christmas. My guess is that the ships all do this around Thanksgiving. Does anyone know for sure?

In my experience, the major shows stay the same for years. They are very expensive (like millions) to create, costume and stage, so they tend to stay on the same ship for quite awhile. The "casual" entertainment, as I call it, like musicians, comedians, and the like are easily transportable from ship to ship and change very frequently. So your major show(s) are likely to be the same as last year, (although the cast may be different) but all the other stuff is likely to be different. I hope this answers your question

The question was not meant to be snarky. I had heard some major horror stories about the waits, the disorganisation, general lack of preparedness, etc. Wasn't taking the point of view as a privileged, lazy "know it all" American who needs to be catered to. As 70 somethings, with some minor mobility issues and bad shoulders, (until I get "fixed"), it matters a great deal if I will have to stand for a long time in very long lines or move all my luggage myself, or get shuffled from one place to the next trying to go through the process. I've never boarded from a small island, and have no idea what to expect, so I was asking a simple question to see if perhaps this is or is not a cruise I can consider. Please remember that not everyone is young, spry and strong, and also try to keep in mind that questions can be from honest folk who are asking advice from those who might have had more experience.

We're considering a cruise on the Rhapsody out of Barbados this winter. Has anyone done this? How is the boarding process? I remember hearing all kinds of horror stories about embarking in other countries, especially during Covid. Have they refined the process to a tolerable level in Barbados? We will not be in a suite or get any special treatment, so Id like to hear wha the average passenger might experience. And while we're on the subject, how was this cruise?