Aquahound

CDs aren't just what you see on stage. If you enjoyed the entertainment, events, and activities on your cruise, then the CD did have an impact.

Sorry, I do not remember the cabin number, but I was in a standard balcony room.

That's from Koningsdam.

Maybe some are configured a little different. This is how mine was.

I seem to remember it being the other half...the side that doesn't open...that was too close to the toilet.

Vision Class ships (Enchantment) are excellent for scenery. In fact, I'd say Vision and Radiance Class are the 2 best classes of RCI ships for that purpose.

Both lines are great for kids and teens. What specific ships are you considering?

Yes! Me too. That was the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread. Otherwise, like someone else said, I always seem to be drawn toward that baked chicken. 🙂

That's contrary to what was being said on board but regardless, doesn't change the fact COVID infected numerous passengers on my sailing.

From the Quantum 5/16 cruise?

DW and I came home with COVID from our last cruise and throughout our sickness, the 15min antigen tests continued to test negative. Meanwhile, PCR tests were positive. So while I don't disagree with testing, I do disagree with the notion that it's fool proof. BTW, several were infected on our sailing. One had to be taken away by ambulance in Victoria.

Ovation's North Star is a problem this year. I was on the shakedown cruise in April and people got stuck in it. They were having a lot of problems and ended up having to shut it down completely on that cruise.

I felt like I got stuck in a rut of cruise line loyalty for a long time. Branching out and trying other lines was the best cruise decision I ever made, imo. I highly recommend spreading your wings. Prolonged loyalty to one line tends to breed irrational viewpoints; some can be recognized easily on these boards. Don't be "that guy."

No, you do not need to show ArriveCan in Victoria. It takes a few minutes to walk from the ship to the busses. You walk right through that small customs building. No stopping to talk to any officials.

We do not know what the situation is going to be in Feb so it is very hard to point you in a direction regarding safe from COVID. For example, advice such as requiring 100% vax is extremely premature to say now for a cruise that is 8 months away. Heck, it's beginning to look like that doesn't even matter now considering how many vaxxed are returning sick from cruises. This may seem miniscule, but I recommend looking for a line that does not provide self-serve tongs in the buffet. It's hard to say at this point how many lines will make that a permanent practice.

I've been on Ovation twice in the past year. The blackout curtains work great and there was no need to clip them together.

Both are excellent experiences so I would ask what your preferences are for the cruise line itself. If you're looking for a very active ship with lots to do, pick NCL. If you're looking for something more refined with overall better service, pick Celebrity. If you pick Celebrity, go Retreat. Aquaclass is just an upgraded balcony cabin with some extra small perks.

If there is an overall biased against Carnival on a general board; that's an indictment on Carnival, not the people posting.

I live on the west coast now and I cannot wait to get back to Florida. There are so many great reasons to live there beyond the multitude of cruise choices; not the least of which is friendly people who actually know how to communicate with one another instead of always judging. That said, despite the multitude of cruises, the itineraries do get old after a while. How many times can one stomach going to Nassau? Of course, being near so many major airports also makes transatlantic flights easier too. Good luck with wherever you decide to hang your hat. 🙂

x3. And if folks don't believe a Captain and a Chief Engineer, perhaps adding a USCG voice on top will help. I'm sure "locked up" was just a metaphor meaning confined to their room. They are not literally locked up.

They had the dividers all open for balcony cleaning when I boarded Ovation in April.

I don't understand the question. Are you asking which would be better to be upgraded to or which would be better to outright book? Either way, there's no way I can vote if I don't know your cruising preferences. Those are 3 different lines. And I'm not sure what you mean by "the other."

BTW, DW and I tested again. Both antigen and PCR tests came back positive. So add 2 more + cases from this cruise.

I'm not resistant to the facts. I just didn't want anything to do with that FB group when I saw the cruising ducks in there. What an idiotic thing to do right now.

On May 16, the line was the worst I have ever seen at this terminal. We showed up at our arrival time (12pm) and the line stretched out the building and all the way down the covered ports for catching busses. By the time we were approaching the building, I looked back and saw the line wrapped all the way back to the building and then was making its way down again. It looked like a long line for a roller coaster. ArriveCan wasn't the problem. The problem was only 3 people were present to check everyone's paperwork before entering the building. It takes time to show boarding passes, vaccine cards, ArriveCan, and negative test results for each person while standing there. Then there was a small line inside for health screening, then upstairs where someone else checks your stuff again and checks you in. FWIW, no one checked our arrival time. I guess it was too much of a madhouse for them to care. The only other time I remember a check-in this long and chaotic was in San Juan. It took a little over an hour to get aboard.