Miss Vickie

11 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

If you notice at the right of the helipad is a note "0,5 t", which means the helipad is designed for a weight of 1100 lbs (metric ton).  That looks like a Eurocopter UH-72 (can't be sure), which has an empty weight (no fuel or crew) of 3900 lbs.  This means the pilot is seriously overloading the deck, or is practicing "light on the skids" (creating enough lift with the rotor to not quite lift the helicopter off the deck).  With any ship's motion at all, especially on the bow you would get a lot of pitching, this could cause the helo to come off the deck as the ship's bow goes down, and slam back into the deck as the bow comes up, before the pilot can react.  Note the nearly flat calm seas in the photo.  Only very small, "light class" helicopters have an operating weight under 1/2 a ton.

I wonder what the helipad on the radiance class ships (which are the same hull as Celebrity M class) will handle. I have actually never noted anything painted on the deck other than the circle and the H. My recollection is that the helicopter from Guadeloupe actually shut down its rotors. But I think it was probably smaller than the medevac helicopters used by the three major medical systems in our area. I work for one of them, and our house gets overflown frequently, so I’m very familiar with them.

On 5/7/2024 at 7:13 AM, chengkp75 said:

The decision as to whether to use a helicopter for evacuation or divert the ship is made by committee.  That committee consists of the ship's doctor (what condition is the patient in), the ship's Captain (what is the risk to the ship, crew, and passengers, the helicopter flight crew (are weather conditions or distance okay to make it safe), and the USCG flight surgeon (is there more risk in winching the patient off the ship and spending an hour or two with sub-optimal life support (this is a helicopter, not an ER), or is the patient stable enough with the life support systems on the ship to make the diversion).  All of these decisions put together are what determine whether a helicopter evac is warranted.

 

If the distances that the helicopter has to cover are great, USCG will deploy a fixed wing aircraft to supervise the scene, in case things go sideways, they can deploy lifesaving equipment.

 

The helipads on cruise ships are almost never used for landing, and being on the bow, they are difficult to use for winching operations.  The ship must continue to move, in order to remain as stable as possible, and so the helicopter is forced to make a "moving hover" (staying stationary over a moving spot) with the front of the ship in his face while backing away.  For this reason, most winching is done from an upper deck, around midships.  This presents problems as well, as the thermal updrafts from the ship's exhausts are near, and can cause problems with hovering.

 

No commercial helicopter (certainly not a MediAir type) company trains for hovering over a moving ship, nor winching exercises, nor even landing on a moving ship (ship would still need to be moving to maintain a stable helipad), and no Captain would think of allowing a commercial helicopter anywhere near his ship.  Some countries do outsource their SAR responsibilities to private companies (Holland for one, I think), but these are typically ex-military pilots who do train for these operations.

I always appreciate your posts! While I do know that winching the patient up to a hovering helicopter is the preferred method of evacuation by helicopter (and actually had a friend who had to be evacuated from Reflection that way to the Canary Islands), we were on board Serenade of the Seas many years ago when she had to turn sail towards Guadeloupe so a coast guard helicopter from there could meet the ship. They landed on the pad on the bow. We could see the operation from the observation lounge overlooking the bow. It was a painstaking,protracted process. 

56 minutes ago, captainannoyed! said:

Rita’s wasn’t originally on Radiance class ships.  I’m not sure when they were added.  It was (is still on Brilliance) just outside the Windjammer on the port side.  Location of Rita’s is / was problematic, because access is more difficult when the Windjammer is closed.  Actually, I’m not certain you even can get there when the Windjammer is closed.  I believe there is access adjacent to the sports court and water slide to Izumi.  Then, one could use the stairs next to Izumi to go back to deck 10 to the outside aft Windjammer seating and thus access to Rita’s. You'd have to really want to get there.

 

As others have said, the loss isn’t important.  I’m not sure if Royal really even thought out what they wanted Rita’s to be.  It always felt like a half thought out concept, and just tacked on like a Lego block.  If it was meant to be a Mexican themed bar, shouldn’t it have had chips and salsa?  Who knows, maybe it did?  I’d never know because I never saw a Rita’s open!  Ultimately, the space is better used for seating - though a bar in this spot is a good idea.

We srarted sailing Radiance class ships in 2002, and this past February was our 18th Radiance class sailing, all out of San Juan. It’s our favorite class of Royal ships. We stilll miss the Seaview cafe, although we did enjoy Izumi this time. It was better than I remember it being in 2018. 

We sailed Jewel in February 2018 and returned to her in February 2024. Rita’sCantina must not have been on there for long, because it wasn’t there in 2018 and it wasn’t there in February.

We’ve done that spin by the Pitons a number of times, but they can no longer do it. There was a guy who used to come up to the ship in a small boat and beg from people on the balconies. The government was afraid he’d get squashed, so no more pitons spin.

We’ve sailed Radiance class ships 18 times, including 8 times on Jewel and have never seen that Solarium roof open. Maybe when we’re on Jewel in February…

I’m glad to hear they were able to work it out. I hope they have a great trip!

It’s well past the final payment date for January cruises. If you don’t have a booking number and haven’t made payment you do not have a cruise held or booked. If you want to cruise in January you’d best contact another TA and book and pay for it.

Years ago I was talking to a firefighter in turnout gear outside the medical center where I work, as he was waiting for his colleagues to come back to the truck. They had been called out for a microwave popcorn incident, and said a large percentage of the calls they received were for fires started by microwave popcorn.

24 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Still no reason to call out a person posting with a 3 letter abbreviation. Had no idea that we were being so official here. But just so you know, we're sailing on the Symphony next month. 😁 

I was calling out you, for saying the guy who used the 2 letter abbreviations was making them up. Enjoy your cruise!

16 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Those sound like your ship initial choices. We're on the SOS next month. 

No, those are Royal’s official abbreviations- each ship has an official 2 letter abbreviation (Serenade is SR, Jewel is JW, etc.). SOS could be Serenade or Symphony, and none of the 3 letter abbreviations you see a lot of are official.

On 9/9/2023 at 12:36 PM, Chips401 said:

Just wondering if I can get some feedback on Alaska Cruise Tours.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of discussion on the topic.  We are thinking about taking one next spring, leading through the Yukon from Skagway and spending three nights at Denali. Anyone with feedback?  Suggestions?  Comments on Whitehorse and Dawson City?

 

I am also wondering where I can see a price for the meal plan offered on the land portion of the trip?  Feedback?  Is it worth it?

We loved this itinerary, although ours had only 2nights in Denali. It’s a really unique itinerary - no other line offers anything similar. We enjoyed all the stops and found interesting things everywhere. We did not get the meal plan, preferring to find our own places to eat. 

1 hour ago, jsf said:

We used to sail out of San Juan years ago and they would sail out at 11 PM, one time we got to watch a fireworks display leaving the harbor. One time shortly after 9/11 we had flight delays and they held the ship until after midnight.

I remember many 11 pm sailings! We’ve had 2 held, both til after 1 am. The first time, 23 years ago, was on our very first cruise, because a winter storm on the mainland delayed a lot of flights inbound to SJU, and the first port was Aruba, with a sea day before that, so they held the ship. The second time Radiance needed a gas turbine replaced, which required extra time for installation and testing. Both sail always were so late the city and fort lights were all dark by the time we left. 

Boarding usually starts around 11 or 11:30 am. Cruises leave port later to accommodate later flights arrivals. We always go down at least a day early, though, as much to protect against flight problems as to enjoy some time in Old San Juan. The sail out past the lit city walls and El Morro is worth making sure you’re on deck for (starboard side).

On 7/16/2023 at 10:59 PM, cruisemom42 said:

Egypt has an arrangement with cruise ships. What they have is basically a "visa of convenience" -- these are granted more or less "en masse" for arriving passengers on cruise ships. The ship obtains the visas on your behalf. There will likely be a small charge on your shipboard account for this convenience.

 

This is always a very confusing issue because shoreside personnel have no idea of these individual circumstances. But I've traveled to Egypt on three different cruise lines and it has been handled exactly the same way on all three (except that some ships charge passengers back more than others....🙄).

 

Whether you obtain the online visa or not, you won't be able to get off the ship until the ship is cleared. Getting the visa in advance seems to just confuse them and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't go ahead and obtain another one for you onboard ship anyway.

 

 

Were any of your Egypt visits on HAL? We’re booked on a 2024 Med cruise with them that spends 2 days in Egypt. I’ve called HAL twice about the visa and both times they told me we’d have to get it on our own.

2 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Celebrity S class really are beauties.  My only grip is the centrums rather than a Royal Promanade.  It just makes the interior chopped up with no grand space like the Promenades get you.  Having said that, LOVE so many other things on those ships.  Sunset bar, the lawn area, the gorgeous dining room, Sushi on 5, the indoor pool and hot tubs, the outside focus and connection to the sea, I could go on and on...

I prefer the centrum to the Royal Promenade. We’ve been on only one ship with the promenade, Adventure, years ago. I felt like once I boarded the ship the only place I could see the sea from was my balcony. It was way too interior-oriented. And at the time they allowed smoking in some of the venues in the promenade, meaning the whole thing smelled of smoke. I don’t know if that has changed.

On 6/13/2023 at 10:50 PM, Charles4515 said:

They did that with the M class and Radiance Class. Those are the same hull.  

They are on the same hull, but built out differently. The Celebrity S class ships are actually very similar in layout to the Radiance class ships. We enjoy both the M class and the S class. We stick to Radiance class on Royal, did Adventure once, and have no desire to do anything bigger. We also sail HAL, they have some great itineraries in Alaska and the Med, and the ship size is comfortable for us.we’d love it if Royal would build a new smaller ship.

Regarding Barbados. https://barbados.org/docs_cruiseships.htm

Murano, Tuscan Grille, Le Petite Chef, Sushi on Five, The Lawn Club Grill and The Porch. 

We booked one of the aft balconies in deck 10 of multiple radiance class ships, including Serenade, multiple times (we’ve been in 1104 or 1604 at least 12 times). We finally moved down to the deck 9 aft balconies because of the early morning noise from the Windjammer, and occasionally the music the late night cleaning crew would play.

7 hours ago, Sea-n-Ease said:

Just a couple of questions about the HAL Tracy Arm excursion that boards directly from ship:

 

1)  The HAL website states a "Starting At" price for this excursion.  What will drive the price up?

2)  In very late May/very early June, how likely will the excursion be cancelled due to icy waters?

3)  What's the approximate number of passengers allowed?

4)  Does it normally sell out?

   

We did this excursion in early June in 2017. We never book ship excursions, but were so glad we chose this one, it was amazing. We booked early, as it does sell out. We were actually the on the first run that season that was able to go all the way to the glacier, as there had been too much ice up until that week. So yes, it can be cancelled, or it could go to a different glacier. I don’t remember the number of passengers, but there was plenty of room on the excursion boat for all and it didn’t feel crowded. The naturalist on the boat was great. It does get cold on deck, so come prepared - hat, coat, gloves, and I wore goretex rain pants as an additional windbreak. The spacious cabin area was nice and warm, but you will definitely want to spend time on deck.

Looking forward to your posts. We’re on a March 11 sailing, going to Iguazu before we embark.

We have been to all these islands multiple times, and always do non-ship tors. Two of our favorite are Calabaza on Barbados (sailcalabaza.com) and anything offered by Adventureantigua.com, on, of course, Antigua.

Radiance class ships are the closest to both the S and M class. The layout is very similar to the S class, the size is identical to the M class. The Radiance class is our favorite class of Royal ships. Vision class is close size-wise. 

We sailed Eurodam to Alaska last month. Lovely ship, great crew, enjoyed the entertainment, food as good as Celebrity’s. The ship is bout the same size as X’s M class ships. We’d sail HAL again for the right itinerary. We’ve done both our Alaska cruises on HAL and were booked for a Mediterranean itinerary we haven’t seen on any other line, which got cancelled by Covid. It hasn’t shown back up yet, and we’re waiting for X and HAL to bring out their 2024 Med itineraries to compare.