Essiesmom

If you are seriously interested, there is usually a Live from thread on the HAL board by Bill and Mary Ann who do the world cruise every year, and sometimes long cruises between. Here is a link to another thread about a long cruise: Many cruisers on these long voyages...and all voyages take advantage of the opportunity to sample local food in ports. You need to visit the boards here for the cruise lines that do world cruises and ask your questions there. I don't know all of them, But HAL, Cunard, Viking Ocean, Seabourn, Silversea, Regent, P&O-UK are a few that come to mind. EM

After a few days 'vacation' the webcams are back up in time for NCL Joy to have her picture taken. Not a night transit, but she got a really early start. 0604 and already in the first lock. Lots of folks at the rail. Hope that coffee is strong! From Miraflores cam From Pedro Miguel cam

They will not serve the same menus every week. Items may reappear but in different combinations. There is a board here for world cruises. You might want to do some reading there. EM

2022 Limited, not XT. Essie has been traveling with me for 21 years. She hasn't aged a day. EM

You might hear the ding of the elevator arrival, or conversations from those getting off. Cabin doors aren't soundproof and often have vents . People passing in the corridor can be oblivious to who can hear their conversations. EM

What is Below the Salt, you ask? Google it. For short, It means I am not in YC. As a matter of fact, I am way forward on deck 5 in a Fantastica OV. This time Essie is coming along. My biggest task may be keeping her under control. Car and navigator packed: I'm an old lady and don't participate in many activities. I like to explore the ship, and people watch. I like to go to the shows, particularly the musical ones. I haven't much patience for jugglers, magicians, or comedians. I eat in the MDR and buffet, don't do specialty restaurants even though as diamond I do have a complimentary meal. I don't eat a lot, splurge on gelato. I hardly drink, not that I am against it, but I dislike the taste so it is always something that disguises the taste. Or free. I carry around a refillable bottle which usually contains iced tea. I live 280 miles north of Port Canaveral, in Coastal GA. I like to sail from ports I can drive to but this is too far to drive the day of the cruise, although I could have done it because they assigned me a boarding time of 4pm... I left home about 1pm, and after a stop at CVS to pick up two prescriptions that I don't need yet but I couldn't let sit for 11 days, I hit the back roads until joining I-95 at exit 49. I hate I-95 ao spend as much time as possible on side roads. The worst part is going through JAX. Maybe I should splurge on a SunPass and take the express lanes. Tonight I am at the Best Western Plus at SR 16, the outlet malls of St. Augustine. I have a small but adequate room, much like a cruise ship cabin. There is barely space to walk between the foot of the bed and the chest. There are at least 8 outlets, but not a single usb port. But I am equipped. My watch is currently being charged. The hotel is behind a Denny's, but it seems not to be open. So I revisited Ford's Garage for supper, chicken fingers and house salad. I've eaten there before and there is really too much food. Last time I could only eat half of my sandwich. I am not a gourmet, or a gourmand. Many of the dishes others picture and rave about I would never order. I will post menus and pictures of what I order, and whether or not I liked it. But not the gelato...I will be too busy eating it before it melts to take pictures... Please post questions, but only about non-YC. EM

The new locks may appear more technologically advanced, and the collecting ponds may be, but the operation of the lock gates is the same as the locks on the Kiel Canal, which date from 1895-1914. The abandoned French canal is on the starboard side if entering from the Atlantic. The channel used for the new locks was originally started by the US during WWll and abandoned. On a full transit, unless you overnight in either Colon or Panama City, there will be no excursions. EM

Same here, except not YC. Heading out today for St. Augustine where I will spend the night. EM

It has been reported to be present in YC. But nor present below the salt where I sail. But I don’t care for the quality of institutional facial tissue, so I always take a healthy supply of my own. Since I have experienced sinus problems for years, there is always a tissue in my pocket (which is why I won’t buy skirts or pants without pockets). In fact, when I am packing my fresh,y washed pants/skirts, I always tuck a fresh tissue in the left front pocket. EM

For you Margaritaville cruisers, I originally posted this on the Carnival board because there are a lot of Carnival cruisers who are fans of the Spirit class ships. I guess someone thought it belonged here…. EM

Definitely a work in progress. Kvaerner Masa shipyard, Helsinki August 2000.. EM

Those two ships are larger than Musica cLass, but smaller than Fantasia class. There are two recent live threads by members who regularly sail other lines, but they sailed on Regal. However you might find them informative as to activities and ambiance. One is by @TxTeach79and the other by @Saint Greg. EM

We were on Millennium in August 2000 and when in Helsinki I got pictures of Spirit in the shipyard. Actually, I saw the funnel and thought ‘what is a Carnival ship doing here? They don’t sail here…’. Then I realized it was the shipyard. EM

It never hurts to call and ask. Usually you can if the new cabin is the same grade and occupancy as the current one. EM

And happy? Grumpy? I’m taking my gray kitty Molly on my next cruise…this week. I hope it lasts longer than the black one (Salem)did on Elation. She’s a Freaker (freakerusa.com). Stretchy covers for beer, water, wine bottles, etc. I had Salem on my bottle, same one in these pics, and at one of the shows the man next to me said his granddaughter (10) liked my kitty, she had a new kitten and was missing it. At the end of the show I gave it to her. The bottle is sort of my mobile bar, but filled with iced tea. EM

Try a new adventure next year. Margaritaville at Sea islander is coming to Tampa. Second ship for them, one of the first, if not the first of the Spirit class, former Costa Atlantica. They transferred her to the China fleet but she never went . Starting June 2024 doing 4/5 days for Tampa. Should be interesting. Would have a different layout, but still that smaller size ship…. EM

Looking at the Celebrity website deck plans, and cruisedeckplans.com I do not see any C3 cabins, only C1 and C2. What site are you looking at? EM

For those who like Carnival’s Spirit class ships, Costa Atlantica was the very first of that class. EM

It’s becoming common with other cruise lines. I have run into it with Carnival, Celebrity, MSC. I just keep trying. EM

It’s time you became familiar with cruisedeckplans.com. Click on your cruise line, and your ship. In this case I used Eclipse. Scroll down the cabin categories on the left. For each category that has HC cabins there will be a line that says HC cabins. Click on that and a list of those cabins will drop down. If there are any pictures, there will be a tiny camera icon next to that cabin. They are also clearly marked on the deck plans.

Perhaps hours may differ by ship and day. These were the hours on August 15.

He got bad info. I know from experience when I won the upgrade bid to Aurea I was charged for 2. This was in August 2023. The offer tells you this. E

One problem you may encounter is entertainment venues being loud. They seem to play the audio in the theaters as if we are all deaf. On one ship the background music in the dining room was too loud, which resulted in diners having to talk loud to be heard, which made the total noise very annoying. EM

Even if solo, you will be charged for 2. EM

Chargers for all the electronics. Plug adapter so you can use the EU outlet (for dual voltage items). EM