Cruise a holic

My DH and I "try" to watch ourselves as so much food is available.  However, we typically gain 3-5 pounds when we sail!  When we get home, we work hard to loose the extra weight!  Seems to get more difficult as we age.

I am a senior and unfortunately do not have lush thick hair anymore- I use a curling iron sometimes and get my hair styled a couple of times on the cruise at the salon.  However, my teenage granddaughters with very long thick hair use the Dyson  hair straighten at home and love it.  On a ship, they bring their own hair blower and regular hair straightener.

The laundry is fine- we get some free laundry- we never give anything "special" to the ship for laundry.  Just underwear, tee shirts, socks and pj's.  Swim suits we hand wash.  Have used the dry cleaning for good items without any problem.  We also try to bring enough clothes for the week or two.  Would rather pay for extra luggage then have any problems regarding lack of clothes for the cruise.

Have a wonderful cruise!  A free cruise in a grand suite!  Lucky you.

My DH and I are hooked on the Crown loft suites.  Not sure if the Aqua theatre suite has two bathrooms- that is great for us as we can get dressed and ready at the same time.  Also as previously stated the location is the best.

Definately not the owners suite.  

On 4/9/2024 at 3:13 PM, OCSC Mike said:

 

Given how full ships are sailing, the evidence isn't showing this (yet).

Recently off the Icon of the Seas- huge ship- expensive and it appeared full.  The rich are getting richer and will continue to pay the crazy high rates- I do not believe that the fares will come down.The cabins on the new ships seem smaller.  Just lots more glitz.

1 hour ago, TheInnocentAge said:

Related question... I'm familiar with the D+ perk of a free bag of laundry on a 7-night cruise, and the discount for a 2nd bag. We have a 15-night cruise coming up, so just wondering if they typically offer a 2nd free bag on longer cruises such as this.

If you and the person you sail with is also a D+ member each get a bag of laundry per cruise

17 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

They charged you extra for the sushi side or for the hibachi/teppanyaki ?

Hibachi. We didn’t order any additional items

9 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

@katenmax2 After thinking it over, I have decided just to pick up; a jar of AGF Maxim Instant Coffee at a Lawsons or similar store in Japan and bring that with me.  Can use the hot water kettle in the room to make hot water any time I want a cup.  This is the instant coffee I drink at home when I feel like a single cup of coffee in a hurry. 

 

 

 

They have Lavazza with the coffee machines we've seen in our Sky Suites.  The machines make too much noise for me, so I just ask our butler to bring us coffee from Cafe al Bacio, or at least I use to when we had butlers.  Going to be interest to see what we have next month on Millennium. 

 

 

OMG - $tarSuck$ and better coffee are oxymorons. They over roast their cheap beans.  The only thing I'll order from them is a Frappuccino or a nitro cold brew.  The best hot coffee they have, INHO, is their Christmas Blend and my instant coffee still taste better. 

 

 

That’s what makes the world go round!  I like Starbucks other members of my family enjoy dunkin.  Actually In New Orleans I liked the chickary coffees 

Honestly, if you are a true coffee geek- no coffee will be as good as the one you make at home with your machine.  Cafe Al Bacio is the best choice.  I get a cup with an extra shot every morning.  But the machine doesn't make it the way I like- perhaps it is the beans or something else.  Not sure.  

However it surely isn't a deal breaker and I enjoy it-  On Royal, you can (for a fee) go to the starbucks kiosk and get better coffee- but no option for starbucks on celebrity.

Typically, mid cruise they have a laundry special- a flat fee for a bag of laundry.  Ask your cabin attendant for details.  If you are diamond or above, you get some free laundry service.  

Enjoy your cruise.

We were on the Icon of the Seas in March.  They charged us an addition $15 pp for dining a Izumi.  Never happened on any other Oasis class ship.  To make matters worse- I must have gotten food poisoning as a few hours after we left- I got sick.  I will remove Izumi from my list of specialty restaurants to dine in.  I ate a combo- steak and seafood- my DH was ok- he only at steak.

On 4/11/2024 at 1:51 PM, mafig said:

Thank you for your response, TeeRick.

 

We'll be in a CLS and it looks like the Suite Sun Deck is close by.😆

The suite sun deck is on the opposite side of the ship.  We walk outside across the deck then go up one flight of steps to enter the suite sun deck.  The suite lounge and coastal kitchen are on deck 17 near the CLS.

Try a move up bid  for a upgrade to a suite.  You might have luck and get a room that works better for you.  Of course, it will cost more.

I  agree with those who say change your stateroom  In many cases, except for holiday periods, many balcony stateroom options should be available.  

We really enjoyed hairspray.  Mama Mia was very good- as was grease-  Anything but CATs.

57 minutes ago, missyprincess said:

ah ha! Technology is great nowadays! For those who did not get a package, would the photos automatically loaded to ur app as well? 

Nope

21 hours ago, ShellRigg said:

If you have people in 2 rooms, but only buy the package for 1 room, will you be able to add pictures from both rooms as long as someone from the room you purchased the package for is in the picture?

Yes- explained post #5 above.

While you might save a little- you might have to choose from the leftovers, not necessarily best cabins/locations.  If you don't care- it is a gamble- I personally am not a gambler- however, I have  placed move up bids to large suites.  I have won a couple of times.  But the chance of getting a bad location for a celebrity suite and above really isn't an issue.

Good luck to you.  Enjoy your cruise.

On 4/10/2024 at 2:35 PM, LATTELOVE said:

Glad you got a refund.

I know what you mean, and not what you expected

eighter. 

I thought you looked good!  Great to try new looks when we retire-  You didn't look like a clown- especially if you were dressed for formal night.

On 4/4/2024 at 12:45 PM, SarcasmSpasm said:

Hi!  We’re sailing sky on harmony on the 4/21 sailing. Excited to follow along. 
 

please let me know how the cabana is at chankanaab when you do your excursion. We have one booked there!

 

safe travels! ❤️

We love Mr. Sanchos!

The problem will be if you want to use the suite lounge and restaurant with your husband.  You and those in the suite will have access, not your husband.   It wouldn't work for me.

Have done many times.  The breakaway Haven has a small pool and restaurant for Haven guests.  We enjoyed it- but some problems- young kids hijacked the pool and hot tub. It became noisy and we couldn't use  The Suites were small.  The food ok- but not great.  If you left the haven to go to specialty restaurants or any shows, it was very crowded- the main ship pool was like steerage.  I have been in CLS on all of the Oasis class ships and love the suite lounge and deck.  Some ships suite  decks are better then others.  If you want a "change", I highly recommend the E class ships on Celebrity- suite class.

We typically take the photo package and will again on Symphony this summer as we are sailing with a grandchild and son and his spouse.  We will take the 100 pics and we get electronically and download at home.  The package is good for all guests in stateroom .  However since our son and his family are in another stateroom, we will purchase for their stateroom.  The reason is that one person from the paid stateroom must be in the picture.  We want to take pics with our grandchild and with our son and spouse- so this works as we might take pics with our granddaughter only.  Since our last cruise, we now have to pay for restaurant pics as they aren't included in the package. Ridiculous, another money grab.  What is included, unless it changes, are any pics taken in the evening at various photo sites, boarding pics, and pics taken when you leave the ship at each port.  On our last cruise, they took a photo and the same photo was used for multiple backgrounds. They also included photos when photographers wandered around the ship or a coco Cay.  Who knows if those are no longer included.

Royal  previously had an "unlimited" photo package- but we will now take 100 and want the digital versions.

You probably did have Covid- glad you are feeling better.