Cruise a holic

We booked the Icon for March. Booked immediately when booking opened. Price has increased by over 20% for our suite-

We enjoy sailing "on this side of the pond now" . We have A few cruises set over the next few months. First, one in August from NJ to the Caribbean on the Oasis of the Seas, then from Ft. Lauderdale in January on the Celebrity Silhouette 9 days caribbean. We recently did a b/2/b cruise on the Celebrity Apex. A wonderful ship! I highly recommend it. Then we have a cruise planned in March on the Icon of the Seas. We truly love Celebrity- Royal our second favorite. I haven't heard great things about MSC from friends who have sailed on that line. Would highly discourage sailings on Carnival or her sister Princess. We also were very disappointed with NCL and stayed in the haven- expensive and not nearly as nice as Celebrity or Royal Oasis class ships. This is my opinion- others night have different experiences. Enjoy your cruises.

Enjoyed your review. Have been on Apex three times and love the ship. Thanks for sharing.

IMO well worth it! It is nice to see the great technology. We go once on each celebrity ship. Food good also and they will accomodate special dietary requests.

We love celebrity- especially the solstice and Edge class. We used to sail on the summit often and loved it. . Did Infinity about 20 years ago, to Alaska and really enjoyed it. That being said, if the ship and cabins haven't been redone- not a great intoduction to Celebrity. However IMO so much better then Carnival, NCL, HAL. The Oasis class ships on Royal are also wonderful.

Yes. But it varies. My DH wears a sports jacket, button down shirt and tie. I have seen people dress like they are going to a ball game, and some dressed for a wedding.

While we truly love celebrity, S and E class especially, with a multigenerational family I would suggest Royal. Especially the Oasis class ships. Central Park view cabins are great and cost effective. Price for deck 9, no balcony, but a huge picture window with a seat are about the same price as an inside cabin and very comfortable. Price is very reasonable. Very comfortable for three- some people might have four.

I couldn't stand an inside room. What if you got quarantined? I would feel like I was in a closet. At least an oceanview for me. Perhaps kids wouldn't mind, but I am not a kid.

Wow. We enjoyed the specialty restaurants on the Harmony of the Seas- the Fat Back bacon appetizer isn't something I would eat- it is all fat . We enjoyed the other options and loved the other specialty restaurants- we varied what we ordered. Breakfast and some lunch in Costal Kitchen was very good. We were in the Haven on NCL and found that line overall worse then carnival if we left the haven. Food was the same everyday and the specialty restaurants poor. They made dinner at Friday's look good. But to each his/her own.

We dress our best- why not? Most of us were in sweats and tees for almost 3 years. Time to shed those duds and celebrate. Unfortunately, many of us have put on lbs! so new clothes are in order. No big deal to bring nice clothes.

We dress our best- why not? Most of us were in sweats and tees for almost 3 years. Time to shed those duds and celebrate. Unfortunately, many of us have put on lbs! so new clothes are in order. No big deal to bring nice clothes

Doing a nine night on the Ship in January. Glad you had fun.

We recently sailed on the Apex- sister ship. We enjoyed Eden also. But we did enjoy the steak house also. Love the major improvements to the suite deck and lounge- We still will sail on the Silhouette and Reflection if they work best for us, but really love the E class ships. Glad you had a great trip.

No more steak and shrimp?

They used to provide suite guests with an upgraded lunch also. No longer?

Barefoot Beach Cabana's are only for suite or pinnacle guests. You can reserve one, and get assigned typically a day before, or when you go to the beach. We used to rent- but found that some at the rear weren't great. I also strongly suggest that you bring bug spray- we got our legs bitten by some sand flees. Is the poster sure he didn't book a cabana at Nellies Beach which is open to all non suite guests? I would call to verify.

Any idea who will be the cruise director on the Oasis of the Seas in August 2023? Thanks

We like Tiffany’s. Sometimes silver items work for us. Now the main jewelry store sells effy brand. I made a small purchase. At home I went to Macy’s and the same ring was cheaper! Tiffany’s prices are fixed so no games

IMO the Move up is important. I also prefer the service from dealing with the cruise line directly.

We were on the Apex and Tiffany's was replaced by Montblanc. We preferred Tiffany. IMO not a great change.

If it's all about price, not the ship or date, a good TA can help. We like to book onboard-but unfortunately have limited dates we can sail. My biggest criteria, after the date, is the ship. We do not like the older ships, limit now to Oasis class. Not fans of the Quantum class. We have booked a suite on the Icon of the Seas but did it as soon as the bookings were made available. We got a good price on a surfside family suite, we are two and hope that it isn't a very noisy area of the ship- but it might be!

Has the ship undergone a recent dry dock? What is the condition of the ship and the staterooms? Thanks

Big Box stores to do participate in the program. We wouldn't deal with them- the bonus they give, IMO aren't worth the loss of control of my reservation.

I would opt for the newer ship. Explorer not nearly as nice as the Symphony.

Since ships are now sailing at capacity, odds for getting an upgrade have declined. However, if you for example are in an inside cabin, and bid on a balcony or oceanview, with a reasonable bid, you might be lucky. If you truly want to upgrade, best to pay for it and do at retail.