George C

7 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Voyager of the seas in 2004 was our first RCI cruise.

Our first of 20 cruises on rccl was sovereign of the seas in 1988, also got engaged on that ship in 1990. Started cruising in inside cabins now nothing but suites.

Since today is Cinco de Mayo, will have some of my favorite tequila 

1 hour ago, MJSailors said:

Good thing that we didn’t bet on the Kentucky Derby.

Sierra Leone and Fierceness were favored and there was much talk about them on the pre race show. Hardly a mention of Mystik Dan.

None of the horses we chose made a great showing. Just a Touch finished last. 
Well, there is the Preakness next. And, maybe the Yankees will win today.

 

 On another note, we were at a friends’ house last night for the Derby and dinner. One of the couples just returned from a cruise on the Anthem. While onboard,they booked another cruise for next May on Liberty of the Seas.

I have not read much about that ship on CC. Has anyone sailed on that ship ? We are think8ng of joining them along with some other friends. The itinerary looks good- Bermuda and Puerto Rico are a few of the ports,plus it is a nine day cruise.

Any info would be appreciated.

MJ👩🏻

We sailed Liberty a couple of times when it sailed from Galveston, very nice ship , we did ours in grand suite. They have a nice play “Saturday Night Fever”

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The adventure begins.

 

Sarah and I are sitting at the airport waiting for our flight to Vancouver where we will board the Explora Journey tomorrow for a 6 day cruise to Los Angeles.  This will be our first time sailing a cruise line other than Royal and this will be the complete opposite of what we are used to.

 

The Explora Journey is 64,000 Tonnes. 900 passengers and 700 crew, all suites, everything included.  This is MSC's new high end line that for an easy comparison would be like Silversea is to Royal.

 

We only have two stops, Astoria and San Francisco.  Astoria we will just wander around and have lunch in town at a local fish and chip shop.  In San Francisco we are docked from 9am to 11pm so I have Go Cars booked for 8 hours for us to see some sights and then an evening behind the scenes tour of Alcatraz.

 

I'll post pictures and updates along the way.

 

The only concern right now is that yesterday, Westjet issued a 72 hour lockout notice to the mechanics union so that could impact our flight home.

 

The other thing I was not prepared for was the dress code on board.  Resort casual for the day and resort elegant for the evening.  A quick shopping trip and visit to the dry cleaners was required this week.  So much for travelling with a carry on only.

 

Tonight's hotel in Vancouver is done on the cheap with us staying at the Days inn by the Airport however an unexpected bonus is Vancouvers summer food festival is open and across the street so that will be dinner tonight.

Sounds very interesting, never heard of this line before , love to hear details of your cruise. 

210 to MSc seaside yacht club 

314 to rock and romance music charter ( our 7th  rock and romance cruise)

3 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

My Kentucky Derby selection - I pick Sierra Leone to win (I like the name).   I would love to see the longshot West Saratoga to win.

As a Bob Dylan fan I am going wit Forever Young , one of my favorite songs at 10 to 1.

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

Anyone looking for a great horse racing experience should try Keeneland in Lexington, KY.  It's a beautiful track...nicer than Churchill Downs.  The only problem is that they only race for 3 weeks in April and 3 weeks in October.  It's a lot of fun with great tailgating before the races.  Fun people watching also with some serious money floating around.  It would match up well with a Bourbon Trail tour. 😁

On our trip to Lexington in March we went for a family trip, but at the wrong time a week before the track opened which I heard was great and tried to visit a distillery on the bourbon trail on a Monday when they were closed .

just go back from seeing the Fall Guy, super fun action movie with a great cast with some comedy also , highly recommend.

27 minutes ago, NHProud said:

My friend and I watched the movie The Challengers at a movie theater along with maybe 8 other moviegoers.  It is pitiful how few people go to the movies. Perhaps, it is because the movie was so bad . Too long , too many flashbacks and it was rated R.  She is my former doubles tennis partner and it is about tennis . I would have left but she wanted to stay. 
 

No chance of staring at phones at our table . No phones , books or newspapers allowed.  

My wife’s friend wanted to see Challangers ,since I am going we will see Fall Guy instead, we go to movies a lot , always studio movie grill so I can order margaritas and wife gets Chardonnay.

I always watch Kentucky Derby and Preakness and Belmont stakes , did attend Belmont stakes in the 1970’s but not interested in attending anything that has 100,000 other viewers. 

I had a problem finding sun , they had large umbrellas covering most of the chairs . 

Kentucky Derby today 5 hour tv show to cover a two minute race 😁, went to our favorite restaurant last night observed 4 woman at the next table all staring at there phones at the same time. 

37 minutes ago, Nitemare said:

I'd suggest a drink, instead.  The food isn't great and is expensive

 

Gayle's Broadway Rose is a newer version with better rated food and shorter lines

I never thought food was expensive but line can really be long , we normally just drink . Never heard about Gayles , I see they take reservations which is a big plus . We did a late breakfast at Ellen’s last year line wasn’t long at all, but have seen it a block long . 

211 to MSc seaside yacht club

315 to rock and romance music charter in royal suite 

My favorite restaurant by far is Becco’s on 46st between 8 and 9th ave , great Italian can get dinner for two with a bottle of wine for a little over a hundred per couple. Ton of great bars Algonquin hotel which has a cat that may greet you. Gallaghers is a top steak restaurant with a fantastic bar . Ellen’s stardust diner has out of work broadway singers as staff and they sing all day and night . All above is walking distance. 

19 minutes ago, rolloman said:

Well, the replacement ports the ships are going to are full of people who need the money too. 

Don’t know how anyone can compare Haiti to ports like Grand Cayman 

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

On one of our visits to Krakow Poland we visited Auschwitz Birkenau prisoner of war camps.

Our guide was excellent and we were very moved by the experience.

I remember my mother in law talking about visiting the *** concentration camps. My European cruises were mainly around Italy since that is my heritage and my favorite food . Don’t understand people who have European heritage and have never visited. 

We once went to a wine tasting sponsored by a travel agent and celebrity they said how great there wine selection was 😁😁😁, rccl seems to have a way better selection of reasonable wines by the bottle and being diamond plus we get 40 percent off wines under a hundred and we never had a problem selecting a nice bottle in the 90 dollar price range and that’s before the discount. 

Shame but understandable that rccl isn’t using Ladabee, they invested lots of money and hire many locals who I am sure needs the money. 

18 minutes ago, camella said:

I agree and I'm afraid they are leaning towards the Royal Caribbean type wines.  Just got off a Royal ship and their wine list is disgusting.  The best they could do was Kendall Jackson which was considered a premium wine at $12 a glass!  I can buy an entire bottle of KJ for less than $10.  They did have La Crema for $19 a glass - a $4 upcharge every time and again I can buy a bottle of La Crema for $14.99 at Costco.  That's one of the reasons I quit sailing Royal is their wine list is SO BAD and since that's all I drink it doesn't make for a happy camper. Tried it again bc of a great deal but definitely won't be back and as for X if they follow suit they're going to lose me too.  Life is to short to drink bad wine!

Decoy is drinkable there was also a Chianti Classico included, we always bring two good bottles with us . Wasn’t even charged when I order a wine above the package in Luminae.

Until approximately 7 when ship hit’s international water you can drink any mixed drinks but they will be made of very generic liquor. Also very limited selection of beer and wine,

1 hour ago, clarkgriswold said:

This is incredibly helpful. Thank you both. We’ve just cancelled the Premier Access. 
 

Now, as to drink packages, we have purchased the Premium Package. Will drinks in the Retreat bars be included because we are Suite guests? Will they be included anywhere else on the ship?

If you have premium package you can drink in any bar on the ship , if no package and in a suite drinks are included only in indoor retreat area.

I really enjoyed the live music on Beyond, starting in early afternoon there was entertainment either in Eden or next to the martini bar. 

Thanks for the comparison , the only line that can compare with MSc yacht club in my opinion is celebrity E class suites. Looking forward to next yacht club cruise later this year.

1 hour ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

In general, my travel agent's group rates (where I get to pick my cabin for no extra cost) have been lower than the best Royal pricing including any discounts at any time from announcement to cruise.

 

I only used military discounts when they were available in 2022 for one cruise in 2022 and two cruises in 2023 that I booked in 2022. This occurred when the cruise lines were trying to fill rooms during their recovery from shut-down.

 

MSC offers a ten percent discount to veterans. Love there yacht club.

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

 

Today marks 43 years since my Dad died at the age of 61.  He was a Foreman working on the 2nd Avenue Subway project when he fell down 25 feet, head first.  He was a very healthy, strong man who never smoked in his life.  He remained in a coma for a week before finally passing, which was a Blessing, due to his extensive injuries.  

My wife found her dad dead in there living room when she was 13 years old , very sorry about your dad . I was extremely lucky both my parents lived to there 90’s .

43 minutes ago, Shiba_Lover said:

I would also like to add about the tub / shower combo on sky suites on Apex - for someone that uses a wheelchair - it could be a challenge.  It is an actual tub, so be aware of that.  It would require stepping up and into the tub.  You may want to consider selecting a handicap accessible room if that is available to make it easier.  Your butler will bring blankets to use while sitting on the balcony.

 

I've had an aft sky suite on the Apex, and it is a really nice large balcony.   Aft is indeed very far from everything if mobility is an issue.   

 

I am actually about to go on the Apex in a sky suite on a B2B in the Fjords this July - a 12 night followed by a 7 night.  If you would like any specific photos or have something specific I can find out for you, please let me know.

We also have had a aft corner sky suite, great balcony, way to far from Luminae and the retreat , would not book it again.