miraflores

Not sure, but I do know that the QN-class ships were originally supposed to be Celebrity ships (which is why there is no Viking Crown Lounge and you can still see "X"s in the windows of the Royal Esplanade.) But, during the process, Celebrity decided they didn't want them, so the design got bought by MSC...who then dropped them for the Vista Project design (which is really similar). Finally, Royal Caribbean signed on and got the ships built. It's pretty obvious they're not like other RCL ships...and this is why.

The cruise lines MASSIVELY diluted their stocks during COVID to raise funds. These stocks aren't coming back anytime soon.

It's a technical stop, outside the US, to satisfy PVSA (Passenger Vessel Services Act) requirements. This is about the only reason ships ever stop in Victoria, or Ensenada.

The levels haven't increased...but the proximity of venues to guest staterooms has changed A LOT. The "neighbourhood" concept has also increased the noise throughout the ships. If you looked at older ships (MJ/MN are prime examples) you'd notice that ALL entertainment venues were stacked on top of each other, at the back of the ship (including the crew bar). That was always known (by everyone) as a really solid design, and there were hardly any noise complaints, from anyone. However, these days, the bean counters want guests always walking past shops from venue to venue, so things are all over the place. On QN class ships, the Music Hall is surrounded by cabins (guest and crew) on 4 sides (left/right/up/down) and there are nightly noise complaints. Nothing has gotten louder though...it's just that they're putting people closer to venues to make more $$$.

On QN-class ships, I've seen the production cast make and staff a haunted house in the Music Hall. Always really cool. Usually a kid's Halloween movie up by the pool as well.

The train is really quick.

It's Phillip Ashcroft. Great HD...he used to work on "The World".

Mike Hunnerup is an AWESOME DJ. I wonder if he plays for the guests on QN?

You actually have a pretty good chance of seeing whales there. The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a protected area, so ships actually have to slow down around the whales. I've seen whales there.

Yes. Sometimes it's easier to back in than out. But, you can't really bank on a ship going in a certain way. The same ship, in the same port, might sometimes dock bow in...and it might sometimes dock stern in. There are a bunch of factors...cleaning, bunkering, loading/unloading/etc...that come into play.

Looked just like a normal Carnival cruise to me.

I've heard, even years ago, that the Icon was going to have an AquaTheatre-style venue...but it was going to be in the middle of the ship, instead of at the back. The AquaTheatres at the backs of ships often have to close because of weather, and putting it in the middle will make better use of the space. I'm wondering if it could end up looking like this shopping mall in Fukuoka, Japan.

Sorry, I thought this was CruiseCritic I was posting to. I was unaware people on this site followed shipboard rules, haha.

The walls between balconies on all decks can be opened. That's how the blue boys clean balconies. You'll need something with a square end on it to unlock the latch.

Chris Brown