brookmill18

We were supposed to be on this cruise but had to cancel it--so happy to be following along with you! Our first cruise was on Oasis and we were looking forward to it--I enjoy the older style Solariums with the upstairs setting. It must be beautiful up there now. Have the days been getting chilly? We needed to switch to a land only trip in Spain and Im watching the temps in Barcelona and Madrid--chillier than I had expected at this time of year. Enjoy your night!

With our daughter in London for the three years, we have also been looking at P&O but it seems to be very difficult to book from the US. I think I'll keep looking at their UK site to see itineraries and get a sense of fares and then try to see about booking through their US site. @grapau27 photos over the years have been wonderful and I like the idea of doing some European ports outside of the US summer season.

Im a VERY infrequent poster but kept up daily until the fall when we had a bunch of life changes. Thought I wouldn't try to jump back in and re-read, but I started reading a bit and realized how much fun this group is and over the course of a few weeks managed to (almost!) read back to mid September and get caught up! Jumping in here to answer @patattack--We did our first Celebrity last June on the Equinox (amazing experience) and our daughter was not able to join, so our son went alone--nothing at all was said at any point and it was super easy.

Unfortunately I don't remember but I remember it took longer than the refunds for pre-purchased items

OP here--Couldn't believe it when I read I had a reply to this post after all this time! We said nothing at check in and were never asked. My son told his room steward he'd be alone in the room. At dinner first night we told them we'd be one short. Same thing at the couple of speciality restaurants we had booked. No big deal at all--except that it was due to my son's break up so he had to often hear gf's name at meals when we were checking in! Other than that absolutely nothing. And we did not get double points but we were refunded port fees and pre-paid items like speciality restaurants.

@FromSea2ShiningSea How are you liking Jewel? My mother is thinking of switching a TA to Jewel next spring but is worried after reading several negative reviews of the ship--just curious from someone who is currently on it. If the ship itself was a big part of the trip, would you recommend Jewel? Thank you!

@ReneeFLL and @FromSea2ShiningSea --I've been off CC for awhile and am reading backwards on the thread so not sure if you've already spoken about Jewel, but wondering what you think of the ship. My mom may move her TA in April of 2024 from Anthem to Jewel (to help me out) but I wasn't sure what Jewel would be like for a TA if the ship is a big part of the trip. She has some mobility issues so while she will get off in the ports, she does really love just being on the ship and meeting people--she travels solo. Just curious what you think of the ship itself--I feel badly that she might switch for me so just wanted to see about Jewel, Thanks!

+1 Sending love and prayers

@grapau27 I need to put your area on our list of places to visit in the UK--it looks so beautiful! When DD visited Durham, she flew into Newcastle and took the train to Durham. She said it was one of the prettiest places she'd seen!

+1 Sending healing wishes

@sgmn Have a wonderful trip! Last year we were in Portugal and met a family from UK who had driven so they could bring their dog! Hope you have a wonderful trip. And though it makes it harder for you to travel, your children will be so appreciative of the way you continue to take care of them as adults. One of my strongest memories of the first few months of motherhood (now 22 years ago!) is standing at my front window on Thursday afternoons watching for my parents’ car to pull up, holding a crying baby with a crazy puppy at my feet and literally heaving a sigh of relief as they arrived. They came almost every weekend for the first 6 months and it made such a big difference! Enjoy your trip!

@HBE4 I couldn’t believe the footage as I was watching last night. That amount of rain is insane. My first teaching job was right next to Stony Point and at the time I took the Palisades every day to/from work. It’s so scary how quickly weather issues can turn. Stay safe

Since there's been a lot of talk about Celebrity, just wanted to share something we learned about their basic WiFi and iMessages on iPhones (not sure if it applies to Android--it does NOT apply if you have upgraded WiFi). My mom sailed B3B on Edge in Europe in the fall and had nightmare issues with iMessages which was her primary way of keeping in touch. Hate to admit it, but I was really thinking she kept messing it up! We just did our first sailing on Celebrity in June and on day 3 iMessages wouldn't work and it was saying that my apple account didn't recognize the phone number. DH looked at it, we couldn't figure it out and right before I was set to try and spend hours with Apple Support, I remembered there was some sort of iLounge on board so I went to Guest Services to ask if was ever staffed. They said no, but as I started to explain my issue, they asked for my phone, typed away on it, asked me to restart the phone (I did while telling them I tried this a dozen times already) and then they took it back, typed away again and then told me to log back into my Celebrity wifi account and I'd be set! I asked them what they did and they said I couldn't replicate it because it required staff passwords, but the guy said it happens all the time to people who have the basic WiFi. I told them that they really should post a warning about it because the error messages you receive are related to your apple account--I doubt anyone would think it was Celebrity related. Guest Services said it happens constantly but they can fix it immediately and it rarely happens twice in one cruise. Happened on my husband's phone 2 days later, but never on DS who had the upgraded WiFi. Just really annoying that you could spend hours contacting Apple thinking it's related to your account!

@aussielozzie18 I love your pictures of both your outings in the city and your walks in nature. Do you mind if I ask--how long does it take you to drive/take transportation to the places you go? Now that we're almost empty nesters we've been talking about getting out more! We are only about 20 min from Boston but the drive/parking usually make it seem like a chore but I think it might be worth it. We need to get out more! Your location seems so perfectly suited both to getting into Sydney (so jealous!) and lovely nature settings--both beach and woodsy--love it!

And then two from Castle Hill lawn--which after all these years we only just realized was completely no reservation, come and get a drink or just relax with no purchase needed--lovely!

We went to @Ocean Boy and @Momof3gurlz neck of the woods for the weekend and had a great time in Newport, RI. Weather was so on and off, but as @Ocean Boymentioned, Tuesday night was probably the most beautiful night we've had in a long time. Crowds weren't as nutty as we had thought--wondering if the Tuesday holiday may have split vacationers between the two surrounding weekends? Just a few pictures Newport Bridge from the Vanderbilt Hotel Roof Top

Have you looked into flying out of Bradley in CT? We have done that several times--the only thing we've learned is that the airlines consider TF Green and Logan in the same "zone" so they will change you from one of those to another at no cost if they have an issue, but Bradley is it's own "zone" so you can't switch out of there for free. Parking is very easy and cheap--but it is outdoor parking. Also, Jet Blue has some limited flights out of Worcester of all things--that's a breeze!

I have been reading this thread every day almost since the beginning, but haven't participated often. I booked Bella2 bc it does feel like old friends here, but I figured I should start joining in a bit so it's not one sided when we all meet! Hearing that @dani negreanu is now on board for Bella2 gave me the courage to jump in today! Ive loved reading about the places where everyone lives and it's often made the world seem smaller. Our youngest DD is heading off to college in the fall and about half way through her search decided she thought she wanted to go abroad. So for the past year I thought I would be asking @grapau27for the name of his favorite Italian restaurant because it looked like she was going to go to Durham University! At the last minute she decided to go to University College London instead, so maybe @sgmn can help us out! We just returned from our first Celebrity Cruise on Equinox and loved it--was very surprised at the differences from RCCL. Still love both products but was surprised at how different the 2 lines are. Thought of @Sea Dog because one of our stops was Tortola. We decided on a beach day instead of Jost Van Dyke this time but it was one of our all time favorite stops. What I didnt know was how gorgeous the sail away would be--for about 30/40 min I felt like we were in Fiji--the small islands all around us were spectacular. I sat on our balcony for over an hour just enjoying the sail away. Just a heads up for when you get back on board! Hope everyone has a great day!

I also see a Cape Liberty station so wasn't sure. Anyone know if RCCL runs shuttles from any of them? Thank you!

So happy you decided to go! Enjoy your much needed break--have fun!

Sorry I'm only seeing this today. If you went on the cruise, one suggestion if you're up to it, is to post a mini live on the boards? Many of us have loved reading your reviews over the years--LOVE your outfits, your food pictures, your excursions (esp your sloth preserve and the cheese restaurant you went to in London) and would love to be your remote friends while you are "alone" on your cruise! We'd love to share in your experiences and give support and encouragement when you need it. If you decided to postpone/cancel, we are all still here for you and will love to cruise with you again another time. Sending supportive hugs!!

Thank you all so much! I think they are going to buy the package esp for coffees and juice bar. One last thing--they may try to get a bigger room but I see that it has a tub and not a shower. They are both older and have some limited mobility--happy to see the tub has a bar in it--anyone know if it's basically the same height as a US tub? I know to be careful in Europe when some tubs are very deep--just wondering if this one is more standard. Looks a lot nicer than the shower but just want to be sure how high you need to step to get in.

I'm helping my mom and a friend book a first time Princess cruise on a Regal Princess Ireland and Scotland cruise. My mom has done RCCL and Celebrity cruises. How are the obstructed balcony rooms? I am familiar with partially obstructed balconies on ships like RCCL Anthem--are these similar? Are the balconies still pleasant to sit on? It looks as though you can't choose Cruise Package options (included drinks, wifi, gratuities, etc) unless you book a full balcony? I do not see these options for a partially obstructed or interior room. The cost diff btw Princess Standard and Plus looks to be about $600 total per person. Im thinking it would not make sense for my mom and her friend--they would buy wifi for probably one device, would pay the gratuities, but they would prob at most only have 2/3 drinks a day--am I correct in thinking that the Plus is not worth the up charge in that case? Thank you--also looking for some reviews of British Isles cruises specifically--thank you!

We went this summer with our 2 late teens and my mom who has limited mobility. We were able to get decent Black Friday sales for the Beach Club and I will say it definitely makes things a lot easier because my mom's toughest walking was over the sand. I'm not sure if she could have done much more than the the first row of chairs from the sidewalk--especially in the heat. So I'd just try to think through the walking on the sand. If you and your son/gs were going to spend most of the day apart anyway with them using the WaterPark, personally I'd think about purchasing the Beach Club passes for you and your husband. Getting to shade, and getting a variety of chairs (my mom started to get uncomfortable on the loungers and so switched to a rocker under the overhang), access to water, bathrooms, etc is just a lot easier--and it's easy to forget that the heat makes things tougher too.

Thank you--so you made sure you were in airplane mode and had ship wifi on and were able to use your phone as though you were at home? Just made sure it said WiFI calling? She's having trouble getting it to go thru but I'll have her try again. Thanks so much!