travelgoddess1

On 10/11/2021 at 7:06 AM, wolfcathorse said:

yes, I first met him in 2005 when he was staff captain on Vision in Alaska with Capt George Paraskevopolous. He wasn't grey then! And it is Malvin Bardsnes, I'll correct my chart

Thank you for the correct spelling of his last name, I never would have gotten it correct.

I remember Captain George -- he helped me and my husband celebrate our 100th cruise in 2007 on Serenade. He came out to the West Coast sometime after that, I believe he was on Vision.

On 10/11/2021 at 4:02 AM, Yorkshire Voyagers said:

He was really nice and helpful 

Third time is the charm.  My desktop computer is being finicky this morning.

I have tripped over that big glass dome a few times myself.  It’s a hazard. 

Thank you for the information.

21 hours ago, Yorkshire Voyagers said:

Back from Jewel 

 

Ilona is in the Suite Lounge

Cheker is in the Diamond Lounge

 

New Pinnacle Lounge has Marcus, the Loyalty Ambassador, in there each evening 

Where is the Pinnacle Lounge located on Jewel?  Is it Deck 12, where the LA used to be?

On 10/3/2021 at 7:23 PM, internetwhiz said:

Captain James was at the helm on the test cruise in late September so Bardsnes (Bardsnes) took over this last week or so. Bardsnes is at the helm for a Liberty’s first revenue sailing today as confirmed on our page by a cruiser onboard. 

Thanks for that information, Karen.  I have always enjoyed sailing with him. Sadly, I do not have anything booked on Liberty.

Is NAVICA the app we download to create an account?  Can we do that ahead of time, prior to purchasing the test kits? I'm having difficulty sorting through all the information, but I think it's beginning to come together. TYIA

2 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

At this point we can still hope for different dates. Looking forward to sailing out of LA once again. 

Me, too, Sue! Plenty of other dates to choose from!

1 hour ago, robtulipe said:

Yes, those folks who were part of early in the cruise greet & meet gift exchange and had their gifts in their checked in at the hotel luggage were giving out Maui Wowies vouchers so the recipients could contact them to get their gifts once the ship had done its first port stop in Maui, Hawaii. My sister got one of those.

Since you had done a South America port stop on the previous PC one way cruise you had satisfied the required PVSA distant foreign port  requirement and didn't have to be bused down to Ensenada like us new boarding passengers. 

I also recall that the Radiance had a long dark scrape on its white port side as a result of the PC passage. This I heard happened in one of the PC locks as a result of bad cabling by the PC mule locomotives crew.

 

You are correct.  Captain Claus was very perturbed with the Canal captain.  It wasn't the locomotive crew that caused the damage. He told my husband and me later on that he finally told him, "It's a cruise ship, you have to treat her like a lady."

17 hours ago, twangster said:

Starting to see something, but can't book just yet.

 

Ship = Navigator, Port = Los Angeles

 

Shows months like there should be something but nothing appears.

 

16 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

TA’s can see them

 

Nov 19, 7 nighter 

 

other 7 night cruises are Dec 24 and 31

Jan 17

Mar 18

Mar 25

 

Well, carp.  That's the day I leave for b2b's on Harmony.  I was so hoping their first cruise would be earlier in the month.  At any rate, thanks for the information.

18 hours ago, robtulipe said:

Was that a one way cruise to Honolulu?

We did that in May 2008. We checked in at the San Diego Convention Center and were bus down to Ensenada to board there due to PVSA restriction.

I was on that cruise — that’s when a truck with 40 passengers’ luggage never made it to the ship.  They had to live in their boarding clothes for 5 days, until we got to Hawaii. We had boarded in Florida and came through the canal — we had special permission to stay onboard for the short ride down to SD, thank goodness!!  We were really flying!

First cruise was Viking Serenade, to celebrate our anniversary.

On 3/26/2021 at 2:27 AM, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

Anyone see any sign of NV cruises open for booking?  I am not a TA, so I don't get much advance notice.  

On 3/31/2021 at 4:17 PM, FionaMG said:

I saw that one and the Radiance one as well. They both look great, but DH prefers the bigger ships so getting to do a canal itinerary on Navigator would be the icing on the cake.

I would love to see this, has it been determined that Voyager Class can navigate the Canal?

Thanks for all the responses to my question about ships departing out of San Pedro, specifically, Radiance.

Did anyone notice that the West Coast Radiance cruise from LA/Vancouver in April, 2022 is now missing from the website? In addition, some 3rd party and TA websites were showing a WB PC cruise on Radiance yesterday, also for April, 2022, and it is now gone from the website, as well.

Speculation?

4 minutes ago, RoamingRetirees said:

Fabulous trip! You will love it. We did a land tour of Peru in 2019, including MP. Unfortunately, we suffered altitude sickness the entire time, despite taking the pills. We are still so happy we went. 

It's still 19 months out, and I'm not getting any younger, lol!  I hope things can return to some semblance of normal by September, 2022, and that I'm not too old to go. I've been reading up on altitude sickness.  I've never had it and understand it can be debilitating, so I'm hoping for the best.

1 minute ago, cruise wizard said:

 

We have had our two vaccine shots and like you................sitting at home and waiting for cruising to start up. Currently have 35 booked - May looks like a zero chance (minus 2), July on Celebrity pretty "iffy (minus 2) and our Jewels out of Boston for Canada & New England are on a "wait & see" (minus 3) - so 28 might have a chance!!!!!!!!!!

After slogging my way through multiple cruise, hotel, and airline cancellations, and having to fight with Hawaiian Air and Air Canada over refunds, I am very wary of booking anything at the moment. I just can't handle all the paperwork and useless phone calls.  But I can't leave money on the table, either. 

On 3/5/2021 at 9:50 AM, cruise wizard said:

 

Maybe your cruising prayers have been answered!!!!!!!!

 

Hope all is well with you and are able to get your vaccine shots.

I am all vaccinated and immunity is built up.  Now I'm sitting at home, just like before being vaccinated, waiting for cruising to start up again.  Hope you and Mary are well.

On 3/5/2021 at 10:49 AM, Ashland said:

And was why I was quick to grab the Serenade PC Oct 2022 out of San Pedro ... so excited to sail from my home port again after many years.

I'm doing my bucket list trip during this time period -- Galapagos and MP, canceled last September. Fingers crossed.

12 minutes ago, dawnelda said:

Thank you. I wonder if it would be sailing from Los Angeles or San Diego?

Either works for me -- I live between LA and San Diego.

18 hours ago, Beachammo said:

Passed on the Serenade PC cruise as we are hopefully doing a similar 11 night on Vision in January 2022. But....I did book a b2b on the Serenade starting January 28th, 2023. A few new ports for us.....and Coco.

 

Grabbed 9256 too.....😏

I am booked on a Serenade b3b Jan.14, 18, and 28, so I'll be joining you. I just wish the ship was going to do a partial Canal transit, but I'm satisfied with the itinerary.

18 hours ago, rockmom said:

and the C&A and regular Royal Facebook page posted a picture of Cabo San Lucas a few days ago....

I noticed the same thing and wondered about the choice of photos.

6 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Maybe and release next week under "Other"

I'll be watching.  Please post if you see anything.  It's been 10 years since we had a ship home-ported in California.

21 hours ago, Blizzard54 said:

The SL is on deck 12 if that is a consideration for you.

Since our admittance to the SL is questionable, it is no longer a priority to be close. I decided to book a cabin on a high deck (11) just for viewing purposes.  

Thanks to everyone who offered advice.  It's always appreciated.

19 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

For a 50/50 shot, I would worry about the sunshine side more.  That is just me, thinking of my DW.  I spend most of those hours on the flowrider. 😉

I've done Hawaii to Vancouver more times than I can count, and I never worried about the sun.  I am fairly warm-blooded, so I'm hoping that will tide me over.

15 hours ago, Biker19 said:

There's a chance the ship will go past that stretch of coast in both directions. 

I ended up on Deck 11 hump.  Happy with my location.  The cabin category was no longer available on Deck 12.

3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Blursday...toooo funny!!  😄   And sooo true!  

I wish I could take credit for Blursday, but I got it from a friend, who got it from ????

3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

I am in "hump" cabin on deck 12 on Odyessey...not sure if that will be same set up?  

Did Royal do any major changes to their deck plans from one Quantum Class to the next?

1 minute ago, xpcdoojk said:

Well that would obviously depend on which way the ship sailed past it.  We did a helicopter tour way back in 2001 on a Radiance cruise to see the NaPali coast.  I don’t think we sailed by it during daylight hours on that cruise. 

I looked to see where the ship was coming from and guessed the starboard side.  50-50 chance of getting it right. 😁

1 hour ago, MindyJohn said:

I like 12 for easy access to the beautiful CL and just 2 floors from main deck with Coastal Kitchen, Windjammer, Solarium Bistro etc.

 

 Definitely a consideration, but not so much if we don’t have access to the CL and CK. Handy, though, for Windjammer and Solarium.

2 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

I would further consider which side the sun is going to be shining on for the trip to Hawaii.  In April it can be quite cool, and I would opt for the sunny side.

I was also trying to figure out which side of the ship would have the best view of the NaPali coast at Kauai.

6 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

We had 12632 on Ovation, I assume that is the type of cabin you are talking about.  I loved the cabin.  The only strange thing was the bed was next to the bathroom, in other words it was not like the typical cabin that is long and narrow was more square.  The balcony was awesome.

 

The room was accessed by an outer door a small box room with our door straight ahead and the single cabin on the right.  Because the bathroom separates the two rooms we never heard our neighbor.  I think we saw the gentleman twice the entire 15 day cruise.  

 

Our cabin was isolated from ship activity noises.  Pretty much perfect.  

 

JC

Thank you, that is helpful information.

55 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

You must mean 26 April 2022?  Yes, only two Hawaii ports, Kona, and Maui.  All the J4's are on the hump, which is a very convenient location.  🍷

Sorry, yes, since the pandemic started I seem to have lost track of time. (Every day is Blursday, lol!) April 26, 2022 is the sail date.  I see all the J4’s on the hump, which is good.  Is any one deck preferable over another for the J4?

While the itinerary is not great, it seems better than the other two Hawaii sailings I looked at.  I would prefer the Radiance Class ship on this route, but it probably won’t happen.  And I’m hoping that the volcano and NaPali Coast sail by might be a place holder for an eventual port of call. I can always hope...

On 1/31/2021 at 12:21 PM, RFerrington said:

For those who are interested in the HNL-YVR legs for April 2022,  the April 25 OV booking is showing up in their system but cannot yet be booked (at least as of 3:00 today) BUT this is only a 10 night itinerary.  The QN HNL-YVR itin is 13 nights.

 

So we are jumping ship in HNL, spending the day and night there and will be boarding QN on 26 April for Vancouver on the 13 night itin.  All Star Class and Owner's Suites are already gone.  We were able to get a 2 BR GS.

 

So if you prefer the 13 night itin you will need to call Royal SOON and book something.  I feel like these are going to go fast now that it's known that the OV is only a 10 night itin.

I am currently looking at the Quantum 13-night HNL/YVR sailing for April 26, 2023.  I have not sailed a Quantum Class ship before so forgive me if the answers to these questions have been covered previously.

1) JS with larger balcony:  Has anyone booked one of these?  How does it work out that the smaller cabin is adjacent to and shares the small hallway with the JS? Is it a problem with noise, etc?

2) What decks are considered the best for the regular JS with the smaller balconies? By best, I mean noise and proximity to a lot of the venues.

Many thanks for your help!