calicakes

We have 2 X cruises booked( Edge coming up next month, booked when the prices were still all inclusive and we got a great deal and we booked Galapagos for 2025. Will move back to Oceania if we book another cruise. The miso glazed cod in Red Ginger is probably the best seafood dish I've had on a cruise. Maybe even on land.

I just looked at these last week since I was given a "sale" offer. I think the savings was 10 percent. We're on Edge in February and both my wife and I are not big dinner eaters. We eat smaller portions at dinner. I can't justify the cost.

Last April we decided to book a week at an all inclusive( big mistake, never again on the all inclusive) resort in Aruba. We'd first visited Aruba on a Celebrity Cruise. The resort was great and we were able to use the private island. The beaches were not crowded. We rented a car and had a great time ( aside from the crappy food at the resort). We paid about 6k USD for that full week and I earned enough Marriott points for 2 free nights at any of their hotels. We used 1 night in NY and 1 night in Ventura, CA.

I wish I could get into the kitchen and practice my baking "hobby". I'd love to make some sourdough too. LOL

We will be Elite after our next cruise( Edge, Feb 25 Great Barrier Reef). I wish we were Elite on this cruise. The laundry would come in handy. Not schlepping my portable washing machine to Australia. My next best solution is a dry bag( bought for 5 bucks), Add water and some biodegradable laundry detergent and mash it around in the bag. Rinse and hang dry. While in Sydney, I'll be looking for some Merino Wool t-****/tank tops. They can go weeks without washing. They are antimicrobial. The best Merino wool comes from New Zealand.

Cabin. I vlogged that trip. Eclipse October 2023.

I missed that part.

Why not? I brought a collapsible portable washing machine on our last cruise( we drove to the port)

The regular cookies are awful. I wonder if the hot CC cookie was better.

There is currently someone live blogging. Maybe ask him to check.

We jumped to Oceania, had 1 amazing cruise( Feb 2022) and 1 ok cruise( Aug 2023). We're back on X in February, on Edge class. This will be our first time on Edge. We'll be in Aqua, although I have move up bids in place for Retreat.

Bonaire. We took a ships excursion, the boat pulled right up to the ship and picked us up. It was probably the best ships excursion we've ever taken. PS: I used to live in Exeter, Ontario.

The massage was great. I never went to the eye doctor. I went to the eye doctor when I came home, 3 days in a row because it was getting worse. Who's to say where it came from. One dr. thought it was bacterial, another dr. thought it was from a product of some sort.

I pay 30 in a suburb of LA. Definitely on the lower end of the scale and its a regular pedi, not gel.

Same. The cost of mani/pedi's on a cruise is insane.

Nope, not in California. Unless of course its a "Medical pedicure" at a doctor's office.

After reading your review( and having sailed exclusively on X and Oceania), I'm not as excited as I was. I'm a "foodie" as well, I have a culinary education, I'm a master baker and desserts are important. I never eat cakes on X because they're horrible.( at the buffet). I also eat 90 percent organic at home, and I eat seasonally. No berries in December. Hopefully, things improve before September. We'll be on Valiant Lady.

Ohhhh, sorry. I travel with a medicine cabinet full of "just in case". It came in handy last month in Paris when I got Covid for the first time. I had test kits, molnupiravir( the newest covid medication, worked great. ) and a lot of cold medication. I didn't have to buy anything but extra tissues.

Are there things to purchase? Do they have a gift shop?

@Alsmez We're not party people or drinkers( none) but the food aspect of VV convinced us to try a 4 day on Valiant Lady this October. Well, it was September, but Virgin cancelled our cruise due to a charter so we chose to move it to the next sailing. I figure a 4 day I can live with if I hate it. Its Miami, Key West and their private beach club in Bimini. I did get 300 in a bar tab, no clue how we'll use that except for coffee. We paid 1981.74 for a Balcony( Sea Terrace) for 2. Kinda of pricey, so I hope we at least enjoy this. The tiny pool has always turned me off of booking on VV because we're huge pool people on sea days.

Should the title be "say it correctly"?

Do you practice on a daily basis? I CRINGE when I hear AT at the end of a sentence and I want so badly to correct people.

We were on Eclipse in October and a few of the walls were NOT magnetic. We had a balcony cabin.

I cringe when I hear people say " Where is it at". You don't end a sentence with a preposition and yet EVERYONE( except me) does it. Newscasters do it, actors do it. It seems no one knows this grammar rule.

We're both experienced snorkelers. We are bringing our own masks/snorkels but not fins so we might have to rent those. Will we need stinger suits? We do need those at the GBR.