Quantum & Ovation Plus - 30 Day Live (hopefully)

[bobmacliberty]

 

We are getting ready to leave for a 30 day trip centered around cruises onboard both the Quantum of the Seas and the Ovation of the Seas.  I plan to post about the trip as often as possible, and as close to live as possible.  Spotty Internet coverage may limit how often I can post, but I’ll try.  No promises that I won’t disappear for a few days.

 

I am Bob and my wife is Micheline.  We are retired and live on Amelia Island in NE Florida, near Jacksonville.  We’ve been on 13 cruises before so we’re not newbies, but also not the multiple cruises a year types either.  We’re Diamond on Royal and will turn D+ after our first cruise on this trip.  That will be important for both drinks and laundry on the second cruise.  More to come on that.  We travel from Jacksonville to Seattle tomorrow...Delta via Atlanta (of course).  

 

 

We’ll spend a couple of days in Seattle, staying at the Mayflower Park Hotel and doing many of the typical touristy things.  I've been there a few times on business trips but it will be Micheline's first visit.  We’ll then board Quantum of the Seas on September 19 for a 7-night Alaska cruise.  This will be our first Alaska cruise and I’ve yet to meet ANYONE who’s done an Alaska cruise before and didn’t have great things to say.  It will also be our first cruise on a Quantum Class ship. 

 

 

 

The itinerary originally included a stop at Icy Strait Point and an early morning cruise up Endicott Arm to see Dawes Glacier.  Because of current problems with Quantum’s engines that limits her speed, ISP was replaced with Ketchikan and Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier was dropped.  No problem, we’ll have a great cruise anyway. When the ship returns to Seattle, we’ll make our way up to Vancouver. 

 

 

We’ll spend 4 days in Vancouver.  We’ll stay at the Pan Pacific Hotel right above the cruise port.  Lots to see and do in Vancouver.  I've also been to Vancouver on business and again, first time for Micheline.  We board Ovation on September 30 for the first half of her reposition from Alaska to Australia, stopping in Hawaii. 

 

 

 

This will be our first ocean crossing with so many days at sea.  I'm not sure if we will be totally relaxed or bored to tears.  I'm guessing the former.  We'll find out.  

We’ll disembark in Hawaii after 9 nights and head to Kauai. We’ll spend 5 nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa.  

 

 

 

We love Maui and Oahu but have never been to Kauai before.  We'll spend 5 short days on Kauai and pack in as much as we can...beaches, waterfalls, canyons, boats, helicopters.  After 5 nights, we’ll reluctantly board a Delta flight from Honolulu back to Jacksonville.

 

I’ll talk more about our specific plans at each location as we get closer to actually being there.  Covid testing you ask?  Yeah, that’s still a thing for us because…Canada (hello to my Canadian friends 😊).  We’ll be doing eMed testing in Seattle and in Vancouver before boarding the ships.  My worst nightmare is getting Covid during our Alaska cruise and testing positive in Vancouver such that we can’t board Ovation to Hawaii.  That would REALLY suck.  Insurance would cover the costs but missing out on the rest of this trip would be extremely depressing.  Let’s hope for the power of positive thinking, and social distancing where possible.

More to come...

 

 

[h20skibum]

I will be following along.  Sounds like a great trip. 

[clochette]

what an amazing trip looking forward to following you.

[Mrs.Dukes]

Sounds like a fabulous trip! Looking forward to reading a bit. Safe travels.

[bobmacliberty]

58 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

I will be following along.  Sounds like a great trip. 

 

28 minutes ago, clochette said:

what an amazing trip looking forward to following you.

 

22 minutes ago, Mrs.Dukes said:

Sounds like a fabulous trip! Looking forward to reading a bit. Safe travels.

 

Thanks for coming along.  This is sort of a replacement trip for a retirement trip a couple of years ago that didn't happen (Covid).  That was a 4 week trip that included Rome, a 9-night Greek Isles cruise, Florence, Lake Como, and Venice.  We'll book something very similar in a couple of years.

[bobmacliberty]

The worst part of the trip, packing, is complete.  As least I think it is.  We don't leave for the airport until early tomorrow morning and a lot can change between now and then. 🙄

 

 

The challenge is packing clothes for potentially cold and wet conditions in Seattle, Alaska, Vancouver, while also packing for potentially hot and sunny weather on the cruise to Hawaii and on Kauai.  We plan to do laundry someplace for the basics like underwear and t-shirts.  We'll see if there is laundry available at the hotel in Vancouver (conflicting reports online).  Otherwise, we'll take advantage of the Diamond+ benefit of one bag of laundry.  I've been warned not to trust anything more than underwear and t-shirts to the industrial laundry process on the ship, but hopefully that's all we'll need.

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

This will be our first ocean crossing with so many days at sea.  I'm not sure if we will be totally relaxed or bored to tears. 

We did a 15 night round trip to Hawaii from San Francisco.  Although we did that trip with Princess, there was so much going on during those sea days, we were never bored.  
 

I hope the seas are calm for you. Sailing from the west coast, we had good size waves for the first day or two, then it got smoother, the closer we got to Hawaii.  Plan accordingly, if either of you get motion sickness. 
 

Kauai is nice, but I don’t think I ever spent more than 3 days at a time there.  The good news is they have a Duke’s there, so you can get some of their Hula Pie. 

[bobmacliberty]

17 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

We did a 15 night round trip to Hawaii from San Francisco.  Although we did that trip with Princess, there was so much going on during those sea days, we were never bored.  
 

I hope the seas are calm for you. Sailing from the west coast, we had good size waves for the first day or two, then it got smoother, the closer we got to Hawaii.  Plan accordingly, if either of you get motion sickness. 
 

Kauai is nice, but I don’t think I ever spent more than 3 days at a time there.  The good news is they have a Duke’s there, so you can get some of their Hula Pie. 

 

Thanks Mark.  I've never had Hula Pie.  I just added Duke's to the list of places to go while there.  I'll be thinking of you and your family.

[Momof3gurlz]

Looking forward to following along!

Edited September 15, 2022 by Momof3gurlz

[Momof3gurlz]

29 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

The worst part of the trip, packing, is complete.  As least I think it is.  We don't leave for the airport until early tomorrow morning and a lot can change between now and then. 🙄

 

 

 

Are the shoes getting their own suitcase 😉🤣?!

[bobmacliberty]

2 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Are the shoes getting their own suitcase 😉🤣?!

 

That's a stock photo.  Micheline's shoes are MUCH more organized.  She'd kill me if she thought that I was telling people here that she has her shoes in a pile on the floor. 

 

To answer your question though, shoes take up a lot more space than I'd like.  But that's partly my fault.  Before I retired and was living in Ohio, I wore 3 pairs of shoes most of the time...casual, dressy, and sneakers.  I'm now bringing 6 different pairs...flip flops, Teva sandals for Hawaii hiking, dressier shoes for formal nights and nice dinners out, Olukais for walking around, sneakers, and regular hiking shoes for Alaska.  I'm becoming a shoe addict.  I've got a long way to go to catch Micheline.  

[ReneeFLL]

Hula pie? I've also never had it. The first thing I thought of is there a Hula Pie martini. Google says there is. 😁

Hope you like the Mayflower Hotel like we did.

[Ozark_Kid]

14 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 I'm now bringing 6 different pairs...flip flops, Teva sandals for Hawaii hiking, dressier shoes for formal nights and nice dinners out, Olukais for walking around. 

That's a lot of flip flops.  😳  I blew out my favorite flip flops a few weeks ago.  I saw you post about Olukai.  After some research I brought some Olukai flip flops before heading to Hilton Head last week.  I am really enjoying them.  Thanks for the heads up.

I am really looking forward to seeing the pics you share.  Also, since our Hawaii cruise was canceled last May, I am looking forward to seeing how you enjoy it.  

I am sure you have it all planned but if you are looking for something to do in Seattle,  Chihuly Garden and Glass is a beautiful place to visit.

I hope you and Micheline have a safe and great adventure.

[bobmacliberty]

20 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Hope you like the Mayflower Hotel like we did.

 

I saw a picture that you posted.  We might have the same kind of room...corner suite one queen?

[bobmacliberty]

16 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I blew out my favorite flip flops a few weeks ago.

 

Stepped on a pop top?

[Ozark_Kid]

40 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Stepped on a pop top?

Yea, Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home.......

 

Actually I didn't remember the lyrics,searched, and it immediately popped up.. 😳  😆 

[Jimbo]

Always confused by your Wife's name, just how do you say it. Looks like Michelin the tire company..........I know that must not be how you say it is it? Is it spoken like Michelle?

 

Is it French? Cool name.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Jimbo

[bobmacliberty]

16 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Always confused by your Wife's name, just how do you say it. Looks like Michelin the tire company..........I know that must not be how you say it is it? Is it spoken like Michelle?

 

Is it French? Cool name.

 

She was named after her father's friend Michael.  She was supposed to be a boy.  Surprise!  When she ended up being a girl, they named her Micheline instead of Michael.  It's pronounced Michael followed by eeen, with a hard K sound for the ch.  Most people see the spelling and incorrectly think Mishel-eeen, like Michelle with an een on the end.  She has said a million times that she wishes her parents had spelled her name Michaelene.  More people would get it right on the first try that way.  Her friends just call her Mike.

[Italy52]

Following along, thank you for taking the time to post your memorable journey.  Your Alaska cruise is the same ship and itinerary that we did in August.  It was our first time on the Quantum and we enjoyed it very much.  Next year, we are returning to Alaska on the Ovation so I will be anxious to see your thoughts. 

 

I hope you have a fabulous time!

[Jimbo]

23 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

She was named after her father's friend Michael.  She was supposed to be a boy.  Surprise!  When she ended up being a girl, they named her Micheline instead of Michael.  It's pronounced Michael followed by eeen, with a hard K sound for the ch.  Most people see the spelling and incorrectly think Mishel-eeen, like Michelle with an een on the end.  She has said a million times that she wishes her parents had spelled her name Michaelene.  More people would get it right on the first try that way.  Her friends just call her Mike.

Cool, thanks. Very Interesting.

[Sea Dog]

Awesome start. Love those photos. You will be cruising to the two places we really want to go. I will be taking notes and posting when I can. Somehow my little trip on Symphony this weekend pales in comparison. Cheers!

[bobmacliberty]

5 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Awesome start. Love those photos. You will be cruising to the two places we really want to go. I will be taking notes and posting when I can. Somehow my little trip on Symphony this weekend pales in comparison. Cheers!

 

You will be eating better than we will Greg!  I'm really looking forward to your UDP review.

[FionaMG]

Following along. Have an amazing time! 😊

[bobmacliberty]

Luggage waiting to go. Car to the airport picks us up at 7:15. One more sleep to go. 
 

[Luckynana]

26 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

Luggage waiting to go. Car to the airport picks us up at 7:15. One more sleep to go. 
 

Following along on your wonderful and soon to be memorable vacation!!  Safe travels and smooth sailing to both you and Michelline, Bob!!  Bon Voyage!!!🛳️🛳️