CatLadyFemme

This I am not sure about. My guess is likely yes?

Sorry all! The internet was a bit rough, and I struggled a lot with long COVID symptoms, as well as getting normal people sick, despite masking and using our air filter. There were definitely lots of people who had COVID, and many other people just regular sick, and of course none of them would wear a mask. Currently sick in our London hotel, but with better internet. That said! Here are some professional pictures to tide you over, and I will try to recreate some of the best days.

Day 3 was more of a relaxed vibe, at least until figuring out lunch. For the first time ever, they are doing fine changes at noon each day. I was told, by multiple staff, to follow the time on the app and the sign boards. We had 1:15 lunch reservations. So at noon original time, we looked at the app, assuming it would now say 1pm…but it didn’t. So when the app said 12:55pm, we went to Jamie’s, a bit early…or so we thought. We were told it was now 2pm and we were late. Which was frustrating given that we were following what we had been told. The host did what felt like dressing us down for being late, including telling me to follow an analog watch…something I didn’t even own. That said, they did seat us eventually. I know we were not the only people with issues; some folks missed their iFly appt and were charged. Changing clocks at noon rather than midnight is such a silly idea. Lunch at Jamie’s was great. This time my burrata camera with GF bread (the same mediocre stuff, but this time it was hot and toasted and actually pretty good). They made a special version of the truffle sauce that was safe to eat and it was SO good, as were the GF posh fries. MxCatLady said the burger was tasty, but way too much food, and really liked the polenta crisps as well. We skipped dessert as we were full, and went to go hide more ducks, followed by some time out on the balcony. Goddess, it is so beautiful and healing here. Exactly what we needed. Followed our balcony time with some napping. We left the room a little after 7pm to give our steward the opportunity to clear out our trash and provide fresh towels and ice for my ice pack. After day 1, he has been great. We don’t need much, and what we need, he definitely provides. Before dinner, we went up to deck 14 and found a little nest in the Solarium. It’s so beautiful there too, and just the right temperature to curl up. MxCatLady wasn’t really feeling sushi, despite our Izumi reservations, so they grabbed cheese fries and chicken nuggets from Johnny Rockets. We asked for our same server, Hien, again at Izumi, and she was wonderful a second time. MxCatLady tried sake for the first time and really loved it, so that was fun. And dear reader, this is where I made a poor decision. I’ve never been a big drinker, and I haven’t drank alcohol in 3 years since finding out I am mildly allergic to it, in that it triggers MCAS flares that hurt my joints, muscles, nerves, headache, and stomach stuff. But they had this delicious sounding cocktails and I LOVE sake cocktails annnnnd I had free diamond drinks and I ordered it. Drinking it was absolutely delish and divine. I would be ordering it every night. But then today (day 4), I woke up in so much pain that getting out of bed has become difficult. So the good news is that this has validated my allergy and decision not to drink; bad news is I’ve been hurting in bed today. My own dang fault. that said, this time I got full veggie rolls instead of half, while MxCatLady had the firecracker shrimp, and a fried shrimp roll (which came as a half roll), and got an avocado roll for me. We took the Mochi to go again, grabbed some water from deck 4, and headed to the room to listen to our Becky Chambers book.

Yesterday was first formal night, and if you have followed me before, you know that I (and MxCatLady) love love love to dress up. At the beginning of the pandemic, I bought a few ball gowns on major discount with the hopes to eventually wear them, and this was a perfect place to wear my red siren gown from Kiyonna. MxCatLady bought their first 3 piece suit and had it tailored (trans masc bodies are super hard to fit in suits, so I am extra delighted for them!). We skipped dinner in the MDR after last night’s showing, and instead we to Spectra’s Cabaret. It was about two thirds full, and our drink server (the watermelon mint lemonade was tasty!) told us upstairs was a better place to see from, and those couches were lovely. there IS an elevator too, in 270. so…I was on meds that make me a little woozy, but that served in my favor. I liked the music mash ups a lot, and the digital backgrounds (at least after the Janet piece and before the weird appropriative piece) were similar to what I put on at home to mellow out before bed, so it was a nice vibe. However, then it bled into this weird piece in which they had two (apparently) white or at the least, definitely not South East Asian, women dress up in traditional SEA/Indian dress, with one singing in Hindi (and clearly not her native language), while an actually SEA woman was played on the screens on traditional Indian garb, with no context. It made me SO uncomfortable, and it just kept going (was one of the longer pieces). It literally felt like the white solan taking the voice away from and playing dress up while the silenced Indian woman danced for her pleasure. At least 4 smaller groups of people left during this. Usually I love this kind of show, but that totally soured me on it. I could also see a lot of the very traditionalist passengers not liking it because it is too risqué (maybe for children? I would take my kids there if I had any) and because the main singer was in heels and some low key drag outfits (which I loved, but cannot imagine this doing well out of Florida given current political climate there). I’m just not sure who the audience is for this? However, it was our first show, and I was glad to get to see something in Two70 finally. After this, we took a break on our balcony and then headed to Wonderland. They didn’t show up quite as fully for me as they did on the Quantum Wonderland, where they literally made me a GF veg version of every little thing MxCatLady had, but they really showed up with the main dish; rice filled stuffed pepper and zucchini and potatoes. Filling and yummy! They *did* give me items with gelatin because they don’t seem to realize it isn’t vegetarian, so I ate around some of them, but all in all, really lovely. And they made a mocktail version of the cotton candy drink. So fun! Looking forward to going back. MxCatLady said the best two things they have had on this trip so far were the liquid lobster and the risotto in a spoon (followed closely by the mushroom soup at Chops). They also love the short rib, and the World desert. After this, we walked around a little bit, listened to some more audio book, and eventually went to Sorrentos to get late night pizza. They had issues when I ordered a GF pizza; they knew the routine. There were some communication issues, and they forgot to actually *start* it in the back, but once we got it figured out and I got my hot pizza about half an hour later, everything was good. and thus, with an Agatha Christine playing on my nightstand, ends day 2.

Omg that would be so gross lol 😂

Update through the grape vine is a solo traveller from the UK who had some friends looking out for him, and had a DVT clot that needed immediate care. Hope this helps you feel better!

Yep! It’s a memorial for my grandmother and uncle, who both lived in Socorro 💜

Ours were slightly further, but still not ideal.

Yes; we detoured last night (got the announcement around 8:30pm). Went to 100 miles off the coast of Boston and were met by MedEvac (picture from someone else who took it), and then back on route. Update at noon today to find out more.

You’re so welcome! Please let me know if you have any questions about things I can find out for you 💜

Starting Day 3, we woke up and popped over the the conference room (so fancy! Have never been to one on board. Thanks @Yinster for setting that up!) to host the magnet exchange. I usually do this on all the ships I sail, and this sailing was without a doubt the most participatory with almost 50 people bringing magnets (some bringing 6+!)To trade. So lovely to get to meet so many folks. After this, we headed to the Diamond Lounge to hydrate and cool down (me and my POTS were struggling after the warm conference room) and caffeinate (MxCatLady), and we just vibes there for a while before heading to our Chops reservation. Chops has the most comfy seating so far of all the places we’ve eaten, and while they didn’t have the beet salad from their dinner menu available at lunch, I was able to get both the wedge and the steak salad made GF and vegetarian. We were really there for the soup for MxCatLady, who says it is their favorite thing they’ve had on a cruise so far. They also got a steak Caesar salad (tasty), Mac and cheese (also a “Meh” for it, just as in Allure), tater tots (good, but not amazing) and for dessert, key lime meringue pie. However, we wound up taking it to go, as two men (in truth, I cannot call them gentlemen) were sat next to us who were SO rude to their waiter, and then continue to spew homophobic and transphobic things (as well as misogynistic and fatphobic) from their mouth as they are and bad mouthed the waiter. Even with my Loops in, I couldn’t completely block them out, and I was reaching my limit of keeping my moth shut and not starting an educational lesson correcting their vastly incorrect statements…and/or having a full blown panic attack (welcome to being autistic), so MxCatLady took dessert to go and bundled me back up to our room to help me regulate. Honestly, it was the worst interaction I ever had with other passengers in 20+ years of cruising and I am still shaken. They also mentions our group on the book of fac€s, so now I don’t know who I can trust in that group, and am hesitant to connect with new people. You never know who you are sitting next to. Perhaps don’t be an jerk? If I had been by myself, this could have ruined the whole cruise. Please be kind to your fellow cruisers. We are literally all in this together.

We did sail away on our own balcony, but there was a diamond and up sail away party in the Solarium that we missed. really a beautiful day to take pictures, and we appreciated the 360 at the Statue of Liberty. I don’t love the way patriotism has been adulterated to be so exclusionary, but I still felt something in my heart seeing lady Liberty, almost 80 years after my grandfather, grandmother, and father came through Ellis Island from a refugee camp in Sweden after being liberated from concentration camps in Poland. Then we headed to our early MDR slot. We figured we would not be there every night, but nice to connect with our sever team, given my GF/veggie needs. Our server Jeet and assistant Andy were great (he even brought me GF bread, though is was cold and tasteless/crumbly), but am not sure yet about the head waiter. After telling him my needs, he recommended prime ribs escargot, and key lime pie…none of which fit my needs. Luckily, I am pretty good at this by now, and so ended with the tomato soup without croutons (this was tasty on the Freedom, but here is tasted like warm tomato juice 😬), a veggie curry, and ice cream with a shot of espresso for dessert (affogato). MxCatLady went with spinach artichoke dip (“meh”), prime rib (“quite yummy!”), and key lime pie (one of their fav items). We had our Diamond drinks; I did a virgin blueberry mojito (pretty good, but too much blueberry I think), and had MxCatLady try a Negroni (which is MrCatLady’s favorite drink),…which they oddly served in a martini glass and with a chunk of orange instead of a twist. It was fine but not great, which I think sums up our MDR experience so far. We are going to skip them day 2, but our head waiter gave me his card so I can call tonight and pre order for day 3. For this cruise, I had a cute banner made for us that we can use in the future as well. I thought we were being extra but holy cow! So many people really did up their doors! It’s been fun to walk down hallways and see what folks have come up with. Will post my favs later, but here is ours. We explored the ship a bit more. Very similar to Quantum, obviously, but with some different art and tech. Stopped by Wonderland to prepare them for my food needs for Day 2 dinner. We also found our first duck! Need to go hide more of ours. Then we went to late dinner/snack at 9pm at Izumi. They now give half rolls instead of full rolls as part of the Prix Fix menu…which worked perfectly for us as a later snack, but might have been more frustrating if we were using it as a full meal. We got Edamame, and then MxCatLady got miso soup in a huge bowl, a California roll with real crab, and then got their Futomaki roll to go. I got vegan GF fried rice to start, an avocado roll, and a GF veggie roll, and then we both shared Mochi for dessert. After this, we dropped by the Patisserie to grab hot chocolate and some water bottles, and then headed back to our cabin. Our cabin attendant had maybe been there because our ice was, But the evening lights were not on, the curtain was open, and the bed still mussed , so not sure what is included in evening service now. We spent some time listening to the waves, then popped on an audiobook, and slept beautifully as the ship, which was now rocking daily heavily (compared to a Caribbean or Alaska itinerary) lulled us to sleep.

Once you get on the ship, you can do it. You just book them as you’d like, and then when you check in at the restaurant, you tell them you have UDP.

Boarding day! Last night, I set up a Lyft XL to pick us up from the hotel between 9:30am and 9:40am. We called the wonderful Carmelo to come grab our bags, checked out, and then hopped in the fancy schmancy Escalade (with tip, about half the price of a cab) to take us to the port. It’s really nice to be somewhere with only one cruise ship, compared to how hectic say Miami or Ft Lauderdale is. We got dropped off at 10:14, and were on board by 10:36. Checked into our muster station near Vintages (cannot overstate enough how much better this is than the old mister drills!), and went to Cafe270. For MxCatLady, they tried the famous Kummelweck sandwich for the first time, with a crème brûlée, while I was delighted to see they had a GF tomato/provolone/arugula pre made, along with a GF no sugar cake. MxCatLady reported the sandwich (they had the first one of the whole cruise!) was delicious though perhaps overdone on horseradish and the crème brûlée was ok but oddly textured. My bread fell apart before it made it to my mouth (so dry and crumbly), but the GF/SF cake wasn’t bad. After relaxing in 270 a bit (along with air filter and our ARANET CO2 meter) we went to the MDR to see our table. Eventually, went ended up heading to Jamie’s for lunch for our first UDP meal. Really excellent food; I had the burrata, a chef created GF pasta, and the eggplant parmigiana, while MxCatLady had the fancy garlic bread, the truffle arianchini, also the burrata (not GF), the garlic prawns (at our server’s insistence), and a small order of the truffle pasta. They said everything was super tasty, there was just too much of it 😂 During lunch, we booked some of our other food stops for the trip using the app, rather than standing on a long line at one of the restaurants to do so. I don’t know if I’d get the UDP again on this class; it made a lot more sense to us on Allure, where we could eat at Sabor’s and 150 Central Park in addition to Chops (where I cannot really eat), an Italian place, and Izumi, but we found it for SUCH a good deal on this trip that we decided to go for it. Staterooms were open by 1pmish, so we explored a little, and then headed up to our room. Luggage was already delivered, albeit much further down the hall; too far for me to do on my own. Now we are unpacking and taking a little siesta before sail away.

Catching up! We made it to NYC via Newark yesterday. I have to say, that was the most efficient way I have ever gotten from a gate, into a wheelchair, to the baggage claim, grabbed our luggage, and out to the curb for a Lyft maybe ever. We took a Lyft as it was significantly cheaper than a cab, even with springing for the XL to make sure it could fit all of our bags. For our one night, we stayed at the Artezen Hotel in Manhattan, near ish to the World Trade Center. MrCatLady has never been to either NJ or NY, and of the two, I thought it would be nice for them to get to have a little of the real NYC experience. We are also both foodies, so spent our rainy day thankful that we had made it in safely (some members of our cruise group from the site of faces had not! Lots of canceled flights) and trying a variety of different foods. Since we were at the hotel just after 1pm (and so thankful they let us into our room two hours early), we did a late bagel brunch, and they even had a GF bagel, and prepared it separately, so I could eat it and my truffle cream cheese safely. MxCatLady had a garlic bagel sandwich and a latke (though kindly said mine are much better 😂). My mother had sent both of my partners NYC bagels before, so not totally new, but definitely better fresh. They wandered out for a slice or two of NY pizza later, and were quite pleased. For a late lunch/dinner, I found Buddha Bodahi, an all kosher all vegetarian dim sum restaurant that also had tons of GF options. I ordered a TON and still had many more things I didn’t get to order. Dumplings! Rice rolls! Pumpkin soup! Pepper mock chicken! Tapioca balls! Sesame balls! Everything I ate was so good. I was in total heaven. Cannot recommend highly enough. For their dinner, MxCatLady got hand pulled pan fried chicken fat noodles, and was over the moon about how good they were. Favorite dish of the day for them. Then we just opened the window to listen to the rain, including a few huge, echoing booms of thunder, rested a bit, and packed our boarding bags.