jam19872016

The duck is another Celebrity favorite. I tried duck so many times on various cruise lines, including " Cunard, and found it to range from didn't care for to just OK. I'd pretty much just concluded I didn't like duck but tried it again anyway and was blown away by how good this dish was!

Excellent news!!

I love the piano bar and always sorely miss it on Celebrity. Any piano bar is better than no piano bar, but I have to ask, what style is it? Is it a rowdy, jolly good time sing along style piano bar music, or is it mostly just a guy playing music on a piano? '

The trout is one of my favorite dishes on Celebrity. I was like you the first time I tried it, grapes seemed like such an odd choice. They paired with the fish perfectly and now I order it every time I see it on the menu and it has never disappointed. Yummy!😋

It's getting hot in here

Yea I don't bother behaving either on vacation but I still track it so I don't get too bad of a shock when it's all over. I gained 18 pounds last cruise, which sounds so much worse than 1-2 pounds every day for twelve days.

Yummy. I would try all three and then go back for seconds of any real standouts along with some dessert. That and a salad upstairs, I think I would be set. Then head back for tea time at 3 so I can make sure my scale insults me consistently 😅

So they do have sandwiches now! That is awesome to see. I hope they continue to be delicious, I could see myself making a lunch out of it as I just don't usually find much I care for at the buffet.

DId you bring a scale also? Mine was pretty mean to me. Two weeks back and I've still got 3 lbs to go before I get it back off. Terrible. Totally worth it though 😄

Following along! Can't wait to see some Al Bacon goodies to remind me what I'm missing as I am back to fasting trying to take those cruise pounds back off.

I'm just trying to convince myself that the next cruise is not so far far far away 😅 My mom called me today. Seems Cunard has sent her a brochure with some lovely rates. I am quite tempted and the wheels are certainly turning. One of them was the Alaska trip I was already eyeing, the flight costs all the way to Vancouver are really what is holding me back from booking, as the cruise fare is an absolute steal, 10 days for $699 plus taxes.

Just a few days to go! How exciting! Enjoy Oasis, it is a wonderful ship even if Café Promenade is nowhere near as good as Al Bacon 🙂

My fare for an inside was 100% comped. I paid just the taxes ($170 ish) plus gratuities. Of course somewhere along the way, I lost a lot of money in their casino so it was prepaid. I would like to think I have regained what I've lost but I am sure that I have not broken even yet. I still have offers, they haven't gotten tired of me sailing without dropping much more money in their bank but I expect it to stop any time now. I'm sticking with Royal's casino program as I prefer their product better overall. I matched to Elite thanks to status with Royal, doubt I will ever see Zenith since I prefer an inside cabin which gets almost nothing in loyalty points. Free premium drinks and internet would be nice, but I can't complain I do appreciate the Elite happy hour drinks and the 30% discount on wifi. At those costs, 30% is a nice savings!

Thank you both for your kind words and for reading along 🙂

Oasis not Icon, but I knew what you meant. Icon's pricing will leave me on the outside looking in for a few years at least, and with the exception of the dueling piano bar, there isn't really anything that excites me that much more than Oasis class, they really set a hard bar to beat with that ship. Yes I agree the ability to upgrade the dining makes a wonderful difference with Royal. I hope to do a review soon without the dining plan to showcase more of the included options, it is quite a difference and I think you would definitely need to purchase the dining plan to enjoy similar quality to Cunard. It is nice that there are options though, as I will have to find a bargain again in order to sail on one of the lovely Queens again since that cost is baked in already. I can't think of one area where I would agree that Cunard places second to Celebrity. Pricing, perhaps, though Celebrity is no bargain by any means. Entertainment (this trip excluded 🙂) is probably more diverse, but I think the entertainment options on QE were perfectly suited for the demographic. There were certainly no gaps in offerings, just none that were particularly exciting for a thirty something American. Soon is a relative term. Compared to a typical human lifetime, 298 days is soon so in that sense, I will be cruising again soon. Of course, I hope it will be even sooner than that as right now that many days certainly feels another lifetime away 🙂