Live Cruise Reports

Most of the time, what the industry calls a "Cruise Vacation" is called for.  I did a search for long cruises, 11/23, and then by price.  In my experience, the lines are pretty similar.  The frequent guest programs are useless, so once you get invited to the basic loyalty party, the rest of the perks are pretty boring.  The Constellation is a lovely ship, and we had fond memories of an amazing trip to the Med years ago.  

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Greetings from the Ruby.
 
It was very busy day in port at Fort Lauderdale.  There were 6 ships leaving for the week.
We were blue lane because we had to pick up our Medallions.  Total time from drop off to onboard less than 20 minutes.  
Cabins were not ready until 1pm.  
There is a sanctuary onboard.  $40 a d

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Here we go again! Although similar to other reports I’ve done, (as the Virtuosa is almost identical), I’ll comment on the differences Euribia. 
The aim of the report is to help others about to sail and, those considering whether or not to book. 
Also, it’s great for me to be able to scroll back and remember happy times when I’m at home and in between cruises! It’s surprising what one forgets, and how good it is when the pictures and text bring it all back to life!

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Thanksgiving with ninjacat123 AND family!  I am ready for a vacation from my vacation (if you didn’t read my LIVE in Italy, etc here’s the link)
 
And now you know why I’m still recovering from that whirlwind trip.  Sooooo much fun and sooooo many places to see, it was awesome.  Now ninjacat123 aka Bethany needs some chilling time and we have that on Elation as we cruise to Freeport and Nassau!  Freeport is a new port for all of us and I have booked a cabana at a beach club.  Now, when I say “all of us” I mean my mom, my two DDs, me and Craig.  We are all getting excited about our 6 hour drive with potty stops to Jacksonville starting at 5am (NOT) but this is the way.

I decided to write a bit as I watch the birds skimming the wave tops in the Caribbean.  We are Elite on Celebrity, 3* on HAL, Elite on Princess, and have sailed a few of the other lines in everything from OVs to Penthouse suites.  This sailing is our first on Celebrity (X) in nearly a year (Apex 12/2022), and it’s 18 months since we have been on the Reflection.  We sailed 3 times on X in 2022 in suites.  Due the the new pricing structure (yikes!) we are in Aqua on this cruise.  My brother and SIL are along in Concierge as well.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Hello, my Cruise Critic  family!
 
I am here yet again to do my Community Service and help you all deal with either your post-cruise blues, or your “my cruise isn’t approaching fast enough” blues. How do I plan to help with those problems, you ask? By letting you live vicariously through MY cruise in this live review, of course! Sure, you have to mix up your own DOD’s, cook your own meals, and make your own bed, but seeing my crazy adventures will make you feel like you’re on vaca….right?

Click Title to Cruise Along

I'm about to cry happy tears.  We're actually on board.    Long awaited, much needed.  Can try to answer any questions..... 

Click Title to Cruise Along!

We boarded yesterday about noon, and the process couldn't have been any easier.  It took about 45 minutes from arriving at the port, to drop luggage, park, get back to the terminal through the check in process and be onboard the ship.
 
The ship is amazing.  It is our first time on an edge class ship, and so far we have been very impressed.  We ate dinner at the Roof Garden Restaurant, and the food was good, and I was blown away by the size of the T-Bone steak.

Click Title to Cruies Along!

We boarded the Venture yesterday in Ushuaia and are now powering our way through 4 meter swells in the Drake. I'll provide updates as Starlink allows throughout the voyage.
 
 
Unlike our July trip aboard Venture, this time we had no flight drama and arrived in Buenos Aires without an issue. We are squeezing this trip in over the Thanksgiving break to minimize days missed at school for our son and his friend and had a very narrow window to make it work...thankfully the stars aligned this time.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Good Evening from the Eclipse! I have been so busy doing absolutely nothing I never started my live thread until just now. But I guess better late than never. Sailing solo this time around for the holiday as mom decided to visit some friemds (and I decided a cruise sounded much more enjoyable!) 
 
For Thankgiving I booked a Royal Suite for the 8 night Celebrity Eclipse Mexican Rivera sailing which includes a stop in San Diego. The best thing about this itinerary is that there is an afternoon arrival in most ports which makes for a relaxed morning. I found it a bit odd that Celebrity decided to do mostly 6 night cruises this season with a few 8 nights mixed in rather than doing 7 night cruises. Of course, what do I know about fleet planning? Absolutely nothing. They didn't seem to h

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Currently sailing off coast of Morocco. It is November 21 2023 - but temps outside are mid 70’s at 8:19 am. We have had gorgeous sunny days at Barcelona, Malaga, and Casablanca. Light sweater in morning, short sleeves later. 

Click Title to Cruise Alon!

We are a few hours away from boarding RSSC’s second newest ship, Splendour. We have a few cruises on Regent under our belts. Maybe you remember my live review from last year’s Voyager North Atlantic cruise where I had a slight altercation with some of Greenland’s hardest granite. The score of that encounter was Greenland WON, Matt fractured left arm….

First we are Matt & Susan from North Carolina. We have been in Spain now for 25 days. We have really enjoyed ourselves. Week long stays in Madrid, Seville and LaHerradura were the precursor for our first cruise on Splendour. More on those stops a bit later.
 
I am ready, the bags are ready BUT Las Ramblas is calling Susan. I think a morning walk is in my immediate future. More to come after boarding.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Here we go!! Well, almost - here we sit at the airport waiting to board to go. Then it's Here We Go - Rome Here We Come!⛲
We sail Sun Nov 26, so we'll play tourist for a couple days in Rome before we board the fresh out of dry dock Nieuw Statendam. We have a few days planned and one flex day with a rented Vespa to do whatever we feel like we missed or just to go tooling about.
Luggage was loaded very quickly after checking in, so I feel good about my chances of being reunited at the correct time.
Going to get some chocolate for the flight...Ciao for now. 

Click Title to Cruise Along!

I have long been a lurker but this is my first liveish review so bear with me. 
 
My friend Janelle and I sail on the Seashore Monday for 6 nights with stops to the private island, Costa Maya and Cozumel. The weather is clearing up after the past couple of wet days and the ship had to move their stops around this weekend due to weather conditions.
 
A little background, I have been a Celebrity loyalist for over 15 years with the last 6 or so cruises in the Retreat. I have reached Elite Plus status and I will probably never hit Zenith (the highest level) unless I hit the lottery. Their recent changes and price increases had me shopping around and after reading reviews from GenX and JamieLogical I was definitely down to try MSC.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

After the sub spectacular Prima TA, nevermore was said by me, the raven, and many others.
 
Well never say never. We are going live in 19 days, 2 days pre-cruise in Rome, and 21 days on the Viva. 
 
So many “firsts" for us on this adventure. We are still burn’t out from the NCL Star cruise but super excited about our next adventure.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Hello to anyone interested in following along as Viva makes her maiden cruise across the Atlantic Ocean!
 
Departing Lisbon, Portugal on 16 November, the lovely Viva will take us on an 11-day cruise across the ocean to arrive in Miami the Monday after Thanksgiving (American Thanksgiving).

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Now that I’ve whittled this cruise countdown into the single digits, I thought I’d begin my post a little early in the hopes that you will indulge my excitement to finally get started!  But first, I’d like to invite any fellow Cruise Critic friends who are on this journey to join in this review as I know excitement levels are high and should be shared with anyone who wants to contribute!
 
So why this cruise?  Well, it might be a little risky embarking on a brand-new ship…with a brand-new crew…breaking in brand-new quirks but DH and I will celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary of 19 years on November 23rd and we were looking for something different, new and maybe even a little bit quirky.  Now, I know what you’re thinking… 19 years isn’t a traditional milestone number.  I agree. But since we are both in round two marriages, any year over 5 (for me) and 9 (for him) is a milestone we are darn proud to celebrate 😉.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Well well well, it looks like it's about that time!! We're four work days out from my first Princess cruise since Ruby to Alaska about 7 years ago, the Regal out of Galveston. It'll be my first Royal class ship.....
 
A little background for those of you who haven't come across my stuff before - In my modern Cruise Critic era, I'm far and away most frequently a Carnival cruiser. They were my first (Celebration '88), I honestly enjoy the heck out of the product and they treat me well. I get decent casino comps (I'll play a lot, but incredibly low stakes. I'm a public school teacher, for goodness sakes), and I've gotten to do some pretty great cruises and see some amazing places with the offers I've been fortunate enough to get since the shutdown. I'm Diamond over there, Platinum But Rusty (#PBR) here with Princess, and a smattering of cruises with Royal, NCL, HAL, Costa, and a few lines that don't exist anymore. 
 
@HelloItsMeB is my better half, and as some of you know we do some cruises together and I do others solo; she has a real grown up job, and our vacation time doesn't always sync up. Luckily for me, we both really enjoy solo travel, even if we miss each other coming with. In fact, as I type this, she's in Patagonia on a two week tour through Chile and Argentina I couldn't possibly have joined her on, lest my kids don't get complete their Great Cities of Europe project. She likes to chime in on my LIVES, and she makes them better, but I'm skeptical on this one since she gets back to Dallas (where we live) the day before Regal arrives back in Galveston.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Consider this the Hype post to start my 3 day live review on Freedom of the Seas. 
 
Itinerary is an interesting one in that we are not stopping at Nassau, every 3 nighter I've done in the past has the obligatory stop in Nassau so this will be interesting to have a true sea day to round out the long weekend. Honestly I thought we had a stop in Nassau until typing up this post and realizing we were not going to be seeing Atlantis, so not sure if this got dropped last minute or if it was never part of the itinerary?

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Since no one else has started a live thread for our sailing, I figured I might as well start one 😃
 
We flew down from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale on the 11th and spent the night at the springhill suites in Dania Beach before boarding the ship yesterday. We love the location of this hotel, as we can walk to various shops that we don’t have at home (mainly Ross and TJMaxx) as well as several great restaurants.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

My wife and I will be flying out soon today to Quito.  We have booked the 11 night Quito cruise tour package--and we added an extra night on our own before the cruise tour.  This will be our 16th sailing on Celebrity and our first time to the Galapagos.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Hello to anyone interested in following along on this cruise. I am starting the live "early" so I can share some preparation and planning items, as well as hopefully hear from you and learn what you are interested in me sharing when I am on board.
 
This cruise will be departing Miami heading to LA through the Panama Canal. This will be my third time on the Bliss and my first time through the Canal. As a matter of fact, first time to every port (other than Miami). I am a Platinum latitudes reward member so I will share some of the items that includes as well. 

Click Title to Cruise Along!

I’m starting this thread to pick up the baton from @InsGuy3 and @florisdekort 
Our focus will be comparing to Viking and Azamara entry level suites. We hated MSC Yacht Club - the pampered few within a “factory ship” wasn’t for us so will not feature much in comments. Given how poor our dining experience in YC we just hope for far better. We therefore hope this thread stays away from YC discussions ad infinitum 

Click Title to Cruise Along!

I boarded Silver Dawn today en route from Barcelona to Lisbon and thence transatlantic to Fort Lauderdale.  I’m not sure how a cruise blog will go on this itinerary, but I’ll give it a try.
 
Part 1 encompasses Palma de Mallorca, Valencia  Cartagena (Spain), Malaga, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Tangier, Cadiz snd Lisbon. Unfortunately I had to cancel the day trip to the additional Alhambra because of my foot injury, but I will give some feedback on ship excursions to from the other ports.

Click Title to Cruise Along!

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well.  It's been a couple of months since I was active on CC with that 21 night European cruise on the Enchanted back in August.  I have been busy making my way through Italy, France and Portugal and London and not thinking about this cruise really at all, until a couple of days ago.  Yesterday I made my way to Victoria Coach station kind of reluctantly - I LOVE London and can never spend enough time there, the past two weeks went by so quickly!

Click Title to Cruise Along!