Live Cruise Reports

Welcome to another “live” cruise review! This is my first time, so go easy on me. Since I am a teacher, I have no pressing work to think about on this summer cruise. With all this extra free time on my hands, I thought I would try a live report. While I rarely post anything on CC, I have been an avid lurker for the past 10 years. I always appreciate the live cruise reports, and there have been some great reports over the past few months. Time to give back! Here goes nothing . . .

Click to Cruise Along!

Actually, we are still at Washington Dulles Airport, but we will be in Scandanavia tomorrow. 😁
 
I have read many live threads and enjoy “cruising” via the Internet with fellow Cruise Critic members. I hope you will join me on this Scandinavian adventure.
 
Like most cruises since March of 2020 this trip has had its ups and downs.  It was scheduled 3 years ago to celebrate “my big birthday” last summer and has been “lifted and shifted” twice.  The embarkation ports are different; the number of days and itineraries have all changed. . . and then Russia invaded Ukraine. This is the final version of the itinerary:

Click to Cruise Along!

Hello CC Friends!  I’m back again!
 
Things I’ve done this week that were no fun:  
-Renewing my drivers license
-Reviewing my 401(k) and IRA with my financial advisor
-Scheduling my first mammogram (this one is super important though, ladies! Do not skip!)
 
Things I’ve done this week that were very exciting:
 
-Preparing for my big 40th Birthday Cruise to Bermuda!

Click to Cruise Along!

With negative Covid tests in hand, we are ready to board our first Seabourn ship tomorrow. We had a great flight to beautiful but very warm Barcelona and are enjoying El Palace tonight before embarkation tomorrow. The hotel has several food venues including the rooftop garden, beautiful with very good food.

Click to Cruise Along!

The time has come for yet another virtual cruise.  This week I will be on NCL Jade.  A port stop everyday with no sea day to rest.  Come along for lots of pictures, lots of food and lots of my random thoughts 💭

Click to Cruise Along!

We are currently onboard, having joined on 11th July for the Alaska segment and staying on till Fort Lauderdale.
We are in a Britannia inside cabin on deck 8 forward. Perfect location for us, handy for the Commodore Club for pre dinner drinks, and the Lido, where we prefer to have breakfast and lunch. There have been canapés in the Commodore most nights, and a glass of fizz in the Britannia dining room twice so far on Gala nights, presumably instead of cocktail parties. The gala nights have been lovely, with many people dressing up! The Ice White night was especially impressive. 

Click to Cruise Along!

We are cruising again!
This will be our first time on the Encore and we are both super excited (it takes a lot for my dad to be even remotely excited so this is big news.)
This will be our 27th cruise with NCL and our 13th week in Alaska.

Click to Cruise Along!

I was invading someone else's live thread so figured start my own.  If you have questions, ask away!  Understand I'm in an Aquaclass and do not plan on visiting the MDR except maybe for lunch.

Click to Cruise Along!

I have only read the live reviews and never posted one so i am going to try.
 
Flew into EWR with no issues. In fact, I started worrying it was going to easy. Flights were early, no baggage lost. The airport is a little tricky at catching the hotel shuttles but the people were helpful.
 
We are staying at The Country Inn on International. Great location to spend a few hours before the cruise. We were meeting up with friends from all over the US so they were coming in at different times. The hotel is no frills, clean, and staff have been friendly. We opted for the shuttle service at 17.50 each. It would have been cheaper for Uber or a little less for taxis but I am all about simple. Times are set at 10, 11, or 12. With a 11 check in we chose the 10.

Click to Cruise Along!

I don’t think I have ever been first on board before but I was this morning, and was actually at my room by 11 AM.

I was met by three familiar crew members, great to see them.  One is Jaz, an experienced Activities Host, known from past cruises.
 
please ask any questions and I will attempt to find answers as the week goes on.

Click to Cruise Along!

Good afternoon everyone, reporting from the Voyager.  I will be attempting a live blog for the next 40 + days as we traverse Northern Europe on board the beautiful RSSC Voyager. This cruise segment is one of Regent’s 30th anniversary cruises so some special events are planned. I will attempt to keep you informed of those. RSSC CEO Jason Montague is on board and will host a town hall during this segment. 

Click to Cruise Along!

If you can get TSA pre-approved it will save you time. Especially at SFO.
Embarkation 
Flying into Vancover you have to wear a mask the entire flight. And the entire time until you board the ship..
When you get to Vancouver you go through customs.  Keep your passport out you  will need it several times the first day. Also have your negative test results handy. 
Once you get your luggage and exit  the area, Princess people are right there.  They will take your luggage  and the next time you will see it is in your room.
Bus ride to the cruise terminal  takes about 40 minutes on city streets.  Could be longer depending on the day

Click to Cruise Along!

Embarked Tuesday in Copenhagen for a 10 day Norwegian fjord's cruise. The embarkation was a bit scrambled as first the port authorities had to permit you to move on to the local health authorities and then finally to the Silversea medical team who looked at our vaccination cards and Covid test results. And then at last we surrendered our passports and got our key cards. All of this took no more than 20 minutes but it seemed a bit chaotic, mostly the local folks creating the twists and turns.

Click to Cruise Along!

We are excited to board the Rotterdam since this will be our first time on her, we have only sailed the Pinnacle Class once and the was the very first sailing of the Koningsdam in April 2016 so it will be exiting to see this ship.   T

Click to Cruise Along!

Hey friends! It’s been a busy 12 days since we disembarked the Carnival Ecstasy, but in my Lizzo voice, “it’s about d@m time” for a proper live with Cheers! and adult time! 
Join me as I sail the Carnival Liberty next week for 4 nights as we sail to Nassau and Princess Cays with the best bar staff in the fleet. DJ Lindy Legends will make some appearances, along with Cruise Director Dustin (back from his vacation), and they have new entertainment (the last cast went home July 4th). 
So wash your party pants, stock up on liquid IV, and let’s send my favorite bartenders home from this contract the right way! 

Click to Cruise Along!

When you book a cruise to Hawaii and it gets canceled what do you do?  Yes! Go to Alaska!  Makes sense.  I am leaving 91° , feels like 101° weather to where I will be lucky to see temperatures above 55°!  🥶 My body does not handle below 55° weather well.  Should I be doing this? As I am typing the Jackson 5 started singing, "Got to Be There"…. 🤔 

Click to Read!

 
I’m traveling with DH, Glen, who did not get covid when I did.  So I was a bit nervous about covid testing for this cruise.  Last night we used two home tests to avoid a nasty surprise this morning and to my relief both negative.  Which was good, because while all was well with Glen, I discovered I couldn’t check into the flight.  We’d flown United from Vancouver home to SF two months ago and it was fine.  This time, they wanted to scan my passport.  The scan failed, because my name didn’t match.  United, since I joined in the 1980’s has had my middle initial only.  I’ve flown many places with that, but now it’s a problem.  So I called.  The agent helpfully added my middle name and I was good to check in.  Checked in, saw my boarding pass and went to bed.
 

Click to Cruise Along!

This will be our first NCL cruise(s) since Covid shut it all down and cancelled our POA cruise back in 2020. It is not our first cruise since COVID, though. Last year we grew weary of the CDC “rules”, so we booked one of the RCI cruises out of the Bahamas. Since then, we have cruised several times out of LA on various cruise lines. Cruising with low passenger counts was a once-in-a-lifetime dream! On one cruise we had only 600 passengers onboard a ship that holds 3000! I know that is over now, so it will be interesting to experience the “new normal” cruise experience post-Covid.
 
Click to Cruise Along!

We are finally, Covid caused a few reschedules, taking our Oasis cruise. We are traveling with a total of 8 people. Me, DH, DH best friend and his family: wife, teenage kids (a son and a daughter), and his parents. His mom is celebrating her 75 birthday. This is my husbands best friends family first cruise. The rest of us have cruises before. 
We are in a crown loft suite, my Royal up for a star loft suit is still pending….they are 3 Central Park rooms. The concierge emailed, I asked them to make dinner reservation for all 8 of us to celebrate her birthday. They did with question and then said they could make entertainment reservations for all 8 as well. That was suite!!!! (See what I did there). 
As I shared in a previous post, we used an online company for our Covid test. Everyone else used CVS. 

Click to Cruise Along!
 

I will be reporting live from this Gem sailing from Venice with lots of pictures I hope.
 
We booked an inside but our bid of £90pp for a balcony was accepted on Wednesday 6th July (D-4)
 
We need an Antigen test which we did from home on 7th July from home by video and have our certificates, aprox £20 a test from Qured.
 
We fly British Airways to Venice at 6.30PM today from London Heathrow for a late check-in outside Venice in Mestre for an overnight before a train to the cruise on Sunday, we have a 10AM check-in but wont make that due the the train times, train is pre booked at 27 euro a head for the hour and a half trip to the port in Trieste.
 
We will also be picking up some wine in Trieste to test the new (?) corkage system for those with a beverage package, will report back.

After the Cruise which ends on Friday we will be spending some time in Venice and flying home on Sunday 17th.
 
Let the party start 🥳

Click to Cruise Along!
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

Struggeling with the photos will post those later.. 🙂
 
In the past 2.5 years I lived vicariously through your live reports (shout out to @groryjm @Jim_Iain@What A Market @GenerationX and many others - thank you very much !)
So now that I am finally ready to board another cruise, I too would like to contribute, if you will read me. 

Click to Cruise Along!

Well we are all packed and ready to head off to Alaska! Can't wait to being back on the Eurodam for another trip to Alaska. Itinerary was adjusted a bit with less time in port and an earlier departure from Seattle. During the pandemic I really enjoyed living vicariously through Seth Wayne's live videos while we were all waiting for things to restart. Through a happy coincidence we switched to this sailing and discovered that it was a Sail with Seth. Very much looking forward to meeting Seth in person and seeing what the experience is like. 

Click to Cruise Along!

We are super excited! We have a great group of 20 who have cruised together previously. It’s a multi-generational group this time  - parents, grandparents and 20-something kids. We are in our early 40s and 50s. It’s my first time traveling with my Mom, sisters and husband. I support my Mom and she lives with us…We are both Leo’s…wish us luck! 

Click to Cruise Along!

Thought I'd detail our daily goings-on for our cruise tour incase anyone was interested (and if not I'll at least have a little travel diary of our trip).
 
Day 1 was yesterday we flew in to Anchorage from Vancouver and landed mid-afternoon. There was a bit if a delay (only about 15-20 mins) getting to the hotel (we stayed at the Hotel Captain Cook) as the company that picks up said there had been a shortage of coaches.

Click to Cruise Along!

Howdy, folks. I am boarding the Vista later today and thought I would try to do my best job of posting a more or less live review of the trip. My immediate party is 4, including two teenagers, and we are staying in a Family Harbor Suite. We are also travelling with another party of 5 that we know from church, and they are in a interior stateroom and a window stateroom, also in the Family Harbor section.

Click to Cruise Along!