Live Cruise Reports
Live Trip Reports from across the Community, hand-picked by your Community Team.
Live: Queen Anne Maiden Voyage.
Colin_Cameron posted a topic in Cunard Line,
Well, obviously we're not there quite yet. But we leave home this morning to head to Southampton, which Google tells me is 670 miles.
If anyone else on board wants to pitch in with their thoughts, observations or daily reports, feel free. It may be easier to find 'who said what' if it's all in one thread.
Even with the four month delay this has been a shorter wait than in the past. QM2 Maiden was booked in '99 and QV in '01 (or '02, I'd need to dig out the paperwork). But it's going to be odd going on a ship that hasn't been named. Should we even be referring to her as "Queen Anne"?
Click title to cruise along!
If anyone else on board wants to pitch in with their thoughts, observations or daily reports, feel free. It may be easier to find 'who said what' if it's all in one thread.
Even with the four month delay this has been a shorter wait than in the past. QM2 Maiden was booked in '99 and QV in '01 (or '02, I'd need to dig out the paperwork). But it's going to be odd going on a ship that hasn't been named. Should we even be referring to her as "Queen Anne"?
Click title to cruise along!
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- 339 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
LIVE Norwegian Jade May 1,2024
umaine89 posted a topic in Norwegian Cruise Line,
I have never cruised on Norwegian before, so I am looking forward to trying something new and comparing to RCL and Carnival. I booked this cruise 6 days before it departed as kind of an “emergency” stress relief. Feel free to follow along. My last live review was in 2021 on a half empty boat, if you’re interested in reading about the golden age of cruising, haha. I have been on two RCL cruises and an Avalon cruise down the Danube in the last couple of years but I want to document my impressions of NCL so I am picking up the virtual pen again.
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Click title to cruise along!
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- 98 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live Report - Norwegian Viva Lisbon to Rome. April/May 2024
KeithJenner posted a topic in Norwegian Cruise Line,
Hi everyone.
Another one of my live reports is incoming. As usual I’m not sure how regularly I will be posting but I will try to get on every day if I can.
A bit of background for those who don’t know us. I am travelling with my wife (our third cruise by ourselves after a few years of cruising with our son, who would rather stay at home these days.
Click title to cruise along!
Another one of my live reports is incoming. As usual I’m not sure how regularly I will be posting but I will try to get on every day if I can.
A bit of background for those who don’t know us. I am travelling with my wife (our third cruise by ourselves after a few years of cruising with our son, who would rather stay at home these days.
Click title to cruise along!
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- 89 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live Celebrity Constellation 23 April 2024 Rome to Ravenna
surfnsun posted a topic in Celebrity Cruises,
Buonasera! Good evening! Live reviews are great before a cruise, so I thought I'd pay it forward and so we finally begin our journey and sharing with those of you looking forward to similar adventures! It begins with our arrival yesterday in Rome, a four night pre vacation before we depart on the Constellation. She is just coming out of dry dock, so I'm sure she'll be all polished and ready to welcome all of us departing on 23 April. We always book several nights pre and post cruise because we like both a land and sea vacation and it's the best of both worlds. Anyway, we begin our adventure in Rome and we have never really spent time here so it is a new experience.
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Click title to cruise along!
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- 446 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Rogueperson's **Live** Scarlet Lady 4/21/2024 Transatlantic
Rogueperson posted a topic in Virgin Voyages,
Hello everyone.
I'm not a frequent visitor on this board until recently. However, I'm in the habit of posting these live threads. I hope you enjoy my trip as I enjoy writing about it. This is a couple of firsts for me. First and foremost (ha, made a joke), this is my absolute first Virgin cruise, so i'm a bit anxious. I'm normally a Royal Caribbean cruiser, but am very open to other cruise lines as I've done Princess, Celebrity, Carnival and NCL in the past.
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I'm not a frequent visitor on this board until recently. However, I'm in the habit of posting these live threads. I hope you enjoy my trip as I enjoy writing about it. This is a couple of firsts for me. First and foremost (ha, made a joke), this is my absolute first Virgin cruise, so i'm a bit anxious. I'm normally a Royal Caribbean cruiser, but am very open to other cruise lines as I've done Princess, Celebrity, Carnival and NCL in the past.
Click title to cruise along!
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- 309 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live from the Wind - From the Amazon to Africa
Fletcher posted a topic in Silversea,
I won’t bore you with the gory details about how we got here. If you know the BBC show Race Across the World you’ll get the picture. Suffice to say, Manaus is not the easiest port of embarkation I’ve ever been to, not least because we changed planes in São Paulo which is 2000 miles in the wrong direction. That’s like flying from New York to Los Angeles via Mexico City.
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- 112 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live: Apr 20, 2024 Summit 14 Night Panama Canal Westbound Cruise!
mahdnc posted a topic in Celebrity Cruises,
My wife and I are flying out to Miami today for this 14 night Panama Canal sailing on Summit. This will be our 18th sailing with Celebrity, our second time on Summit, and our first full canal transit cruise.
Since this original itinerary (below) was posted by Celebrity, it has since changed. We are scheduled to be docked at Costa Rica from 5:15 am to 6:00 PM
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Since this original itinerary (below) was posted by Celebrity, it has since changed. We are scheduled to be docked at Costa Rica from 5:15 am to 6:00 PM
Click title to cruise along!
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- 530 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live from the Jewel April 29-May 13, 2024: will definitely contain sarcasm and grumpiness
YVRteacher posted a topic in Norwegian Cruise Line,
It’s the time of year for the annual father/daughter birthday cruise on the lovely NCL Jewel from Vancouver to Seward to Vancouver.
My name is Yvonne and my dad and I have been cruising with NCL for 14 years. We have been on the Jewel, Jade, Gem, Pearl, Pride of America, Sun, Star, Breakaway and Encore together and I have been on the Bliss. I will become an Ambassador on this cruise and the day I hit 700 points will be my birthday! (Yes, I know the points aren’t awarded until after the cruise is completed but I’m allowed to be excited for this!) NCL and especially the Jewel are so special to us.
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My name is Yvonne and my dad and I have been cruising with NCL for 14 years. We have been on the Jewel, Jade, Gem, Pearl, Pride of America, Sun, Star, Breakaway and Encore together and I have been on the Bliss. I will become an Ambassador on this cruise and the day I hit 700 points will be my birthday! (Yes, I know the points aren’t awarded until after the cruise is completed but I’m allowed to be excited for this!) NCL and especially the Jewel are so special to us.
Click title to cruise along!
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- 713 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live from Enchanted Princess 7 Day Cruise to Western Caribbean 4/27/24-5/4/24
2 to Sea posted a topic in Princess Cruises,
We are newish to cruising and wanted to give a live report from someone still finding their way. This will be our second cruise. Our first was on the Majestic to Alaska in 2021. That cruise was in the COVIDera where the ship could only be half full. We expect this one to be much busier.
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Click title to cruise along!
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- 119 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live from the Solent for Queen Anne’s arrival
Solent Richard posted a topic in Cunard Line,
A weather check across the Sooent from our balcony lifter our hearts for a good day…..
…so lunchtime finds us meeting up with old friends at Southampton’s Harbour Hotel’s 6th floor HarBar waiting for our Sunseeker taxi service….
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…so lunchtime finds us meeting up with old friends at Southampton’s Harbour Hotel’s 6th floor HarBar waiting for our Sunseeker taxi service….
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- 40 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live from Sky Princess - Norway Fjords, 8 days, April 27 to May 5
FancyPants21 posted a topic in Princess Cruises,
Thought I'd do a report from on board.
Embarkation at Southampton was quick and easy for us. Boarding started about 10.30 and we were one of the first on. I did hear that there were waits of up to an hour for those that arrived later.
Once on we did the normal stuff... got a drink, visited our muster station and watched the video. I went to book some speciality dining by visiting each restaurant. Then to the room to see if we could drop off the bags there instead of using the allocated MDR. To our surprise the room was ready so we moved in. A PH suite on Riviera.
Click title to cruise along!
The general feel on the ship is familiar and hasn't changed much but what has changed is the level of service. It isn't bad , just different. Where the bars were mainly waiter/ess served now you mainly need to line up at the bar. That simple change means they have less waiting staff but it has changed how the bars work... not for the better IMO. There are still waiting staff around just very few and if you waited to get one to place your order it would have been much quicker to just line up.
Apart from that it is pretty much the same. The MDR service is excellent (Reserve Collection) as is the food. We have eaten once in Crown Grill and I have to say that it was the very best rib-eye steak I have ever had... and I have had a few!
However, the biggest disappointment so far for me has been the standard of entertainment around the ship. It is not good IMO. Princess has never been one for doing great entertainment in the piazza or bars but on this trip it has hit a low. Having said that the main theatre entertainment has been superb. To be honest, it isn't a problem for us.
The first port in Norway, Haugesund, was cancelled due to high winds so we had a day of scenic cruising around the fjords. Actually, we didn't really mind as Haugesund was not a place we particularly wanted to see. Weather has been mostly cloudy with the odd shower and the odd sunny spell so it made for a relaxing day.
We are in port now in Aalesund... oour first chance to get off.
More later
Embarkation at Southampton was quick and easy for us. Boarding started about 10.30 and we were one of the first on. I did hear that there were waits of up to an hour for those that arrived later.
Once on we did the normal stuff... got a drink, visited our muster station and watched the video. I went to book some speciality dining by visiting each restaurant. Then to the room to see if we could drop off the bags there instead of using the allocated MDR. To our surprise the room was ready so we moved in. A PH suite on Riviera.
Click title to cruise along!
The general feel on the ship is familiar and hasn't changed much but what has changed is the level of service. It isn't bad , just different. Where the bars were mainly waiter/ess served now you mainly need to line up at the bar. That simple change means they have less waiting staff but it has changed how the bars work... not for the better IMO. There are still waiting staff around just very few and if you waited to get one to place your order it would have been much quicker to just line up.
Apart from that it is pretty much the same. The MDR service is excellent (Reserve Collection) as is the food. We have eaten once in Crown Grill and I have to say that it was the very best rib-eye steak I have ever had... and I have had a few!
However, the biggest disappointment so far for me has been the standard of entertainment around the ship. It is not good IMO. Princess has never been one for doing great entertainment in the piazza or bars but on this trip it has hit a low. Having said that the main theatre entertainment has been superb. To be honest, it isn't a problem for us.
The first port in Norway, Haugesund, was cancelled due to high winds so we had a day of scenic cruising around the fjords. Actually, we didn't really mind as Haugesund was not a place we particularly wanted to see. Weather has been mostly cloudy with the odd shower and the odd sunny spell so it made for a relaxing day.
We are in port now in Aalesund... oour first chance to get off.
More later
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- 52 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
QUASI-LIVE Rotterdam VII: 14-Day Atlantic Sunsets & Exotic Isles
*Miss G* posted a topic in Holland America Line,
Wow. Talk about a wild ride when booking last minute! There are far too many moving pieces when trying to coordinate multiple schedules and obligations across three different countries with six different people. It’s like nailing jello to a tree!
The main goal is to get to England. This TA gets us close. It’s not our first choice in itineraries but it’s a cruise and we are happy. Today is embarkation day!
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The main goal is to get to England. This TA gets us close. It’s not our first choice in itineraries but it’s a cruise and we are happy. Today is embarkation day!
Click title to cruise along!
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- 44 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live from the Volendam - please join the Merry Widows on their cruise 😊
kazu posted a topic in Holland America Line,
Good afternoon from lovely, warm Florida.
For the first time since I lost DD DH, I’m not travelling solo. I have invited a friend to join me - also a widow.
We are boarding the Volendam tomorrow for a nice relaxing 13 cruise to Montreal, Canada.
It’s been very challenging to get here with a lot of last minute hiccups but here we are and we are going. The story is too long and I won’t bore you - let’s just say that I didn’t know until Thursday morning if I could go or not, flight delay got us in at midnight starving since we only got water and either a package of sugary/salty snacks on our flight. We were starving so by the time we checked in, got some food and wound down it was close to 2 AM FLL time. But we’re here and happy that we are 🙂
Click title to cruise along!
For the first time since I lost DD DH, I’m not travelling solo. I have invited a friend to join me - also a widow.
We are boarding the Volendam tomorrow for a nice relaxing 13 cruise to Montreal, Canada.
It’s been very challenging to get here with a lot of last minute hiccups but here we are and we are going. The story is too long and I won’t bore you - let’s just say that I didn’t know until Thursday morning if I could go or not, flight delay got us in at midnight starving since we only got water and either a package of sugary/salty snacks on our flight. We were starving so by the time we checked in, got some food and wound down it was close to 2 AM FLL time. But we’re here and happy that we are 🙂
Click title to cruise along!
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- 442 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Semi-live 48 day adventure: Prima, Getaway, Dawn, and beyond
Travelicious posted a topic in Norwegian Cruise Line,
We are 8 days away from embarking upon a 48 day adventure. The excuse: my wife’s (hereinafter “Pookie”) recent retirement. She was a letter carrier for the USPS, mostly in a small town in a southern state, for 20 years, and was able to buy back her 10 years of military service to give her 30 years total.
I retired in October, 2021, after 28 years as a state employee. Since then, I’ve done a few solo cruises. The first was in November, 2021 on the first sailing of the Escape after the Covid shutdown. It was on this cruise that I first began planning for Pookie's retirement trip.
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I retired in October, 2021, after 28 years as a state employee. Since then, I’ve done a few solo cruises. The first was in November, 2021 on the first sailing of the Escape after the Covid shutdown. It was on this cruise that I first began planning for Pookie's retirement trip.
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- 318 replies
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LauraS,Post in Live Report
English Tim posted a post in a topic,
We board on May 12, so I’m a bit early.
Originally we booked from LAX to Miami, one cruise, but we accidentally discovered that our cruise had been split in two and extended by three days. My UK TA was unaware of the changes until I notified them. It was a worrying time, but we had already booked flights.
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Originally we booked from LAX to Miami, one cruise, but we accidentally discovered that our cruise had been split in two and extended by three days. My UK TA was unaware of the changes until I notified them. It was a worrying time, but we had already booked flights.
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Picked By
LauraS,.jpg.84f1faf84a6630757d01bdc39e13adfd.jpg)
LIVE FROM THE NOVA-Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver
flyers posted a topic in Silversea,
We boarded the ship on Tuesday at about 1:30 and found out that the ship was in Sanitizing Mode and were unable to access our suite until approximately 4:40 which we later found out was due to the fact that the ship had a late disembarkation because 30+passangers had experienced Noro Virus symptoms.
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Click title to cruise along!
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- 56 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live from the Emerald Princess B2B April 20- May 10, 2024
MissiCruzs posted a topic in Princess Cruises,
Sitting in Take 5 on the Enchanted. It's the end of our 7 day journey on this ship and we're waiting to be transferred to the Emerald at Terminal 19. Come along on our journey... ask questions or just enjoy the ride!
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Click title to cruise along!
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- 137 replies
Picked By
LauraS,.jpg.31a3fdad0861b658c9b294207c132163.jpg)
JamieLogical's Live from the Enchanted Princess 5/4
JamieLogical posted a topic in Princess Cruises,
Cruise prep is underway and we have only 12 days to go until our Enchanted Princess sailing to the western Caribbean!
My husband and I will soon be making our (triumphant?) return to Princess. My first and only sailing with Princess was on the Emerald Princess through the Panama Canal over Christmas and New Year's of 2022/2023. It was and still is the worst cruise I have ever been on for a multitude of reasons including woeful understaffing, horrible service, inedible food, bad entertainment, and poor ship design/maintenance. You know it's bad when both the F&B Manager and the Entertainment Director tell you they wouldn't blame you for never sailing Princess again. Fortunately, the cruise was saved by the wonderful itinerary and traveling with two of our good friends
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My husband and I will soon be making our (triumphant?) return to Princess. My first and only sailing with Princess was on the Emerald Princess through the Panama Canal over Christmas and New Year's of 2022/2023. It was and still is the worst cruise I have ever been on for a multitude of reasons including woeful understaffing, horrible service, inedible food, bad entertainment, and poor ship design/maintenance. You know it's bad when both the F&B Manager and the Entertainment Director tell you they wouldn't blame you for never sailing Princess again. Fortunately, the cruise was saved by the wonderful itinerary and traveling with two of our good friends
Click title to cruise along!
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- 316 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
*LIVE REVIEW* Solo --- Liberty of the Seas, 5 day -- April 22, 2024
rrraydon posted a topic in Royal Caribbean International,
Hi folks!
I did a live review on my MSC Magnifica cruise last month and thought I'd try another live for my upcoming LOS cruise in 2 days.
My game plan is to cruise once a month (or more some months) for the next year. I started a new job a few months back, weekend overnights. If I book Monday-Friday sailings, I can cruise monthly. The tricky part is: the majority of the 4 night/5 day Monday through Friday sailings leave from Florida and I live in Delaware. Sooo, I have to fly to the cruise AND I have to fly in the day of! Annnd, my flights have to leave between 10:30am and 11:30am. Last week I applied for the TSA checkin to avoid the long security lines at the airport but my clearance hasn't come in yet. I'm hoping I get in time for my solo on Celebrity Reflection next month, we'll see.
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I did a live review on my MSC Magnifica cruise last month and thought I'd try another live for my upcoming LOS cruise in 2 days.
My game plan is to cruise once a month (or more some months) for the next year. I started a new job a few months back, weekend overnights. If I book Monday-Friday sailings, I can cruise monthly. The tricky part is: the majority of the 4 night/5 day Monday through Friday sailings leave from Florida and I live in Delaware. Sooo, I have to fly to the cruise AND I have to fly in the day of! Annnd, my flights have to leave between 10:30am and 11:30am. Last week I applied for the TSA checkin to avoid the long security lines at the airport but my clearance hasn't come in yet. I'm hoping I get in time for my solo on Celebrity Reflection next month, we'll see.
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- 89 replies
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LauraS,Live from the Grandeur Barcelona to Rome
bebop bonnie posted a topic in Regent Seven Seas Cruises,
Good afternoon from the gorgeous Grandeur! I’ve on occasion written a summary at the end of a cruise. For years I’ve loved reading so many of your Live reports, so will attempt to start one now. Good chance it won’t be finished until after we’re back home. But heads up, I can’t possibly come close to the humor of Squeeze. Please know, however, Karl took my picture at the Pool Bar. Third seat from the right. No surprise, the bartender remembered him!
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Click title to cruise along!
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- 24 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live from Viking Kadlin Eastern European Capitals Cruise and Post Extension to Transylvania April 28-May 17
Australia08 posted a topic in River Cruising,
Friday, April 26 - We are off on another Viking River Cruise (our second). As we usually do, we arrived several days prior the the cruise embarkation. We left JFK on Wednesday, the 24th, flying via Amsterdam. We had a longer layover than I usually like, but the price was right for business class so 5 hr layover it was. The flight still got us to Vienna by mid afternoon. We had a relatively quick journey by rail to center city and a short walk to the Hilton Plaza hotel. We tend to stay at Hiltons when we travel since we are Diamond members and almost always get upgraded. Our arrival day was no exception. We enjoyed a light dinner and wine at the Executive Lounge and called it an evening. I took a melatonin to make sure that I got a good night’s sleep, read a couple of chapters in my book and turned out the lights.
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Click title to cruise along!
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- 78 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live from the 4/20/24 Enchanted Princess sailing
Host CJSKIDS posted a topic in Princess Cruises,
Starting my live from today as tomorrow we are heading over to Fort Lauderdale to stay at The Hotel Maren on Fort Lauderdale Beach again to start off our vacation. Hey, why not start a day early?!
So looking forward to being back at sea and on a ship that I haven't sailed on before. I'm sure I will love the Enchanted as much as I did the Sky, especially since Crooners is on this ship. Hopefully I will be doing my live report Sunday from the Sanctuary, which many know is one of my favorite places on a ship. Also really looking forward to a few dinners at The Catch by Rudi.
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So looking forward to being back at sea and on a ship that I haven't sailed on before. I'm sure I will love the Enchanted as much as I did the Sky, especially since Crooners is on this ship. Hopefully I will be doing my live report Sunday from the Sanctuary, which many know is one of my favorite places on a ship. Also really looking forward to a few dinners at The Catch by Rudi.
Click title to cruise along!
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- 191 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
Live! Odyssey 5/5/24 - The Holy Lands Cruise that was not meant to be (Greece, Italy, and Turkey instead)
ashlynn1021 posted a topic in Royal Caribbean International,
Hi All!
A little about myself since I haven't posted on here in a very very long time, I am Ashley, a 30 year old from Arizona who has been cruising mostly with my parents (and grandparents before they passed) but sometimes solo, with friends, and with groups since I was 9 months old. I have mostly done Royal Caribbean but I have also done some Celebrity and Princess as well as one each of Holland America, NCL, and Carnival (we don't talk about those, there is a reason it was one each). Anyways, all that to say I am very loyal to Royal with nearly 80 Royal Caribbean cruises under my belt. When I am not cruising, I am a full time software engineer to pay for my cruising habit.
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A little about myself since I haven't posted on here in a very very long time, I am Ashley, a 30 year old from Arizona who has been cruising mostly with my parents (and grandparents before they passed) but sometimes solo, with friends, and with groups since I was 9 months old. I have mostly done Royal Caribbean but I have also done some Celebrity and Princess as well as one each of Holland America, NCL, and Carnival (we don't talk about those, there is a reason it was one each). Anyways, all that to say I am very loyal to Royal with nearly 80 Royal Caribbean cruises under my belt. When I am not cruising, I am a full time software engineer to pay for my cruising habit.
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- 71 replies
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LauraS,LIVE from the Freedom 4/22/24 5 nt Eastern Caribbean
Timeforvaca posted a topic in Carnival Cruise Lines,
Hi all!
Just thought I would share a couple things since I had so many questions answered on here prior to my cruise.
We are in an inside cabin on deck nine. It is literally literally the size of a shoebox, 😂lol. But honestly, it’s pretty livable. And the room sure gets dark at night…we’ve been sleeping later than normal! I haven’t sailed in an inside cabin since I was 18, (I’m 47 now) and I would do it again, especially at the super cheap last-minute Casino rate that we got.
Click title to cruise along!
Just thought I would share a couple things since I had so many questions answered on here prior to my cruise.
We are in an inside cabin on deck nine. It is literally literally the size of a shoebox, 😂lol. But honestly, it’s pretty livable. And the room sure gets dark at night…we’ve been sleeping later than normal! I haven’t sailed in an inside cabin since I was 18, (I’m 47 now) and I would do it again, especially at the super cheap last-minute Casino rate that we got.
Click title to cruise along!
- 3 replies
Picked By
LauraS,
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Quick Live Report from Beyond April 12-22
RK-NC posted a topic in Celebrity Cruises,
Good morning sunrise from Beyond! Just a quick report that we are so very pleased with our sky suite experience so far! We met our stateroom attendant Sheldon and Butler (!!) Thad before sailaway yesterday. We have had excellent service in Luminae, Al Bacio, Oceanview, Retreat Sundeck Bar. Really enjoyed comedian Al Ducharme last night! No problems with seating in the theater - we got there about 30 minutes before showtime. I believe we have a full ship and nowhere has seemed crowded to us so far. Looking forward to a beautiful day at sea!
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Click title to cruise along!
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- 90 replies