miketheExbaker

My GF and I toured Barbados on our own while we were cruising on the Zenith. WE stumbled upon a gorgeous secluded beach and decided to take an unplanned swim. We had not planned to get in the water so we came unprepared. I pulled off my shirt, kicked off my shoes and took the plunge in my khaki shorts. After a while I was just floating around on my back in the water and I feel something brush up against my face. I reached up for it, looked at it and it was a $20 bill! I flail around and stand up, look around, and see money floating around all over the place! I freak out and started screaming to my GF. scooping up all the floating bills. I get back on shore so excited......then I realized it was my own money from my short pockets that I didn't empty before going in the water! DOH!!!!

LOL not until January. :o I like to plan early! And by booking early I'm more likely to snag the good cabins. My husband always teases me that I experience my cruises for an entire year. He's right!

Which sailing in January are you on? We're on the Riviera Jan 23rd 2016 in 7135.

Any suggestions on which cruise line has an itinerary that leaves from Florida, hits some islands on the way to or from a trip up the Amazon?

What a wonderful journal of your trip. I had never considered an Amazon cruise until I followed your adventure.

more specifically the Silver Whisper and Seven Seas Mariner.

Looking at 2 cruises, both Panama Canal from California to East coast. Is comparing Silversea to Regent like splitting hairs? I should be happy with either right? I'm looking for quiet, peaceful times with good food and comfy accommodations. Any opinions are welcome!

Oman as well. Personally I would not go on a cruise like that, but tons of people do all the time, so maybe i'm just chicken.

I would never cruise in the Middle East. I see Yemen on some itineraries and I think *** would someone want to go there for? We stopped in Caracas once and I didn't get off the boat. That was when things were pretty heated in Venezuela.

Great info, thanks for taking the time to answer!

My girlfriend is a British citizen with a green card and residence here in the USA. Is there anything special she has to do in order to get on the boat in Miami and get back off it in Miami?

Looking for your opinions. :)

I'm trying to decide between a S1 (aft corner sky suite) or a Celebrity Suite on the Eclipse. I know the CS is larger, but I really like that aft balcony... And I don't really like the bumped out balcony for the CS. Anyone stay in both and have a preference? Maybe some good pics?

The thing is, while the ship is in drydock, she isn't generating revenue, and there are no guests, so the lines utilize this time to refurbish the guest areas. The main line cruises realize their demographic requires the guest areas not to look seedy. Sometimes, when a ship gets to around 20+ years, the class inspections require quite a lot of time (money) and steel renewals (money), so they will sell them to other lines that have a different demographic and a different profit structure. These lines sometimes go a bit longer between refurbishments.

Interesting, something to think about! Thank You!

I am looking at a 2017 Panama trip on Quest from San Diego to Miami. As best as I can tell, the Quest had refurbs in 2012. Do you think the boat will be showing many signs of wear and tear by 2017? I hate a ship that is not crisp and fresh. It would be my first Azamara cruise.

Yeah i was kind of thinking more like looks wise. Roughed up furniture, dirty worn carpet, gross mattresses, wear and tear/outdated looks. I have always had a blind faith that the ship is safe...

I was wondering how everyone felt about cruising on older ships. I know they go into dry dock for refurbishment every so often, and there are beautiful 20+ year old ships. But when do ou try to steer clear of the boat because it hasn't been in dry dock for say.... 5,6,7 years?

Thanks CAG, I found them :)

What a great picture! Thanks for posting it. I wonder if there is somewhere I can find out the dimensions of the room compared to the dimensions of the other PHs. That would prob answer my question.

I want to apologize in advance if I'm asking questions that have been answered in the past. I have browsed some info on here about PH's 7130 and 7135 but I think I may need a little more clarification.

I was lucky enough (I think) to secure 7135 for a 10 night Caribbean on Jan 23, 2016. I'm pretty excited about the big balcony....

-I have read that the size of the cabin suffers a bit because of the large balcony. But by how much? This is my first O cruise and the only other one I have to compare is being in an oceanview on the Celebrity Zenith, like 15 years ago, and that room was tiny! I'm not concerned about a smaller closet, but is the foot of the bed practically going to be touching the opposite wall of the cabin?

-I have read that soot from the stack is a problem on the balcony. Is it bad?

-And finally, one poster talked about how the balcony was not useable for a few days because of "regular maintenance." Has anyone else experienced this?

I gotta say I love the Critic and how passionate so many of you are about cruising. I hope I get to meet some of you on the cruise. So far only one other person in the Roll Call.

Thanks so much!

Mike

You may want to check with your bank, many of them have coin machines now and they don't charge the fee that coinstar does.

It's slightly disappointing that we are only able to book 1 res for each of the 4 restaurants on a 10 day trip. Has anyone had any success getting more than 1 each? And, are the specialty restaurant menus available for the in suite dining? That would be nice and make the res limit not matter so much.

I read on the O site FAQ that you are allowed to bring 3 bottles of wine on the ship at a port of call. No liquor though? And 3 bottles....5 ports of call = 15 bottles, right? That should be enough so we wont have to buy any bottles on board. Am I reading that rule correctly?

Finally what does "DH" mean in a cruisers review?

Thanks folks!

Well, I made my decision. Even though I have been on Celebrity, and loved it, I have been wanting to try Oceania pretty badly. It's going to be a long wait though! Thanks again everyone for your input!

I really am enjoying reading everyones opinions. I was afraid of this, I am no closer to picking one. So I guess since I had a good experience on the Zenith, which I heard at the time was "held together by paint," I will start back with Celebrity and do an O after that. Or maybe I'll start with the O! Haha, I guess I'm just thinking too much.

Hi Everyone!

I have been reading reviews on CC for a couple weeks, and I just registered today. This is my first post.

Its been about 15 years since my last cruise which was an 11 night Caribbean on the Celebrity Zenith. We had a great time, though I had nothing to compare it to. I was 22 at the time. It certainly wasn't a party cruise by any means. Every night by 9:30 we basically had the ship to ourselves. We were by far the youngest passengers on board. This did not bother us at all. In fact we just like to lay low, relax, eat and drink.

A couple months after the cruise I bought a bakery and havent had a vacation since. I just sold the bakery a few months ago and we are ready to cruise again.

My question is.... Celebrity Eclipse in a Sky Suite for the 14 night Southern Caribbean OR the Oceania Riviera in a PH for the 10 night Caribbean.

We are foodies, big time. And even though Oceania prides itself on having the best cuisine at sea....I have read a lot of reviews that say otherwise. The Zenith food was pretty good but I have seen some pictures of the food on YouTube videos recently that left a lot to be desired.

Another big question I have is.... will the Eclipse seem crowded? I believe it holds twice as many guests as the Riviera (yes i know it's bigger). But, we dont like crowds, we like quiet nooks and an unrushed environment.

We don't need rock climbing, bumper cars or waterslides and we don't care about the age of the other passengers.

OR...maybe someone can suggest another cruise line to look into?

Thanks so much!