AlexCherie

To those on board ... wondering what different procedures are involved in things like sauna's, hot tubs, showers in the gyms.

Perhaps a new protocol involved?

1 hour ago, 1985rz1 said:

You may not be aware that naming Travel Agencies on Cruise Critic is against the rules.  So don't be surprised if it is deleted by the moderator.

Oops. No, I didn't know that. 

OK, well lesson learned. No harm meant.

Gee, I haven't been on the ship yet - just watched a very good video review of the Riviera.

I guess there is an activity area complete with a Thalassotherapy pool, sauna, steam and shower area along with an outdoor deck area that is card coded for entry - the area reserved at A rooms and above. 

The review took you inside that area and then it just dawned on me how cruise ships generally would handle such areas.  

In particular, how is Oceania handling COVID regarding spa/workout areas? Saunas, steam, "public" showers, workout spaces in the Concierge area?

TIA

24 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

 

I am not “defending” Celebrity or attempting to contradict that Oceania is currently less expensive.  I am just pointing out that the cost comparisons listed above may not be typically nor are they necessarily comparing “Apples to Apples”.

It's hard to get one-to-one comps. 

And when it's said and done, I think the realistic comparisons are truly to either The Haven (NCL) or The Retreat (X). It isn't just about rooms, amenities, and dining; it's about an overall experience where larger ships are trying to "bolt-on" great entertainment into the exclusive space, encroaching on the air of Oceania, and to a larger extent Crystal. 

Frankly I find it hilarious that someone would consider to spend $400 a night to board The Getaway (typically $4400 for an 11 night cruise, which by the way doesn't include airfare). But hey, it's all about what you value.

I'm looking forward to this trip, to see how the other half lives. But the very best cruise of my life, I spent $800 per person for a 14 day round trip, Boston/Montreal/Boston on a very small, outdated HAL ship in an inside cabin. 

10 hours ago, LGW59 said:

 

 

So with O we get 1 additional night, wifi, no tips, no bev package until we select it and we will, but $ diff is $3,800, ah let me think NO brainer!

 

Again, am I missing something?  C is supposed to be a mid-level premium brand, O is a higher end, again WTH is with the costs on C??  O here I come.....

 

 

 

 

 

That is, of course, not a small thing. You have no doubt done the math on that part as well, so I won't replicate it. I'm guessing ... $200 per day per cabin? Premium drink packages vary and we aren't drinkers, so I am unfamiliar.

But if I'm right, it does level the playing field quite a bit. Still, as an Elite CCer, it pains me to think of Oceania as a value cruise.

6 minutes ago, Robjame said:

We have taken a couple of these, one in Tangiers and two in the Caribbean. They were interesting in the sense that we met in the culinary centre beforehand, left the ship in this small group and shopped, had a meal together which showcased the food of that country and then we returned to the ship and cooked a few dishes. They were experiences that you can't do by yourself. They are not cheap.

 

With your past experiences, don't set your expectations too high. In the The cooking tips and experiences are set for the average home cook for the courses we took. The prep was pre-done. Nevertheless they were a lot of fun.

 

Tip? Arrive early at the culinary centre and grab a front table. Sit near the Oceania chef on the bus and at the meals.

Speak to one of the sommeliers on board about the wine tastings - usually paired with interesting canapés. We really enjoyed these.

Attend one or more of the La Reserve dinners - - fantastic.

 

Fantastic response. 

I've spent time in the Culinary Center on the Pinnacle class HAL ship. That was barely okay - for much of what you said. Without the "tour" part, I'm not so sure I need someone to tell me that Italians never break their spaghetti.

That said, I'm open to learning. It seems to me that we've become a world of YouTube videos and self-instruction, and even more today we've lost community enhancement. 

I'm so looking forward to this trip I'm about to burst. 

We have booked a Grand Voyage as our first O trip - on Riviera next April. The discussions here proved the final impetus to pull the lever, and I am excited beyond control at the thought of getting a Concierge (A2) room. (For any particular insight you'd like to offer, 9th floor, 9069).  

I haven't seen this topic discussed (prolly didn't look hard enough) and the entire idea of a complete, restorative trip with such small ports ... wow. So, seasoned O cruisers, tell me about Culinary Discovery tours. My history includes an extensive past in professional kitchens so you can imagine my excitement to work with world class chefs, picking out the produce and products.

How often can I expect these excursions? Are they difficult to secure a seat? Do I have any inside advantage to do so? What happens after the tour ... and tell me, while we're at it, how the O line incorporates this experience with time in the test kitchens (assuming they do, in some way)? Any hidden secrets you'd like to share? My expectations tell me that these will be likely not among the included excursions in our lineup.

We haven't taken a vacation in three years, and our entire lives have been built around experiences around the world. I am feeling like this trip is going to be akin to Tom Hanks in the "after" party in Castaway ... just bursting with every sensory explosion.

TIA.

3 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Was worth my time and thanks for suggesting.  Here is what I have come up with, perusing both O and C websites just now.  Tried to get as similar itineraries and dates as possible.  I still don't get it, EVERYTHING I read on CC or on professional travel sites RAVE re O, they don't slam Celebrity, I am not either, but there just seems to be some reason Celebrity feels they can charge these costs.  Fully admit I was one, I have cancelled my May 2022 with the Scandinavia and Russia, I'm good with that.  Still have my Oct 202 TA but will cancel that as well.  I just feel like the deal I got for Vista suite on a great Med cruise, with awesome ports is totally worth the ridiculous savins.

 

Celebrity - Beyond

Oct 2022

9 nights - Italy, France, Spain

Sky Suite 1

$12,837 (2 passengers)

$600BC

Always Included (wifi, tips, premium beverage package)

No specialty dining (averages $50/pp per dinner)

 

Oceania - Rivera

Nov 2022

10 nights - Med

PH1

$9,098 (2 passengers)

$600 OBC

Specialty dining included

wifi, sparkling and still waters (there is a war raging right now on CC Celebrity re water, LOL)

 

So with O we get 1 additional night, wifi, no tips, no bev package until we select it and we will, but $ diff is $3,800, ah let me think NO brainer!

 

Again, am I missing something?  C is supposed to be a mid-level premium brand, O is a higher end, again WTH is with the costs on C??  O here I come.....

 

 

 

 

 

Why do I guess that C has one more sea day in there than O? 

Well ... I have visited this message board years before, and just now pulled the trigger on the Labor Day Sale. Plenty of experience with Celebrity - my first cruise was on the Zenith in 1995, but I've never ventured into this nice a cruise, in this nice a cabin, for as long. 

While we've never booked anything like a Vista Class room here is an example of what we got versus Celebrity would have offered:

21 days in early April nearly to the end of the month, on the Riviera. Including airfare from NYC and the O-life, the legs were $4149 and $4349 per person. This is a heavily port-intensive cruise in the Western Med. We booked a B2 class and will be getting an A2 Concierge class room. This is 282 square feet, obviously. Over the entire trip just a touch over $400 a night (not including the O discount).

The only equivilant cruise would be on the Celebrity Infinity, using the Aqua Class, sailing for 11 days at roughly the same time period. This puts you into the Blu Restaurant, access to their Aqua Spa and 242 square feet of room. You need to bump up to get $400 of tours (which also gets you premium drinks). You are at $9500 per couple, not including airfare.

Toss in the airfare, at $880 economy class as quoted on their site, and you are at over $11,200 for an 11 night cruise - $500 per person, per night.

Oceania is more port intensive (one fewer sea day), less expensive (by about 25%), has a larger room (by about 15%). And I'm not sure how to value leaving your suit and ties behind might be, but it's pretty important to me. 

I'm looking forward to our first Oceania cruise. We came close years ago, so this should be interesting. 

 

16 hours ago, smilesntravels said:

I've heard that some people don't like these latest two new HAL ships and I've read that sometimes the service isn't as good.  I've also read that the NS and Koningsdam are beautiful,  but I read that there isn't a library also.  Yes, we'll see.  I'm not super picky about every thing and cruises go by too fast for me.  I just happen to like newer ships, so am very happy to go on the newest HAL.  

I think you'll love it.

For me I especially loved the touches in the cabin. Not sure it if is precisely "wood", but the rooms looked great - fresh, clean, modern. Nice flower arrangements in the hallways (not enough of them). 

Mmm. Miss it already.

14 hours ago, jameslee said:

Have you had a chance to try the coffee? If so, how was it?

Excellent. 

To each his own, but for me worth the price of admission.

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

That totally depends on the country you are doing the turn-around in. I have been in several countries where what you say is true, but not in the US or Japan. 

In the US, everyone must clear Immigration. That is done either by leaving the ship so it can be 'zeroed out', or the continuing passengers meeting in a set public room and clearing there. 
But you MUST report by whichever method the US authorities determine for your ship on your cruise. 
 

My experience was different.

We did a B2B on Celebrity. We had to clear Immigration, but we never left the ship and that was in FLL. We chose to leave the ship in Montreal on a B2B on HAL, but I can't recall if that was required on that ship. 

Worthwhile noting that on that particular Celebrity cruise, the last stop prior to returning to FLL was Key West and we cleared Immigration at that time. But regardless, my point stands - we would not have been required to actually leave the ship. 

19 hours ago, Rick-n-MeMe said:

We just returned from our Koningsdam cruise Sunday, November 24.  The cruise was 11 nights and left Fort Lauderdale on November 13^th.  We were excited to go on the Koningsdam and the cruise for the most part was very nice.  We are retired and living in Florida after traveling many years back and forth across the USA from Seattle for cruises.  Leaving out of Florida is a real plus and we are enjoying that. We have cruised numerous times (more than 25) on Celebrity, Princess and Holland America and some with RCCL and Carnival.  Our favorite cruise line at this point in our lives is Celebrity, followed by Princess and then Holland America.  We enjoy the more restricted smoking policy of Celebrity and we are getting to a point where we get more loyalty amenities for sailing with them. We do have status with other cruise lines and certainly would not discount them if the price and itinerary are right.

 

Well, enough with the background information! We didn’t take a lot of photos as we have been to all the ports more than once. I hopefully will post some photos of the stateroom/balcony, etc. in separate posts. So, it might be easiest to just do a list of things we liked and things we didn’t like.

 

Things we liked:

 

·         Many aspects of our room, #6216 aft balcony, we enjoyed including all the outlets in the room and USB ports by the bed (both sides) and at the desk area.

 

·         Enjoyed the firm mattress and pillows for comfort.

 

·         Really liked the anti-fog mirror in the bathroom.  It worked perfectly.

 

·         Liked the brighter than usual lighting in the bathroom and over the desk.

 

·         The shower size was awesome and the water pressure was crazy good. 

 

·         Loved the elevated refrigerator.  Why don’t more cruiselines do this?  It was great to not have to bend over to get things out of the fridge.

 

·         The room storage was way better than adequate.  Had ample hanging areas and good number of drawers. Also had two nice hooks by the bed for hats and totes, etc.

 

·         The bar prep area in the room was handy as it sat right by the fridge and it came with champagne, wine and cocktail glasses as well as a wine opener.

 

·         TV on demand movies had a great selection and saved your place as long as you paused it.

 

·         Room service answered the phone fast and we felt they brought items quicker than we were expecting. The food was warm and tasty. Love the chocolate cake. Even ordered dinner one night off the main dining room menu when we didn’t feel like going out. Very nice indeed.

 

·         Really enjoyed the music walk venues on the ship with emphasis on BB King Blues Club and Rolling Stone Rock Room.  Great bands in the evenings for listening and dancing. Seating was good too but did get very crowded in the RSRR. 

 

·         Port Itinerary was good. We went to (not in order) St Lucia, St Martin, St Thomas, St Kitts, Martinique (we were there on a Sunday which is a dud because not much was open in town), Barbados and Half Moon Cay.

 

·         Buffet area was good for the most part. We didn’t go often but did enjoy the Salad and Asian sections and the bread pudding was great, if not better than usual.

 

·         Flowers throughout the ship are lovely but not as plentiful as in past years.  Still, they have more than other lines we have been on.

 

·         Nice ship décor and clean everywhere we went.  Ship is new enough that seating was comfortable and upholstery wasn’t worn out.

 

·         Club Orange: We paid to go. This class of ship, Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam have dedicated, separate dining rooms which was great.  Will address the negatives of Club Orange in the section of things we didn’t like on the ship.  But what we did like: Staff very nice, venue pretty and mostly comfortable. Maitre D’ was very accommodating and friendly, nice separation of tables for privacy, little to no waiting to be seated and if there was a wait, the Maitre D’ would come find you at the bar/lounge which was steps away. Really enjoyed going to breakfast here every day and the mimosas are included (not the cappuccino/lattes as someone previously reported, I believe.) Most of the time we were made to feel special and they did call us by name after getting to know us.

 

 

 

What we didn’t like:

 

·         Mattress in the stateroom was incased in a waterproof casing which made for an irritating sleep.

 

·         Balcony was only partially covered and suffered from soot more days than not. Wasn’t properly cleaned most of the time.

 

·         Would not choose aft on this ship again due to no fully covered balconies. We are inclined to fully covered and large balconies. This was on the smaller side but we had room to move which was nice. Sun was overpowering at times.  Note to self: book an angled deep balcony on the side of the ship next time on this class ship.

 

·         We prefer a sliding door on the balcony over this style.

 

·         Coffee table and table on the balcony were too small to be useful.  They could benefit from two tables on balconies and a taller and wider table in the room. Didn’t Holland America used to have adjustable height coffee tables years ago?  I miss that.

 

·         The arms on the loveseat are just weird. They snap on/snap off and kept falling off the couch.  Yikes. Safety issue not to mention, useless.

 

·         We were unable to contact our stateroom attendant. We were told if we needed anything to call Guest Relations. Surely didn’t like that hassle.  But our stateroom attendants were very good.

 

·         There was a large wasted space between the balcony door and the curtain. Don’t know if all rooms are like this, but strange design.

 

·         Couldn’t order room service via the TV.

 

·         Need more live tv stations. It was very limited.

 

·         This ship kept us up a couple of nights or so. It really shook and shimmied its way through the ocean. The only other ship that bothered our sleep this much was the Emerald Princess years ago. 

·         Definitely not a fan of Holland America casinos. Way too smoky. They only had two non-smoking nights in the casino starting at 530pm. They should have no smoking in the casino or at the very least half the nights should be non-smoking. (no flame intended please and yes, we do know some of their ships are non-smoking in the casino)

 

           Shows in the theatre need work. One comedian was terrible. Forget his first name but think last name was Frazier.

·         Food-red meat was not great and not as tender as normal. In the buffet, they need more dessert selection. Best thing was the bread pudding and pies in the bakery section. Pasta section of buffet was not appetizing looking so we didn’t partake. No burgers or hot dogs in the buffet area that we could find. I know they have it at Dive-In but that is just a plain hassle sometimes when you don’t want to wait 15 or more minutes for a burger.  No potato salad that we could find and that was a disappointment because HAL used to have great potato salad. Anyway, we prefer to serve ourselves at the buffet and could have used more choices.

 

·         Disembarkation was not great because the luggage was not all in place until 0830. Guess they were behind so it was kind of a madhouse down there once they released the barrier to go grab your luggage.

·         Guest relations failed to follow up with us on two occasions.  One was for being double charged for a burger in room service when we only ordered one burger, one time. There is a 4.95 charge for the Dive-In burger.  Took them three days and much research to take the charge off…including us calling or stopping by 2 times to make it happen. Simply unacceptable.

 

·         Club Orange: They need more help in their dining room. They could really use an assistant to the Maitre D’ to greet people at the door/podium. That would free up the Maitre D’ to do other things such as supervise.  They could take a lesson from Celebrity’s Blu dining. They need maybe two more waiters each meal service as well.  We had many long waits to order and in between courses, especially after finishing the entrée.  We feel strongly that for this type of upcharge, they really need elevated menu items. Most of the items are directly from the main dining room except for one item per evening which is done on site.  

 

·         Club Orange cont’d: the amenities were not enough for the upcharge. Yes, a more private dining room is good but the mention of things like a tote bag and dedicated 24 hour concierge makes you think you are getting something good. Well, the tote bag, we left behind as it was very cheaply made and didn’t appear in the stateroom until we called Guest Relations to ask where it was. The 24 hour dedicated concierge didn’t exist. We asked several times and were always told to call #90, the guest relations number that everyone calls.  Pretty misleading “amenities”. There was a tour of the ship which it turns out was offered to anyone interested and not just to CO people. We did have priority tendering in Half Moon Cay but didn’t utilize this as the tenders were huge and they were not backed up. The priority embarkation was somewhat nice but we had to insist that we were priority even though not in a suite. A bit annoying.   So, unless they make it more special, we won’t be going for the Club Orange upcharge in the future.

 

 

As much as I liked the sister ship Nieuw Statendam - and gave it an overall excellent rating and will likely only sail on this class ship again - I also found disagreeable many of the things you didn't like. I didn't make mention of them in my commentary but they were good points. Especially the smoky casino (we don't gamble at all) and the preference for sliding doors, shimmy in the sailing and the TV selections.

None of them were sufficient to bother me/us - but you are indeed right about them. Good review!

Any reason not to make the reservation now - especially since you are looking at only a few excursions?

It seems unlikely to me that your other onboard costs will be less than any OBC. At the least you will have roughly $160 per person in gratuities alone. I suppose if you pre-paid everything ...

We knew of several people that for instance couldn't go horseback riding in HMC because they were completely booked before the ship left port. 

13 hours ago, unclediggy said:

Heading out Dec 08 for 14 days. Two 1 week cruises back to back. Does anyone know if you have to get off the ship after the first week or can you just stay on while the new folks come on?

We did back to back on several other cruises and on other lines.

Yes, you can just chill on deck - you aren't required to get off and get back on again.

2 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

We were 4068. Port side, above lifeboat #10, which is directly above BB Kings. That lounge opens onto deck 3, and the bass rumbles up. 

Well that's surprising ... we never heard a thing. Only a few rooms away in 4086, same side of ship. There you, location is everything. 
 

21 minutes ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

We, too, enjoyed the NS, also in an obstructed verandah on 4th deck.  We did have noise from the BB King lounge.  Guest services apologized and gave us two dinners in Tamirand to compensate as the ship was full.  A good move on HAL's part as it was our first time to dine there and we enjoyed it.

Where was your cabin located? I was worried about the bands, given that they were only two floors away. But we were mid-to-forward. I'm guessing you must have been mid-to-aft to have heard the band. 

Glad you enjoyed it as well. 

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Excellent review (and vocabulary) AlexCherie!  Thank you.  I am guessing you meant Port Everglades^^.

yes of course.

Same cruise.

Pros: Food was just a hair short of outstanding in every venue. We dined in Canelletto, Rudi's Sel de Mer and Tamarind as well as the MDR. 

Canelletto: Menu is much, much improved. We enjoyed Suvat's service (such a smile!) and I felt combining regal Lamb and Truffles with humble beans and polenta was a master stroke. Moist, wonderful. Breads served warm, the various dips served with were excellent. Appetizers, desserts spot on. I could and should have gone back. 

Rudi's Sel De Mer: Dined twice. First experience was mostly outstanding. I spoke with Constantin regarding the beans served in the Confit and was told their interpretation of the classic duck dish allowed for "toothy" beans. For me, that was really not a realistic answer. Beans in Cassoulet should have absorbed the flavor and it wasn't perfect. Still, a good meal (the duck itself was incredible) and the $49 for a Haut Brion personating wine was right priced and carried to the next visit. My wife loved the amuse bouche - puff pastry shaped as fish filled with salmon and cream cheese. Wife ordered the seafood tower (for lack of a better word) and really felt it was wonderful. 

Second experience, the 12 ounce lobster tail came out gray and curled, like a hand tortured by arthritis. Worse still, Constantin and his partner dropped off the overcooked tail without taking it from the shell. My own bouillabaisse was cold by time I shelled the fish out - and at no point was the broth hot enough to help the garlic rouille melt into it. To be completely fair, the broth was well flavored and no seafood was overcooked.

An apology was made regarding the server's inexperience for not taking the shell off - even though the restaurant manager himself was there at the delivery. Sorry, that's a bullshit response and the weak way out.  The MDR serves some 4000 lobster tails and takes off the shell of each and every one.

When I spend money - a lot of money - for additional dining there is no room for mistakes. (We noticed the next two lobster tails headed to other tables looked better, and were properly served.) This may seem picayune to some. But we paid to eat on a cruise ship five out of seven nights. 

To the plus side, the haricots verts and ratatouille were spot on, as were the desserts once again. Although I didn't ask to have them comped, the management did not charge for the desserts.

Tamarind: Dined twice. Just incredibly outstanding in every way I can imagine. If they are available, ask for Anita and Sukma ... great service. So good on our first visit we dragged two other couples for our final night at sea. They are incredibly hard graders and agreed with us. What to pick? Everything. Satay sampler, Thai beef salad, lobster and shrimp stir fry, Wasabi beef, the duck (perfect. Their MDR interpretation normally is horrible) ... the fortune cookie was stellar among the desserts but I enjoyed the mango dessert as well.

MDR: Surf and Turf on Gala night, spot on. No part of that meal was wrong and I enjoyed the Sea Bass as an appetizer. Thanksgiving, I had asked to get stuffing with my filet mignon. The serving was literally a #2 scoop, barely a golf ball and the same shape. I couldn't stop laughing - but frankly I wouldn't have eaten more. Really wasn't that good, neither was my wife's Turkey dinner.

Lido: good as always for breakfast and lunch. The one gala night, I actually went down to try the Filet Mignon and thought it was better than the MDR that night.

Dive-in: Outstanding. 

NY Pizza: One small pizza and it was ... fine. Veendam experience was better.

Room service: only ordered on our final morning, but on time, hot and excellent.

Grand Dutch Cafe: Super, just super. Have the pea soup, the apple pancake, the chocolate puff pastry, chocolate chip cookies ... really, anything. Although I was waiting when they ran out of some things - thankfully, nothing I wanted that day. I would strongly recommend this as an alternative to having the same thing morning after morning in the Lido.

Entertainment: Comedian was funniest when he wasn't involving the crowd. Mentalist Wayne Hoffman will have you shaking your head - and one of our "crew" is literally a magician. Dance group was good and the involvement of technology was seamless. Other shows in the room were great. 

BB King band ... I just can't say enough. I watched them frequently for 3 shows. Imagine doing three sets, every single day. When this high energy band completed a night, they were stretching themselves to their utmost limit. Great stuff. Other music was ... a bit better than fair. Dueling pianos included a great rendition of Etta James' by the female performer.

Embarkation: We got to Port Canaveral at just about 11:15 and it was a waste. Get there closer to noon and you should walk right on to the ship. But flawless. While the original poster had troubles getting off (I guess), we were called on time at 9:45 and were off the vessel by 9:50 and found our bags nearly immediately. I do appreciate being able to sit in my room until being called. 

Excursions: Nearly none other than horseback riding at HMC. I understand it's worthwhile to take an excursion at Puerto Platas. 

Cabin appointments: Stayed in room 4086, a partially obstructed Verandah. Great, great, great value. Obstruction merely prevented me from looking straight down. Big deal. Bathroom isn't big but fair enough. Bed, as expected, wonderful. If you like a cold room at night, this ship gets it there. 

Bottom line: nearly flawless in every regard. When you compare the costs of this trip to what heaven forbid the Edge or Regal Princess offered, there isn't a chance you'd sail elsewhere. In fact, one of our guests took Edge and Statendam back-to-back and said they preferred the food on board HAL. Cruise received nearly uniform 10s from our cabin. 

It's highly unlikely we will cruise another line in the near future and booked an additional 40 days on three trips while onboard.

 

generally speaking, how obstructed are the obstructed Verandas on the Pinnacle class ships?

Ignore the post. I found an example here:
https://travelingwiththejones.com/2019/04/20/a-look-inside-obstructed-verandah-stateroom-4079-on-holland-americas-nieuw-statendam/

On 11/15/2019 at 7:28 PM, ottahand7 said:

I ordered it with MDR room service dinner on the Rotterdam in February.   Surprisingly it did come with mushrooms which we thought an odd combination.   

It's odd but those look like some good 'shrooms.

That is one incredible evening ... just marvelous looking. 

 

On 11/17/2019 at 2:38 AM, Sue from Canada said:

I'll take mushrooms with any dish.

Me too!

And dang if those mushrooms don't look great next to that Lobster! 

Highly, highly doubt it. At $20 for a 12 ounce lobster tail?
Besides, mushrooms are the side dish of beef, not seafood. 

On 11/7/2019 at 4:50 PM, *Miss G* said:

I’ve done it twice.  First flight of the day on December 7th, BUF to FLL.  There was a light snow falling when we left our hotel but it quickly got worse.  All flights following ours didn’t make it out.  Midway through the cruise we met up with people finally boarding (pulling their own luggage) who had been stranded in Chicago.  They had Flight Ease.  I’m guessing everyone who didn’t have Flight Ease spent their cruise in Fort Lauderdale.

 

The other time was from a regional airport in England to Venice.  Boarded the ship around 2:30 pm.  There was no stress with that one because the ship was overnighting in Venice.  We got to see fireworks for some national celebration so that was pretty awesome.

 

The last time my parents caught a cruise (NYC to Southampton) their flight was to arrive at EWR, mid-afternoon, the day before.  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating in NY so their flight kept getting pushed back.  About 9 hours later it finally departed, but all further flights were cancelled and everyone was put up in hotels overnight and they would have to wait standby until they could be accommodated.  Could you imagine that mess?  Sometimes even the day before isn’t enough time.

As a fellow Buffalonian, I leave a day early just for local weather, and fears that the highways in town will close. We actually almost missed a flight out of town because our car got stuck in a snow bank in the airport. 

Always the case in Buffalo, somebody helped us get the SUV in place and we ran, through the lot, security and the airport as the last on the plane. 

I think I’ve got the winner of “got to town early” stories. We arrived in New Orleans on Friday,, August 25th 2005 to board a Carnival cruise ship and left the hotel on Sunday, August 27th  at 10 AM to board the ship. Our cruise ship was escorted out of port by the Coast Guard, hours before Hurricane Katrina. We were told ours was the last ship out of port.