CatLadyFemme

We are at the airport, finally! MrCatLady was kind enough to wake up early and drop me and MxCatLady off. Usually I am packed a week or so in advance, but due to all the chaos, we were finishing packing yesterday😬…and then realized that one of the suitcases I had inherited from my mother had a broken wheel, but not until we had fully packed it 🤦🏻‍♀️. It has been pouring rain here, and I have heard reports that NYC is the same. Hoping for a smooth flight and no delays. McCatLady has never been to NJ or NY, so excited to get some some pizza, bagels, and Chinese. I am looking forward to getting some GF veggie food delivered to the hotel as well.

Will do!

I forgot! We are only spending one full day in London, as MxCatLady only has certain time they can be off from work...but we are both having GF vegetarian afternoon tea on a red double decker bus AND going to the cheese conveyor belt place that MrCatLady and I went to last year (though not for all you can eat night, sadly). We cannot wait!

Hello - it's time for another live review! I'm CatLadyFemme, a professor at the University of Michigan, a cat lady , and a fairly experienced cruiser. I am disabled/live with chronic pain, and so walk with a cane, plus I am a vegetarian and have Celiac disease, so am super duper gluten free. My mother just passed away unexpectedly 4 weeks ago, so my whole world has been a bit discombobulated. We've taken in her cats (so my household now has 5, and the integration is NOT going well! Plus one of my partners, MrCatLady, and I also have another cat and a very sassy blue nose pittie). Our grad students are on strrike, and MxCatLady is recovering from their third round of COVID, so it's been quite a month. I absolutely cannot wait to get on board, and feel like I can finally breathe again...I hope. In addition to things like photos of the rooms, pools, etc., I will post about finding vegetarian GF food (we've had some AMAZING luck like with Belic on the Explorer, and some not great experiences where I ate iceberg salad and berries for days), and access/ADA issues. Oh! I'm also queer and nonbinary (as is MxCatLady), so there may be some stuff about the LGBTQ meet up, etc. I like to stay in the shade/find a nice lounge and read, or enjoy the hot tubs. Yes, even when it is fairly chilly (see my May 2023 review of Voyager in the Baltic). One of my partners, MxCatLady, will be joining me. They run a Starbucks on land (sadly, cannot use their discounts aboard), and this is their first time heading to Europe and third time on a cruise. We both will likely frequent the shows depending on how crowded they are, napkin folding/towel animals, observation decks, and the pools. Any tips for a first time transatlantic cruiser to make sure we get the best experience? I absolutely adore British murder mysteries, and so the idea of cruising to England is a long time goal of mine. We'll be dressing up for dinner, and have the UDP, though also may do a fair amount of MDR, given the few restaurants on board. We'll be staying in an accessible ocean view balcony. So stoked to be able to sit on the balcony with a soft blanket, listen to audio books, and enjoy the water. We have early seating at dinner, like seeing most of the shows (though may skip if crowded), and are super excited to travel together overseas for the first time. We both have the 4 free Diamond drinks - I cannot drink alochol, and they don't drink much, so mostly mocktails for us! We also have internet packages. Currently scheduled to do a tour of the lake in the Azores, and no plans for either France stop other than to find a cheese shop, a cafe, and a place to stroll. This will be close to our one year anniversary of our commitment ceremony last summer (see below!) I should note I am immuno compromised, and despite isolating for two years, I finally got COVID in January 2023 (MxCatLady just got their 3rd related infection earlier this month). We are both dealing with some pretty seriously long COVID syndrome. We also know getting it more than once can be additive, so at my HCP’s advice, we will be masking indoors or in crowded outdoor spaces. I also got my 6th shot (which is considered my booster) end of November and there is no updates on new boosters, so am a little anxious. Please don’t argue COVID stuff with me, and I won’t spam you with peer reviewed studies, and we can all have a nice time. Our trip starts Sunday April 30th, flying into Newark, figuring out how to get a cab to our Manhattan hotel, and perhaps walking around the city a little - it is MxCatLady's first time in NYC! Then we'll find a vegetarian/GF friendly place for dinner to deliver and head to the port on Monday for our 10am boarding time! Let me know if you have any specific questions or requests; otherwise, I'll try to do regular updates (assuming the internet isn't wonky), post occasional pictures, and hopefully induce a small amount of envy. Oh! And if you see us on board, come say hi 💜 68ECC770-C3B2-4C9B-ACC4-0CC46795E370.heic

We were on it last spring, and they were fantastic. We also had the UDP - I am Celiac as well as vegetarian, and ate SO much food. You'll be great! Here is my review if you'd like to see what I ate:

Oh this is SO fantastic. Thank you for the update! I was just on Freedom in early March and they didn't have a GF section in the WJ, so good to know.

They are not gluten free and are not safe for anyone who is celiac/Sprue, or has a gluten sensitivity or allergy. If people are choosing a low gluten diet, that is fine for them, but let's please be preicse in language. :)

Yes! This is a Kiyonna dress (as is the black/ivory polka dot dress). They are a big spendy for me new, but they often have $60 dress sales on Black Friday and these two I got used on Poshmark. I am bringing a ballgown of theirs ($60 at beginning of the pandemic) on our TA. I wore it when getting an award at a conference last year and felt so swanky. Their dresses are well designed for fat women and femmes, rather than just upsizing straight sizes.

I have so many! If I need things that are accessible, what are must see/do items (especially interested in not actual touristy places but just cool and fun and meaningful local things)? Any fun day trips or overnight trips from there that I should make sure to do? Any restaurant suggestions that are GF and veg friendly? And you may not know, but anything queer worth doing/going to? oh! Any what is the weather like in July? I.e, what outfits should I bring or avoid? Assuming summer dresses will be ok?

I didn’t see any, but I also was in my room much of the day, so usually only got service in the evening when I was at dinner.

Oh my gosh! How fun. Would you be willing to scope out the GF situation for me? I’d love to know if 1) they have the GF Udi’s cookies at the Cafe (or anywhere else!) and 2) if there is a GF section it clearly labeled GF items at WJ, and what they are. No worries if you get swept up, but if you happened to have the time, it will help inform my packing. 😂

SUCH a good question. I don’t think I would on purpose. Maaaybe again in this situation where it would be use it or lose it? I definitely will not be doing another shorter cruise though. I didn’t even unpack my luggage or blow up my mattress cover. With how early disembarkation is, and how late you get your luggage and settled in, it’s really only a 3 day cruise. I take that back; I might do it for somewhere cool, like if they did a shorter leaf peeping cruise, or the PNW. But given that I don’t love heat or sun, and this cruise was a ton of kids and drunk people (NOT drunk kids at least! Wait until the next few weeks of spring breakers!), and then all the drama getting home? It was worth it for the mental health benefits but physically will be a recovering for a week or two. MxCatLady just asked to confirm I am still ok going on our May cruise and I am still stoked (though we will be bringing a small roller suitcase of food with on it). Honestly, traveling *with* someone who knows me and can support access needs makes all the difference. Even just in being able to pee in the airport without having to carry all my stuff with me and lose my seat each time. I am actually keynoting two conferences this summer; one in San Francisco and one in Glasgow. Neither partner is able to take that time off. I’m trying to convince a friend to go with me on each one, realizing how exhausting the travel part is when totally alone. So this was a good trial run for those two!

Thank you!! Octopus (and cephalopods generally) are some of my favorite animals 💜

Also thank you!!

On this, the two nights people dressed for were formal and Caribbean. Longer cruises sometimes have a white night (which I never dress for as I don’t really do white) and/or a 70s night.

Oy! So sorry to have disappeared. I finally got home last night at 3am. It’s been a rough few days. But let’s finish the cruise! The last night was fairly chill. It was Italian night in the MDR. My next door friends really like the aranchini (Italian rice balls) but hated the sauce they were served with. They also all sent back their minestrone, saying it had a sauce like consistency. That said, big fans of the lasagna, chicken parmigiana, and even the sole with a lemon butter sauce. I had the polenta fritters (possibly the best thing I ate on the cruise?), another boring iceberg salad, the mushroom risotto (third and best one of the cruise but still medicore…and hardly any mushrooms, which were just button ones dumped on top. This was on the old menu and used to be much better), and some random GF veg dessert they made me. I think it was the vegan crepe brûlée from the old vegan menu. It was quite good. Then we said our goodbyes to everyone, handed out tips, and headed to pack. After this, I made my way to my second dinner like a hobbit, up at Giovanni’s. This is the newer, hipper Giovanni’s. To be honest, much less of their menu is veg friendly, but we made it work. The truffle burrata was delicious, though I preferred the heirloom tomatoes I have had at other Giovanni’s (and slices over wedges!). They found some GF slices of bread that were also definitely Udi’s, but tastier than the MDR and served that with their sauce and olives in lieu of yummy garlic knots. Again, other ships have baked their own GF rolls, so while this was nice, whole wheat bread and tomato sauce left something to be desired. Barry was my waiter and was amazing; he even noticed I didn’t love my mojito (it was waaaay to sweet) and made me a cocktail of his own that tasted like a more mature Shirley Temple. I got the 7 cheese pizza but GF (very tasty, a little too gorgonzola forward, which I can’t believe I am saying!), and the best veggie pomadoro I’ve had. I finished the pasta and took most of the pizza back to my room. All their desserts had gluten, gelatin, or both, so they made my berries and whipped cream as I had asked. However, it wasn’t fresh whipped cream; definitely frozen whip topping, and so I ate the berries out around it, as I hate the sensation whipped topping leaves in my tongue. All in all, very good meal and I would eat there again. I just wish they had not moved to more uncomfortable chairs! After this, I got my bag into the hallway, sat in the balcony for a while, ate some of my pizza, and went to sleep. Disembarkation in the morning was SO smooth. I went down to Boleros for a wheelchair around 8:30 and was getting a taxi by 8:50. It was lovely, especially compared to my embarkation. I took a cab. Do not do this. It was $80 to get me to a hotel by the airport. Lyft or Uber would have been half of that. I rented a day room at Aloft of a few hours so I could rest before my evening flight. I had hoped to make it to the pool but was just exhausted. I did get food from BarTaco (everything but the desserts are GF!) and that was very tasty. Then the comedy of errors began. I got through security at MIA and was waiting. Plane got delayed. Then we boarded. I knew MI was having a snow storm, so looked into hotels near the Detroit airport to as not to have my partner drive in the ice to pick me up. Delayed more on the plane, but I got upgraded to Comfort+ (texted my partners that this did not bode well, as my luck is not usually lucky). Then in the jetway, more delays…and we were finally up in the air. But about an hour in, they had to turn the plane back to Miami because they closed the airport in Detroit. Ok…we then had to circle Miami for 90 min to burn off fuel in order to land. Then we disembarked and had to wait to figure things out. They sent us away for the night, so I last minute got a $300 hotel room 😬 MrCatLady got me GF crepes from Stephanie’s Crepes and MxCatLady sent me some groceries including electrolyte water, cheese, and a cat shaped popsicle! Originally, they rescheduled the flight to 8:25am. I woke up at 6am to get ready for this, and saw it was delayed to 7:50pm, so went back to sleep (glad I screenshoted this or would have thought I dreamt it!). When I woke up at 10:30am, I found they had un-delayed the flight and moved it to 11am. So I missed it. While I figured things out, I paused another $350 to stay at the hotel. All flights were booked out till Tuesday, due to people coming back from spring break and the ice storm. Thank goodness for my D&D crew. One of them, the mom friend, spent hours on the phone with delta, and eventually, got me on the 6:30pm flight last night…out of Ft Lauderdale. So at 4pm, I check out of my hotel having spent only a few hours of my $350 night, and took a $50 Lyft to FLL. Get through security and am at the gate by 4:45…just in time to find out our flight is now delayed till 10:30pm. Spent several rough hours in the airport, in my mask, kids screaming (understandably, as I wanted to also! So thankful for my Loops earrings), and then it got delayed again, but this time, only to 11ish. We finally took off around 11:30 (and I had a whole row free!), and we landed at 2am in Detroit. Home now with partner and cats who are happy to see me. Thanks all for following along! Will answer any questions, and then I hope to “see” many of you on my May 1st TA on Anthem.

You’re so sweet 🥰 thanks for the lovely compliment. May 1st is when we leave, all things willing. My D&D group is also thinking about Alaska of next year. If we all do it, be prepared for a HOOT.

I will bring many more snacks this time! One smaller suitcase with snacks, and then it can be used for souvenirs on the way home 😬 But yes, it IS frustrating. We have the ultimate dining package on the TA, so eating lots of sushi and at Jamie’s (plus hopefully another fun night at Wonderland!) will hopefully be a better experience.

Last night, dinner was the usual. Outfit pictures for those enjoying them. This is my “Caribbean” look (I *am* wearing octopus earrings, but again, packed very last minute! 🤷🏻‍♀️). I will say, not only did the staff dress up, but a ton of diners did as well. I was impressed! I got the maple soy tofu/avocado situation, which is new. For me, they switched out the soy sauce for lemon juice (weird, since Izumi has GF soy sauce usually, but again, 🤷🏻‍♀️), and I was nervous, but it was still tasty. The woman next to me got the original version and love it. That table, in my recommendation (from these boards) got the coconut shrimp for everyone, and ordered second helpings for everyone. A clear winner! The lentil soup was ok. Not great, but not bad. Needed more salt and pepper, but I’d always prefer to have to add it than it be too salty. While I ordered the pesto pasta in a GF version, they also made a GF version of the vegan eggplant (more veggies inside the eggplant instead of couscous). The pasta was delicious (and the table next door had two people who also enjoyed the gluten full variety), but the eggplant had no starch or protein and given that neither did my soup or salad (at least the starch), it wasn’t anything exciting. The vegan creamed spinach (on the side? I think that is what it was) was meh, but I also don’t like regular creamed spinach. I think it would be much better for non GF folks with the couscous. The gentleman next to me got the strip steak, against my recommendation. (Shaking my head; never argue with an autistic person about their special interest; you will be wrong 😂), and wound up just pushing it around the plate. He said if ranked lower than Outback; perhaps a TGIFridays or Applebee’s level. It was tough and didn’t have much flavor. The kids loved the baked potato though. For desert, I had asked them to make me something chocolate that was veggie (no gelatin) and GF. Every ship I do this on has something different that their chefs make in response, from brownies to fudge, to this cake. It was a little dry, but definitely appreciated. Also! I asked my head waiter about the GF Udi’s cookies and she brought me two to take to my room. So they DO exist on board, but no longer in Cafe Promanade. Post MDR, I started getting a migraine, so reschedule my Giovanni’s second dinner to tonight. I spent the night medicate, in my balcony, and then reading. Today, I spent mostly on the lovely chair in my room reading. around 1:30, I meandered upstairs. The solarium was actually quite full today, to my disappointment. Grabbed a chair and then headed to WJ to see what they had. Asked one of the head waiters there, and he told me the mashed potatoes were both Gf and veg. Otherwise, the cooked veggies are all cooked in pasta water (what?!? At least he knew this!), and offered to cook me a burger (vegan with a GF bun) or pasta. Since that is what I had yesterday, I opted for some salad items. The ones in the back row had just been refreshed and I asked for fresh tongs. Olive oil and vinegar. Nothing exiting but what I expected. It sucks, because some ships have had SUCH good GF selection in WJ (labeled, off to the side, sometimes with fresh made GF rolls) that to see this was quite a disappointment, especially since I usually promote RCCL to my GF friends. I don’t know if this is a short cruise thing, but will report after our trans Atlantic. Now enjoying a virgin pina colada and reading a murder mystery in the Solarium.

It totally depends ship to ship. The family two tables down got it last night and also sent it back. I think whoever is in charge of it in this kitchen isn’t the best fit.

Me too!!

Slept well again last night. I forgot how much better I sleep on the water. It’s been really nice sleeping and being able to actually rest. Woke up around 11:30am today, a more reasonable hour for me, and got all dressed up. As always, I share an image of my fatkini to remind others that there is no wrong way to have a body. A nice thing about being autistic is I don’t care (as much) about what others think; I am one of three people I have seen masking on board, and definitely the only on with an air filter, and one of the fewer fat folks wearing a two piece, though that number has increased over the years. I hope everyone who is cruising can love their bodies and wear outfits that make them feel good. Today’s progression was basically step 1. Put in cute two piece. 2. Put on gothy coverup after struggling to put sunblock on myself. 3. Walk a stupidly long distance to Skippers to get my meal (there were no trans waiting). Be hot and cranky and get sand in my shoes. Then walk a longer way to the lagoon to realize there are no chairs and they are playing Baby Shark and the Wobble at top volume while drunk people shout along. 4. wait for and ride a tram back to the ship. 5. Go up to solarium, cool down in the pool, drink a virgin mudslide, be much happier. I will say it is the first time my pre-ordered meal has actually been available on CocoCay…but also, it was literally just a vegan burger and GF bun (which was much better than the GF bread on the ship), some GF fries (which WAS exciting! GF fryer!), and one of the Udi’s cookies I had been hoping to get at Cafe Promenade (so they DO exist; now I will ask in the MDR tonight). No offer of veggies from the back with no cross contamination or anything. It was fine, but to be honest, not worth the exhaustion of getting off the ship. Definitely planning on staying aboard tomorrow in Nassau. I did head to WJ last night to try and grab a snack. Only thing labeled GF on the whole buffet was Jello 😬 I took some cantaloupe from a fresh tray (it was not ripe), and went to Sorrentos for another GF pizza. Much harder to snack on this Royal ship than previous trips. I stopped packing a ton of snacks to eat because I knew I could always get something, but now we know to pack a lot more of our next trip. Too bad. Showered, and now waiting for dinner in the MDR. Also forgot I have a reservation at Giovanni’s tonight because this was has been remodeled. Two dinners in one night? Someone has to take one for the team, and I am ok with it being me. A few more things I have noticed; one of the chaises on my balcony continues to pop down to flat, so may be broken. Also the rail is raw/unfinished; I almost got a splinter last night in the moonlight. No outlets by the bed is really frustrating. And in addition to fired food, now smelling a lot of cannabis on my balcony. Which while I would MUCH rather people be high than drunk, the smell isn’t my favorite.

Oh my gosh, it’s so real. If you’re familiar with spoon theory, let’s just say I ran out of spoons several months ago and my dishwasher is broken 😂

I hope you have an amazing time! we leave May 1st on Anthem out of Newark.

Aw thanks so much!