CatLadyFemme

Boarded! Seattle, here we come! These are EnvoMasks for those who are interested. Bought them for our occasionally air travel where no one is masking and we are higher risk. Also wiped down our seats with bleach. Trying to avoid both COVID and MPXV on this trip. Plane is full, so we are settling in to watch a movie.

I bring a color coded list (green are ok foods, red are allergies) and give a copy to the head waiter who enters it into the system for me. Had almost a dozen cruises since my celiac DX (am also vegetarian and egg free), and never once gotten sick in the MDR. They are SO careful and even double check on gelatin, etc. If she has meals she would like because they feel safest to her, she can request them as well.

We are going to do the Emed virtual testing so we don’t have to bop all over Seattle looking for a site. I will say that compared to the UK and much of Europe, the US is totally failing regarding ongoing testing. Many of the drug stores that were doing it have stopped, and many places are making you pay, even if you have US based insurance. I’m happy to ask my BFF who lives in Seattle about places still doing preemptive testing, but you might want to think about other options depending on how long before you get on the cruise and where you are staying.

Ope! That’s what I get from copying and editing the post from our Allure cruise 😂 Don’t worry, will be there monday!

Hello - it's time for another live review! I'm CatLadyFemme, a recently tenured professor at the University of Michigan, a cat lady (obviously, with four cats and one cat like blue nose pittie across our two homes), 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. 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 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 in Seattle or Alaska, and second 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. I have been on a similar itinerary before (in 2018 with MrCatLady); Any tips for a first time Alaska cruise to make sure I give them the best experience? We'll be staying in an accessible ocean view balcony, which we got for a free upgrade after y’all the changes. So stoked to be able to sit on the balcony, listen to audio books, and enjoy the water. We have early seating at dinner, like seeing most of the shows, and are super excited to travel together for the second time in over 3 years.. We both have the refreshment package, internet packages (surf only). This cruise is our honeymoon (see wedding picture below!) and a celebration of their birthday earlier this month. We have excursions planned for all the ports now, though most aren’t through Royal, given cancelations. Currently scheduled to do a multi stop tour in Juneau, a trolley to see Toetems and raptors in Ketchikan, a bear/otter quest in Sitka through Royal (that hasn’t been rescheduled since the schedule change, so am afraid this one will be cancelled), and a shot bus tour of Victoria through Royal (I had been SO excited to get GF high tea at the Empress again, but it ends at 4pm. Alas.). I should note I am immuno compromised, and despite isolating for two years, I finally got COVID in January (MxCatLady caught it from work for the second time). We are both dealing with some pretty seriously long hauler 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 5th shot (which is considered my booster) end of July so I will be at maximum protection for this cruise. 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 tomorrow, Friday the 12th, with flying out to Seattle, getting to the hotel (the Graduate near the University), and finding a vegetarian/GF friendly place for dinner. My best friend who lives in Seattle will be taking us to the port on Sunday, and I have a town car scheduled to take us back to the airport on the 22nd. 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 💜

Also on the 15th. Just the original switch from Skagway to Ketchikan and skipping the glacier viewing; nothing new.

Same with balconies on the boardwalk and CP. We love all the accessible rooms we have had (mostly OV and balconies, though one spacious panoramic room on Voyager and we are booked on a Jr Suite on Freedom next February), but the accessible balcony on Allure near CP was very loud.

We are booked on our first TA in May 2023 (Anthem from NJ to Southampton) and are super excited. We love sea days, and since we don’t drink, our Diamond drinks should be enough for us, but we did buy the UDP, especially since you can do speciality restaurants for lunch on sea days and there will be so many. It’s pretty affordable right now; just over $200/person for 11 nights. Great for random sushi to go from Izumi too!

As a university professor, I can’t imagine *not* letting students turn in stuff ahead of time. I don’t have to grade it till everyone else’s is in if I don’t want, and if it is turned in early and I have the time (ha!), I can get ahead of my grading. [am a a top 5 public R1, #1 ranked in our field, for reference]

Very enjoyable, and yes, though we usually just have a pool bag and a small back pack with us.

Agreed. This is something I talk about to my (social work) students. All restrooms used to be unisex and then we decide to gender them…but SO many people benefit from either single stall or gender neutral multi stall; parents with kids of multiple genders, PAs/caregivers of disabled folks, disabled folks generally, trans and gender diverse folks, people caring for aging family members, folks in long lines at events, etc. Maybe one day!

They were not when I was on it in May. I had actually been looking forward to it, though I believe they might be offered in Jr Suites and above?

And for WJ, you can always let your MDR server know if you plan to go there for a meal the next days, and you can pre order special vegan items (or in my case, GF vegetarian items) to be prepared for you. Obviously, they cannot make what they don’t have (don’t expect Just Eggs, for example), but the Head Chef on one sailing made me this amazing vegan GF Indian breakfast porridge one day when he found out I liked Indian food. It was SO good and I requested it for future meals there.

I didn’t realize I had even booked during it, so was delighted to have gotten them on our April Allure and May Voyager sailings. Content note; adult joke . . . . . also, before I became a professor, I was a sexuality educator, and I can’t stop cackled at everyone telling me how easily they got their DP. 😂

I have never been in a Quantum ship. Any trips for our trip on the 15th regarding best places to just sit and enjoy the waves? Favorite bartender or server? Anything that is absolutely don’t miss? So glad you had a great time!

I printed a lift of what we wanted, boarded, we high tailed it to Sabor, and while we ate, the manager there put in all of our reservations so we didn’t have to do it ourselves. So that’s an option too, since you can enjoy lunch at a specialty restaurant on boarding day.

Note about the coffee card, is it is per shot. Some a medium fancy coffee drink (sorry! I don’t drink coffee but my partners both do) costs two punches. So if you like bigger coffees (MrCatLady likes large iced Americanos) or multiple shots in a drink (MxCatLady likes 3-4 shots in their morning drink), those will take 3+ punches each.

A lot of sailings had it for $20/21 in the past few weeks.

They sure pay a lot of attention if they read you as trans or nonbinary 😬 many of my friends have been screamed at or otherwise harassed.

I appreciated that post so much. I will be on Quantum in a few weeks. A bit older than Anthem, but will keep my eyes open so my partner and I can pee in peace. Your labor is much appreciated!

I should be clear; most of the gendered bathrooms had an accessible room with grab bars and it’s own sink…but they were inside the men’s and women’s multi stall rooms, not in a gender inclusive or family labeled space.

I did not see any, and kept my eye open as a nonbinary disabled person. There *could* be some I didn’t see, but no where near any of the usual gendered multi stall options.

Commenting to come back and watch these. We are going on the TA next May!

Ah, should have been clearer. Appropriate and revenant citations were requested, not just whatever you pulled up in Google scholar. Happy to help you get institutional access if needed.

Citation please?