OrcaGirl

Not in our cabin.

We tend to be early eaters so we can make the 7pm theatre show, but we haven’t made any MDR reservations and haven’t waited more than a minute or two.

It’s only felt really busy in the buffet at breakfast and by the pool on the sea days. Maybe a 2-3 minute wait at each of the al Bacio cafes at peak times. I wait longer at Starbucks back home.

I did say but now can’t remember. It’s a page or two back. ~200 under capacity. And yet every picture I send my mom she asks “where are all the people?!?!” 😂

We didn’t get any of the extras that bigger gamblers typically do. We purchased the drink package and wifi outright, with a small BCC discount stacked on top of the Captain’s Club discount. I can’t remember offhand what the final cost was but with the US-Canadian exchange it wasn’t cheap! A couple thousand maybe? I saw that someone quoted me in another thread about BCC, seemingly to make the point that infrequent/low $$$ gamblers like us getting offers was a slap in the face of higher status big spenders, but… don’t hate the player, hate the game. 🤣 We may not drop big bucks in the casino but we’ll spend a pretty penny on drinks and wifi and spa etc. while on board. After my Solstice cruise in October, I didn’t expect to get any future offers, since the Fox and I only gambled a little and actually came out ahead by a few bucks. (But it turns out that she was waaaay better good luck charm than my husband so that won’t be the case on this cruise. He’s lucky he’s pretty.)

We were considering going back to Eden too, but the husband now wants to try the Rooftop Grill.

Okay, it’s finally time for thoughts on the Concierge Infinite Verandah. I actually hesitated to even post this until we were done the cruise, as I know people have very strong opinions and, quite frankly, I don’t want this thread to turn into another debate that’s already been covered ad nauseam. General room thoughts We love the bright and airy aesthetic, and think the decor is tasteful and modern. We don’t find the room too big or too small. Lots of clever storage, but I’d love more hooks on the walls. The bathroom is a great size, and the 6’5” husband fits comfortably in the shower. He especially likes the little nightlight under the bathroom counter. But I’m not a fan of just how strong (and therefore loud) the magnetic door closure if — I keep expecting to break a nail just opening the bathroom door. The husband finds the king bed to be too hard; our lovely steward brought not one but TWO foam toppers and folded them on just the husband’s side of the bed. I’m tempted to slip a coffee bean in between the layers, and make it a princess and the pea situation. Being a new and modern ship, I would have expected to have USB plugs on both sides of the bed, but they’re only on one side. But it’s a minor inconvenience, as the charging station on the desk is more than sufficient. The AC is sooooo quiet, it’s so nice to not be woken up when it kicks in. And I appreciate being able to control the AC and the lights from my phone. Room location Normally I would have studied deck plans and had a spreadsheet of preferred cabins. But since this was a very last-minute booking via BCC, we didn’t have a choice of rooms so we took what we were offered. That said, we’re very happy with what we got. We’re on deck 12, close to the forward stairs/elevators. A short walk up to the spa, the solarium, and the pool. We’ve felt a bit of ship movement and shimmy while in the cabin (which we actually like) and not rices some occasional noise/vibrations from the pool deck above (eg when they’re rolling a towel cart). But nothing so loud as to wake or disturb us. Concierge amenities As mentioned earlier, this was the only cabin category available to us when I called BCC, at a small upcharge. If I was booking at regular rates, I’d have gone with a regular verandah cabin and been perfectly happy. We haven’t taken advantage of the free sparkling wine or daily canapés yet, and I doubt we will. We’re also not the sort of people who even notice what brand of toiletries are in the bathroom, so upgraded toiletries are a bit lost on us. We haven’t used the umbrellas, and the binoculars aren’t very good. I wish I’d packed my good binoculars, but we also haven’t spent as much time watching for whales as we did on our last two cruises in Alaska and the Mexican Riviera. I think the only Concierge ‘amenity’ we’ve taken advantage of is the pillow menu (and I’m sure that’s available to everyone if they asked). We requested two body pillows on the first night, and they are big and fluffy and perfect. Infinite Verandah The husband’s thoughts: “It’s a hit; it’s like seeing a wall of ocean each time I come into the room; perfect.” As for me, I do really like it but perhaps not as much as the husband does. Maybe I love the concept more than the practical execution? My few quibbles are related to how we tend to use the balcony — I’m typically the early riser, and would go get coffee and then enjoy it on the balcony with the ocean breeze while the husband sleeps in. With the IV, it’s a bit harder to do that without disturbing him, as the whole process of lowering the window is loud and the folding French doors aren’t really made to keep the outside noise from the sleeping area. With the IV there’s also no way to quickly close the blinds, eg if your husband comes out of the bathroom naked without realizing that we’re now facing another ship. 😳 But overall I don’t understand the dislike that some folks have for the infinite verandah (and that’s okay; please don’t feel the need to explain it! 🤣) … it’s different for sure. But different doesn’t always mean bad. I’d be interested in seeing for myself what the IV experience is like on an itinerary like Alaska. Summary We are incredibly happy with the infinite verandah cabin and wouldn’t hesitate to book it again. 9/10

Good morning from Barbados. I’m having a ship day, as I think I got too much sun yesterday. (I had a scary experience with heatstroke and dehydration in Bonaire several cruises ago and although the Princess crew took great care of me, I’ve got no wish to see the inside of a ship medical centre again.) The husband is off diving again. Hope he sees some cool stuff. There are four ships in Barbados today: the Edge, Silver Dawn, Costa Fascinosa, and Le Dumont D’Urville. The latter is a super funky expedition-style cruise ship, just 184 passengers. We walked over to Canada Place in Vancouver last summer to check it out when it was there for its Alaska itineraries. The continues to be glitchy, and I swear it can’t be just me. The game show and the pub quiz are NOT going to be at the same time in the same venue. And since when was Cool Runnings (yes, the John Candy movie) a drama?

St Lucia Evening Wrap-up It was already 4:30pm by the time we were back on board, and after a quick shower and short crash nap, we were starving. Off to the Cosmopolitan MDR! We had the Caesar salad (him, again) and the cauliflower flan (me). I wouldn’t necessarily call that a flan, but it was delicious. As entrees we had the spaghetti (him, good but ultimately, just spaghetti) and the black cod (me, so perfectly cooked and buttery, I love sablefish and this was excellent, wished for more of the beurre blanc sauce). For dessert, I ordered the carrot cake and deigned to share ‘one bite’ with the husband, who had only ordered an espresso, and you know how that goes. It was definitely the best carrot cake I’ve had, light and airy, not heavy or dense at all. Colours of Life was the theatre production show, and wow. Just spectacular. (My only complaint: you can’t use both Here I Go Again and Don’t Stop Believin’ without inviting comparisons to Rock of Ages.) And then to bed. We were both feeling the effects of too much sun and too much rum, so we hit the hay without even starting season 2 of The White Lotus. 🤣

St Lucia shore excursion: Cruise and Snorkel at Marine Park Our excursion had a meeting time of 12:15pm on the pier, with a departure time of 12:30pm. (Some people didn’t quite grasp the distinction.) The catamaran was in great condition, and not super packed which was nice. We grabbed spots up by the netting and settled in for the ride out to the snorkel spot. St Lucia was gorgeous as always. The snorkelling was fine. The husband saw an eel (cool) and a lionfish (boo!) My brand new mask didn’t seal correctly and once I got salt water in my eyes, I was done. There’s not much of a reef to speak of, and you have to get quite close to the rocks to see the good stuff. The catamaran crew ‘warned’ guests that the dudes on kayaks are not part of the tour and to not accept their offers of ‘help’ but lots of people did anyway. After snorkelling wrapped up, the rum punch started to flow, and was very good. (Definitely contributed to the drunken singing videos available on my IG Stories.) They also chopped up a fresh coconut and handed out bites, but no other snacks were on offer. We then sailed back to the ship, with the highlights being both scary (a big poof of black smoke from the oil refinery) and beautiful (the ‘straightest’ rainbow I’ve ever seen). And we passed by what is apparently a $100 million USD sailing yacht, the biggest aluminum sailing yacht in the world, owned by a Taiwanese billionaire. And of course some lovely views of the Edge.

With a later arrival time in St Lucia, we slept in a bit before dragging our butts to the buffet. Possibly the best almond croissant I’ve ever had? We stayed up on deck to watch the 180-degree pivot into port. And since our excursion didn’t leave until the afternoon, we were able to make the morning General Knowledge trivia (failed miserably) and TimePlay trivia (crushed it). After that we grabbed a quick snack and beverage, and then grabbed our gear and headed ashore to meet our tour. Random observations: The Silver Dawn was in port with us today. I wonder how often they rotate or change up the trivia questions. But I now know (and will never forget) how many black keys are on a piano. I wish they’d opened the Eden cafe for breakfast today, since we didn’t arrive in port until after its normal closing hours anyway. Some new construction happening in the port area. And I don’t remember that St Lucia sign from our last visit.

I’ll watch for that tomorrow. The woman next to me at the coffee bar this morning (who definitely tried to cut the line) ordered and received a Coke Zero. Is that the same thing as Coke Light?

Okay, where were we? After a demoralizing second place at trivia, we crawled to the nearest bar to drown our sorrows and watch sailaway. And then, since our Eden reservation wasn’t until 8:30pm, we took advantage of the empty solarium for some extra pool and hot tub time with killer views of the sunset. After drying off and dressing up (relatively speaking) we headed to Eden for a pre-dinner cocktail and music. Loved the trio, but especially the cellist. I want to steal her pants, the husband wanted to steal her abs. Dinner time! Much as been said about Eden, and much better pictures posted, so I’ll skip all that and just say: we LOVED it. The food, the service, the ambiance. The husband declared it his best-ever meal at sea, and possibly top 5 ever. The amuse bouche was a scallop with mushroom foam, basil pesto and Parmesan crisp. That’s like four of my favourite things on a single plate. I ate both of them (the husband doesn’t like scallops or mushrooms.) For starters, I had the mushroom risotto, the husband had the shrimp, and we also ordered the gnocchi to share. The gnocchi in particular was a revelation, so ridiculously soft and creamy and flavourful. Our entrees were the filet mignon / short rib Wellington and the Nova Scotia lobster casserole. I love lobster, the husband doesn’t, and I learned long ago to not even bother offering him a taste because he won’t appreciate it. But last night I did and… he liked it. But it still didn’t compare to how much he loved that filet. Like damn. He ordered more of the bordelaise sauce and probably would have drank it out of a wine glass if that had been an option. After two amazing courses, dessert was honestly a bit of a letdown, but only by comparison to what came before. We had the lemon meyer tart and the strawberry dessert. Fine, but not as mind-blowing. We chatted with one of the chefs for a bit (oddly, about a Mexican-Korean taco place near our apartment in Vancouver that he remembered from his time on the Alaska itinerary years ago) and then said our goodbyes to Eden. We skipped the white hot deck party in favour of (you guessed it) watching the season one finale of The White Lotus. 🪷

Good morning from St Lucia! Last night we dined in Eden. Spoiler: we LOVED it. A full write-up to come once I’m a) more awake, and b) back from our excursion.

Afternoon update. Some sunbathing, some swimming, some drinking. Watched the husband’s dive boat return via MarineTraffic, and then headed back to the cabin to dry off, catch up and change for lunch. The husband reported that he saw many live conch, a few small sharks, rays, and many fishies on his dive. Swells were high and one diver threw up. He said Dive St Maarten was very professional and their dive boat was in good condition. But that St Maarten isn’t a must-repeat dive destination for him. (This was his second or third time diving here.) Photos to come if we can transfer them off the GoPro via Bluetooth. Only day 4 of buffet lunch and it’s already starting to feel repetitive. The husband went for a post-dive nap and I went to the Magic Carpet for a beverage and a hot dog. (I finished off the last of the mustard; sorry not sorry to the people behind me.) Then after Diving Beauty woke up, we headed to trivia for an attempt at redemption. Alas, ‘twas not meant to be as we came in second. No prize for second place etc. Random observations: They’ve got a little golf cart style shuttle that takes folks with mobility issues from the ships into the St Maarten port area proper. Watched 3-4 different groups of passengers come up to both Celebrity ships with lots of luggage, so folks who missed the ship in Florida? One thing we’ve missed from NCL is having multiple screens around the ship showing info about the ship’s location/route/speed/etc. And I don’t see anywhere in the app that has that either, unless I’m just missing it. Awwww, I just watched a couple of crew from the Edge see their crew friends from the Solstice, and hug across the little gate between the ships. The cuteness. It’s too much. I’ve only seen ONE person reading a hard copy of Spare. I thought it’d be everywhere. I miss the NCL-style thermal spa.

Good morning from Sint Maarten! Had a deep sleep but ****ed up dreams so I was all out of sorts this morning, and decided to skip my original plans to DIY a beach day at Great Bay Beach and just stay on board. We grabbed breakfast as we docked next to the Silhouette. Back to the room to get the husband geared up for scuba. I walked off the ship with him to make sure he got to the taxi stand okay. (He can be a bit directionally challenged.) For the first time, he was stopped by security while getting off the ship and they checked his dive bag. (No one has said boo about his dive knife yet.) After seeing him off, I wandered around the port area for a few minutes. Very quiet, most shops weren’t open yet, although staff were arriving. Took a few photos for a large organized group in front of the St Maarten sign. Then back on the ship, and found a spot to watch for the dive boat to head out. And spotted a beautiful rainbow while waiting. I hung out by the pool with my mimosa. And then felt a little sprinkle of rain. Which turned into a deluge so I grabbed my phone and headed for cover. I spent a little time in the cabin watching people down on the dock get soaked (schadenfreude, I know, I know) and having their hats and umbrellas blown about by the wind. And then, per the schedule in the Celebrity App, I decided to head to TimePlay trivia in the Club. (Figuring it’d be an easy win with most people off the ship.) Only to be told that it was speed sudoku today (which on my phone was actually being held in the Grand Atrium) and TimePlay tomorrow. The host tried to get me to log off the wifi and login again. Refresh. Close the app and open it again. Still showing TimePlay for *right now*… Finally, another staff member came over and tried to show me her app only to realize I was in fact correct and the app was indeed showing the wrong information. Small victories, but I’ll take it. But maybe just say “oh so sorry, the wrong information is in the app” rather than assume I don’t know how to hit the refresh button? Oh well, back to the pool and back to the drinks. Random observations: The hand washing stations at the Oceanview Cafe are so well-designed, but without the NCL-style ‘washy washy’ crew member standing right there, sooooo many people don’t bother washing their hands. A friendly reminder that second-or third-hand cruise information shared on board is very rarely correct. I’m trying *very hard* not to be that person who butts into other people’s conservations to correct misinformation, but… just take everything with a grain of salt. Once again, I think learning to say hello, please, and thank you in Indonesian and Tagalog pays off in stronger pours at the bars. 😉 The husband (nicknamed Goose back home) is looking to put together a pool volleyball team for the final sea day(s). He wants to play, and he wants to WIN. (I just want to watch uniformed officers get wet, but I’m shallow like that.) I promise a full post of our thoughts on the infinite verandah cabin is coming. I was going to write it yesterday, but then the evacuation sidetracked me. The soot stains on the Sunset Bar cushions are really noticeable.

Catching up on last night: Dinner tonight was in Cyprus. The Aegean Seabreeze cocktail was refreshing and delicious. I don’t often drink ouzo but the licorice flavour worked surprisingly well with the grapefruit juice. The husband had the saganaki as his appetizer and I ordered the Greek mezze board. We love a good gooey cheese, and this one delivered. I could have skipped the mezze, though, as the three dips were the same ones that came with the bread basket in lieu of butter. And it turns out I still don’t like olives. Or dolmades. Or anchovies. Good thing the taramsalata was delicious. And good thing we didn’t look up what it was before trying it. For entrees, I had the lamb shank which was very tender and flavourful. The husband had the Cypriot short ribs; again, many angry faces were made so he loved it. He mentioned later that he’d even briefly considered asking for a second one, which is like the most ridiculously high praise from him. For dessert we had the chocolate cherry triffle (good but almost too rich) and the Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts (light and perfect). We weren’t in the mood for the Buble tribute show in the theatre (we get enough of him in Bubly commercials), so instead we headed back to Eden to explore and have a cocktail. Such a beautiful space. After that we headed to the Club for the nightly game show and trivia session. The husband got picked to participate in the 60 Seconds or Less game; videos on IG Stories. His team dominated, and they each won a hat. Trivia was so much harder than the first night and we sucked. And also possibly pissed off the trivia host when a bunch of us disputed one of the questions/answers. 🤣 Well, not the answer itself, but his assertion that ‘Perry’ is a popular type of beverage in Canada. I was tempted to stay up for the $5 free slot play at 10:30 but with an early wake-up planned for St Maarten we decided to skip it and have an early night.

As you say, I’m sure they’d have contacted you, but if you’d like me to relay a ‘thinking of you’ message to him, I’m sure we could make that happen.

I’ve posted some edited clips of the helicopter evacuation to my Instagram Stories (erin_braincandy). I wasn’t expecting the force of the hovering helicopter to be as strong as it was, and I’m honestly quite surprised that the captain didn’t call for the pool deck area to be cleared of people once they realized it couldn’t land on the helipad, or at least to have staff collect all dishes and drinkware and instruct guests to secure their belongings. Hats, glasses, books, towels, purses… even the deck chairs were being moved by the helicopter. One person fell and required medical treatment during the first helicopter hover, and another got a nasty cut on her foot when a chair or something slid into her during the second. I’ve got some conflicted personal feelings about recording the evacuation. On the one hand, I’m amazed and fascinated by the logistics of at-sea rescue and the skill on display by the pilot and crew; on the other hand, seeing people take selfies and do the ‘big object far away in the palm of my hand’ pose when someone is likely fighting for their life makes me feel icky. Sigh. Like I said, conflicting.

And the person has now been evacuated. I hope their family is holding up okay and gets lots of support from Celebrity.

Wow that was intense. I’m not sure what I’m going to post about it TBH.

Helicopter just arrived.

Show Stoppers was… okay? It needed more workshopping. Honestly, a lecture about the behind-the-scenes making of the ship’s production shows would have been more interesting. Actually, I’d really love that as a documentary, from concept development and choreography to casting and rehearsals and the unique aspects of staging a show in a theatre at sea. After rejoining the husband and doing a couple of laps on the walking track, it was lunch time. Lunch buffet was good, although the croquettes were a bit disappointing. Breaded and deep-fried mashed potatoes stuffed with cheese shouldn’t be so boring. It’s like all of my favourite things! For our second course, we headed to the burger bar. The husband declared it ‘not bad’ which basically means he thinks it’s fine but won’t order it again. (He still talks about the burgers on Carnival and it’s gotta be at least 10 years since we sailed with them.) I thought my burger was pretty good, but I’m not a burger connoisseur like he is. 🤣 So excited to see churros available for dessert! After lunch, I wanted to play TimePlay trivia so I dragged the husband along with the promise that he could cheat off my answers. And that ****er ended up winning! (I have better general trivia cred, but there was a whole series of questions on car logos and I got most of those wrong.) But I came in second. UPDATE: The captain just made an announcement that there was a medical emergency this morning and that we’re changing course towards San Juan, Puerto Rico to help facilitate a helicopter medivac. No word yet on if this will affect our arrival into St Maarten tomorrow, but of course the health and safety of passengers and crew comes first.

Good morning! Woke up to slightly higher swells, much more prominent whitecaps. The ship changed time by an hour last night so we’ll be on St Maarten time tomorrow. (Based on overhead conversations, I think a lot of people missed the memo.) Breakfast was yummy. That was one buttery croissant. The husband thinks the mattress is too hard, so he wanted to spend the day in the hot tub. But it was crazy windy up on that deck (at least one person’s unsecured shirt went flying off to decks below) so we settled him in on a more protected spot further down. I’m headed off to Show Stoppers, an enrichment lecture on Broadway stagecraft. Did we accidentally book one of the Broadway-themed cruises? Because *that* would be awesome. Random observations: Lots of people using the walking/jogging track this morning. And as expected, a fair bit of passive-aggressive behaviour towards the people who don’t realize they’re on a track. More signage needed, for sure. I wish there was a middle ground between glass and disposable paper cups for iced coffees — the paper cups tend to get mushy in the middle before we’re finished drinking them. The captain continues to be hilarious. Love him.

Catching up on Day 2’s evening activities and thoughts: Dinner was at the Normandie MDR. We arrived around 5:45 and were seated immediately. Our server was Fatima and she was prompt and friendly. I had the scallops (meh, it was more breadcrumbs than anything else) and the duck (really really good, especially the combo of the compote, au jus and cauliflower purée — I could have slurped that down as a soup.) The husband had a Caesar salad (he said it was nicely creamy without being goopy, but was missing just a little bite) and the beef tenderloin en croute. So the funny thing about my husband is that when he really loves a dish, he makes these faces like he’s super pissed off and will get a bit sweary. And boy did he love the beef tenderloin last night. 🤣 We always have to reassure the waitstaff that no, actually, everything is amazing. Anyway, the tenderloin was a perfect medium-rare as requested, and simply melted in your mouth. I stole a bite and will definitely want to return later in the cruise to order that for myself. He’s not a mushrooms fan but agreed that the mushroom sauce just added some umami and earthiness. And the cheese fondue that came with it was soooo good he requested an extra little portion. Le repas etait tres magnifique! Nous avons choisi ne prendre pas les desserts, alors nous pouvons aller a la theatre a temps. (Pardonez-moi, je parle seulement un peu francais, et tres mal.) We grabbed seats in the theatre for the Kaleidoscope production show. But first, introductions of the senior officers. We really enjoyed the captain’s style and sense of humour. The show itself was really fun, great dancers and singers and acrobatics and stagecraft. Give me pretty people in sparkles and sequins and tulle dancing and twirling around a stage and I’m a happy girl. I tried searching for who choreographed the Kaleidoscope show for Celebrity but couldn’t find it — anyone know offhand? (I was getting major So You Think You Can Dance vibes at a couple of points…) After the show, we hit the casino and turned our $5 free slot play into… three cents. Yay us! Since we didn’t partake of dessert at Normandie and the line at Cafe al Bacio was quite long, we then headed up to the buffet to check out the dessert offers. And of course the husband grabbed another slice of pizza too. We were tempted to try to stick around for the Silent Disco but two late nights in a row would be too much for us, so we headed back to the cabin. (And ended up staying up late anyway watching another episode of White Lotus.)