Rogueperson

One of the things we've never had to do was prepare for seasickness. My wife and I have never really gotten seasick on a cruise ship. Except for our Enchantment cruise last March. We had royal upped to a Balcony from an interior which was great, especially on the Enchantment. But we got the 2nd furthest forward room. It was a rough ride both ways to begin with (it was a 12 night) and we felt the rocking way more up front to the point where my wife actually started feeling a little seasick. First time in 13 cruises for her. Another reason it took me so long to go to Bermuda (didn't try until my 16th cruise, but didn't make it until my 18th) was I heard a lot of stories of how generally rough it was crossing the Atlantic.

Good morning everyone. 3 days to go. We've started doing laundry and pulled out the suitcases. We will probably finish packing tonight, or maybe tomorrow, but we have sorta plans tomorrow night, but since the plans don't involve leaving home, we maybe able to do some stuff. Both my wife and I work on Friday but we plan to start heading out of the area at 5. We have a stop to make in Timonium, I have reservations for dinner in Bel-Air and hopefully, we can be in New Jersey before 11. That's my plan as of now. Fiona is troublesome. As of today, it appears the track will take Fiona about 100 miles east and north east of Bermuda. If this track holds, we should be good because that means Bermuda is spared the worst of Fiona. The warnings for bermuda have it expecting 2-4 inches of rain. That's a lot of rain, but considering Dominican Republic got 20 inches, its a bit better.

So do you have to fill it out before you board AND before you arrive in Canada? I'm a little confused about that.

So you're saying that they were processing and approving authorizations at embarkation? Interesting.

@KATHYMAC68 I'm glad you found this. I was going to tag you because you're doing the exact b2b in a couple weeks. I will specifically post info about the b2b process between cruises. We have the same room for both, so we will not need pack (yay!).

I just looked, its going to come close to the Azores, but not you.

@FionaMG Anthem is supposed to be in Cape Liberty!! Bring her back! Is that system that just formed in the Atlantic going to cause any issues. I'm not sure how far out that system is from the UK.

Another first for me. I am using Trinity Reservations to book a park and stay. For $304.00, i'm getting a one night stay at Springhill Suites, 14 days of included parking and car service to and from the port. Not bad, considering parking at the port would have costed me $350.00. This is also the first time I've used any kind of service like this. I found it a little more difficult than expected to find a stay/parking package like this. If you try to go straight to the hotel, they say they have it, but its never available. There were two main companies that seemed to do this. Trinity and Park Sleep hotels. Park Sleep, i read some not so flattering reviews and we had friends who used Trinity Reservations multiple times and were very happy with them. So it was a no-brainer. I ran into a slight snag on Friday. I called to confirm our reservation and the hotel our reservation, but not parking. Obviously i was concerned, I emailed Trinity and yesterday, spoke with Bruce who told me that they have a contract with Springhill Suites and central reservation is many times not aware of this. But the parking is included and if I am charged, they will make it right. This is refreshing as these days, trying to get a live person locally can be difficult.

Hey look, its cruise time again for me. I'm back and not competing with @Radio on the same cruise. I'm also tagging @FionaMG as I always tag her on my live threads. Last time we left, we were on Enchantment. I realize i'm becoming a regular here, so i'm just going to post this link so i can refer to my other links. Its mostly so i myself can find these and relive my adventures. They tend to disappear off the search engine after a while, but they're still there by link. This time, it will be my very first B2B ever. 5 nights to Bermuda and then 9 nights. @death_star is with me again and he's bringing his family this time, but only for the 1st leg. We will be visiting Bermuda (hopefully), Boston, Bar Harbor, Portland, St. John and Halifax. Story time. The formation of this cruise plan actually started in 2019 way before we even knew what Covid was. We @death_star and I were on Allure in December, 2019 (there's a live thread on that one too) where he booked the 5 night to Bermuda. At this time, I had nothing planned. He asked if i wanted to do it as well, but I didn't like going on cruises shorter than 7 nights. It felt inefficient for leave planning. Also, at the time, this 2021 cruise (planned) was way too expensive in my opinion, so I said no. Fast forward to January 2020, another friend told us they were doing a Canada cruise, the September 29th 2021 leg. Looking at the price, we decided to book that leg as it was a great price. A couple weeks after booking, the price for the 5 night dropped significantly to the point we debated on booking it as well. When we decided to book, we decided to NOT tell @death_star and try and surprise him onboard. As you can probably guess, that didn't work too well as I'm tagging him here. So on another site we shall not mention, I said something about booking a b2b. I had THOUGHT I was posting to a private forum, but instead, it was on another forum that he actually had access to. I was hitting reply but failed to realize where i was replying to. Like MINUTES after i hit send, he ims me "Hey, you booked a B2B? why didn't you tell me, when is it". So cat left the bag. I was good for 6 months. However, his wife did NOT know we were coming, so we decided to keep the secret for her. We were very good. We had other friends who also booked this cruise with us. But during covid they were seriously thinking of just pulling the plug entirely. So, @death_star told his friend that we were coming too. Only his friend, not his wife, so the cat left the bag a little more, but not so much. Secret was intact for his wife. And then in June of 2021, we found out our cruises were cancelled and bumped to now. Secret was still good. We had some other friends book as well. We all have the same agent. You seeing the path now? So fast forward to about 3 months ago. @death_star sends me a message. His wife found out. My first thought was "ya messed up", but turns out it wasn't his fault, it was no one's fault. Final payment came and our agent told the friend's wife we were coming, not knowing it was supposed to be a secret from her as well. She told @death_star's wife and here we are. Everyone knows everything. At this time, we are obviously a little anxious about what Fiona is going to do to Bermuda on Thursday night/Friday morning. We're hoping it passes far west enough to cause minimal damage to Bermuda. We found that NCL Getaway is leaving on Thursday for a 5 night to call on Bermuda on Saturday morning. We're keeping an eye on that cruise because if they leave as planned, we're golden. Another first, We actually have the UDP for the first 5 night leg. I'm actually more or less giving up my precious escargot for 5 nights. Anyone who's followed along before would know that I regularly consume two orders/night while on a ship. I *think* there are some on the menu at Chops, but not 100%. I've done a live thread on Mariner and Navigator (the famous quarantine cruise) so I'm not a stranger to the Voyager class. In fact, of all the classes, I'm finding that Voyager class is my favorite melding of the smaller class and larger class of Royal Caribbean ships. So here's hoping everything goes off without a hitch. Welcome aboard.

Non refundable. The webpage makes that clear. Though I have heard anecdotally that some people have successfully gotten refunds mostly because of Covid.

He has such an awesome name. He was Captain when i was on Grandeur back in 2017.

This is disappointing. I always felt Celebrity had an edge up on food. When I went way back in 2003 and 2005, I thought the food was awesome and a totally step up from Carnival and NCL (I hadn't been on Royal at that point). It would be many years before i went back. 2015, I wanted a special cruise for my honeymoon, and we were on Celebrity for a 15 night Panama Canal full crossing. Food this time, was on par and was not nearly as special as it was back in 2003 and 2005. The one thing I did like was the personal Sommelier, or it felt personal. I was told anecdotally that they had massively improved since then, but i haven't been so. It wasn't a bad cruise. It was wonderful. But foodwise, I expected more and didn't quote get it. And in answer to the OP. Yes, try Celebrity, Try EVERYTHING. Each cruise focus is slightly different and if you're able, I would encourage everyone to experience what each of them has to offer. I recently got blown away (well, its 3 years ago now), by Princess. They still had a lot of the old touches that make cruising special.

@Biker19 This is fascinating. Though I think there must be an error for the last two Seaborn. They are listed both near the top 5 and totally on the bottom. Doesn't quite add up right for a luxury cruise line.

At current track, its forecast to pass about 100 miles west of Bermuda. Hopefully, that's far enough that they don't get the full force or the hurricane on the island, but its close. Last time a Cat 3 hit (Humberto), they were more or less open for business a day or 2 later. They took a direct hit there where the eye passed over the north end of the island. From what i read, Humberto as a Cat 3 direct hit did 25 million in damage over the island. In comparison, Ike, a Category 2 direct hit to Galveston, caused 39 BILLION. Despite the difference in size, Bermuda is just better prepared for hurricanes so that puts me a little at ease. I'm also told that Bermudans are more blasé' about hurricanes than Floridians.

I would say it depends on what you want in a cruise. If you're the type of person who wants the bells and whistles of new technology to enjoy yourself, then you would be disappointed in anything smaller than Voyager class. However, if you're the type of person who wants a better connection with fellow passengers, wants to feel like you're on a cruise and not in a hotel resort, then the smaller ships are a better bet. My favorite class of ship is the Voyager. It is just the right size to get a lot of the big ship amenities in and still feel like you're on a cruise. Above that, its too big. It stops feeling like a cruise ship, and starts to feel like a hotel resort. Crowds become more of an issue. There are almost 3 times the number of people on an Oasis class vs. the vision class. That's a lot of people considering the Vision class holds less than 2000 people at 100% capacity. The thing I like best about the smaller ships is that its a more intimate cruise experience. The crew gets to know you. You get to see familiar faces with your fellow passengers as you're very likely to see them again. Many of the luxury lines run small ships that are usually older and smaller than even the Vision class (some as much as 1/2 her size). Its much harder when there are more crew and more passengers on the bigger ships. There's a finite number of "cool toys" on the ship and you're competing with the entire passenger base to get a shot on it and it won't be open all the time. Examples like the Ifly on Quantum classes and Flowriders. Lines can get ridiculous because of the small number of people it can accommodate. With 6000+ Passengers and 2000+ crew, you may not see another passenger or crew again. Also, the one thing that keeps me from going on the Oasis class more often is their ports are very standard. Due to the size of the ship, only the biggest ports can accommodate those ships and tendering an Oasis size ship sounds like a nightmare. So Oasis class cruises tend to go to the same places more often than not.

I have to agree with you. I found that chicken sandwich to be pretty good when i was there back in December. Though i still think Popeye's chicken sandwich is better. Its close though.

I have a couple issues with it and pricewise, its a little high for what you get. But what I got was quite good. There's a Sake drink called "She's a Geisha" which is absolutely amazing. I'm not much of a drinker and yeah, this lunch got me too. These drinks were smaller, but they pack a bigger punch due to it being Saki. Its on my live thread from last December, post 101, if you're interested in the pictures and menu of what I got. Overall, if you don't mind the expense, I would recommend it. When i did this, I sailed solo without my wife. I think we will probably do this when on Adventure in a couple weeks.

When i did it on Enchantment last March, we had our own table. The entire restaurant was set for Taste of Royal. In fact, we went at our own pace as other tables were either farther along, or earlier depending on when their reservation was. On the other hand, I did the Izumi Saki and Sushi Lunch on Brilliance in December. Here we were sat at our own table. Like Taste of Royal, the restaurant was set for the Saki and Sushi lunch, but here, everyone came in at the same time, and went at the same pace.

These were my pictures too in March on Enchantment. And I too also took a picture of the St. Peter Spritzer, which i found vile. But my wife liked it.

I'm a punk then, cause i got knocked out during this. I distinctly remember the glasses of wine as full glasses.

I didn't miss one of your live threads between now and when we were on Enchantment together in March, did I? For some reason, cruise critic stopped sending me email notifications which is usually what prompts me to check. And before i knew it, a while has passed since i logged on here. I hadn't realize that this was one of your live threads. I can easily live vicariously through you until my cruise next weekend.

My travel agent assures me they will test us. I asked her a couple months back and she found out the answer. Plus, i think in one of your other posts, you found the part on Royal Caribbean where they say they will test you if you need it for b2b. I've never been to any of these ports except Bermuda. Boston, i've decided to rent a car so i may or may not be able to find out about that shuttle.

In general, Royal Caribbean is pretty good with Allergies regardless of the venue, but as with any organization, mistakes can be made. My sister in law has a long list of allergies. They were able to make her a fairly unique meal at Chef's Table that blew her away.

@KATHYMAC68 I'm doing the exact b2b you are except I'm leaving September 24th. (Bermuda and then Canada). I plan on doing a live thread, so you can follow along. I will post my experience with this and everything as it will be my first b2b.

Ack, you're beating me to doing a Canada live thread by 11 days!! I planned to do my live thread on the September 29th Adventure sailing. Its actually a b2b live as I'm going to Bermuda first on the 24th. My first b2b. Still, I can follow your thread right up until i board.