TKS

On our first cruise, many years ago before the current airline luggage restrictions, I dragged along a different outfit for each day. Not only was it unnecessary, it was a pain in the neck.

At a presentation one day the CD on that cruise recommended on the next cruise to bring twice as much money and half as many clothes.

Great advice never goes out of date.

I took a 30-day cruise on Oceania in November while on WW. I had a wonderful variety of fruit for breakfast, with a piece of crisp bacon once in a while. Lunch was salad and veggies and a simple protein, and I tried to stay on track in the evenings as well. I shunned the breads most of the time, but allowed myself their wonderful breadsticks if I just couldn't stand it - they are small and easy to control. I allowed myself either a drink or a dessert each day, not both. That way I felt I was on vacation without going crazy. I walked LOTS and kept track on the scale in the gym three times a week.

At the end I'd only gained 3 pounds, which came off within a week of arriving home (yes, I agree it's at least partly the extra salt in the diet).

IT IS POSSIBLE! If you've been on the program a while you know what the right choices are, and you CAN substitute the bad choices for good ones. Just remind yourself more than once a day how good you feel about yourself losing the weight - it's good reinforcement.

Good Luck!

I totally agree. We've been cruising for 30 years, on numerous cruise lines, and all are different. However, the success of the cruise is made by one's own attitude, and we've always had a great time. A positive attitude virtually ensures a great cruise, but if you start out negative you will find your expectations met.

Just be glad you weren't cruising with that woman. Imagine having that attitude drag you down for the entire cruise? I wonder why she continues cruising if it was that bad? Lack of flexibility and creativity maybe? We make our own futures, not just on the cruise ship, but in life as well. Feel sorry for that woman, she must be pretty miserable in her life to "hate" the cruise vacation she's privileged to be able to take.

Have a spectacular time, Maureen! Kay

I agree with Rick. A free drink and a couple canapés aren't worth bucking the crowd, since usually half the ship is filled with past passengers, so it's pretty crowded. And having people stand and be recognized for taking "X" cruises isn't exactly great entertainment.

Unless you're there with friends and early enough to get a table most just stand around and visit for a few minutes and then go on to the next activity.

Thanks for your update, Maureen. Wish we were there with you, but it was not to be.

Please continue posting your experiences, so we can experience the great cruise through your eyes.

Kay & Tarmo

Yes, all cabins have a hairdryer, although they are lower wattage than most home hairdryers.

If they are indeed gone from all four/soon-to-be five ships - Yippee!

They took up room onboard Nautica our last cruise needed for people, even in Horizons some days when the view of the ocean was soooooo much better than the art.

I haven't read anyone yet who has said definitively the art auctions are gone from O.

If indeed the companies did come to a parting of the ways, it is possible the contractor was the one tasked with contacting cruisers with the bad news. Given the poor reputation that company apparently has, did they just drop the ball?

I do agree O should have been proactive here, but there may be more than meets our eyes in this situation.

Member reviews from Cruise Critic are what the original poster was referring to, I believe.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=400

Just remember to look at the majority of the reviews, not the outliers. Every cruise line has its cheerleaders and its detractors.

Everyone seems to be talking about TA's discounting. That's nice, BUT. . . be sure you are getting good service from your TA. Do they answer your questions fully and promptly. Can you reach them quickly when you have need? Do they offer good advice you never thought of asking for? Are they knowledgeable about the products they are selling?

The real value of a good TA is not the discounts they offer (although those are really nice!) but the services they offer, especially if something goes wrong with your cruise planning or execution. They keep records of what has transpired, what are your options, good upgrades available, and they will go to bat for you with the cruise line if need be.

But find a TA you trust and can work with and stick with them. Your best service comes from a positive mutual relationship, not just running from one aggregator to another for the "best deal."

We also were in our early 50's on our first O cruise. We had a wonderful time with the other couple with whom we sailed.

Since then we've mostly sailed by ourselves, but most people who sail O are very interesting, well travelled and energetic. I've met some of the youngest 70-somethings aboard O you'd ever care to meet. On our last cruise I met a Swiss couple I would have guessed were in their mid-late 60's - both were mid-80's and almost impossible to keep up with!

Don't worry. If you enjoy people there will be plenty to do aboard Nautica.

Just a quick Bon Voyage and Thank you(!) to Mr. Ames for his services on our last two O cruises. We wish him well in his new marriage. With his positive attitude, I'm sure he'll do well in whatever he chooses.

Caroldoll,

We set up a separate ATM account which we fund before a trip. It is not tied to our regular accounts. That way, if it is hacked, the crooks have no way to access our regular accounts, and we have not lost anything but a useless, PIN protected, card with the money deposited there. We do not pay fees for the account, and the only fees are regular bank conversion fees from one currency to another at foreign ATM's.

This has worked for us for several years now. Whatever you decide, good luck.

Can't speak about taxis from the ship to Sagrada Familia, but definitely pre-book tickets to see the church. We've been there three times, and two of the three the lines were long.

Barcelona is a vibrant and wonderful city. Enjoy!

Ruby Princess. I had the month wrong in my earlier post. It is on the January 17, 2015 sailing.

 

We're going the week after and cannot wait. Have seen the snow outside?!:eek:

Suntan, I hate to let you know, but since you don't want to be aboard with any groups. . .

An Estonian cultural group is booked 1/24/2015 on the Ruby. About 300 booked so far, so around 10% of the ship's capacity. Hope that doesn't bother you. From the literature for the group the activities are primarily scheduled for the two sea days. Activities will include singing, dancing, lectures, etc., so there will be times you won't have access to "any and all" spaces on the ship, since there is a small fee before to facilitate setting up the activities.

Sorry, but I expect you will find at least some groups on virtually any cruise on a ship this large.

Lande, I see you're new to CruiseCritic. Welcome.

Here are the links to the two cruises you are asking about.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1720275

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1760425

You can find this by going to the Roll Call of the opening page of the community section of CC, click on Oceania, then on Marina and then search out your particular cruises.

These look like they're going to be wonderful cruises, lots of activity on both. Have a great time!

Again, welcome to Cruisecritic.

JDColorado, thanks for your service. I'm sorry O can't accommodate your needs.

Pet Nit Noy, it is interesting to note this is the second thread I've seen on fake service animals in two days here on CC. The other was on another line's thread and the discourse follows pretty much the same lines as this one.

I only recently learned about the fake service dog issue watching people in PetSmart picking out official-looking jackets for their "darling," and talking, in public, about how good it would look when the logo they ordered was put on it:eek: Guess I'm getting old. Seen it, but can't believe such people really exist!

Something no one has mentioned yet as a lunch option is Waves "Surf & Turf" sandwich. A small filet medallion with a halved lobster, on a bun. If you ask, they will skip the bun (and/or the filet or lobster, as you please). I've asked for "surf & surf" and gotten that as well. DH loves their Kobe beef burger as well.

And I enjoy eating lunch al fresco in Terrace on days in port when the ship is "backed in." Great weather, great view, great choices for lunch. I especially love O's salads, and I try to hold myself back from their huge variety of daily baked breads. There are also 2-tops on the fantail as well.

Any venue you decide, I'm certain you will enjoy O.

If you're flying Southwest you can pay $12.50 pp when you book for their Priority Check-in. That qualifies you for space in the first 60 aboard, depending on when you book it, so you can likely sit together.

We recently sailed Nautica and had a forward cabin across from the elevators/stairs. I obsessed for a long time before the cruise about it, but it was not a problem in any way. In fact we really enjoyed it. No noise problems, and the door was actually slightly off the opening to the elevators/stairs, so no privacy issues at all.

After we got home, we both agreed we would book the same location again. We could just pop upstairs one level to the Spa deck and the hot tub (we were in a PH), so it was almost like having a private hot tub.

The only caveat is all alcohol brought aboard is for consumption only in your cabin. Any wine brought to dinner includes a corkage fee ($20 if I remember correctly.)

We are taking our first Princess cruise on the Ruby in several months and booked a mini-suite. Will we be able to dine in Sabatini's for breakfast at that level?

Yes, I've received as many as five mailings a week, plus the e-mails. I save the mailings because of the beautiful colors - tear them up and use them in collages. But, really, what a waste of materials!

Because of the higher cost of the cruise, your trip insurance increases somewhat, since you pay a percentage of the cost of your trip.