shipgeeks

If we're cruising from a northern port in the winter, we wear our warmest coats, sweaters, gloves, hats. Being out on deck for departure is especially fabulous in New York, and it can be cold! Once the weather warms up, all those items can just go under the bed, in an empty suitcase, or in the closet. Very worth having for departure and arrival.

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review recently had an interesting article called One Nation Under Dressed. It noted that the amount spent on fashion in the US alone tops $250 Billion annually, yet it is considered uncool to care about what one is wearing. Comfort is the stated deciding factor. We certainly hear that a lot among some cruisers.

The article went on to say "Can anyone truly visualize Audrey Hepburn going to enjoy Breakfast at Tiffany's while wearing a pair of sweatpants? What if James Bond opted for a pair of saggy jeans instead of his iconic suit?"

However, it ended on the hopeful note that fashion is very cyclical, and in time, trends repeat themselves.

Do you think we will someday see a return to virtually all cruisers dressing up as they did years ago? And will it happen in your lifetime?

Either cruiseline might have a good deal on a flight, as well. Celebrity has ChoiceAir; Cunard sometimes offers packages at a very good price.

I would find it a tough decision to make, too!

Here's a crazy idea. Why not do both? You'd have close to a week in England, in between, and you wouldn't have to pay a ridiculous oneway air fare.

Woo! Just scored a fabulous Cache white pantsuit at St. Vincent de Paul store. Looks like it was never worn. Now I have to wait 150 days to put it on for boarding day.

It pays to look, all year round.

We used the transfer available through the cruise line (Celebrity, in our case), and will do so again. Very reliable, comfortable, with a bit of commentary along the way, and luggage carts provided for us upon arrival at the airport. Not the cheapest option, but peace of mind, knowing they would be there at the ship, and would get us to the right place at the airport.

Don't do it. A friend did (trusting girl); so far she has paid $1300 and has not yet been given a date for her cruise.

Meridian. Real promenade deck, felt like a real ship, beautiful outside and in.

Next best, Horizon/Zenith. Still small enough to be intimate and comfortable.

Third place, Century class. Beautiful interior, lots of amenities, and thankfully, no lawn.

DS and DH wondering if they will be "too formal" wearing tuxedos on formal night or would they be better off in black suits and ties?

Take the tuxedos! They will have company.

Thrift stores seem to have all seasons of clothing out all the time. On the dress racks I find lots of sundresses as well as winter ones. I especially love them for formals and cocktail dresses; I've found some fabulous high-end dresses, probably worn once, if that, for just a few dollars.

This might not be a direct answer to your questions, but I'd like to encourage you to read your ship's daily program carefully, and mark anything you might want to do. It will list meal times, bar times, pool times, as well as things that change each day such as shows, games, etc. There are a lot of fun things to do onboard, as well as the land excursions.

Relax, do any or no excursions and activities, and just enjoy.

Thank you all for your information. We will be in port there next year; it is sounding better every day!

Thanks for your memories, you jogged mine about the trio. They were aboard in June 2003 and we went to every performance.

 

Can you recall the name of the cruise director? An ex dancer I think, Australian. Most hands on CD we have known.

 

David.

The Cruise Director was David Pepper.

That reminds me of another good memory: Petre and Roxana Samoila, the ballroom dancers/dance teachers. They were excellent. They were aboard QM2 when we sailed her, as well.

We would rank our Caronia cruise among the top five of our 32 (so far) cruises. It took place in 2004, the next-to-last time she sailed for Cunard.

We booked the entire trip - cruise, air, and transfers - through Cunard, which turned out to be very fortunate. We boarded our flight (US to London) on schedule, but then sat at the departure gate for several hours while crew looked at the outside of the plane. It was finally determined that the plane was not airworthy. We were transferred to a plane going to a different US airport, then eventually flown to London. Needless to say, we were much later than expected. But we were met at the airport by a chauffeur with a Mercedes Benz, and taken to the port in plenty of time to board the ship. Good work, Cunard! And good work, TA Carl, who we later learned was in the hospital, but alerted Cunard from his sickbed.

Some quotes from our journal: "Beautiful ship." "What a good whistle we have." "While ashore we got to look at the ship for the first time. She is REALLY PRETTY." "The creakiest cabin ever. I love it!" "I really like this ship."

We Yanks were seated with three British couples for dinner. Excellent conversation every night. It felt like being at an Agatha Christie house party (minus the murders).

At the port of Santander, our arrival was delayed for several hours by heavy fog. Our ship's horn was sounded every two minutes, as were the horns of all the ships around us. It was quite interesting seeing the fog cover the bow, and then swallow us up.

Some of the music onboard was a classical trio, Viva Espresia. They played Bach, Rachmaninof, Astor Piazola, among others. Wonderful.

One night a deck party was held. Music was played, but no one danced. Finally, a bouncy tune was played, and we decided to Merengue. Lots of people immediately got up to dance, and we thought, Wow, we started the party. Then we noticed that they were all in a circle doing a set dance. We later learned it was the Gay Gordon, a Scottish classic.

Overall, a wonderful cruise, and the type of ship we would choose every time, if they were still sailing.

Shipgeeks (L. and L. D.)

I always think of thrift and consignment shops as treasure hunts , you just never know what you are going to find. If and when I have time to spare, it is fun to go browse, with out breaking the budget.

Cori

I agree! It is my year-round hobby. All of my cruise gowns and cocktail dresses have come from thrift stores and charity shops. I have a number of designer dresses that would have cost in the hundreds, or more, and were probably worn one time before being donated. DH's tuxedos are thrift store finds, too, and cost under $50 for prime brands. You just have to look whenever you can.

I've never had any trouble ordering vegetarian meals. I do always have dinner in MDR, traditional dining, so perhaps having the same table and same waiters makes it smoother, once one has asked for it the first night. On Celebrity it took the form of a separate menu; on other lines it is sometimes included (and clearly marked) on the regular menu.

We've sailed on Enchantment 3 times; 4th coming up. A couple of my favorite things:

Be out on deck for departure. So cool to watch the ship go under the bridge.

Bungee trampoline. You need socks. No fee to use. Lots of fun even for a woman of a certain age (me).

Crew are excellent.

On recent Equinox cruise, there was hot oatmeal, hot milk, muesli, many dry cereals every day, plus very hot water in the beverage dispensers. Also a fairly good selection of teas, and teapots.