thetexasaggiecruiser

We pulled our khaki ones out today. They have held up well, actually. But we do have out pleather document holders from days gone by.

Some sequels prove to be better than the original...given that intro...QED.

In two weeks we'll be enjoying that (almost the) same itinerary on the Westerdam, so looking forward to virtually cruising along with you as a countdown.

Bon Voyage!

I hope so. We're headed Down Under in 2016 and picked another line for the excellent itinerary (price was also incredible) but are waiting until the full 2016 sailings are posted to make a real decision. Will be interesting to see what happens.

We just bought the Groupon for City View. Thanks for all the input on this thread!

LMAO..."that is one noisy ship".......how hilarious of that guy to say that!

Followed by - "Love It". That was a fun comment moment. DH and I were watching today so I could show him where we'll be in three weeks.:D

I talked to Ship Services the other day and Luggage Direct is still offered from Ft. Lauderdale. In the past, we've rented a car from the airport and driven to Miami and looked around, and it worked great. We just took a cab to the airport, and I had the car reserved in advance.

Interesting. His background in talent management and consulting may make him really good - and at times, an outside point of view can be great. I would like to think his consulting experience makes him a good listener - the good ones are. I downloaded the preview to his book and, jargon aside, he comes across very passionate about what he believes in. Will be interesting for sure.

Update on my camera card: I spoke with the technician this afternoon. After initial tests he said that he is "95% positive" that he can save the pics. It is going to take a week or so and set me back $385, so I am going to have to ask Pam for an advance on my allowance.

 

Don't tell him but I would have payed more. You only have one first cruise.

What great news! I hope it continues and you get your pictures back. YAY!

I cleared out our mini fridge and pulled out the shelf. We're able to stand up the red, and the white or Champagne in an Ice Bag. (They're too cold right away, but by the time you have a pre dinner cocktail, and head to your table, they're at just about the right temperature. (In the Caribbean, anyway.)

Hadn't thought about pulling out the shelf. Excellent. Enjoy your evening!

Ouch! So sorry to hear about the camera. I really hope the images can be recovered.

Thank you for that great review. We've never done Le Cirque before, but have booked it for our cruise next month. After seeing the pictures and reading your update, we are absolutely in "the latter camp".

The input on the wine was great - and that reminds me, I have to go order our Ice Bags.

We booked Marmalade the other day, for 5 p.m. I'm really excited.

ragethjj23, this thread had some other suggestions, if you haven't already seen it: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2024674

Yea Cabin assignment VB rear port side cabin :-)

Even more excited now!

That's great! Congratulations on the excellent cabin.

We just got our cabin assignment today 11/20 for our Eurodam cruise on 12/14.

22 days out - nice.

Thank you for setting up this (yet another) marvelous and entertaining thread! I'll look forward to the notes on Grand Cayman - we're there on Dec 24th and not sure what we are doing.

You've probably been there, but heading to the far side of Cozumel and eating at Chien Rio is one of our favorite cruise memories. We haven't been there in a while, but the Trip Advisor reviews are still really good. Love that place. If you go, lift a glass to us Texans!

What a cliffhanger! I can't wait to read what happened, I SO hope Pam was able to enjoy the cruise. We are on that itinerary in December - I love how you wrote up your impressions.

I booked through HAL by phone, CowPrincess. I do wonder if all these verandah categories are at "regular price". While I pounced on my "deal", I've observed that the same low fare offer hasn't changed for 2 weeks! This is a Christmas Cruise, people and I payed twice as much for Celebrity last year. Is it possible that the Christmas cruises are suffering from low bookings?

Hey there - we are on this same cruise, and there is a ton of availability in the Veranda class right now. So like people say, you will probably get a great room.

However, when we booked, we booked a VD guarantee - because of the metal railings. I'm short and I wanted to be SURE I could see the water when I sit down. At one point, the prices dropped after final payment, and when our TA called, HAL moved us up to a VA with no extra charge. So call and just ask what your options are. Just one note on deck 5, the mid-ship verandas are smaller because they are above the lifeboats. So be sure to have a deck plan open and ask HAL for the cabin number.

Let us know how it all turns out!

Roger, thanks much! I was going to reply to say that we decided to dine in the MDR for Christmas Eve, and do the Pinnacle another time, as we figured it would be a "special" night in the MDR. Looks like that's the case!

Also, on our Westerdam cruise, Christmas Eve is the Le Cirque dinner and that offering has inconsistent reviews, so it's something to consider if that's the case for you. (If you haven't booked, I bet ship services could tell you.)

I am sorry your camera was never returned. I had visions of that couple realizing they picked up yours thinking it was theirs by accident. (DH did that with a passport - it happens). So sorry. Still, love the pictures you did post and camera-theft aside, it looks like you had a wonderful cruise.

Thank you for your review - clear, concise and informative! We'll be boarding her in just a few weeks and we will avoid the souffle.

Since the Oosterdam is in Australia in December, would the broadcasts be different? Espn Australia shows a mix of US sports and European broadcasts. Not sure about premiere league, though on our Noordam cruise the first week of January a few years ago the matches were on in the sports bar in addition to the US games. So do check that out.

I stress out over packing. For a three day business trip even. I dread it. Don't know why. All the what-ifs, maybe-need, ugh. The best part of packing is being done. And of course, that you are about to cruise!

I found the hair dryers on board to be adequate. I tend to just deal with the ones provided on cruises or hotels because it's just one more thing I don't have to pack. Sounds like you should be ok. Have a great trip.

We have booked the 16N bottom end Australia and New Zealand for April 2016 on the Explorer. We're planning to fly and spend some time in Syndey/Perth before/after. Depending on the actual days, we'll spend about 25 in the southern hemisphere. We chose it because it had a great itinerary and good balance of sea and port days.

Since it will be our first trip, I'm not much help on your other questions. We chose cruise for this first visit so that we can get an idea of where we'd like to do a land tour in the future - I'm sure we'll do NZ more fully at some point.

Hope some of this was helpful.

Wow. Thanks for posting that picture.

So glad our ships can have information like this to steer out of harms way.

So enjoying all the stories and pictures. Loved the signage for the Drinking Consultant at the Irish pub! Wonder if they are hiring?:D

I just had a chance to catch up on your trip and your commentary is a delight to read. Looking forward to the rest of your adventures. I think finding local restaurants and experiencing new dishes is great. That's what traveling is for!