Ukigirl

1 hour ago, ValerieJo said:

Looking forward to the game tonight.  Just hoping we can overcome so many injuries. 

Go Lions, it’s about time (says this long suffering, die hard Lions fan)

Loved following your adventures as a first time solo cruiser. My first solo was last year and being a true introvert, what helped me was joining the slot pull. I met some awesome people and ended up having dinner with a few of them twice.  I loved Vintages in the evening, since it was quiet there most nights, I spent time talking to the bartenders (not sure if your ship had Vintages). Loved Central Park but agree with you, formal nights were lonely and I also missed my husband but still had a great time!  Great review!

24 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

@lazydayz Such a great question!  

 

The only time I was ever lonely was in the evening when I would normally be with my husband, sitting in a bar listening to music and dancing.  For some reason I felt like an idiot sitting or standing in a bar by myself, so I’d just get one of my non-alcoholic drinks and walk around and people watch, or head back to my room.  Formal nights were a little lonely; not as fun to walk around in your nice clothes or go listen to the jazz music alone; and all those families getting photos together!

 

I think i WOULD have been lonely at dinners if I didn’t take my CC friends along with me, plus messages with my family. 

 

Overall, I enjoyed being able to do what I wanted when I wanted, and on my own schedule. Plus it was nice to focus on taking photos and videos, or sending a. message to CC—not worrying about slowing down husband, friends and family.

 

Although it was my first cruise solo, I’ve traveled solo quite a bit—After I graduated school, I toured Australia on my own for about a month, and I’ve been going to business conferences in multiple US cities for years. I think that helped. And although I’m married with a fantastic family, I enjoy alone time. 

 

When I was alone on excursions, etc., I had no trouble starting conversations! I’m outgoing, and that helps.

Yes I somewhat enjoyed my week on Icon last month, the butler service was lacking since I specifically asked for my cappuccino to be served at a temperature of 204C, NOT 199 degrees. My Pomeranian, Mr. Reginald Churchill III was  not groomed to his liking and for some reason, the little bell I used to summon my butler disappeared on day 6. Mr. Bailey will be hearing from my lawyer. 

21 hours ago, chriscec2012 said:

Fwiw you can buy 1 UBP and 1 Ultimate refreshment package but you have to call to do it, I just did it last night for an upcoming cruise. My wife doesn’t really drink alcohol so it works out great. 

I did call and they would have let us do it but we aren’t soda drinkers, I did pack water bottles and Crystal Light packets. I also just remembered that we brought two bottles of wine on board, I love having a glass on the balcony before dinner.

19 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Doesn't sound like you ever really needed the drink package. I'm glad you shed that bill.

We more than got our $$ worth over the years, I’ve probably tried every frozen cocktail possible, I like icy cold beer by the pool so once it got warm I’d just order another, 2-3 glasses of wine with dinner and then after dinner drinks. No wonder we slept in, we don’t miss it.

Yes we used vouchers for some great lattes!

Been cruising with Royal for 20 years and always with the drink package, we enjoy trying new cocktails and hey, if I didn’t care for it I’d wait and order something else. Well, last year the husband went in for his physical and discovered he had elevated liver enzymes so he quit drinking alcohol. He’s a healthy guy who works out, eats kind of sort of healthy, not overweight but this scared him so when it came time for our cruise last May, we decided to skip the package altogether. Inwardly I was disappointed (our secret), but I wanted to support him and help him regain his health. Interesting thing is he’s not really a drinker, just a beer or two on weekends, his body just absorbs too much iron. We are diamond so I knew I’d be able to have 4 drinks per day and thought if I wanted more I’d pay for them.  Much to my surprise, most days I didn’t even have 4 and I felt great.  We were up early every day, my energy level was so much higher and I didn’t miss my fruity, sugary cocktails by the pool, mostly had a glass or two of wine with dinner.  Money saved was definitely a plus too.  Goodbye drink package, don’t take this personally but I’m just not into you anymore.

Safe travels home Andrew and Lisa!  Wondering if you have been affected by the wildfires, we are across the pond from you (just outside of Detroit) and we’ve had quite a bit of air quality alert days. Looking forward to your final thoughts.

Happy to be joining the party, and Happy Anniversary to both of you! Question about this cruise, since most people are doing 3 or 4 days, are you finding that it’s more of a young, party party party type cruise? We’ve never done one shorter than six days but I’m kind of liking a 7 day back to back one.

Main difference is Cafe Promenade doesn’t have the ambiance and fancy seating but good selections.

50 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

What airline?  United will let you to check bags three hours prior to departure. 

 

51 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

What airline?  United will let you to check bags three hours prior to departure. 

 

Delta

23 minutes ago, Ukigirl said:

I agree! We stood in line to check our bags and she said we were too early! Needless to say, I’m pissed right now because the line is twice as long 😡

Happy ending, I explained to a rep and she said that never should have happened and took us to front of line. I’m glad because the baggage check in at that point was extremely long.

1 minute ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

Never heard of an airline that opens check-in counters 1:15h before departure. Ever.

I agree! We stood in line to check our bags and she said we were too early! Needless to say, I’m pissed right now because the line is twice as long 😡

It’s Sunday 8:15 am, here we are sitting at Fort Lauderdale airport waiting for 11:15 flight. They won’t even let us check our luggage until 10:00, so yes plenty of time!

5 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

I was wondering as well. . . hope all is well for them.

 

Wondering the same, hopefully a WiFi issue and nothing more 

On 4/12/2023 at 6:55 PM, Andrea57spins said:

I think being embarrassed that I am alone is greater….so the lesser is being afraid of being with people I don’t click with. 

I felt like you when I went solo first time last year but I really enjoyed being alone. I only went to MDR once and sat by myself but ended up having a lovely conversation with a couple who sat next to me. I did Izumi sushi one night and even though I was only one in there solo, I felt ok. One thing to consider is Izumi does carry out so you can always eat in your cabin.  My absolute favorite was Vintages, most evenings there were hardly any people there and their small plates are excellent and reasonably priced. I did Windjammer few times and also Sorrentos, enjoyed people watching at Promenade.  Also, you can always take a book with you to restaurants.  Sorry I high jacked this thread, loving the review!

Ok meant 5-7 for drinks. Good to know about not needing reservations, we’ll just look at the planner and decide on entertainment.  We are in veranda room so no Blu for us and  only specialty restaurant we booked is Sushi so far. I expect chair hogs to be out in full force since it’s a Caribbean cruise but since there’s only two of us and we love the view of the ocean vs the pool, I’m sure we’ll find a spot. Thanks for the replies!

One more, if you had to choose one specially restaurant which would it be? Oh and one day we hope to be in the playoffs again, Detroit Red Wings have been in the “rebuilding years “ long enough!

Glad I found this, our first Celebrity cruise coming up in a month and I’ve been researching everything I can and still have some questions. My husband got the N/A package (he’s six months sober today 😀) but being Elite means I can get some cocktails between 6-8 pm I believe? If i want something by the pool I’ll just pay for it but are there certain places only where these (free) drinks are available? How are the shows on Equinox? Is it like RCL where you can’t book until embarkation day? Anything you recommend as a must see? Where’s the best place to go for lunch once we board that’s not too busy? How’s the chair hog situation? 😝

Awesome, thanks 

My husband got the n/a drink package for our upcoming cruise, does it include mocktails and n/a beer?

Me too! I did my first solo cruise last May and I’d get a couple of items along with a glass of wine. Love how quiet it is in Vintages, sometimes I was the only one there.

I love the tapas at Vintages, you get quite a bit 

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Looks like someone placed a hotel on top of a barge platform.

That was exactly what I was thinking, very boxy