Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[Sunshine3601]

6 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

We decided Charlie really isn’t ready for a cruise yet.  I hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy!!!!

Good decision, especially based on the path Hurricane Lee may take the Oasis itinerary may be changed next week to a northern sailing

[DaniDanielle]

I hope you have safe travels Debbie.

[Tree_skier]

On 9/6/2023 at 8:17 AM, Sea Dog said:

I think I'm driving Linda nuts because all I ever talk about is this cruise.😜

Sharron is the same way.  She enjoys cruises but I am the addict.  She thinks I'm nuts with all the time I spend on Cruise critic.  

 

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, Tree_skier said:

Sharron is the same way.  She enjoys cruises but I am the addict.  She thinks I'm nuts with all the time I spend on Cruise critic.  

 

I’m the sane way. Sometimes it’s good to feel like a nut. Remember this???

 

[jagsfan]

On 9/6/2023 at 11:17 AM, Sea Dog said:

I think I'm driving Linda nuts because all I ever talk about is this cruise.😜

That’s what we’re here for. 
I think I joined CC back in 2000 because Dick was willing to cruise if I did all the work and just told him the date. 
He’s still the same, and I’ve gotten even more fixated on each upcoming cruise. 

[jagsfan]

23 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

It could be because sailings are full now they need more time to get passengers off and ship prepared than previously.

And fewer stewards to turn the cabins over. 

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, DaniDanielle said:

Lenny, hope Toby’s birthday celebration was excellent!

It was very good,Marietta.My daughters ordered in food from a restaurant that I was not familiar with.They bought a rather large ice cream cake ,half of it is in my kitchen freezer.I ate leftover food for lunch.

[lenquixote66]

9 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

That’s what we’re here for. 
I think I joined CC back in 2000 because Dick was willing to cruise if I did all the work and just told him the date. 
He’s still the same, and I’ve gotten even more fixated on each upcoming cruise. 

At one time there were at least 19 on line cruise boards and I posted on all of them .

[jagsfan]

20 hours ago, mo&fran said:

When I was between wives , I got the bug to buy a boat, but I didn't have a place to store, nor a vehicle to tow it. Yhere was the option to use a storage facility that offered in/out service, but I didn't find that attractive.  Never got one, but it looked like it might be fun. 

Before our son had a boat, he belonged to Freedom Boat Club.
Sometimes they used a small speedboat, sometimes, depending on number of pax, a large one, sometimes a pontoon boat for parties. 
He really liked it. Drive up, get in the boat, enjoy the day, come back and get back in the car. 
I’d think most cities with water have Freedom or something like it. 

[George C]

5 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

Before our son had a boat, he belonged to Freedom Boat Club.
Sometimes they used a small speedboat, sometimes, depending on number of pax, a large one, sometimes a pontoon boat for parties. 
He really liked it. Drive up, get in the boat, enjoy the day, come back and get back in the car. 
I’d think most cities with water have Freedom or something like it. 

One of my friends from Long Island bought a boat last year , he is in his 70’s and never owned a boat before , he uses it every weekend. I will stick with my cruises.

[jagsfan]

@ReneeFLL You did your time in a quarantine cabin. I hate you’re not able to get out and experience everything. I hope you feel better before the cruise is over!

@FromSea2ShiningSea Thank you for sharing the photos. That’s as close as I’ll ever get! I love the view of the ship from the top. It reminds me of looking down at the ships in Santorini. Way different experience, though. 

[reallyitsmema]

@DaniDanielle If you guys do end up booking, let me know.  I understand Charlie isn't ready yet, but if that changes, we are also looking to add a cruise too.  I need to get my Mom to Florida to deal with a few things and she doesn't want to fly but I had her excited to cruise again and was going to book something when we got back from a family wedding that was over Labor Day.  Unfortunately, it has turned into a covid cluster, with some of my family members very sick.  My immediate household and my Mom are negative so far, but some that we were with all weekend are not.  Time will tell but it has put a halt to her wanting to cruise. 😞 

[DaniDanielle]

I will let you know.  I really wanted to go as we have friends from Long Island going with their kids and grandkids.  I figured if anything happened I would have somebody with us.  If you went I would feel better!  I will talk to him tonight as time is short. The next few cruises also look pretty reasonable.

Edited September 7, 2023 by DaniDanielle

[mo&fran]

32 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

Before our son had a boat, he belonged to Freedom Boat Club.
Sometimes they used a small speedboat, sometimes, depending on number of pax, a large one, sometimes a pontoon boat for parties. 
He really liked it. Drive up, get in the boat, enjoy the day, come back and get back in the car. 
I’d think most cities with water have Freedom or something like it. 

There is one that advertises a lot on TV, and I am sure there are many more, but you never heard  any thing about them around the 1980's when  I was thinking about them. And being an engineer, I would probably want my own to tinker with it.

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

Couple days ago, we sailed through the Prins Christian Sund from 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM.  It was windy and freezing outside but the sights were absolutely amazing.

 

Whale sighting 

That is cloud covering on top of the mountains 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are sailing into those dark grey clouds…more to follow…

 

[Momof3gurlz]

@FromSea2ShiningSea thank you for sharing these beautiful photos!

 

@ReneeFLL so sorry you’ve been under the weather.  I hope you haven’t missed out on too much and that you feel better very soon. 

[h20skibum]

22 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

There is one that advertises a lot on TV, and I am sure there are many more, but you never heard  any thing about them around the 1980's when  I was thinking about them. And being an engineer, I would probably want my own to tinker with it.

That is when we bought our boat. I have had it now for 40 years, and our kids grew up on it and learned to ski behind it.  Now our grandkids are enjoying the same boat.  The nice thing about it is we are able to store it in one of our garages, and we don’t need to pay for storage fees each winter.  The engine is pretty accessible to work on.

 

Other than routine maintenance, it hasn’t needed anything major in all the years we have owned it.  That is, till maybe this year.  Have had a couple intermittent problems that they are trying to solve at the boat repair shop.  Waiting for some parts to come in next week, and hopefully it will be fixed.

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, jagsfan said:

Before our son had a boat, he belonged to Freedom Boat Club.
Sometimes they used a small speedboat, sometimes, depending on number of pax, a large one, sometimes a pontoon boat for parties. 
He really liked it. Drive up, get in the boat, enjoy the day, come back and get back in the car. 
I’d think most cities with water have Freedom or something like it. 

Our Naples friend belongs to a boat club like that in Bonita Beach.

[Luckynana]

@reallyitsmema I do hope you, your Mom, and your household remain negative!🙏

[Tree_skier]

So I've got a question for everyone...  I've had a week open up at the end of October so I quickly looked for a short cruise I could fill in there.  I could depart Monday Oct 23 if it was a leaving out of SoCal or the 24th if it was leaving out of anywhere else.  The other condition is I must be back in CA by Saturday the 28th. Unsurprisingly there are very options that fit into that narrow equation.  Sadly, Navigator is on a 7 day charter that week so no 4 day available.   The only options I can find are Carnival Radiance 4 day going to Catalina and Ensenada or the HAL Koningsdam repositioning from Vancouver to San Diego.  I probably wouldn't get off the ship for the Carnival Radiance. The HAL Koningsdam has only one port of call Astoria OR which wouldn't be a big thrill either.

 

The overall price would be a little cheaper on Carnival Radiance since there would be no flight to YVR or precruise hotel.  

 

My question/concerns... I'm concerned that HAL will be way to boring and Carnival not boring enough. I've not been on either line so I have no frame of reference. I've heard those short Carnivals are just booze cruises and absolutely horrible.  I've got a close friend who is a princess fanatic who loathes Carnival and he warns against them like the ships descend right into hell itself.  I've got a cousin who has done a few HAL's with his parents.  He's close to my age and temperament.  He has cruised Royal several times and prefers it over any other line. He said HAL was the most boring cruise he has been on.  

 

Does anyone have any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations?

 

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by Tree_skier

[grapau27]

54 minutes ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Couple days ago, we sailed through the Prins Christian Sund from 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM.  It was windy and freezing outside but the sights were absolutely amazing.

 

Whale sighting 

That is cloud covering on top of the mountains 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are sailing into those dark grey clouds…more to follow…

 

Amazing photos.

[grapau27]

21 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

@reallyitsmema I do hope you, your Mom, and your household remain negative!🙏

+1 @reallyitsmema

[grapau27]

6 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

So I've got a question for everyone...  I've had a week open up at the end of October so I quickly looked for a short cruise I could fill in there.  I could depart Monday Oct 23 if it was a leaving out of SoCal or the 24th if it was leaving out of anywhere else.  The other condition is I must be back in CA by Saturday the 28th. Sadly, Navigator is on a 7 day charter that week so no 4 day available.   The only options I can find are Carnival Radiance 4 day going to Catalina and Ensenada or the HAL Koningsdam repositioning from Vancouver to San Diego.  I probably wouldn't get off the ship for the Carnival Radiance. The HAL Koningsdam has only one port of call Astoria OR which wouldn't be a big thrill either.

 

The overall price would be a little cheaper on Carnival Radiance since there would be no flight to YVR or precruise hotel.  

 

My question/concerns... I'm concerned that HAL will be way to boring and Carnival not boring enough. I've not been on either line so I have no frame of reference. I've heard those short Carnivals are just booze cruises and absolutely horrible.  I've got a close friend who is a princess fanatic who loathes Carnival and he warns against them like the ships descend right into hell itself.  I've got a cousin who has done a few HAL's with his parents.  He's close to my age and temperament.  He has cruised Royal several times and prefers it over any other line. He said HAL was the most boring cruise he has been on.  

 

Does anyone have any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations?

 

 

Stick with Royal.

Short party cruises can be troublesome and some of the music venues stay open until everyone leaves which can be at least 04.00am so if your cabin is anywhere near you will get no sleep.

[Vibe]

21 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

So I've got a question for everyone...  I've had a week open up at the end of October so I quickly looked for a short cruise I could fill in there.  I could depart Monday Oct 23 if it was a leaving out of SoCal or the 24th if it was leaving out of anywhere else.  The other condition is I must be back in CA by Saturday the 28th. Unsurprisingly there are very options that fit into that narrow equation.  Sadly, Navigator is on a 7 day charter that week so no 4 day available.   The only options I can find are Carnival Radiance 4 day going to Catalina and Ensenada or the HAL Koningsdam repositioning from Vancouver to San Diego.  I probably wouldn't get off the ship for the Carnival Radiance. The HAL Koningsdam has only one port of call Astoria OR which wouldn't be a big thrill either.

 

The overall price would be a little cheaper on Carnival Radiance since there would be no flight to YVR or precruise hotel.  

 

My question/concerns... I'm concerned that HAL will be way to boring and Carnival not boring enough. I've not been on either line so I have no frame of reference. I've heard those short Carnivals are just booze cruises and absolutely horrible.  I've got a close friend who is a princess fanatic who loathes Carnival and he warns against them like the ships descend right into hell itself.  I've got a cousin who has done a few HAL's with his parents.  He's close to my age and temperament.  He has cruised Royal several times and prefers it over any other line. He said HAL was the most boring cruise he has been on.  

 

Does anyone have any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations?

 

 

It's probably better for you to be a little bored on HAL than horrified on a Carnival short cruise.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Vibe

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Couple days ago, we sailed through the Prins Christian Sund from 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM.  It was windy and freezing outside but the sights were absolutely amazing.

 

Whale sighting 

That is cloud covering on top of the mountains 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are sailing into those dark grey clouds…more to follow…

 

Beautiful photos! That looks amazing I really want to cruise there.