Gracie115

We are long time Celebrity cruisers who just sailed on Royal's Allure of the seas, Oasis class. We had a great time. We ate dinners in Specialty restaurants and enjoyed all of them. The ship was completely full, but we never waited in lines for anything. The entertainment was good to great. It was only a 4 night cruise, but fun enough that we booked another one on the Utopia which is a sister ship that is brand new. It's easy for us since Port Canaveral is only an hour away from home. We've been disappointed in Celebrity the last few cruises. I don't think the food is any better for the most part. The IV "balconies" don't work for us. Hate the idea that the Captain can, at any time, close the window. One of the things we enjoy the most about cruising is the balcony. Sitting on it sipping a glass of wine in the evening before dinner, or before retiring for the evening the IV just doesn't have the same or equal feel at all. The entertainment is good in the theaters on Celebrity but not much otherwise.... they DO have a lot of trivia games though if that's what you enjoy. I don't know if we will ever try the Icon class as it's even bigger and even more accented toward the pool and other amusement park type things, but we like the Oasis class. Have been on 3 of them now and always enjoyed what they have to offer.

We are now at 284 points and finally received our 1st block on our Allure cruise last week. They are kind of cool and definitely made of glass, very heavy. Good idea as a doorstop.....lol

We were in a Grand Suite on Anthem and while, no, they don't serve alcohol all day long, you can get drinks during lunch at CK and of course all evening in the suite lounge and CK. We were fine with that plus our D+ free drinks.

Go back to the balcony room. We are just off Allure and while we love JS & above the cost these days is crazy. We booked a regular ocean balcony room and added the Key to our reservations. The room was fine, the Key got us the welcome lunch, internet, excellent seats at the shows and discounts on Spec Dining. Yes it was a couple hundred $$ but that's nothing compared to what it would have cost to upgrade to a JS or better. We are now booking a 4 night on the Utopia and doing the same thing. Not sure we would like the balcony room on a longer(10 nights or more) cruise but for a short cruise it's just fine.

I wasn't referring to the Sky Lounge, which is very nice to just look out, but yes under utilized. There are areas outside on the S class ships that you can be right at the bow of the boat on decks 15 & 16...... also deck 12 on M class.

I already have the info, and, thankfully, the S class ships are great for bow views for everyone. Which is what we book, will not book E class again, for many reasons.

For many people, me included, the view from the front of the ship is for more preferable than from the aft. I like the aft, but it just doesn't match that feeling you get standing at the front of the ship, the wind in your hair, sometimes strong enough to feel like you may just become part of it. One of my favorite things about cruising. We even seek out rooms that face the front with balconies. Princess has many of them on Royal class ships, HAL has a few on their newer ships.....

These are also many of the things we don't like about "e" class ships @MyView. We were very disappointed in our last 2 X cruises, both on the Apex. Luminae was nearly always very crowded, noisy and the food nowhere near the quality on the S or M class ships. As I said our sailings were on Apex and I know that Beyond & especially Ascent have an even larger Luminae with more suites...so the wonderful ambiance that the smaller, older ships have is completely lost in that environment. Just our "2 cents"

What kind of room are you in? If any kind of suite I wouldn't buy a Specialty Dining Package because you have Luminae to dine in. Even if you are not in a suite I would probably avoid the package because you can usually get better rates on board. No formal nights, "elegant chic" is what they are calling it now, but the last few cruises we have seen fewer and fewer formal wear, although there are some. I would think on 19 nights you would have 3 - 4 of those. No proof of vaccine has been required recently. Hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise. Let us now how the Equinox looks since you will be boarding right after it's 3 week drydock!!

Nowhere

Thanks for taking the time of entertaining us all for the last few weeks. I can tell it was a wonderful trip filled with new and old memories. I can't wait to see your "Live" report from your first Oceania cruise.

Wow....that's just crazy...

It's wonderful to be on the ship for an extended period and have time to do just this....... enjoy!!

I think I would have opted for the Swiss Chard & Butternut squash lasagna just for the heck of it....sounds interesting. But that orange dessert looks yummy!!!

Last year on Apex I wound up with the "Kids" menu bolognese for about half the dinners..... (didn't realize it was the "kids" until the last night when Sonny the waiter told me)