CatLadyFemme

Glad we finishing packing last night; it was a rainy morning and the UberX I ordered turned out to be a Toyota Prius, so opted to only bring only my cane and not my walker. We had a very smooth check in at DTW and made it through to our gate with plenty of time to spare. For those wondering, we are using KN95s for mid risk situations, and FloMasks with SipValves on the plane to stay hydrated over the 5 hour flight. Here is to an easy flight and adventure to our hotel.

Awww thanks 🥰 And yes! We love Quantum; we were on her to Alaska (slightly different stops) in August 2022, and then on her sister ship Anthem for a transatlantic last May. We find them much better size for us than the Oasis class ships that are just too big and overwhelming for us.

Hello - it's time for another live review! I'm CatLadyFemme, a professor at the University of Michigan, a cat lady , and a fairly experienced cruiser. I am autistic, and disabled/live with chronic pain, and so walk with a cane, plus I am a vegetarian and have Celiac disease, so am super duper gluten free. I’m in the middle of this picture of my family. It’s been a rough school year, plus with political issues, multiple genocides taking place world wide, and just feeling burnt out, I absolutely cannot wait to get on board, and feel like I can finally breathe again...I hope. In addition to things like photos of the rooms, pools, etc., I will post about finding vegetarian GF food (we've had some AMAZING luck like with Belic on the Explorer, and some not great experiences where I ate iceberg salad and berries for days), and access/ADA issues. Oh! I'm also queer and nonbinary (as is MxCatLady), so there may be some stuff about the LGBTQ meet up, etc. I like to stay in inside reading or playing games, or you might find me enjoying the hot tubs. Yes, even when it is fairly chilly (see my May 2023 review of Voyager in the Baltic). One of my partners, MxCatLady, will be joining me. They run a Starbucks on land (sadly, cannot use their discounts aboard), and this is their fourth time on a cruise and second time to Alaska. We were supposed to go with our whole neuroqueer D&D group, but in the end, only one friend and his partner will be joining the cruise, so we will be mostly on our own. We both will likely frequent the shows depending on how crowded they are, napkin folding/towel animals, observation decks, and the pools. We'll be dressing up for dinner (but not as much as usual; manage your expectations, fashion followers!), and plan on fair an amount of MDR, with some occasional meals at Jamie’s and Izumi. We'll be staying in an accessible ocean view balcony. So stoked to be able to sit on the balcony with a soft blanket, listen to audio books, and enjoy the water. We have early seating at dinner, like seeing most of the shows (though may skip if crowded), and both have the 4 free Diamond drinks - I cannot drink alochol, and they don't drink much, so mostly mocktails for us! We also have internet packages. Currently have no plans other than wondering around at Icy Point Strait, and are scheduled for a non RCCL mine exploration and gold panning adventure in Juneau, the train in Skagway (I loved it a few years ago with MrCatLady, but our last trip in August of 2022, Skagway was canceled due to a rockslide. MxCatLady loves vintage trains, so we are super excited), and a sunset whale watching trip in Victoria. We are celebrating 5 years together. Here is a picture from our commitment ceremony in 2022. I should note I am immuno compromised, and despite isolating for two years, I finally got COVID in January 2022. We are both dealing with some pretty seriously long COVID syndrome. We also know getting it more than once can be additive, so at my HCP’s advice, we will be masking indoors or in crowded outdoor spaces. Please don’t argue COVID stuff with me, and I won’t spam you with peer reviewed studies, and we can all have a nice time. Our trip starts tomorrow, Friday May 3rd, flying into Seattle. We are staying at the Stay Pineapple Maxwell Hotel. Saturday, I will be hanging with my close friend who is driving up from rural Washington, and Sunday will be spent with my BFF from undergrad; they found a space for us to go tidepooling that is disability accessible! Plus there is an all gluten free restaurant with a patio, and several vegan Thai places that deliver and are good with celiac! Let me know if you have any specific questions or requests; otherwise, I'll try to do regular updates (assuming the internet isn't wonky), post occasional pictures, and hopefully induce a small amount of envy. Oh! And if you see us on board, come say hi 💜

I loved that so much too!

This I am not sure about. My guess is likely yes?

Sorry all! The internet was a bit rough, and I struggled a lot with long COVID symptoms, as well as getting normal people sick, despite masking and using our air filter. There were definitely lots of people who had COVID, and many other people just regular sick, and of course none of them would wear a mask. Currently sick in our London hotel, but with better internet. That said! Here are some professional pictures to tide you over, and I will try to recreate some of the best days.

Day 3 was more of a relaxed vibe, at least until figuring out lunch. For the first time ever, they are doing fine changes at noon each day. I was told, by multiple staff, to follow the time on the app and the sign boards. We had 1:15 lunch reservations. So at noon original time, we looked at the app, assuming it would now say 1pm…but it didn’t. So when the app said 12:55pm, we went to Jamie’s, a bit early…or so we thought. We were told it was now 2pm and we were late. Which was frustrating given that we were following what we had been told. The host did what felt like dressing us down for being late, including telling me to follow an analog watch…something I didn’t even own. That said, they did seat us eventually. I know we were not the only people with issues; some folks missed their iFly appt and were charged. Changing clocks at noon rather than midnight is such a silly idea. Lunch at Jamie’s was great. This time my burrata camera with GF bread (the same mediocre stuff, but this time it was hot and toasted and actually pretty good). They made a special version of the truffle sauce that was safe to eat and it was SO good, as were the GF posh fries. MxCatLady said the burger was tasty, but way too much food, and really liked the polenta crisps as well. We skipped dessert as we were full, and went to go hide more ducks, followed by some time out on the balcony. Goddess, it is so beautiful and healing here. Exactly what we needed. Followed our balcony time with some napping. We left the room a little after 7pm to give our steward the opportunity to clear out our trash and provide fresh towels and ice for my ice pack. After day 1, he has been great. We don’t need much, and what we need, he definitely provides. Before dinner, we went up to deck 14 and found a little nest in the Solarium. It’s so beautiful there too, and just the right temperature to curl up. MxCatLady wasn’t really feeling sushi, despite our Izumi reservations, so they grabbed cheese fries and chicken nuggets from Johnny Rockets. We asked for our same server, Hien, again at Izumi, and she was wonderful a second time. MxCatLady tried sake for the first time and really loved it, so that was fun. And dear reader, this is where I made a poor decision. I’ve never been a big drinker, and I haven’t drank alcohol in 3 years since finding out I am mildly allergic to it, in that it triggers MCAS flares that hurt my joints, muscles, nerves, headache, and stomach stuff. But they had this delicious sounding cocktails and I LOVE sake cocktails annnnnd I had free diamond drinks and I ordered it. Drinking it was absolutely delish and divine. I would be ordering it every night. But then today (day 4), I woke up in so much pain that getting out of bed has become difficult. So the good news is that this has validated my allergy and decision not to drink; bad news is I’ve been hurting in bed today. My own dang fault. that said, this time I got full veggie rolls instead of half, while MxCatLady had the firecracker shrimp, and a fried shrimp roll (which came as a half roll), and got an avocado roll for me. We took the Mochi to go again, grabbed some water from deck 4, and headed to the room to listen to our Becky Chambers book.

Yesterday was first formal night, and if you have followed me before, you know that I (and MxCatLady) love love love to dress up. At the beginning of the pandemic, I bought a few ball gowns on major discount with the hopes to eventually wear them, and this was a perfect place to wear my red siren gown from Kiyonna. MxCatLady bought their first 3 piece suit and had it tailored (trans masc bodies are super hard to fit in suits, so I am extra delighted for them!). We skipped dinner in the MDR after last night’s showing, and instead we to Spectra’s Cabaret. It was about two thirds full, and our drink server (the watermelon mint lemonade was tasty!) told us upstairs was a better place to see from, and those couches were lovely. there IS an elevator too, in 270. so…I was on meds that make me a little woozy, but that served in my favor. I liked the music mash ups a lot, and the digital backgrounds (at least after the Janet piece and before the weird appropriative piece) were similar to what I put on at home to mellow out before bed, so it was a nice vibe. However, then it bled into this weird piece in which they had two (apparently) white or at the least, definitely not South East Asian, women dress up in traditional SEA/Indian dress, with one singing in Hindi (and clearly not her native language), while an actually SEA woman was played on the screens on traditional Indian garb, with no context. It made me SO uncomfortable, and it just kept going (was one of the longer pieces). It literally felt like the white solan taking the voice away from and playing dress up while the silenced Indian woman danced for her pleasure. At least 4 smaller groups of people left during this. Usually I love this kind of show, but that totally soured me on it. I could also see a lot of the very traditionalist passengers not liking it because it is too risqué (maybe for children? I would take my kids there if I had any) and because the main singer was in heels and some low key drag outfits (which I loved, but cannot imagine this doing well out of Florida given current political climate there). I’m just not sure who the audience is for this? However, it was our first show, and I was glad to get to see something in Two70 finally. After this, we took a break on our balcony and then headed to Wonderland. They didn’t show up quite as fully for me as they did on the Quantum Wonderland, where they literally made me a GF veg version of every little thing MxCatLady had, but they really showed up with the main dish; rice filled stuffed pepper and zucchini and potatoes. Filling and yummy! They *did* give me items with gelatin because they don’t seem to realize it isn’t vegetarian, so I ate around some of them, but all in all, really lovely. And they made a mocktail version of the cotton candy drink. So fun! Looking forward to going back. MxCatLady said the best two things they have had on this trip so far were the liquid lobster and the risotto in a spoon (followed closely by the mushroom soup at Chops). They also love the short rib, and the World desert. After this, we walked around a little bit, listened to some more audio book, and eventually went to Sorrentos to get late night pizza. They had issues when I ordered a GF pizza; they knew the routine. There were some communication issues, and they forgot to actually *start* it in the back, but once we got it figured out and I got my hot pizza about half an hour later, everything was good. and thus, with an Agatha Christine playing on my nightstand, ends day 2.

Omg that would be so gross lol 😂

Update through the grape vine is a solo traveller from the UK who had some friends looking out for him, and had a DVT clot that needed immediate care. Hope this helps you feel better!

Yep! It’s a memorial for my grandmother and uncle, who both lived in Socorro 💜

Ours were slightly further, but still not ideal.

Yes; we detoured last night (got the announcement around 8:30pm). Went to 100 miles off the coast of Boston and were met by MedEvac (picture from someone else who took it), and then back on route. Update at noon today to find out more.

You’re so welcome! Please let me know if you have any questions about things I can find out for you 💜

Starting Day 3, we woke up and popped over the the conference room (so fancy! Have never been to one on board. Thanks @Yinster for setting that up!) to host the magnet exchange. I usually do this on all the ships I sail, and this sailing was without a doubt the most participatory with almost 50 people bringing magnets (some bringing 6+!)To trade. So lovely to get to meet so many folks. After this, we headed to the Diamond Lounge to hydrate and cool down (me and my POTS were struggling after the warm conference room) and caffeinate (MxCatLady), and we just vibes there for a while before heading to our Chops reservation. Chops has the most comfy seating so far of all the places we’ve eaten, and while they didn’t have the beet salad from their dinner menu available at lunch, I was able to get both the wedge and the steak salad made GF and vegetarian. We were really there for the soup for MxCatLady, who says it is their favorite thing they’ve had on a cruise so far. They also got a steak Caesar salad (tasty), Mac and cheese (also a “Meh” for it, just as in Allure), tater tots (good, but not amazing) and for dessert, key lime meringue pie. However, we wound up taking it to go, as two men (in truth, I cannot call them gentlemen) were sat next to us who were SO rude to their waiter, and then continue to spew homophobic and transphobic things (as well as misogynistic and fatphobic) from their mouth as they are and bad mouthed the waiter. Even with my Loops in, I couldn’t completely block them out, and I was reaching my limit of keeping my moth shut and not starting an educational lesson correcting their vastly incorrect statements…and/or having a full blown panic attack (welcome to being autistic), so MxCatLady took dessert to go and bundled me back up to our room to help me regulate. Honestly, it was the worst interaction I ever had with other passengers in 20+ years of cruising and I am still shaken. They also mentions our group on the book of fac€s, so now I don’t know who I can trust in that group, and am hesitant to connect with new people. You never know who you are sitting next to. Perhaps don’t be an jerk? If I had been by myself, this could have ruined the whole cruise. Please be kind to your fellow cruisers. We are literally all in this together.