catgirl411

As a frequent cruiser on both Princess and Celebrity, as well as a number of other lines, I can say that there is always something great about every cruise and usually things that can be improved. Every cruise is a complex combination of factors…itinerary, ship, cabin, crew, food, entertainment, Fellow passengers, excursions etc etc. you just need to find your comfort level from a price and “culture” perspective.

We did a Christmas/New Year’s Cruise on Emerald Princess in December 2022 through the Panama Canal. It was great…our only complaint was the food. It just wasn’t up to standard. The two worst examples were grilled scallops with no browning on them at all and the short rib which was pretty much inedible because of the amount of gristle (had the same problem on Royal Princess back last August). We haven’t been on Celebrity since the pandemic so we our looking forward to our TA on Reflection in October. Really looking forward to it.

Why would anyone on a cruise ship want to steal our clothing and then wear it around? Do you honestly think that someone would see you on formal night and think they must have that dress and wow it’s the right size! This thread has gotten silly.

I used to use the stink eye frequently but I find that most people are oblivious to it. It only seems to work really well on little kids…sometimes it actually scares them!

Yes that was our experience on Emerald Princess last Christmas/New Year’s. The first night they took us to a table that we didn’t like so we asked for a change and they found us a lovely table in a section that was almost all tables for two and told us we could have that for the rest of the two weeks. Every night when we walked right in, the hostess would greet us and say that Table 60 was ready for us.

Omg the level of paranoia expressed by some on here is eye-opening. there is always a trade off between convenience and privacy. Maybe I’m naive but I trust my fellow passengers and the crew more than I trust a lot of people in everyday life. Sure there are dishonest people but are they really paying cruise fares to rip others off for free drinks or to steal their identities by looking at their names on the door?

As usual, I am really enjoying your posts. Thanks for doing them. It seems like the only way that someone like me would enjoy MSC is if I could book YC class whereas on Celebrity we’ve enjoyed regular balcony cabins and Aqua Class. In Oct we are having our first Retreat experience (got an amazing deal on a TA) so we will see how it goes. We don’t travel with any kids so the things that are enhancing Gen Zs experience have no appeal to us. In any event, it is great to have someone like you describing your experience on Seascape so that I can evaluate the fit for us.

I don’t understand why you think this is a problem related to the medallions. I actually thought they provide better security about charges to your account. Normally when the bar staff come to you for your order, they will see your name and picture on their screen and then confirm it with you. Sometimes the wifi doesn’t always allow them to do that but it normally seems to work quite well. We were on Regal Princess last August and Emerald this December and it worked quite well.

So happy to be following along with you again. I’m currently laid up after a total knee replacement so it’s nice to live vicariously through you. Our next cruise isn’t until an October TA Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale on Reflection so these Lives have to tide me over. On the Hawaii front my stepdaughter is booked on Edge in May 2024 Honolulu to Vancouver so that’s an option you might consider.

Really enjoy all of your live reports. Thanks for doing them and I look forward to your next one.

Really loved Kotor. A beautiful sail in, a lovely town and all the cat sightings one could wish for!

Had a stay in Berlin a couple of years ago. Currywurst is the best!

Agree. I did this one a few years ago too. Rostock is a lovely town. The guide was a university student who told interesting stories about his grandparent’s and parent’s experiences growing up in Rostock when it was East German.

I’m Canadian and I just booked some excursions for a February cruise at the 35% rate.

Did this tour a few years ago. It was great but you are correct, it isn’t for those with mobility challenges. On our tour there was a woman with a walker who had no way of keeping up but expected everyone to wait for her. I say this as one who is now waiting knee replacement surgery…know your limitations.

It sure is. Definitely a highlight of any Baltic cruise!

Fantastic job! One of the best “lives” I’ve followed. Having been on two Princess cruises post Covid I think you have accurately summarized our experience. I do agree that there is no excuse for the genetic wine list (that was the only thing that drove me nuts on both cruises) and there were food experiences that were less than perfect (short rib) but all in all two very good experiences ( Alaska and a Christmas/New Year’s Panama Canal). Our next three cruises are on Celebrity so we will see if we still like X as well. Look forward to your next adventure.

So happy to follow along on another of your adventurers. Thanks for doing this.

A word on the short ribs. Had them on Royal Princess in August 2022 and again on Emerald in December 2022. Both times they were virtually inedible because of the membrane. Yes, the actual meat and sauce is tasty but you have to seriously struggle to get at it. IMHO an epic fail.

So true. The first time you go on a cruise you feel like you have to try everything. Eventually you find your niche (and that might vary from cruise to cruise) and just relax and enjoy. that’s why I prefer 10 day+ cruises…it takes me that long to get the rhythm of a particular cruise and what it offers me.

The more I read Live Reports, the more I realize that everyone looks for something different from their cruise experience. Some people want to lie in the sun and drink, some want to party all night, some want to gamble, some want to go on excursions, some love trivia and game shows, some love music and production shows, some love good food…etc, etc. you just have find what fits for you. And that probably has little to do with the relative age of the crowd.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again…every one of the 25+ cruises I’ve been on has had something wonderful about it. Most times the wonderful far outweighs the not as good. We’ve cruised NCL, Royal Caribbean, Windstar, HAL but in recent years have settled on X, Princess and Oceania. The passenger component really seems to depend on the length of the cruise, the itinerary and the port of embarkation in my experience. Our next three cruises are a TA, South America and Portuguese/Canaries all on X. Really looking forward to them. And we are young at hearts in our late 60s, early 70s.

I’m on a CC roll call where a regular poster uses a lilac fancy handwriting font. Talk about hard to read! So far no one (me included) has had the heart to ask them to change it.

OMG, this electric kettle discussion is so funny. As a Canadian, I had no idea that Americans don’t use them. The only time we boil water in a pot on a stove is to cook something in water, like pasta or veggies. We use the kettle for everything else. It is faster but it also has a spout which makes it easy to pour.