landlockedinco

We have been on 5 Celebrity sailings which were all great.  Recently we tried Carnival: a four nighter on the Miracle and a 7 night Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Glory.  We enjoyed both very much to our surprise. Good food, entertainment, lots of fun, fellow cruisers very friendly on Carnival.  Our next cruise will be on the Celebrity Apex, can't wait to try the Edge class.  I'd be happy to sail again on Carnival, too.

14 hours ago, indy406 said:

We are on the May 23 Reflection cruise out of CIV. Got our second boosters yesterday. BTW, I asked my doctor at the VA whether we should get the boosters. The answer was, "Couldn't hurt, it's up to you." Thanks a lot. Typical. But we did some research and it shows the booster becomes fully effective two weeks after the shot and we should get additional protection against serious Covid for four to five weeks beyond that. Not much else we can do.

We did basically the same thing as you.  We are on the May 27th Solstice Alaska sailing out of Seattle.  We got our 2nd  Pfizer booster yesterday figuring  it can't hurt and might help.

Here's hoping for happy, healthy cruising moving forward 🤞

We were on the Equinox in November in a balcony stateroom.  We had robes, which I thought were rather heavy, so I asked our stateroom attendant if lighter robes were available.  I believe the said that lighter robes were for Aqua Class, but he was very kind and brought some for us.  Amazing service!

We enjoyed the Royal class (Royal)  much better than the Grand class (Ruby).  I agree when people say there are more similarities than differences between Princess and Celebrity.

Such a great review and nice pictures as well! What delicious-looking food and great weather!

Glad you had a fabulous time :)

Thanks for sharing!

I had the same experience on our 14 day Southern Caribbean sail on Eclipse this November.

I upgraded to premium on day one to enjoy the wines listed on the premium package. (Chandon)( Kendall Jackson Pinot Noir) and was told the first 4 days-nights they were "out".

I complained to guest relations finally in day 5 and suddenly they were "found". This also happened on a Royal Cruise last May. I really don't like the game playing. I don't expect to have these offered at the pool bar but the Sky lounge and Ensemble Lounge should have these choices available. If I am to sail again I will just forgo the package and bring on 2 great bottles!

Cheers!

On our cruise in November on Reflection, we were looking forward to some decent wines by the glass. We didn't mind paying an upcharge for a good premium glass, but they didn't have good ones available. When I say, "good" I don't mean "expensive." We found one we liked, and the sommelier said it was unavailable the next day. We did try to "engage" with the sommelier but that got us nowhere. The F&B staff involved in selecting wine are doing a lousy job unless it's intentional to get people to buy bottles which is frustrating.

Unless this situation improves, we will bring on 2 bottles next cruise. I also like the idea to check Cellar Masters which we have not yet tried.

We did the Reflection Italy and Greek Isles ten day cruise you referred to. We flew into Rome three days early to make it a full fortnight.

 

We loved the cruise. The ship blew us away, being able to see places like the Coliseum in Rome, the Acropolis in Athens, the utterly gorgeous Santorini and other beautiful Greek Islands as part of the itinerary was great. Sailing through the Messina straits was gorgeous.

 

The ship itself blew us away. Gorgeous public areas, such a feeling of space, immaculately clean. With the drinks package it was the cherry on top.

 

I've got a YouTube video of our trip if you want to see it let me know and I'll put up the link.

 

 

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I second claudiniusmaximus. We sailed on the Solstice for a 10-day Eastern Mediterranean but spent a few days in Rome before the sailing. It was great, spending consecutive days on land exploring Rome and then sailing on a wonderful cruise with fabulous ports. Best of both worlds. Whatever you choose, it will be fabulous!

We were on Reflection for 7 nights in November and the price dropped mid cruise to $160 instead of $249. At $160 the daily cost was $40, so not cheaper, but at least DH spent the first part of the cruise not bothering with the internet. Then he was happy to get online as often as he wanted to for the rest of the cruise. That worked out well for us.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip! You took a lot of beautiful pictures of amazing sites and vistas. We have been to Rome for two days pre-cruise, and your report just makes me want to go back. It is such a great city!

So glad you did not miss the ship, boy was that close :eek:

We were just on the Reflection, and I was disappointed in the selection of red wines by the glass. I had the classic package, and you could only choose one type of cab, merlot, pinot noir, and shiraz. The limit was $9 per glass. They were not very enjoyable.

My DH had the premium package so his limit was $13. He could pay the difference to upgrade his glass, which was fine, but a lot of the choices were $10, so not a quality upgrade for him. There were some others, but very limited, and then they would run out of one that was good.

In Tuscan Grille, DH had a great merlot, but you could not get it in the MDR.

I really hope they improve the selection of red wines by the glass. I did not know that a discreet tip to the sommelier was an option. ;)

Thanks for sharing this wine info. We'll be on Reflection next week, and I can't wait to start drinking the house Cabernet with my Classic beverage package and then be able to buy it when I get back home. My local liquor store has the Murphy Goode on sale for $11, regularly $15. :D

We will sail Brilliance out of Tampa November 28, 2016. How likely is it to be restricted by fog?

Lots of great input about all three lines. I might look at it this way: list the pros and cons of each, and look at photos and youtubes of the ships you are considering. That will give you a better perspective. Then I consider it this way, we are not wealthy people going on vacations frequently, so when we go, are we really saving by putting the money first or am I really missing an opportunity to have a great vacation by spending a a little more. Trust your instincts, too. ;)

We rented from Budget through Costco. We did not have to wait in the long line because we joined their Fastbreak club. They are supposed to have your paperwork done with keys ready to go. Ours was not ready, but there was a special agent so we did not have to wait in line.

Residenza Santa Maria, a little gem of a hotel, fab location, free breakfast, moderate prices. Call the hotel directly and you will get a good rate.

Loved it!!:)

We did this in December, totally enjoyed the quiet, lovely beach. Yes, we went in the stinky, open-air bus, there were two of them. I got the impression that these are the "taxis" that they use to shuttle people around. I saw other similar open air buses. The only people on the beach who were supposed to use the loungers were the ones on our excursion. There were extra chairs, and some people not on our excursion used them. The local man providing our drinks/crackers and the lifeguards had a discussion with the folks who "borrowed" the loungers, they must have worked something out. I spoke to a woman from a Carnival ship, and she asked me if she could buy beverages from our guy. I said she should ask him, and, sure enough she got some drinks, and he increased his cash flow :) The rum punch he made was good and we enjoyed the outing very much!

Thanks Bob and Firefighterhoop for the reassurance! The Brilliance looks like it will be a beautiful ship, and we are looking forward to what I think will be a more "intimate" cruise experience with lots of fabulous ocean views. I will check back with Royal regarding the early dining as per your suggestion.

I'd certainly like a longer cruise, but we've done 5-day cruises if the alternative is to not cruise at all and the airfare is not that bad.

Thank you, Bob! So were you very happy with your recent Brilliance of the Seas sailing?

Thank you for your review. We just booked for a five night sailing on Brilliance of the Seas on 11/28. I have been perusing the reviews, and they are very discouraging. We just sailed on Allure last month and last year Independence. I am looking forward to trying the Radiance class and enjoy all that RCI offers in a cruise experience. Allure was 7 nights, IOS was 6 nights, and Brilliance will be 5 nights. Do you think 5 nights is still enjoyable if you have to fly in for it? The pricing is attractive, and I think Cozumel and Grand Cayman will be great ports.

We wanted to book 6 p.m. dining, but it is full, and they would not even put us on a wait list. How is it full almost a year out? I know we can make reservations with MTD, but we did not like the delays with MTD on our Allure sailing this past December. Does the MDR run smoothly on Brilliance?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Renata

This is not good news at all - I am booked on Independence of the Seas for a music charter next year, and just returned from this year's charter, which was on the Norwegian Pearl. Our mattress on the Pearl was incredibly comfortable both this year and last year (first year of our charter, and my first cruise, so I have only sailed the Pearl).

 

I don't understand why they would cut corners in such an important area - a good night's sleep and a pain-free day are very important for a good vacation experience!

 

No, there isn't a lot of time to sleep on a music charter, but the sleep we do get needs to be good quality. :eek:

 

Mary

We sailed Independence last year and both thought the mattress was very comfortable. We were on the Allure this month and they did give us a mattress topper without even asking.

You will love the Independence :)

We were on the 12/6 sailing and enjoyed a wonderful cruise with excellent service. That being said, I agree with the OP as the lines for the MDR were quite long on numerous occasions. The lines were evident for each type of My time dining: with reservations and without. It was worse if you did not have reservations. While waiting on those lines and chatting with returning Allure passengers, they consistently noted that they had never experienced the kind of lines as on this sailing.