Giorgi-one

I suggest you try Elbow Beach.....very quiet and only a handful of people. We love it there!:)

I think we went there on our first Bermuda cruise years ago. Do they have bathroom facilities? Can you rent an umbrella? My wife cannot take full sun. If not, I can bring one with me. One of the advantages of sailing out of Bayonne with no flights.

Corner aft balconies on Voyager and Freedom class ships are fantastic. Gigantic Balcony with added benefit of side view and some cross ventilation. Grab it!

The 5 day Bermuda voyage starts on 5/2/15 followed by the 9 Day Bermuda/Caribbean voyage, followed by the 5 Day. The 5/9 rotation until Mid-August 2015. We have been cruising to Bermuda yearly since 1992. How did the Breakaway ruin Horseshoe Bay ????

Crowds ??? There are other beaches and attractions that are worth visiting in addition to Horseshoe Bay.

See my post above. As I said, I need to find another beach.

Why did Breakaway spoil Horseshoe Bay?

I went to Bermuda in 1997 and thought Horseshoe Bay was the most beautiful beach I have every seen. In those days only smaller ships called in Bermuda. Went to Horseshoe Bay in June. Could not see the sand. There had to be 2000 people and 1000 Pepsi umbrellas on the beach. We stayed about half hour and left. Umbrella rental is $12 and my guess is they get them for free since they advertise pepsi. Chair is also $12. You know where they can shove these!

Breakaway carries over 4000 passengers and half of them wound up at Horseshoe Bay. Problem is they do the identical itinerary as Summit. Both leave on Sunday, arrive on Wednesday and leave on Friday. Since Thursday is the only full day in Port, I guess everyone goes to Horseshoe Bay on that day. Would be a lot better if one ship would leave on Saturday, arrive on Monday and leave on Wednesday - only one day overlap.

Please excuse me for trying to be logical and do what is best for the passengers!

Don't understand dates you posted. 5-day Bermuda starts 5/2/15 and 9-day until mid August 2015. Do you mean 9-day starting mid August 2015. I am really more interested in Winter cruises from Bayonne. Booked on 9-day Quantum in Feb 2015. Wanted to do the other two 12-day cruises in subsequent years. Also hope that Celebrity will put a Solstice class ship back in Bayonne. Got a fantastic deal on 7-day Summit to Bermuda last June and will do it every year if I get a similar deal. Been to Bermuda twice but for me it's just the cruise. Bermuda is nice but now that Breakaway has ruined Horseshoe Bay, I guess I have to find another beach. Probably stay on the ship for 2 of 3 days. Just hoping I can find enough cruises out of NY/NJ so I don't have to fly anymore.

The rumor is that beginning in May 2015, Quantum will do the same exact itineraries as the Explorer of the Seas has been doing for the past Summers. It alternates between 5 day Bermuda cruises (2 days in port)and 9 day Caribbean cruises which has one day in Bermuda and I believe stops in St. Maarten, Labadee and San Juan.

That would be extremely disappointing. Much prefer the current mix of cruises including a 12 day. Five day Bermuda cruise is a waste of time particularly if you are there with Summit and Breakaway. There had to be 2000 people and 1000 Pepsi umbrellas at Horseshoe Bay in June. And how many times can one do the same 9-day cruise with 4 hours in San Juan?

I personally wouldn't put any hope in Anthem sailing from NJ. I think Oasis 3 has a better chance than that. At this point it sounds like Anthem is all but confirmed as being year round from Southampton (Mediterranean in the winter and northern Europe in the summer) with Independence there in the summers (Mediterranean only). If Oasis 3 were to arrive in NYC though I think it would only be summers for short periods (Not putting a lot of hope in that either as Miami seems pretty solidly in place for her). What I do agree with though is that Royal Caribbean would not do this for just one ship. I expect them to invest more lines in this port though rather than more of Royal Caribbean. I fully believe that we could see a Solstice class return to Bayonne full time. I'm not sure why one hasn't yet since the Reflection seemed to have garnered high prices and sell out sailings for the short time she was there. Maybe the current Celebrity ship could shift to Baltimore. I could also see some of their smaller international likes making a first time arrival to NYC, a rather big marketing point that Miami just can't compare to. That would be like offering an America the choice to take a cruise that starts with an over night in Cork, Ireland or Barcelona, Spain. It's obvious to know which is the more attractive choice. Many including AiDA already make stops in NYC for this reason. I've even seen some of the international branded ships that visit the caribbean doing so as part of longer tours starting and ending in their native country. Royal Caribbean has a new TUI ship that could do a Germany to NYC, NYC to Caribbean roundtrip, and NYC to Germany route. Something similar could also be done with Pulmantur and Spain.

Thanks. Didn't know that Anthem was committed to Europe. Is there an Oasis 3 in the works?

The way I read the announcement RCCL would put up $50 million and Bayonne would put up $70 million. Can anyone confirm that?

It doesn't make sense that RCCL would to this for one ship. Possible Anthem will also sail from NYC.? I am hoping Celebrity brings another ship back to Bayonne in addition to Summit summer sailings to Bermuda. There are probably somewhere around 100 million people within driving distance to Bayonne. Most people, including me, detest the hassle of flying, in addition to the cost. My wife and I always check two bags each which costs an extra $220 for each trip. Also, I always fly two days early which adds at least $400 in hotel and food cost. Leaving from Bayonne saves me about $1000. As the ships get larger with more OnBoard activities for days at sea, sailing from Bayonne looks better. Really only one really cold day each way in the Winter.

I always tip extra because the suggested gratuities are less than I gave before they changed. Also a thing called inflation. Several waiters have told us how people would not eat in dining room on last night. Just a certain amount of lowlifes everywhere you go. I see people put $1 in the collection at church. My father used to put $1 in collection......in 1950.

No obstructed view in 2Cs at the rear of the ship. The deck below does stick out so you cannot look down into the water but there is no obstruction looking out.

Keep in mind that if you do this your items may be left unsecured. It is very common for the doors to the stateroom to be left propped open prior to them being announced as "ready for guests" as there are a large number of staff who will be going into the cabins to each do something minor. So don't leave anything valuable in the cabin prior to it being cleared as ready.

I agree. I just leave heavy items like 12-packs of soda and wine that I don't want schlep around the ship for two hours.

I realize that it will be after the announcement is made.

 

Thanks all to those who offered an APPROXIMATE time. I was concerned about a relatively heavy carry-on.

We always get to the port early and are among the first on the ship, usually around noon. I also have some heavy carry-ons. There doors in the hallways will be closed but not locked. Just walk to your cabin and ask the steward if you can leave your carryon in your cabin. I have never been turned down.

Joke, right? ;)

I usually don't eat with the help!

My career calls for me to wear a business suit. When I go on vacation, it is a break from my day to day activities, but more importantly it is a break from my work. Thus I prefer NOT to wear a suit (which reminds me of work). When I cruise, I do bring along one suit for the formal nights. The dreaded suit is donned just prior to departing the cabin for dinner and I quickly change back to my resort casual for the remainder of the evening's activities. My favorite type of dress attire for dinner would be slacks with a silk shirt.

 

I have seriously considered taking a Windstar cruise based on their more relaxed / casual (no suits) dress code. However, I really do enjoy X (suit or no suit).

If you really enjoy X, do you want to turn it into Carnivore? Maybe you enjoy it because it attracts a different clientele (most of which enjoy formal evenings. Slacks with a silk shirt is perfect for most nights on the ship. You do not have to wear a suit which reminds you of work. You can wear a tuxedo for formal nights. Surely, you do not wear a tuxedo to work so this should not ruin your vacation. You can leave the dreaded business suits at home.

Yes I do.

 

It gets too hot and if one dances the sweat really starts to pile on.

Do you ever attend weddings where the facility is air-conditioned?

Sorry, I didn't expand the explanation. Greece and Turkey were part of a cruise vacation, so like many of the people who are posting about the versatility of a sports jacket, it was worn in restaurants before and after the cruise. I am sorry I forgot to state that.

 

For us, like you, luggage fees aren't an issue. Heck, I've paid luggage fees to bring cases of wine home in our check in bags from our Napa trip. Bought the styrofoam cases as well. Money is definitely not the driver.

 

I wasn't thinking about simple solid black suits. My husband bought one once. It quickly deteriorated and looked bad from the back as it just kept getting shinier. My advice, never buy Oscar de la Renta suits that are bought as separate pieces. They don't hold up.

 

Sincerely, what would you wear pin-stripes with, other than the suit pants? That's DH's situation now. He has three suits that are wool blends and are heavy, and a light weight sage colored summer suit, that wasn't acceptable on cruise ships until the word "dark" was taken out of the dress code descriptions. His office practices "casual summer" so unless you are testifying to Congress, you don't wear suits, jackets or ties between Memorial Day and Labor Day. He's retiring in four months. No need to buy new suits.

 

Bottom line, we don't care about luggage fees. We take what works best for long trips, not a clothing choice that isn't versatile.

 

If we book this Mercury trip with our friends who are asking us to join their group this winter, he could bring the suit, and the sports jacket also, and whatever else, (other than the case of fine wines to enjoy with our friends - Celebrity!, your wine policy is so screwed up!), since we're driving to Baltimore, and there won't be pre or post cruise touring.

 

We've pretty much changed how we vacation, and it's mostly longer trips that combine touring and cruising. If we do cruise on Mercury, it will be the first mass market cruise we've taken since 2001.

 

I'm reading the Celebrity boards to see how things have changed. The only other cruise we have scheduled is Antarctica in December 2011. But YEAH!! no formal nights there, just need the sports jacket for welcome and farewell dinners.

 

The last time we had a cruise that still included a formal night, in 2004, DH took the sage suit, and re-used the jacket in Greece and Turkey. That suit came with two pair of pants, one solid and the other a very tightly woven textured herringbone. With those slacks, he was good to go for hotel stays in Istanbul and Athens. That cruise had ONE, only one, night where he would have had to have a dark suit. We booked the Italian dinner party that night and he wore his sage suit. Problem solved, yes? :) Now, it's only resort casual/informal on Regent. Many people commented about taking suits and tuxes all over the world for just a few hours, so they have changed their dress codes.

 

We don't cruise as much as we did before. The Caribbean is overcrowded, as is Alaska. The food on the mass market ships has changed from what it was. Those who cruised before the glut of new-builds know that the experience is different. We saw a huge difference in HAL over a period from 1998 to 2001. I have all the menus and can see what was eliminated. Less choice. Lesser cuts of meat. Less expensive veggies, if there were any left on the descriptions.

 

We are still on the fence about the Mercury cruise. We are celebrating DH's retirement. We want to take vintage Port, dessert wines and some old Bordeaux's to share with our friends. Unless we take them out of the Styrofoam shipping box, hand them to all our friends as we board, and show one bottle per person, we can't bring the case on the ship.

 

I know, I'm complaining but, it would be nice to add Celebrity to our list as we have cruised on every mass market line other than them. We were actually booked to do the Med on Celebrity but they pulled the cruises from Europe after 9/11. We do have Celebrity to thank for us discovering small luxury ships, though, since that is what we ended up booking in 2002 ;)

I figured Greece and Turkey were a cruise. Not to be argumentative but all you need to do is add one sport coat (plus the suit) and you have all the combinations you want. I would still suggest a solid black suit which looks more like a tux and can also be used as a suit (with or without tie) and even as a sport coat. New Celebrity S-Class ships are the best criuise experience I have had in 30 cruises. Caribbean not always crowded - check port schedules when you book a cruise. We usually cruise for the ship not the islands but we love the islands.

I think you just don't get it, or are you being deliberately confrontational.

 

My DH's pinstripe suit jacket doesn't go with anything other than his suit. He can't wear the jacket with other slacks during our vacations. That means he also would have to bring a sports jacket along, unless he wished to wear his suit all over Greece and Turkey in September, looking completely ridiculous and not dressing for the climate.

 

We recently completed a week's trip to Chicago. He took his blazer, and grey slacks for dress, khakis and cream colored slacks for those times he wasn't in cargo shorts.

 

He could wear the jacket with golf shirts, dress shirts, or silk tee shirts, with any of the pants. A suit is not versatile.

 

Like Julia, my DH's suit is heavy. With all the accessories including the dress shoes, it weighs 8 pounds.

 

We can mix and match with the blazer much better than carrying a suit to wear once or twice for three hours.

Not being confrontational. I have a black suit that I wear with tuxedo accessories. I also can wear it with shirt and tie or just with shirt. It is not heavy so it doesn't weight much. I also have many other suits and sport coats but this is the one I usually take on cruises. For longer cruises, I also take my white diinner jacket and another sport coat. I don't worry about luggage fees when I am spending $10,000 for a cruise. I do not think anyone on these boards cares what your DH wears in Greece or Turkey or Chicago. Only concern here is what he wears on formal night on Celebrity cruises.

I'll chime in.....

 

My DH is 6'4" and works out daily. He is a trim "big guy". His coat size is a 50 extra long. Between the suit coat, suit pants, dress shirts, ties, belt, fancy socks and SIZE 13 dress shoes, his suitcase is then HALF FULL with clothes he'll wear for just a few hours (and that is the part he hates!) :o

Maybe you are getting too carried away. You still have to dress every night so you still need slacks, shirts, socks, belt and shoes on those nights. Suit coat is same as sport jacket as far as space is concerned. Please don't tell me your DH would just wear the same clothes on formal nights as he does every other night.

This is great info. Maybe this is already done but would it be possible to include the date for the update on the Spreadsheet. Also, is there a continuous link to the spredsheet or is it just available when the author posts it. I do not see an update for quite a while - have to search every page of this thread backwads to find the latest update.

We had 7408 (same as 7708 opposite side) and love it. It is the largest of the aft balconies, aside from the presidential suite. Unless I had more than two people, I would choose that over 1402. But I would never have more than two people in any cabin. The balcony in that cabin is amazing. You can see our pics here.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554911413BnABIz

Another advantage of 7408/7708 is the giant porthole which also gives you a side view and some cross ventilation.