Amy1118

On 4/17/2023 at 5:19 AM, clochette said:

We are group 1.  I am really looking forward to the tour

I’m in group 1, too.  I’ll look forward to meeting you if we haven’t already met at an earlier event!

4 hours ago, clochette said:

I will be joining @twangster on this trip and have different excursions booked so it might be fun to compare, Gand Cayman stingrays and starfish, Columbia, we are touring independently with Dora, Colon, we are going to Panama city and the locks, same idea as twangster also want to see the locks from land, Huatulco, we will walk around on our own, PV, the tour of the city and fiesta.

 

We have been looking forward to this cruise for so long, so excited we are so close.

 

We have a five nigh dining package, chef dinner and taste of Royal lunch.  No drink package.  and staying in a balcony.  Hoping that the Wi-fi is Ok might need to work at some times.

 

I’m also on this trip and am looking forward to reading @twangster’s posts.  
 

@clochette, I’m also booked with Dora in Cartagena.  Perhaps we’ll be in the same group.

it won’t be long now!

22 hours ago, b&s4cruisin said:

Thank you all for you comments.  I'm taking my mother, grand daughter and niece on their first cruise and thought I would "spoil" them. I think you maybe right its going to be tough to drop back down to an inside....

 

I compared taking my first transatlantic flight in business class to sailing for the first time in a balcony cabin:  I haven’t been able to go back in either case.  Fortunately I’m still able to make myself fly coach on domestic flights!  I’ve  avoided suites so far for that reason.  🙄

Thanks for this thread! I’m on this same itinerary in just two weeks and I can’t wait.

I'm flying in to Tampa two days pre-cruise and will be traveling by myself, with no car. I'm not at all familiar with Tampa so I'd love to hear any hotel suggestions as well as recommendations for things to do on the day I will have to tour, shop, whatever.

Slept in this morning until 8am, this doesn't happen often with a toddler folks! [emoji6] packed everything up and had breakfast at a Waffle House, another food franchise we don't have in Alaska. Stopped at a Kroger for a few items for the trip home and now at the airport to return the rental car and get checked in for our flight. Houston was fun and the whole cruise experience out of Galveston with 20 other family members was a great way to spend a small part of our winter [emoji16][emoji106]

 

I'll post a separate and more detailed review on being suite guests on Liberty and how that worked for a family of five with teens and a toddler.

Thanks so much for bringing us along with you. I'm boarding the ship this Sunday and can't wait. Would you post a link here to your suite review if you start a new thread? I don't want to miss it!

Safe travels today.

Hey they are a lot of work too. Don't discredit yourself. [emoji4][emoji106]

These two certainly are. I call the younger one destructo-cat. I've been waiting 2 1/2 years for her to stop climbing the curtains so I can get new ones to go with my 2013 redecorating!

No, if I'd had any children they'd be grown with kids of their own by now. I have two furry, putty kids but they prefer to stay home. :D

Oops 🙊. That was supposed to say furry, *purry* kids. :o

Haha, that is my reaction, too...:p But for some reason, my wife loves it and orders it at every opportunity :rolleyes:;) I'm pretty sure it's the garlic-butter sauce...

Others, including my husband and my aunt's boyfriend loved it. Yes, 99.99% sure it's the garlic butter sauce [emoji12]

I love escargot and y'all are right. They're a vehicle for garlic and butter. :D

Get ready for some fun!!! I hope the weather is good for you when you sail. Our first sea day was chilly until late afternoon.

 

Do you have kiddos?

No, if I'd had any children they'd be grown with kids of their own by now. I have two furry, putty kids but they prefer to stay home. :D

I'll be on board in less than two weeks! Thanks for taking us along on your cruise!

I used an app called Genius Scan. Works very well :)

Thank you! I'll take a look at that. It clearly does work very well!!

Chris, how did you get the .pdf files of Cruise Compasses, etc. uploaded to CC? I know earlier someone mentioned an app called Scannable. Did you use that? If so, is that the Evernote Scannable app?

Thanks, I am sure we will enjoy it. We will be on for 5 weeks. :D

Wow! I'm so jealous!

Hi Catherine! I'm quite jealous of SJ & Marilyn, too, but happy I get to be on one of their five! Miss seeing you!

I need to cruise a few more classes before I can say for sure what I prefer. I look forward to my first Radiance Class ship(Serenade) next November.

The Radiance class is my favorite class of ship. There are so many spaces with floor to ceiling glass walls and gorgeous views. I've been on the Radiance four times for a total of 38 nights and the Jewel three times for a total of 33 nights. I hope you love your Serenade cruise and much as I have loved my Radiance & Jewel cruises. I'm still working on finding cruises I want to do on the Serenade and Brilliance to complete that class!

Thanks again for all your work on this report!

I know I'm a little late but I had a busy week last week and didn't have time to read the thread. I'm recovering from cataract surgery and finally had some down time and have read the whole thing today.

Anyway, thank you so much for the report and all the wonderful pictures.It really helped me get excited about my Liberty cruise in just a little over two weeks. It will be my first time on any ship larger than a Voyager class. I really appreciate the time you took to bring us all along. :)

I just had surf. I just wanted to be on the web, and check email, and it was fine for that. I was on it a few times during the day, and then for an hour or two in the evening.

Thanks. That's good to know.

We were on the Sept 23 sailing, and had no problems using my iPad to check email, and surf the web. Once in a great while it would take a few seconds for something to load, but it was basically fast, and totally worth the cost.

Did you have the surf and stream or just the surf package?

It's in Google Play - it might not be available for iOS if you are looking for an iPhone app.

I am. I have Ookla speedtest already so I guess I'll stick with that. Thanks!

This seems to be the most realistic and easy-to-use app that doesn't have interconnection issues.

 

What app/website is that?

I searched for speedtest master and didn't find it.

BeachBum777, I think you said you had the surf and stream. Have you talked to anyone who just had the surf? If so, what was their experience?

Thanks for the great info you're posting!

AMY!!!!!! Hi Ya!

 

Hearing that story makes me laugh and reminds me of our Jewel 2012 cruise where that one day on the way back to Boston I was feeling a little 'rough' but had a great time in the DL with ya!

Hi Cat! That was a great time, wasn't it? Not nearly as rough as my 2011 cruise though. I miss seeing you! Hug the kittehs for me. :)

You are my hero. I loved the champagne bar on the Jewel. I am sad that there isn't one on the Grandeur for my upcoming cruise. My bartender in the Champagne bar got a nice envelope on the last day from me....

The Champagne Bars on the Radiance class ships are the best! Amd so are the bartenders. :)

I'm very lucky I don't get seasick. This was at least my fourth cruise with really rough weather where many passengers were sick. My very first cruise in 1975 on the 17,000 gross ton NCL Southward sailed out through a tropical system that made many passengers too sick to go to the Captain's Cocktail Party. One of the bartenders told us that it was so bad on the last day of the previous cruise that many of the crew were sick. :eek:

Also consider an app like WhatsApp, which will text with non-Apple devices too.

I'll check that out. Thanks!

I just did a little searching and I don't think the Wi-fi calling is available on the iPhone 5S. :( For my cruise iMessage should be fine.