Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[maggieq]

5 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

It’s very subjective, but we enjoyed the infinite veranda.  The room felt much more spacious and airy than a typical balcony cabin.  We were in the Med and it was pretty warm but I don’t remember either of us having an issue with the AC being off for a bit while the window was down.  A few pictures below, this was on Edge.

 

 

 

 

 

@Momof3gurlz  we loved ours on the edge.  😊 

Edited March 20 by maggieq

[lenquixote66]

Survivor tonight.Hopefully better than last Wednesdays episode.

[Sea Dog]

Best gift ever as I am a huge Captain Kate fan. Thank you Graham you are the best!!! 
 

[Momof3gurlz]

5 hours ago, h20skibum said:

If you close those bifold doors, does that let the AC work with the outer window down?  Just curious if you could sit out there with the window down, and those doors closed so it would be somewhat like a traditional balcony.

 

 

 

Great question. Thanks to @helen haywoodfor answering since I had no clue. 

[George C]

9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

That Penthouse Suite is amazing!

We had the penthouse on Edge for Shelaghs 60th a couple of years ago , totally agree on the amazing but our royal suite isn’t to shabby 😁😁, we booked it again for next year.

[patattack]

Anyone have experience booking for 2 on Celebrity and one be a no show?  The price for 1 on the 10 night Ascent is almost $1,000 more than for 2 for an inside.  I did book the Nov 2025 Celebrity Ascent and I was able to get the regular 200% for solo on that one.  I looked at the Silhouette mentioned and I can either book a very tiny (really) inside room or book for 2 and one be a no show.

 

Pat

 

Edited March 21 by patattack

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Survivor tonight.Hopefully better than last Wednesdays episode.

I liked the outcome. 

[George C]

We are over a week behind on survivor, idol etc , had a overall great cruise again , Randy Bachman was fantastic in our last show , Peter Asher was also great this afternoon, he has had a amazing career and now will do a album with Barbra Streisand. Only negative was casino but did ok last couple of days. Will post a few more pictures when we get home . Food was really good, had 2 dinners at Le Petit Chef, 2 also at Tuscan and 3 lunches at sushi at 5, we get free specialty restaurants as a perk. 

[Coralc]

On 3/19/2024 at 11:27 AM, firefly333 said:

I can already see better. He said this morning I already have 20 20 vision. My eyes are still dilated is why it's a little blurry. He put in some eye drops idk if to fix the dilation he said might last until tomorrow. He was pleased and declared it a success and smiling. 

 

I asked what he meant by good thing we caught it before the cataract hardened and he said that the recovery takes a little longer then. He thinks is by tomorrow I'll be 100%. I'm so hungry. I had to fast all day long yesterday. Today I'm hungry all day. 

Jane. Does that mean you went with the expensive corrective lenses? That would be helpful to know for those of us looking at cataract surgery in the future. I am glad to read that it went so well! 

[grapau27]

Good morning.

It is 44°F and raining here at 09.00am.

Nothing planned for today so hopefully a relaxing day watching TV or a short drive to the beach.

Prayers 🙏 for good health and safety to you all especially Dani @dani negreanu and her family and friends.

I hope y'all have a nice day.

[sgmn]

19 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

So I decided to check out the "Bella 3.75" cruise on the Celebrity web site.  I'd heard about the infinite veranda cabins (some good, some bad) but figured that I'd opt for a regular balcony.  Other than a few aft balconies and a few porthole balconies, it looks like that doesn't exist.  I like being on the balcony for morning coffee, for an afternoon cocktail while Micheline is getting ready for dinner, watching sunrise/sunset, looking at the stars, etc.  In short, I spend a fair amount of time out there.  The biggest knock on the infinite veranda cabin seems to be that the AC shuts off when the veranda window is lowered.  In humid areas like the Caribbean, the room quickly gets warm and humid.  I think I'd end up using it as a floor to ceiling window rather than as an open balcony for that reason.  Not ideal.

 

I know that this has been discussed ad infinitum on the Celebrity board but I'm looking for some quick input from those here who have experienced an infinite veranda cabin.  I guess the Retreat is an option but for Retreat pricing, we'd probably do a land trip somewhere or try one of the luxury lines.  The Bella 3.75 trip looks appealing to meet and cruise with some of you on a good itinerary, at reasonable group pricing (that's not available for suites).  Am I being overly concerned with the infinite veranda?

We enjoyed it in Beyond. Would I prefer a proper balcony, probably yes, but it didn't spoil our cruise. We up'ed to concierge class which gives you a few extra perks and supposedly a better placed cabin.

The infinity balcony gives you the feeling of more space as the balcony area is incorporated into the room

The itinerary of Bella 3.75 sounds fab

Edited March 21 by sgmn

[sgmn]

Thanks for the recommendation to watch The Gentlemen on Netflix. Saw the first two episodes yesterday and enjoyed it very much 

[Ocean Boy]

6 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I liked the outcome. 

So did I. I am really liking Hunter. He is a low key sort of guy with tremendous physical ability. Right now I'd like to see him win.

[h20skibum]

I definitely need to cut back on my visits to Starbucks.  Always do a mobile order and pick up at the drive thru.  
 

This morning, when I pulled up to the speaker, all they said was “Good morning Mark.  We have it ready for you, pull on up.”

 

 

Susan never realized they have a camera in their speaker, until I pointed it out a few months ago. 

[h20skibum]

I headed down a couple different rabbit holes this morning.  
 

Someone resurrected a thread about the SS Norway from four years ago.   I didn’t realize I was still following that one.   I had posted a few times on the Norway thread, and included some old photos from 1980.

 

Of course, four years ago, we were about 6 days in on the 15 days to slow the spread.  We were all at home, wondering what to do to pass the two weeks at home.  Of course, that thread led me to the second rabbit hole, when I saw that I had linked Tim’s Live from the Song of Norway thread.  That is so funny, even today. 
 

 

I recognized many familiar posters in that thread, when I read it again today.   It is disappointing that some of the picture links at the end appear to be broken.

 

 

Edited March 21 by h20skibum

[Arzeena]

18 hours ago, NHProud said:

We shall see because we booked an infinite veranda on Edge to Alaska in September.  It will be our first sailing on Celebrity .  I was looking at our booking with the 75% discount from a super inflated price .  They must think we are clueless as to their marketing ploys.  What is CEL SLCT() in reference to dining ? 

 

Cabin #6183

 

 

Thank you for all the helpful posts.

 

 

CEL SLCT is the equivalent of My time on Royal.

 

[firefly333]

I tried at 11 pm texas time, then midnight. I needed to book my flight with SW. I googled when flights show up after release, it said by 5 am. Tried 5 am and still didnt see nov 3. Finally fell asleep and just tried :(   No good fares left if there ever were. Lots of people book same thing?

 

I finally got a 11:05 am flight out of Hobby. I could have gotten a cheaper one almost 4 pm, but kinda late for less. I'd like to be back before dark to florida. Hope 11:05 isnt too early. I guess I should have tried every hour since 5 am.  Maybe they never had cheaper flights when they came out? They advertise fares from $65 but evidently not to florida. Or only if you booked the minute it came out this morning. How does this work. 

 

I booked American last spring break but other than that it's been pre covid since I booked. Is demand really that high? Well seems like I was late to the party to book a flight home (and late to book to hobby). I still had harmony booked out of Galveston and wanted to make it worth while flying to Galveston one last time. Then after oct this year everything is booked out of florida.

[firefly333]

8 hours ago, Coralc said:

Jane. Does that mean you went with the expensive corrective lenses? That would be helpful to know for those of us looking at cataract surgery in the future. I am glad to read that it went so well! 

Yes I had already chosen. I just posted the prices here after the doctors visit. I gave him the money right then, that day, but afterwards was wondering. For something forever I wouldnt choose less. 

 

The worse thing is the eye drops. The surgery doesnt hurt because they do eye drops that burn like heck that deaden your eye. 3 rounds of 5 drops as fast as they can and one burns. He says that eye is 20 20. I guess. Time to start my daily eye drops. 

 

Left eye is april 1, the 4 weeks of eye drops after for that eye. Just barely can get it in before my may 6 cruise. Mariner. Never did mariner and so wanted the one week maiden texas voyage when it arrives in texas. A friend booked too so I have someone to hang out with. Then move. 

[Ocean Boy]

35 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I tried at 11 pm texas time, then midnight. I needed to book my flight with SW. I googled when flights show up after release, it said by 5 am. Tried 5 am and still didnt see nov 3. Finally fell asleep and just tried 😞  No good fares left if there ever were. Lots of people book same thing?

 

I finally got a 11:05 am flight out of Hobby. I could have gotten a cheaper one almost 4 pm, but kinda late for less. I'd like to be back before dark to florida. Hope 11:05 isnt too early. I guess I should have tried every hour since 5 am.  Maybe they never had cheaper flights when they came out? They advertise fares from $65 but evidently not to florida. Or only if you booked the minute it came out this morning. How does this work. 

 

I booked American last spring break but other than that it's been pre covid since I booked. Is demand really that high? Well seems like I was late to the party to book a flight home (and late to book to hobby). I still had harmony booked out of Galveston and wanted to make it worth while flying to Galveston one last time. Then after oct this year everything is booked out of florida.

SW doesn't always open with their best fares. Depending on how the flight is selling you may find better pricing later. I have often found better pricing under 60 days prior to the flight date. The big problem with SW is there are no seating charts so you can't track demand for the flight.

[brookmill18]

Im a VERY infrequent poster but kept up daily until the fall when we had a bunch of life changes. Thought I wouldn't try to jump back in and re-read, but I started reading a bit and realized how much fun this group is and over the course of a few weeks managed to (almost!) read back to mid September and get caught up!

 

Jumping in here to answer @patattack--We did our first Celebrity last June on the Equinox (amazing experience) and our daughter was not able to join, so our son went alone--nothing at all was said at any point and it was super easy.

[Arzeena]

11 minutes ago, brookmill18 said:

Im a VERY infrequent poster but kept up daily until the fall when we had a bunch of life changes. Thought I wouldn't try to jump back in and re-read, but I started reading a bit and realized how much fun this group is and over the course of a few weeks managed to (almost!) read back to mid September and get caught up!

 

Jumping in here to answer @patattack--We did our first Celebrity last June on the Equinox (amazing experience) and our daughter was not able to join, so our son went alone--nothing at all was said at any point and it was super easy.

Welcome here! Glad you are deciding to post.

[firefly333]

47 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

SW doesn't always open with their best fares. Depending on how the flight is selling you may find better pricing later. I have often found better pricing under 60 days prior to the flight date. The big problem with SW is there are no seating charts so you can't track demand for the flight.

Clearly sw is a learning curve. I picked a later time to fly into hobby than I really wanted. The very next day when I checked a shorter flight leaving not quite a hour earlier was there. I should have grabbed it, didnt know you could just change online.

 

So now I checked and what I booked was $14 less same exact flight. Says 1 left. I booked that 1 price and have a $14 future credit. .. and checked again. 1 left at the same lower price. Wouldnt be flying sw again any time soon. I can say I sure didnt get good prices. Fail for me both directions. Now they show cheaper prices. I guess my timing was just wrong.

 

Next flight will be from rome to orlando may 2025. Not sw. I couldnt find anyone else who flew to hobby. I'd have to fly into IAH to do a regular airline. I know hobby better. The bigger airlines are cheaper base fares but extra to check baggage. Cant win. They all wind up about the same.

[patattack]

1 hour ago, brookmill18 said:

Im a VERY infrequent poster but kept up daily until the fall when we had a bunch of life changes. Thought I wouldn't try to jump back in and re-read, but I started reading a bit and realized how much fun this group is and over the course of a few weeks managed to (almost!) read back to mid September and get caught up!

 

Jumping in here to answer @patattack--We did our first Celebrity last June on the Equinox (amazing experience) and our daughter was not able to join, so our son went alone--nothing at all was said at any point and it was super easy.

Thanks for your response.  I am also an infrequent poster, but have been on the boards for several years.  I have followed this thread since day 1.  I feel like I know lots of those on this thread............just not in person.

 

Pat

[ATG]

Had an interesting email from RC today.  Asked me to do a short survey before our Symphony cruise this weekend.  Asked questions about how often we do specialty restaurants and whether we get sea sick.  I answered them.  They then asked if we would consider doing a focus group for an hour and offered $150 OBC each for our time.  We agreed out of curiosity.  I’m curious to see what they talk about.

[Sea Dog]

Just now, ATG said:

 I’m curious to see what they talk about.

 

Let us know. Sounds interesting.