KathyC

Thanks. I had thought about asking at the pre-cruise hotel if we could come back afterwards and see if they would store it for the day, once we chose that...LOL But I didn't want to choose where we were staying until we knew our flights and what time we'd be arriving. We ended up choosing a different airline and found flights that were more favorable to when we wanted to fly, so disembarkation day isn't an issue now. I still need to book the pre-cruise hotel though. Quite a few were already sold out - I was very surprised.

Looking at flights for January. Not loving my choices at the moment in my price point, but there is one evening flight I do like. My problem is what to do with my luggage all day? Does Celebrity offer any luggage service to the airport so we don't have to drag it around? Since everything is so close, I thought about dropping the luggage off at the airport, then heading back into town for the day, but I know most airlines do not let you check in luggage more than four hours before your flight. I know I could rent a hotel room for the day and leave my luggage there, but most don't allow 9am check ins, haha, plus if I pay for that it just increases my flight costs. I could just fly out earlier and pay more. Last (and only) time we sailed Celebrity we disembarked in San Juan, and there was a local restaurant that would store your luggage for you, so we did that and I didn't think about what the cruise line offered. Did I quick search online and nothing came up other than post-cruise tours. But since Celebrity is moving into that higher level of service, I am hoping it's a service they may provide. Like a put your luggage out the night before and the luggage shows up at the airport. I know covid restrictions have changed a lot, so it's a service that may not be offered right now, but is it something that Celebrity has offered in the past (and I can hope to be returned by Janaury)?

@CruiseHabit Bill is on Edge this week - tune into his YouTube or Facebook lives and he can answer that question for you now, or he can reply when he gets back.

@CruiseHabit Bill is an experienced HAL cruiser! Did you search through the site for any of his trip reports?

We contemplated something similar when planning our May 2020 Med cruise. This would likely be our only time getting to that part of Europe. The sailing was on the newly re-vamped Allure and our boys had never been on an Oasis class before. It would also be the last time all four of us would travel together. Our itinerary had 6 ports in 7 days, and I think 3 of the 6 required long bus rides inland to reach the "destination." Aka Rome is 90 mins from the port. Each way. And many ports offered more than one "nearby" destination and it was a very long day to take an excursion that brought you everywhere while giving you a tiny bit of time in each. We figured we'd be exhausted by the end of the trip, and would need another one afterwards. What we decided to look at was a B2B of the SAME itinerary. This way we could take our time in each port, knowing we'd be back again. So first stop in La Spezia let us go to Pisa. The second stop allowed us to explore Florence. Both are about an hour away from the port, in different directions. First stop in Naples allowed us to go to Capri and explore the Amalfi Coast, second allowed us to tour Naples. Two stops in Civitavecchia allowed us two trips into Rome; visit Vatican one day, see Colosseum another day. Walk the streets, enjoy the local food and shops, without rushing from one place to another. The stops in France and Palma de Mallorca allowed us to visit those ports on the first or second leg of the trip, depending on how tired we were. Visit one the first week, the other the second. Or do a half day excursion each time, and walk the town the rest of the day. A much more relaxed experience that let us feel like we were not missing out if we weren't on the go from arrival to all aboard, knowing we wouldn't go back in the near future. We ended up canceling it before final payment, but when we do reschedule this cruise, we will plan the same thing.

Thanks for taking the time to do this report!

Thanks for taking the time to post this! We've only sailed Disney once, and that was in 2002. Back then they were only doing 3/4 night sailings paired with a 3/4 night stay in the park. Our kids, 3 & 5 at the time, loved it. We took the in-laws with us, and while they were disappointed there would be no casino, by the end of the trip (we did 4 nights) they proclaimed it to be one of the best cruises they had ever been on. They enjoyed some of the adult-only areas while enjoying time with the kids too. They thought the food was one of the best they've ever eaten. It's funny to see how much has changed since then.

August for us.

We're hanging in! Both college boys are home, doing virtual college, I'm working from home. My husband goes into his job though, as he works at a hospital. NJ has us under essential travel only, so we are doing our best to stay sane, not eat all our food in one day, and not to put tooooooo many deposits down on future cruises.

Our best cruise ever was our first cruise, the one that addicted us to cruising. Majesty of the Seas, she was three months old and the biggest at the time. We had a great table to eat with, amazing entertainment (Fifth Dimension and Jerry Van Dyke) and just an amazing time. 27 years later we're still cruising as our primary vacation type!

I think for me, just trying a new cruise line with friends makes it appealing. It's like the first time you visit a faraway place, it's better to go with someone who's been there, to show you where to go - or not to go. Since we've been pretty much Royal only for so long, I don't even know what other lines have to offer, or what they do different. Summit was such fun experience, to learn the Celebrity way - but it would have been more fun with friends. We found plenty of people to hang out with, but it's not the same as having a group to be with all the time.

Hmmmm...definitely not on Royal. Matt's got a good lock on group cruises there, and I'd love the opportunity to try a new cruise line with a bunch of friends. But I'd totally be open to Celebrity, even though we've sailed on her. No Carnival. Last time we sailed NCL it was still called Norwegian Cruise Lines, before they switched to freestyle cruising. Probably Caribbean, as Florida ports are probably the easiest for most to get to. Maybe one of the medium size ships, that allow lots of different group activities. What would separate it from other cruises? Other group cruises or just other cruises in general?

Booooo!! https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22523-virgin-voyages-cancels-new-york-introduction.html?fbclid=IwAR2QQesOXMd61Vrq-rM6FJvFhiDoV4mv7uQJgMSJBHw3-adXMNXZFHJxh9I @karl_nj still awaiting my notification that dinner is cancelled. Did you get one? @mac don't bother...

Maybe we will see you! I'm not sure how long the meal will be, but I'm thinking 1.5ish hours. So we will be there at the same time!

Yes!!

What time is your reservation?? Ours is 5:30.

I'm hesitant to read any reviews at this point, as she hasn't even sailed yet. I'll reserve judgement until people actually sail on her. ? I'm planning on periscoping my arrival to her, to capture my first impressions, then I'll scope as much as they allow once I arrive.

I always plan on wearing some items a couple of times. Unless I've sweated in it, spilled on it, or been stuck near a smoker and it stinks...as long as I've only worn it a few hours I can re-wear it when on vacation. Caribbean cruising is different that European cruising, though, I get that.

As far as I know, I'll be the first person in our cruising community to set foot on her. We have the first time slot for dinner. I can predict that on the train ride home, Tony will be looking up sailings. ?

So excited!! I'll be on her on March 7th for a pop-up dinner, trying Razzle Dazzles, the vegetarian-inspired restaurant. I hope to take LOTS of pictures and maybe even periscope if possible. Yay!!

Wow, that is tiny space under the seat in front of you. Does that mean the seats are skinny? LOL When I don't need the rolling bag, I use a large purse that I bought specifically for travel. It fits everything I need for the plane, including snacks, file folders, a book, electronics...but I don't think a camcorder would fit. ?

@JLMoran This is a tough trip to pack for, I will admit. The longest cruise I've had to pack for was 13 nights, and I did it in one checkable suitcase and one underseat on per person. We did a repo from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale late October, so we needed cold weather clothes for the first couple days and for the flight home, and warm weather for the rest of the trip. I have a a really cool suitcase that goes under the seat of airplane. In that bag, goes everything I want to carry-on plus my overnight clothes, and the outfit for the next day. It can hold a surprising amount of stuff. In the front, there are pockets for electronics, documents, etc. Then in my checked suitcase my clothes are inside. I am an excellent packer, and do NOT overpack at all. I have cruise packing down to a science, in fact I normally do a 7 night in an overhead carry-on & the underseat only. But I know most people can't pack as light as I do. So my suggestion is this: get an under the seat suitcase, that counts as the personal item as it sits at your feet. Then pack your overhead carry-on, and lastly your checked luggage size. My underseat bag has a handle and wheels, and a loop on the back where you can slide it over the handle of a larger suitcase. Here's someplace to start: https://www.ebags.com/category/luggage/underseat-luggage I have the quilted Delsey for $69.99 that comes up in the search. Also...invest in a luggage scale to bring with you. It's worth every penny as you can adjust weight between suitcases before you fly home.

We've been cruising since 1992, so at this point it's about either the ship or the destination. We look for new experiences as part of each sailing. We're not sit on the beach all sailing type of people like a lot of our friends are - we prefer to experience the food and culture of each unique island. We'd rather wander around port all day, find somewhere to eat and drink than do anything else. There are some ports one trip was enough, and others that we can't get enough of. So we look for those. As for the ship, we look for a class we haven't sailed on before, or a ship with something special. We don't need rock walls, slides, ziplines, etc. We look for the "extra." Lastly, we book by date. We currently have two in college, so try to work around who needs to be home/moved in or out when. Plus of course the jobs each have their own specific black out periods.

Cruise ships definitely recycle! I remember seeing a video once on my stateroom tv all about it, detailing the process. A quick google search brought me this recent article, it's mostly about Carnival not doing what it's supposed to do, but if you quickly skim that and get down to the lower part of the article, it mentions other cruise lines. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article235874997.html

Still waiting for my special badge... ?