Countdown to Liberty

25 days to go until we're onboard Liberty of the Seas.  Getting pretty excited now.

A bit of a letdown though today as we found out some unfortunate news.  We are unable to book reservations at the specialty restaurants until we get onboard.

Let me explain.......

We thought it would be a great idea to go ahead and book our reservations ahead of time via Royal Caribbean's website to save some trouble and get the days and times we wanted.  Unfortunately, Royal Caribbean feels that when you book a "reservation" you should have to pay for it immediately.

I was completely unaware of this until I had everything selected and the website asked for my credit card info.  Now I've never tried this before so I was both a bit surprised and confused.  A quick call to a Royal Caribbean pre-cruise planner confirmed that any reservations for specialty restaurants or excursion bookings are charged immediately to a credit card and not put on your onboard account.  So there you go....a quick FYI for anyone who didn't know this already.

Now this wouldn't be a big deal normally but we have a nice big bunch of onboard credits we want to use for things like this so it looks like we will have to take our chances and wait until we get there.  I don't know why it can't just be added to your booking and show up on your onboard account.  Oh well, not going to stress about it.  It's not like we're going to starve.

Enough procrastinating

Well, since my previous post Decisions Decisions, I've been mulling over which cruise to pick.  After much discussion and weighing the pros and cons we have a winner.  Today I booked August 22nd on Liberty of the Seas.

No this cruise was not my first choice but, unfortunately, due to my own bad judgement and laziness, Oasis of the Seas was never a real option by the time I decided to get off my ass and look into booking for this year.  I completely underestimated the popularity of this new exciting ship and how fast she would sell out.  The result was that there was nothing available on Oasis within our budget once I got around to getting quotes.  So it fell to the other choices I outlined in my previous post and the option to use our substantial RCI Visa points on another RCI cruise was a big factor.  On top of that, we just love Royal Caribbean.

Then there is the price........more on that in a minute.

It's not all bad news though.  I received several quotes via Cruise Compete about a month ago all of which were around the same price (RCI does not allow agents to offer discounts) but each agency offered different extras like onboard credits and prepaid gratuities based on which cabin you pick and the total price.  That was a lot to go over and after about a month of wasting time and contacting some of the agents to find out the exact extras they offered I decided to book through Crown Cruise Vacations.

Now I'm certainly not what I'd call a lucky person so I was ecstatic to find that the prices had dropped in the last month for this cruise.  Sometimes it pays to procrastinate...Happy Happy.  In all we're saving almost $400 over the quote from just a month ago (and almost $2,000 below the cheapest available balcony on Oasis) for 3 people in an E1 balcony cabin plus we're getting an onboard credit and a free spa treatment for my wife......nice!  We'll also be cashing in a bunch of points on our credit card for additional onboard credits so hopefully we'll not have to pay for a thing once onboard.

Now I've just got to loose about 15lbs so I can fit into all my nice clothes.

Decisions Decisions

It's that time again.  Time to book another cruise vacation.  We usually shoot for the end of August because we have a son still in school and it's the cheapest time of the summer to go.  By the time we go this year, if we go, it will be 4 years since our last cruise which was on Freedom of the Seas.  How time flies.

There is a problem however.  My focus for this year's cruise has always been to book a trip on the Oasis of the Seas.  I've been following this ship from early design through construction and completion.  Over that time my excitement and anticipation have continued to grow and I fully expected to be taking a cruise on this magnificent ship this summer.  Problem is, I've apparently waited too long.  Usually we do book early, especially for a new ship like this but I never expected that the week we were looking at would be completely booked already.  Unfortunately that is the position we are in now.  I guess I underestimated how popular this ship would be.  What to do?

Now we're left with a big decision.  I'd still love to go on Oasis but I can accept waiting another year if I have to.  Regardless, we are going on a cruise this year.  The question then becomes, if not on Oasis, what ship do we go on?  It's no secret if you've read any of my blog that I'm a bit biased toward Royal Caribbean.  They are by far my favorite cruise line and I am very loyal.  Because of that, my first choices for an alternative to Oasis would be another cruise within the RCI fleet.  Plus, the wife and I have the Royal Caribbean Visa card with lots of points waiting to be cashed in.  However, I also have a love of the newest, biggest, most innovative ships regardless of line, so that has influenced my choices as well.  Based on all that, I've managed to narrow it down to a few options during that same time frame of late August.

With all my criteria in mind, I immediately started my search, first within Royal Caribbean.  A couple of options are looking promising at this time.  There is the option to go on another Freedom Class ship with Liberty of the Seas available and affordable during my vacation window.  Kind of a been there, done that with regard to the ship as we've already been on Freedom, but we did enjoy it a lot.  A major case of been there, done that with regard to the itinerary but that will be the same for most of our options if we insist on staying with a Caribbean cruise.  Nonetheless a viable option.  The second and most interesting option within RCI is Serenade of the Seas.  We've never been on a Radiance Class ship but we've always wanted to give it a try.  Not the newest ship, launched in 2003, but still nice and a bit more intimate than the larger Voyager and Freedom Classes.  The itinerary is also different.  There are two Southern Caribbean routes to choose from in our date range which feature some new stops we've never been to, so that's also a plus.  So, new ship and new stops, win win.  The major drawback to this option is that we will need to fly to Puerto Rico which is where the ship departs from.  Not only does that add big time to the total cost of the vacation, but it also adds the frustration and hassle of flying.  Those are both negatives in my book.

Time to look elsewhere.  For the next option, I didn't have to look far.  Still within the RCI family, Celebrity is another option.  I've been very interested in the new Solstice Class of ships they are building so I took a look at what they had to offer.  Found a couple of nicely priced options on Celebrity Solstice from Ft. Lauderdale to the Caribbean.  Nothing new on the itineraries but a very new and innovative ship.  No real downside to this choice as we can use our status as Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Paltinum members to get the same level of benefits in Celebrity's Captain's Club which we are also members of.  We can't, however, use our Royal Caribbean Visa points toward the Celebrity cruise which is a minus.

The only other option that really caught my attention is the Norwegian Epic.  I found a reasonably price cruise that would work for us leaving from Miami to the Caribbean.  This is a very interesting ship which has some really innovative design elements to it.  I've also always been tempted to check out NCL's "Freestyle" way of doing things.  To me this ship is second only to Oasis of the Seas in level of innovation and excitement.  The only real downside to this option aside from the fact that it's outside of the RCI family is that it is simply the ugliest ship I have ever seen.  Yes, even uglier than their other abomination, Pride of America (same designer?).  I imagine they felt that the exterior wasn't as important as what they can pack inside but wow.  It's obviously a form follows function type of deal but I really think it will hurt their bookings.  I for one am really struggling with the decision simply because of the fact that the ship is not asthetically pleasing on the outside and I'm sure I'm not the only one.  I absolutely love all the stuff they can pack into a modern cruise ship but they should still look good on the outside even if the focus is on what's inside.  Royal Caribbean has been packing their ships with lots of innovative stuff but the ships themselves have never looked odd or ugly in my opinion.

So there it is.  Sometime in the next month we will hopefully be making our decision on what cruise to take.  It's not going to be an easy one.

NCL Being Sued Over Dining Reservations

In another example of what is wrong with the legal system in the US, a former passenger has brought a lawsuit against Norwegian Cruise Line because she was unable to get reservations in any of the specialty restaurants on board Norwegian Star during an 8 day cruise. The gist of the lawsuit is that the company's commercials are misleading and false in stating that passengers can dine where they want, when they want. Of course, as a result of not being able to dine in these restaurants, the former passenger claims that her entire vacation was ruined and is asking for compensation for the cost of the cruise as well as hotel and meal expenses.

In addition to these claims, the suit also claims that NCL has a "secret" class system onboard as suite guests allegedly get preferential treatment when making reservations at the restaurants. The suit is claiming fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of implied covenant of fair dealing, and deceptive and unfair trade practices.

Now, I've never been on NCL so I don't know how their reservation system works but I have been on ships with specialty restaurants that require reservations. Basically, if you want to dine in these reservation only places, you had better know when and where prior to getting on the ship. It requires planning and flexibility on the part of the passenger. This woman obviously was not prepared.

Our last cruise on Freedom of the Seas, we wanted a reservation for one of the restaurants so we immediately discussed it with the rest of our party after getting onboard and made the reservation before the ship even left. Even then, we had to settle for an earlier time than we wanted because of other reservations already being made. If you want to dine in these places, you've got to have it all planned out and make the reservations as soon as you get onboard, period!

This is just another case of a frivolous lawsuit where the person suing is taking no responsibility for what happened. Maybe, the advertisements could be misinterpreted if you've never been on a cruise but with around 3000 people on board, wouldn't you think that you'd need to make reservations as quickly as possible for these places. This person probably waited until the last minute to make the reservations. Simple as that. You've got to do your homework. It's also kind of sad that the fact that not being able to eat at these few restaurants ruined an entire 8 day cruise. I imagine she found some food somewhere.

Feeling Nostalgic

I decided to add a list of my cruises on my blog and in doing so I started thinking back to the earlier cruises I took as a child with my family. Cruising has changed so much in those 20 years, but that is where my love of cruising started.

My first cruise was back in 1984 and I was in my early teens. I was lucky enough to have parents who worked hard for what we had and my sister and I were able to do a decent amount of travel around the country. Mostly trips to places like California, Arizona, and of course Florida (Disney). My grandparents had been on a cruise in 1970 when they won a raffle for tickets on a Bahamas cruise on board the SS Oceanic. They always looked back on it as a really great experience and something they would like to do again. My parents decided that it would be a good idea to take a family cruise and we planned it on the very same ship, the Oceanic.

Along with my parents, myself and my sister, both sets of grandparents as well as my aunt joined us on the trip. It was really a great time. I still remember when I first saw the ship I was struck by the sheer size and how beautiful it was. We were leaving from Manhattan, and the ships dock bow in which basically puts the bow at the street where you drop off. I got out of the car and looked up at the bow towering over us and something came over me. I actually had a tear come to my eye. I'm secure enough in my manhood to write that here even though it does sound just a bit femme. The ship was just that amazing to me.

The Oceanic was and still is a beautiful classic ship. She was designed as an ocean liner but spent her life as a cruiser. Her classic profile was sleek with a long bow and low slender superstructure sporting a single stack. She was also fairly large for her day coming in at 774ft in length and weighing 39,241 tons. The cruise experience back then was much different than today. Cruising was still very much for an older crowd and perceived as a boring vacation. It had not yet become the mainstream vacation it is today. The ships were not the destination like many are today. The ship, while very nice, did not have the amenities of today's ships. On sea days there was pretty much nothing to do but head to the pool or play shuffleboard. About the most exciting thing I remember from sea days was the, now forbidden, skeet shooting off the aft of the ship. That was cool.



The real important thing back then was the food and service. Being that Home Lines was part Italian owned and fully staffed by Italians, the food was unbelievable. I still remember lunchtime by the pool where they had a pasta station set up where the chefs were preparing fresh pasta dishes and the smell of roasted garlic wafted all around. Really great stuff.

We did two more cruises on Home Lines on their new ship, the Homeric which was much more modern than the Oceanic and we had a great time on those as well. Sadly, in 1988, Home Lines folded and sold their ships. We were shocked and lost. There were no other lines leaving from NYC that we really wanted to go on beside Home Lines. Luckily a couple of years later, Celebrity Cruises was launched as an offshoot of the Chandris Line. Chandris sent their Galileo in for a complete refit and she emerged as the Meridian. We took a trip on the Meridian in 1990. Again, she was an older ship but quite nice. We followed up with another cruise on Celebrity's new Horizon in 1993. These were the last cruises I took with my family before starting a family of my own and introducing them to my love of cruising.

In all the cruises I've been on, I can honestly say that they have all been great. That first one on the Oceanic though is the one that started it all. It stands out in my memory most among the early cruises I took. Not only did I become addicted to cruising but I also became infatuated with the ocean. I really love the isolation of being out there with noting but water around. I loved it so much that at one time I thought about making a career out of it either by joining the Navy or going to a merchant marine academy and finding a job ultimately on a cruise ship. Neither of those teenage dreams came to be though.

Amazingly, the Oceanic has survived almost 45 years of sailing and she doesn't seem to be slowing down. She was sold by Home Lines to Premier Cruises in 1986 and renamed Star Ship Oceanic. She later came to be known the Big Red Boat with Premier until they folded in 2000 and she was sold to Pullmantur in 2001 who renamed her back to Oceanic. Presently she is still cruising in Europe. Pullmantur, of course is now part of my current favorite cruise line Royal Caribbean.

Part of me would love to take another trip on the Oceanic, but I think I would be a bit disappointed. Memories sometime are better left as such. I have been spoiled by the modern mega ships and everything they have to offer. Taking a trip today on the Oceanic would probably be like taking a trip back in time. I think I'll just hold onto my fond memories of that great ship.