Posted on 04/26/2024 8:21:56 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
I'm on my way to the ABC Islands of the Caribbean for eight days aboard the Celebrity Beyond starting Saturday April 27. The first place I hit will be the Ocean View Café BUFFET bar where not only a plethora of delicious food is awaiting me for lunch tomorrow but also I can start drinking again. In fact, I think I might start drinking a few beers today so all those drinks won't be a complete shock to my system. Oh, and our Steve Kane Radio Show group also has a serious mission project aboard ship. Namely to try out ALL the Martinis on the Martini Bar menu. Perhaps we shall determine which is the best Martini aboard.
I’ve done Carnival. Once. The ghetto of cruising.
Have done Celebrity. It was OK. Dreadful shows!
We always return to Princess. Last cruise was in the Caribbean Feb. 1,2020, as Diamond Princess was stuck at the dock in Japan. I guess we might have been one of the last cruises before lockdowns.
Gate = gays
If you’re going on the Celebrity Beyond, the captain is a female known on tiktok as Captain Kate. I see some of her stuff online. She is a nice lady and looks to be pretty fun to get along with.
It was almost a year ago that my wife and I went on a cruise to Alaska to celebrate our 25th anniversary. It was a lot of fun and I didn’t have any problems whatsoever. And I hope you have just as much fun as we did.
We went on an Alaska cruise last May, we had the time of our life! Have a great time PJ! See you when you get back.
Modern cruise ships have buffets, spectacular formal dining rooms, dozens of specialty restaurants (from steak house, to Italian, to Mexican, to Japanese teppanyaki, to you name it), numerous quick service food spots, etc. And that’s all on one ship. It is impossible to eat at more than a fraction of all the dining venues on a single cruise.
And small pools that a bunch of other people get in?
Modern ships have multiple pools and even multiple pool areas, with water parks for kids, large general pool areas, and quieter solarium pools that are for adults only and designed to be more relaxing. I’ve found the solarium-type pool areas to usually be very quiet and not crowded, attracting more adults who just want to relax and maybe stretch out on a lounge chair and read a book. When my wife and I took a European/Mediterranean cruise, we spent an hour or two in the jacuzzi in the solarium pool area one evening and aside from one other person we were the only people in that entire area.
Which cruise ships can I be alone on a beach all day, every day?
OK, I can’t claim that a ship contains a beach, but most cruise lines have private islands that they visit once during a given cruise, and many of the other ports of course have beaches. The private islands do get crowded, but my wife and I have been able to find relatively quiet beach spots on some Caribbean islands (at least, as quiet as you’re going to find otherwise in any tourist hot spot). But, the type of experience you’re talking about is not so different from getting a balcony cabin on the ship and spending your days relaxing on the balcony and watching (and listening to) the water go by. It’s one of my favorite aspects of cruising, especially getting up early in the morning, ordering breakfast from room service, and just having a relaxing breakfast on the balcony as the ship glides slowly into some exotic port.
Which cusise ships don’t have lines and crowds?
Cruise ships have certainly been getting much larger and are carrying more passengers than ever, but space per passenger has actually increased significantly. The largest cruise ships are larger than a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, with many more decks, so while there are a lot of people onboard, they are also spread over a very large area. I hate crowds and my wife hates them even more, yet cruising is our favorite type of vacation. If you are someone who wants constant activities and socializing, you can find that in spades, but if you’re more of the introvert type (like me) you will also have no problem finding plenty of opportunities for solitude. On every ship we’ve been on, there were a number of areas that were very lightly traveled where you could get away from other people. And there’s your cabin and balcony, as I said earlier. Some choke points on certain ships can cause crowd issues, and certain events or venues may be more crowded at times, but in general people are so spread out because of the endless variety of things to do crowding just isn’t a big issue.
If you’re not aware of the latest innovations in the cruise industry, and especially if you harbor outdated notions of what cruising entails, you would be shocked by modern ships. They are floating cities, but in a good way with everything from onboard tree-lined parks complete with sidewalk cafes to cobblestone shopping streets and numerous dining and entertainment venues. They even have ice skating rinks and seaside-style boardwalks. There really is something for everyone, even those who just want to do nothing but relax.
Hey i am glad you like cruises.
I don’t.
I also don’t like McDonalds, Malls, Walt Disney (overpriced) World, marketing, PA announcements, casinos, and crowds.
My vacation gets away from all that. Eat local food. Talk with people that live in the area. Stay in a nice place with a private pool. Take a 42 foot catamaran for a couple of days and beach hop. See all the natural wonders without a schedule, busses and tour guides. Scuba and snorkel when I feel like it. Hang out at coffee shops and Tiki bars.
I for one, don’t prefer to take the floating Chuck-E-Cheese vacation of commercial sameness.
P.S. I have been on islands when the cruise ship arrives and the denizens rush out to the same touristy shops buying souvenirs made in china, and rushing around the island to do this or that for a couple of hours, trying to cram as much into the 1 or 2 days in port as they can get. No thank you, not for me.
So Royal Caribbean has been my line of choice.
-PJ
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