AndiD

Welcome, NancyF! I see that you are already posting on some of the other boards here - am so happy that you are "traveling" the site. When is your next cruise and what is it - tell us, please?! (Or if you have already told us on another board, I apologize - haven't checked everywhere yet, lol!) One great place to post upcoming cruises is the Roll Calls & Group Cruises board - we love to see what everyone is doing and you might just find another Crazies member who will be sailing with you.

Good to hear that they are going back - must mean a forecast of better conditions. We love Kona and would hate to have to miss it on our next visit - whenever that may be. And I'm sure the whole island needs the tourists to come back!

Jan - The Hotel Pulitzer looks wonderful - I am highlighting it in my notes for next visit! We felt the same way about La Sagrada - once inside we just stood there gawking - the most amazing place! Safe travels! And yes, Chuck, I couldn't get your link to work either, but Welcome to CruiseCrazies! Have never tried NCL but am interested so your FB page could possibly convince me, when I can get to it, lol!

Wecome to Cruise Crazies, NancyF - so nice to see you posting! Yes, people may have issues that are not readily apparent - thank you for the reminder. I do try to think of things like that...but have to admit that if there are no underlying issues, it would be much more pleasant to not see baseball caps in the dining room. But if the cruise line or personnel are okay with it, than I just have to "let that go", lol!

Trizi - Thanks for the visuals! That would definitely NOT be a stateroom setup that I would like... And welcome to Cruise Crazies - so glad to have you here! Jan - your whole cruise sounds wonderful; have never been to Palma de Mallorca but sounds like I would love it. I am tucking away your Barcelona hotel choices for next time; we stayed at the Condes de Barcelona and would also recommend that one, right in the heart of the L'eixample district. It has a great rooftop lounge and very accommodating staff.

Jackie - We have sailed on the Island Princess twice - it is completely different from the Coral (unless they redid it again...) I loved the Island alot, but the Coral is above and beyond even that, so choose the Coral if you can!

I keep looking at this cruise because I would love to take it - but man, it is expensive (IMHO!)

I could say the cliche of "the last cruise ship I sailed on is my favorite", but in this case it would be true! The Crazies sailed on the Coral Princess in April and that truly is my favorite ship so far. It is a bit different in that the dining venues are all in the front, but for a ship that sails to places such as the Panama Canal and Alaska, it makes sense. I also love the way the public rooms have been redone, with lots of rich tones, wood, and wall art. It makes these venues seem warm and inviting. The layout of the lido restaurant was very functional, yet spacious - we never had to search for a table, and we weren't sitting on top of one another. There were plenty of deck chairs in great spaces and always seemed to be bathrooms and bars nearby! In our 28 cruises we have never "met" a ship we did't like, but I truly felt relaxed and at home on this ship.

Sounds like you are having a fabulous cruise, Jan! Glad that you are kind of doing your own thing and taking exhaustion into account; we were totally exhausted by the end of our Med cruise...but have to admit, we saw amazing things! Loved the Academia in Florence - seeing the "real" David is a MUST! I was also struck buy the sculptures of the Prisoners. We crossed the bridge, but didn't have time to shop; I did manage to secure a sweet leather cross-body bag in Amalfi, though. Cannes was great - our guide also pointed out the oil sheik's yacht. We picked out a nifty "little" black one that we could call our own....if we win the Power Ball, lol! We did make it to the Monte Carlo Casino and had a great time sitting in the outdoor cafe and watching the fabulous cars pull up. Life is but a dream, eh? Picturing the description of the stateroom is somewhat amusing and somewhat frightening, ha! Not sure that would be for me......... Glad to hear you like the Vision, Jackie - have looked at some cruises on her, but didn't know whether she was a thumbs up or a nyeh.

Had to book another one, sailing with our younger daughter and SIL on the Adventure OTS on March 16, 2019, for a basic Eastern Caribbean itinerary. The Adventure will be sailing out of Port Everglades next Spring - come join us!

Love your pictures, Jan, but I am still fixated on whatever could be the weird bathroom setup in the cabin......before my imagination gets the better of me, can you please explain? And I'm thinking this is unique to the Epic, am I right....whatever it is?

Have a fabulous cruise, Jan - safe travels!

I am not a Carnival fan, but this could get me on the Horizion, lol!

Good information! The new Celebrity Edge seems to be offering some new options for traditional dining, with each MDR specializing in a different type of cuisine. They also have interesting extra-fee restaurants to choose from. I have all of our dinners planned out with reservations made for our sailing on February 17, 2019! Looking forward to trying EVERYTHING they have to offer, lol!

Oh, I am sorry, Jan! I was going to come back and read the blog more thoroughly - I should have waited to post; I loved the Bonnet House so much l wanted to get it in there, lol!

You are right - I won't do Carnival and would not be fond of Costa or MSC, but certainly will do Royal Caribbean and am willing to try NCL; in addition, of course, to Princess and Celebrity. We can eliminate Holland since Miranda isn't too keen on that one. And agreed - up to 12 days is probably a good idea!

Well I can't argue with you there - Holland is definitely more sedate, lol!

I'll throw out a few more to consider: If we liked the Koningsdam, there are some nice 12-night itineraries in the Med -concentrating on Spain or Greece/Adriatic at good price points: for example: a 12-night, roundtrip Rome that overnights in Barcelona, departing on 6/12 (or in Aug.) There are others as well. The lower cost might encourage more people to join. A 12-night Greek Isles cruise on the Celebrity Infinity, departing 5/29 or on the Reflection departing on 9/30 or a 9-night Dalmation Coast & Italy departing on 5/31 on the Celebrity Constellation... These are some of the older ships, but again, might encourage more people with the lower cost... Just throwing out ideas....

If we like the idea of Antarctica, we also might look at Celebrity's offerings; they have a 14-night roundtrip Buenos Aires that looks like it hits a bit more of Antarctica.....a little better price point as well with two departure dates on the Eclipse.

Miranda - you are right - this cruise leaves on January 5, 2020, from Santiago, Chile; it is 16 days, goes down to the Antarctic Peninsula and back up to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I think it cruises in the Antarctic, not thinking that it lands...but still.... And yes, it is on the Coral Princess - my new favorite ship! I would be SO in on this one!

We are on the Edge in February, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't sail her again, lol! I do love this itinerary - price is a bit steep...but that is to be expected for a new ship.... I think we would consider this one - 2019 is our 45th anniversary so could justify a nice cruise like that, ha!

That all sounds wonderful - you have everything clearly in hand, lol! I think they added the glass blowing after we sailed - although, that itinerary was so busy we hardly knew what day it was. Naturally we wanted to make the most of our time in the Med, so we very often got up before the sun rose, had breakfast delivered to our stateroom, and rushed off on an excursion that would last 12 hours. I would love to sail her again on a more relaxing cruise.

Shari - Yes - I went back and checked if I did one and I DID - but it also showed me that we sailed on it in an earlier year than I thought - lol! We went to the Med for our 40th in 2014 (not 2015 like I thought!)

The specialty restaurants are excellent, and well worth the small upcharge to choose one for a special dinner; we like Murano (French) but have also heard that Silk Harvest is fabulous if you like Asian food. And the Tuscan Grille for Italian is a favorite as well. We also were partial to the Martini Bar - our stop every evening before dinner. There was great entertainment each evening as well, and you will find the food in the Main Dining Room to be extremely well-prepared. And even the main buffet has cooked-to-order pastas and a great variety of dishes.

Anyone sailing on this cruise? Could not beat the price and we love the ports on this itinerary - makes for a very relaxing, low-maintenance cruise!