Showing posts with label cabin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cabin. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Our Sea Terrace Cabin

Ahoy, Sailor

Remember the days when you'd do a "doc dance"?  That was when your printed cruise documents arrived in the mail.   Those days are gone, with docs being delivered electronically.

When you sail on Virgin Voyages, you have something to look forward to in the mail once again.   It's your Sailor Bands.  They are personalized for you, and once you activate them via the Virgin Voyages app, they become your key to your cabin and everything onboard the ship.  You can expect them a few weeks before your cruise.
 
Tip:  Now that you are on the ship, you know who you are so, the name goes face down.  It's the other side that needs to be facing in order for it to be scanned.

There are no cards to carry around with you - just fasten the band around your wrist and off you go.

We got onboard and off we headed to our cabin.   It was on the "Z" side on deck 13 - yes, there is a deck 13 with cabins on there.  "Z" is starboard (right) side of the ship.  When we got off the elevator, there were crew there to direct us - so we didn't have any problems finding our cabin.

Cabin 13062z
Sea Terrace Cabin 13062Z
Sea Terrace 

Whether you're getting ready inside at the glam area, rinsing off in your Roomy Rainshower or relaxing outside on your hand-woven terrace hammock, these spaces are designed to give you sweeping views of the horizon as mood lighting intuitively matches the light from the oncoming sunset.


Let's Talk Storage

Since this was a 5-night voyage, and since we didn't need to get all fancied up for a formal evening, we were able to bring just a carryon bag for each of us.   There's plenty of room in the "closet" to store small suitcases.   Larger suitcases would need to go under the bed.


When we unpacked our bags, the first thing we noticed was that there weren't drawers but rather shelves in the closet and under the desk.  There is a small refrigerator next to the shelves under the desk.

In the photo you will notice a drawer next to the bed.  There is another one hidden under the bed, but that was filled with extra linens.  We used this drawer to store our dirty clothes since we had enough room for our clean clothes on the shelving or hanging up in the closet.

It's possible for a longer voyage, you might have a shortage of space.

Note that in the bathroom, there is a shelf under the counter which can be used for frequently used items.   We put our deodorant, mouthwash, toothpaste, and toothbrushes on the counter next to the sink.   You can put less used items under the sink in the other area marked with an arrow.

Electronics & Controls

On the desk there were electric outlets which we used to charge our electronics.  There are two US plugs and one European outlet (could be problematic for European guests).

There's a tablet on the desk which controls the TV and lighting for the cabin.   The cool thing is when you open your cabin door, the lights come on and the balcony curtains automatically open to let light into the room.   There are various mood settings for different times of day.  The mirror lighting automatically adjusts as well.      If you don't want to use the tablet, there are also plenty of switches around the room to control the lighting and balcony curtains.

Above that storage drawer next to the bed, there are light switches, and also a USB port which came in handy when we wanted to charge our phones while lying in bed.  There was a USB port on the other side of the bed as well.

Final Thoughts

One issue we had was figuring out where to put the moveable table at night.  We never really used the table, and it would be in the way when you were going to  bed.  Our solution was to put it over the arm chair and pile the decorative pillows on top of it for bedtime.  

We loved the shower.  There is a hand-held wand and the overhead rainshower head.  The shower door swings in and out - so you do need to be careful that you have a good seal, or you could get water all over the floor.

Overall we were happy with the cabin.   It's not designed the same way as other ships, but once you figure out how you want to store your things, the positives outweigh any differences that you thought were lacking.   The hammock is a nice touch, although we didn't really make a lot of use of our balcony (since we were enjoying the rest of the ship when not in port).


Scarlet Lady Mini-Series

Click the image (left) to read more about this cruise.

Bookmark this page and come back to read all about this award-winning new ship.

See our Sea Terrace Cabin for more pictures.

Visit our Shutterfly Page to view photo albums.


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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Greetings From Stanley Bear

click images to enlarge
Welcome Aboard 
Majestic Princess 

Our home for the next week was Cabin A241, a balcony cabin on Aloha deck (deck 12) starboard side. 

This mid-forward cabin is in a great location with just a short distance to the elevator lobby. After dropping off our hand luggage, we took a few pictures of the cabin, before it would become "lived in", and then headed to get some lunch.

Here is the view of Melbourne, Australia from our balcony and a few pictures from our buffet lunch.  Since this was our second time on Majestic Princess, we already knew our way around the ship.  Normally we would explore the ship after lunch, but this time we could just relax.



For more images of our embarkation day, see our Welcome Aboard Lunch photo album.



We'll talk more about our first day in Melbourne in another post.  For more images, see our Shutterfly Photo Page.

Hopefully, you've followed us live on our social media channels as well.  Don't worry if you didn't, as our anchor post will tie everything together for you.  Just click the image (left) to our diary post.





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Each week we post images from our trips and participate in several travel chats on Twitter.

Take advantage of these resources to assist in you in planning your dream vacations.  Of course, we are always available to answer any questions you might have about travel and the industry.

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Celebrity Edge Embarkation

click images to enlarge
Welcome Aboard 
Celebrity Edge

Having been on Celebrity Edge for the pre-inaugural trade and press cruise, we were filled with anticipation for our return visit.  The time had finally arrived for embarkation.

As Elite guests of Celebrity Cruises, our check-in process was pretty painless.  We showed our passports and boarding passes and were escorted to a waiting area.  We were the second group of passengers to board the ship.

The first thing that greats you when you arrive onboard a Celebrity cruise are staff offering you a glass of  champagne.  After finishing our welcome aboard drink, we headed to the elevators to go up to our cabin. 

Cabin rooms aren't open, but if you ask nicely, they will usually let you drop off your carry-on bags.   The fire doors were closed to keep passengers out of the hallways. Opening the door we were greeted by a sign which directs you to your cabins.

We selected a Sunset Veranda Balcony cabin this time, since we had already experienced the Infinite Veranda on our previous sailing.   These cabins are all the way aft.  In fact, if you look closely at the image, I'm pointing to our cabin number; it was the very last cabin on this side of the ship.

Our cabin steward hadn't completed the cabin setup yet, but had no problem with us putting our bags in the closet.

On our way back from the cabin, we passed an open doorway which led to the crew staircase.   There was our checked bag waiting to be delivered to our cabin.

It's always comforting to see your checked bags arrive early.  As I mentioned, we take no chances by making sure we have enough clothes for a few days in our carry-on bags in case there is any delay.

We'll continue our embarkation day activities in our next posts.  More photos:  Embarkation album.



Edge Mini-Series (click)










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Thursday, October 10, 2019

More Memories From Our First Cruise

 Not Exactly the Ritz

We arrived at the pier for our stow away night aboard the Yankee Trader and were shown to our cabin.  As you can see from this picture, our beds were actually twin bunk beds.  

Not shown is the washroom which consisted of a shower, toilet, and sink  "all-in-one".   The one thing that stands out from our memories is that we had a problem one day, when the shower would not turn off, and had to summon someone to resolve the situation.   


Classic Wooden Ship

Notice the beautiful wood above, which is something that we vividly remember about our cabin and public areas of the ship. Here is another example (left) of the beautiful wood on the ship.
   
This may be the only time in our 30+ years cruising where we had a cat as a member of the crew. The cat was quite content sleeping on one of the benches on the main deck.



Working With Crew

The Barefoot Windjammer cruises were structured for two different types of passengers - those that wanted to actively participate in the sailing adventure and those that were content to be more passive.

One night, the dinner menu was quite simple - it was the catch of the day.   That meant that the crew, and any passengers that were interested, could fish for our dinner.   Here are some of the fish that were caught.

As mentioned in our previous column about our first cruise, the Captain's dinner consisted of a pig roast with all the trimmings.   Certainly, food was an integral part of the experience even on our first cruise.


The Long Good-bye

One of the benefits and downfalls of cruising on a small ship is that you meet your fellow cruisers and build relationships during the cruise.   It is therefore hard to say good-bye at the end of the voyage.  

As the sun sets on the Fantome, which was sailing the same itinerary with us,  we conclude our story about our first cruise.

Related:
Our Very First Cruise
Entertainment on Our First Cruise


 Making Memories

The memories from this trip have not faded over the years.  Our love for cruising and the sea began that week.   We love sharing our experiences and knowledge with others.

If you have not taken a cruise before, consider that sometime in your future.  Perhaps you too can have lasting memories like these.

Thank you to the crew of Yankee Trader - if any of you read this story, we'd love to hear from you.





National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series)

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We will be co-hosting a very special #FoodTravelChat for #ChooseCruise month