Our dear readers and long-time cruise friends, Judy and Gary, sent some suggestions on topics for future posts, including the following:
Here are a few topics to consider;
Favorite cruise lines
Favorite ports
Best and worst cruise ship excursion you’ve taken
Best and worst meal you’ve cooked
Favorite and least favorite country you’ve visited
Favorite and least favorite city you’ve visited
Firstly, thanks to Judy and Gary for making these good suggestions. It was kind of you to come up with ideas for us, and we will consider each for future posts. As many of our years-long readers know, we have touched on these topics in one way or another, except for the “best and worst meals we cooked,” which we’ll have to think about for a day or two.
We will address the first of these points in Part 1 today and continue with the balance over several future posts.
Favorite cruise lines and why… We were big proponents of Celebrity Cruise and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines for many years, preferring their cruises over many others. When we first started cruising, we made a mistake in attempting to experience several cruise lines so that we could select a favorite. In doing so, we missed out on acquiring many loyalty points, which could have escalated us to a position where more perks were offered by working one’s way to various tiers. Realizing this, down the road, caused us to focus on two cruise lines, Celebrity, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean, both of which we enjoyed for many years.
Why did we like these cruise lines? They were slightly more perk-orientated than other cruise lines, providing a modicum of elegance with exceptional service and perks we eventually received as we climbed the ladder of tiers. As time passed, we enjoyed more benefits as we sailed on more and more cruises worldwide.
What cruise line eventually became our favorite? During the pandemic, everything changed. We had many cruises booked during this outrageous period, and we had eight canceled cruises, most of which were on the Azamara Cruise line, which Celebrity owned at that time. Only one cruise remained that we booked before the pandemic, Azamara, although we booked several cruises after the pandemic ended. During this time, we finally went on the one remaining Azamara cruise and decided it was our new favorite. It was about 25% more expensive than Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, but tips and drinks were included, almost compensating for the price difference. Also, there was an added level of elegance we appreciated. But most of all, we enjoyed the smaller size of only 600 passenger occupancy as opposed to Celebrity and Royal Caribbean from 1800 to 8000, sizes that don’t appeal to us.
Azamara doesn’t have all those activities that appeal to children that we’d never use, such as theme parks and rides. If we wanted such activities, we’d go to a theme park. Although children are allowed on Azamara, their ships are geared toward adults, making the environment quiet and low-key, which we prefer.
No doubt, with my current health issues, we haven’t been on a cruise since last October, ten months ago. Since the onset of our travels in 2012, we have sailed on 34 cruises and look forward to cruising in the future once I am fully recovered. We’ll see how it all goes.
A special thank you to Judy and Gary for their thoughtful suggestions. We look forward to covering each topic as we continue.
Photo from ten years ago today, August 20, 2014:
