It’s no secret that MJ on Travel is a fan of cruise vacations. For me, cruises are about the ship….getting on board and letting go of the rest of the world for a few days. It’s hard to completely let go when you write a blog, but I make an effort to really minimize my time spent connected to the internet when at sea. I do so for reasons other than cost…it’s good to detach every once and a while and there’s no better way to do that than on a cruise.
In less than 2 months, I set sail on the world’s first “smartship,” Quantum of the Seas. Quantum promises to be the most technologically advanced and most “connected” ship in the world. It’s hard to square that up with “getting away” but I’ll manage….and I’ll manage to bring details of Quantum of the Seas to you each day here on the blog. Quantum is not the first new ship I’ve sailed on, but she is a ship that promises more change to the idea of cruising than any other I’ve sailed on. While smaller, Quantum of the Seas may represent an even bigger paradigm shift in cruising than Oasis of the Seas and sister ship Allure of the Seas.
All that said, there are some rituals in cruising that just don’t change for me. In anticipation of a cruise I usually follow a pretty predictable course of action. I do the following:
- start to stare at my countdown clock.
- make specialty restaurant reservations. Cruising tradition – night 1 is enjoyed at Chop’s Grille….and that pre-dates my Royal Caribbean Diamond Plus status that includes “buy one get one free” in a specialty restaurant on the first night of a cruise. In the case of Quantum of the Seas, I make most of my restaurant reservations because Quantum will introduce Dynamic Dining. I’ve got 7 nights of dining booked for my 11-night cruise. I want to try some of the new options before confirming all of our dining options.
- politely resist MrsMJ’s pleas to book organized shore excursions, but eventually cave and find myself glad that I listened to her.
- complete the online check in process….which reminds me that the cruise is getting close!
What are your pre-cruise rituals? Coming soon – packing tips for your cruise vacation.
-MJ, October 4, 2014
