Room with a (Not!) View!

          So, we finally took a good look a representative diagram of our stateroom. I say representative because these rooms are very similar, most are identical, but due to their possible location on board, they may differ slightly. Ships today are built in modules and then welded together. This method needs to have a certain amount of conformity, hence the rooms being somewhat modules themselves. Anyway, we went onto the website and really took a good look. We used the “Virtual Tour” video thing where you can “walk “ through the room by clicking your mouse on the arrow and advancing your way through the room , doing a 180 anytime you wanted to.

          Here’s our tour,

          “There’s two drawers in the nightstand.”

          “Are there two nightstands?”

          “Yea, one on each side.”

          “Ok, swing that thing around, let’s take a look at the dresser.”

          “Wait, there is no dresser! Just the “desk” area, it has just three drawers and the mini fridge!”

          “Well, what about the closet? Scoot this thing over there!”

          Click, advance, click, advance, twirl around, twirl around.

          “That’s it? Just those shelves there and the hanging up part?”

          “Looks like it.”

          Gulp.

          Well, it looks like we will be storing a fair amount of our stuff under the bed, in our suitcases. That’s not so bad. The beds are made now to handle the larger suitcases under them. Back in the day, your Room Steward needed to collect your empty luggage and stow it for the duration of your voyage and then bring it back to you for re-packing before disembarking. But even with all of that we realize that we will be somewhat “cramped” for this trip. We are rationalizing our future comfort (discomfort?) level by saying that It’s a good thing we are used to the size of the motorhome. We feel that this “stepped down” theory of getting used to a smaller living quarters will be beneficial, and it probably will be, but……

          After my last couple of posts about packing, etc. we have received many tidbits of traveling and packing advice from several of your fellow readers. My sister Kathy, and my sister-in-law Karen sent us suggestions and advice. Karen is the most travelled person that I know. She is ALWAYS on a trip to some far-flung corner of the world, usually on an “expedition’ of sorts. She travels with small groups put together by the likes of The Smithsonian, National Geographic, and The Museum of Natural History in New York. She’s kind of like having “Indiana Jones” adventures while the rest of us are content to sit poolside and worry if we’ll like the selections that the Chef has planned for us at Dinner. Her “minimalist” take on what to bring has been very helpful. She did take a cruise to Antarctica last year but I’m pretty sure that the only Tuxedos she saw were the ones the Penguins were sporting!

          I reported to you that I thought that this cruise was severely over-booked because of cramming two years of cruises into one trip. Well, it looks like I may have been mistaken. It seems that you can go online right now and book any class of room that you may desire (except the Suites)  and you will find something that will likely be suitable for you. The selection is not extensive, but you will find something. (Feel free to book…. It will be nice to have someone along that we know!)

          What we don’t know is how may others are sitting out there in “Limbo-Room Land” like we are. As of yet, we have not been assigned a stateroom. Remember, we were supposed to be on this cruise last year, but that’s all Covid history now. I did call them up and ask if we could be booked into one of the available interior rooms that were open. Apparently there are no rooms of our Type that are open. You may think that since (as I stated earlier) all these rooms are almost, if not close to 100% identical, what difference would it make?

          Well just hold on there Mr. Algorithm! Apparently there are many criteria that go into assigning a “Level” to each room within its type, Interior, Ocean View, Balcony Obstructed, Balcony, Mini-Suite, and Suite. This algorithm takes into account such factors as position in the ship, (mid-ships is preferred) how far from the elevators and stairs, and other similar variables. Mix them all together and you end up with a designation of room type.

          They know exactly how many of us Limbo-Land folks there are. I’m fairly sure that they are waiting to see which of these open rooms may sell and then figure everything out, make offers to folks to hold their cruise (As we did several years ago with outstanding results!) and then fit us in. The worst that can happen is that we get upgraded to a room that we can’t tell the difference between what we booked, and what we are assigned. Unless of course, they want to be extremely generous and move us to the Captain’s Cabin!

          Any way we look at it, it is going to require a certain amount of organization, (which Paula excels at!) and resignation to our quarters, that will play a role in just how content we can stay for four months. We really are looking at the positives which are obviously many. The next level up would have been prohibitively expensive, so we have decided that we will have the mentality of “How bad can this possibly be?” as we wind our way through the streets of Casablanca, Jerusalem, and Sydney!

          One of the benefits of trying to stick with a particular Cruise Line is their Loyalty Program. Some may be better than others, but they all have benefits and perks built into them. Since most of my Cruise History had been on Princess, I am at their Ruby Level. Paula is at their Gold Level, and we will both get to Platinum sometime on this cruise. When we are finished I will need only six more cruise days to qualify for the Elite Level which is fifteen cruises or one hundred fifty Cruise Days. I presently have seventy-nine Cruise Days, of which thirty-three are on Princess. When you attain each next level they add on to the previous level with such things as upgraded wi-fi, complimentary specialty dining, Spa treatments, free mini-bars, priority boarding, special excursions, and the list goes on and on. But the main reason the I want to get to that Elite Level is because I will then find two Chocolates placed on my pillow upon retiring for the evening!