I am today years old before I realized Iām closer to the Baltimore cruise port than the Miami or Fort Lauderdale. 
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Adding myself to the mix of planned cruises! Iāll be traveling with my mom and my two daughters (8 and 10) - our first DCL experience, and the girlsā first cruise.
Five nights Bahamas (Nassau, Castaway Key and Lighthouse Point), most likely on the Magic (27 June - 2 July) out of Port Canaveral. Need to firm up flights and make sure my mom is fully committed - but Iāve tentatively reserved a state room and am getting very excited for this! I have a planning thread here.
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Thereās some stuff going out of Norfolk, VA now as wellāitās maybe 6 hours or thereabouts from us.
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Iām only 45 minutes from Baltimore, and Iāve never cruised out of there. I would like to try it some time! Only smaller ships can come and go from Baltimore because they need to be able to sail under the Bay Bridge.
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I live about 15m from the port! Itās just the carnival sunshine for now. I wish i had gone when it was the magic.
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I think @motherofdaughtersthree did Sunshine last year. Itās at least somewhat updated vs Elation and Pride.
(She may have done Sunrise. I get them mixed up.)
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We did the sunshineāand we are scheduled to be back on it this year 
Smaller ship, older, but charming, or at least we thought so. No complaints.
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Yes! I did a courtesy hold on CCL before we booked it bc I was hoping that would secure my connecting rooms long enough for me to confirm dates with all my kids.
Iām happy for you! Yay! That will be here so soon.
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Iām not 100% because itās a little bit LOT of $$ but I found a junior suite for about $1200 more than an inside room! This checks all of the boxes except priceā¦
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Ooo, we really liked Odyssey of the Seas. Even though we have done a lot of RCL cruises, we were blown away by the high-tech shows on this ship a year ago. We also really enjoyed the out-of-the-way Cafe@Two70. Iām eager to sail on other ships of the same class. Have fun!
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Oooh Iām so glad to hear this! Tell me more!
I was at ski club today with another mom and she was on vacation last week on Oasis of the seas! (My favorite ship!) So of course we talked cruising the whole afternoon. But then I was having a tiny bit of fomo for Central Park and the Boardwalkā¦ Havenāt pulled the payment trigger yet!
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The Odyssey is the newest of the Quantum class. The multimedia show and its special effects in Two70 was very impressive, especially the 6-axis robotic arms that hold big video monitors, synchronized for various shows. We went to the talk held to explain how things work in Two70, and found it really interesting. They said as more Quantum class ships were built, the technology kept improving. That area, Two70, has a special show that runs multiple times, featuring singers, acrobats, trap doors in the various horizontal surfaces (floor, raised platforms, ceiling) as well as those synchronized very large video screens. Be sure to arrive early to see that.
The main theater has a show, The Effectors, which is about superheroes, and features some pretty nifty lighting effects and props. It was better high tech than most.
Cafe@270 reminded me of the kinds of food you can get at the Park Cafe - interesting soups, salads, sandwiches, and treats. They also had breakfast things. You take your food to go, and weād take it to Two70 which was next door. That area is open to everyone during the day.
We did not do the North Star.
This class is smaller than the Oasis class, but has some unusual features. We really like the Oasis class, too, and will sail on the Wonder in June. It will be good to do an Oasis class again, we havenāt done one since 2019. Weāve done mostly some Voyager/Explorer ships since Covid, and miss the bigger ships for included dining places.
Weāre doing the Star in September, and that will be big! Itās Icon class.
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I have to admit that my kids were on the younger side when we were on Oasis so we only did the water show and the ice show. Now I do think they would be old enough to enjoy the other shows. They love superheroes!
It also looks like the Odyssey Solarium is similar to the Oasis. Did you think so? That was my favorite spot. The one on the Freedom was completely different and not serene AT ALL!
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Iām curious about this statement. We will be having a cruise in 2026 on Freedomās sister ship, Independence.
Umm, honestly they are apples and oranges so I think itās just a matter of expectations. Itās odd that they are called the same thing but they are the adults only spaces. On Oasis/Odyssey itās an enormous area on the front of the ship enclosed in glass with multiple hot tubs, a restaurant and a very chill vibe. On Freedom/Independence itās open air with a small pool and no hot tub. Itās MUCH smaller (but they are smaller ships) and it has a little more party-ish vibe. Nothing really wrong with it! I suppose it was more serene than the regular pool deck! But much less of a spa-like experience. Does that help? We did enjoy Freedom quite a bit.
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Ah. Interesting. I didnāt pay attention to that. That probably makes it a no-go for us (meaning the Solarium). We arenāt interested in the pool whatsoever, but perhaps a hot tub. But being open-air, that might be a problem since we are going up into Canada in October.
It is not a big deal. We didnāt actually use the hot tubs/pools on the Allure either, but we did, at least, go into the Solarium a few times.
Yes. Thanks!
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Yes! Much better than the ones on the Freedom class, for the same reasons you listed. The Freedom class one has so much pass-through traffic, rather than the dead end versions. We like to grab a bite at the Solarium Bistro, which is complimentary unless you add on a steak, etc.
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Make sure you check out the Olive or Twist. Itās a bar but it has really cool views if you are near the coast!
Clever name! 