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Day 3 - Last Day Woke up this morning at the same time as yesterday and we decided to go to Windjammers for breakfast again. There were even less people than yesterday so we were able to get a table at the back of the ship overlooking the ocean. When I went to get my porridge this morning I took extra care not to spill the hot milk on my hand. Again there was no brown sugar but this time I spoke to the Windjammer manager who sorted the issue out for me. After breakfast we returned to our cabin where we had a lovely surprise waiting for us. Rolly who was our stateroom attendant on Radiance, and who we met again last night, had organised for a bottle of wine to be delivered to our stateroom for us. It was a lovely gesture for which we were very grateful. He is one of the nicest people you could hope to met. After breakfast we headed up to the mini golf to play a round. I have an app on my phone to keep track of the score. I can save the courses from each of the ships as we go on them. As the FlowRider is next to the golf we spent a few minutes watching people having a go. There were about 10 people waiting for a go. On all the cruises we have done I never tried the FlowRider as I have terrible balance, as evidenced by my tragic attempts to ski We had a few photos taken last night around the ship so we headed down to Studio B. We found a couple of photos we liked and ordered them using our diamond free printed photo voucher. This is a great benefit as we allowed one each, saving $40. Next we headed off to the casino to get our 3 free spins. We didn’t win anything but the cashier did not swipe our sea pass cards so we will go back this afternoon and see if we can get another set of tokens. Rather than talk about all the things available on the ship I have taken some some photos from around the ship which hopefully you will enjoy. Shops and the Royal Promenade Outside Promeande Deck Gym,Early Morning Aerobics and Dive Centre Peek a Boo Deck. This is a great way to see the bridge without having to pay for a bridge tour. I think a lot of passengers don’t realise the ship has this feature and miss a wonderful opportunity. The cabin was on the bridge in these photos as they were re-calibrating the GPS. For lunch today we had a poolside barbecue. This is the first time I have seen this on the ship but the food was great. I hope we see it more often in the future. Some random shots I liked. Us up on the helipad Memories of my misspent youth. Seagull with an outside cabin A fun piece of technology outside the arcade. The Australians will love this. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the features and sights from around the ship. Tonight we went to Imuzi for dinner. It was very busy because Chops had been booked out for a private function. The menu on Explorer was much better than the one on Ovation. Ovation only had sushi but Explorer had the hot rock option. I opted for chispy chicken as the starter and surf and turf as the main. I really enjoyed the hot rock option and would now be happy to go to any Izumi that has this option in the future. Well that is pretty much the end of the cruise as we only have hand luggage so we will get up early tomorrow and disembark ourselves. Ouch that sounds painful. i hope you have enjoyed following along with me. It has been an interesting experience, especially when I was just in the process of uploading my last photo tonight and Safari on my iPad crashed and everything was lost At least the second time was quicker as I already had a template in my head. i have scans of the cruise planner and all the menus so I will send them through to Matt when I get home. Right I am submitting this now before something else goes wrong. Some bonus photos, these are the TV channels available on the ship

I will be live blogging here on the forums! I will take as many pictures and get as much info as I can over the 2/24 cruise!

Thanks everyone for your nice comments. this is our only cruise this year as we are off to Hawaii for 3 weeks later in the year for my birthday. Back on Explorer in March 2019 for a trip up to the Pacific Islands. BROWN SUGAR UPDATE: they are now trained at putting out the brown sugar for my porridge. They put a huge bowl of it. Mission accomplished. ?

Ps apparently we need to buy the photo package... Look at these adorable proofs! My little one LOVED Ifly!

Two senior members of the crew on Explorer have told me that she will be redeployed to Southampton after the Australia/NZ and probably Alaska season. With Ovation, Explorer and Voyager redeployed that should mean we get a couple of new ships to sail on. The news is still unofficial but i guess it will become clearer once the 2019/2020 deployments are announced. I am excited to think we might get a couple of new ships to try. Change is good.

Wasn't going to bring my camera... on the slides

And here lies the issue, just because something is expected doesn't make it right. Lets say a couple work all their lives on minimum wage, work hard without any extra treats for themselves just to put their kids through college or university. then they retire and as a treat for themselves to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary they book a nice 7 day cruise to Outer Mongolia departing from Tehran. they save and budget accordingly so they can get an ocean-view room with balcony then just before sailing the upgrade Genie gifts them with a suite. Is it correct that they are expected to do as others do and tip probably more than they can afford just because its the done thing and is expected? Sure the Genie may do a lot of running about but isn't that their job? isn't that what they sign up and get paid for? I am in no way against tipping, while in NYC last year i tipped well over the expected 15 - 20% that was written down simply because the food and service was great. But if it wasnt great then i wouldnt have left as much, maybe i wouldn't have tipped as tips should be earned not just expected as its a way things are done.

Interesting and thought provoking topic. Star class typically costs substantially higher than Sky class. It's a significant difference in price. Granted Star class comes with dining and beverage packages but those alone do not come close to explaining the difference in rates between Sky class and Star Class. Do the thousands of dollars more not pay for the Genie's services? Forget casino rates or other discounts of that nature, for a regular guest choosing to pay for Star class at normal rates, are you not already paying thousands for a Genie? Do they really need hundreds to thousands in gratuity? The difference between a loft suite and star loft suite is often $5k per person more. What does $10k for two get you if not the Genie's services?

Sorrento's Pizza. It always comes from or back to the pizza.

For example ..... I'm going through a parking lot earlier here in Cumberland, MD and I find a license tag with something very familiar..... My brain went straight to "My Time Dining". (Of course, I deleted part of the tag for safety reasons) Let see who can come up with things that remind them of cruising ..... no cheating, no using Google Images

Love the grade idea! A few other suggestions: If they won't allow your daughter to move up, can the other girl be allowed to move down into the 9-11 club? I know that is not ideal but at least they'd be together. You could allow them to sign themselves in and out as Voyagers so they could still have free reign of the ship. If nothing works out, the friend goes to the teen club the first night, she can meet a group of other kids and your daughter can join them other nights to they hang out in various areas of the ship. The teen club ends up to be a meeting place after dinner and not where they hang out (usually).

It is one of the interesting dynamics of this board, as well as the Cruise FBs I am on: The various economics of cruising. Some folks out here go on 4-5 cruises A YEAR and dont blink at discussions of $1000 genie tips, while for others a cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and every single tip is a serious consideration. I am just grateful that most out here are considerate of that dynamic. But back to Galveston; Having to clear the gulf is a pain, but the port itself is great. I found the folk of Galveston to be happy, helful and relaxed. The food at Fish Tales was excellent and the walks along the beach relaxing. Galveston Limo was perfect in getting us to and from the airport (Hobby).

@twangster I did a speed test on the voom. It was 1.44mbs download and 1.26mbs and latency 1.282ms. it was definitely slower than Ovation but it streamed okay with only minimal buffering. i never had any problem with coverage in the areas of the ship I visited.

Mine has her birthday 2 weeks before we cruise all the time (spring break). I never had to try and move her (she wanted to move up) but I've always thought they should do it by grade as opposed to straight age. Anyway I have heard the strict thing... though on smaller ships and less busy weeks they combine all the teens anyway. Sabrina, I would suggest going in immediately on the first day and talking to whoever is in charge. And if it's a problem keep in mind that they often don't stay in the teen center anyway... just use it as a base to start. And some activities do combine. Jane

Thanks for the live blog! I'm going to have to see if the Freedom has that same "peek a boo" deck that Voyager has; if it does, maybe I'll skip signing up for the bridge tour. (although the geek in me really wants to see it up close and personally)

It really depends on the cruise and the number of kids on board. I've found that during spring break they are extremely strict on the rules, however, I think your cruise is on the early side of spring break so you may get lucky. Our first cruise, my son turned 12 the week after our cruise and they wouldn't let him in the teen club. Last year on Liberty, they were strict on the 12-14 and 15-17 break down too which worries my son as he turns 15 on day 4 of our upcoming cruise. He does not want to be with the 12 year olds so I'm hoping that they'll give him a break too. We've done teen clubs for 3 years now and never registered my teens. The teens do need to bring their sea pass card as they scan the cards when they go into the teen club but I didn't have to fill out paperwork like I did with the 11 and under kids but then again things may have changed since last year.

I think R&B is included for all staff, since they're already living on the ship full time without any real choice. But only the basics. If they want internet or drinks, they pay the same as regular passengers.

I really feel like it's going to come down to needs/demands and who it is. I have read many great and some surprisingly, not so great Genie reviews. As hubby always says, "It's going to be a game time decision." I definitely don't think I would go and tip $500-$700 extra just because it's "expected". However, I would feel terrible if our experience was amazing (because of the Genie) and we left nothing. It's the same as how we sometimes tip some waiters and room attendants extra and sometimes we don't. Case by case and how you feel they've gone the extra mile.

Sitting at the doctor's office and came across the most interesting article. Thought I would share. Take away from it whatever you will. The most interesting thing to me was the fear of "chicken or beef". No wonder RC rates low for you know what! ?? still can't let it go! http://nationalpost.com/travel/secret-codes-and-subliminal-messages-a-look-inside-the-worlds-biggest-cruise-ship

I both really want and don't really want more back stories on those odd Viagra mishaps.

Thanks. Now all I am going to see from now on as I take a bite of Sorrento's Pizza is Homer. "Homer, are you in there?"

We ae booked on the 5/5 sailing also. Would love to hear about the upgrades.

There are city tours in Nassau, Atlantis, chocolate factory tour, beer tour but most of their excursions are water related. You can always walk around and find local place to eat. We like to go to the Poop Deck, not far from the pier and great local food.

I grab the first froufrou drink i can and take a picture of me with it! Then i grab food at the windjammer and wander the pool deck enjoying the warmth and sun that doesnt exist in snowy illinois! Have a great trip! Jane

I think the biggest challenge for either line from Galveston is geography. Much like NYC, there are only so many ports you can reach in 7 days to fit the optimal American vacation plan. I've only sailed Carnival from TX so far, that will change soon. The current Carnival choices look the same as they did in 2014 and 2015. Magic changes to Breeze, Freedom to Valor, etc, whatever. Same ships with different names (I've sailed all of those) but same ports. I'm not trying to be argumentative but what changes are you hoping for? What makes Florida the cruise capital of the world is the ability to reach many more destinations offering much more variety. Short of faster ships or cutting down the number of ports visited, Galveston can only reach the same ports due to the Gulf standing in it's path for every single cruise. I'll add that Galveston has a limited cruise market. It's primarily the state of Texas. The reason I avoid sailing from Galveston is that it is simply not a convenient fly in cruise port unlike Florida or even New York. My flight and ground transportation costs in Galveston exceed the cost of the cruise. Heck even Baltimore is easier for me to fly and cruise from and I'm coming from Colorado. I can't avoid those flying things you hate, I have no choice - I'm getting on a plane to cruise. Throw in some unique liquor laws and why would anyone want to cruise from Galveston unless they live in Texas? Great people, not so good fly in port for non-residents. Unfortunately all cruise lines have declined. It's certainly not what it used to be but it's still a great value vacation and I love to cruise. Carnival in my opinion has experienced greater cut backs. At the end of the day, what are your choices as a Texas resident who doesn't want to fly? Both cruise lines have "optimized" service. The extent of which impacts your preferences is personal and your choice. For me I didn't like what Carnival became and I stopped cruising them. I enjoy RC food and service. I like their loyalty program so much more. I like a lot about them. Those are my preferences and I hold no ill will or judgement to those that prefer Carnival. I'm glad they sail Carnival or demand and prices would increase on Royal.

When we were on Anthem for Thanksgiving we tried it and loved it. Great deal and great food. We also noticed that the place was not very full. We didn't mind that part at all :)

We do not.

I will let you know we have a GS in August.

Adventure is on the move for Miami.

Apple app called 'Image Size' for iPhone or iPad seems to work well too if you don't have a computer with you. It's free but ad driven unless you pay $3. EDIT - this app is also available for Android devices. Landscape 900 x 675 Portrait 675 x 900

keeping this Royal related...... FREEEEEEDOMMMMMMMMMM of the Seas

No idea where we are... But it is a helluva lot warmer than where we were. High of 17 today. Costal Kitchen for breaky then Ifly. North star ressys this afternoon as well. 856 kids on board. 200 aquanot aged kids... Only 30 spaces per session in that room. Thank God for the drink package and WiFi while we wait... (go ahead.. Judge me. I'll sleep fine). More to come later after I drive 15 cocktails into my yap. Ask any questions.

Day 2 Even after the long day yesterday I woke up today at around 6:50am. I think I am still on New Zeand time as it was 8:50am there. There was also a little bit of noise from the decks above. In in all it was still a pretty good nights sleep. We decided as it was early we would eat in the Windjammer today rather than Chops as it shouldn’t be too busy and the selection is bigger. We were right, there were plenty of tables free at this time. I normally have porridge (oatmeal) for breakfast. Firstly the hot milk next to the porridge was in a big vat with a ladle. Because of the design of the serving stations with the sloping glass cover it was really awkward to ladle the milk onto the porridge and I ended up burning my hand. Annoying and painful. Normally they have hot milk in pourer which is much easier to use than a ladle. Then I spend ages trying to find the soft brown sugar for the porridge but there didn’t seem to be any around. I spoke to a few of the staff before somebody finally understood what I was talking about and got some for me. Anita got a freshly made omelette from the omelette station which took about 10 minutes to prepare as there were a few people waiting. By the time we finished breakfast at the Windjammer at 8:30am it was starting to get busier as families with children starting arriving. There were still quite a few tables available for people who wanted them. Here are a few photos from Windjammer After breakfast we decided to go for a walk around the top deck. It was a bright sunny day with a slight breeze so conditions were very pleasant. As I walked past Johnny Rockets and saw people playing ping pong in the undercover alcove wondered to myself why the area didn’t seem to have lights so they didn’t have to play in the dark. We also want down to the helipad as most people don’t seem to realise you can go up there and have a “titanic” moment. When we were on Ovation you had to book with the photography studio (for free) to go up there. There were a couple of members of the crew there working as there’s is always something that needs to be varnished. ? “And my heart will go on” We always go to the gym on the ship and today was no exception. The gym is located up on deck 12 through the vitality spa entrance. Explorer has a large hot water spa in this area that a lot of people do not know about. It doesn’t have seating in it so you have to stand but it is great alternative if all the spas by the pools are full. The gym was reasonably busy around the time we went (11:00am) but there were still a few treadmills available so I jumped on one. Someone had left their sea pass card in the iPod dock on the one next to mine. A common problem I think as I have done this myself in the past. I took my iPad with me and streamed a show on Netflix with only one slight buffering problem. Because of the satellite connection I had access to the the US Netflix rather than the New Zealand one so there were some different shows to watch that aren’t normally available to us. Gym done it was time to think about a shower and lunch. On a cruise you always seem to be thinking about your next meal. We decided to go and see how busy Johnny Rockets was for lunch as on a previous cruise we had to wait over and hour before they could take us. We went up just after 1pm and timed it really well as the belly flop competition was on so there were a lot of people by the pool. Because of the belly flop competition there was no wait time at Johnny Rockets. We elected to sit outside as there was no wind and a little sun. I asked the server whether JRs was included in the ultimate dining package as I thought it was. He told me it was not and that a surcharge will apply. As this is different from what I heard I had a look on the RCI website but could not find any specific info on the UDP. There may have had some info on the cruise planner but because the cruise had started I could no longer see their t&cs. We do have another cruise booked but that is too far in advance to book the dining. The burger and fries were okay but nothing exceptional. I enjoyed the milkshake as it was nice and thick. By this time the belly flop competition had finished and quite a long queue was forming outside JRs. We grudgingly paid the bill and left so that the table could be allocated to somebody else. I did check with the concerige later and he also confirmed JRs is not part of the ultimate dining package. They should not be using the word ultimate, maybe it should “almost ultimate”. Apparently JRs is not a specialty restaurant which is why you have to pay. By the way it was $6.95 USD on Explorer. On the way back to our cabin we looked in on the Solarium. It was a lot busier today than yesterday when I had the whole place to myself. Another reason to get on the ship early. Just make sure you pack your swimming gear in your hand luggage. A busy Solarium. It was almost time for the ice show show so we changed into something warmer and headed down to Studio B where the concierge met us and let us in early to pick the seats we wanted. As it turned out we had seen the show Spirits of the Seasons last time we were on Explorer in Dec 2016 but thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. The venue was quite full but there were still a few seats available even if you turned up late. After the show we returned to our cabin for some balcony time before going up to the Diamond Lounge for refreshments after such a hard day. We went up to the Diamond Lounge at about 4:50pm and there was plenty of seating available, either inside or outside. We elected to sit outside as we prefer this space. It is a little noisy for people with hearing difficulties as there is the music from the mini golf and also the noise coming from the ship funnel. The snacks were okay but the skewered chicken must have been there for a while as it was tough as old boots. Snack selection in the Diamond Lounge. At about 6:10pm the ship started changing direction which meant the sun came down directly on the outside area and because of the direction of the sun there was nowhere to shelter. As all of the inside seating was taken by now we went down to “the cave” as passengers affectionately call the concierge lounge. Luckily for us it was not busy at all and it was easy to find a seat. We just had a couple of drinks and I chatted to the concierge for a while. This is his last cruise before heading home for a break. We also tried to book Chops for our final night tomorrow but the entire venue has been booked out by a large party so we booked Izumi instead. I am not a big fan of Izumi so we will see how it goes. Our dinner reservations were not until 8pm so we left the lounge and went back to our cabin. We checked our bill on the TV and found they had been charging us for gratuities each day. As this is part of the base cruise fare I found a copy of our guest invoice with this information and made a visit to guest services. Once they saw our invoice with the gratuities included they reversed the charges. We had dinner at Giovanni’s tonight as part of our ultimate dining package. It was scheduled for 8pm which is quite late for us. Before going to the restaurant we used a couple of our diamond drink vouchers to get something to take in with us. We arrived at the sitting change over time so it was not too busy. We were seated quickly and looked over the menu. It has changed since the previous cruise we did on Explorer in 2016. We both ordered the almond scallops and were not disappointed. Yum Yum For my main I had chicken and Pene pasta. It wasn’t outstanding but it was enjoyable. We both had tiramisu for dessert but in my eagerness to tuck in I ate it before taking any photos. I was tempted to post a photo of an empty plate but the server whipped it away before I had a chance. I don’t drink coffee or tea but Anita ordered a coffee after desert. We asked to have the coffee as part of our diamond discount but he said he never charges diamonds with a dining package for coffee anyway. After we left the restaurant and we were returning to our cabin we bumped into Rolly, our stateroom attendant from Radiance. It was really nice to catch up with him and have a chat. Hopefully we will see him again tomorrow. Well after another great day at sea it is time to turn out the lights and go to sleep. if you made it this far thanks for reading. Stray Observations Today they were doing some testing of the navigation and propulsion systems so we stopped dead in the water for a while and did a few sideways movements using the thrusters. If you want a ship model get them as soon as you can, don’t wait as people buy them 2 at a time. There were about 20 In the shop on day one but they were all sold out by day two. They were retailing for $32.95 USD. Update: some more appeared later in the afternoon of the second day. There is no formal night on this cruise. They do not have a top tier event scheduled. I thought they had for every cruise 3 nights or longer. We had one on the last 3 night cruise we did. Guest Services has a sign up saying the ship is full and there are no upgrades available. We had an email from the casino saying if we earned between 2400 - 4800 points we could have a free cruise. If only I hadn’t lost the first night maybe I could have earned a free cruise. I think I would need to spend more than $140 to earn a free cruise otherwise their rewards system conversion rate would be incredible.

We will stick with Gerald Butler but to be honest even he wouldnt understand me where im from in scotland we have our own laungage. to give you an idea this is a sentence in english Which foot fits what shoe? if i was to say the same but in my own "Doric" language it would be this Fit fit Fits fit fit?

The tomato water was probably my least favourite and the only one I actually hesitated on. Here are a few more from Harmony: Tomato water: Some tuna item, I forgot the name. The World & The Forbidden Apple. And I have no clue what Lightroom is so there's no resizing ?

I like the way you think!

The cucumber martini at 150 CP and the Champagne Bar are similar but not the same. So instead of "or", try both.

i just saw this picture on Facebook. Izumi will be on the Royal Promenade .

My favourite things to do are as follows: - 1) Get a drink or two 2) Start making passive aggressive comments about how long it takes to have the room ready 3) Indulge in comfort eating to suppress said passive aggressive behaviour 4) realising you have no patience, normally after the 3rd or 4th drink from the bar despite having done 3 cruises already and this is no different from any other cruise you've done 5) thanking yourself you got the drinks package otherwise passive aggressive tendencies are going to be expensive on this trip!! 6) breathe a sigh of relief as you find the room is ready 7) attempt to sober up as you find out its almost dinner time and you have to look and act respectable Exclusively in that order I find - probably an unhealthy start to any vacation but I guess I'll just have to work hard til I get to high enough status for priority boarding like yourself!

Really interesting article! I wasn't surprised to read about the absolute ban on crew fraternizing with passengers, but I was surprised to read about how getting romantically involved with your fellow crew members is not only allowed, it's basically encouraged! I guess it makes sense. You're "stuck" with these people for six to ten months, so I can see how they'd want to reduce the... umm... tensions that might otherwise build up. Still, with the way the author said relationships on board tend to be like "dog years" and get hyper-accelerated, makes you wonder about the potential inter-crew drama that might unfold with it.

After boarding, we like to head towards the nearest bar for a drink and walk around the ship to figure out where everything is! Usually, stuff like Sorrento's or Cafe Promenade is less crowded than the insanity that is the Windjammer after embarkation. The sail away party and pool deck on embarkation day is always a great time! For places to hang out in the evening, we are big fans of the pub as well as the schooner bar. We like the laid back atmosphere as well as the entertainment. The Viking Crown Lounge as well as the Champagne Bar/R Bar are some of our favorite stops for pre-dinner drinks.

Dr. Strangecheese. Or, how I learned to relax and embrace the Sorrentos.

@mamabdw Ya'll need to switch to the 25th and bring me some KC BBQ ?

And here I was looking forward to reliving that thread.

HEY! I'm on that list!!!!

This past Christmas we had Adventure booked with a very good deal on an Owner's Suite. When I started pricing airfare to SJ I cancelled the cruise. We have flown to SJ 4 times and it was never that high ! The southern Caribbean is wonderful and I love those islands...but I'm not going to pay the price they want for airfare to SJ. It's outrageous. You would think that they want tourists there and would lower the prices just to get people back down there (after the hurricanes) but it doesn't seem to have happened like that.