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As discussed, here’s a few villa pictures! 3 bedroom (1 queen, 2 double), 2.5 bath Villa located in Old San Juan. AirBnB host has been great, and the property and location are incredible.

I will get some pictures tomorrow and share out a link most likely when I get back. Right now we are back at the villa relaxing after a long day of travel. Other stray thoughts - getting a taxi from SJU to Old San Juan was a painless process. Once you are here, it really does feel like you can walk anywhere and everything is well lit. Most leftover hurricane damage I’ve seen was outside of Old San Juan.. everything in this area seems to be up and running and people are very nice And now I’m playing a drinking game and I lost because I was writing this so for my own sake I’ll follow up in the morning

The AirBnB looks great! I'd book it for myself, but then again, I don't want KLA cooties.

Magna and Mofongo! Cheers!!!

First and foremost, the smaller "open air" Sabors do not have queso fundido, which is my favorite dish BY FAR from the full service Sabors. The menus on the O class Sabors are a subset of the bigger (and better, IMO) menus of the full service Sabors. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the "fiesta" influence of the O class Sabors but the ambiance is just so different from the regular Sabor restaurants. The full service restaurants have a more sedate and sophisticated feel and the O class restaurants feel like a seaside bar - which is intentional, I'm sure. Bottom line - I have never been disappointed in my visit to a full service Sabor and I've never been happy with a visit to one of the O class Sabors. If you're going for the chips, salsa, tacos and margaritas, you will be fine. If you've never been to a full service Sabor then you will not know what you are missing !!

@Sweety is there an Arctic ice wall? I know there's one in Antarctica. If there is an Arctic when, then I'm guessing we're not going to it. The MSC cruise we had booked went farther north, but we liked the HAL ship and rest of the itinerary better. @mom2mybugs You'll love Barcelona. If take an overall city tour to start. When we go back, we're going to do the gondola, Park Guell (Giadi), and spend more time at Las Ramblas and the market there. I also want to go to the old bull fighting ring that's been converted into a mall.

Must see David in Florence. I love Rome, Athens and Mykonos. Olive oil is a must in Italy and Greece. Different flavors.

Strictly speaking, no. But many here have done so, putting it in their carry-on bag (not a checked bag!), and had no issues when going through security. As @Matt, our dearest leader friend and blog founder, is fond of saying: Just follow a don't ask / don't tell policy. What itinerary will you be taking? I'll be sailing on Anthem in October to Bermuda with the missus. And welcome to the boards!

Unless you have a list specifically saying soda is allowed you would be wasting your time. Besides the wording making it very clear that it is not an all-inclusive list, " The following are examples of items that guests are not allowed to bring onboard ", arguing with security personnel is a great way to get a tour of a security office and jeopardize your boarding. Just bring the soda. Odds are they will allow it, but if they don't then just leave it and go on your way. Please don't start your cruise off by making a scene over some cans of pop. Welcome to the forum!

To be honest with you, I remember some CDs who were pretty good and some not so good. But then again, I have no idea who they were! As long as my drink package is good to go, they all are OK with me.

I really enjoyed the ruins outside of Costa Maya. This is also another place to do an all-inclusive beach resort or the Adventure Kingdom, which is a park close to the cruise terminal with water slides and zip lines.

We start and end in Barcelona... give me any pointers as I think we will spend at least a couple days pre- cruise there. We hit Cannes, Florence, Rome, then Athens, mykenos, Santorini and valetta Malta. We have never been to Europe and will go to France this summer and this cruise next. I would love to do pompeii and Venice though. I think we won't do Pisa and will instead go to Florence...I'd love to spend days at the uffizi but I will see it briefly and I'm sure our next long European land trip still be to Italy. Jane

I won't worry about it... and in fact the last time I was in cozumel I had several daiquiris and didn't! Thanks for your reassurance! Jane

I need to party with you guys!

We also had a $2 mimosas happy hour in the casino on Liberty of the Seas. It will most likely be on the cruise compass if your ship offers that. Try checking some recent cruise compasses for Independence. To answer your question yes, mimosas will be covered in the drink package. If you do not have a package I suggest bringing your own champagne as one or both of the two bottles of wine you can bring onboard. Just keep in mind that orange juice might only be available in the Windjammer during breakfast hours. My wife loves mimosas but we find them to be a bit overpriced outside of the happy hour in the casino. Obviously this is not an issue if you have the drink package.

My husband and I loved the thermal spa pass. We are pretty active and work out in the mornings (even on vacation) so we really enjoyed using the heated bed, steam, sauna and rain shower at the end of our workout. It was quite relaxing. We looked at it this way - 1 person can get a massage at the spa for close to the same price as the couple's weeklong thermal pass. So, we each got a relaxation every day of the trip vs. one person geting a massage one time.

Checking in from San Juan!!! Currently sitting in Vaca Brava sipping a mojito. Initial thoughts: Old San Juan is beautiful and walkable the air BnB we picked is worth every penny. If you are spending at least two nights in San Juan pre cruise, I would gladly recommend it. Shoot me a message. Am happy.

Agree, save space in our landfills, when it is done holding your towel, use it to hold all of the obsessive, compulsive cruise paper work in your suite case on the flight home (Cruise Compasses anyone?)

Dude, before I read the post and just saw the photo scroll into view, I thought you spotted Elliot Gould on your ship and caught his pic! Spooky resemblance there!

She's trying to avoid this

But first, mimosas!

As a self-proclaimed beer snob, I'm just excited to see Royal including more venues that have a decent beer selection. This place looks like it'd be my goto bar if I'm ever on the Symphony. I'm on the Anthem coming up this October and I'm quite saddened by the removal of Michael's Genuine Pub. I'd never been on the Anthem, and was really looking forward to that place! Here's hoping they keep up with offering a decent beer selection once the change in venue happens.

Alright guys! It is happening! We are in the car and headed for the airport bright (?) and early. DAY to CLT, and then CLT to SJU!

Freedom of the Seas 3/3/18!

Wow. On another note, retired over here in '16 from Baytown...just up the road from you!

Almost any resort or restaurant in Cozumel will have a sign stating that they use purified water to make their ice. This is definitely the case at Nachi. There is no way to really know for sure that it is filtered, but we have never had any issues with it. Like others have said the last thing they want is for you to get sick and never come back. If you're worried about it sticking to beer is always a safe bet. I know sometimes just being worried about it alone can ruin an experience. Our first time in Cozumel my wife and I were having a blast and enjoying some margaritas at a bar when some random guy walked by and said, "You shouldn't drink the ice in Mexico. It will get you sick". The restaurant had used filtered ice and neither of us got sick, but we worried about it all day after that. Never let "that guy" ruin your day.

Port of call: Nassau, Bahamas. Five, yes, I said 5! ships in port today. Carnival Sensation, Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Breakaway, Carnival Pride and our beast, Anthem of the Seas.

@coneyraven, if it’s a formal usability study, the testers will be in a room with specially prepared computers that include sensors to track eye movements (to get a sense of how much time people are taking to find some item on the screen), as well as mouse and key loggers. I think some tests also include video cameras to record the session, as there is typically a person there asking them to do specific tests and guiding them if things start taking too long (itself a test failure that should be recorded and analyzed with the other data). Usability tests, as I recall, aren’t generally things where you’re free to do whatever you’d like. There are prescribed tests that the participants have to follow (e.g., find a cruise to the Mediterranean; now narrow it down to a Radiance class ship; now book a balcony on deck 10), although how they choose to do so is up to them (and often reveals surprising information about how the users actually think how the site should work, vs how the designers thought they would think). It’s actually a pretty complicated subject, and setting up a proper set of tests to avoid confirmation bias or unintentional leading is harder than it looks at first glance.

"Hey, uh, I know I just got back from vacation.. but can I work remotely from Florida rather than my home office for a week doing testing on my own for another company?" :|

I don't think you're a card carrying member of #TeamLavaFlow, so as a result, my recommendation is a margarita!

A glass of champagne is always a good way to start a vacation! Then switch to the patron and pineapple.. yum, that sounds good!

Agreed

well it would seem playmakers will be selling burgers, I guess there will be a small upcharge. but in my opinion if they are selling burgers then surely that ill take revenue away from Johnny rockets.

We wanted a cruise that started in Barcelona as we loved the port so much when we were there last month. My wife also wanted to go to Venice, while my son wanted to go to Pompeii and Pisa, so this itinerary for the bill:. BARCELONA, SPAIN PROVENCE (TOULON), FRANCE NICE (VILLEFRANCHE), FRANCE FLORENCE/PISA(LASPEZIA)ITALY ROME (CIVITAVECCHIA), ITALY NAPLES, ITALY AT SEA KOTOR, MONTENEGRO ZADAR, CROATIA KOPER, SLOVENIA VENICE, ITALY We're totally sold on Europe and are headed back in July for a two week Noway/Arctic Circle cruise. In the winter, the plan is for a New Zealand cruise out of Sydney, but the airfare to Europe is much more reasonable.

Great lighthouse tour in Portland, and a lighthouse boat tour in Bar Harbor. My favorite was/is Peggy's Cove.

This is a case where the ports you want to see will dictate which ship you take. Only Adventure goes to Quebec, and then only on the longer 10-night open jaw fall foliage cruises in September and October. And on any cruises on Adventure, you will not have a port stop in Boston; the first stop is in either Bar Harbor or Portland, ME, and then it's all Canadian ports (Saint John and Halifax; and then on the longer sailings only Sydney and/or Charlottestown followed by Quebec). Anthem, on the other hand, stops in Boston before going up to Maine and Canada; but the only Canadian ports it visits are Saint John and Halifax.

Woohoo!!! More pictures.

Liberty 2-25-18

My 1st Royal Caribbean Cruise -- March 17th Port Canaveral and Bahamas aboard the Anthem of the Seas!! Hubby has been trying to get me to do a Royal Caribbean cruise for years! Can't wait!

Welcome to the message boards! I see that there’s a complimentary breakfast. Besides that, are we paying for every other meal? All meals are included. More food than you could possibly eat. There are some options to purchase specialty dining but I rarely do that, I'm quite happy with the included dining options. Sometimes for a special occasion I'll splurge and buy a specialty dinner. Ben & Jerry's is not included and works much like any ice cream shop. There is self serve soft ice cream available at certain times (not 24 x 7) which is included. I plan on getting the deluxe drink package. It’s priced at $56 right now. I read through some threads and saw that it gets down as low as $40. How often does this occur? I won’t be traveling until August 10th. Let’s say I purchase it now and the price decreases, can I request the difference or no? Is it true that everyone of age in the same stateroom has to buy a deluxe beverage package? I find that rule highly unreal, especially if one person doesn’t want to purchase it (traveling with friends). Are there really no exceptions besides medical? There are sales periodically. Not always for every ship or all sailing. US holidays are popular times for Royal to offer sales on their website. Last weekend was a random sale weekend. The creator of this site @Matt will often post a blog when a sale event occurs. Keep checking or follow him on Twitter and/or Facebook. If you purchase and the price drops after purchasing, you can simply refund the original purchase and re-purchase at the new lower price up to around 4 days before sailing when all "Cruise Planner" sales are suspended. After this point you must purchase on board at higher prices. Everyone over 21 in a cabin must purchase the deluxe drink package if any one does. All the major cruise lines have this policy. Royal was the last to implement it. The problem is that people were sharing a drink package which was expressly against the rules. If people didn't abuse it, they would not have had to change the policy. In some cases four people were intentionally sharing one package. Royal is a business and they can't lose money because people cheat and break the rules. Besides the drink package, I’m trying to cruise as cheaply as possible. I saw that some of the cafes are open 24/7 and can deliver to the room for a charge. Am I paying for each item I want or is that free and I’m just paying the service charge? Do I have the option of going to that café directly? There are many different areas to eat each meal on board. The Main Dining Room is included and offers a sit down full service experience. The Windjammer Marketplace is a buffet style restaurant. There are other smaller venues that offer lighter fare like sandwiches at Park Cafe. All of these are included in your cruise fare but you have to visit them. Room service has a $7.95 fee per order. The menu for room service is different compared to the dining venues. It's quite good actually. For people in Grand Suite or above the fee is waived. You can order as much food as you want for that $7.95 as long as it is one order. There is a complimentary continental breakfast with coffee from room service in the morning hours. How does payment work on a cruise? I assume I’m carrying my debit card everywhere I go. Everything on board is charged to your onboard account. No cash or credit cards are used at any of the on board stores or venues that cost extra. Your SeaPass card works as your cabin key card as well as what you use to make purchases on board. For example at Ben & Jerry's when you order you hand them your SeaPass card. I simply put a credit card down when I check in for the cruise and everything I purchase on board eventually will be charged to my credit card. You can visit guest services on board and put cash down against your on board account. I saw that some ships had a murder mystery dinner. I love those things. How can I find out what my ship’s events are? Do I need to wait until it gets closer? I tried searching the cruise planner but no luck. Not all ships offer the mystery dinner experience. This site has a section called "Cruise Compass". Look at the very top of this page. Previous cruisers have kept the on board daily newsletter that is left in your cabin each day. They scan them in and Matt posts them for all of us to use. They may not be exactly the same for your cruise but you can filter by ship and find a similar itinerary to see the type of events that are offered each day as well as when all the restaurants are open or activities and shows will occur. Plan to go to all the shows - they are included too. All questions are welcome. We were all first timers once and even after many cruises I still learn from others on this site. There is no dumb question. Ask away. If you go to the main RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com website there is a search box in the upper right. Search for "first time" and you see many blogs Matt has created and even some podcasts as well - a wealth of information on all things Royal Caribbean. Rest assured Matt is not an employee of Royal, he is a cruiser just like us and takes his family cruising often when his real job allows him to. Welcome and enjoy planning your first cruise - that's half the fun!

We pulled in to Cape Liberty at 9:35am and it was a zoo. People still waiting for rides after disembarking and a long line dropping off luggage and parking. I guess the secret is out. Check in and security were a breeze though thanks to online checkin.