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He was originally going to post it on the RC Website, but then he realised no one would be able access it

It's Almost Time! We are just about packed and I'm giddy with excitement! We'll take a red-eye flight Friday night, with a layover in Charlotte, and arrive Saturday morning in San Juan. From the airport, we''ll take a taxi straight to the ship and get the fun started. Think they would let me stop to get some bottled water on the way? Normally, I would prefer to arrive the day before and explore San Juan more, but given the uncertainty of power and hotel arrangements post-hurricane, my travel agent advised us to fly in the morning of. Plane tickets were tough for this itinerary. They just did not budge in price, and there weren't many options to choose from, as opposed to when we flew there in 2017. Perhaps its a result of traveling post hurricane? I'm definitely curious to see San Juan now. If we're not too exhausted maybe we'll take an extended ride to the ship. the "Why" We chose this cruise based mostly on 2 criteria: 1) The kids wanted waterslides. 2) The adults wanted a new itinerary. Adventure was a perfect fit. We sailed Allure last Spring Break, and although impressed with its shows and amenities, we found ourselves wanting a smaller ship this time. I reserved this trip last May and enjoyed watching the prices change for this itinerary. We originally booked inside promenade rooms for something new, then changed to Family Ocean View and later balconies. The prices dropped so low I couldn't pass on the balconies. Again, I think the hurricane had something to do with that. We choose cruising to escape the long, cold winters and to travel gluten-free without having to forage for food at each meal (3 of us have celiac disease). My older kids find it more difficult to miss school for a week so we are forced to travel during the school breaks- which leads us to this Spring Break week. Our Plans On board: Were reserved a few internet pkgs, a soda package, and BOGO Dining package for the first two nights and first seating in the main dining room the rest of the trip. In Port: St. Thomas: still deciding, but plan to go off on our own. St. Kitts: Royal's Kayak & Snorkel Adventure. Curacao: exploring on our own Aruba: Royal's Crazy Red Bus Beach excursion, not the real name, but it's what I can remember right now . I'm wondering if its the same excursion Matt & the group cruise took and seemed to really enjoy? Well, back to packing. Maybe someday I"ll find a way to streamline it. In the meantime, I'm hoping all the storms have passed and we are in for some sunshine! See you Saturday or Sunday!

Tell Hubby to use those elbows, get in that omelette line...we want to read about Fight on Anthem over omelettes...

The sales are really for new cruisers who don't know any better. The marketing campaigns are aimed to draw attention and they do. I see newbies on other forums claiming how they just got a cruise on sale. It's very competitive and Royal is just keeping up with the competition who does the same thing. I had to unsubscribe from NCL for this reason - spam emails basically. If you are lonely and desire for your phone to ring, sign into NCL Latitudes, browse some cruises then don't book. Within 24 hours a cruise specialist will be calling to assist you - guaranteed. At one point I changed my number in my profile to a bogus number. Apologies to who ever has 867-5309.

CK Dinner - Night 7 - 2nd Formal Night Dinner was tough tonight as there are many good items to choose from on this menu. I started with the Classic Caesar salad and Hubby got the Iceberg Wedge and Seared Scallops. Iceberg Wedge: This is basically a regular salad with a creative presentation. Hubby does not care for blue cheese dressing and they were more than happy to substitute for him. Rating: A Seared Scallops: Hubby rated this an "A". He thought these ones were way better than the raw ones he had earlier on in the cruise. Creamy Truffle Risotto: So delicious! I remember this dish from CK on Harmony and it did not disappoint. It was creamy for sure and heavy. The small portion it came in was more than filling. Rating: A+ By this time, we were already quite full but we fought to continue. Can't pass up amazing food! Buttered Poached Lobster: Just the right texture, not too salty. Sometimes lobster in the MDR can be hit and miss because it has been over cooked or dry from sitting out for a while. This one was perfect! Homemade Gnocchi: Another great dish. Problem with this one was that it was very dense. Very delicious but it was hard to eat a lot of it. Hubby polished it off but I only managed 1/3 of it. Rating: A Dessert! I did something really bad tonight....all desserts looked so yummy that I ordered 3! ? and ate most of it ?? Chocolate Crunchy Bar: This was amazing! Coated in dark chocolate, and inside was a rice crispy along with a chocolate mousse! I told D1 I was going to share this with her but it was more like 3/4 me and 1/4 her. Rating: A+ Baked Alaska: Great as always. Not much else to say other than if you don't like meringue, don't order this one. Rating: A Coconut Tapioca: I am a sucker for anything tapioca so this was a must have for me. The coconut taste is quite faint with this one, but because of that, it makes and light and so easy to eat. It came with Mango Gelato which was even better! I want another one just thinking about it as I type this! Rating: A+ The ship is rocking like crazy tonight. Hubby and kids are back in the Seaplex. After taking Gravol (Canadian version of Dramamine) for the motion, a couple glasses of champagne (complimentary in CK tonight ?), and eating so much that I can barely move...I am fading rather fast. Might be time for bed...and it's only 9:30pm! Last day tomorrow. iFly and the dreaded luggage in the hallway awaits.

God, I just wished they would stop with all the "New" sales they offer! The only thing changing is the wording which equates to NOTHING. And then I love when they say "only four hours left" or "Sales has been Extended" Please Please Please Marketing and Sales for RCCL, lets start having some real sales!!!! I would say one every quarter, hell, I would be happy with once a month! Anyway, Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!! We leave on the Allure Sunday!!!!! Sorry about the rant!!!

Great blog, I always wanted to work on a cruise but my wife says no, happy wife happy life ;) $45 actually sounds like it must have gone up in price. I thought it was less than that here (will need to check when I'm at the store again). It depends, I kicked myself once as I saw a great deal with Johnny Walker Blue and the Reserve for $225 and I oued and awwed and at the airport, the same combo was about $300. There has been other times that the cruise is tricky like 3 for ... but if its only 2 of us we really can only bring back 2 (at least to cayman). If I won the lottery this would be the first thing I bought and a really nice box of cigars.

Dang, that made me quickly log in and see if I could get that for my next cruise. Sadly it wasn't offered. Probably would have been pricey regardless, as it's an 11 day cruise! LOL

Great back and forth discussion here. I agree with all of you in some way I think. I'm excited for the additions, but I also love the nothingness of Coco Cay. If they can do both then I'll be uber happy and impressed.

The cruise lines need some Transfarency.

Since @KLAconQueso hasn't chimed in yet I'm stealing one of her possible answers...pineapple juice and Patron (reposado if they have it). It's not my favorite, but I had to try it once I saw her mention it on here...pretty darn good.

Nope, you didn't miss it. We're a family of mystery ?

Grill's itself makes me think of cruising - great pre or post cruise breakfast stop!

Waiting for bumper cars to start. This was the line up at 20min prior. Start of the line is at the pink arrow. They run 17 cars at a time. The ride lasts 3 mins. The line now at 10min prior is 3/4 the way around the rink. Tip: Get here early!! You must be a minimum of 5 years old to be a passenger and over 42" to drive. ?: Hubby Random observation: something I've been wondering is how this activity handles Star Class guests. They made an announcement about 1-2 min prior to starting that SC guests did not have to wait in the line. They all went straight to the front. The dirty looks and comments were unbelievable! I know some of you may disagree with me, but I'm annoyed that people would think that all is equal when obviously not all fares are equal!

Sorry for my delay on the last sea days post. It was very busy and then just never stopped lol. Finally home and slowly getting back to things (not that I want to lol) So we started the day with ice skating. After many years I started to get back into it like riding a bike. We then headed to chops for our lunch reservations (not that they were needed). Lunch was pretty good but to be honest I am not sure it was worth the extra fee compared to Giovanni's or even the MDR. As someone with allergies I did everything I thought I was supposed to, I called before the cruise and they put a note on my file. On the first sea day I went to Chops and confirmed they had the note of my allergies and asked if they needed anything else which they said no. I then went to Chops and was told I should have placed my order before so I ended up with a limited menu. We never touched the bread as it had nuts in it (to anyone who can eat nuts, does that even taste that good?) I started with the Beef Carpaccio which was alright. Sandra tried the wedge which she liked too. I then had the Roasted Half Chicken which was the best part of the meal. Sandra then had the Filet Mignon and loved it. For desert Sandra had the Red Velvet Cake, which I was told before was nut free then Chops informed me it wasn't, so I couldn't have it. Sandra did enjoy it. They then got me Pavlova with strawberry coulis and kiwi for desert because of my allergies (it was not the greatest) and Lemon panna cotta with strawberry sauce from Giovanni's. Both of these had a strawberry sauce that tasted more of a jam then a sauce. It was very disappointing that some how my allergy warnings got missed and I was not informed to preorder my Chops order (I don't understand the need for this as even at other fancy restaurants normally have better solutions for these). I also never had any deserts from the buffee as I was told they were not safe for me and my question is, with so many kids on board, who don't always think, why wouldn't they be a little more allergy friendly? (end of slight rant lol) I then decided to try climbing. The line was long but found out that was because some kids where holding up the line so they could go on certain walls, so once the line realized that it started to move a little better and I got on pretty quickly. The first wall was pretty easy, then.....the next wall was where I met my match lol. I got up about 80% of the way and just couldn't get myself the rest. This was one of the curved walls and was so fun and challenging but it got me on the first run and I was out lol. I'm not used to the way they harness you in and the delay in the line catching you is a little scary. I am used to someone holding you as you repel down and having your weight caught right away. There is a slight delay in their lines and it tricks your mind into thinking your falling. If I did it more I would get used to it but freaked me out at first. We then went and played a game of mini golf. It was interesting but we both agreed they could have had some more decorations with only one bird and many rocks. Could be a little more lively and fun if they put some interactive things in but I guess is just some bonus stuff for everyone to try. It was fun all the same. We lost track of time and realized it was almost time for the parade so we went looking for seats but there weren't any left so we headed up to the room to watch from there. We had a pretty good sight but wasn't great for pictures or the periscope I tried to do lol. After that it was dinner time. It was back to the MDR for us and we scheduled our Anniversary dinner to be on the last sea day as a nice way to round off the trip. So we had the caesar again to start. I had the braised lamb shank which was the best lamb I have ever had. It tasted like a braised short rib we have at a restaurant here mixed with lamb which was a killer combo I must admit. Sandra got the battered cod which she thought was alright. For desert they brought us strawberry cheesecake with a happy anniversary song (replace birthday with anniversary) which was a nice touch. For those wondering, they never gave us anything extra. We did get some coupons and similar items but the amount you have to spend to use them is well outside our budget lol. We brought a Chandon (same as the $65 bottle on Royal's site but $15 at Walmart) which surprisingly lasted us most of the cruise. I did have a few other mixed drinks and Sandra got hooked on the virgin Lava flow and I enjoyed the alcohol version better (yes you do taste a difference in it). I also really enjoyed the royal castle. There were 2 shows to end the cruise. Both had been missed because someone broke the theater (their words not mine) but was able to go on before we ended. The First one was Once Upon a Time which is based on the common fairy tales and was in a modern way with modern music and another scene where red riding hood was driving a car and it had road signs about her getting lost. It was a great performance. There was one scene that we had troubles with the lights shining in everyone's eyes on the 2nd floor (try to get the 1st floor if you can.) It was a great way to end the cruise and then we had one of the funniest comedians I have heard live, Michele. She had the entire room laughing and it just added to the great ending of the cruise. We still repeat some of her jokes to each other and break out laughing lol. Final verdict, Sandra has approved more cruises. Although I may be restricted to 1 cruise a year unless I can get a great deal and it needs to be Royal (well after our MSC cruise next year.) We are planning another trip on Freedom in 2020 once she moves to San Juan and will do the Southern Caribbean since we have done most of the rest. I have to say it was a great ship and I loved it. Not sure I'll get the drink package next time but it was great. Also one last point, I couldn't find the smoothie place so I asked one of the bar staff and they told me Freedom doesn't have it, so no fresh smoothies for me but had many other options. (I may have slightly cheated and bought the virgins while Sandra got the mixed and would switch but hey they got my money still so I don't feel bad.)

Afternoon report: Pretty lazy day at sea today. The ship is really moving today. The Captain came on earlier and reported that they are already taking a detour back to Cape Liberty but still warned everyone that this ship is going to move a lot more into the night as we pass by Hatteras. He also suggested that everyone takes their medication for sea sickness if needed. After taking mine before going on North Star, I'm good with the motion but very sleepy. First afternoon nap I have had in years! Here are some photos from this morning: ?: Hubby Photo evidence of the dedication to this blog ? It was interesting to be able to ride it today and yesterday in port. The experience was way better in port. Views were better and less motion. The operator said that winds were at 29 knots when we rode it. That capsule was moving! They shut the ride down at 46 knots. I also witnessed someone without reservations trying to get on the NS. No go. Completely booked. So make your reservations ahead of time. This was in our stateroom today ?

My wife and I wait til after dinner too

This is the only downside I have found to having Voom.

Given the website issues of late... who wants to be the first person down the waterslides and up in the balloon that's coming soon to CocoCay?

Here's another reminder ---- A triangle hashbrown from Arby's ... Oh, how I long for a Windjammer Breakfast

You don't want your feet completely straight..it's in the hard arch that does the main work along with hand positioning

In January Captain Ban explained he has many years on Quantum class ships. He went on to explain that cruising in Asia is very stressful because there is so much ship traffic in the waterways including small fishing vessels and its quite nerve racking trying to pilot in congested waters. He said he was very happy to be back in Bayonne. Not long after is when the rumors started that she might be moving. I did much better on my 2nd and 3rd attempts, I understood the dynamics much better and how body position can steer you. Keeping the legs straight is a big part of that.

You got it!

And....later risers!

Needs to change to Cruise Planner Sail...since they sail away with our money. (yes, i understand we willingly give them our money...just going for a lame dad joke here)

Now that we can actually get to the cruise planner on the new site, do check your sailing for possible savings. For our May sailing on Adventure refreshment package is $18pp/day (+ gratuity of course)-regular price I've seen was $26, a BOGO 50% off on deluxe drink package makes that $42pp/day instead of $52, classic soda with VOOM 1 device $21pp/day (not sure what regular price was. Not everything is a great deal though-one of the excursions we booked at $63pp is now $94pp, although some other excursions do show savings. Certainly worthwhile to check.

Just watched Hubby and kids do iFly. If you don't want to do it, there's a nice observation area right outside the tunnel where you can snap pics and videos. Everyone gets about 60 sec. Hubby had some problems with his goggles when he was in there so he got some extra time. They all thought it was awesome! Once again we witnessed people without reservations trying to get a spot and no go. So make sure you make those reservations on your cruise planner! Especially if you are sailing at a busy time like us. I'll try to post some pics later.

I am trying to think of companies that truly have sales that people respect! Ok, here goes RBRSKI again with Southwest. I really have no connection or stock with this company but they have sales that really reflect in the pricing. Believe it or not, we are taking a non cruise vacation in June to bring our son up to the Navel Academy for a Summer Seminar program. Four of us one way from FLL to BWI 73 per person INCLUDING TWO PIECES OF LUGGAGE

FWIW, Royal Caribbean's CEO posted a letter apologizing for the problem on FB.

Here's @Matt's live blog from their Navigator 17 GC, it does look like the same excursion :) Have a great trip, I cannot wait to follow along! I am very interested to see how you and your family enjoy the MDR as I will be onboard Adventure toward the end of the year.

I did this as soon as we boarded Ovation on the first day. As long as you get on early there doesn’t seem to be any crowds. We got multiple rides in a row. we also found turning up around 3/4 of the way through a session was good as a lot of people leave. The queue time was pretty short then. if they hold a session around dinner time, also good as you could have 2-3 turns.

All this Buffalo Trace talk is wanting me to bust out the straight from the barrel Blanton's I have. Also, please don't hurt me for this comment. Adding Blanton's makes for a killer whipped cream. Still need to work on that ratio or heavy cream to Bourbon.

Thanks Jane, please don't spoil those waiter/beach folks with $100 tips!

I’ve never gone to coco cay without also having Nassau as part of the itinerary. I doubt this will offer as much as Atlantis does and probably somewhat similar in price give or take. The thing I liked the most about coco cay was a nice relaxing “cheap” day

I'm pretty sure the ONLY time you have to get off the ship is if it's going down and the Captain has ordered the life boat drill....for real. In all my cruises the only time we have had to get off the ship was on 2 week B2B to "clear us" off the old cruise roster, a quick customs thing, new sea pass card and "enter" us on the new cruise roster. I'm pretty sure there is no requirement to have to get off the ship on any islands/ports.

Note: Not cruise related directly but may still be useful when cruising from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. I also just wanted to mention 2 hotels that we stayed at after the cruise and also I rental car warning lol and (why are we always the last ones to get our luggage, wait where is everyone, Oh No! lol). The first hotel was the Nuvo hotel in Miami, very nice and updated property with a full little kitchen and breakfast included. Was a very nice little hotel for those needing somewhere to stay in Miami for a few days. The other was the Best Western in Ft. Lauderdale, not as nice as the Nuvo but close to the airport and close to the port. It was one of the better of the cheaper options when I was booking so might be something to look into. It also had free breakfast. The rental car.....one of my favourite looking cars the Camero SS. Beautiful, powerful, great car. Being so powerful it was a great car to drive. However, if you are ever offered one as a rental I would decline for 2 reasons. 1st reason, no room, if you have luggage you will have a hard time fitting it. We had stuff in the trunk and the backseats and it's only the 2 of us. 2nd boy does it drink gas 3/4 of a tank in 2 days with medium driving which came to $30 to fill. So finally our flight home. It was sad to say goodbye but we did and we had a great trip and had so much fun. So we got to the airport a touch late and got to the counter with about 1:30 till our flight, not a bad thing as there was virtually no line at the Southwest counter. Got through in about 10 minutes, security was empty but was still going slow but still pretty quick maybe 15 minutes. Everything went smoother (maybe too smooth). Then we got home did the usual custom line and all and found out our luggage didn't make it. Thankfully Southwest's service is great and they took great care of us and it arrived the next day. I will be taking them again for sure (even though they lost our stuff lol.) Until next time, Josh out... (unless you have more questions lol)

Glad all is going somewhat alright, reminder, Ginger Ale and Green apples will also help with out the sleepy part...

You mean you can get into cruise planner!! LOL

I hope that is the case, allowing everyone the opportunity to "cruise the way you want to cruise" While I would like to explore the new stuff, I also would like a quiet relaxation spot too.

^this right here! I just said this to hubby last night after reading Matt's blog post on the changes. I think it looks just like blizzard beach and typhoon Lagoon!

I wouldn't want anyone to misconstrue my statements or opinions as one who doesn't enjoy fun. Believe me, I am usually the life of the party and the last one to go to bed and the first one up. And I enjoy many of the things they are adding. What I was trying to say I guess is that Coco Cay was nice as it was. Labadee is already more of an "amusement" type place so why not just build that up. Plus the ships are all getting updated with slides and sportsbars etc so really they have that already to cater to the crowd that enjoys that. There is NO beach or sand or ocean swimming on the cruise ship..only option was Coco Cay....and now that is totally changing. I enjoy Royal over Celebrity for many of the reasons @twangster mentioned...I just didn't think they needed to turn Coco Cay into a theme park with charges for almost everything..... I am sure I will still enjoy it..just wont be the same as before and I didn't feel it needed to be "fixed". It was relaxing and peaceful and tranquil just the way it was....

I can see both sides of this.....I love Labadee because it's peaceful..... It looks as though they are turning Coco Cay into an amusement park . The one cruise we took that was supposed to stop there was bypassed due to rough seas...so I have nothing to compare. My husband's first comment when I told him about this was ...." Well the cost of the 4 and 5 day cruises are going to go way up now."

Doesn't make me excited at all....if anything kinda sad. I liked Coco Cay for what it was...a nice relaxing private island beach in the ocean.. All the noise and theme park feeling and upcharge and cost for everything....can get that anywhere/everywhere else....why cant they leave one place just to relax.....Labadee is busy already..whynot add all this crap there?

Dinner photo dump: Jamie's Italian tonight. What can I say? I love Jamie's. Everything was delicious! No menu pic as @twangster already included one. Here is the kids menu though. Vegetarian Plank: Arancini: Garlic Bread: Mini Sliders: Penne Carbonara: Eggplant Parmigiana: Funky Chips and Polenta Chips: Tiramisu: Lemon Meringue Cheesecake: Epic Brownie: Off to see We Will Rock You. I ate so much I can barely move!

Double Baileys on the rocks...........

You might like a Pain Killer - that's one of my goto fruity drinks. 2-4 oz. of Pusser's Rum 4 oz. pineapple juice 1 oz. cream of coconut 1 oz. orange juice Grated fresh nutmeg

Would love to follow you! I'm on AOS next July and doing ABC Islands next November. Have a great time!

Although I could login with the direct link (thanks @rjac and I I found a dissimilar that "even if you do not see same things between the site and apps do not worry it will be ok" I would wait with any updates until the site will be stable. My recommendations, if your cruise is not in the coming week wait with any updates transaction on the site (cruise planner changes for example) as RC did not finished the migration/upgrade process and things can be lost during this process. So unless anyone wants to spend hours with RC customer care trying to find were is the special restaurant your order and paid for , just wait for Monday or Tuesday . My next cruise is in one month from now and that is what I am planning to do. By the way , if anyone looking for a CIO job in a major cruise line , it seems to me that one going to be available soon

Martha Poulter new Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer first big project - FAIL. Good thing Royal Caribbean is in the cruise business and not the IT business. It is frustrating for us who work in the IT world.