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Meeting @monorailmedic is always a mistake. In terms of what to do, my suggestion is drop off luggage and your family at the port at 10am. If you go earlier, your family will have to wait outside terminal since usually it isn't open yet. Not the biggest deal in the world, but if it's quite hot out, not ideal. Drop car off at rental car facility and take Lyft over to the port. That way, you avoid having to pay for Lyft to go back to the hotel and then to the port.

If you have to pick one to stay onboard, Nassau.

I can understand where you are coming from with the dress code. We haven't been on a cruise since our honeymoon (21 yrs ago!), so my memories from cruising are that you got dressed up for dinner. Although that seems to have changed, I don't really mind or care much. We are heading out on a cruise this summer and I will dress how I want to dress. I am looking forward to getting a little dressier on some nights, if others don't, that's fine, what they do doesn't affect me or my experiences. For me it's all about perspective and creating your own experiences.

He has you in time out! ??????

I actually enjoyed St. Kitts. Took a taxi tour for $15 pp. 3-hour drive around the entire island and took the signature photo at Timothy Hill. Out of the three ports, I would skip Nassau.

aka - chaos at the Pringles factory.

I was on the maiden voyage and loved the ship and itinery. I took a royal caribbean coach into Marseille and that was $18 per person with coaches going every half hour so that was great. As for the ship, We loved hooked. they do special shooters with an oyster in which is certainly a new experience. the food quality was amazing, our server Robert really was exceptional. ive attached some images of the food for you to all enjoy

This is the first cruise" Harmony of The Seas" out of 19 that I have been disappointed in the casualness of evening attire ion the Main Dining Room. My wife and I always dress for dinner whether it be Cruise Casual, Casual or Formal nights. We had a table for 6 since we like to meet new people, no shows for all 7 nights, just the 2 of us. It's surprised us as how people came to dinner dressed, everything from short, torn jeans, etc. I suppose people say I paid for this cruise and you can't tell me how to dress for dinner, I get that. Then go to the Windjammer. Here,s is a better idea for the cruise lines, as a seating option for dinner, say DRESS UP SECTION suggested evening attire. Set up a group of tables away from the rest of the horde that will comply with the dress code for the night and let it be random seating, seating for 2 or take a table of 6 or eight and let your dinner partners be a surprise. Our last cruise with our extended family 16 was in 2016 on the Brilliance of the Seas and it wasn't a problem following the suggested evening attire. Anyway I am old school and if people want to dress casual and sloppy, that's up to them. But give veteran cruisers a chance to have a dinner that reflects what cruising use to be like.

On the first point I completely agree with WAAAYTOOO that 9:00 is too early, Still too much disembarkation insanity going on. 10:45-11:00 is the sweet spot for me. Secondarily, I agree with Matt. Drop the family and luggage off, return the car, take a Lyft or taxi back. My experience with the shuttles is they are somewhat irregular. Plus they make multiple stops at other ships in port.

Yes, they’re expanding in the US quite rapidly. They are in a lot of major locations and in several across Florida. I enjoyed using their app so far. Apparently, all you need for check-in is your phone, and it unlocks your car, and you’re good to go. I have a Mercedes CLA reserved for about $78/day. If I live blog, I’m sure I’ll write about the experience with this company.

I am testing out Sixt which is off sight at FLL -- I have seen mixed reviews about them, but I want to decide for myself -- they don't have a shuttle to the port from the info I gathered so far, so the Lyft pickup would be easier than FLL (in my experience, it has been a pain). Otherwise, I usually use Hertz.

Where are you renting the car from? Most rental car companies have complimentary shuttles to the port. I usually rent from FLL and drop off at their closest location to the port. I would recommend calling to see if they provide a shuttle or if you can change drop-off location.

Liberty docked two days ago.

It works exactly the same. You can order from MDR and/or room service menu and there is no charge. I did this many times on Rhapsody & Navigator.

I've been in a few solo cabins. Noticeably less space, but perfect for someone who is using their room for showers and sleep.

When I purchased the annual plan from Allianz, there were 3 annual plan choices.

Hard to answer without knowing what your interests are. Personally we loved St Kitts on our 2 visits - did the scenic train ride while enjoying beverages once and a kayak/snorkel excursion the other time. Have done a range of activities in St Maarten and loved them all. Usually stay aboard in Nassau and enjoy the quiet ship since there isn't anything in Nassau we are super-excited about.

Like Neaxan said, fill out the Guest Special Need Form ahead of time and it will be waiting for you in your stateroom. If you're already on board, simply request it from your stateroom attendant and he/she will have it waiting for you in the evening when they perform the evening stateroom service. (The time when your towel animals and cruise compass appear)

I would assume they will be taking feedback over the next 6 months and be making some additions, but that's only my guess.

Why exactly bother? Pro tip: If you fill out the Guest Special Needs Form and mark the CPAP/BIPAP option, Royal provides you with distilled water and an extension cord. No need to schlepp around a bottle ?

Probably getting rid of Sorrento's Pizza and replacing it with this monstrosity. Sorry, Twangster, had to through this in....nobody has been picking on Sorrento's for awhile!?

It’s back... it’s now working the way it used to... for the next ten minutes... LOL! Comes up immediately as usual after selecting # of cabins, # of guests, and room type.

Hooked on Chops? Chopped Hooky? ?

Yes, it's called marriage ?

Living at the beach as we do, in a resort area, NOBODY dresses up to go to dinner. I think I"m usually the most dressed! Beautiful restaurants and shorts and tank tops. Men don't even remove their baseball hats which drives me crazy! I no longer can wear heels so a complete formal with gown is out for me but there should be respect for the dining venue. On the other side of the coin, the way people dress is not going to make me have less of a great time, to each their own.

Buying the drink package in advance allowed me to not even think about the money I was or was not spending. In the past without a drink package, was was constantly tracking my expenditures which completely changes my relaxation level and I wasn't willing to try new drinks. With the drink package, I was free to try any drink they could make without worry. If I didn't like it, I just got another one. Between the bottled waters, sodas, specialty coffee and alcohol, I was free to enjoy my trip knowing it was all covered.

You are always looking for trouble...

I'll simply say the fault lays with RC for not enforcing the rules more effectively. Say what you will about people's fashion choices, at the end of the day, I think it's up to RC to set the tone for what is and what is not acceptable dress in the MDR.

I'm with you Paul!

Were those homemade potato chips with your fiancee's lobster roll? I'd go there in a heartbeat if they make their own chips and they're good! Pics were making my mouth water. I'll have to hope that they bring Hooked to other ships as part of refurbishments; I don't see myself boarding an Oasis class any time soon, too many other US itineraries to try that aren't served by O class.

@J_Keeble Glad to hear the shooters are covered under the drink package.

Thanks for sharing these photos!

This is what the letter looks like. It was delivered by the stateroom attendant. This was for Harmony but I imagine that the Allure one would be very similar.

I only took them on my phone but I hope it gives you an idea :) it was set price of around $44 I believe. don't hold me to that though.

I agree with the proper dress for formal night, however I have seen many in the MDR with shorts on other cruises, not on formal nights.. I have no problem with it, and if RC has no problem, than what the heck...

This is going to be another rather photo-heavy post. Not as big as last night's St. Maarten blowout, but a close second. Day 6 – Old San Juan, PR Today was going to be tough. We were only in port from 7 AM until 2 PM, with our all-aboard time at 1:30. Even allowing for getting up as early as possible so we could be in the MDR right when it opened for breakfast, we were only going to have a few hours to see what we could of Old San Juan. Luckily, D17 met a girl who lives here through a vocal training camp they both attended last summer, and she had agreed to meet up with us and be our local guide. I actually set an alarm for this morning, and even with the early time I'd set we were already docked. The sun was only barely over the horizon off to starboard, bathing OSJ in a warm early morning glow. Standing on my balcony, I could already feel how humid it was. We got down to the MDR right as it opened for breakfast and managed to get a table for the four of us without any delay. We had agreed the previous night that we would just use the available "cereal bar" buffet and skip ordering off the menu. It's really the best of both worlds for breakfast – the far smaller crowd of the MDR and potential for a shared table and shared conversation, plus the speed and enough of the variety of food selections that the Windjammer offers to make for a very satisfactory breakfast. While my wife and the girls had taken advantage of this on prior days in the MDR, this was my first time and I was pleasantly surprised. There was a variety of breakfast deli meats and cheeses (including several, like salami and blue cheese, that I'd really only consider for lunch), sausage, bacon (both crisp and not so much), scrambled eggs (DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!! DANGER!! DANGER!!), pancakes, French toast, and a nice selection of freshly sliced fruits. And you could still order fresh-squeezed orange juice, get your morning coffee, etc. After a hasty breakfast, we shot back up to our cabins and slathered on sunscreen for the hot and sunny day ahead. We got off the ship around 8:45, a bit later than we'd wanted, and texted D17's friend Estefania that we were on our way to the CVS that we had been told the previous day by another passenger was across the street from the pier... Except it wasn't... That's a Walgreens. What the...? Looking to our left, we saw the CVS about a block and a half down the street. We shrugged and went there, and waited for Estefania and her mom. While we were waiting, we saw a homeless man panhandling right outside the CVS, sitting in what little shade there was and trying to get some money. I gave him a couple of dollars, and D14 asked if she could buy him one of the fruit popsicles she had seen for sale inside the CVS. I said absolutely, and she gave him one of the strawberry ones; he was happy to get that on what was already becoming a really hot day, and from the corner of our eyes we saw him enjoying it while we continued to wait for Estefania and her mom to arrive. As it turned out, they also went to the Walgreens; after some chuckles and a bit of texting back and forth, we finally got together. And, it wasn't Estefania and her mom; it was Estefania and her older sister, Nicole. Their mom was busy and unable to get out, so Nicole went instead. They asked us what we were interested in doing, and we let them know our main goals for the day were to see El Morro and have lunch at an authentic restaurant, not a touristy place. So they pointed us in the direction of the old fort, and off we went. Now, @Matt has advised many times that if you want to see El Morro, it's better to get a cab there or take the trolley since it's a pretty steep uphill climb and it can kind of wear you out. But that's not what we did; Estefania and Nicole knew a fairly direct way there that would take us by some parts of town you don't get to necessarily see by taxi, certainly not by the trolley. While I was nervous about how I'd do with this, given my mobility limits, I decided the day was short enough and I'd pumped enough Advil after breakfast that I could make a go of it. And I'm really glad that I did. The first major building we passed was a small local university; Nicole explained that it wasn't the main college on the island, but a smaller place (I think akin to a community college on the mainland) where people could go who wanted to get some classes out of the way before going for their main degree. From there, we made our way through a number of colorful side streets. Estefania told us that most of the town isn't that colorful, it's really more the commercial districts and the neighboring nearby homes. Places more on the fringes of OSJ or in areas not so visible to tourists were a lot more low-key. As we got close to the fort, we came across this small, one-lane street with a building painted with the Puerto Rican flag on one side. This was apparently a rather popular spot for tourists to take photos, so we agreed to follow tradition; Nicole offered to take our picture while standing in front of the building, which was nice since we didn't really have much in the way of family shots yet on this trip. From here, it was a very short walk and were on the outskirts of the fortified wall that surrounds much of this part of the island and city. Looking out over the wall, you could see some building that were still wrecked after Hurricane Maria slammed the island last year. We followed the wall down the street; as I paused to get another photograph, another homeless man asked if I could spare any money. I gave him a couple of dollars as well; when there's no way to know who's truly impacted by the disaster that hit the island and who's a hustler taking advantage of the tourists and the situation, I'd rather err on the side of assuming the former. Even if they're hustling me, it's still money that they'll spend on stuff locally and ultimately help the local businesses and other people there. We now came into sight of El Morro. I don't know what the "normal" way to get there is when you take a taxi or the trolley, but the way we came brought us in by way of a large field that looked down on the Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, with the entrance to the fort still rather far off. Nicole told us that this cemetery had so little available space that only the most important and prominent individuals could be buried there now. The wall in this area had one of the old watch towers (which I have since learned are called "garitas") that you could still go inside of. I've clearly played the Myst series of games far too much, because looking at this little watch tower on the wall, I felt like I was about to step into one of those games' "Ages" as soon as I walked through the entrance, no linking book required. In a way, I did; the view out of the narrow windows gave me a clear view down into the cemetery and the chapel at the far end. I really wish we had been allowed more time in port, as I'd have loved to explore this area as well as the fort. The sculptures and carvings that I could see on many of the graves looked amazing from this distance, and I'd have loved a chance to see them more closely (and maybe learn about some of the prominent individuals buried there in the process). While I was taking in the view here, the others had moved on along the wall. I caught up with them at the section you can see in the last photo above, behind the chapel. You can see how the the wall curved out there and had several openings, most likely for cannons or other weaponry to fire on the ground below back when the fort was an active military installation and the cemetery wasn't yet built. On my way there, I passed a trio that included a woman who was in a rather fancy-looking dress. She was noticeably "out of place" compared to the two men walking with her, or the dozens of tourists and students who were there to explore the fort and its surroundings, or just relaxing and playing games or flying kites. Once I reached the part of the wall where the others had stopped to wait for me, I looked around and was totally taken by the view here. Once you climbed up the small ramp to where the wall's openings where, you had clear vantages into the chapel side of the cemetery, as well as the ocean and the city center. And we were still only about halfway to the fort's entrance. We crossed the field to the path that leads to the entrance into El Morro. Just before we got to the entrance, we were given another amazing view across the bay on that side. Finally, we had arrived at the entrance to the old fort. I've seen pictures of it myself, but it's another thing to be standing there and taking it all in yourself. Estefania and Nicole can be seen in the photo above; Estefania is wearing the sleeveless red blouse and talking to D17, while Nicole is standing to the left of her. My wife and I wanted to go inside the fort for a bit and at least see a little of the interior, but the girls wanted to stay outside and walk along the walls, so we split up and agreed to meet back at the entrance in half an hour. As my wife and I paid the admission fee, the person working there saw my Deadpool cap and laughed as he said that Deadpool was taking the tour as well. Once inside, we went into the five connecting vestibule-like rooms that lined the right side of the fort, facing the entrance to the bay and the open ocean. Each of these rooms had an informational display that recounted the history of the fort, starting with its initial construction in the early 16th century through to the end of World War II. We learned a lot about how the fort changed hands over the centuries, and the role it played in Spanish trade and then as a defensive post and sometimes blockade point during the world wars. In each room, there was an open window in the wall looking out onto the lower courtyard and walls. After we finished learning about the fort's history, we went out to the main courtyard, where the restored lighthouse now stands. I didn't try to navigate the really steep ramp leading up to it; from what I could see, it was a dead end and you couldn't go inside, at least based on the number of other visitors I saw go up, stay at the base of the lighthouse for a bit, and then come back down. At the far end of the courtyard was another garita, from which you could see the bunker added on by the US Army during World War II, as well as the lower levels of the fort and the walking path along the coastline. Looking back into the courtyard from here also gave another nice view of the lighthouse. At this point, it was time to meet back up with the girls. There was a gift shop that also sold water and other beverages right by the entrance, so we grabbed some bottles for everyone before leaving. We found everyone waiting for us, but they hadn't been waiting long. We all rehydrated, then moved on to the city center and towards where Nicole had thought we'd be able to get a nice early lunch. Unfortunately, the place Nicole took us to wasn't open yet and didn't look like it would be any time soon. They took us along some other roads that started heading us back toward the port, figuring we'd likely find another option along the way. I noticed an unusual building as we worked our way through the central plaza, and Estefania explained it's a museum, but hardly anyone visits it. Since I had asked about it, they led us there so we could have a closer look. I looked it up after I got home and learned that It's the Museum of the Americas, and originally was the Ballajá Military Barracks. We didn't explore the museum, only the interior courtyard where I imagine the troops who used to be garrisoned here would come out for practice drills or other activities. It's quite an impressive building, and the one doorway that leads down a stairway into another part of the city looks from the center of the courtyard like it just opens straight onto the ocean. We resumed our journey back toward the pier and our search for a good lunch spot. We passed by the island's School of the Arts, which Estefania indicated was really popular with the local students looking to get an art degree. We continued onward, and after another few minutes Estefania noticed a gift shop with a sign indicating there was a restaurant in the back, and we decided to take a look. It was a good decision, as it was just 11:30 and we were able to have an excellent and relaxing meal. The rest of the family had one of the chicken or shrimp offerings, prepared as mofongo or one of the salads. I was feeling more adventuresome and tried the conch with the spicy criolla sauce; both Nicole and Estefania said that if I liked octopus or squid (I do), then I'd probably be happy with it. I found it very good, and the sauce was a nice complement. The conch was served with rice and beans plus mashed yucca, which I had never had before and found similar in texture to mashed potatoes, but with far better flavor. D14 tried some of mine and agreed that it was really good. I paired my meal with a mojito, which was incredibly tasty and, while a little strong after being in the heat so long, was also very refreshing. I actually ordered a second one to go so I could have one to enjoy on our way back to the pier. Trust me, the next time you're in Old San Juan, be sure to look this place up. Before we left, D14 went into the gift shop and used the money her grandparents had given her to get a pretty hand fan that was much nicer than ones she'd previously bought online, with actual cloth for the material instead of paper, and good solid spokes mounted to it. Unfortunately, the pin holding it all together lost its cap on one side, and we need to figure out a fix for it; but it's still a nice souvenir and we're definitely hanging on to it. She also bought a tiny mortar and pestle, as Estefania explained most households had one for grinding their spices freshly as part of daily meal preparation. D17 didn't find anything appealing here, so we agreed to try and find another store where she could get something else for herself and maybe her boyfriend. We passed some interesting courtyards and side streets in our search, so I took some more pics while they shopped. We didn't really have any luck on the shopping front, but we made one last stop just a few doors down from the pigeon park, located very close to the pier. Everyone wanted to take one last try at finding something in a little shop we found there, so while they shopped I drank the last of my second mojito. As I did, I heard a busker playing a guitar and singing. I tried to take a picture, figuring I'd hand him a tip immediately after; as soon as he saw me holding my phone with the big tele lens on it, he stopped playing and shook his head no. I put my phone down, he resumed playing, and I tried again, and this time he said out loud, "Don't take my picture, man." At first I was miffed, but then I realized maybe I was doing things in the wrong order. Sure enough, as soon as I walked over and put five dollars into his hat, he chuckled and said, "Now we're talking!" At that point he looked up at me and apologized for being gruff earlier, and told me that while he didn't like having to be an a**hole he also had to make a living. He'd found his image on YouTube and even on TV commercials, where he hadn't been paid a dime for having his picture taken or video recorded, so he was really hard-nosed about no cameras without a tip first. I told him no problem and that I'd guessed as much, and he resumed singing while I now went back across the street and took a picture plus a short bit of video. By this point, we had to get back to the ship. But we passed the pigeon park on our way and D14 asked if she could just buy one bag of corn for the pigeons and quickly feed it to them. I figured we had just enough time for that, and let her do it. Words can't describe what happened next. This really has to be seen to be appreciated, and I was really glad I had a tele lens in place to properly capture it all, especially with the burst mode photos I took. It got even better when the guy handing out the bags of corn decided to pour another one into their hands free of charge (most likely because he knew the ship was leaving shortly). At this point, we had to really hustle to get back to the ship on time. As we got back onto the main roads, we got some of that "typical port market" hustle, but we just told everyone we passed that we were about to miss our ship and they let it go. Except for one guy -- this fellow came up to my wife, urging her to try this cream he thought would be great for her skin. Even after she told him we didn't have time, he was sure she could just try a free sample really quick; he followed us for almost half a block before giving up! We all were laughing about it, and imagining if my wife had in fact tried this skin cream how the guy might have quickly run into the store and then sprinted after us all the way to the port entrance to try and close a sale. Just before the port, D17 stopped briefly to give a couple of dollars to another busker playing a sax on the street we were rushing down. After that, we reached the port entrance. We said a hurried good bye and thanks to Estefania and Nicole, and then hurried through the security check (where we needed to show both our Sea Pass cards and passports). We made it to the ship just in time, as the security staff at the gangway were starting to take down the canopies and clearly getting ready to close everything up. We went back to our room, where I skipped the sailaway beverage to have a few minutes to set up for another time-lapse, this time of our sail-away. No table stacking this time! I wasn't about to risk my phone or the table getting knocked over by a random vibration from the ship. It took some doing to get a decent view through the balcony's plexiglass, especially since I decided to try this time-lapse with the wide-angle lens, but I got it set up just in time. I have to say, I'm not as happy with this one; it seems like time-lapses are best done with no lens if you want a moderately wide shot, or ideally the tele lens. Tele would definitely have been better here, especially as we passed El Morro on our way to the open ocean. After sail-away was done and we were on the ocean again, I showered and changed into fresh clothes after the hot and humid day in OSJ. While the others rested, I worked on editing photos and trying to catch up on my backlog, and nearly caught up with where I was at that point. I totally forgot about catching the sunset until it was too late, but my wife and I still went down to the Schooner Bar so she could get a virgin Lava Flow and people watch. I decided to try a spiced martini for something different; it was OK, but not something I'd order again. We sat and talked while watching a trivia game wrap up. After that, we went back to the cabin, where we all got dressed for formal night, and then headed down to Studio B to catch the early showing of the FreedomIce.com ice show. I have to say, the show started a bit slowly for me. I was expecting a pretty "WOW" opening number, but I felt it was quite tame. However, as the show progressed the numbers performed by the skaters got more and more intricate. The theme was variations on what "Freedom" meant, in different time periods and different concepts. The songs played included some 70s oldies as well as numbers from the 80s and 90s. There were a few falls, but it wasn't surprising as we all could feel the ship shifting from time to time, as well as feeling the floor vibrating from the engines being pushed harder than the last couple of days. By the time it was done, we all agreed it was quite good and impressive for such a tiny rink on a moving vessel. After the show ended, we went straight to Leonardo's MDR for our second formal night, which of course was lobster night. But before we got down to the business of enjoying our last fancy dinner, we asked our table-mate Debbi to take a couple pictures of us on the main stairwell. I also took a picture of Debbi and her son Matt at her request, as her phone's camera wasn't great, and then I sent it over to her so she'd have a copy. After mentioning them so many times and how she knows @mpoole3 and Jason Poole, I figured I should show them once so they can put face to name. Now for the dinner! I started off with the chilled strawberry bisque and a fresh caprese salad, followed by my requested two lobster tails. Then Jigger brought some extras our way, and I wound up having a third one that leaped from his plate over to mine while crying, "I volunteer as tribute!" In hindsight, I really should have said no thank you; I felt very full afterward, especially since I had the lava cake and baked Alaska for dessert and didn't compensate by just having a little of each. It was the first time I really felt like I'd overindulged. My wife tried my lobster tail, which was a surprise to all of us since she isn't a seafood eater at all. She conceded it wasn't awful, but the texture really wasn't to her liking and she definitely wouldn't order one for with her meal. D14 chose not to have any lobster at all; she got spoiled after having a whole lobster on a trip to Newport, RI that we took last spring; she now will only eat whole lobster. After dinner, I made another stop at the casino and the craps table, while everyone else went to the cabins to study, relax, and go to bed. Luck had decided to be against me this time, and I walked away after slowly losing $25 over the course of several throws around the table. I came back after a little while and watched for a bit, but the table stayed cold and I didn't get back into the action. Defeated, I went back to my cabin and called it a night. My wife was thrilled with this evening's towel animal -- a peacock! Just one port day left. I really felt like the cruise was going by too quickly! But at the same time, I was kind of glad that this last port day was much more low-key, so I could have a chance to rest my feet and just take it easy. Drink package tally and random notes: Standard fresh-squeezed OJ at the MDR and cappuccino at Cafe Promenade Bottle of water for our time on OSJ Spiced martini at the Schooner Bar A glass of the Chianti Ruffina, "Castello di Nipozzano" that I'd had on night two (with $5 overage applied to my Sea Pass card) As with the prior night, the MDR had extra staff on hand to deliver bar orders so there was no long wait; my wine actually arrived while we were still taking our pictures on the stairway! Definitely a money-losing night as far as the drink package goes, but after two awesome mojitos in the early afternoon, I just didn't want to overdo it. This was also the point where my Fitbit stopped charging for me. Most likely the contacts got too much sunscreen on them, and I just resolved to stow it for now and clean it up after I got home. I knew by this point that was averaging anywhere between 11,000 and 13,000 steps a day, so I wasn't overly concerned about losing my tracking for the last couple of days.

D'oh! Just realized that I left out the daily drink tally again! Will post it here rather than editing the St. Maarten posting... Fresh squeezed OJ in the MDR at breakfast Grande cappuccino from Cafe Promenade after breakfast Patron Silver margarita from the Bull & Bear Pub - Not mixed nearly as well by the bartender on duty this day as the one I got there previously 1800 Reposado margarita from the Schooner Bar Kendall-Jackson Reserve Chardonnay at MDR during dinner, to pair with my shrimp entree and seafood appetizer (based on pairing a Chardonnay with the lobster salad course at Chef's Table) Interestingly, this glass of wine was delivered much more quickly than the previous nights; we noticed they had additional staff helping the assistant waiters so that bar drinks, particularly wines, were being delivered before the appetizer course was set on the table The MDR must have received a ton of complaints about the slow service on the prior nights and decided to do this to improve the service The wine was OK but not great; I'm really not a white wine person, but thought I'd at least try to follow the example set for us Also, forgot to note that when we went through port security this time, we only needed our Sea Pass cards and no other form of ID to get through the village and back onto the pier.

Hello- Local here. Sounds like your looking for the Fort Lauderdale experience & money does not appear to be a factor. My suggestions would be: 1. Marriott Harbor Beach 2. Hilton Fort Laud Beach 3. W Hotel Fort Laud Beach 4. Atlantic Hotel Fort Laud Beach (Botique Hotel). 5. Ritz Carlton Fort Laud Beach. *** Don’t concern yourself too much w/ shuttle service exc as just about everything (including the port) in Fort Laud is 15 min away via Taxi or Uber. Any of the choices above will give you the full beach, restaurant, pool, 4-5 star resort experience. If you have any questions let me know. I live 1 minute from the Port & know the area like the back of my hand. Jane- I have a couple options for you for Fri: 1. Riverside Hotel (las olas blvd): historical Hotel that is located directly on Las Olas where u can easily access all the dining exc right out the front door. Also, the water taxi stop on the new river is a short walk. Cons: older hotel “historical”. I believe it was renovated not so long ago but I haven’t seen for myself. There is a pool area located close to the new river which is nice. 2. Hilton Marina- for a quick one night stay before a cruise my parents always come into town and stay here. Pros: water taxi stop right outside under 17th street bridge. Nice resort style pool. If you have HHonors status try to book a high floor looking South and you can watch your ship come into the port. Also, you can easily take the water taxi to the las olas stop or a short Uber ride. Cons: just your same old ordinary and cookie cutter Hilton Hotel. Nothing too special here but it does offer a good location close to port, short walk to dining, water taxi exc. Sat after your cruise: 1. Marriot Harbor beach is a great choice to get the full beach & resort experience. In fact it’s so great that we SoFL folks actually pay to join the beach club and use the pool + facilities! 2. I would also recommend the resorts listed in my previous post for you as they are located on A1A and most have private beach access across the street. I am not very familiar with the Westin but I drive by it all the time and it seems to be in a great location. Not so sure about B ocean Hotel if your considering that... ***** note- Uber to Pirate Republic (great Brazilian influenced menu on the new river) and take the water taxi through the new river where the captain will give you a tour of all the famous peoples homes exc. Dining recommendations: Franco & Vinny’s Pizza Shack- Local favorite Italian (very casual). Cafe Vico- Great Italian food (you will thank me later) Chima Las Olas (Brazilian steak house). Quite an experience. Le Tub (Hollywood beach): google it, Oprah made it famous. Jimbos Sand Bar: Tiki hut vibe & excellent food especially the blackened shrimp or mahi tacos. Rustic Inn: Garlic crab out of this world. Please let me know if you have any other questions as I am sure I can help. - Tony

Aaaaannnnnnndddddd, if anyone has reeeaaalllllly notice, the OBC sales are going away slowly but surely!! Looks like Royal wants to be like Carnival!!