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Do you want to start a fight on the RC Blog forums? Because this is how you start a fight on the RC Blog forums.

“Into the Unknown” … Independence OTS (Holiday sailing) – 12/29/2018-1/3/2019 Let me start by explaining this quote. Stepping outside my comfort zone…this is the theme surrounding this cruise… The Backstory One evening, near the end of September, Hubby, the girls, and I were sitting at the kitchen table eating a bland dinner. Tired and weary from lack of sleep, and the usual craziness of September (I’m a teacher), we looked at each other in silence. Out of nowhere, Hubby tells us that he really wished we were eating at La Bamba, our favourite pre-cruise restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. To the cruise junkie in me, that only meant one thing…YOLO moment! I half jokingly mentioned to him that we could eat there sooner if we went on a cruise out of Port Everglades. Wait a minute…we are cruising out of Port Everglades…in March 2019! That 6-month wait from Sept-March seemed almost unbearable at the time, so I gently proposed the idea of taking a cruise on my next available break, which is New Years. We tossed around the idea of a short sailing over the holidays and it just so happen that Indy fit the bill. Never sailed her before, so good for Hubby. Kids loved the newly amped Mariner, so Indy should be similar. And for myself, I’ll take any cruise, so Indy looked great! Still not totally serious yet, I sent a quick email to my TA “just to price it out”. First shocker…expensive! Second shocker…. Suites…Sold Out. I have never paid attention to holiday sailings in the past so this was new to me. I have never priced out a cruise so close to sailing either. We are usually the “book when itineraries get released” type. Our choices for cabins (for 2 adults; 2 kids) were: Interior, Oceanview, Balcony, no connecting rooms available. At that point, I told Hubby, “forget it”. I even polled the Insiders and asked if they would cram 4 people in one of those cabins. The suite snob in me was cringing at the thought, the kids were saying book it, and Hubby looked on in half amusement and half in fear for his bank account. I tried to explain to them what sailing in one of those cabins would mean…one small washroom for all 4 of us, you can likely reach the sink while sitting on the toilet, telephone booth shower, must share a bed, small space. All outside of our (my) comfort zone! Here is where things took a surprising turn…Hubby was the one who said YOLO, we should book it. Wait? What?! Those of you reading this who are rolling your eyes at this point should probably stop reading and stop following this blog. It’s about to get worse. Those of you who know me well and are not taking my slightly sarcastic, embrace the suite snob tone too seriously, or are curious or are amused, read on. Here was Hubby’s rationale for booking it: a) We have never done a holiday sailing or sailed Freedom class. Hubby is all for doing things that are new. b) He could tell that we, me especially, needed a getaway sooner rather than later. If you read my previous blog, I mentioned that I am “Blessed by God and Spoiled by my Husband”. This still holds true. c) The most ridiculous and logical reason…we are sailing Star Class on Harmony in 74 days. Our kids have never sailed without a balcony in anything less than 300 square feet with at least 1 ½ bath. It was time to “rough it” and “teach them a lesson” so that they could appreciate Star Class more when March rolls around. I’m still laughing at this one! d) The most important (according to Hubby) and comical reason (according to me), and the reason for the quote choice above: It has been so long since we have sailed in a regular cabin. Hubby hopes that we (he means me) might like it and we will no longer need to book suites in the future. In turn, that will save him money. If this is what Hubby needs to say, “YOLO and Book It!”, then so be it. So, with that, we said YOLO, and booked ourselves on Indy for New Years. In what? Read on.

Who’s Going? The usual crew: Hubby, our 2 girls, D10, D12, and myself. Flight Our plan is to fly from DTW to FLL the day before. We booked through Air2Sea this time as it was about $140 cheaper (total) to do so. In the end, I don’t think I will use Air2Sea again unless it is for a cruise outside of North America or unless I don’t plan on ever upgrading. More on why later. Pre-Cruise Stay Once again, La Bamba dictates where we stay, so it’s back on 17th Street again. Our usual, with kids, is Hyatt Place Convention Center but since we booked so late and it’s a holiday, that property was already sold out! We grabbed a room at the Holiday Inn Express on 17th Street (red flag…2 star…out of comfort zone again) and the only thing that was left was a King bed room with a sofa bed. We figured we’re already “roughing it” for the cruise so might as well “rough it” for the hotel as well. This hotel recently underwent major renovations and a new addition was added to the hotel. To our surprise, the week of Black Friday, they opened bookings for the new section, which included suites, and we were able to grab a suite for more space and more beds and at a lower price than we initially booked for. Win-win. Love those scenarios. The suite snob in me was now a little less tense. Fast forward to a week ago, I called to confirm my reservation, only to be told that while we still have a room, the suite section is not yet ready. So back to roughing it. They confirmed that I have at least 2 beds and they can throw in a cot. Oh well, I am so desperate for a getaway at this point to really care. Itinerary This 5-night sailing brings us to Labadee, Haiti and Falmouth, Jamaica. The ship is the destination for us, so we are likely staying on board the entire time. We might take a walk around Labadee since D10 loves the beach, but we are also visiting these exact ports again in March so not too worried that we will miss much. Cabin We are booked in…gasp…an Oceanview cabin! Booking this cruise 3 months out left us with little selection and crazy high prices. Just to give you an idea how high, we booked Indy for next NYE too and the cost we are paying for our Panoramic suite (VP-full suite benefits) next year, is less than the cost of this year’s Oceanview. Lesson learned here…. book early for holiday sailings. Another thing I learned about holiday sailings is that the usual price drop after final payment doesn’t happen. I’ve tracked the price on this sailing right up until this week and it has done nothing but increase over time, even after final payment. Cabins also didn’t open after final payment either, meaning people are not changing their minds about their holiday sailings. So, the wise @twangster and fellow Insiders were correct again, holiday sailings are an anomaly. Pre-Cruise thoughts - This is our first time without a balcony since 2003! The suite snob in me still has not come to terms with that. - This is our first time sailing Freedom class. I have heard so many good things about this class of ship from so many of you that I am very excited to check it out for myself. - We are #TeamNoDrinkPackage on this one because we have kids with us, and because this is our first cruise as Diamond members with Diamond benefits. We will see how this works out. - We have purchased our usual VOOM 2 Device plan again. - Dining mainly in the MDR again. I did not love it on Mariner but for a short sailing it will be fine. Anything is better cooking on my own. We are trying Giovanni’s for one night. - This is our first time sailing over the holidays. I’ve always been hesitant to travel over the holidays for various reasons so I’m outside my comfort zone on this one too. - Once again, in the spirit of a live blog, please do not hesitate to ask any questions. I will do my best to find out whatever I can for you. - When responding to a post with a series of pictures, please do not include the pictures in your reply. It just makes for easier scrolling. - Lastly, I will do my best to bring the cruise to you LIVE through Periscope – you can follow me @LoveToCruise2002.

Booked Enchantment a week or so ago over Labor Day (5 nights to Yucatan and Cozumel) as a surprise for husband because I've done too much work travel and having something relaxing on the horizon helps. We've accidentally become suite people, and realized a JS on this sailing would carry us in to Diamond. Checked the booking again - saved $160! It was already a pretty good price for 5 nights in a JS, so that price drop was super nice! Also thanks to work travel help, I got our flights and hotel already covered! Looking forward to flying in to Houston and grabbing some Torchy's Tacos before the rest of the trip down to Galveston.

Day 5 - Aruba The WiFi still isn’t great, so no pictures until I get back home. After sleeping awfully last night, I slept in a bit late and didn’t wake up until 9:15. For some reason, my allergies always get bad in desert climates, so as soon as we docked in Aruba, I started getting stuffy. I grudgingly made my way down to the Windjammer and grabbed some breakfast. Then my mom and I got off the ship to meet my dad at 10:30 at diamonds international since he had already gotten off the ship before us. After some shopping (most of the stores were closed because of Christmas), we went back to the ship to grab some lunch for our 1:30 trikes tour. We booked the tour through Aruba trikes and had a blast. It was a fun way to see the island, and we loved our tour guide Ramses. He was originally from the Netherlands and he spoke SEVEN different languages. We didn’t finish the tour until 6:30 so we were stuck with my time dining. We were happy they could fit us in, but we still missed our normal wait staff. Our assistant waiter during my time dining was pretty good, but none of us were a huge fan of the head waiter. We understand how much harder being a my time dining waiter is, so we didn’t hold it against her that much. I stuck with the kids vegetables for my appetizer (they were forgotten at first), my mom got her French onion soup again, my grandmother and her friend got ceaser salad, and my dad got the bay scallops. He was the only one to try something new and he said they were delicious. The portion size was a bit small, though. Then for the main dish I got another kids grilled cheese which was fine. My parents got the coq au vin which they thought was pretty good and my grandmother and her friend got the prime rib which they also enjoyed. For desert, my grandmother and I tried the brownie. We both enjoyed it. My dad got the citrus berries cheesecake which he liked more than yesterday’s cheesecake, and my mom and grandmother’s friend got their favorite again - the apple pie. After dinner we ran to the 9:00 show and barely made it in time(dinner took forever). The show tonight was called, Now and Forever, which just showcased the singers and dancers doing broadway songs. The show was pretty good. I especially liked the part at the end where they did a compiliation of ABBA songs. When the show ended we went back out to Aruba and caught a taxi to ride around and look at Christmas lights. Since we only had an hour before we needed to be back on the ship, we couldn’t go to black mountain which is where they said had the best lights because it’s an hour round trip to get there. Instead we just rode around the downtown area. The lights were pretty nice, but nothing spectacular. We really liked our taxi driver, though. We got back at 11:15 and got back on the ship. Then I just met up with friends and hung out with them until 1.

I am from Nassau, I live in Canada. I am actually currently in Nassau for Christmas vacation. I am very sad, upset to read all the comments on this post. Yes the Port needs a serious make over and it was recently announced they are going to fix it up etc etc. There are many things to see outside of downtown Nassau. Also is perfectly safe to walk in the downtown area during the day. My father is a lawyer and walks to courthouses almost everyday, in downtown Nassau and had yet to be robbed in 20+ years. There is a beautiful beach on Paradise Island, called Cabbage Beach (see attached picture) You don’t need to access it though Atlantis Day Pass there is public access for free. I go to it ALL the time. Nassau is not perfect, yes it has crime. I am sure the town you live in, is not perfect and has crime too.

As a solo cruiser, it's worth it to me. When you start looking at a family of 4, I don't see it, but everyone is different. As an added bonus though, it might annoy the suite guests to have an inside cabin guy(me) sitting with them.

So does being a Diamond on this site allow me 3 free drinks in the D Lounge? Or a balcony discount? C'mon Matt, show us the money... ?… ?

Funny, that's the same thing my employer said when I inquired about health insurance.... I told him I was diamond but he was not impressed. Must be a Disney cruiser...

Final Thoughts I wanted to give a few weeks in between returning and reflecting on my thoughts from the cruise and hopefully avoid some of the recencey bias. All in all I’d have to agree with @Matt that Harmony is my favorite ship out there, but that does not mean it’s without fault. Even with the numerous elevator banks they’re programmed erratically which seems to lead to overcrowding. I’d prefer the system like in many hotels where you select where you are going and people get grouped together. Also, the lack of common sense by elevator crowders often causes me to want to develop a pop up cardboard cut out that looks like an at capacity elevator. The main dining room food was among the worst I’ve had, I’d compare it to our early days of cruising on Carnival and well below Norwegian. Temperature was bad, food was bland, and even the choices were subpar. Specialty restaurants- in contrast to the MDR, this one leans towards Harmony over NCL, we had great meals at the Specialty Restaurants, with Jamie’s Italian being the standout. So much so that my eight year old wants to book a flight to London to visit the landslide Jamie’s Italian locations. As others have mentioned signage is pretty poor, as someone who seemingly lacks a sense of direction, those little signs and indications of where I am are very helpful. I hear they’re doing away with it in the future, but in the hallways on Norwegian, fish on the carpet always point towards forward. Embarkation and Disembarkation- this will be an interesting one to compare once the new Norwegian terminal in Miami opens in 2019. Our experience embarking the ship and getting back on and off at ports was much smoother than any ports on NCL. We’ll be in the new Port Miami Terminal purpose built for Norwegian Encore next fall, only a couple of weeks after its opening. Shows and Entertainment- At the top end I’d give this one to Royal Caribbean for the broadway shows, but on daily activities I’d give a slight edge to NCL, mostly because of serendipity, with things like trivia relegated to pubs, and bars we wouldn’t stumble upon activities. On NCLs getaway and escape, they’re held in the atrium where we’d often stroll into an event. Pools and outdoor activities- other than the main dining room category this one is the biggest landslide. The Harmony had plentiful pools, decent water slides, and the flow rider was our favorite discovery. The Perfect storm water slide was fun, but the others were rather slow. Norwegian Encore is slated for great looking water slides to go along with a Go Kart Track, and laser tag, so this one might flip next year. Cabin- viewing mini-suites and junior suites in the same category, we much preferred the junior suite on Harmony, the closet being the differentiating factor. Having a walk in closet is a luxury we’d love to have every time. There was plenty of storage throughout the room. The bathroom however was smaller than we expected with some wasted space in the middle of the room. We also sorely missed the second sink for when everyone is getting ready at the same time. So in Conclusion- we’d never hesitate to book either line, which after four cruises on NCL we thought we’d stick there. Partially because of the latitudes program, but also because of the included added values. However, I think we’ve gotten to a point where it’s just worth paying for the additional space, priority embarkation, etc.. A lot of that is probably because as a frequent business traveler I’m used to boarding first, so why go back to the back on vacations. So we may be Loyal to Royal, we’re also Feelin’ Norwegian.

Just checked again - price for the Enchantment sailing went down another $75!! I've NEVER had such good luck with price drops. The only other one I can compare to was also on Enchantment, moving from an interior to an OV for $7 - and then having them give us $50 obc... paid to upgrade!

Fixed that for you. And following...

This doesn't count when you book Star Class for super cheap.

?：D12

Have a great trip! And although my wife doesn't know it, she hates you for inspiring my YOLO-book-it Christmas present to her and her sisters (but secretly loves you for it, too) ?

Like @ellcee, I too had no clue what the issue out of the suite folks would be. That's the most ridiculous complaint I've ever heard. I'd like mine with coffee and Bailey's please.

To be honest, if I was in a suite for this sailing, my reaction would be "Fine! Let them eat cake." But only after I confirmed with the Captain that there was no guillotine on board... ?

My cruise date has been removed from the RCCL site and other cruise sites (1/27/19 Oasis). Is this a bad sign? UPDATE: Facebook guy says it's just full. I was trying to call, but got tired of holding, so I am going with his answer.

Our cruise on Freedom in November just dropped $400 with the new promotion. ?

That's what their Facebook chat just said. Just a little adrenaline rush to help the day go by.

Well, the Facebook team is very certain that you DO need reservations. I am going to keep mine, even though I feel bad if I end up not needing them and it prevents someone else from getting reservations.

I have noticed that in all of my future cruises The Key is offered with different benefits compared to my first run experience. In my inaugural trial of The Key it clearly stated that reservations were required. Now for my future cruises The Key states: • Reserved priority seating at shows in the Main Theater, AquaTheater and Studio B. No reservations required pre-cruise or onboard. Also this wasn't offered on my 1st run of The Key: • Priority check-in and boarding. Upon your arrival at the terminal, follow The Key check-in signage to your designated waiting area.

No benefits, this is remarkably unmagical loyalty program!

Look what my Grands gave us for Christmas. We can't wait to use it!!

WAIT...WHAT!!! There's no need to fear...spice it up with While you're on your next port stop in Jamaica!! ?

Obviously, they saw you coming!

Amen, have to call this morning. JS we just upgraded to yesterday has dropped $150 overnight. Now the JS is only $140 more than the balcony we had booked originally.(9 night Canada/New England)

So is Chicago!!! Which is why we are yolo booked for spring break! Jane

I agree with others here saying that Nassau is fine during the day when populated with tourists and common sense is utilized. When my husband and I wander out, we don't go too far from the port (a stop at Pirate Republic Brewery is typically mandatory) and leave our wedding bands, jewelry, and pretty much anything that isn't totally necessary on board. Beyond my husband being asked if he wants to buy weed (which definitely doesn't only happen in Nassau), we've never really felt threatened or that our safety was in danger. When we did wander further to Queen's Staircase and Greycliff, we were with a large group and we looked deliberate in where we were going. Again, common sense things.

What makes me laugh is that the exact same people who are likely to make that complaint are the exact same ones who will complain about "entitled millennials" in the same breath.

Wait, what?...people are seriously complaining that there was something given to non-suite guests for "free?" a) What has this world come to? b) How would they know...much less care? I assume they had something of greater or equal value served to them up in Shangri-La c) Seriously.....what?

Only 73 more days!

As I recall, IAH is an hour drive from Galveston. If it were me, I'd book the noon flight.

Following along as well. Have a safe trip!

I hear that being Diamond entitles you to a free download of the podcast, but I'm not sure. ?

I have broaden my horizons and none of them have dropped ?

well , you can always send your husband to the gym (with flip flops) ? ,

Finding this thread brightens the dreary, rainy day that we're having in St. Louis today, even though it's a reminder that my next cruise isn't until July 4th... Good luck with the oceanview cabin. ?

I always book a cruise or two when I am on board.

New York Pizza is street food, especially when you can walk up to a window and they throw you a foldable slice. I wouldn't try walking and eating a slice of Lou Malnati's deep dish in Chicago though, that's not street food by any stretch. Sorrento's has always been known as a base level, I was simply wondering if they did something different now since RCCL has publicly stated they were going to make it better.

We were on the Oasis in July 2017 and the pizza wasn't bad. It was used by our family of 9 as snacks usually after dinner as we had early seating. I personally did not eat any of it; however, with 5 kids and a couple of husbands - there were no complaints!

My Son and Daughter-In-Law came off a Oasis of the Seas Cruise a couple of weeks ago and they both commented on the pizza as being pretty good.

Or stop in Chicago and get Sweety's jerk seasoning and Creole seasoning.

I love following your blogs because we think alike! My “hubby” said the other day to book the Mariner or Indy for this weekend - I would have booked anyhing - but you are correct no one cancels holiday sailings.?? Have a great time !

I live in Chicago and going on a cruise in NJ soon.

Things like that are ALWAYS fun!!!!!

Thanks. We are really looking forward to it. Thanks! Lol...I predict some bumps along the way...

Or your panties!?

How dare RCL treat those of us in steerage as equals! ? steer·age /ˈstirij/ noun 1. HISTORICAL the part of a ship providing accommodations for passengers with the cheapest tickets.

Day 3 - Labadee After only having 5 hours of sleep the day before I took the liberty of sleeping in, so I wasn’t up and moving until 10. I was out of the room and down to the Windjammer to eat breakfast by 10:15. My mom was the only one there because my grandmother and dad had already eaten and my grandmother’s friend doesn’t eat breakfast. I actually enjoyed breakfast in the Windjammer more than I thought I would. I tend to stay away from the Windjammer if at all possible, but my two experiences there so far on this cruise have been great. They had an awesome topping bar for the pancakes which I really enjoyed. Then after breakfast, at 11:30, we all met back up and got off the ship to go to Labadee. We took the tram straight to Adrenaline beach (the last stop) and got a table there right on the edge of the beach. It was 75 and windy so the weather was very pleasant. I took the liberty to catch up on some more sleep, and took a nap on one of the loungers out on the sand. I woke up at 1 and went to grab some food before the buffet closed. There wasn’t a ton of selection for a vegetarian, but the red beans and rice were good. When I got back to the table, only my parents were there and they told me that my grandmother and her friend had already gone back to the ship. We decided to do the same since it looked like it was about to rain. Before getting back on the ship I took a few last pictures. Once back on the ship, I took a quick shower and my parents took a nap. Then my dad and I went to the 3:00 trivia. We got there right at 3 and they were already 4 questions in, so it wasn’t worth participating. It was a bit frustrating that they started early, but we were fine to just sit and listen. We would’ve missed most of the questions anyways lol. After trivia I went to find my friends and hung out with them until 5. Then I went back to my room to get ready for dinner. Since we had a little time before dinner, we finally got around to putting our Christmas decorations up. Tonight at dinner we were finally able to find a dish that pleased my grandmother. I don’t know how our waiter managed to do it, but he convinced her to get the crab cakes for an appetizer and she loved them. Everyone else, except for my mom, also got the crab cakes and really liked them. They said they were different but very good. My mom got the burrata salad for her appetizer and said it was one of the best salads she had ever gotten. I stuck with my kids meal and just got carrots with ranch. For the main course, I finally ventured away from the kids menu and got the ravioli. It was delicious. My mom got the roasted beef loin, my dad got the jerk chicken, and my grandmother and her friend got the roasted pork loin. They all thought their meals were good also. Then for desert I went back to the kids menu and got the dark chocolate brownie again. It wasn’t as good as last night, but it was still fine. My mom, grandmother, and her friend all got the apple pie again which they enjoyed. My mom also got the soufflé, but she wasn’t a fan. My dad got the no sugar added desert again, so tonight, that was the strawberry trifle. He thought it was pretty good. Here’s the menu: After dinner we rushed to go see the show at 7. My dad was right; the Absolute Journey tribute band was spectacular. The lead singer looked just like Steve Perry (I know Gregg Rolie came first, but I still consider Steve the lead singer) and they sounded just like Journey. After the show, I stuck with my normal routine of just hanging out with friends until 1. Some other notes: •The WiFi was great the first two days, but it’s become awful today, so I apologize for the lack of pictures. I’ll edit the post when I get back home and add the rest of them. •I got to see the iconic I-95 today. •I finally got around to taking some pictures of the decorations on the ship tonight. Although the ship is a bit worn, the decorations are still beautiful. (I’ll post pictures of them when I get better WiFi) •The time is going one hour forward tonight. Little disappointed that that means one last hour of sleep lol. •Labadee has some really nice Christmas decorations. It was the most it’s felt like Christmas time since I’ve been on the ship.