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Cruise day 1!!!! Finally here!!!! We arrived at the terminal with a great Uber driver who shared all sorts of stories from Cuba. I love getting here early...we arrived about 955. A porter led the car all the way in, grabbed our bags and we were in the doors. We literally were 5 mins check in and security with no lines whatsoever... Even at the picture! We are now at 1042 waiting to board! My family of course didn't load the apps yet so we did that...argh! We are ready to go!!! Starting to board!! Jane

Anyone else sick to death of people sending articles about this to them, apparently as some sort of warning as to why you should not cruise, or are my friends just jerks?

AMEN. Just reading someone say they would kick an animal raises my blood pressure rather high and I do hope that it was just a really distasteful joke. The human is at fault, you can’t blame an animal for being an animal or for holding it as long as it could. That’s no better than to say you would throw a baby across the room because it wet it’s diaper. ? So before the bp goes higher I will just post some lovely furbabies ? I have had both dogs and cats (hamsters, etc.) in my life. But 3 years ago we lost our 16 and 17-year-old dogs within five days of one another from old age (that was a bad f-g week), so after 2 1/2 years when I still couldn’t bring myself to get another dog we rescued these sweet kitties - this is Mya and Molly ? @Tim B.and @SpeedNoodles Lovely furkids!

Day 9 - Last full day.... Didn’t take a ton of pictures today, but I have a few We had a slow start to the morning, and went to the spa about 9 for a nice massage / nap! We were done just after 11 and went to the Windjammer for lunch. After lunch, we caught the show with the house band, it was a big band style and we loved it We went out on the deck and played shuffle board for a bit before heading up to the pool deck pro-tip, do the pool at slides starting at 5PM, there is no one out there! While walking the halls today, I looked up and noticed this right outside our cabin door, makes sense that we had good WiFi reception all throughout the cabin! Tonight’s dinner was at the Windjammer, it was seafood night, which meant I grabbed a burger and fries from the kids section After dinner was the fair well show in the theater, it was great After the show, we hung out at the Bamboo room, this became our favorite place to relax! Played some games and enjoyed our last few hours The Key breakfast was moved to Chop’s grill tomorrow

@2Beeze @melmar02 @SpeedNoodles Since we know what a pineapple party is, i'm affraid to ask what a plumb party could amount too...I'm going to go our here on a limb and guess......never mind ?

Pinnacle member = Pineapple ?

So that's a little tricky on the website. If the price for the 3 device package is $22.99 per day, you only need to select ONE person when you are purchasing. The total should be closer to $160 for the cruise. If you're selecting 3 out of the 4 people, that's a total of 9 devices you're paying for. Basically, you are saying that you want 3 people to have 3 devices. When you get on board you will be given either one code that allows 3 simultaneous devices, or 3 codes... I forget which, but it doesn't matter who the code is associated with - with that package, 3 devices can be logged in at the same time. If you want to change devices, simply log out of one and log in with the new device. Hope that makes sense!

If your friends are like mine, it's a 10% concerned 90% jerk.

So excited for you ! Have a GREAT cruise.

That’s funny, gotta figure it could happen! And that wouldn’t have been me in the Diamond lounge, I am still pre-gold. After today I will be gold though!

Gorgeous!!! I have two Shiloh's so I know about the hair - oh my.

I will be, too!

I would rather you punt the human and leave the dog alone. The dog shouldn't have be there in the first place.

Should we start a thread on our animals. SpeedNoodles has her Collie in the picture so I shall show my Shiloh Shepherd female, Kali Mae.

Day 8 - at sea Today was our first of two sea days headed back to Miami, and it was wonderful! I got up early and took my laptop down to the promenade about 7:30 to get some stuff done, it was wonderfully quiet down there, and I grabbed some fruit from the Cafe. A little later in the morning, they had a Bloody Mary bar set up on the promenade There was a “flash sale” on accessories, and it got pretty busy I stopped in one of the shops, and noticed that the ship models have already bred updated with the new slides and such, but a lot of the picture related items have not While wandering around, we came across the Stowaway Piano Player. This guy is awesome We went to a Q&A with the singer/dancer/ice skaters that was quite interesting. Did you know that the singers and dancers will help out backstage with costume changes etc. at the ice show, and the other way around? They also run spot lights for each other’s shows Tonight was formal night, we went to the main dining room With celebrations of the the 50th anniversary for Royal, the had birthday cakes Tonight’s headliner show was a Whitney Houston tribute, she was great! She was backed with all live music from the house band, they are incredible. After catching the late show, we wandered around the ship more, made a stop at the R Bar and got a red velvet, wow! After playing some late night (early morning) mini golf, we decided to call it a day. Last full day tomorrow!

This is Eva of Ripcord......my kid is now saying when he grows up, he wants to do Eva's job on this ship...... sigh. The other day he was going to be an astronaut.....

Luciano got us in for another skydive today, roller skating is reserved for 4:30, we met two other families in star class and are having them for cocktails at 3:30. I was sorta surprised when I asked Luciano if we could have a bottle of champagne for this and he said yes, but he would have to charge me for it.n bummed that this is an inconsistency across the genie fleet. On days at sea, there is a bar cart service from 3:30-5:30 so we can also order from that. Yesterday we were invited for a cocktail in the royal loft suite.....holy cow that suite is just massive. I feel like we live in a little hovel here on "dick 10" (this accent on the word "deck" I am told, is not Aussie but rather a kiwi accent.....but I use that word allllll the time now when we are out and about doing those stairs and hallways, and I laugh out loud every single time.....). Anyways back to that royal loft....it's really special. But this grand loft we r in is super awesome as well, so no complaining! if you are doing the skydiving simulator, try to get booked in with Eva........she was soooo much fun with each rider, doing little tricks with them like flips or taking them up high. Then at the end, she went in herself and wowd the pants off all of us! She did this impromptu acrobatic show that had my son saying to me afterwards "mom......now I know why they say boys drool and girls rule!!" If I could have tipped her I would have. And FYI, we had one little girl in our group who was about 5 and she rocked it for her first ride! dinner tonight at Jamie's. Chefs table tomorrow night. tomorrow is another day at sea. a video from the balcony as I type...... capturedvideo.MOV

Omg, all we do are stairs and corridors! The elevators are full full full and slow slow slow! Walking off all these meals...... we did the skydive simulator in the afternoon which Luciano had booked us in for. It was fun......be prepared with running shoes......they provide the rest of the equipment. Met a lovely trio of fellow star cruisers who are in the royal loft suite. They invited us up for a cocktail and we got a tour of that beautiful suite......it's huge! We have invited them to our grand loft suite this afternoon after we all do another skydive. did bumper cars in the late afternoon.......special line up spot for star class guests and we essentially jumped the queue about five times. My ten year old son did rock climbing after that. dinner was at Wonderland. It was awful. Slow service, really imaginative food, which was expected, but the kids didn't like much of it and frankly, neither did I. Service took so long we politely left before the main courses ever arrived. Will not be revisiting that place. Kids went to bed and we went to the show. Went to a comedy show at 8:15 and the guy was hilarious. Can't remember his name, sorry! Then to vintages for a drink, to the casino for a look-see, then to bed. Luciano is only and always just a phone call away. We were escorted to our seats for the show, to the skydiving simulator. Laundry is free as is pressing. Tons of water and coke and juices in the room, as well as beer. Fresh berries arrived in the afternoon.....perfect! If u want spirits, they bring them by the glass. Very impressed with the service and perks! Here are a few random shots...menu is from CK breakfast....Baja eggs were awesome! Some shots of Sydney from the North Star (also a jump the queue situation!), goat cheese salad...seafood tower at sail away on the balcony.....

Had lunch at Chops Grille yesterday, which was really good. Ordered the crab cake and goat cheese salad. Hubby had steak, mashed potato and asparagus. Too full for dessert.

It's more about the party and the willingness to participate and have some fun for our group. being 50 now, i have a very diverse attitude when it comes to music these days. Grew up on 80's Punk and Metal myself but listen to it all dependent on my mood. There's a huge German Wurstfest festival here in New Braunfels, TX each November. I break out my lederhosen and alpine hat, drink lots of beer and dance to polka musik. With age comes a stronger attitude of not giving a damn and living in the moment. If the ships had a disco-sucks party, i'd participate in that as well. ?

Funny story! Twenty years ago, we were fairly young and on an 11 day cruise with a much older crowd. It seemed everyone was in a wheelchair, used a walker or had an attendant. I had packed gowns and shoes for every special night on the ship. One night we dressed for dinner and I was horrified that I had forgotten the shoes to go with whatever I was wearing that night. My husband said, "Don't worry, No one will be looking at your shoes. Everyone is going to be impressed you can WALK!" LOL So I think of that when I pack now, especially shoes. I take the fewest (is that a word?) number and make them work. More room in the bag!

I like the way you think. These are the shoes for my outfit. Have a vintage (ugly) polyester shirt and brown bells to go with it. Wifey is still trying to finalize hers. i have no doubt i'll break something wearing these things but hey, thats the cost of having fun! We're on the 4/26 sailing, you too?

Interesting numbers from https://cruisemarketwatch.com/market-share/ While Royal carried fewer passengers compared to the leader Carnival, it captured much more of the total worldwide cruise net revenue in 2018. RCI by itself captured the largest amount of net revenue of any single cruise line when uncoupled from it's parent and sibling companies and carried the second largest number of passengers. Details:

There is a parking option at the hotel. And the lady It talked to said that their is a shuttle for $5 per person. Not sure. I will line this all out when we get there.

Hi there - you're spot on about the refreshment package. It does include pretty much anything that isn't alcoholic. Starbucks coffee (as long as it isn't a freestanding kiosk), soda, bottled water, fresh squeezed juices, virgin cocktails, you name it! Most ships even include Johnny Rocket's milkshakes, but there has been some discrepancy about that lately... Your refreshment packages include gratuities in the price, but if you receive really great service, the bartenders really do appreciate the extra cash.

Finally got in using Chrome. Thanks for the info.

$9.99 per day plus the 18% gratuity is $11.79. Comparing Orange Vanilla Coke to Orange Vanilla Coke here.

My husband and I are gonna be in Costa Maya in September and we booked Maya Chan beach! They had great reviews on trip advisor and transportation is included to and from the ship which I love!

Royal Caribbean does not automatically refund or credit you the price difference on the items you purchased If the items that you brought beforeare cheaper now then when they were purchased. I would cancel and rebook at the lower price. You can cancel items that you purchased in your cruise planner and rebook if the price is cheaper and you can purchase other services/packages until 3 days before your cruise. A month ago I purchased some cruise planner items before they were on sale and last week I noticed that some of the items I had previously purchased were now on sale for up to 50% off, so I had cancelled those items and I had repurchased them at the lower price.

Also a twin plum party?!? woot woot! ??? Let’s all get in our dancing shoes and show those pineapples how to boogie down (pretty sure that I just aged myself) ?

But Pineapple on the door mean swingers inside ?

No, that is what they were afraid of, but they have gotten some power back and moved further offshore.

I love this post Twang, thanks so much for sharing. I am going to spend some quality time with this tomorrow.

I do not know Blue Reef so I cannot provide an opinion but I have been to Costa Maya a number of times. It is one of my favorite ports of call. I think you are talking about going to Mahaual, which is the small coastal town near the port. If so, I do recommend going there. It is very nice. One thing you should be aware of - there are lots of roving peddlers who wander about selling their trinkets. They are not aggressive but they are persistent. Just politely tell them “no thank you” and they will move on but there will be another behind them. If you are interested in the massage on the beach, I will give you 1 piece of advice. Do NOT let anyone “help” you find a massage. That will double the price and the “finder” will keep half. It is very easy to find the masseuses. They are everywhere along the beach. Just go up to one of them and negotiate a price yourself. Back in the day they were $20 for an hour. I’m sure the price has gone up since then but start out at $20 and see what you can negotiate. It is money well spent. We usually go to the Krazy Lobster but I’m sure Blue Reef is similar. Expect to pay $1 for a Corona.

I love dogs....but....if someone's 'support animal' peed on my or any member of my family the animal would be in need of a vet since I would have punted it while it was defecating. And if I was in the right place....I would have scored a goal with it on the owners face.

The cram-a bag laundry bags are different from simple pressing. You can get your clothes pressed only, no washing involved.

As Ralph Cramden used to say "To the moon, Alice, to the moon".

2018 Capacity https://cruisemarketwatch.com/capacity/ Details:

Where does that money go? https://cruisemarketwatch.com/financial-breakdown-of-typical-cruiser/

At my work office there is a service animal for a ex-Military person connected with a PTSD issue. The dog is very well behaved to the point that you really don't notice the animal at all. A very well trained dog that never interacts with her people but is around people all day long. We had lawyers come and talk to us before the dog was brought up and we were told not to interact with the dog. It was more for the comfort of the service-member who wouldn't want to talk about their service related injuries. They told us to no pay attention to the dog and just go about our normal duties. It's hard for me because I am such a dog lover and the dog is really cute. When you hear about these kinds of events you know the dog is not a service animal and is not trained; it is just a pet that someone is trying to pass off as a service animal. And, that person is already a very selfish person just by their actions so that he didn't respond to a dressing-down is of no surprise.

Somebody with a pot of money needs to go down there and build a mess of hotels!

Following

Following! ?

Be careful what you wish for, I am adopted hah!

Shoes are the first sacrifice. I used to bring tons of different shoes to make sure I had something to go with every outfit. Now ? HUH ! I am NOT joking....on my 16 night B2B Star Class cruises on Anthem I had 2 pairs of shoes for the cruise. I actually had 1 more pair that I used for flying b/c I knew it would be cold and I needed a pair that I could wear with socks, but the other 2 cruise shoes were flip flops and I never missed not having any other shoes. I did bring a pair of water shoes which I never wore but for regular use, just 2 pair. It was wonderful.

This has never happened to me but I am always in constant fear that I will go to the wrong airport. Living in northern Virginia, I am about equidistant between Dulles and National airports. National is my airport of choice and we will always choose to leave from there if it works (itin choices and price) but I always have this sick feeling in my stomach on the way to the airport and have to stop and look at my paperwork to be SURE that I'm going to the right one. Every once in a while Dulles is the better choice for one reason or another...so I have anxiety about showing up at the wrong airport and not having time to get to the right one !

I will take pics of the room! Jane

I would not wait to get to town and book an unknown tour with an infant. At the very least go to trip advisor where you can find many reviews of tours and private drivers and their cars. I like a private tour especially with kids as you can change it if you need to because of them. Cozumel go to a beach resort. I suggest Mr Sanchos especially if going with your nephew who may enjoy the beach inflatables. You can do this on your own but the taxis may or may not have seat belts. Jamaica you may want to keep it a ship day. Most excursions are not infant friendly. Grand Cayman is a tender port and typically a beach day.

AWESOME!!! Play me some Bee Gees!!!

If you want to spend that kind of money Disney is just a click away.