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We are beyond excited! I think I read this blog every day for the last two months! Thanks @Matt !! The information here is priceless and the people are amazing! Tomorrow we board the Navigator of the Seas!! As Bart Scott said years ago... “Can’t Wait!!”

So I just got done reading @Whizbank live blog and she stated that she would pack lighter next time. I'm now sitting and looking at the suitcase I'm going to have trouble closing today. Ugh! So thought I'd share some things I'm going to do for the European cruise this summer (16 days in Barcelona and on the ship) as an accountability post lol. Please chime in with suggestions and encouragement lol. I know like the drink pkg we have beaten this to death, but hey, it's fun! 1. Royal has amazing storage in their rooms, both interior and outside.I have sailed 5 classes now and fit everything every time. Majesty had a dinky closet but a great big side table and window ledge. Others have hidden shelves, ottomans, other closets. Obviously the longer cruises are a bit more challenging which leads to.... 2. Rewear! I have favorites that I take on every cruise that I could totally wear over. Some things I will wash when I get home that I only wore once (or not at all) and they aren't even really dirty. I get if it's super hot you might have to selectively rewear, but I don't pack that way. 7 days, pack for 9 lol. Ugh! Do I need 2 formal dresses? Heck no. Is it ok if people are me in the same outfit twice... Absolutely. Do I need extra clothes not at all... That's where #3 comes in... 3. Laundry! I will freely admit I haven't used it in the ship and I won't risk any favorite clothes (I worry about too hot dryers). But I spend everywhere else...Porters, drink pkg, extra 2 dollars for my favorite ? etc.... A bag of laundry will not kill me to pay for! And my bathing suits, etc, are wet when I came back...I can hand wash them in the shower. Now again, with how long everything takes to dry I am not bringing detergent and hanging everything... But a small stain is solvable by a quick rinse. 4. Packing cubes.... That was a long thread earlier. I personally love them but didn't use them correctly. I was in 3 different places pre-cruise, cruise and post-cruise. I should have packed the cubes that way rather than every time I wanted an outfit having to go through different ones. I could have put my pre-cruise two outfits in a bag with a bathing suit and pair of jammies and never opened the rest! 5. Shoes.... Sigh. I did do better this time. I wore my tennis shoes on the plane and once again, it wasn't necessary for me personally to have them. I will just wear my walking sandals on the plane too. I took my lighter weight sandals this time and didn't fuss with the 3 inch heals I would wear once or twice. I actually packed 2 pairs of flip flops in case one pair broke....omg WHY? Which leads to... 6. This next cruise no matter what I'm going with the Rick Steve's packing rule which I never do but am going to start! I love his travel blogs and YouTube videos and he says "always pack for the expected, not the unexpected". Ok...I'm a pack for the unexpected....my shoe might break, my phone cord might break, I might spill coffee on my 4 sweaters... All 4! All the unexpected back-ups come home unused and talking up space. I'm not traveling to the middle of Africa where I might have trouble getting something!!!! (If you are, you are probably better at packing than I am anyway and not reading this!). Next time I will truly try and follow this. Heck I will pack a $100 extra dollars just for things I might need to get and when I don't, take myself out to a nice Cafe somewhere! 7. Go with your history and your gut. Every trip I pack shorts "just in case I feel like wearing them" and workout clothes "just in case I want to work out". Ok...I've now been on 6 cruises. Not once have I put on shorts or tshirts (Im a sundress girl) and the only time I've set for in the fitness center is to take pics on day one. If I haven't used something at home (do I really want that dress) or on a ship, it is just not gonna get used here! 8. Compare with the other lovely people in your family. In March my family brilliantly brought 3 tubes of toothpaste. Seriously. We all packed our regular travel kits and we all have toothpaste. Oh well. Next time I'm going back to the family ziplocks...1 toothpaste and common shampoo, soap, etc. And I'm getting slightly better at judging amount we use. For example, I love using the bath & body works squirt soap better than the bars. They smell nice and I just like them. We don't need a whole bottle...I can bring a half-used one and then I have 2 more oz and space at the end of the trip! Same goes for shampoo, lotion, etc! 9. Suitcase stuffing. I'm a stuffer. If the suitcase is at 40 lbs and not full, I can stuff just one more extra dress or pair of shoes just in case. Nope. The problem is that it takes me forever to fit everything in at home. I don't have that time on the trip and what happens is I frantically stuff everything in and one day I'm gonna break the zipper. I have had to buy and check an extra suitcase at Disney before (ok...I could get into souvenir shopping here. I didn't buy the rum in Nassau because I knew I wouldn't have the space or weight lol). So next time, things will fit better at the start. I will do what you are supposed to... Pack and then unpack and take out a bunch you don't need! Because I don't need the stress at the end of the trip! So I've now spent time I should have been packing avoiding it but when I get home, this is what's I'm going to re-read before I pack!!!!!! Jane

Ok, finally finding a little time to hook up the keyboard to the iPad and update! Days 1 and 2 - pre cruise: We flew out of Terminal 2 at the Mpls/St Paul area on Wednesday afternoon - my husband is terrified of flying, but we had a very smooth flight and his drugs lasted almost long enough. We’ll have to get another dose into him before landing next time - landing is not his favorite part of the flight! We grabbed an Uber from SeaTac and scored a very entertaining Uber driver for the drive to our hotel. We stayed at The Inn at El Gaucho in Belltown on 1st Avenue. I’ll add some photos in a bit (they are on my phone, I have to add them separately). It was nothing short of wonderful. It’s a small, 17-room, boutique hotel with a very laid-back, friendly atmosphere. The only drawback that I could see is that if you cannot navigate two flights of stairs it’s not for you, as there is no elevator (there is a luggage elevator but it can hold no passengers. Even the staff just loads the luggage on and walks down the stairs to meet the elevator). The evening front desk maven is Lee (fondly known by those who stay frequently/live there as Mama Lee). She is a wealth of information, and extremely welcoming. Each night in the beautiful lobby they have complimentary wine, which we took full advantage of. We will likely not consider staying anywhere else when we visit Seattle again in the future. It was a reasonably close walk to Pike Place (4-5 blocks, but who’s counting after wine?) On Wednesday night (after some wine, of course) we walked 2 blocks away and had dinner at Kaarage Satsuma - Mr SpeedNoodles had Kaarage Chcken and Setsuna fries - I had ramen. Everything was pretty amazing, at a good price, and filling. We then walked down to The Crocodile (home of grunge) where we had tickets to see Har Mar Superstar. As a side note, Har Mar Superstar originated in the Twin Cities and performed in his home town of Owatonna a week before we sailed, which is very close to our house, but we decided to just see him in Seattle. Prom Queen opened for him, and she was fabulous. On Thursday we got up and walked down to Pike Place Market, had some breakfast, then walked down and jumped on an Argosy Locks Tour cruise. It leaves out of the area next to the big Ferris wheel, goes north and takes you through the locks and Lake Union. I highly recommend this tour as well - it was the second time we’ve done it and it’s always enjoyable and informative. We had some drinks and appetizers at Pike Brewery, did a little shopping (Metzger’s Maps, The Purple Store, and Robot Sloth were of particular interest to me), went back for happy hour and then just had dinner in the El Gaucho restaurant below the hotel, then turned in for the night. The Inn at El Gaucho : "Wine" lobby Kaarage Satsuma: Karaage Chicken: Ramen: Plate that I wanted to steal, but didn't.

One last paragraph for ya’. We arrived at Port Bayonne way early, since there was not much traffic. We pulled into the parking garage across the street at 9:00 am. It is about $22 per day with tax to park there, and it made things so easy and convenient for us. I was surprised at how many people were arriving early like us! We did sail past the Statue of Liberty, which was pretty cool and even sailed under a bridge! Today we did self dis embarking. We were told that we could do this from 6:30 am-7:30am. We wanted to avoid city traffic as much as possible, so we decided to be at the Lyric Theatre at 6:30 am sharp, thinking that we would be first off the boat and avoid the lines. WRONG! At 6:30 am the line wrapped almost the entire length of the ship!!!! We were off the boat at 7:10 and in our car at 7:15am, which was pretty good. Not only did the line move fast, but we basically just stood for a quick picture and left. No bag searching, no passports even looked at, no forms to fill out, no bags even placed on a scanner. I should have put some of those cookies from the buffet in my bag to eat later. (Just kidding!) hope I helped some of you out!

Update. I asked Southwest on Twitter and they said it was due to an “upline mechanical issue”. Now I see they switched planes and we are on time again.

I try to show up at 10-10:15 am. The ship typically begins boarding at 10:30-11. It goes by really quick once boarding begins.

@Kelz they only allow non surge protectors, and even the non ones can be confiscated depending on the crew. What I mean is, surge protectors are prohibited and on paper the non surge protectors are allowed. Every once in awhile someone reports that a non surge was taken (you pick up anything that was confiscated as you get off the ship). I was going to ask you what kind this is, but from the picture I see the word “protected” with a little status light above it so I’m going to guess it is, and likely crew would also. I would suggest a product that specifically says “non surge protection” and “ship approved”. There are many options, but here is one as an example. Cruise Power Strip with USB Outlets - Non Surge Protection & Ship Approved | Travel Accessories and Must Haves by Cruise On https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BHVKPC3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-y.dDbT7499HF

Medical evacuation is very expensive and the passenger is billed for it. That is why it is always a good idea to purchase travel insurance with evacuation coverage. You never know when you might be the one to be evacuated.

So, in conclusion (maybe), I decided that I do like cruising and that it does work well for my husband. However, I hate airports and being tied to a schedule, since Dave often has bad days that result in things taking significantly longer than usual. So, I will cruise again, but out of Baltimore so that I can drive to the port. That's about 8 hrs from Cincinnati which is doable, especially since we need to be in town the day before the cruise anyway. And I will definitely do a longer sailing. That said, I doubt I can get on a ship before next May at the earliest, between work and taxes and rebuilding the vacation fund. So, I'll keep lurking around here but won't have anything exciting to add. And the 50th birthday cruise was for all 4 of us, but only 3 of us actually hit 50 before the cruise. I still have until September until I hit the big 50. Also, as an FYI, I don't remember if I said that I had applied for a Royal Caribbean credit card while it was being pushed in Cruise Planner. There were 10,000 points with 1 purchase, which translates to $100 OBC. Alas, I did not read the fine print, (which I think actually doesn't show up until you are all the way through the transaction) which said that I wouldn't get my points until about 6 weeks after purchase, and I paid for the cruise planner items about 3 weeks before sailing. So, I have the points but did not get to take advantage of them on this sailing. They are good for 24 months so it's not tragic, but having the extra $100 OBC would have been nice. @KristenM thanks for your kind words.

@Whizbank I’m so glad you enjoyed your cruise!! I totally agree with longer sailings when you have to fly, it’s a lot of work for just a couple of days and we are only a family of 3 traveling (9 year old) so I can only begin to imagine how tired the two of you must have been! Navigator was my first ship back in 2004 and Viking Crown was one of my favorite spots for the exact reasons you mentioned!! Thanks again for the write up, I really enjoyed your recaps even though I didn’t catch it live. You both sound like amazing people and I wish more people in this world shared your same positive outlook. Happy belated birthday also!! ?

I have been on freedom twice and loved it. I've also been on vision, adventure, majesty and allure... All of which also got horrible comments on them at various times. I will not bash the other site, but people often complain to just rile people up, or are super critical. I agree with all of @melski94's comments above. I might say some of the food is good, some great, and some awful and you might have a totally different opinion. Go on the trip with an open mind and you can't go wrong. Also I agree that I really haven't ever felt crowded on the ships with the exception of chair hogs on sea days and muster drills! My husband and I took our first cruise together out of San Juan. It was a wonderful place to explore together before the cruise. The southern Caribbean was an amazing place to travel...I had a great time and can't wait to get back. So I really suggest going for it. I just started cruising in 2015 and my husband was so nervous he wouldn't like it. We will now be on our 3rd cruise together this summer celebrating our 29th anniversary! Still want to get back to southern Caribbean... So many ports I want to see! Let us know if you have any specific questions we can answer! Jane

Never mind twisting his arm, put the squeeze on the bank account!

I will have to start work on twisting DH's arm. ?

Oh, oh...you're in trouble now...not sure you redeemed yourself in time. Looks like that may be a solo cruise for one of you!..Well, double points anyway!

I should start mine now too... We're 665 days out and the only thing listed in the Cruise Planner are the South Beach Cabanas at Perfect Day and spa treatments... LOL! ?

@JLMoran @emsff02 Ah, ha! 22 months and counting! Beat ya both! @StayFrosty, sorry for the tangent! ... We're looking closely at Mariner and Navigator 4-night cruises too now, maybe we can book one in between for my wife's 50th next year... shhh, ah, I mean "30th"! ?

I am on this cruise. See everybody tomorrow.

THIS!!!!!! You said exactly what I was getting ready to say!

Oooooh, that is a really nice itinerary. I want to go on that one!

We’re right after you. Boarding on Jun 28 and getting off on July 5.

We just sailed on Freedom in April and had a lovely cruise. Don’t give CC reviews too much credence. Truly, those are angry and unhappy people over there ! ??

No apology needed. I'm sure you deal with this all the time and it gets very frustrating. Although I eat meat, once in awhile, I will go "vegetarian" for a meal or two. In that case I can usually find something that I would want to eat or just head to my go to place, a great local vegetarian Indian restaurant near us. That being said, I'm sure looking at the menus you provided, I would not be happy with a weeks worth of the same choices. Good luck and happy cruising!

@FManke I have to apologize as I didn't mean to be combative either. You're not the first non-vegetarian to say there is plenty to eat but were the one that finally made the Jersey come out and make me comment a little too strong. Anyway, as some on this board have met & sailed with me, I am normally a very nice person, LOL. I've always been extremely non-combative but I think once I hit 50 I had been in Jersey long enough to start channeling their attitudes when I disagree with someone. But it doesn't happen very often, I promise. Even though vegetarianism has been around for decades, it's still not completely accepted. There are so many different types of reasons to eat vegetarian - heath reasons, ethical reasons, and there are so many different types of vegetarians, it's impossible to meet everyone's needs. I get that. But it's been around long enough that it shouldn't be that hard to put a couple meal choices on every menu. Put a pasta primavera or a vegetable stir fry on the classics menu, instead of yet another animal-based choice. That's all I'm asking for. It's not like I'm coming in with "I'm doing a paleo-keto-south beach diet combo so you have to accommodate me, and make sure it's under 5 WW points while you're at it" type of request. LOL Anyway, I wanted to apologize for coming on so strong. It was directed to the heard one to many times comment, and to you personally.

I am here now on Adventure of the Seas. Left out of Port Bayonne/Cape Liberty yesterday. When they scanned our carry ons at security, they saw our three cases of soda and told us that only one was permitted per stateroom, and they took two away. Bummer! Yes, we knew the policy, but a lot of others on the boards said to give it a try, so we did. (Please do not judge?). The ship is ROCKING like crazy! We are heading now to Bermuda and it has been nonstop back and forth. Never needed Dramamine in our lives, and everyone that we know is taking it! CONSTANT MOTION! Thank God we packed it! Food is great, easy to find lots of great food! Great mix of people here, all ages. We were told there are currently 200 children on board. My son is 15 and went to the teen meet and greet last night and already has a pack of friends now to run around with. We have a dry erase board on our stateroom door and someone keeps drawing naked genitalia on it?????? My hubby is mad about that, but it is kind of funny to me????? I am open to any questions anyone has about the Adventure of the Seas. May take me a day or two to reply, since I am having so much fun!

... and every time I see a celebrity on TV we grew up watching that we haven't seen for some time, I say to my wife, "wow they got old!"... she responds, "honey, we are getting old!" ?

Passport should be left at the hotel safe , I take cache and credit card , when I travel , I take at least two credit cards , one with me one with the hotel safe , if a credit card being stolen its very easy to block it and I will still have a credit card I can use. You do not even need a passport copy , I do carry driving license , sometime shops will ask a way of identification if you using your credit card , foreign driving license with a picture works perfect. I always carry my wallet in the front pocket , its much harder to take it. Never leave a bags on the floor near you. be careful from the petition scam , where people try to convince you to sign a petition and and ask for money, just ignore or pretend you only speak some rear language (they usually know English , Spanish , Russian, french, German ) . After saying that , which is by the way true for all Europe and many other places, I do not think its that common , I have been to Barcelona many times and traveling almost every second week to Europe , if you keep the basic awareness to you surrounding (same as I guess you do in your home town) you should be OK.

The wine is quite simple , the main thing is not to allow glass touch glass or any hard things in the suitcase . What I do is to wrap each bottle with nylon bag and make sure they are divided (the park west brochures are very good wrap materials). I will put one layer of dirty cloths bag on the bottom of the suitcase , put the bottles with some divider like shoes between them and put another layer of cloth above them , making sure they will not move. Another option is to use a shoe box (you are going to visit Italy , do not tell me you will not buy at least one per ?) , here its even simpler , wrap each bottle, put some park west material between each bottle until they can not move and put the shoe box inside the suitcase. if for some reason your bottle has a screw cap make sure you secure it with some tape , the only accident I had until now is leakage from such bottles. from our last cruise we brought 6 bottles of wine , 3 in each suitcase +1 Limonochelo and two vinegar bottles , they all survived.

I'm an over packer and it's bad. I had 2 checked bags, one carry-on and a personal item for our last cruise. I blamed Southwest, they are an enabler, darn 2 free checked bags!!! Our next cruise is May 2020 to Europe, we are going three days before the cruise. We are flying Delta, only one free checked bag.

I love the kitty plate !!

Onto Coco Cay! At 8:00 am sharp we left the ship and I must say that it DOES meet ALL expectations! It is so amazing there! Flawless sand, HUGE pool, attentive bartenders, GREAT food, tons of chairs. I could start a fan club for the Snack Shack’s chicken sandwich, mozzarella sticks, and funnel cake. They actually make the funnel cake on the spot only when you order it, so it is fresh fresh fresh! We were the only ship in port that day. We snorkeled, hung out on the beach, hit the pool, and the buffet/ snacks. It was the perfect day! Every employee was eager to give directions, ask us how we were doing, they seemed pretty happy to be there. My number one piece of advice is this : check out the map and find the lockers. The lockers are FREE, despite the fact that the map says that you pay for them. The lockers are first come, first served, and there are NOT very many. They were gone by the second hour of our day! We did not feel comfortable leaving our cash and other stuff out on a chair while we swam and snorkeled, so the lockers were great! I know that kids under age 18 must have an adult with them to enter the water park...... but we only bought a ticket for the water park for my 15 year old and waited to see if they would enforce that rule. (I had asked at the Excursion desk the day before, and she told me that they will not allow a child under age 18 in without an adult. I told her that kids my son’s age can go to local water parks and even Disney world water parks without a parent, but she was pretty firm on that.). They did not enforce the rule at all, group’s of teens went in and they did not even ask where their parents were. We stood off to the side, Seapass in hand, ready to pay for my hubby to join my son, but since they didn’t care....... (please do not judge me here???) I can answer any questions about Coco Cay that anyone has. On a side note, people said at the end of the day that there was a four hour wait to see the doctor on board? So either there were a ton of severely sunburned people that day, or something else????

What kind of compensation are you looking for? Yes, you should be refunded any cost for your shore excursion but beyond that RC does not owe you anything else. RC has the right to change the ports at any time for numerous reasons, ie weather, harbor issues, propulsion issues, medical evacuations and more. It is in the cruise contract. Port changes happen ALL the time, Yes, it is disappointing but sorry you don't deserve any other compensation. You were notified prior to final payment date and you could always change your cruise if you feel disappointed.

We lucked out too. We booked this suite on Harmony for December 2020 for about $1100pp!

So, like you, I was curious about this suite, but on Symphony. So a few weeks ago, I called RC and spoke with a very helpful man named Craig. We spent almost an hour on the phone, mainly trying to find a sailing where the Villa was available. He finally found one for October 3, 2020. I told him we had eight people, and while he checked on the price, I braced myself. So when he told me $17,331.80, you can imagine my excitement. For each of us, it was only $2,166.76! Apparently, I lucked into a combination of a sale (50% fare for second passenger, and reduced fares for the rest) and low-season. Craig told me that I could cancel within 24 hours with no penalty, so I put the deposit down without even consulting our friends (with whom we often cruise). He was so helpful and told me that he'd never booked this cabin before and he was a bit excited, too. We had already planned to have dinner and play cards with our friends that evening, so when I was telling them all about what I'd found, they were saying 'yes' before I'd even finished asking if they wanted to go. I'm so excited that I've got a countdown on my phone. Only 469 days, to go. ?

Next, onto Nassau. We had spent a week at the Atlantis resort two years ago, and we had stayed at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island, so we knew how to get a bargain. We booked a room at the Comfort Suites through hotels.com. Each person gets a “free” Atlantis pass if they stay at the Comfort Suites. We were off the ship at noon, at the resort minutes later via taxi, then in the water park a few minutes after that. We never even went to the room. We saved a ton of money this way, compared to all the people on the ship that booked a trip to Atlantis through the ship. There were FOUR ships in port that day, even though the website telling me which ships were in port said there would only be two. Apparently they were supposed to be in Cuba that day, so they went to Nassau instead. we left Atlantis and headed back to port around 6:00 pm to do some shopping, but our taxi driver said that all shops in and around the port close around 5:00 pm in Nassau, so we just headed back to the ship instead. if everything closes at 5:00pm, and your ship is docked until midnight, what do YOU do? I talked with another passenger who said there are two restaurants near the port that stayed open and there were about 20 ship guests there.

About our ports! we started in Bermuda and chose Hat Trick Charters with Captain Keith. For $75 per person, he took us out six miles to The Blue Hole Coral Reef. It made all other snorkeling that we have done anyplace else seem lame. The trip includes rum punch, drinks, lunch, and is three hours long. It has a perfect score on TripAdvisor and we could tell why. It is a small group only, so book early! There is no great snorkeling in Bermuda off shore, when you see the reef here, you will be blown away. Took a ten minute taxi to the pier and hit Seas glass Beach on the way back to the pier. If you have any questions, check out the reviews on TripAdvisor. HIGHLY recommend this excursion. Contact them directly, this is not through Royal Caribbean.

Epic fail update. My TA contacted special needs at sea for me. They said the o2 tubing should have been in a bag with the concentrator. They also said I should have gone to guest services by 2pm and they would have had the SNAS representative fix any problems. Since I didn't notice a problem until that night didn't really work for me. Plus, I didn't know that I could have done that. I suggested they give a better explanation letter so you would know to do that. Now I know for next time, as does everyone who reads the blog.

Oops

Jane I am a over packer but getting better. I am down to traveling with just one suitcase now and a carry on. On this trip to Europe I am even going to go with a smaller checked bag. I have done many trips overseas and always packed way to much. I am a “what if” person too! It is not fun traveling around Europe with two suitcases and a carryon even if you are gone for a month. Especially in the summer months. I think in my former life I traveled with large trunks and had a small staff that traveled with me. I have realized that if I do not have something I can always buy it. Also rather than bringing lots of different coloured outfits for the evening, I have brought items that I can mix and match but still feel that I am wearing something different. I have been know to buy to much when away, but I have made use of the postal service and had things sent back rather than buying another suitcase. Packing cubes have been treating me well. Good luck with packing.

@mom2mybugs thanks for mentioning my blog. I too packed more for unexpected than expected. 4 night cruise with 2 hotel nights before and I ended up wearing: Same shirt and jeans days 1+2 including on plane. Wore sneakers since they take up most room. Those I should have left at home. Love my rothy"s and they would have worked everywhere for every occasion. Never even got out the pool sandles. Ended up wearing shorts on way home instead of jeans. So really the jeans could have stayed home. Took 2 pairs of shorts, wore 1 Took 2 dresses, did actually wear both in main dining room. They were casual enough to wear during day or during travel too so that could have cut out some other clothes Took a skirt to pair with shirts but ended up wearing only dresses. Took a shrug to wear in case cold and also to make dress look different each day. Took too many shirts since I ended up either wearing the dresses or my swimsuit and cover up. Took too many undergarments. I could have washed these in sink if necessary Wire socks with gym shoes and if I didn't have the shoes I could forgo the socks Took jewelry I never put on. Did good with family toiletries though, that was not an overpak. Toothpaste toothbrush some spray in conditioner a small shampoo and conditioner and deodorant. No makeup since I never wear it anyway. It was a good learning experience and I'll do better next time. And, since we aren't going deep into the jungle, I can buy stuff if I forget something that I can't live without (deodorant, I'm talking about you) Didn't try packing cubes, but I did pack my leaving outfit in my carryon when I unpacked everything else because of a deep fear of leaving ship in my nightgown

We saw a good bit of dry erase profanity on our last cruise on Navigator. We took to erasing it and adding nice things. On said “Your Mom is A $&@$” so we erased everything after the “A” and added wesome to the existing A

Day 8, SUN (5/26/19).. Debarkation... Final morning... we headed to our Key breakfast in the MDR on Deck 4 a little after 8:00 AM. We left our carry-ons outside the restaurant with the crew members. The restaurant was nice and quiet. There were a few tables in the restaurant, but they spread us out so we were not on top of each other. I had the Royal VIP Signature with a side of sausage and fresh squeezed OJ (had to use that DBP one last time ?).. really good! Going out in a blaze of glory! After breakfast we were sent to the Champagne bar to wait for our escort off of the ship. After about 10 minutes or so, the crew member came back from escorting the last group to lead us out. We received special Key luggage tags the night before to tag our luggage. Now we were led off the ship and through the terminal to our luggage which was in an area just for Key guests next to the Star class banners. Sorry I didn’t take pics. A porter loaded our bags and led us through the Star class (banner) line to the customs officer... we literally had no one in front of us and was led out of the terminal in about 5 minutes or so to the taxi. What a huge timesaver! Everyone else in the terminal had to wait on a very long, snaking line to get through customs. Headed back to the Holiday Inn to pick up our friend’s car and then they dropped us off at the airport. We said our goodbyes for now. I had already reserved a car for the day as our flight was not until after 6:00 PM. We decided to just drive up SR A1A along the coast, grabbed lunch, and finally headed back to drop the car off and head to the Southwest terminal. I think she was calling us back... LOL! P What an amazing cruise! I’ll be back with final thoughts...

... Day 7, SAT (5/25/19)... Last full day of cruise and a Sea day ? We all had breakfast once again at the Solarium Bistro. We kept it light as we made reservations at Izumi for lunch! After breakfast, we headed to the Boardwalk to explore. Here are some pics... Heading toward the Aqua Theater... you can just make out someone on the zipline! Walking behind the theater... Next we moved up to get a higher vantage point... once again, you can see the effect of the compromised azipod in the wake (to the left in this pic)... no noticeable impact on our cruise. The ship was actually cruising at 22.9 knts SAT evening after dinner for a period so she hasn't lost a step! ... on to Izumi for our last lunch... we sat on the restaurant side... everything is a la carte... Complimentary Edamame... We started with some delicious Shrimp Wonton Soup and Pork Gyoza Dumplings... We ordered two rolls... Snow Crab California roll and a Surf and Turf roll... both delicious! We love Japanese restaurants so we’ll be back! Maybe the hibachi next time! After killing some time, we headed to the Amber Theater to see Blue Planet. With the Key, we were again seated in the center of the theater just behind the booth... Maybe it was just us, but the show was a little disjointed. All of the performers were very talented, but the scenes seemed a little forced maybe? Not a very good flow. Now that we’ve seen it once, I don’t think we would see this show again. Just a random shot of the walkway in the center of Central Park (zoomed in from our Deck 11 balcony earlier)... I guess you would call this a medallion or plaque? 7 The last dinner... I think we still have a little more room left... we're almost at full capacity! Here is the menu: I had the Crispy Coconut Shrimp for my appetizer, the Cheese Tortellini with Meat Sauce for my entree, and the Pavlova for dessert. All very good. A shot of the four of us with our awesome MDR team... Kadek (waiter) to the right, Oleksandr (asst. waiter) second from left, and Jose (beverage) in the back middle. We had this team all 7 evenings (My Time dining) and a great window table to boot! Kadek is getting married in a few months after his current contract ends! Best of luck to him and his future bride! We said our goodbyes and eventually made our way back to the cabin to finish packing... all checked bags needed to be tagged and in the hall by 11:00 PM. We stayed in for the night and spent time on the balcony enjoying our last evening on Allure with our friends while listening to the musicians playing just below us in Central Park.

... Day 6, FRI (5/24/19)... Cozumel, Mexico! My wife and I got up early and headed down to the Central Park Cafe for a quick, simple breakfast. It wasn’t very busy, which was nice! From what I recall (prior to my first cup of coffee that is, LOL!), they converted the create your own salad area on the left side to a create your own bagel area... different cream cheeses, etc. As far as hot food options, they were serving ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches on English muffins and some sort of breakfast burrito. I believe they also had other continental breakfast items like cereal, fruit, etc. They of course had the coffee, expresso, cappuccino, latte, etc., bar open... we also grabbed a nice blueberry muffin and fresh squeezed OJ from that station. For whatever reason, we never received a special early departure time letter for Key members for this port. We were in no hurry anyway since we did not book an excursion once again. Our plan was to simply rent a car and explore the island on our own. Just a couple of pics... I still cannot get over how HUGE and beautiful these Oasis class ships are! Only you would understand my excitement! ? Renting a car was so easy! At the end of the pier, there were a number of rental car agency representatives drumming up business. We followed one of the Alamo reps and rented a Jeep... we never opened the roof that day (the ladies did not want to fry in the sun) and enjoyed the air conditioning between stops. The Alamo rep provided us with a map, made some beach bar & restaurant recommendations for drinks and lunch, and explained that only half of Cozumel has paved roads and that we needed to stay on the pavement. ? We stopped at this little establishment right on the beach. We ordered mojitos... they were by far the best mojitos we have ever had! Don’t worry, we had a designated driver! Very labor intensive... he didn’t just muddle the mint leaves and lime, he crushed them effectively into a paste! No concentrated cartons of juice used here... all fresh squeezed fruit! I asked for permission to take a couple of pics... Just some beach pics along the way... strange brown seaweed washing up on shore all over the island. A shot of the two Carnival ships and the Allure in the distance... you can just make out the two whale tails from this distance! Eventually, we stopped at Carlos ‘n Charlie’s for lunch (recommended to us by the Alamo rep)... I had the fish tacos which were amazing! Grouper with all the typical fixings in soft corn tortillas... delicious!!! Just some more random shots along the coast... a little more exploring before returning the rental and heading back to the ship... I wandered around the ship a bit before dinner... took a few shots of Central Park from one of the observation balconies on Deck 9... OK... now we’re off to dinner... here’s FRI evening’s menu: ... a quick shot taken during dinner from our table of one of the Carnival ships off of our port side also leaving Cozumel... Tonight I had the Tomato soup and tried the Asian Style Pork Tacos... soup good... tacos not very good (they’re in a bun, not a tortilla shell)... My entree was the Garlic Tiger Shrimp... tasty, but not memorable... maybe I’m just at full capacity and suffering from food overload! I had the Cherries Jubilee for dessert... I requested the regular vanilla ice cream instead of the no sugar added. Forgot to take a pic... I liked it. After dinner we decided to skip the comedy show. The ladies went back to the cabins and we tried our luck once again at the blackjack tables. Almost there! Last full day of cruise (sea day) next!

Hi @DDaley ! The themed nights in the MDR (Casual / White, Caribbean / Casual, etc.) appear in the Cruise Compass on the cover page (see bottom right corner in these pics under "Tonights Dinner Dress Code")... Take a peak at this prior thread for info on the Prohibition party... it appears in the Cruise Planner under "Activities"... cost was $35 / person...

... Day 5, THU (5/23/19)! Another day at sea and our second formal evening... a truly packed day onboard! We ate breakfast at the Solarium Bistro again this morning. We like to think of it as Windjammer, Jr., and much less crowded. After breakfast we decided to relax in the solarium for the morning. We were able to grab some of the nice lounge chairs right up front overlooking the sun deck and ocean. Just a couple random shots I took... just another reminder to make sure you have some sort of footwear as the decking gets super hot as the sun beats down. ? Next we went to Giovanni’s Table to take advantage of the complimentary specialty lunch that comes with the Central Park balcony reservation. Our waiter was outstanding (I can’t believe I forgot his name!) and the food was excellent! Here is the lunch menu: The lovely ladies! A little Central Park view from our table inside the restaurant... doesn’t feel like we’re on a cruise ship! ? I went with the Italian Cheese and Meat Plank (forgot to take pic again!) for my appetizer. My main course was the Polpettone... basically, a huge meatball made of ground veal and pork with a ball of mozzarella melted inside! Loved it! We ordered a side of pasta thinking the entree would not satisfy us... rookie mistake! I forgot to take a picture of the desserts! Our waiter brought out a sampler (full portions) all of them including tiramisu, cannolis, etc... delicious! We relaxed and wandered the ship again after lunch and eventually headed back to the cabin to get ready for our last formal evening... lobster night! ? Here is the menu... I went with the French Onion soup for my appetizer and of course the Lobster tails for my main course! I cut my waiter, Kadek, off at four tails... my capacity this evening! LOL! They will remove the meat from the tail for you... the butter comes shortly after! Baked Alaska for dessert.... yum! My my wife told them it was my birthday for some reason... it’s a milestone one this year, but not until the end of NOV... don’t rush it! We we also got one of the RC 50th anniversary desserts... After dinner we headed to the Headliner Show. Arrived 15 minutes before the show started (nice perk with the Key) and we were seated in the same reserved section as Sunday (Mamma Mia)... in the center, two rows behind what I believe is the sound booth. The act was the young Elvis impersonator, Travis Ledoyt. He was really good and played well off of the audience. After the Headliner show was over, we headed back to the cabin to change into our 20’s garb for the Prohibition Party held at Jazz on 4. Once again, these were the invites we received the night before in our cabins... We walked around a bit and had our pictures taken in front of the car in the Royal Promenade before heading to Jazz on 4 around 10:30 PM. They have you check in outside the club and give you a pin to wear inside. The MC of the event questions you and finally shows you a side entrance to the club. Inside, they set the club up in a theater seating format and since we did not arrive early enough, we were stuck off to the side of the room in the second to last row. We were very disappointed that the seating was set up theater style instead of like a club with tables and chairs. When we watched some YouTube videos of other Prohibition parties on the Allure prior to our cruise, it appeared they were set up with tables and chairs. Maybe they sold too many tickets and could not configure the room that way? They offer you various drinks or “tea” served in white mugs... we were not big fans of the drinks. The hors d’oeuvres were not very appetizing either, but fortunately we were all still stuffed from the lobster dinner! They bring out the jazz band and singer, which was very good, and the MC kicks off the event. Unfortunately, the MC was difficult to understand from where we were seated, especially since he had a thick accent. They call the guys to the dance floor and teach us some funny dance moves and then call the ladies up to teach them the basics as well. Maybe it was just us, but we were expecting more jazz music and dancing and less talk. The event seemed to drag on endlessly with lapses in music as they tried to create the atmosphere by telling a story. A lot of people got up and left early so we moved a little closer. Bottom line, we enjoyed dressing up in the 20’s garb, but we will never do the Prohibition party again. After the party, the ladies once again retired for the evening and the we headed for the casino for some more blackjack! Next is Cozumel... Day 6!

... Now I’ll move on to WED, 5/22/19... Day 4: Falmouth, Jamaica! With our early Key departure meeting time of 10:30 AM set at Blaze, we decided to try Johnny Rockets for breakfast. As an FYI for those that were not aware, breakfast at Johnny Rockets is complimentary for everyone. We were seated at a booth inside the restaurant. The restaurant was packed and our waiter and the kitchen staff could not keep up. The atmosphere was a little hectic and our friends were getting a little aggravated as many tables that were seated after us received their food first. I think I’m just a little more patient with my restaurant background. Here are a few quick pics including the breakfast menu... I had the French Toast with bacon, orange juice and coffee. The food was fine as it was of course cooked to order. We then headed to Blaze and waited a few moments until a crew member lead us to the gangway and escort us off of the ship. Our friends had arranged a surprise third party “excursion” for us. This is the first cruise that we elected not to book an excursion through Royal. They had previously spent time here while on their honeymoon and met a gentleman named Warren that had provided transportation for them while they were in Jamaica. We walked through the port and the many shops and met Warren and his vehicle just outside the port. We found out that our destination was the famous, Rick’s Cafe, in Negril. It was a hike, but Warren was an excellent driver and was very informative and kept our attention. As an FYI, we had to pass through three military checkpoints between Falmouth and Negril. I took a pic of an armed soldier in uniform at one of the checkpoints, but I’ll leave that one out if this post! They were all friendly and after rolling down the windows, we were allowed to continue on at each checkpoint. Warren explained that Jamaica, and the Caribbean as a whole, is a hot bed for phone scams/fraud. He explained that many of the leaders of these scam rings were arrested and jailed, but they are still looking for the many that got away and have been evading the authorities. We passed most of the famous resorts on our way to Negril and passed through Montego Bay, etc. We made a quick stop at the Harley Davidson store (located in Montego Bay I believe) and eventually made it to Rick’s Cafe. The area where you can jump or dive into the water. There are multiple platforms at increasing height up to the high platform... Only the resident diver, Spider, is allowed to make the high jump/dive from the platform with the flag. He was amazing... he would usually scale the cliff to get back to the main patio level after each jump/dive. After watching one of his dives posted by another tourist on YouTube while holding their GoPro, I should have taken him up on his offer! We had lunch here... I ordered jerk chicken which was very tasty. The weather was iffy as rain passed through while we ate our lunch (you can see it coming in from the ocean in some of the pics), but we had a good time! Warren took us back to the port with plenty of time to spare. We did a little souvenir shopping and headed back to the ship. After relaxing a bit onboard, we headed to the MDR. Here is the menu for evening #4: I went with the Baked Potato soup (tasty), the Beef Stroganoff (it was OK), and the English Trifle which was also tasty. Later that evening, we went back to the cabin and found our invitations to the Prohibition Party waiting in the cabin... Time for me to hit the pillow. I return to reality tomorrow - first day back to work!

... a few more pics from Labadee... We had an amazing day on Labadee. The BBQ was decent... mixed opinions among us, but it’s BBQ for the masses! When we were ready to go back to the ship, we asked Regis to have Willie stop by the cabana area and he took us back to the ship. We all agreed that the cabana was amazing and added a level of luxury that made Labadee that much more enjoyable. My wife and I would never have considered a cabana on our own, but sharing the cost with our friends made it doable. When you compare the cost to other activities, excursions and spa treatments, it’s a steal for small groups. Remember, you have it for the entire day along with the services of an attendant and a cart driver (no need to take the trams). Once again, Regis was amazing... he was always there anticipating our needs and we never had to look for him the entire day! And yes, we all avoided the Artisan's Market like the plague based on all of your recommendations! Once back on the ship, we got ready for dinner in the MDR... this night was Caribbean casual night. I was surprised with this cruise... with the exception of the two formal evenings, every night was some form of casual dress (we were not complaining!). I never had to pull out my Dockers, etc! Casual, Caribbean casual, white casual, etc. Here was the menu for evening #3... I forgot to take pictures of the food before I started eating each course! I started with the French Onion soup and the Seafood cake. I liked the Seafood cake better than the Crab cake from the first evening. I went with one of my favorites, Chicken Parmesan, and was pleasantly surprised. For dessert I tried the Apple Pie a la mode... interesting presentation, but I liked it. We walked around Central Park again after dinner... love Central Park! I went up top later for these pics. Underneath the bridge... When we went back to the cabins, we had our Key early departure info for Falmouth. Whoo hoo! Our wives called it an evening and the husbands headed to Casino Royale! ?

OK, I’m back! I’m sooo sorry for not being able to update while on the cruise! So busy... I don’t know how you all find the time to live blog! Let me take a step back to TUE (5/21) which was our day in Labadee! With the early day, we decided to go with the basic complimentary room service continental breakfast (no delivery fee). For those that have never ordered breakfast, they request that you complete the order on the door hanger card (extras kept in the cabin - see door hanger and menu below) and place it on your cabin door by 3:00 AM. If you prefer the American breakfast (omelettes, pancakes, etc.), the breakfast is not complementary as the normal $7.95 room service delivery fee (per order delivered regardless of size) plus an 18% gratuity applies. Our order arrived on time at exactly 6:00 AM (we requested the 6:00 am - 6:30 am delivery time). We never received information in our cabin regarding the Key and early departure from the ship on Monday, so that evening we stopped by guest services. They explained there was no early Key departure time for Labadee. We should just go down to the gangway prior to the scheduled time and they will escort us off of the ship first. In the end, we never had to mention the Key since we were the second group on line. We wanted to get off quickly so we could claim our cabana! Once we got off the ship we stopped by the information booth on Labadee (just through the main entry). They directed us to our assigned driver, Willie, who took us to the cabanas at Nellie’s Beach. Since we were first to arrive, we were able to pick any cabana and we looked at a number of cabanas and finally selected NW4 (pics to follow). We liked this cabana because we were not on top of the beach or facing the beach. We also did not have neighbors directly to our right (Barefoot Beach was through the trees to our right) and had some nice privacy since our neighbors to the left were at a slightly lower elevation. They actually left a little after lunchtime so we had the area all to ourselves. The sun exposure was absolutely perfect! We had the sun on the deck area, but never got blasted by the direct sun in the covered area, especially as the day went on, like the cabanas across Nellie’s beach. You’ll notice in some of the pics that the cabanas on the other side did not have an umbrella on their deck area! These pics were taken before we selected our cabana. We climbed up the hill to our right next to our cabana and took these pics. Later we realized that we were walking through the Barefoot Beach cabanas. We actually liked our cabana better since we had direct access to the water and could see the ship from the water, but did not have to look at it when we were in our cabana. Map of Labadee... Here is our cabana (NW4)... Regis was our attendant and he was awesome! The cabana came with a large ice chest filled with large bottles of Evian bottled water. We would later use it as a cooler for the beers, etc. We also received the floating mats for all four of us. The cabana had a nice ceiling fan and one electrical outlet with two receptacles which came in handy for charging phones, playing music on my Bluetooth speaker, etc. Shots of steps to our cabana (not for folks with mobility limitations)... we only left occasionally for lunch, bathroom breaks and to explore. This is the end of the beach on our side from the bottom of the steps. Steps and cabana shots... This ladder access may be too steep for children and folks that cannot swim will want to walk down to the beach to access the water... A bunch of shots from the cabana... non-stop Labadoozies! My my wife and friends having a blast! Some shots with my GoPro from the water (still learning how to use it)... our cabana is the one on the left with the tree in front (a little blurry)... ... have to start boarding our return flight... more later! Thanks for being patient!

People use their phones as their camera and bring more cameras like Go Pros for underwater or other active excursions or a DSLR or mirrorless camera for better photography. Any one with medical equipment lose an outlet to it. If both adults had CPAP machines there are no outlets left. A toothbrush charger consumes an outlet. There are lots of ways to consume your available outlets.

I can't understand how many people need that many plugs. I'm there for a vacation not to stare at a tablet or laptop