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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.

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 am on this cruise. See everybody tomorrow.

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

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 ! 🤨😇

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!

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 love the kitty plate !!

Ok you guys, I'm SO excited. Mr. SpeedNoodles and I have not been on a vacation for 10 years (yes, you read that correctly). We've had time off from work, hauling the hounds to dog shows, but those are work. Lots of fun, but lots of work. This year is our 25th wedding wedding anniversary, his 50th birthday, we found a hound(s)/house sitter, and we are READY TO GO!!! I'll focus this blog mostly on the ship, since there's no way my photos of the scenery will do any justice of it, and Twangster did a superb job on his. Hats off to him - they were absolutely incredible! I don't know that I'll be able to post daily, but I intend to do the best that I can. We will have 36 hours in Seattle before we get on the ship, so we're super excited about that! Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick .....

We cruise out of San Juan every year, albeit in winter months and have been of Freedom a number of times as well as her sister Liberty (this is actually our favorite class of ship). what others have already pointed out about food and possible rude passengers I agree with. Food is subjective but certainly eatable and like stated if the meal you choose isn't to your liking ask for something else and as we cruise we find our favorites that we have each time it is offered, can you get some not prepared right, even when you know you like the dish, sure it can happen, let them know they will try to make you happy. Rude people, on occasion, but they are everywhere, no mater where you go. More than else where, I sure don't think so, anyway I won't let them ruin my day. Positives for San Juan cruises, is the Southern Caribbean has the absolute best islands, ones you generally can't get to on a 7 day cruise leaving from a US port I'd say give San Juan a try odds are pretty good you'll like it

Yep just an inside cabin for us. Just a way to not walk past our door this trip haha.

I had it moved from inside my body to the hospital garbage. 😁

I’ll be happy to report back after our stop in July and let you know. I believe the South Beach area (I think it will have a new name?) is opening in December 2019, unless there is a delay in construction. Yours would also be dependent on if the bungalows and beds are going back where they were. I’m guessing, and this is total speculation, but if they work well over on Chill Island for the next 6 months I wouldn’t be surprised if they had them in both locations. More to rent, more revenue for them! I am thinking about my first live blog for this cruise since we have a lot of firsts. And some interesting family dynamics that could provide some entertainment. If I do, I will give you a heads up so you can read my thoughts on CocoCay and the beach beds/Chill Island! 😁

This is so true. I get annoyed if I go to a gas station or somewhere where I still need to swipe my card or put it in the reader. It's a lot nicer to just tap the screen with it or uses your phone. In a few years swiping or inserting a card will be like using a key or writing a check. And don't get me started on places that only take cash or checks. WTF!

Don't apologize for your Jersey attitude, Kathy!!! I feel for you. I can eat literally anything --- there are some things I choose not to, for personal taste, but DH & I have no food allergies, intolerances, etc. Whether or not we should eat all that we do -- well, that's a different story.... Traveling with my 2 DD's -- that's the problem. 1 has celiac, so must be gluten free -- although they were fairly accommodating, it still limits her choices, and because of cross contamination fears, plus not wanting to wait for special dishes to be brought out, we don't do WJ with her too much. Other has ulcerative colitis, so that eliminates a lot of specific food categories (high fiber, fried, skins on fruits/veggies, etc), although, again, they were able to accommodate her reasonably well, and luckily, she's not too picky, so we were ok there. We actually had more luck on RCCL than we do trying to find regular restaurants at home. I remember once (back in the 80's) going to a restaurant for lunch with my vegetarian friend, (she was ovo-lacto, so not as limited), and we couldn't find anything on the menu for her. Clueless waitress suggested a BLT -- and we just looked at her, & said, "You do realize that the B stands for Bacon, which is meat, right????" She actually gets sick if she inadvertently gets cross contaminated with meat protein, so that's a real problem for her. Same friend, I was hosting a bridal shower for her a few years later, & I was telling people I was having a hard time finding vegan recipes for her strictly vegan family members, & someone recommended quiche -- eggs & cream & cheese are all no-no's for vegans, so I had to say, "No, that won't work".

Thanks for your reply and answer. Glad to hear safety is a top concern for Royal. I have learned a lot from this blog and we are looking forward to sailing on the Allure of the Seas in 14 days!

OK, I have to know -- what kind of ramen?!? Tonkotsu? 😋 Starting to finally have some decent ramen options in NJ, but only decent...

We arrive between 9:30 and 10, typically. We are diamond plus so we usually don't have to wait very long after security to board the ship. Two years ago when we sailed on the Allure, we arrived later than we ever have and walked straight onto the ship after security at 10:30 because they were already boarding our group.

You can keep the cash you expect to need for shopping or museum admission in a purse with a crossing strap that can't be cut (metal fibers in the strap). You keep the purse clutched to your body, the zippered pouch with your $$ facing your body. My wife also keeps her wallet in her purse, although most valuables are in a hotel safe or the stateroom safe.

Last time I planned to bring back bottles, I packed a few sheets of bubble wrap . The ones with the small bubbles that is perforated. They sell it at Walmart in the office/packing section. I wrapped my bottles with that and tape and it held up great during the travel home.

In theory on my Symphony cruise I upgraded onboard from the Refreshment package bought in the Cruise Planner to the Deluxe onboard. 9I was charged the difference between the onboard cost of the two packages. Still the difference was I think either $38 or $40 a day plus the 18% gratuity/service charge. How it might work for a booking perk, I have no idea. Will mention no credit is given towards any upgrade with the included soda package for booking a Boardwalk balcony room.

I use the google photo to backup my pictures from the phone , but you will need WIFI for that. regarding the canon , there is a memory card that comes with internal WIFI if your camera dose not support it already.

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

Hi Jane, I'm Larry and I'm an over packer as well. After multiple cruises, I continue to slowly whittle down on the amount I bring on vacation trips. With each cruise I continue to reevaluate what was taken and unused. My wife and I will be at wits end on what to pack as we prepare for a Down under trip consisting of 4 nights in Sydney followed by B2B 12 night cruises to NZ and SP especially difficult due to expected different weather patterns. Our current focus: 1, dress in layers for flexibility 2, 3 pair of shoes per person(sandels, semidress and tennis). 3, planning on using the ship's laundry deal on each leg of cruise as well as a Tide stain stick, 4, One formal attire with extra top for changing as I don't care if people notice. 5, pack for the expected is a great guide as too many times we never used that 3rd or 4th sweater/pants...6, plan to buy some health and beauty products once we get to Sydney and chuck them when we head home. 7. if we do find we forgot something such as a jacket or hoodie we buy them as a souvenir(dual purpose). As a personal challenge I would love to try and pack in a small suitcase but I still value my marriage too much. My wife would remind me every minute of the day what we don't have with us. I will save that for a Transatlantic solo cruise some day. I am always checking the forum for other tips and ideas to make cruise travel easier. Thanks for your thought and ideas.

Not addressing the OP, but it's funny how people complain about nickel-and-diming (which I don't agree with having converted from DCL to RCCL), but in the end will accept it. However, they're afraid to ask their travel agent to reprice a cruise. It does all add up!

We were at 150 Central Park on Symphony last month. It was one of the best restaurants we have been to on land or sea. Service and food were impeccable. You can see the menu and some pictures from from my live blog here Scroll about 1/3 of the way down page 5. And halfway down page 4 has Wonderland.

OP, I think you may just have been unlucky. We did Giovanni's and Chops once each on our Navigator cruise last November. Both were good but for us Giovanni's was the better one. DH had the mushroom risotto and thought it was delicious. We have the 3 night package for our next cruise on Adventure this coming November and will probably do Giovanni's twice and Chops once. We're not sushi fans either.

Thats disapointing, we are on Adventure in October and have got the 3 meal package. Dont fancy Izumi so were going ot do Chops twice and Giovannis, hopefully its better on Adventure.

I just checked flights from my area and it is just about $200/pp...weeee!!!

I was going to say how much I loved the 4 Seasons...and then came the “senior citizens” comment. 😢😞 😉

We initially decide together budget, ship and itinerary then I deal with all of the actual booking and arrangements and my husband pays. He promptly forgets where he is going and on which ship. If it weren't for my planning, he'd never go anywhere 🤦‍♀️

All me. Every cruise, vacation, everything. Hubby has no clue where we are going most times. He cannot keep track 😄

Oops, just wanted wanted to add that the best thing we brought is our magnetic hooks! Hubby bought four magnetic hooks at Home Depot for $6. We have three people in our inside stateroom and there are not enough places to hang wet swimsuits, towels, etc. All of the walls are metal of course, so it works great for us! Also, there are only two outlets in the room to charge things, so plan accordingly!

I vote Hilton Marina.

WOW. Just WOW. If you can go see We Will Rock You twice .... do it .... it was by far the best show we have ever seen on a RCL cruise. #period

I think if you really want St. Thomas that you should think about a different ship because there really is no guarantee it will make it there with its current Azipod problems.. And I don't think you are being a complainer. I think you are being smart and proactive.

... 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.

TERMINAL 3 UPDATE: Here is an update on the Galveston Terminal 3 project. This was posted in the Galveston daily News today. Royal Caribbean and the Port of Galveston signed a memorandum of understanding in December. The port of Galveston trustees approved the deal in January. However, a final lease agreement has not been signed due to unspecified leadership changes at Royal Caribbean. A Royal Caribbean spokesperson confirms that nothing has changed with their intentions to construct a new, state-of-the-art, cruise terminal in Galveston, and plans are continuing to move forward. Royal Caribbean has already sent survey crews and divers to inspect the condition of the new terminal site. The Port Board of Trustees unanimously approved the spending of $300,000 to begin engineering work to collect physical data of the site, and for pavement work at another location to allow relocating of facilities from the Terminal 3 site to a new location. This move expresses confidence by the Port of Galveston that the deal will be finalized soon. Passenger fees were increased from $8.30 to $15 per passenger on January 1 of this year. That has generated over $500,000 in new income for the port so far this year. That will help fund the Port’s cost for the new work going into Terminal 3.

... 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!

... 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!

I would be curious to know the dates for each of your sailings to see if G could be an area/group code or specific cabana code. In talking with the Shore Excursion staff, it was explained to us that all cabanas are now to be assigned by the date your booked the cabana - not by when you booked the cruise. If the cabanas are now lettered instead of numbers, it will take some reports to figure out the lettering scheme. I would volunteer to investigate. 😄 On a side note - with the ability to bring music/speakers nearly everywhere on the island, please, please, please be mindful that not everyone wants to hear your music all day. We had been in our cabana for 30 minutes or so when the guests behind us turned their music on very loud. I was not going to suffer through that all day (the volume not the genre) so I walked around and asked politely for them to turn it down. The guests next to the music player thanked me later for saying something as they didn't know what to say or do. I am glad I got over my fear of saying something a while ago and now I have no trouble asking nicely first then requesting staff to step in if necessary.

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

Does it come with a piano player too? 😜 If it does not come with a piano player we will not bid on it LOL.

BUMMER 😔 I used to do a special “spell” when hubby was on call as we went to bed to try to ward off late night calls - it usually worked 😂 So shoot me a message the next time and I will see if I can’t abracadabra something up for you! 😬🙈 Lynn

Oasis, 2700 rooms. 1 month: 10 people doing 1 room per hour for 10 hours would do the job in 27 days with 3 days to get the system working. But, I’m guessing WOW Bands don’t generate revenue like a Bionic Bar.

I don't know about hotels, but to get off the ship earliest, volunteer to carry your own bags. I recommend this for Southampton as that is the port where my wife's bag (with all souvenirs) "disappeared" between the ship and our 8 AM arrival at the luggage area. Have a good trip...