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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. 😎

More suite pictures (I hope). The suite was great -- no noise at all from CK! The only tiny little downside is that anyone can see into the room if you have the lights on and the shades open from the pool deck. We do not care too much about such things, but it is something to keep in mind! The shads and curtains close and open with a button, so it is very easy. But, you need to remember to do so!! We really enjoyed being so close to CK -- we could just pop in anytime for a drink, coffee, or whatever else.

Where did you move it to ? Sorry. Couldn’t resist that one. I have GERD and reflux too so I can completely sympathize.

Absolutely. I'm a terrible flyer. The drive to Galveston from Dallas is not terrible either. I hope they come to an agreement and get this done. I guarantee we will be on that first oasis class out of Galveston.

Yea, the pasta was even listed in the menu with a nice description. The waiter said order the entrees with him. Once we ordered the pasta he said to get that off the Buffett. So once the entree was “completed” it did not match the description at all!

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! 😁

I understand some complaints about the MDR, but my experience as well as the experience of other members also points to uneven execution in the specialty restaurants. Sooo....it boils down to whether the extra $$$ seem worth it-- do you really expect a superior culinary experience? Also, some rooms have a free dinner and lunch for the time you want to be away from WJ or MDR. My college student soon has become quite the sushi expert, and his assessment of Izumi's on the Harmony was just "OK", and not worth the hype. Good luck with whatever you choose.

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!

80's show on Symphony

Ok the enabling thing just cracked me up!!! Jane

I realized when I was dragging 2 heavy suitcases onto the train in Paris that it has to change, but didn't do it the last 2 trips. This one I'm determined!!! Jane

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

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

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...

Ultimately it is the passenger who pays for all of the costs associated with the cruise and the terminal facilities... one way or the other.

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.

Another thing about needing plugs and not understanding people who use electronics is that everyone's idea of a great vacation is different. I personally love to read with my kindle by the pool or listen to a podcast with bluetooth headphones while relaxing. I also enjoy the ability to share my vacation in real time with friends and family. All of these things need charging and it's amazing how quickly the plugs get full, especially once you factor in cabin mates. I understand that some people enjoy disconnecting or using very few electronics on a cruise but it's a pet peeve of mine when someone uses their personal preference to look down upon other's choices in how they choose to spend their vacation. I'm not saying anyone here is doing that, but I HAVE seen that condescension elsewhere and it's incredibly uncalled for, in my opinion.

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