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Day 7 Night As we make our way along the chain of Hawaiian Islands towards Maui the North Star was empty and they were begging for participants to justify the ride. Minimum 6-7 was being requested. So... why not? Later on my balcony I spotted an old friend... the Milky Way. We've come far enough South that it's still visible. It's hard when shooting off the side of the ship given the ship's forward motion so I had to crank up the ISO and shorten the exposure.

Be kind to bartenders. Last cruise I was at the Sky Bar settling down for the International Belly Flop Championship. Ordered a Hurricane. Bartender was Hugh. He made the standard 2 shots of rum, one dark, one light followed by a lot of juice and ice.. Gave him a 2 dollar bill. He smiled. Next one he let the shot cups overflow a little into the glass. Gave him a dollar. Third drink he just poured in rum glug, glug, glug. Alcohol to juice now at 50/50. Another buck for Hugh. Last one (#4) he glug glugs the well rums then goes into the fridge and pulls out a bottle of Kraken and gives me a nice dose of that. Hardly any room for juice, just a splash fits in. Hugh gets another 2. I'm hammered by now and I ask Hugh to marry me before leaving. Wife has cut me off by now. Did I say be kind to bartenders?

Nor for our roughly four hours at the Na Pali Coast. Approaching Kauai and the first land we've seen in almost 6 days. As noted above the Captain spun the ship in a 360° turn so that both sides we able to see the coast. It's hard to capture in pictures or words so I'll just dump a bunch of photos in here and try through pictures. With that it was time to sail on and away toward Maui. Top tier event after we left the Na Pali coast. Platinum 477, Emerald 315, Diamond 700, Diamond Plus 415, 40 Pinnacle.

LOL. So, those day beds go for $150 a day, and the couch I camped out at goes for $500 a day. But, but, it’s got a TV (not pictured). Self-proclaimed models/social influencers also started posing around the pool and walked around narrating video selfies. Gonna go check out the pool in the West tower and see if it’s a little less douchebaggy.

Good Moring From St. Martin Today I Got Up And Well… I Rode The Flowrider. Also I Am Wearing A Lovely Royal Caribbean Blog Shirt! After The Flowrider I Did The Water Slides.

First vacation breakfast And WIFI roaming partner actually works during flight.

Well here we start ? The flight back home was OK although I almost did not slept , not sure why , but it was quite short flight so I survived. Quick taxi ride home and I went to sleep for a while . Last arrangements , some more packing and even had time to go and visit my father before my long trip , had to help him configure the Youtube from the IPAD to be shared with the TV screen and upgrade his souse Fitbit. As we had early flight decide to try and go to sleep. We both set our alarm clock and I said to myself I will decide later if to add to the suitcase another bottle of wine or not . I order a taxi for 3:40 am and went to rest my eyes. I open my eyes and looked on the clock - 3:33 am , uffffffffffffff , for some reason the alarm did not worked , go trust google assistant. 7 minutes to get ready , in that 7 minutes , I took a shower (must for me at the morning) , shaved, dressed up and answered the taxi driver call, And what you know we both were ready (I guess there are some things your learn while in the army you never forget). Currently , the only thing I found that I forgot are the headphone but I bought new one in the airport. So we are in the lounge waiting for out first flight ,

I'm seeing a lot of glitches in the system today.

Honestly, after many many cruises, I find that the tip "a lot" advice you get on any of the forums is very exaggerated. You pay your gratuities that are charged daily or prepaid. This also covers the buffet, Cafe Promenade and El Loco Fresh who area all in the tip pool. You pay18% per drink or via the package purchase that added the 18% You pay an 18% gratuity for a specialty restaurant, or if pre-purchase before boarding it is included in the price. Really about the only time you have to worry about extra tipping is when you finally reach a C&A level where you are getting free drinks, or use the services of the concierge, then it seems more appropriate. Then again if any service is way over the top, then you might consider a little extra. No one on the staff is going to label as "that cheapie" , they reserve that for those that remove their daily gratuities .... ?

Yes, on the Nov 24 sailing.

It just keeps getting prettier. Did I mention how nice it is to be in shorts and sandals outdoors at 0700 without freezing your butt off? Sigh. I could spend my life watching sunrises like this one.

I don't tip too much beyond what is already charged as a tip, such as the 18%. I do tip the porters (something like $5 for two bags), and I do tip my room steward extra IF they have been particularly good (but my last cruise I didn't tip any extra, because he simply didn't do anything beyond basic room cleaning to deserve it). Don't feel like you need to tip someone just because you feel obligated...if they earned extra above what I am already providing them, I'll certainly do it, but I won't do it "just because".

So there it was... our 4 day Cuba cruise now changed to Key West and Nassau morphed again into a cruise to Nassau and we stay docked until 6pm the next day. As we stared at the paper announcement on our stateroom bed, it was just 100% disbelief. Granted we were only at Nassau once before and went straight to Segway around Blue Lagoon but Nassau is the place that people stay on board, complain about, and generally avoid. What transpired was a terrific two days there. First off we had already decided to take a tour bus exploration excursion to get an overview and some history. It was fast paced and covered a lot ground but most of all we noted places we wanted to visit in the afternoon. After lunch back at the windjammer, we walked to the Balcony House. It's the oldest wooden structure on the island. The tour was informative and free. From there we walked around that neighborhood reading history markers and slowly walking back down to the ship. A stop for ice cream on a second floor deck overlooking the harbor completed day one. Well, actually we ventured back out around 8 at night but most everything was surprisingly closed down. At no time did we feel unsafe or hassled beyond the typical vendors trying to get us into their stores on the main drag. Day two brought great weather so off to the local bus stop to grab the 10 or 12b bus that runs along the North shore of Nassau. The goal was to find a beach far enough away from the tourists and the beach peddlers. Mission accomplished with a half hour ride shared with locals going to work. Found a beach that started with just us there and topped off at about 12 other RC toting towel folks. It was 100% what we had wanted. The small bar had 5 dollar beach chairs, food and refreshments. It was more island charm than resort which fit us fine! Nassau wound up being a very pleasant surprise. Friendly locals, easy walking to historical sites, and an accesable public bus system to get you to the beach with some local flair! If we stop in Nassau again, which is a cruise ship given, we will no longer moan but look forward to creating an adventure.

@mworkman You better book it before it goes up.?

Ordered lunch poolside. Simple order. Cheeseburger, fries, Mexican mule blender drink. It took ~30 minutes to arrive (which I thought was totally acceptable as busy as the pool was — I certainly didn’t complain or ask about it). They apologized profusely, comped my meal and brought me double drinks (also comped). Wow. Gonna leave a stratospheric tip. Cheeseburger, fries and blender drinks were great. I have no idea why they thought they messed up.

$11753, damn that's like Disney cruise prices.

I stopped back by the room and did something I never do. I just laid back down in bed and thought, maybe this is what napping is about? And then crashed hard for two hours. I don’t nap. I’ve never napped. I wish napping was in my repertoire... I’ve always been jealous of folks that can grab one. It was glorious. It’s like I got a quick free battery recharge. Back poolside now for lunch and it’s busy, but there are corners where you can get some space in the shade. DJ is playing a really good Latin mix. A+.

Exploring the pools at the W. There are two (one each in the East and West towers). This is the East tower on the 5th floor. Shady day beds and couches if you want to enjoy the breeze while not being baked too harshly. Bar and DJ start at 11AM.

Breakfast al fresco (at El Vez, the W’s Mexican restaurant). Yes, I’m eating here again even though last night’s mahi mahi tacos were underwhelming. All the other food looked and smelled so good, I think they deserve another shot. Their Huevos Rancheros are ridiculously good. Mean Bloody Mary too. Must not get borracho too early. ?

We already boarded the second flight , thank you star alliance milles (some good compensation for all the endless business trips far from home) ? I suspect he was not really a chef but well I will survive Just 9:45 hours to go

As predicted, I'm up early. Not nearly as early as I imagined though. Slept in until 6AM local, which is 9AM by my CA body clock. This place has a great bed. The plus side of waking up early on the right coast is being able to catch a pretty sunrise. ?

Yes. I have done the opposite many times (asked for red velvet cake from Chops when dining at Giovanni’s)

If you have prepaid gratuities then you do not have to tip anymore, tipping extra is then up to each individual. We left a tip for room attendant, what it was i will not say because to be honest if i say i left $500 then it puts pressure on others to do likewise and if i say i only left $10 then it make me look cheap. But i left something and they should be grateful no matter the amount left. Bar staff i didnt tip until last night, no way im tipping someone extra every drink just to get better service after all its their job to serve people. Your on vacation to enjoy yourself not worry about whether you are tipping enough.

I don't think any of us would know the answer. Did you ask your DMV is you could fly with that id? If so, then I would *think* you'd be ok but none of us really know the answer. It would be a long 2 day drive home if you can't board with quite a bit of money lost.

I would ring Royal Caribbean and ask them for advice they always are helpful when I have contacted them

Happy to report: completely uneventful flight. Did the terminal E to terminal C hustle at IAH in about 15 minutes. IAH-FLL flight was held at the gate briefly so a passenger on a late connecting flight could make it. This is a recent United policy, and it's a good one. Pilots were able to make up the time en route by shoveling a little more money into the engines. Pilot Flying absolutely plastered it onto the runway on landing. Much shrieking. I thought it was funny; others not so much. I'm easily entertained. Lead flight attendant started his post-landing announcement with, "You may have noticed we've arrived in Fort Lauderdale..." High-five to him. Cockpit door remained shut during deplaning. Yeah, door of shame. Stand in the galley and take your ribbing, coward. Taxi ride to the W Hotel on the beach in Fort Lauderdale was, um, interesting. It was totally a breeze until we hit A1A for the last couple of miles. Construction has necked-down a segment from 2 lanes to 1, so we spent the last mile watching pedestrians outpace us. No skin off my nose. I got a better chance to ogle what I may want to explore on foot tomorrow. Note if you're taking a taxi from FLL airport to anything close to it: Flag drop at the airport is $13 minimum with an additional $3 fee for whatever. So, $16 to move 100 yards if that's how far you want to go. Once you've used $13 worth of mileage/time, the meter starts ticking up like normal. FLL to the W was ~$25 for the 6.5 mile trip. This particular W has a pretty stellar reputation for the property, service, rooms, location and food. I'm digging it so far. Super smooth check-in. Met by their "Welcome Manager" Brian while I was being checked in. Very nice comp room upgrade. This is one of those places that does Amex "Fine Hotels & Resorts" bookings perfectly. Late check-out. Free breakfasts. $100 credit to spend on-property (to which the W added a surprise additional $50). Amex is also running a bonus right know that will knock another $100 off of my bill for spending 2 nights. [I'm not trying to pimp Amex, but if you travel a lot -- that Plat card pays for itself many times over.] Ate at El Vez tonight, the Mexican restaurant in the W. Excellent service. Great Margaritas. The mahi mahi fish tacos though. Erm. No. I saw tons of excellent looking food on other tables. I think I just ordered a dud. Prices are surprisingly non-extortionate for a hotel restaurant. Plan for tomorrow: wake up at an ungodly hour and lament still being on West Coast time. I wake up at 0530 in CA. That's 0230 here. It's gonna be a loooooong morning. Once the sun is up it'll be a walk across the street to the beach, then a saunter south to the cool looking venues on A1A facing the beach in search of brekkies.

Hey Matt, JayMac did credit the Internet!! Thanks Internet!!

I'd be finding a way to drive to Puerto Rico

I can't think of any situation on a cruise where it would be rude to offer one. Tipping is very subjective and with added gratuities to drinks, room service, daily gratuities for room cleaning and dining it isn't really expected but is always welcome. I usually expect to tip for: The porter when I arrive to the port. This will be the person that rushes you to take your luggage to a cart so it can be loaded onto a cruise ship. This is probably the only point where I ever feel pressured to give a top. They often do expect one. The porters are NOT employees of the cruise line. I generally tip a few bucks per bag. Depends on what I have convenient in terms of small bills. They also are around when you get off the ship and can be a big help to get you through customs faster. I would tip more for that for sure but I've never actually ended up using one. Bartenders. Even though you are charged 18% with your drink I find that you can brighten someone's day and even get better service by handing over the occasional cash tip. You can do it drink by drink, every other drink, or if you visit the same bartender over and over again just do it in a larger amount one or two times. Room service. Unless you are ordering continental breakfast or are in a Grand Suite or above, there's a charge for room service. It's a single charge per time but you can order as much food as you want at once. You are charged an 18% gratuity to your room service order. I always tip whoever delivers. If it's just a tray with coffee in the morning it may just be a couple of bucks. If it's stacks of room service plates, then they will get tipped more. Dining. If you eat in the specialty restaurants you have the chance to leave a tip on your bill just like at a regular restaurant. I tend to tip $5 per person for lunch and $10 per person at dinner. It's been a long time since I've eaten in the MDR..but when I used to we would give a tip to the waiters at the end since it was a set dining time and you always had the same waiter team. Room steward. I end up tipping $20 at a minimum to the room steward, even if they don't do their job. If they are excellent and I have a good rapport with them I will give them more..usually hunt them down the morning of embarkation to give them the tip. Excursions. I tip for rideshares, taxis, tour guides. Some ports have folks out in the port area that expect tips if you take photos with their pet iguanas or monkeys..so be aware of that. If you have a cabana or waiter at a beach, you tip them. That's all I can think of off the top of my head that I deal with regularly on cruises. Ride on the gratitude that you feel when you give them the tip..I know that tends to make me want to be even more generous.

Dinner Time!!! We ate in the MDR for dinner each night. We like the food there, and with our youngest not being very adventurous with his meal choices we dont want to pay the cover at a specialty restaurant for him to order grilled cheese. So here is the night one menu. Standard across the fleet. So Johnny ordered...........wait for it................. . Grilled cheese with a side of broccoli. (He actually loves broccoli) He ordered this for dinner EVERY night on our Anthem cruise. Lydia had her best day ever with pizza and french fries Heather and I ordered the escargot and antipasti plate for our appetizer. I had the chicken marsala, it was okay Heather had the prime rib, which was very good. Heather and I had the creme brulee for dessert.......which was actually overcooked. We ate one bite and said no more.

On a per person, per day basis, the shorter the cruise, the more expensive it is....especially on the newly amped ships. The cruises we took in June and July on NAV are some of the expensive pp/pd cruises we’ve ever done. If you only have a few days then it’s worth paying the high premium but if you have the time, it’s definitely a better deal to go on longer cruises.

If you use a travel agent, don't call Royal. Call your TA and let them know you want to pre-pay the gratuities. They'll process the reservation update and get the charge applied to your card. I've done this on every cruise I've booked with my TA, knowing full well I plan to pre-pay after I've passed final payment and hit a new billing cycle on the card. At that point it's just one extra monthly payment in the series I've been making since booking.

Well if it's on FB it must be true.

@Kathleen, Summit is equivalent in size and capacity to a Radiance class ship, which I think is what Royal normally uses for those Arctic Circle sailings. Royal also has a very similar northern Transatlantic repositioning cruise on Brilliance that leaves from either Copenhagen or Amsterdam (seems to vary year to year) and ends in Boston. I was originally looking to do that latter sailing for 2020, but the dates didn’t work with my kids’ school / college schedules and the price (at the time) was roughly equivalent to this Celebrity sailing, so Celebrity became a really nice Plan B option. I’ll definitely be keeping everyone here up to date on that as the time gets closer! Actually have to see about booking our first excursion pretty soon.

Not trying to shoot the messenger, but whomever posted it on CC is not the author of the photos. What they do is search Instagram for photos posted by shipyard workers and/or cruise ship employees. You can do this yourself if you rely on geolocation of Instagram posts limited to the area surrounding the Cadiz shipyard. What bugs me is these folks dont credit the person that posted the photo. Not your fault @Jaymac Radio and I dont blame you one bit. Just pointing out the reality of the source of these photos.

Definitely not a looker, but wow it was tasty. Tortillas were deep fried (crispy like chilaquiles). Salsa actually had some heat to it. Queso fresco & fresh guac. Not afraid of cilantro. Burp. Very nice.

So strange. Maybe try again? Looks like Royal's wonderful website. I just tried the same mock booking in CAD, and got $2844 CAD for two , same room type on deck 14.

Yep. That could present a logistics problem for them.??

I'll keep my eye out here. Sometime in the next 10 years we're going to get married on a beach somewhere, and a sunset wedding on Coco Key and reception on the ship while still having the next day as ANOTHER "perfect day" has started playing over in my head since @Matt's podcast yesterday. So if RC can make that happen before 2029, that'd be great. ?

IMO, doing the same itinerary again is not a big deal. When it comes to cruising in the Caribbean, it's pretty much expected. I find plenty to see and do each time.

Man I love early AM flights. Quick 15 minute ride to SFO. Security Pre-Check line was literally 30 seconds. I'm now camped out at the Centurion Lounge in terminal 3 (opened at 0500) and there is a massive crowd of 3 whole people to contend with. I see 'em cooking breakfast in the kitchen, so I'm 100% sure I'm not going to perish from hunger. Too early for the bar? Food's ready! Their timing is impeccable. Fruity selection: Spinach & bell pepper scramble. Chicken apple sausages. Steel cut oatmeal. Mushroom frittata. French toast. Vegetarian farro dish I eyed suspiciously, but it was actually really tasty:

Pictures to come, here is a time lapse of our 360° turn at Na Pali Coast.

Well Today Was One Of Those Lazy Sea Day!! All I Did Was Ride The Flowrider. And Eat?

To be honest, you don't need a "party dress" -- I can't do dresses anymore (can't wear heels/hose), so I have dressy palazzo pants & nice blouses for "formal" nights -- but if you want to wear a sundress, or slacks & a nice blouse, you won't be out of place. I also own a few maxi length sleeveless dresses that I just throw a shrug over -- takes up very little space, and jewelry dresses it up enough for me. Go to formal night neatly dressed -- you'll be fine!

Another reason you want to have a C&A account/number for your wife is so you each get a set of rewards/discounts applied to your SeaPass card. Sure things like "Buy one drink get one half off" aren't going to save you tons of money, but you might as well be able to do it twice! It only costs a couple minutes of your time to make sure you both have C&A numbers.

When your wife enrolls and sets up her log-in to the Crown and Anchor Society, she may want to use a separate e-mail account. The default is that only one password can be associated with a given e-mail address, which becomes the user name. So with two accounts and passwords, you'll want two usernames. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/account/signin?default=false&cS=MHDR Note that it is also possible to use a mobile phone. I don't use smart phones, but I wanted to give you a heads-up as you move forward.

I'd feel like a jerk if I walked up in front of all those folks.

After Muster It Was Time For Our Sailaway From Port Canaveral. The Sailaway Party At The Wipeout Bar. And With That We Where Off!! Our Terminal We Left Out Of. Some Photos Of The Air Force Base. Some More Sailaway Photos.

On some ships the WJ is open again late night...I think maybe Marnier and Navigator at least.. I eat at WJ for 90% of my meals on Royal...always good and lots of selection...hours work fine for me..but a late night option would be nice fleet wide.

That sounds early, normally they close at 9 or 9:30 depending when the dining times are but you are still able to get food for 30 min after. I think it just the time you must be inside the Windjammer. Normally the officers eat late so they have the food out for a while after they close.