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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 d

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

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 wi

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 get

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

@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

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

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.

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 Hea

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.

That would be the reason.....definitely won't be waiting next time. Any idea when the last increase was?

They say we have different "love languages". For some it is gifts (giving). There's joy that comes from tipping. Since cruising is about enjoyment, those that have this love language just tip away!

The cruise was great and the house was sold while we were gone. . Was given 5 minutes to go on the blog. Back to packing.

Finished my initial sandals-on-ground morning recon. There are 3 other really nice hotel properties here. All directly across from pristine beaches. Conrad, Westin and Ritz-Carlton. Win for location goes to the Ritz. It's about 5 minutes walking time south of me, and it's right next to the strip of shops and restaurants on A1A you're likely to explore on foot. There's also a CVS immediately adjacent to it with a very decent selection of wines and champagnes to fill your 2x750ml allotment. There are also apparently WaveRunners for rent, though they aren't open for business

Help me understand Royal Caribbean's math? This is what i pulled up for Oasis sailing 1-8 Dec 19

Is your DMV open tomorrow? Is there any way to get a state id? I assume you don't have a passport? I don't know your answer but I'd do everything possible to get some type of legal id before heading out.

I’m just jumping on when I feel like it. No upcharge North Star on this sailing. All rides are regular North Star rides.

It depends on how far past final payment you are. There is a graduating cancellation penalty that gets bigger as time passes and eventually ends up penalizing you the full fare.

They Were Fixing The Aqua Theater Tonight. Here Some Radom Photos Of The Ship And St. Thomas Tonight I Did The Flowrider From 6:00 To 10:00 Which Was Awesome!! DJI_0281.MP4 After That I Saw Our Night Sailaway From St. Thomas! After That It Was Time For A Nice Dinner At The Windjammer.

flamtapgt - Allure - December 22, 2019. Thanks for compiling this!

Just realized this Master List exists. Cool! Mariner 10/7/2019 - 10 days away!

Just some good advice, be sure to give credit to the person that took the photo especially if that person is in the photo. I always try to give credit to whomever took the photo. No harm in doing it, and it's the considerate thing to do.

We will be on Oasis Dec 8, 2020 as well as Dec 1, 2019

And to followup on @JLMoran , if you purchase travel insurance initially (without prepaid gratuities), you won't raise your premiums unnecessarily. Then when you do pre-pay gratuities, they aren't insured, but they won't need to be. Have a great trip...

Good Moring From Coco Cay. Or Should I Say Perfect Day At Coco Cay? Well I Guess They Did Not Get Remove The Tenders. Just The Upper Decks Thrill Water Park After A Few Hour On The Flowrider It Was Time To Head To The Beach. Then It Was Time For Lunch At The Snack Shack!! Here Is The Menu. I Got The Shack Burger. And The Mozzarella Sticks. After That I Went In The Oasis Lagoon Pool. After That I Went To Check Out The Pirate Ship!! It Was Pretty Neat! After That It Was Time To Head Back On Board.

I remember reading here recently that one of the ships did have late night WJ hours for just that.

I'm in 9730 (for now lol) next March! New balcony lol. *Ignore this comment. It was insensitive of me. I did not read the other thread on the Crane crash yet and after reading that, I am thankful there are no serious injuries at the moment. Did not realize the severity of it. Sorry everyone.