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Hi everyone, I am leaving on my very first cruise tomorrow (starting the drive today) and I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Matt, and everyone else here! I feel so confident going into this cruise. Between these message boards and Matt's live videos, I had all of my questions answered. This community is so positive and it just makes me that much more excited for my vacation! So again, thank you so much and happy cruising to you all ?

Sail away was timed perfectly with the Costa Rica sunset. Lots of small boats out tonight. The flight of the Pelicans.

Back to the tour base... "No swimming" - no problem, I'll gladly comply. Our two motorcoaches from the train were gathered to take in a few cultural dances of Costa Rica. Fresh local fruit was available as well as some free Costa Rica coffee to sample. Shopping is also available. Of course I bought some Costa Rica coffee from a small farm to take home. Back on the motorcoach we begin the drive back to the port and cross the river again to see... more crocodiles.

The Crocodile Tour base area has several restrooms for the hundreds of guests coming and going on motorcoaches just like ours. The grounds are nicely kept and the path to the boats is quite nice. An Iguana sunning nearly oblivious to the dozens of guests walking past. Our boat tour will take place on the Tárcoles River. There are different types of boats used by different tour operators in this section of the river, this was the type of boats we'll use today. With three boats loading we are directed as groups based on the motorcoach we arrived on. It doesn't take long to spot our first Croc. The view upstream. Local operators offer birding tours as well as crocodile tours. There are dozens of species we'll see today and I could easily turn this from a crocodile tour into a birding tour.

This too. Any OT DH works we immediately transfer into a vacation savings account. His thought is he has to take time away from the family to earn that money, so it should be spent on something that we do together.

Some of us are fortunate to be have flexible schedules so that we can cruise off-peak. Like any travel activity there are peak times that cost more and off-peak times that cost less. Flexibility and willingness to make small compromises can translate into a less expensive cruise. Like any travel activity supply and demand influences pricing. Bucket list destinations in the peak of travel season come with bucket sized price tags. A similar destination at a different time of year can cost a fraction of that. Some people prefer more expensive balconies or suite cabins and choose to put their travel funds towards a higher standard of accommodations over cruising more often. Staying in cheaper cabins equates to cost savings that can be applied to additional cruises. Once outside of an interior cabin the ships looks the same as it does for someone staying in a suite. I've been fortunate to stay in some very nice suite cabins but I don't require them every cruise. In some cases I can take two, three or four cruises for the price of one cruise in a suite. In some cases a guest may be in a position to cruise once every few years so going big and splurging on an incredible over the top experience makes sense. The "dream vacation". Frugality and containing cruise expenses leaves more money for future cruises. If you've got it, spend it. Loyalty pays. If you spread you spend across different cruise lines it will take longer to reach the point where loyalty discounts really help on any of them.

We were given a handout with different species of birds that we could use to identify them. We quickly started running through them like bingo. A Tricolored Heron, a Snowy Egret... A juvenile Great Blue Heron... Iguanas... Crocodile on the left bank... Another Tricolored Heron (I think)... Another Croc swimming away from us... A pair of Snowy Egrets flying around us... I could go on and on. In fact I had to ignore dozens of photos just to keep these posts reasonable.

Not 100% accurate, but pretty close...

This Windjammer moment is for @Sweety Red Velvet Cake

We continue upstream. The sightings continue. A crocodile on the right bank... A large crocodile on the left sunning itself... We turn to head back and in a place where we were just a few minutes ago a crocodile has appeared. Continuing back a herd of cattle appear. Seeing this I suddenly feel like I am in one of those nature shows where a crocodile bursts out of the water and the cattle run for their lives. That didn't happen but it sure felt like it could. A Willet... Great Blue Heron... The notes for the excursion stated "Wildlife sightings not guaranteed". That wasn't an issue today.

During our drive over to the boat ride that comes next our guide tells us many facts of Costa Rica. This includes the fact that Costa Rica has the highest density of biodiversity of anywhere. It's unique position bridging North and South America combined with it's numerous climatic regions has created different areas that can support a wide variety of species. As we approach our destination our driver tells us to get our cameras ready. As we cross over a river we spot several Crocodiles on the banks of the river below. We're going on a Crocodile Boat Tour.

Today's excursion in Costa Rica is "Pacific Train, Boat and Bus Adventure" booked through Royal. We start by boarding an ultra modern motorcoach for a 25 minute ride to a train. This Sandy Point area back in the days contained a cargo terminal to handle the growing coffee trade that Costa Rica was becoming known for. Completed in 1914 trains carried the coffee to the port. Today much of track is no longer used or serviceable but we ride the train along section of the old tracks that once was used to transport coffee to awaiting ships. Along the way we spot a monkey in the tree. The motorcoach pulls up very close to the stairs of the train so it's a quick transfer from bus to train. Soon we start down the old tracks. Along the tracks are shanties put together with whatever materials people can find. As we pass through some mangroves a termite mound is spotted. The people are very friendly waving as we pass by. An opportunity to try a local beer, Imperial. La Cerveza de Costa Rica. $3. More friendly people waving to us. The train cars were refinished in original materials when they started using the railroad for passengers. Forty five minutes later we've gone roughly 5 miles and it's time to re-board the bus for the next adventure. They pull the bus right up so we never touch the ground. Maybe because it's still rainy season they do this to avoid tracking dirt and mud into their coach, I'm not really sure but it makes for an easy transfer. As we drive off to our next stop we pass the train reversing back towards it's starting point. While not fast moving the train is a nice way to see some of the countryside we otherwise would have never seen.

Day 10 - Sea Day We changed time last night. We are now on Eastern time. Our progress... We've reached the Southernmost point of this cruise. A mere 6° 52.44' North of the Equator or just over 400 nm. Now we're heading due East. Once past the lower tip of Panama we'll turn North towards the canal and meet the pilot at 5am. If all goes well depending on ship traffic we'll be entering the locks of the Panama Canal at 7am.

Just embraced the RCBlog motto and YOLO booked Anthem for Dec 1, 2019

How do I look?

NEW VLOG! Is cruise ships just for old people?

If possible, try to use a different security check than your parents for "efficiency"

They can book really quickly when they are released on the Cruise Planner (Pixels was sold out within 24 hours for my Ovation sailing) I really don't believe it's the only opportunity to book them though - I think they hold back a certain amount for booking on the ship (plus there's likely stand by lines for no shows).

While I don't have some of the high cruise numbers that others have, we do have 4 upcoming cruises booked, and as soon as the next round of Caribbean sailings open it will be 5. We (DW) and I love to cruise and have decided to make this our primary way to vacation. We are lucky enough to have careers that pay well enough that we can do this. Schedule wise, I'm a firefighter and I work 24 hour shifts, so this results in a schedule where I can easily have large blocks of time off. Throw in a few OT shifts at 24hrs each time, the ability to pay for a cruise happens quickly. My wife works in health care and is able to take time off easily enough as well. What limits our cruising is that we have 2 kids still in school, so this mostly limits us to taking cruises on school breaks. We do have 2 booked without the kids though. Since we mostly cruise on school breaks, like @Lovetocruise2002 said, we book early, and reprice, reprice, and reprice. I personally would be perfectly happy sailing in interior or outside view rooms to keep prices really low, but the wife is an unashamed "suite snob" so therefore, I am too (not that I am complaining). With having limited times to cruise, we take and fully enjoy the benefits of a suite. Thankfully our career choices allow us to be able to do this.

We used to book one nice vacation every year and a half. But then I realized, our son was already 9 and we barely travelled. Now he is in high school and we won't be having many years with him left in the house. So....we've started cruising twice a year....to have these precious memories and family time together, the four of us. DH and I are both have IT jobs so as long as we book our vacation outside of major releases, we are flexible . Plus we put in our vacation requests early so we ensure to get the time off. Having said that, as our children are getting older, we decided that we no longer wanted to take them out of school. So like lovetocruise2002, we travel March break and summer (last week for us as it fits in well with camp). And as we are not in driving distance to the port, and it's prime vacation time, it does cost us fly to the there (from Toronto), but we've made it a priority. And so we do watch our budget in other ways such as booking interiors (had 2 promenade rooms on Navigator which worked out great), or the four of us in a room such as balcony. It depends on the stateroom costs We are also pretty low key when it comes to excursions, dining, etc. DH and I also try and take short vacations together. Our common trip used to be NYC, but last Dec and this year, we were able to sneak in a cruise. Oh and like others, we book at opening and I monitor prices almost daily. I think people at my work or our families think we're strange with the question "Another cruise???" , but we really love cruising. It has everything we need, entertainment, food, things to do, places to visit, etc etc, and well, I don't need to explain it to anyone here as you all get it...lol.

As many people here know, I am a teacher and my cruising schedule is pretty much dictated by the school calendar. My contract with board does not allow time off for vacations other than those designated times over the holidays. Hubby's schedule is 100% flexible but that doesn't help as I am the planner and mine is not. Because of this, we unfortunately fall into the category that @twangster mentioned, we pay a premium to cruise because we can only go during the high season. My strategy is to book early. We take at least two cruises each year. One over the summer, and one over March Break. I book these two as soon as itineraries get released (often that is almost two years out). From that point, I watch prices and often re-price multiple times before we pay final payment at 90 days out. We have saved thousands this way. I usually book direct with Royal (because I know exactly what I am looking for) and then I transfer to an agent for further savings. Because we can only take a limited amount of cruises each year, we do splurge a bit when we cruise. We like our suites and the benefits that come with it. The mentality that, "We can take this money and take more cruises," does not apply too much to us because we cannot take more even if we tried. So that makes us unapologetic suite snobs. Last but not least, this is the home of "YOLO Book It!" so we have totally run with that motto over the last few years! ?

July 1, 2020 Adventure-Bermuda & E. Caribbean

Flowrider Was Super Great Today. The Lines Were Long But The Riders Were Great? Also At 11:00 They Were Testing The Life Boats. For Lunch I Went To The Windjammer And Grabbed A Burger. After That I Headed To The Helipad To Take Some Photos.

I envy you so much to be located near the port! I heard some news about royal caribbean adding ports to California but at the moment there is majority Carnival. Never tried carnival or any cruise ships for that matter but i'm "loyal to royal" Emphasis on slightly for airfare, since it's me and my S/O round trip for the both of us is quite hefty. Close to $1,000 if not more for the both of us round trip. Also want to get there the night before in case of any hiccups so we booked a stay in a hotel nearby. But we work with the cards we're dealt and as long as we enjoy the journey/cruise it's all that matters. I've noticed so far not one person has the same lifestyle for their cruising habits which is amazing. I get a lot of information and feedback on how to make it work with different scenarios.

Just wanted to chime in to say that I *love* this viewpoint!

Be careful not to get too caught up in the hype. Cruise lines offer many additional items to enhance your vacation experience. They are great and there is no question some of them are very popular but... do you really need them to enjoy a great cruise? Photo packages, dining packages, drink packages and so on. They are nice, no question. However they are not required to have a great cruise. Some people come away from a cruise with a large bill from everything they chose to add once onboard. Some people come away with a very small bill at the end of a cruise. Nothing wrong with either approach but one can save you lots of money to spend on another cruise. Watch for sales in the cruise planner and check often. I frequently save significantly on excursions by catching price drops. Excursions help you experience a destination. Some destinations lend themselves to an inexpensive self-explore approach, some destinations really warrant a professional excursion. Don't cut yourself short by trying to do everything on your own but be smart in researching and knowing the best approach to experiencing a destination.

Tons and tons of forced OT (which pays for the cruise) on top of about 320 hours of PTO a year (which buys me the time off, hopefully), allows me to plan for 3-4 sailings a year now.

Symphony was for me the easiest going ship with reference to re-using a Wow band. They took my old band with a muster station on it and provided me with a generic Wow band with no muster station. There was no cost to repurpose a Wow band on Symphony when I sailed her. Ovation allowed to me to exchange a Wow band with my new muster station given that my previous muster station on the old Wow band was not correct. There was no cost to exchange it. Anthem required my muster station from my previous cruise match my new muster station in order to repurpose my Wow band. No exchange was offered if muster stations didn't match, I had to buy a new Wow band for $5 USD. I had a choice of black, white or yellow but the man at guest services had to go in a back room for all those choices. On Harmony I was in a suite so I didn't bring an old Wow band given I would be provided a new one for free. The Wow band provided did have a muster station printed on it. My collection of Wow bands is all black and white out of choice although my next Wow band enabled cruise on Anthem is in a JS so I'll just go with whatever they provide me.

The water in the sink is filtered and drinkable, so it should be fine to wash with.

Nobody ever says this one; bring a watch set to ships time. It gives us ultimate peace of mind when in port and out on excursions. Cell phones can change time when the connect to the cell network at port and for us, we prefer to leave the phones off and locked up in the safe anyway.

Oasis. 24 NOV 19.??????

Day 9 - Puntarenas, Costa Rica This area has a tidal approach that required we enter at high tide so at 3:30am the bow thrusters woke me up. Finally the sun broke the horizon and day began. This area was dark when I first went top side so I started to see why this area is called Puntarenas or point of sand. The pier is halfway down the point and in the early dawn light I could tell this area looked spectacular. Lots of these guys checking us out. They have a pretty large wing span and that beak looks like it means business.

Registered Nurse here, and I agree with @RWDW1204. I work with vets who swim in pools for rehab, and many of them have an ostomy. I would encourage you to discuss this concern with your partner's healthcare team since they can provide specific recommendations for the situation. 7 weeks is a lot of time for post surgical healing and should be more than enough, but your partner's provider should be the one to give the 'ok'. There are numerous ostomy societies out there, but the link below has some great resources I found helpful. Ostomy device companies make tons of different types of products that can be tried; I encourage y'all to buy some different types and brands to see what works best. (and test them out at home in the shower/bath before cruising to build confidence) I would personally recommend an ostomy support belt since they provide an additional securement element which should help alleviate most concern. https://www.ostomy.org/swimming-pool-discrimination/

I forgot to mention the phone call the other day. My cabin phone rang and a woman from guest services introduced herself. They had noticed I was booked on Empress out of Miami when this cruise ends. They would be offering transportation from Vision in Ft. Lauderdale to Empress in Miami. Details would be forthcoming as we get closer to Ft. Lauderdale. This was unsolicited. I didn't mention my plans to anyone. I was planning on using a rideshare figuring I could take my time debarking and making my way to Miami. This is even better. #royalwow

1. Arrive to the port early. You are paying for your day 1 and the sooner you get on the ship, the sooner you can start your vacation. 2. Bring a USB port outlet for more charging space. Do not confuse this with a surge protector, since it most likely will be confiscated. 3. Be friendly to the crew and chat with them. Room stewards, for instance, enjoy when we have conversations with them because their jobs are very repetitive and have to clean up after us. It can really make someone's day.

I've been on this board for several months now after I booked (and officially paid in full) my very first cruise! Sailing in Jan,2020 on Symphony of the Seas OVC. After interacting and receiving so many positive feedback/advice/suggestions from this blog I'm already addicted to cruising before it even started. I see A LOT of fellow experienced cruiser with so many cruises under their belt and some with 20+ cruises already lined up for the future. (Back to back cruises as well) I want to also be part of the cruising lifestyle and was curious if there is a better way or something i'm missing in order to afford so many cruises. The question (I apologize ahead of time if it's too personal): Fellow cruisers who have sailed countless of times and have even more cruises booked ahead in the future, how do you afford it? How did you manage to take time off from work? Are most retired therefore enjoying their life on cruises? Is there bulk booking for a significant discount or something similar I'm not aware of? Any tips and advice to integrate cruising as part of a lifestyle when it comes to finance? Sorry if this is too personal, I'm just extremely curious and eager to follow the same lifestyle. Thank you in advance!

I am fortunate enough to get to pick about 8 weeks of leave per year after working for the amount of time that I have, the wife does not get this much off but she gets about four weeks and we usually cruise two weeks at the absolute most. We both work in healthcare and are able to afford it by just working one extra shift per month or cutting back on our expenses such as Starbucks or one of our favorite fast food restaurants Chick-fil-a!? We afford it by booking in advance when they first roll out the itinerary and pay monthly. As far as the tips go I can tell you that there is a spot on here that should be within the first page or two that has FAR MORE tips than can fit on this page! Lets just say that there are a few on there that I actually put in my own toolbox! I hope that you have one absolutely AMAZING cruise!!

Back-to-back cruises, which we haven't tried, does save extra driving or flying expenses. I'd like to do that, but it just hasn't worked for us. Other members here do it all the time and really like it.

Just got off Mariner Monday, the on board price was $29 a day.

If you book at NextCruise by default it goes to your existing TA unless you specifically tell them not to assign it to that TA. In that case it becomes a Royal cruise that can be later assigned to a different TA or not. Typically new bookings must transfer to a TA within 60 days and/or before it's paid in full. If you forget and say nothing a NextCruise booking will go to your existing or previous TA.

ha....as far as I know you can bring them..you'll be one of the lucky ones actually enjoying sipping a cold slushy drink by the pool...... I am probably going to bring some too...along with some print offs to hand out that list the countries that are the highest polluters in the world to anyone that dares to say anything about my straw.... Anyone who pays thousands of dollars to take a cruise and support the industry but has the audacity to chastise me for a plastic straw(that I am not throwing in the ocean to choke turtles with)will be in for a rude awakening!!!!l

Unfortunately, yeah, it's worth it.

I absolutely love sightseeing by train. My favorite excursion of all remains the train in Skagway! Train travel is great-I wish it were more convenient in the US.

Definitely looks promising for WOW bands on Oasis!

We normally take about 30-40 singles on a 7 day cruise in addition to the $5's,10's, and $20's between the two of us we take about $200-300 in cash, she gambles and I do not. Cabin steward, and those in the dining room get a tip. But as you already know the amount that you choose is your choice. Happy sailing and I hope that you guys have an absolutely AMAZING time!!

I'm a nurse who works with ostomy patients. If you're saying he'll have an ostomy of some kind, then he should be ok. Your nurse, hopefully an ostomy experienced nurse, is correct. Swimming shouldn't be an issue. This is info from Convatec, an ostomy company you should become familiar with. Check their website for more info. Hollister and Coloplast are others. Good luck with your partners surgery. Having an ostomy should not prevent you from swimming. Below are some helpful tips to get you feeling confident in the water, whether it’s in your own backyard pool, the beach or on a cruise. You can swim or be in the water while wearing your pouching system. Remember, your pouching system is water resistant and is designed not to leak with the proper seal. Water will not harm or enter your stoma.1 Check your pouch seal. Prior to swimming, make sure your seal is secure. Empty your pouch before swimming. Also, ensure your wafer has been on for at least an hour prior to getting wet. If you are nervous about output, eat a few hours before jumping in. Use a filtered pouch? Use a filter cover sticker on your deodorizing filter to prevent water from entering the pouch. You can remove the cover once you are dry. What to wear? Wear what makes you feel the most comfortable. Swimming with an ostomy should be fun and worry-free regardless of what you're wearing. Shop with confidence knowing there are so many options that could work for you. Ostomy swimwear and accessories are available here. Always carry extra supplies in case you are somewhere where supplies may not be available.

Day 8 - Sea Day Ugh. The cruise is half over! Our progress as we sail off the coast of Nicaragua... Pretty great weather so far as we do some bird watching on this sea day. It's pretty amazing to see them fishing. They dive completely underwater to pursue a fish. When one of them catches one it's like a 2 for $20 t-shirt sale on the promenade.

Nearing sail away from Puerto Queztal this is a look back towards the cruise port area. The distinct smell of campfire filled the air and a haze formed over the area. While we didn't need a tugboat one was at the ready to help us make the sharp turn to leave port. With that our day in Guatemala was complete.

Bring a pen and a highlighter with you. You never know when you want to write a thank you note and you most definitely want to mark out those activities that you don’t want to miss on your cruise compass.

I have no reason to believe it will be cancelled. In fact, they just told Cruise Critic the other day things are looking great