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THE BRAND NEW OASIS OF THE SEAS! ENJOY!

We made it to new jersey and our currently relaxing at Hyatt house near Exchange place. Here is the view from the rooftop bar!

We were fortunate to have been selected to sail on one of the inaugural sailings of Norwegian Encore, and we had a stop at Great Stirrup Cay. Since we were tendered about a mile away from Coco Cay, we were able to get a few neat shots. Some sites showed Grandeur and Anthem scheduled to be at Coco Cay on the 19th, but I can't place she ship at sunset...while I haven't yet sailed on a Quantum Class, I think it looks like there might be a Sky Pad aft (and I don't see the North Star). Mariner or Indy, possibly?

DISEMBARKATION DAY Late arrival at the Port of Miami NOTE: This does happen... DON’T BOOK FLIGHTS TOO CLOSE TO ESTIMATED DISEMBARKATION TIME. (Save yourself the post-cruise stress)

It is amazing how much realizing it’s cruise day when you wake up immediately jolts you to alertness without the possibility of going back to sleep. My (first) alarm was set at 6:30. I first woke up at 5:30am having to go to the bathroom. I was a goner after that. Lol oh well, I shall just use the extra time to double check that everything is packed and do a bit more straightening up before I leave in an hour and a half. To be fair, this little angel dropping her stick toy on my face because she wanted to play ALSO didn’t help my possibility of going back to sleep....

Celebrating my birthday ... somewhere between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean

100% +1. I was checking the price of Falmouth excursions last week. There was no Cruise Planner sale going on. However, our kayaking excursion dropped by $5 per person. Needless to say, I cancelled rebooked at that new, non sale price. Always check every few days (at minimum), even when it doesn't look like there is an announced sale going on.

Don't trust these. I check prices twice a week at least, and the alerts that I get from the website that tracks them is almost NEVER accurate. Check yourself if you care.

Last year I purchased a few things on the Cruise Planner at Black Friday prices on Thanksgiving (although the sale banner wasn't displayed until Friday). It's always just good to check - I find price drops even between published Cruise Planner sales.

Time to start playing catch-up. Our flight across the pond was uneventful and on time. We paid an extra 70 euros each for exit row seats and it made a huge difference in terms of comfort. Having plenty of space to stretch our legs out and nobody else's seat back in or faces was great. The only drawback to these seats is that it can be quite cold so I came prepared with fluffy socks and slippers to keep my feet warm. The flight was one of TAP's new Airbus Neo so we had pretty decent in-flight entertainment, with many films, TV series and games to choose from, as well as the flight map. We had screens that were housed in the armrest. There were various internet options available onboard including free text messaging. We had 2 meals during the flight; lunch, which was served about 90 minutes after takeoff and a snack about 90 minutes before landing. The lunch was just about edible; it was some sort of chicken and pasta dish and was of poorer quality than I have come to expect from TAP. However, the snack was quite good.

Honestly, this blog is fantastic, I only wish I knew about it before my first 2 cruises. Now going on our 3rd, I've learned so much from reading all these different posts. I guess the only negative is the resentment my wife has towards it because I won't shut up about our trip or all the new things I've learned about cruising ?. One question I have, as many people here have recommended the use of a TA, (I have never used one and always booked vacations, whether it's cruises or flights/hotels etc. myself), is does it matter where you live and where the TA is located? I guess what I mean is that I live in Massachusetts, and many people have recommended MEI TA's, but I have no idea where they are located. Do you just do everything over the phone or through email? The idea of using a TA for future travel is tempting but having never used one, just unsure of how it works.

Happy 50th Royal Caribbean!!!

Left this morning for Miami !!!!

Great tour, @CHRIS WONG! Thank you!

Day 6: At Sea We were supposed to do the sushi class, but we opted to sleep in instead. We took the morning kind of slow and had breakfast delivered at 10am. There was a nice breeze without being too windy, so we enjoyed breakfast on the balcony. We took the kids to the pool and picked up ice cream on the way to the room. By the time we arrived to the room, we had the Johnny Rockets that we had requested waiting for us. We spent a little time enjoying the balcony trying to relish the time we had left in 10730. While I prefer the deck 8 aquatheater suites for the extra space, the proximity to the aquatheater, and being on the same deck as Central Park, I actually think the ocean view is better from Deck 10. We took the kids to Adventure Ocean and Royal Babies and Tots and headed to the Star Class Bridge Tour. It was short and sweet and allowed us to take a few picture of the bridge and with all three genies. Because it was shorter than we expected, we had time to zipline again before picking up the kids. We played a few games in the arcade, and our daily snacks were waiting for us when we arrived back to the room. After naptime, Christian and Sophia informed us that they wanted to ditch us for Adventure Ocean again, so they had dinner with Adventure Ocean while we planned to have dinner at Chops. Nyssa, of course, had other plans and decided she didn't want to sit through a long dinner. After Alan stopped in, we took our order to go. In Nyssa's defense, we had been there 45 minutes and still didn't have our entrees even though Alan had once again asked for our meal to be delivered quickly. Nyssa and Kat had mac and cheese waiting when we arrived which was great, but also was a problem since they finished before we even had our food arrive. Having their food waiting at all the other restaurants was wonderful because our food was also delivered quickly and it allowed us to get in and out before the babies got fussy. At Chops, they were a little slower taking our order when we arrived, so it took longer to receive our food. I did have time to eat Lobster Bisque and Mushroom Soup before leaving, and they were very tasty. Steven had the Wedge Salad and Black Pepper Bacon, and he agreed that it was appetizing. We skipped the seafood tower this time, and had filet, lobster, warm chocolate cake, and red velvet cake delivered to our room. It was absolutely delicious, so much so, that we canceled our Day 7 Izumi dinner plans and opted for Chops delivery. We were hoping to spend some time with the kids before going to the the Quest, but when we went to pick them up, Christian wanted to stay. We took Sophia, Nyssa, and Kat to Cups and Scoops and to ride the Carousel. After hanging out on the Boardwalk for awhile, Sophia was ready to go back to Adventure Ocean, but we made a pit stop in the room first. When we arrived, Alan had gifts waiting for us. It was a very kind gesture, and we were very happy to see it. Steven and I collect magnets, souvenir spoons, and shot glasses from the place we visit, and recently we had been throwing around the idea of collecting the ship models. Alan must have read our mind, because that was the gift we received. It was perfect for us and we are very appreciative of that and everything else he has done to make our week so unforgettable. He also left gifts for the kids which they were happy to see. After dropping the kids off, we headed to the Quest which was hilarious like always. We picked up the kids and called it a night.

In the past I've found with these kind of sites, they're sending you an update once a week and the prices, as we all know could drop one day and go back up the next. I've just become a cyber-stalker and check the website every other day or so myself.

You guys are not ready for the vlogs I am about to post! I've just finished editing my tour of Oasis, and uploading as I type this. And the crew internet on Oasis is super fast, so I should be able to post more frequently.

We just booked with MEI for the first time and Michelle is our agent. Haven't met her but I think we are only an hour away. Yay! We previously booked with one of the large cruise discounters and got very little if any service. Looking forward to the MEI experience.

FAREWELL SHOW

Yes we did! We did, @betatke1480, and 10 other families!

2-9 May 2020, Symphony, Eastern Perfect Day. 21-29 Nov 2020 Symphony, Western Perfect Day.

Zazzle.com. $9.99. Other designs available.

Unfortunately for us, someone kept writing lewd comments on our white board. It was disappointing and we finally had to just take the white board down.

As an example of how complicated the whole thing is, here's what just happened to me: I'm in a Jr Suite on an upcoming cruise. All suites of all types have been sold out for 6 months. At 58 days, RoyalUp became available and I bid the minimum for a GS. At 49 days, my bid was accepted. I can guarantee it wasn't my piddly bid money they wanted. They obviously wanted to free up my cabin, perhaps for someone who had bid the max for a Jr Suite. Or to accommodated an oversale or special passenger or something. Regardless, there is movement in inventory *all the time* Personally, I always bid the minimum. If I don't get the upgrade, no worries -- I'm in a cabin I already like. If I do, I got a steal. I'm averaging 40% success so far!

We're first time cruisers on the Allure in January. I purchased the customized magnet decorations from Etsy. The smaller ones are card stock from Amazon which I placed magnetic tape on the back. I thought it would be a fun idea to decorate our cabin door but from what I hear these might not last long. ?

There is a current thread on Cruise Critic. Apparently Explorer had a Cruise Compass showing that the Solarium age is 18. It has not been confirmed that is true or was a typo in the CC and other ships have not shown a similar age requirement.

Great Tour Chris!! I Really Enjoyed It.

I didn’t pay attention to the actual time but when I got on the bus for the airport transfer it was already past 11AM. Original meeting time at the Royal Theater was 9:20AM

@teddy Sailing tomorrow and have had zero communication regarding bid. When I went to the Royal Up page it displays the fact that no modifications can be made and bids may not be cancelled. It still says pending on the top but my credit card has not been charged so I am pretty sure my minimum bid is a wash. I chose my first cabin which I am quite happy with and on the bright side, this sailing isn't costing me any more money but I am surprised there was no follow up. I did like the process and would do it again on a future sailing, I will update you if there are any changes. FYI : I am in an Owners Suite on the Harmony the week of Thanksgiving, I placed a minimal bid on a 2 bedroom Aqua just for fun, and well...... Star Class:) When last I checked the sailing was pretty much sold out, and I do consider us blessed to be sailing at all. Happy Thanksgiving!

Haha, they always know when you're going away, don't they? We are boarding today as well, but on Adventure. Yay! Have a great cruise!

I'm not sure about yours, but my TA has already repriced our cruise once, although it was a couple of months ago and we are still 315 days out.

You are a tease! I looked onYoutube and nothing there yet ? Glad you are enjoying the ship. Matts pictures and videos are awesome as well.

It is currently 1:17am, and we are just now getting settled in to the room. I'll update the blog tomorrow with the events of today, because I'm so tired I don't think anything I type now will make much sense.

All cruise ships sail at close to capacity these days. That might change if a serious recession occurs, but even then I'd bet they sail at well over 90% full.

I love your sign! what program did you use to create it?

I assume you are talking about emailing RC's C&A and not this message board. Sorry to hear, but I urge you to call the C&A # directly (800-526-9723). I've done this a few dozen time and rarely have to wait more then a minute or two. They are extremely helpful.

Have a great time! We don't sail out of Miami again until APR 2021 (Symphony), but my wife is already playing Will Smith's Miami constantly on the Echo! ? Now I need to find a song for Cape Liberty/Oasis for next MAY! No, I'm not playing Sinatra (only for Yankee games)! ?

You on Oasis Mar 13, 2022? We just booked it at 844 days in advance...lol. Really exciting seeing the changes that they just did.

I just couldn't resist! You think Texas is big, try Alaska! We joke that we can split the state of Alaska in half, and Texas is now the THIRD largest state... ?

I private messaged Matt and asked about playmakers.. He went and confirmed for me playmakers you still get the $35.. So I cant for the life of me understand why playmakers you get $35 and Portside only $20 but yet I guess that's what it is lol

There is an automatic 18% gratuity added to the fitness classes (so a $20 class becomes $23.something). Although the classes and the instructors were great, I didn't think it merited anything beyond that 18%.

70’s DISCO INFERNO What’s a 70’s party without the Village People?

Day 5: Costa Maya Today was another lazy day. We slept until the kids woke us up. It was raining and overcast, so we didn't want to take the kids into port. We wanted to pick up a souvenir spoon to add to our collection, so we stopped by the nursery to reserve an hour. They were full until 12:30pm, so we coordinated with Alan to meet up then. We took the babies to the Windjammer and were sorely disappointed. I was feeding our littlest one scrambled eggs when I found a big piece of egg shell. I complained about it to the Windjammer staff, and his response was "I didn't know he was using real eggs. I thought it came from a box." I called Alan and had him deliver the little ones scrambled eggs to the room, but by then we were strapped for time and it didn't arrive until time to leave. We got off the ship for about an hour, but it was still raining. Costa Maya, in my opinion, is an overpriced port. I searched around for awhile for a souvenir spoon, but refused to pay $35 for what you can get in Cozumel for $6. I eventually found one for $10, and while it was not my favorite, we were ready to get out of the rain. We headed back onto the ship and picked up the kids. Within a few minutes of being in the room, our daily snacks were delivered. We, then, took advantage of the free pay per view movies that are included with Star Class. This is a perk that isn't talked about much, but if you are like us and have little ones who take midday naps or you just like to lounge around, this is an awesome perk. We took the two older kids to the arcade and the rock climbing wall. They were about to close, but they let them each go twice since they were Star Class. The kids wanted Giovanni's mac and cheese for dinner, so we had that delivered to the room. Alan also had baked Alaska delivered since we mentioned liking it. After dropping off the kids in Adventure Ocean and Royal Babies and Tots, Steven and I had dinner at 150 Central Park. We got super fast service and had our whole meal in less than an hour. Telling Alan we want a fast dining experience in our initial communication was definitely a good idea. When we have the babies with us or have a set time that we need to pick up the little ones, dinner on a cruise can be stressful since it usually takes more time than we have to get all the courses served. 150 Central Park was delicious as usual. Alan checked in on us while we were at dinner and then came to our cabin after dinner to take a few pictures on the balcony. He played with the kids and surprised us with dessert delivery. We watched the Aquatheater light show (or whatever it's called) from our balcony and now we are calling it a night.

Following. Grandeur is one of my favorite ships. I have two more sailings on her.

Of course that's what Stalker Bot would say... ?

On our 9-night Christmas cruise 2 years ago, there was a priest on board to perform mass each morning and Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. The Midnight Mass was pretty amazing. Our cabin attendant and one of our waiters came and sat with our family as mass was well attended by crew members. They were definitely missing being with their families and it was nice being able to spend time with them. It's the only cruise I've been on where Mass was held every day.

Hi Nick. I think they are permitted. I found this link to something posted on this blog back in May… Hope that helps

In the end, the only person to whom you need to justify your purchase of anything is you. If it makes sense to you, then you've made a good decision.

You're correct in your assessment of savings with the 2-device Surf and Stream package. Since we were only planning on getting the one device plan, I just factored that into the cost of ours. Enjoy The Key and happy cruising!

Matt, you are so cute ! Royal Caribbean - GIVE us something ! Are you kidding ?? No.