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Trying to get video evidence thrown out is the hallmark of guilty people everywhere.

Just got email that Royal Up bid was accepted. Upgraded to Grand Suite from Junior Suite for Feb 20th sailing on Grandeur. Put in the bid about a month ago for $135 over minimum bid of $300. Received email last night that RC tried to charge the payment card I put down on the bid, but I didnt realize the card expired. The email told me to either contact my original card issuer and RC would try charging again or to change payment method within 24 hours. I updated the card and sure enough about 24 hours after that first email I got a confirmation email of the upgrade.

I just checked the Mars, Inc website. Seems as though they do not sell pretzel M&M’s in Palm Springs, Ca or on the Oasis of the Seas. ?

Following I have a feeling that

Not much to add here: stay in right lane, get there by 10:30 am, tip the porters/longshoreman, park and walk back to terminal. We had a starboard side balcony and watched the huge traffic jam at 1:30 pm on embarkation day. I will ADD that post cruise, as we paid for our parking and were leaving the garage, a big, burly longshoreman said to us "yous guyz have a safe and pleasant journey home." Very nice touch.

Might not be disclosed at boarding, but there are signs posted all around the ship (every ship), especially in the public areas like the pools, that make it clear there is CCTV and that everyone is being monitored for safety and security purposes. They're grasping at the roots sticking out of the loose cliff wall, and the dirt surrounding those roots is crumbling rapidly...

I do not think that it is a matter of them trying to get more money- its a safety thing. If a fire breaks out at a hotel, you can evacuate and fire department can reach you... not so much if you are out in the middle of the ocean.

Traded emails with Allan today inquiring if the entertainment schedule has been firmed up. He sent a tentative line up for next week with the caveat that it was “being reviewed by the CD and staff and will change.” I’ll share that schedule with you as soon as I know it’s really going to happen. Seems strange to me that the entertainment schedule is still tentative this close to the cruise, but what do i know? We’re really counting down now to our departure for Miami Saturday morning. My mind is already on the cruise. I sat in a meeting today about a building project. Others in the room thought I was using my IPad to research local fire codes when in reality i was looking at the weather forecasts for our ports. ? Two more work days.... Did some last minute shopping on the way home.

Hey, @Lovetocruise2002 started it!

I forgot to add the photos I took from the helipad of the stars.

That sounds like a fun mystery flavor challenge.

Hey Easy.. book as Baby and your last name and use the due date. Then when the baby is born you can adjust all that on the reservation. Congrats on the new baby!

Not specific to RCCL, but I found this to be an interesting article, anyway. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2020/01/21/cruise-ship-environmental-impacts-how-industry-going-green/2844697001/ Im all for doing my part to have as little environmental impact as I can, but I also enjoy cruising, and the ability to see the environment that cruising provides. Regardless of your viewpoints on the environment, global warming, etc...I think we can all agree anything any industry does to pollute less, and keep our environment beautiful, is the right thing to do.

While these are OBC given by a particular TA remember that TAs are more than ways to get money back on your trip. They do work for you on your cruise and the cruise line pays them a commission. if they are giving you back a "gift" of OBC it is coming most times out of the agents pocket. The level of service you get could suffer if they are giving you back everything they would be making on the cruise as an OBC. I recommend interviewing a few agents and asking questions about services provided, will they price adjust for you, is there a fee as some agencies do have fees to work with them and some do not, knowledge of the product, how they communicate with clients, and gifts. And this is a short list - haha You are trusting this person with your vacation, memories and credit card.... make sure you know what you are getting

Suggestions for a good travel agent? I recommend and personally use MEI Travel (Disclosure: MEI Travel is a paid sponsor of this site. I used them even before they were a sponsor) https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/mei

Am I reading too much in to that statement or does that sound sinister to anyone else? If they knew about the camera, what? they would have chosen another window that a camera couldn't see?

Also BLASPHEMY!

Ok everyone it is now time for dinner in the MDR. Here is the menu for tonight. The Crispy Calamari. The Roasted Beef Tenderloin. With "Steak Fries". In the MDR today was the night they sang for us. And finally the best part of the meal at the MDR. Desert! After dinner it was time for our sailaway from port. Well that wraps it up for day number three. Tomorrow is our last day and a sea day!

and now stating the cameras’ presence was not disclosed to them at boarding is that their new defense? "No fair! Nobody told us we were going to be caught in a lie"?

LOL, I think I just got credit for something @AshleyDillo said. I'll take that as a compliment!, @Matt

The best part of that picture is that they all just end up tasting the same.

Oh no ... this is much too easy. I hope everyone gets the joke. Still, it is like Larry Walker facing a Single A pitcher. I hope everyone will forgive me ... I don't think you meant ... "Probably too soon still". I think you meant ... "WAAAYTOOO soon still" ? Curt from Canada

Voyager is showing up in Los Angeles port schedule June 2021 doing 3/4 nights. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/01/23/spotted-royal-caribbean-ship-scheduled-sail-los-angeles-california-2021

Day 5 - Miami Debarkation Day ? Finishing up our cruise course On the last morning of the cruise, I woke up at 6:15am. I packed up the last few of my things and then took my camera and went to the sun deck to watch the sunrise. It reflected beautifully off the buildings in Miami as we got closer to port. Sun rising over Port of Miami Joining us in port was the Navigator, a Carnival ship, and a Norwegian ship I grabbed a quick breakfast from Windjammer and sat out on the pool deck to eat while watching the ship come into port at Terminal G. Royal let guests know that they were providing a shuttle to the Terminal J parking area for anyone that had driven to port. The Empress came into port around 7:00am. I finished up my breakfast and popped back down to my room to gather my things before heading to the centrum. Once in the centrum, I was directed by staff to line up in the Royal Theatre once I had everyone in my party together. Check. In the Royal Theater, everyone placed their bags in a line, and then took a seat while we waited for debarkation to begin. Waiting in the Royal Theater for the self-assisted debarkation to begin. Bags are lined up, rather than people. We didn't have to wait very long. We got clearance to debark at 7:45am, and I was off the ship by 7:50am. Staff directed us down towards customs, which I got through in about 15 minutes. I was easily able to request a Lyft once outside. My Lyft arrived at 8:15am, and dropped me off at my departure terminal at the airport 20 minutes later. I had plenty of time before my flight, so I wasn't worried when I saw what looked like an intimidatingly long security line. It went much quicker than I thought it would though, and I made it to the end of security by 9:00am. Post Cruise Thoughts I really enjoyed my first cruise, and am glad that I had it with Royal! It was a fun trip and I would definitely do it again. I would probably give myself the extra day to get to port ahead of time if doing air travel, or make sure to utilize Air2Sea to make sure if there is a delay that Royal would get me there, as mentioned by @JLMoran. I think if you're a light sleeper, ear plugs are crucial. And I think it's completely possible to have an enjoyable cruise vacay without needing to shell out the big bucks for additional excursions! I hope you all enjoyed this recap, and if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

twangster is one bot who can get clear shots of pictures all the time. thats why he is the one and only bot who in my book is a "celebrity" and geez i end up YOLO booking not 1 not 2 in some cases more because we are home basically wishing we were there cruising instead of dreaming that was us as we see all those pictures. reality cant be in dry dock too long........we cant be grateful enough for all twangster does taking the time with photography of such beautiful pictures. have to say sunset picture did make a beautiful canvas for our office at work so i can day dream every now and then instead of working but who would think i wasnt really working......he is a bot with many talents for sure.........cant wait for next live blog

Some people live their lives in constant denial....

@Cri, just did this! Purchased for my daughter (13) and placed on her seapass/wow band. All she did was tap or swipe, and then she also mistakenly used mine and was charged. So make sure whomever it is tethered to is the person who uses it. (Card/band) We mixed up our bands one evening, that is how I found out. A quick trip to guest services straightened it out but now you know and don't have to waste your time there, fyi I did have our accounts combined for one folio but it only was pre payed when she utilized her card/band. Also, I had them place a lock after the initial 50.00 and watched every evening on the tv folio, just in case! Have fun!! It all worked out fine.

Oh I just realized I never posted about the sailing we booked when on board Grandeur. Can you please add November 21, 2021 on Oasis to the master list? So excited to be trying out the 2 bed room grand suite for the steal we got it at! Yaaaaay Sky Class! (I have already resigned myself to never being able to afford Star so I'm very excited about this).

This. We used a travel agent for the first time ever when booking my cruise next week. After it was booked, I wanted to add my son to the booking so they could join me. All it took was an email, and they were added. It was just that simple. As far as I’m concerned, this was worth more to me than onboard credit..a simple email vs. waiting on hold forever to try to explain to a Royal Caribbean agent what I wanted to do. In addition, I’ve had questions that were answered immediately for me. No waiting on hold or straining to understand. Things like this are why I am so happy with our decision to use an agent. I feel I have an advocate in my corner who will navigate the tangled web of pre-cruise customer service. I’ll never go back to booking on my own

When I booked a cruise for my nieces, I just made up birthdays. I am a bad Aunt, I dont know their birthdays. After the surprise, I was able to adjust the birthdays with no problems or fees.

Can’t wait til these are available to book.... Gives the west coaster that royal ‘fix’ til we can get across the nation for a longer cruise.

Thank you both so much!! When I lived in South Beach, I did the weekend Bahamas cruise multiple times, and you are right, it was different every times and I always loved it. I took a break from cruising after finally buying my first home and I am so ready to get back on a cruise. Not sure if guilty for spending money in general or not sure about it since same itinerary. But, I did love that itinerary, so beautiful! Thank you for reminding me to enjoy the same thing again, let’s see what my guy (or guilt) decides, should decide today.

You can book onboard and still use your travel agent. I do this all the time. Tell the NextCruise agent to attribute the new booking back to your agent.

Beginning this weekend, the Port of Galveston has moved the cruise terminal entrance to 23rd Street to improve traffic flow to both cruise terminals. I have updated the directions in my original post on this topic.

@Grabthars Hammer You made me laugh. I am a Jersey born girl, but because of my hubby's career we have not lived there for 30+ yrs. My Jersey accent comes back in full mode when we sail out of Liberty bc there are soooo many NJ/NYers. 1st day I look at my hubby and say do we really sound like that? When we return home to VA, go back to work and our co-workers laugh and say OMG you were in Jersey. Here is an example. Normal people: I drove the parkway to the diner to visit Dina, had a bottle of water and called my friend's phone, 333, 4488 NJ/NY people: I took the PAWKWAY to the DINA to visit DEENA. had a BODDLE of WHATER and called my friend's phone. TREE TREE TREE, FAHR FAHR ATE ATE . FWIW our daughter spelled water WHATER until she was about 10, because phonetically that is what she heard her father and I say. She also spelled chocolate...choclate Sausage in NJ is pronounced SAWSAGE. Caramel is CARMEL. A drawer sounds like draw. I was teased for decades regarding my accent...Pima, what is that thing you pull out in a cabinet? I love NJ/NYers they are vocal, but soooo much fun. I will also say the vibe is different on a cruise out of NJ than Miami. We always feel that sailing out of Liberty is filled with more US citizens than when we sail out of Miami. Nothing bad or good either way, it just always seem that when we sail out of Miami there are more European passengers. No flaming me, just saying when they do the 1st night welcome, we always notice there seems to be more passengers from Europe on our Miami sailings. It makes sense to me bc many add on a pre/post vacay to Disney.

I booked onboard recently. My TA almost immediately found me a much better deal for the same room and I rebooked the next day. Had to pay the higher deposit, but ended up much better off.

RCI really missed the boat here IMO. Personally, I buy a soda package when freestyle machines are present and I skip it when they aren’t.

I've been to Alaska four times and some of those were repeat itineraries. Every visit is different. Different weather, different ship, different people, different excursions. All were great cruises. Some people don't like to repeat a port or a ship. Some like to repeat ports and ships because there is much to do and an opportunity to do something different such as the excursion you wanted to do but couldn't last time. Follow your gut, it's your vacation dollars.

There are signs everywhere on that deck to not sit on railings. #Fail

The family lawyer is employing the Schiff/Nadler offensive playbook...if one understand that, you understand what he's doing for the family.... ?

If this is true, would love to see a 7 night or longer cruise.

The family and atty think this would have been prevented by a warning sign. If Mr. Anello was so visually impaired that he couldn't tell the difference between an open or closed window (not to mention all the other sensory cues we've talked about), would he have even seen the sign? Did they need a sign on every window pane or dangling at eye level for the open windows where there's nothing to adhere to?

I have literally been watching the weather forecast myself and our cruise is Two weeks away...and of course while I’m doing this one of the owners comes in person to ask me a question!?. And I’m checking already because I had the bad judgement to book a cruise when it’s a full moon for the flight in...??? do they not have Pretzel M&Ms where you live? ?

What if Quantum class and Edge class from Celebrity had a baby...?

I really can't wait for some artist renderings of this class of ship. I think this is gonna be revolutionary. I just feel Royal has something huge up their sleeve with this one.

I've done it many times. Completely acceptable and common. No one will think twice about it.

I've got my shirt all ready for my April cruise and everything.

The drink card can be shared..so with a few people makes your liver and wallet hurt a little less!

Have you watched many of this guy's videos? I did and I find myself incompatible with a lot of of his "information". It has given me a great deal of respect for @Matt who doesn't produce drivel just for the sake of getting "clicks" and "watches".

I’m almost packed... !