Leaderboard

Yeah, I was wondering about this as well. Since Mr. Speednoodles tested positive last week, he may still test positive in January. Assuming I test negative, but wouldn't have been exposed for 2 months, I wouldn't feel as though I'd be exposing anyone to anything and could just no-show him. Although going without him on the new ship with the Suite would kind of be a dick move, so I'd probably just cancel both of us. But, double-double points. (Honey, I'm dong this FOR US).

It’s 3:30 am the day we leave for our cruise. Don’t check for the time I posted this. I wrote it early killing time. No, we don’t have an early flight. We are taking a leisurely 7 hour drive to Savannah today. But, I’m like a 5 year old when it comes to travel. I get so excited that I can’t sleep. Thank God for eye cream, because I’m going to have some serious bags this afternoon. I’ve always been this way about travel. Ever since my first long trip with Grandma and my cousin Mary when we were both 13 years old. Grandma took us to visit family in Baltimore. Grandma loved travel too, and she booked the 3 of us on the Amtrak train round trip. I remember the excitement of being on the train…and wanting to seriously hurt Mary because she cried every day for her Momma. I was worried that Grandma would cut our trip short, but obviously I get my travel attitude from Grandma, because she wasn’t budging on our schedule. Mary was allowed to call her Momma every day, but there was no going home early, thank goodness. That trip was when the travel bug bit, and I have been sold out ever since. I’m sitting here in the living room, dressed and trying to figure out how to wake my husband without being obvious about it. I would bounce on the bed, but we have a memory foam mattress. I realize now that was a poor choice. If I am “accidentally” a bit noisy, like when I was unloading the dishwasher a bit ago, he sleeps right thru it. And he gets annoyed when I cheerfully lift one of his eyes to “see” if he is awake. I don’t understand how he can be so blasé. We haven’t cruised in 802 days…not that Im counting. He knows how I am about travel, but does he accommodate this infantile behavior? No!!! Whatever. We will be taking our Covid tests as soon as I wake him…I mean, as soon as he wakes up. And he wants to pick up his new reading glasses on the way out, like it’s that important for him to see. Whatever.

Two negative Covid tests. Thank you e-Med! Getting Ken dressed to go out and test would have been more than he could endure after I finally woke him at 6 am. I may have pillaged his wallet for his ID, and had his phone, the test kit, and ID all set up for him, as he staggered out to the table. What a great wife! I talked him into not worrying about his hair all askew, because this person at eMed will never see him again, right? Unless they are on the cruise, or that person has a website like the “People of Walmart”. Ssshhh. Don’t put thoughts in his head. If you are sailing with us, come up and introduce yourself if you see me, please. How will you know who I am? I’m not a bot like Twangster, but I don’t take pics because…well, I take awful photos. Seriously bad ones. My best photos have a ‘deer in the headlights of a semi’ look. I avoid the front of a lens when at all possible. I prefer to be behind the camera. But, I will be wearing these at some point, because I like my t-shirts with a bit of snark.

So I recently got off Mariner of the Seas on Nov 30th and was about 3 hours into the drive home when I realized that I did not have my wallet on me. While cruising I always leave my wallet in the safe and only take the cash or credit cards that I need onshore and my passport. So on debarkation morning wearing athletic shorts it fell out of my pocket in the chair in the main dining room. This was the first time I had been separated from my wallet in at least 15 years and so I was thoroughly panicked. My wife did a quick search for a Royal Caribbean lost and found and there is an email process that you go through and give them all of the details about the item and the ship and so forth. Being the pessimist that I am I thought it was a fools errand but what the heck. Thankfully for Mobile Apps and being able to turn off all of my cards immediately, and that I jokingly had given my Wife all of the cash from my casino trips telling her that she would get it from me one way or another so might as well hand it over. I was only really out the actual wallet. 2 Days post cruise and I received an email last night from Royal that the wallet has been found and it will be returned to me once the ship returns to port and they are able to process it, all I had to do was pay for shipping. So if you ever forget/lose something this might be worth a try.

I will take one for the team and go with you! You shouldn’t have to go it alone

Day 4 (Perfect Day at Coco Cay) Fast forward back to today (that’s an oxymoron, I know): once I had staked my claim on my daybed at the Beach Club, I made a dash back to the ship to 1) charge my keyboard, 2) charge my phone, and 3) while #1 and #2 were happening, go ride the Perfect Storm slide. Yup, no line at all — everyone’s at Coco Cay. I just did it one time; frankly, I didn’t go very fast — but it was still fun. I had to push my way through a couple of the spots that were less steep, so the run was more sedate than scintillating. However, I made it back to the Beach Club just in time for my 11:00 lunch reservation — took @Matt’s advice and had the appetizers (I found the ceviche pretty fishy-tasting; the tzatziki sauce and the hummus were really good, as were the shrimp) and the “surf and turf.” I found that the Platinum C&A 50% discount on wine and beer doesn’t work on Coco Cay. The sorbet for dessert was excellent; I found the rum cake to be kind of dry and not really “rummy” enough for my taste. Overall, though, the meal was really good. After giving myself about an hour to digest the lunch, I went for a snorkel — out by the lifeguard stand I found a fairly large school of fish near an old pylon, got stung (I think) by a jellyfish, and found that it gets very shallow very quickly over by the cabanas! Came out by South Beach and walked back to the Beach Club. Today’s ending step count: 17,455! I came back to my cabin to see the saddest sight imaginable — the dreaded luggage tags. More tomorrow on disembarkation with The Key.

Reading, a lost art!

Thank you to Matt and everybody who was always extoling the virtues of travel insurance! Earlier this year I invested in an annual plan, and I'm so glad I did... I was on a B2B in early November, and the last day of the last leg, I started feeling awful when I first woke up; it felt like a very upset stomach and severe heartburn. It came and went as the day went on, but at dinner, I could barely eat, and finally, I sadly had to bid farewell to my dining companions and I headed off to the ship clinic. A battery of tests, several IVs, and hours in sickbay later, the doctor was concerned it was an inflamed appendix. He arranged for me to be evacuated via ambulance when the ship arrived in Port Canaveral. Let me tell you, that sickbay ICU bed and its weren't anywhere near as nice as my aft cabin! I had gone to the clinic early in the evening, so when he first brought up having me medically evacuated, my concern was immediately that I was somehow going to ruin everyone's cruise due to a hasty return. Thankfully, we were close enough that he just kept me plied with pain meds and antibiotics, and we reached Port Canaveral on schedule. The shoreside docs thankfully determined that nothing had ruptured -- I just had a rather nasty digestive issue. I was sent home with antibiotics. My medical insurance is covering the shoreside medical care thus far, but without travel insurance, my cruise would've been nearly $400 more expensive. Thankfully, Allianz reviewed and approved my claim in approximately 2 weeks after the incident, and I was reimbursed for the shipboard care in full (for those who don't know, they tack the onboard medical expenses onto your cruise statement). If I have anything that my regular insurance doesn't end up covering, I'll submit the amended claim to Allianz for reimbursement. Moral of the story: GET TRAVEL INSURANCE!

It’s quite the lifesaver when you feel a blister coming on and you’re a few days hike from any civilization and carrying a 40lb pack.

I cannot wait any longer! I am so STARry eyed , that my eyes burn with glee! We are a little over two months away from our first Star Class cruise experience on board the Anthem of the Seas. My husband Rob and I are in the midst of making arrangements for our upcoming dream vacation while simultaneously selling our house and buying a new house around the block lol. Yes we are crazy, but who isn't LOL? I am driving Rob bananas (I always have to sing that Gwen Stefani song in my head when spelling B-A-N-A-N-A-S!) asking him if we received the Star Class questionnaire yet. Rob is the responsible one who checks emails every hour so I am at his Mercy LOL. In the meantime, here is the lowdown of our anniversary cruise thus far: ***P.S. SHOUT OUT to @WAAAYTOOO @Jax @Lovetocruise2002 @CravingaCruise and many others for your guidance and blogs that kept me up till 2 AM too many nights LOL Who: Andrew & Rob What: Anthem of the Seas Star Class Cruise 10 year Wedding Anniversary Celebration! Staying in GLS #10324 When: February 11th, 2022 Where: Who cares? We are going on a cruise lol San Juan, St. Maarten, Labadee (probably will change) & 5 cruising days (We love sea days)!!! I have already made a document of preferences that I have finessed like thirty times so we (me) do not sound completely insane! I have heard good things about both Yen and Jay so we are going to try to request either of them to be our magic Genie! I am looking forward to posting again soon once our questionnaire comes!

Another thing that will make it harder than it used to be....since the unvaxxed children must have a PCR test, they cannot use the at-home tests. That makes it a bit more difficult.

Just got off Mariner and we enjoyed a cigar almost everyday. During the day or before dinner we would head up to the pool deck and you can get great service from the pool side bar staff while you enjoy your cigar and there are many different kinds of seating from loungers to table and chairs. They sell several midlevel cigars in the shop onboard but I would always steer clear as they are not a good deal. I have never had anyone even look at cigars that I brought back onboard when they are just in your beach bag or whatever. So not sure about them "not" allowing them. I guess if you were really worried you could just take the bands off and no one would know the difference. As a personal point of preference having had Cuban cigars and cigars from all over; they are not really the mythical beast that they were in the 1960's or even 1970's as has been told to me by cigar professionals as many of the Cuban families during the prolonged rule of communism have taken their methods and tobacco strains and left the country and created equally as good products in Central-American countries. That being said to each his own. Final note on your Lighter that you take I did run into them having to review my "torch" lighter in Port Canaveral at boarding and they eventually cleared it because they said it was fine as long as it does not lock in the lit position. Enjoy your cruise @James_Mc!

I got the same email. No wonder people can't keep it straight. The Healthy Sail Center page that the email links hasn't updated the requirements there to reflect this yet either.

I'm a pharmacist -- you have no idea what I consider necessary to pack & hope to not need!!! Cold/cough medicines, analgesics (Ibuprofen, Aleve, Tylenol), bacitracin & bandaids, hydrocortisone cream, antihistamines, PLUS all the prescription meds our family uses-- we use a small rolling bag for all our health related items

Good question - IMO laptop makes it far easier than pecking on a phone. My fat fingers aren't very efficient; hence, I did very few live posts on our Nov cruise.

I would fill up on lobster & steak if I were you. That sandwich looks horrific and nobody even took into consideration the fact that the mozzarella sticks somehow find a way to come out of the fryer cold at Coco Cay. I can’t imagine anyone smiles after taking a bite of that sandwich.

Day 3 — Nassau (Continued) Once we got back to the ship, my new friend invited me back to her and her son’s stateroom — she bid the minimum on a Royal Up to a 2-bedroom aft suite — from a balcony! It was gorgeous! BTW, I received my “sorry, your bid wasn’t successful” email at 7:14 pm on the day we sailed. I think I had figured that out already, but it was nice (?!) to get the official word . . . I did visit the Casino to make the most of my remaining $20 in Free Play — well, the Casino made more than I did, but I at least netted $5.00! Then, I tried using some of my OBC ($20.00) and got back $19.00 — so I was $4.00 to the good! I am not a gambler, that’s for sure. I did enjoy my two free drinks though! I think the Casino lessons (they cost $25) are a good deal if: 1) you don’t have the drink package AND 2) you’d like to learn how some of the games in the casino are played without risking any money AND/OR 3) if you’ll use (and enjoy using!) the $25 in Free Play you receive. Went up and relaxed in the hot tub for a while after dinner (tomato soup, tenderloin, asparagus and mashed potatoes, with creme brûlée AND soufflé cake with vanilla sauce for dessert — yup, two desserts; after all, I put 15,000 steps + on my Fitbit today!

@Lovetocruise2002 Lol I couldn’t help myself! The suite looks so beautiful and I feel like we made the right choice moving from deck 8 to deck 10 thanks to multiple recommendations!

Looks like Symphony, Odyssey, Anthem, Explorer, Voyager, Brilliance, Jewel, Rhapsody and Serenade will be doing Europe

Oh my goodness ! So glad to hear that you were able to get good care so quickly. Hopefully you will make a full recovery without surgery. Delighted to hear that the insurance did exactly what it’s supposed to do and that you were fully covered. Continued recovery !

Looking forward to this!! I'll be in 10324 in July!!

Yes. This is still an option. I just cancelled 8 more cruises through 3-31-22 using the vaccination protocols as my reason for cancelling. Many of these cruises had FCCs and some were L&S. Not only can you cancel cruises that have FCCs and L&S applied but you can now request cash refunds for your FCCs rather than having the FCCs reissued. Having said that, I will warn you that there could be cancellation penalties that might apply. I wish I understood it enough to explain it but I don’t. I just know that in certain cases, I received “cash value” for my FCCs which was less than the “face value”. I have no idea how any of it is calculated and frankly, I have tired of trying to figure it out. I just shrugged and said, “whatever”. In my case I no longer have any FCCs to worry about and that’s good enough for me. If you decide to do the cash refund vs FCCs being reissued, be sure and specifically insist on cash refunds. They will try and give the FCCs unless you ask for cash.

Refunds for testing positive is all or nothing for a cabin, so you could no show the hubby in this case. However you have been exposed and you could end up feeling sick while on the cruise and it just seems like an unnecessary risk knowing you were exposed.

If only testing was this easy.

Star Class Inclusions Sugar Beach, Starbucks and Playmakers are new venues for us this time so I wasn’t sure what items were included. Sugar Beach – Ice creams are included in your package, however all other items, candy etc are of a chargeable nature. Starbucks hand craft coffee and drink specials are included, however all snacks are of a extra charge Playmakers Sundae is included in your package

An abject lesson in taking any OTC meds you might need. I have a small pharmacy I bring with pain relievers, cold meds, pepto, Imodium, bandaids, mole skin, sunburn cream. Ok you get the idea. You can’t rely on any of this being readily available. Not to mention the outrageous prices!

Say we all test prior to flying down and one of us tests positive. Can the rest of us still sail assuming we all test negative? I mean not if I test positive. If I can’t go, nobody goes!!! But if it were him?

I wish you would stop telling people that. Caribbean nations are trying to rebuild while keeping their citizens safe. Stop telling people they can just sneak out once in port!!

Keep an eye on it, last week on LOTS our Diamond vouchers were used for soft drinks (we had refreshment package) by the time we noticed later that evening that our vouchers were gone it was too late.

We were on Liberty last week and it was a challenge! They could have stood to increase capacity for pools/hot tubs/elevators/etc to account for the huge increase in passenger capacity. Also, more show offerings would've been nice. She's my favorite ship, but they were definitely experiencing some "growing pains" over Thanksgiving!

I was wondering the same thing. Unless you TELL them that the "no show" passenger tested positive (and that is why they aren't coming along) they would have no way to know the reason that they are no-showing. There could be any number of reasons why a person no-shows for a cruise. As long as those who DO go on the cruise test negative I don't see the problem. Of course, leaving your sick loved one at home to fend for himself could be a problem [divorce] when you get back, but as far as the cruise line knows, he's just not comin' !

You are going to love the 2 BR ATS. It is perfect for an extended family. The official answer to whether your non-Star family is included in the SC perks, is no. The unofficial answer is, the Genie will do whatever they can to include everyone. Anything that takes place inside your SC suite is covered....so you can have everyone over to eat, drink, party, snack, watch shows, [complimentary] movies and all food and drinks will be covered. The only place you could possibly have issues would be with reserved seating at the theaters. My experience (and I believe MOST EVERYONE's experience) is that the Genie will include the non-SC family members. The only time it seems to be a problem is if there are a significant number of "additional" family members...but with 3, I don't think you will have a problem. When it comes to things like priority lines for flow rider, etc I would definitely NOT count on the non-SC pax to be included for that. You have made things considerably easier for everyone by purchasing the UDP and DBP for the non-SC pax. That will simplify the "Bill" issue at the end of meals, etc. It's as close to "all inclusive" as you can get without being SC. I don't know if I really have a recommendation for you regarding moving your GD into your suite. It seems like it might be a reasonable idea. I don't think it would change your cruise fare by much. Others who have used AO will probably have better intel than I. Enjoy your SC experience !!

I'm not a scientist or a statistician but...I've been following the CDC Cruise Ship Color Status page for quite a while, as I'm sure many of us have, and what's pretty apparent to me is... Regardless of vaccination policy, each line has had, and still has, sailings with covid cases aboard. Even cruise lines with 100% crew and passengers being vaccinated. Some are orange and some yellow...depending on the percentage of covid cases to total passengers. However, none have reached red status. This means every ship has been able to handle however many cases have presented...and successfully prevented widespread infection...without overtaxing their medical facilities. It seems most cases are breakthrough in vaccinated individuals and are presented with mild symptoms. I still feel cruising is safe...safer than being home and mingling with people at various businesses and venues. So, for me...I'll protect myself by booking more cruises!

Greeting all, my name is Joe and I've been following the the blog for the last little bit and throughly enjoying the Youtube videos with all the questions and answers. Thought I'd finally sign up as it seems all I do these days is talk about my upcoming cruises. I am booked on Anthem Dec 12 (10 days woo-hoo), Oasis Jan 30, and back on Anthem on March 13. In the past I've sailed on Anthem, Oasis, Explorer, Radiance and Serenade. Look forward to hearing from you

Very likely that the cruise planner isn't programmed to accept that under 12s can be considered vaccinated yet. If you are able to book just the adults in a timeslot to hold it, I would do that and then when you board go to the MDR and have them set it up for the children to join you.

Thanks for posting this. Sorry you went through it and glad it worked out without any ongoing serious medical issues. Good to see Allianz works as advertised. Insurance is a must have!

Hoping on lobster night to eat in CK so hubby can have his scallops. I will be asking for lobster lobster and more lobster! My daughter wants the harissa lemon chicken from MDR. Gonna ask in advance.

I actually saw the same thing happen right in front of me on my Oasis cruise last week. A family was trying to get off in St Thomas and were stopped at the gangway. The parents were arguing with the office who was dealing with them that they were never told that this was the requirement. As I said above, it amazes me that people wouldn't read all of the protocols that Royal sends out in advance of the cruise.

Day 2: At Sea I wanted to try eating breakfast in the MDR, so I got up in time to make the 8:00 opening of the MDR, and sat at the exact same table (by the window) that I had had the day before for the Chops luncheon. I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, and then headed up to the 13th deck to participate in my First Annual RCL Mini Golf Tournament (note: I did say “my” ). I did not win any prizes as I chose to take some of the more adventurous routes to the hole, resulting in a few extra strokes (well, more than a few). The winning score for 9 holes was 19. I had 26. ‘Nuff said. It was fun, though, and we taught our Sports person (from Macedonia) a few select golfing terms, like “neck and neck” and “scramble” and OMIGOSH. And then I . . . Don’t remember what I did. Ummm — Oh, yes! I went to Izumi for the Sake and Sushi pairing! It was really good! I did receive my “The Key” 25% discount, which was nice. If you have The Key and it includes the discount on specialty dining, make sure you remind the restaurant when you make your reservation, or at least when you go in. We had five different courses, and four different sake’s — including a sparkling sake, one that was milky white, a “house” sake, and a more refined sake. Did you know that the grains (kernels) of rice are polished before being made into sake? It takes off the outer husk so that only the inner part is left; the one with all of the sugar. Many people in the north enjoy their sake warm. Oh, and sake production in Japan (and maybe elsewhere) is heavily regulated by the . . . Yakuza! After that, I went to the Ice Show (“Freedomice”) — it was a retro (70’s)- oriented show but really well done, I thought. I figured I’d be cold (it is an ice rink, after all!) but I was not! The first row of seats is reserved for social distancing, so the closest you can get is the second row. The “short” end of the rink seemed to be the most popular for seating, but I sat in the middle of the “long” side, and could see perfectly.One of the male skaters made a round of the rink with one of the female skaters balanced on the top of his head. Talk about core strength! Also went to the Headliner show — “Once Upon a Time”. — a retelling of several fairy tales in contemporary style; a lot of fun.

They always do a test load on the website the week before with one itinerary from each ship. They will disappear soon until next week.

Welcome aboard JJ! Feel free to ask away with any questions you may have. There are a multitude of seasoned cruisers here that will be more than happy to answer whatever you ask. The one question we all may have about you is, based on your location, have you ever done the barrel over the falls thing?

Same! I am next door in July! (Same sailing as @GregD ) And might I point out again to @Matt that I no longer hold the record for earliest start.

Great birthday dinner at Chops. Joel is an incredible waiter. Multiple interactions with kids which we enjoyed.

This felt good! In case you are curious I purchased the luggage tag holders off Amazon.

It is fixed. I decided if we didn't get it when the rep was trying to change it over, then the others would have to find something else to do too, because I wasn't going to have one grandchild standing there watching the other grandchildren take off on the Jet Ski's. I was very nervous as I saw it pop up as one spot available, but the rep quickly grabbed it and rebooked for my granddaughter and at the black Friday sale price! I greatly appreciate the young lady that finally got it fixed for me. Thank you! I'm sure tired and could use a vacation after all this.

I have been on several Alaska cruises. I have gone in about every month offered for Alaska. It will be hit and miss on weather. You will no doubt hit rain at some point. I usually take a 1 way cruise in Alaska to be able to see the larger Hubbard glacier. Then fly home from Anchorage. Even when it is sunny, you have cold air coming off the glaciers. Often when you go outside on deck they hand out blankets. Once on an August cruise I ventured out to the outdoor pool, was only one in pool. Was not warm. But I have seen amazing things on Alaska cruises. A huge kodiak bear swimming along side of the cruise ship. In early months, like June seal calves are born. The farther north you go there is chunks of ice floating all around with baby seals on them Like hundreds. You can do a lot by just walking off from ship. Ketchikan and Skagway are my favorite ports. There is a lumberjack show that is fun in Ketchikan. Narrow gauge train up White Pass in Skagway is good also. You will not need shorts, unless you need for the gym/spa. Only a swimsuit if there is an indoor solarium pool or hot tub. Packing is harder because you need boots and warm clothes, plus on-ship clothes (like dressier items). If you have never been to Alaska if will be a great trip. Enjoy

I liked it overall - definitely a step up from MDR. One underrated aspect of CK is how much quieter it is vs the MDR.

For blisters on your feet. We do a LOT of walking on vacation. If you get a hot spot from footwear rubbing, moleskin works better than a bandaid. A lesson learned after MANY trips to Disney!

Owww — now I have a crick in my neck from trying to look at them and figure out how to fix their orientation — sorry! Anyway — I was putting things away, looked outside my door, and there’s my suitcase!! Yay! Started putting those things away and realized that I was supposed to be meeting some folks from our 29 Nov Freedom OTS FB group at the Lime and Coconut 5 minutes ago! Rushed (well, cheated and took the elevator) up to the 12th Deck, and found the one other member who decided to show up. Ryan and I had a really nice chat for about 30 minutes, and then I realized I’d best get finished with my unpacking — as I had a heavy evening schedule. I LOVE RCL’s Maryland Style Crab Cakes — and they’re on the menu the first night! And I have a casino lesson at 6. And dinner starts at 5:30 in the MDR (I have early dining). Hmmm. I let my server know as soon as I get to my table that I just want three crab cakes — that’s it! No dessert? Not Entree? Nope, just three crab cakes and water would be great. They’re so accommodating! I savor the crab cakes (because they’re just on the first night menu), sip my water — and depart the MDR at 5:55 (I could have left a little earlier, but had to persuade Maricar (my server) that I would be fine, I wouldn’t starve, and no I didn’t need dessert :-). Casino Lesson: $25 gets me two drink coupons, as many lessons from whatever game dealers I want, and $25 in Free Play. Good deal, I say. I rapidly learn a few things: 1) I will never understand “Ultimate Texas Hold’Em” — I’m completely scared away for LIFE! 2). I have a slightly better understanding of roulette now, but really need a cheat sheet to figure out the odds on each kind of bet 3) Craps is kind of cool 4) There are lots of guys who when they see someone at a table, assume that there’s actual gambling going on — even though the announcement has been made several times that the Casino won’t be open for play until we’re 12 miles out — like 45 minutes from now — and that those of us trying to learn about a specific game are not interested in their tips on how we should play. Oops, rant over — but they were really annoying 5). I think I’ll stick to slot machines for the time being. But I still have my drink coupons and my $25 Free Play! After the Casino lesson, I decided I was hungry (go figure!), so I went up to the Windjammer and had a nice big salad, with some protein. No dessert, not me! Then I was looking at my RCL app while I was eating my salad, and guess WHAT they were serving in the Windjammer??? CRAB CAKES! At that point, my self restraint was broken. I grabbed a dessert plate, got a coconut cookie and a piece of Key Lime pie; then went over to the Hot Line, and requested (and got!) a little plate with two crab cakes! I scurried like a squirrel back to my humble cabin, put the crab cakes in a sandwich ziploc that I had just happened to pack, and rejoiced in my cookie and Key Lime pie dessert. Went to see the Headliner Comedy Show — Rick Corso — somewhat entertaining but not over the top funny. Had a couple of good conversations with the Cruise Director (Chris) and another veteran (TJ) about the possibility of having a veterans meet up (not really likely on such a short cruise), and then headed back to the cabin — a good, long day, and I’m ecstatic to be on board. Then I went to bed. The End. Ooops. Nope. A FaceTime call with my loved ones, and then to bed. The End. Nope. I wondered if I had to make a decision on how I wanted my $25 Free Play — chips or slot machine credit — that day. It was 11 p.m. I got dressed back in my “go outside of my cabin” clothes, and walked down to the Casino. went with my instincts, and turned it into slot machine credit. Decided, well, might as well try it out. $10 later, no winnings — I’ll save it for another day. Went to bed. The End. For real this time.

The Key . . . So far, so good! Things I’ve enjoyed: Priority embarkation: Although my initial time was 11:30, being in The Key line meant that we went in just as the middle of the Suite Line had entered the Terminal and right before the 11:30 crowd - it looked like about 50-60 people in that line. We were directed to a separate The Key seating area — right next to the General Boarding waiting area, but separate. I have no idea where the Suite area was, or if there was a separate Pinnacle/Diamond Plus section as well. There was a restroom right next to us, but, as I typed before, no place to refill water bottles or get a drink of water. I think RCL needs to rethink that approach. The Key area was summoned before the other groups to proceed aboard. Carry On Bag Handling: Since I was carrying my two bottles of wine in my carry-on (an E-bags backpack — very comfortable, but kind of heavy when serving as a wine tote), I was very happy to hand it over to The Key staff at the entrance to the MDR prior to going in for my Chops Lunch. TBH, I was a bit concerned because it had my iPad in it too — but when I got into my room at almost exactly 2:00, there it was perched on my sofa! I felt badly that I had those concerns, as I really have a lot of faith in the RCL crew members — and they delivered their usual high degree of excellent service. Chops Lunch: My filet was really good — perfectly cooked (medium rare) and so flavorful and tender. I restrained myself and only had grilled asparagus as a side — and no dessert, much to the dismay of my server, Anna. 25% Discount on Specialty Dining — yup, it was included, and worked on my Sushi and Sake pairing on Day 2! Voom 1-Device: the daily cost for Voom onboard is $22.99 (I think), so The Key gives me the above benefits PLUS Voom for $6.00 / day less than Voom onboard. One small downside: the priority access for the shows in the Theater appear to be limited to the 4th Deck, which is the Everybody deck. I don’t want to deprive families with kids of the opportunity to see shows, so plan on sitting in the Vaccinated sections on the 3rd Deck. I guess it gives families with The Key a better chance of getting prime seats for their families which is fine.