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Shout out to @WAAAYTOOO@Lovetocruise2002@Jax@Neesa@AshleyDillo! I’m officially a star class snob! I’ve read your blogs but it’s 10k better in person! Marla has been an awesome genie and can’t believe how much energy she has. CK filet was the most tender filet I’ve ever had. It melts in your mouth like M&M! Thanks everyone for educating me and turning me in to a star class snob. also thanks to @Sharla for making our cruise reservation experiences so easy and smooth.

It's validated! Okay, so I don't know if this is what helped, but considering it was rejected two times before, I have to wonder if this extra piece of info helped. So, along with the vaccination card, I took a picture of my Walgreens vax record that I printed out and included that in there. Next day, it's validated. My only guess if they didn't know what WAG was, but once I included the printed record, they knew what company to search for the lot #.

So very excited to be cruising! I once again didn’t want to jinx anything by starting the blog early — this pandemic has definitely left emotional scars! We left balmy, tropical Nicaragua for brisk, breezy Baltimore, just to head south again. But whatever. Because cruising! This was the first time we have taken a cruise based solely on convenience. Normally we pick cruises based on ports, a few times based on the ship. This time we chose this sailing simply because it was close to home for our friends who have limited vacation days, at a time when they were available. So, it is myself and MisterZ, plus our friends Full Speed and Slash. We’re in a 2-bedroom GS on Enchantment’s March 25 sailing out of Baltimore: Day 1 - depart Baltimore Day 2 - at sea Day 3 - Charleston SC Day 4 - Orlando FL Day 5 - Coco Cay Day 6 - Nassau Day 7 - at sea Day 8 - at sea Day 9 - return to Baltimore This is our first time in a 2-br cabin of any kind. This is our friends’ first time on Royal (previous two cruises on Carnival). Also our first time on Enchantment. This will be our first time to Coco Cay as well. Lots of newness all around! Requisite suitcase photo:

I don't know how to say this, maybe just pull the bandaid off...I LOVED the STAR class experience, and I have designs on booking another Star Class cabin BUT and here goes, oh dear oh my....... Sky class is the perfect sailing experience for me BUT I had to experience STAR to understand this. I enjoyed embarkation so much, I enjoyed Derick even more, he was very grounded and understood right away we wanted to be present in the experience and didn't want to ONLY check off boxes. I enjoy a large cabin and a balcony space I can spread out on, I'm content spending hours out there. We normally eat in a snack type way, my daughter and her weightlifting has us eating smaller things more frequently so while reservations for lunch and dinner were amazing to have, we did cancel a few lunch dates for a more brunch or even one time linner situation; as there was a great deal of time spent meeting Derick on time for things that were set and we sometimes sail a bit looser then that. **as suspected we canceled a dinner for the last night .... we eat sparsely the night before disembarkation for a more comfortable morning and drive home, we were just going to grab picky bland things from WJ I thought his head would pop off. He secured us an early table in Chops, so funny! I thought I loved the laundry but good for pressing that's all. Several of my shirts and one cardigan were toddler sized when I received them back, shame on me totally on me I should not have sent them. Lesson learned, no biggie. I like to walk and I felt like a proper jerk on the golf cart going to and from Barefoot Beach beeping at people walking on the path, I was trying to disappear myself it's not that far but I did feel special at the same time, weird dynamic. Love the Bare Foot Beach experience. I enjoyed the seats chosen for us in entertainment venues but in Sky if I arrive at the proper time I can secure great seats myself. I LOVED how stress-free and easy disembarkation was, as no one ever dwells on this process the ease in which we arrived at our SUV was priceless. I am so happy and blessed I enjoyed my STAR Class experience, I will do it again. But to say I will only sail STAR is just false, it's wonderful. But Sky class is my happy place. While my daughter will beg to differ, hahaha I created a Star class snob, boy does she miss Derick! Our next sailing is on the Mariner so that will actually be a pretty proper shock. We are in that little Panoramic Suite 1804 for the first time, no balcony but two restrooms. Will I reach for my Star again? Yes, but personally for me I hope you are sitting down reading this...... Sky is my sweet spot, my perfectly adequate happy place! I too am in shock by this admission, lol. Humble and kind, have you heard that song? That is my center, I tell myself that everyday and my blessings are to many to count. Thanks for sharing your time with me!

I've been on two cruises where the call for donors of a certain blood type were made. Both were for medical issues involving internal bleeding...not trauma. The inspiring part is that shortly after the call was made...in both instances...another call shortly followed cancelling the call for volunteers as so many had come forward so quickly that medical was nearly overwhelmed. Amazingly selfless and generous cruisers always ready to step up and help others. Another reason I love cruising!

Wonder of the seas I am on you and loving it so far!

I totally get it. Between navigating through all the the pandemic took from us, all the complicated and not logical travel restrictions, it has not been easy. This was cruise #2 post start up (coming from Canada), and all I can say as complex as it may be, it is worth it the second you step on board!

Cabin 8052, 2 bedroom GS on the port side. It is well laid out. I would definitely stay in this type of cabin again. Entry, looking back at the door from the main room: Master bedroom: Master bath: Second bedroom: Second bath: Walk in closet next to second bedroom: Vanity for second bedroom (in entry hall): Main room: Balcony:

My last night on symphony and it’s mixed emotions. Cruise was awesome and I was stoked to be back on symphony. Service was really good overall. Specialty restaurant servers were on point and worked their arses off. Bartenders at trellis bar had to be androids because they never stopped and were ridiculously efficient. Just another top notch royal experience. Had a group of ten and everyone was overjoyed with the trip.

Please order another 6 pack ASAP!

Well, if I decide to order another 6 pack of E-med test kits for my upcoming cruises you can be sure those pre cruise testing requirements will go away!

Yes, they got plenty of donors on our cruise as well. They specifically announced they were looking for male donors - I know there is some research to suggest better outcomes when gender-matching blood transfusions especially in emergencies (so I suspect the guest was male), but I wonder also if it was intended to cull the amount of volunteers. I've never before heard a request for donors, but after being on these boards, it sounds like it happens a lot! Still, I'm very impressed (and relieved) at the capabilities of medical staff onboard.

This! I tend to also put the life jackets under the bed - I shove the suitcases way under, towards the back, and put the life jackets right on the edge for easy access - and use the shelves in the closet for clothes. (I put the life jackets back at the end of the cruise.) Attached is what our closet ends up looking like.

And I never knew Military/Veterans discounts even existed on Royal Caribbean. Maybe I'll ask next time.

Once we unpack, we slide our suitcases under the beds (they're the same in a balcony or interior). We each (4 of us) take a big suitcase and a back pack. We could probably fit a second, carry on size suitcase under the bed if we brought them as well.

My perception is that prices have increased for drinks, internet, excursions, and cruise fares, except that through careful planning one can avoid the most dramatic fare increases. I periodically compare average stateroom price per night on old cruises and new. What I discover is that Matt's recommendation to book early makes a big difference.

While both are true, it's much more the distance factor. Bermuda is way out on its own in the Atlantic; many cruises that go there are just to Bermuda and back. One of my favorite cruises out there was on Empress, when we got to do one night at the Naval Shipyard and two nights in Hamilton. The one day we got off the ship in the morning at the shipyard, went on a bike tour and ate some lunch, then boarded the ship in Hamilton! Being in port overnight for so long really changed the whole feel of the trip, we even saw some of the crew at one of the local bars in Hamilton one night!

I blame @WAAAYTOOO, she is the OG Star Class snob

Just caught up on all of your adventures and loved living through you all. The last two years have taken their toll on me and I haven't been in a cruising mood. I'm now excited for my next one, thanks to you all. Thanks for sharing!

We had some other business in the States the week before, so we ended up only needing to travel from Jacksonville to Baltimore on the 24th. There is only one nonstop option, Southwest. Mind you, the last time I flew on Southwest they were handing out plastic boarding group cards and still had the set of seats that faced backward, so it has been a minute. Here’s hoping it will be as long before I have to do it again. Heh. We waited for 45 minutes for our bags, and then wandered out to find our shuttle to the DoubleTree BWI. Not a bad choice for Baltimore departures — less than 10 minutes from the airport and less than 15 to the cruise terminal. The hotel has been updated nicely. Breakfast was also pretty good. Our friends drove in from Arlington and picked us up at the hotel. Parking at the terminal at the Port of Baltimore is very easy — drive in, take a parking placard from the nice person at the front gate, drive around to drop your bags, then pay and park. None of the parking is covered, but we don’t expect any ice on our return on April 2. We hope! The boarding line for Suites, Key, and Pinnacle was clearly marked. We had an 1130a boarding time and arrived about 1050a. Boarding had just begun at that point. We got through the process smoothly and were onboard by 1115a. We showed our paperwork to 4 different people. I remain staunchly #TeamPrintItOut. As usual, cell reception in the terminal was sketchy. Full Speed had made screenshots of their paperwork as well, but stated about half way through “wow, I’m glad we have printouts!” We stopped in the Centrum immediately after boarding and watched the safety videos, then went straight to our muster station. Love the eMuster system! Next we ran by the MDR to check our table location and to Chops to book our BOGO for night 2. All our chores done before noon! Cabins would be ready at 2p, so we wandered the ship — grabbed a bite and a drink and settled in at Boleros to chat.

Boy, do I agree with this. However, I'm very persistent and have found TAP, post COVID and with a new CEO, is working hard to promote and provide good customer service. I had a translant flight COVID cancelled by TAP in October 2020 and was given a voucher. I had the two voucher numbers and tried to apply them during an on-line booking for July 2022. It didn't work and I abandoned the booking to try another way of booking the next day. I knew full well, calling TAP US results in hour long plus waits to talk to a CSR. Surprisingly, I received a call the next day from a TAP CSR who noted I had abandoned an on-line booking and asked if was still interested. I was. He found the vouchers, applied them to the early booking and low fare and I booked with him in about 10 minutes time. Pre-COVID I could fly to Geneva one way via LIS for $500 pp. It's more now and the RT ticket I just booked for October 2022 was in the $1200 pp range. Got an email confirmation followed by the details of the booking. I was very impressed. That never happens with American or United. They don't care and thier fares are unjustifiably higher than TAP's. TAP has issues one of which is a restructuring of debt undertaking that occurred recently to avoid COVID related bankruptcy but they have the backing of the Portuguese government and as far as I'm concerned, "they try harder." They have my business getting to the continent from the US.

Our owners suite did last week, very helpful! Matt, you’ve really never heard the bathroom referred to as the head?!?!? I must be old.

Was at cococay today on symphony and odyssey was in port as well supposedly at 100% capacity. However, it didn’t seemed super packed at all especially at south beach was a Good vibe despite two large ships being there.

And it was never "free", we all paid for this service with our tax dollars.

What I like about Quantum (and other big ships) is the variety of options. Maybe you don't go to them all, but I like having too many choices rather than not enough.

I have a platinum Visa card and the only thing that opens is my wallet!

I'll look them up...may have to leave the kids in the parking lot for a bit.

I literally booked a KSF cruise yesterday and repriced it today. It was $200 less today; I called and they gave me the lower price without any issue. They are supposed to honor it if the price is lowered, as long as it's before you make your final payment.

I had forgotten about Boleros. I recall them being common on multiple ships at one point. Am I misremembering? Anyway, it’s a nice space and a good bar. Since we had 10 Diamond Plus coupons to burn the first day, we drank cheaply before dinner Enchantment is the only ship that has only a single speciality restaurant, so we will be #TeamMDR for sure this trip. We have early seating. Tonight was decent and our waiter is lovely. The key lime pie was the only thing photogenic (it was also very tasty!): After dinner we went to the concierge club for a digestif. Interestingly, both Diamond Plus and Pinnacle can come to the Concierge Club on this sailing, BUT they have to use their nightly coupons. Suite guests still get unlimited beverages. Photos later of the two clubs and the Viking Crown, I promise! Here are the offer letters for Diamond Plus and suite guests: Also spotted the wine package, which I hadn’t seen in a while. We used to do this regularly to save a bit of money: Onboard drink package prices (sorry for the glare): This was actually not a ton more than I saw on the Planner ahead of time.

We had that problem as well. The first time we had enough food show up for 4 people (I ordered 2 omlettes and got 4) etc - the next time we didn't get enough food. Room service for breakfast is a total mystery to me.

I'm excited, but not as excited as I probably should be. We switched ships (from Serenade to Quantum, which bums me out), and we got spoiled with suites over the last 2 sailings, which we don't have on this one (I had a Jr Suite on Serenade, at least, lol - #spoiled). BUT, while I'm not super excited about the ship, we do have a goal to sail on all of Royal's ships, so we'll at least be able to tick this one off the list and never think about it again, and I always love Alaska. This will be our 4th trip. My favorite thing to do is stand on our balcony on glacier day and see the seals basking on the ice floes (which you can easily see well, even without binoculars - although I do use them).

We were able to fit 3 large-ish bags under the bed in our OS. We nested the small carry on bag inside a bigger one.

Day 7: Cococay Everyday I was excited for but I was especially excited for Cococay. We had booked the over the water cabana in the beach club. We started the morning with breakfast being delivered to our stateroom. We asked Hossain to put the exact same order as he did the first day. We woke up to rain so we just ate breakfast inside. The whole day had a calling for rain and overcast so we were all very bummed. After breakfast, we met Hossain at the bionic bar so he could escort us off the ship. This escort probably wasn’t needed because the line was very short. It was probably because it was pouring at this point. The whole crew took the trolley to The Coco Beach Club. I loved the beautiful scenery walking in. We had cabana number 16 which we requested through our genie. We were only docked in Cococay from 10-5 which didn’t seem like a long time at all. We swam, tanned, floated, ate like 3 lobsters each. I loved it all. It was the first true do nothing day. The only thing I didn’t get the opportunity to do that I wanted to was snorkel. I’m not mad about that though because I still saw and held a star fish on the near by sand bar that was about 20 feet away. We started packing up and left around 4:30. We didn’t get back on the ship until 5 minutes until all aboard. Once onboard we got ready for dinner. Tonight’s dinner was at Hooked Seafood. I was tired and wasn’t too hungry but the food was good. I had the soft strip crab and captains platter with an assortment of seafood. After dinner, we put McKenzie to sleep then switched off with my parents. They packed in the room and Jake and I went to see 1977 Ice show. We both discussed afterwards that we were really impressed with the talent the skaters had. We would watched all the ice shows over again. I really liked the ice shows videography on the ice. Jake laughed that it was just projectors but it was still cool to me. After the show we got icecream, then headed to the Rising Tide Bar since we haven’t rode it up yet. It was fun but definitely a novelty just like the bionic bar. To the the night, we headed back to the room and stressed out over all the bags we had to pack! All in all, the day went by WAY TO FAST and we are all sad we have to leave. We talked about our highs and lows on the cruise and I plan on sharing a few of them on another post soon. Maybe when I’m flying I’ll start composing that. I will also have to share photos, pros and cons of star Class (almost no cons) and also the adventure of traveling with an 8 month old baby.

I'm retired military as well and when I've been fortunate to get the military discount, have not had to provide verification, but do carry it with me. Would advise to keep checking the RC website to see if it's offered. Sometimes, closer to sail date, it is.

Some activities I don’t mind. Not waiting for shows and skipping is a nice advantage. It’s just the ‘younger’ activities with the young kids that make me feel bad. It was my turn for the flow rider for skipping but it was in front of a 7/8 year old kid. I was like, I’ll go after him it’s okay.

I don't know about Kraken but most booze is cheaper on board and cheaper still in most Caribbean ports. We were looking at bourbon and it was about 4$ cheaper on board and up to 6$ cheaper in the ports we stopped at. BTW, the last two cruises we were on they allowed you to bring booze on board from the ports we stopped at. We bought a bottle back, opened it and drank it the rest of the cruise to supplement our diamond drinks. We didn't have (or need) a drink package.

How I understand you! When your entire trip depends on the whim of a q-tip, it's best to keep a low profile until said demon has determined you are good to go! Have a great time!

Totally agree with the feelings when you take the first steps off the gangway and onto the ship. I’m not too proud to say I shed a few tears stepping onto Oasis this past September.

I have bid on upgrades three times. The two times it was accepted, the bids showed in the "weak" range. The other time (also in the "weak" range) it showed pending for the last week when all other bids had "expired." But someone must have made a new booking during that time, so I didn't get the upgrade. So, don't worry about where it is in the range - bid what you are comfortable bidding, and be pleasantly surprised if/when you win!

Day 6: Final Sea Day Our final sea day, Jake and I scheduled a Swedish couples massage for 8am. After our massage, we had a light breakfast at Coastal Kitchen. It took a while but I think the food comas finally hit us. At noon, we had Hooked Seafood. I had the vodka oyster shooters, oysters, and fish and chips. We were in a hurry because Hossain scheduled us an ice cream bar in the room at 1:00. One of my favorite things on this cruise with star class has been the free ice cream at Sugar Beach. The Cookies N Cream and Tiramisu are my favorite. After ice cream the whole crew decided on a water adventure afternoon. DJ, Wayne and I went on all of the water slides and then headed to the flow rider. I am not sure how I feel about skipping the flow rider line being Star Class. It makes me feel weird cutting in front of younger kids. When we were at the flow rider my parents took McKenzie to the baby splash zone. They said she had a great time and took lots of pictures. After we were done with water time, it was nap time. After a quick nap for McKenzie, we took her on the carousel again and walked around a bit. Dinner was Wonderland this night and oh my. I have no complaints whatsoever. Everything was amazing from the waiter, to the food, to the entertainment. We decided to have all the food served family style. I wish we could have gone to wonderland earlier in the week - that way we knew what snacks we wanted delivered before later. After dinner, we put McKenzie to bed. We stayed in for the evening with her. My family went to see 1977 the ice show. They said it was good. Jakes asked Hossain for a dozen of wings and a whole pizza to be delivered to the room at 10:00pm. They rang the door bell and woke McKenzie up. I was annoyed but thankfully she went right back down after a minutes or ten. It was a nice but tiring day. The week has finally caught up with me.

Yep, that's what we did. One of the Port(s) of call on the Bermuda run was Boston. Man, I like the history of that city, we did an all day tour of the city and surrounding historical sites. I want to do it again. Bermuda was great too. Cheers! <every pun intended

It scares me to admit this out loud considering I’m only 47, but oasis lagoon pool bar doesn’t do it for me at this stage in my life. I’ll take breezy bay or south beach any day of the week. Or coco beach club. Now , I did swim out to the floating bar at south beach today with glee!

Recent sailings of freedom of that length had college spring break debauchery going on.

make sure you give the app permission for camera and photos. I kept having an issue and finally realized my mistake.

One of the best times I've had on any cruise was when we reserved/rented the Rising Tide, on Symphony, during the 70s/80s, I don't remember the decade. We had the complete bar open to just our party, it was a party of 14. The bar went up half way between the top and bottom of its usual travel. We had a birds eye view of the entire party. The young ones in our party danced and us old folks just drank and bobbed our heads.

Thank you for the answer. I take a printed copy with me, for sure. I was asking for general consumption, but you didn't know that. Once again, thanks. I take paper copies of EVERYTHING, Invoices, contracts, luggage tags (a few extra and I put a copy in every piece of luggage and carry on), and boarding pass. I'm overly paranoid about issues that can pop up, I guess. But, I have 'em if I need 'em.

I have heard many folks wearing their badges, as they say "I have to wear it, it is the most expensive piece of jewelry I own."

I'm struck by two facts from this live blog.... 1. @Lovetocruise2002 didn't start the live blog six weeks early, as is her custom. 2. How well she handled the lost luggage fiasco. Not much you can do, but geez, I'm not sure how I would have handled that problem. Great live blog, it was fun reading about all the fun.

It was great meeting all of you and getting a chance to spend time with my former coworker @Lovetocruise2002 and her family. We had a fantastic trip and thoroughly enjoyed our Star Class experience. While my husband Derek (who wasn't in the trip) is wonderful, I'm missing genie Derick!

Random thoughts....asked for 2 donuts this arrived. ( see photo below) We actually shared with another cabin as to not be wasteful. This cuteness was observed when returning to ship at Labadee. I took photos of crew members who went above and beyond, they were sometimes desperate to wait on us and it made me a bit uncomfortable. I kept saying, please take it easy ( as in the song slow ride) Was treated to animals in the cabin which puts a smile on my face. Send the teens duck hunting early! Stay still a bit, soak it in. I actually liked this balcony more than I thought I would. I know these photos are not @twangster level but I did my best. I am home now, and can't wait for our next adventure! **I personally did think the entertainment lacking, I did appreciate that they tried though. The absolute highlight for me was Jesse Hamilton, he made me feel emotion. That is a good entertainer, any questions please reach out. @GregD being neighbors with @Lovetocruise2002 will guarantee smiles and great conversation. What an amazing family, the girls are true light and Justin just the kindest. Down to earth people, you are lucky to be able to sail with them soon.