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Day 7: Our last day is a day at sea We slept in today, okay I slept in today, my wife woke up early to sunbathe on our balcony. Once I woke up, we hung out together in the room. We were on the balcony, but it started to rain. This was the first rain I noticed since we embarked on this ship. We hung out in the room together for awhile and then headed to park cafe for breakfast before they closed. Ran into our family in Central Park. My brother and I wore our drunk 1 and drunk 2 shirts today (picture below). It’s not fair being the little brother because no matter how old I am, I’ll always be drunk 2 and when playing Super Mario Brothers, I’ll always be Luigi. We received a lot of positive reactions on our shirts, especially from our bartenders. My wife, brother, and sister in law rode the Ultimate Abyss and I was the holder of the phones and sunglasses. I beat them to the bottom and the elevator wasn’t too scary and was faster. The rest of our family just happened to be at Johnny Rockets where the Ultimate Abyss let out. We had more drinks because it would be false advertising if we we’re to wear drunk 1 and drunk 2 shirts and not drink. Lunch was at the windjammer followed by a trip to the room to pack our bags. The suitcases feel a little heavy for the plane, but there is no way to weigh them, I guess worse case scenario, if we have to take anything out of our suitcases at the airport, my dirty knickers are staying behind in Florida. It was our final dinner in the main dining room. Our waiter and assistant waiter have two large tables to serve. The other table was not there tonight so we received all the attention. Not that we don’t get most of the attention. Like I said before our waiter and assistant waiter really like my brother. I think our assistant waiter has a man crush on him. We stopped by my sister and brother-in-law’s room to pick up their device that weighs suitcases when you pick them up. 49 pounds and 46 pounds, we made it under the weight limit, I guess my soiled skivvies are safe…for now. I picked up a cold brew at cafe promenade and returned to my room where we watched a spectacular lightening show in the distance. At 9:00 pm was miniature golf, then the adult comedy show, followed by standing on the outer deck on top of the ship to see if we could see the SpaceX satellite rocket launch. No such luck, I guess it was too cloudy. Next is disembarking and a day at the Kennedy Space Center followed by a long flight back to Sacramento California.

Just got off Allure and we made our scheduled stop in Haiti with no issues or concerns.

Day 6: A sea day Sorry, I’m a day late again. We set an alarm again for breakfast in the main dining room where I had the same breakfast as the day before with the exception of adding cheese grits to my order. I’ve never had grits before so I had to try them. I probably will never order them again. After breakfast was cold brew coffee at cafe promenade followed by morning trivia. My wife and I answered seven out of 15 correctly, which is respectable considering how tough the questions were. I question the person that answered all 15 correctly. I suspect that Ken Jennings would’ve had a hard time getting a perfect score. About 11 am, 8 am back home, I had a coconut and pineapple smoothie. It was delicious, especially with Malibu Coconut Rum in it, okay, I had a pina colada. I had another Pina colada while watching my nephew on the stand up flow rider. I would’ve done it but I prefer my bones intact. Nobody wanted to join me in the main dining room for lunch, so I went by myself. The shrimp risotto was to die for and I had one of the best seafood sandwiches ever. I have eaten seafood every day on this cruise. So much seafood, I probably have more mercury in me than a 1970’s thermometer. Following lunch I met the rest of my family at the Windjammer, passing the stowaway piano player on the way. After the windjammer, it was down to deck 6 for the boardwalk and tequila drinks at Sabor. My wife, mother, sister, and sister in law rode the carousel. I would’ve rode it too, but my brother said if I did we’d exceed the international limit on jackasses for one carousel. Dinner was lobster, I had two, along with two seafood appetizers. After dinner were drinks at the ice skating showcase. It was awesome. Instead of a story, it was just routines and they were good. Following the ice skating showcase was the love and marriage show. It was hilarious and our cruise director was funny and had a quick wit. Then it was time for our late night pizza and bed. Next is our final day which is another sea day.

Random tidbits from Saturday, August 27…. We walked from the hotel to Target, crossing under I-45. Following the sidewalks it’s about 15 minutes one way. Walking direct (and not utilizing the sidewalks) it’s about 10 minutes. The underpass seemed a little sketchy. While I would have no qualms going through it by myself, my wife wouldn’t feel comfortable going alone. On the way back, there were four police cars helping a naked person. That was interesting to walk by. We spent most of the day relaxing and napping rather than going out to the downtown area. The temperature and humidity are kinda rough on us. In addition, our daily schedules at home have us up at 3-330 am, so that means we have woken up at 230 am local time both mornings here. For dinner, we got delivery from the Hubcap Grill. The burgers and fries were great. There were some issues with delivery, but they were the fault of the third party app, not the restaurant. The app my wife used was ASAP Food Delivery/Waiter, and they ended up giving us a $22 credit due to their screw up. We have 1030 check in at the terminal this morning. I expect it to take a bit longer than usual since one of the health questions were answered incorrectly on our daughter in law’s questionnaire. We were able to print out her Set Sail pass, but according to the Resolutions Department at Royal, she has to tell them she isn’t pregnant. To do so, we may have to step out of the normal check in process. I’ll let you know how it goes. We are planning on taking a taxi to the port. We’ve had multiple issues in the past with Lyft XL and four people with luggage, and we just don’t want to deal with any bumps this morning. Hopefully we’ll board with a minimum of delays. Last night’s sunset from our hotel room balcony.

Woo Hoo! I am back and excited about this. After 3 cancelled cruises in the last two years, I am definitely overdue.

Some random thoughts about my recent cruise on Wonder of the Seas (7 night Western Med) Most comfortable bed i’ve had on an royal carribean ship in a long time. Almost too soft for me, but way better then the rocks they have on Anthem This was my 4th cruise post “restart” — things are finally feeling “normal”, and I didn’t notice any staffing issues. Perhaps it’s because it’s a new ship and they are staffed with their best employees? It was night and day compared to my cruise on Anthem during Christmas. Staff was overwhelmed on that cruise Was fun to be an American on a ship that was so focused on passengers from Spain and the UK. MDR menu even had a rotating pie and a curry on the menu every night.

We just returned from Labadee last Wednesday and had a beautiful day. We only saw RCCL employees or people approved by RCCL. The beach and water were wonderful. It was perhaps the best stop of the cruise. Bill

The taxi from hotel to the terminal was $16 before tip. We used Yellow Cab. Liberty is the only ship here today, so there wasn’t much traffic as we got to the terminal. We arrived at 1010 for our 1030 check in time, so there was a little confusion in the area where the line for people waiting for check in mingled with the people who had just disembarked. Things were sorted out by a couple Royal reps quickly though. There were separate lines for the various check in times. Once we started moving, a bit before 1030, we were onboard in 40 minutes or so. It’s nice to be back onboard a ship. Six months is way too long between sailings.

Just an FYI - We attended the Captain's Corner question and answer talk this past week and received this information.

I have started one of my bucket list type of vacations. This morning I left Fresno California in a one way rental car. I drove 4 hours to the Los Angeles Airport. Now I am doing my 6 hour wait for my flight. I will be flying to Prague in the Czech Republic. From there I will be taking a train to Copenhagen Denmark. After a couple of days there I will be getting on the Voyager of the Seas for a Trans-Atlantic Artic Cruise. If this sounds interesting stay tuned for the details and pictures. Mike

Well we finally turned Diamond. Just awarded the points from our Oasis cruise from last week. Booked at the right time and received double points for our short Adventure 4 day cruise, 8 points and double for Oasis 7 day cruise, 22 points in those cruises because they were running a promotion. Anyway we really wanted to hit Diamond because that's really where some of the good perks hit. The 4 drinks a day for both of us will be very nice. Diamond club is a pretty cool perk. Really looking forward to our Oasis cruise in May now, our first as Diamond. What are some other cool perks for Diamond? What are some sneaky cool ones that you can think of? Maybe some under the radar?

My Pre-Trip Fun ☹ My adventure really started two days ago. I had a mini vacation as a warmup. I drive a passenger van full of High School Water Polo players to the California coast to play in a tournament. When I should have been home packing and planning, I was on the coast taking care of teenage boys. On Saturday afternoon we finished and I came back home as quick as possible to start figuring what I needed to pack. I got back, turned in my van for my car and then had my son take me to the airport to get a one way rental car. I finally got back home at 8:30 pm and figured out I needed to do laundry to have cloths for my trip. I got on my computer and started to double check paperwork and ……. THE POWER WENT OUT OK, wet clothes in the dryer, nothing packed and no packing list or documents printed. I gave up and went to sleep. About 4 hours later my 25-year-old son woke me up to let me know electricity was back on. Ok on to laundry and packing. I got to my dress pants and …. They were still at the Dry Cleaners. So I looked for my work pants and …… they were also at the Dry Cleaners. Well …. After trying on everything in both my closet and my sons closet I found a pair of dockers that will have to do. I finally got everything packed and got a few hours sleep. I left the house at 8:30 am to give myself time in case something happened during the 250 mile drive to the LA Airport. Now guess what happened….. everything went smoothly and now I am sitting in the airport for 6 hours waiting for my flight.

As mentioned by others, the Diamond drinks are a game changer. And what seems like a kinda new feature is that you can use them anytime of day, at any bar. Additionally, there are (2)50% off coupons for beer and wine for when you go over the 4 freebies. We also took advantage of the free 8x10 photos for each adult Diamond member. Also, utilized the one free day of surf Voom. We never stepped foot in a Diamond lounge so I can't speak on that. Might check that out on our next cruise

absolutely. and the big machine is really uniformly excellent, especially for the quality and volume of coffee it pumps out on the daily. it's very tasty!! sometimes we like to do a shot or two of espresso with hot water, americano style and it's just crisp and delicious. you have the right idea!!

Everyone has their preferences. I make cheap stuff with flavored creamer at home so anything the machine spits out is an upgrade to me. I'm not picky.

I’ve used Diamond drinks for the protein shakes at the vitality spa. I’m pretty sure the juices are included. You can always ask first.

Not your browser. We all have same problem. Hoping it's site maintenance and not a big nasty surprise.

I assume they are trying to be attentive to give good service and possibly earn more tips. I would not worry too much about it, but if you see the staff member, you could always politely let them know extra towels aren’t wanted.

Congratulations! I'm literally sitting on the balcony of our cruise that will push us over into the shiny Diamond land. Can't wait to join you and take serious advantage of the perks! I'm not a big drinker so the 4 per day bigger is more than perfect. I probably wouldn't do more than 2 even with the juice option! (Don't drink coffee)

None at the moment, except for Starclass on some ships that were Wow enabled before like Harmony. Since the restart Royal has not offered wow bands or allowed old wow bands to be reused.

Congratulations! The free photo is a nice perk.

Not to be harsh, but just because someone may eventually post that they made it to the airport on time or with plenty of time to spare for an early flight does not mean at all that you will enjoy the same experience. You do not state what time the other flight is, but if it's later than 9:00AM do yourself a favor and take that one. Remember Murphy's law.

Sorry I missed posting this last night. Day 5: St. Kitts, the dolphin experience We started with breakfast in the main dining room, we set an alarm and everything. I loved the classic Benedict, I’m a sucker for hollandaise sauce, a hash brown, and the corned beef hash. The hash brown was small, and I could’ve eaten 13 dishes of the corned beef hash, it was that good. Next was St. Kitts. My wife brought cash and her iPhone. I figured since we didn’t have service in St. Kitts, there was no use in bringing my phone. Remember the last part because it is on the test later. We split from our group and went on our dolphin excursion. As we were waiting, we went shopping at the shops. The workers in the shops were a little pushy, but not overly aggressive. We got souvenirs for the grandkids and some of our kids, but only the ones we like. I’m just kidding, we love all three of our children, but one son wants something from the Kennedy Space Center, so we are holding off on getting his gift until Sunday. My other son, wants an island girl. After shopping we got into line for our excursion. We were early, we just didn’t know how early we were. While in line we figured we were in the 10:30 am excursion line and ours was at 11:15. The excursion person said he could get us on the earlier excursion and put a green wrist band on both my wife and myself. This too is important to remember for later. On the bus I noticed some people were wearing different colored wristbands, but being the introvert, I didn’t ask, which I should’ve. When we arrived, we put our stuff in a complimentary locker, which was an ease on my mind and it was then time to get fitted for life jackets. The man brought me a large one, how cute is that. He soon realized I needed an extra large one. After instructions, we were in the water with the dolphins. One of the most exciting things in my life. We did commands, petted, gave belly rubs, shook fins, and touched the dolphins, and it was fantastic, my wife loved it too, but was a little disappointed because we were supposed to be pushed and pulled by the dolphins. I grappled with removing my life jacket, and for a split second, I thought I might win, but winning was not in the cards for me, but luckily, one of the workers tapped in like a WWE tag team partner and we were victorious. My wife was already off to inquire about the pushing and pulling. When I caught up with my wife the employee said the person at the dock put the wrong wristbands on us, if only someone spoke up on the bus, stupid introverted me. They accommodated us by allowing me to struggle back into a life jacket and took us back into the water just my wife and I. They kind of separated my wife and myself, which is a little problem because I have severe hearing loss and couldn’t take my hearing aids in the water with me and I rely on her a lot to communicate with me. If you are following along with my live blog you have found out I’m super sized, have hearing loss, and sleep with a CPap machine, you are probably wondering how my wife snagged such a catch, she probably wonders too. We had a quick push and pull by the dolphins and then it was shower off, get dressed, and off to the gift shop to buy photos. We realized we forgot our debit card, we didn’t have enough cash for photos at $40 a piece, but they did take PayPal. I have PayPal but my wife doesn’t. My wife had her phone, I didn’t. They were pushy when it came to selling the photosand I asked if it were possible to get a link and buy them when we get back to the ship. Their response was now or never. I tried for about forty minutes to log into my email on my wife’s phone to buy the photo package which was 2 for $80 or all forty-five photos for 100. Because my iPhone uses Face ID to log in and I’m not very smart ( my wife is so lucky to have me), I finally gave up and lo and behold, they suddenly came up with a link to buy the photos when we got back to the ship, but they were quite rude to us about it. I know I seem to complain from time to time, but really we are having the time of our lives and will never forget what a great time we are having. Back on the ship I ordered our photos and after several emails back and forth, we got the link to the photos a few hours later. The photos are great, but we are only able to get 42% of the photos to download on our phones before we get an error message. The link is only good for a month so we will need to figure it out. Back on the ship was dinner at the main dinning room. Our waiters are the best on the ship. Unlike me, my brother is a big personality and both our waiters are drawn to him for most of our meals. I ordered the ahi tuna, but since I don’t like my fish seared, our waiter had it made well done. I know the chef probably cried himself to sleep last night because he had to cook it well done, but it tasted wonderful. After dinner was the headliner show, a singer, comedian, and impressionist. His voices of other people were spot on, but the show was mostly geared toward gen X and baby boomers. My nephew and niece knew almost none of the people he was impersonating. Then it was off to sabor for margaritas and off to bed. Stray observation: Our room steward is amazing. I have a bartender who not only remembers my drink order, but also my name which is cool because I’m pretty forgettable. In the public men’s rooms, I like the comic strip panels over the urinals even though they are lacking in plot, character development, and a character arc. Next up is sea day two. We have three sea days this week.

Neighbors cat that crosses into my yard was not impressed when I tried to test it today.

Self testing is effectively equal to no testing. Not much of a point to it.

I’d like to think this is the last time we have to jump through this particular hoop to board a ship, but we’re cruising to Canada in October. ….but for now….We’re all negative for our Sunday cruise!! (I figure people here will get it. No one at my work seems to understand why I’m so happy)

Yeah, I don't think there are really any negatives about it. There is good air circulation, so it doesn't have a strong Chlorene smell, or anything like that. And I don't think it's any louder than the solarium on the other ships.

I seem to remember (it's been 3 months, good thing we're leaving again in 13 days now) that if you answer Yes, it only asks for the position not the name of the crew person. I also believe, but could be wrong, that RCCL does not want the crew asking for positive reviews, especially asking you to give 10's. I have formed that opinion from discussions with some of the officers I speak with. Now there is also a big difference from asking for 10's and just commenting that after your cruise you will get a survey, please fill it out. Mostly I have received that survey 10's sepal in the dinning room, personally if they start I quickly stop them by saying that i will answer the survey as I see fit. BTW not only do i answer YES if it has happened, but I also fill in my rating as I perceive them, along with a specific comment saying what was rated low, if any were, and the reason why. I think they want honest answers and customers opinions, but that just me.

This is what we had waiting for us on Liberty today.

Hi Amanda, You are spot on about Celiac Disease! It was a precursor to my cancer. Oncologist said that my type of cancer usually comes back within 5 years after chemo. Mine did not, probably because I've been so good about being gluten free. The info which you shared is so very valuable to us fellow celiac people. Thank you so much!! We usually have the Johnny rockets shakes at least once per cruise. We were on a back to back last November on the Explorer of the seas. The first week we had our shakes they were very yummy! The second week the man behind the counter said No, the shakes are NOT gluten free!! I was very worried that I had been glutened the previous week. The manager said that they changed "suppliers" since last week, that last week the mix was gluten free, and this week it is not. He even brought out the box, and the label said "WHEAT" ! I told him he saved me a lot of grief & pain, and maybe even lengthened my life. Bottom line.... it never hurts to ask even if you've had it before.

uhhhhh. that's bizarre.

Quick Update: I called a few times over the course of the week and was told that there are no rooms left to be booked through the casino. I gave it one more try this morning and was able to get the room on the sailing we wanted. Persistence is key! Thanks for all the helpful responses.

I appreciate that you want to "save the waves" on vacation, CrimsonCruiser! I'm actually the opposite, I "save the waves" year round at home reusing towels a couple times before reaching for a fresh one, so while I'm on a cruise, I throw caution to the wind and enjoy the fresh towels and never reuse. I love coming back to our room and finding all fresh towels and a re-made room!

I called this morning to report this issue and they said that they've yet to receive a complaint or report of the issue... Maybe if we all report it, they'll be more likely to fix it. It's so frustrating!

Rome. Ship arrived at 7am. Disembarkation started at 7:30am for guest taking their own luggage off the ship/suite guests. 8am was the first luggage tag group, 9am was the last luggage tag group, they called the 8am groups at around 7:50am.

Me too…I mean, the one I’m working with does respond but seems like they may have a professional day job that occupies time. I get it but when I ask about a pricing adjustment and they say that they have a bunch of e-mail alerts they just haven’t been able to get to yet, I wonder how much I may be missing if I wasn’t repricing my sailings every day or two?

Exactly, I'm not a big drinker at all so the full alcohol package would be a total waste but to spread 3-4 drinks a day out free is an amazing perk. Wife is the same way. We bought 3-4 a day and shared them basically this last cruise. Now we can get our own, and spread them out throughout the day and that is perfect. Gld you are joining us! This is the tier we wanted to get to for a long, long time. Diamond + maybe but not chasing, pinnacle is completely out of the question. Diamond suits us just fine.

RCCL newbie and we booked the Key for our first trip out of Boston in October to NE/Canada. There is so many negatives said about The Key. Just getting on board early without a large line is the hook for me. Mrs Fan does not do well in large groups. I know that the cruise will be crowded, but she handles that better. It's the long lines prior to boarding that cause her issues. We have another sailing next year in June to Alaska. Waiting for The Key to drop in price and will probably grab it if it gets in the $25 range which is what I just paid for the NE/Canada trip.

Everybody earns it. Just make sure you sign up for the Crown and Anchor Loyalty Program.

Congratulations Diamond onboard offers can be found in this thread: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/25934-crown-anchor-on-board-offers-20212022-edition/ They are pretty consistent across the fleet.

Any TA can book a cruise. They can also offer such incentives as a small discount or even OBC in order to attract new clients…or even for future cruises. But, the good TA…the indispensable TA…is one who will be there for you when things don’t go as planned. Or when you find it necessary to make changes. Or even when prices drop. Someone who will be easy to contact and who learns your preferences. A good TA is someone who gets to know you. Those are the ones who earn their client’s trust and their loyalty. And it’s simply good business…generating repeat clients who are satisfied and who tell others, generating more repeat clients. The big box agents deal in volume…not necessarily service. Getting a discount and OBC can be very attractive…but not at the risk of dismal service. Remember, when you use a TA…they are responsible for servicing the booking. Choose wisely!

It's discussed more often there days, but you get 4 more drinks on the morning of disembarkation day. You can use these for mimosas or whatever if the WJ bar is serving alcohol (mixed results). You can also use them for fresh squeezed OJ, coffee drinks at Cafe Promenade (you have the DL coffee machine of course but there are some items like a fancy iced coffee you can get at Cafe Promenade), bottled water, etc. Some people who stay up late have also reported using them after they reset at midnight the night before for extra late night drinks at whatever bars are open that late. I'm asleep by then, lol. Congrats on Diamond!

Too tight. 25 minutes to the airport, then deal with the extra agricultural screening.

You need at least 2hrs while at the airport even when not checking bags. The plane is scheduled to leave at 9am but boarding will commence and close 20-30min before that. So essentially you need to be at your barding gate no later than 8:15. If all goes as planned you might leave the ship at 7:15 when you self-embark. Then tax rides, going through TSA, etc. Anything before 11:30 isn't really advisable, even if you read that someone was able to do it.

I personally wouldn't be comfortable with that departure time. Even if the ship docks on time at 6a, it still has to clear Port Authority. On a perfect day they would let people self-assist debark about 645a. In theory that could get you to the airport in a taxi by about 715a, again if everything was perfect. While 715a would be ok for checkin with bags, you couldn't be much later than that. I would be too stressed!

I wonder how long that lasts. Seems a waste of time at the pier to look at pictures since there's zero way to verify.

That is exactly what I was about to recommend you do. Spend the night and have a 100% stress free disembarkation process. I am doing the same thing on my December cruise where our outbound flight was going to be at 11:30am. Probably would be OK, but spending $150 on a hotel is worth the peace of mind alone.

And don't forget you get 4 more on disembarkation morning.

man, Love me some Breakfast Burrito's